Great great grandmother Phebe

Great great grandmother Phebe McDoual McNaughton
Originally uploaded by mdyerstudio

I had a great time at the KCGS genealogy conference. The highlight was meeting Maureen Taylor, the “Photo Detective” http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/photodetectiveblog/.
She was interested in my picture of great great grandmother Phebe McNaughton.

Maureen pointed out that Phebe has a wig on and that it looks like she had very thin hair underneath, almost bald. I have looked at this picture many times now and had not caught that. When I got home, I looked at the picture I have of Phebe’s sister Mary, and she has a wig too!

I did not know the McNaughton family history past my great grandparents until this year when I started scanning and researching these pictures. I am always hungry for any information about female ancestors since they are so elusive, and so this was a stellar discovery.

Here is Mary:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdyerstudio/4518833111/in/photostream/

Quick Photography Fun

Finally had a minute to play this afternoon with some photography....

Lansing House and Presbyterian Church

Lansing House and Presbyterian Church
Originally uploaded by mdyerstudio

I loaded old photos into Flickr today from my 2007 Artist in Residency at the Mendocino Art Center.

WabiSabi Fall

WabiSabi Fall
Originally uploaded by mdyerstudio

Fall is here and it's time for hot cider with cinnamon, and curling up with a good book. Unfortunately instead of getting to curl up, the outside world is demanding my attention. The US is on the verge of an historic vote to change the way health care is handled in this country. So I am attending to the process of humanitarian change instead of my artistic process for now.

This photograph was taken on a walk in the woods as I was crossing a bridge. The Chickadees were calling, and this pile of early fallen leaves caught my attention. I used a Creative Commons texture to accentuate.

It's nice to be able to do photography, even when I feel too busy to get other art done. FEEDS THE SOUL!

Lovely Wabi Sabi

Lovely Wabi Sabi
Originally uploaded by mdyerstudio

Have you tried Flickr yet? I just opened an account because I had photos from a political rally to put up for others from the group to enjoy. Then I moved onto family photos and finally got inspired by a photographer that also took some pictures at the rally. He was using free creative commons filters from Flickr. That was a blast to find and play with.

Then I discovered Flickr "Groups" -you can join groups and post your photos to the group. My favorites so far are "Girl Photographers," GhostWorks," and "Wabi-Sabi"

I found the Wabi-Sabi group and the Ghostworks group found me and asked me to join based on a couple of my family photos at the ocean. Ones that I had used the creative commons filters on.

Photoshop fun -my family at the ocean

family at the ocean
Originally uploaded by mdyerstudio

Image from this summer's family time. This is a fun free texture from creative commons. I'm missing my family and feeling nostalgic as fall advances.

Home town

The town where I grew up made the CBS evening news. The town hall they show was my grade shcool. You can see the woods I played in behind the building and also the road to my house in the beginning of this clip. The news story is about the post office's plan to remove the one and only mail box.
Watch CBS Videos Online

"Wallpaper - Works on Paper" juried show

I got accepted in the Lawrence Art Guild "Wallpaper - Works on Paper" show with a print of my pastel “First Apples.” The original was on toned pastel paper, and the print is on rag photo paper for inkjet printing. The texture of the pastel paper comes through in the print and looks great on the matt photo paper. Here is the Lawrence Art guild’s new website: www.lawrenceartguild.org

Summer Squash Love

Greetings! The Art Kitchen is open again after a busy spring away.

I'm having a love affair with summer squash; I can’t stop eating it. When I finally had some time to make art today, I decided to draw the lovely yellow squash before I ate it.

Below is my recipe for a simple but tasty way to prepare it. It’s particularly good from the farmer’s market.



Rinse 4 small yellow summer squash.
Gently pat dry.
Trim off ends and cut lengthwise in strips.
Preheat skillet to medium high.
Pour 2 teaspoons of olive oil in and bring up to temperature.
Cook till all sides are a luscious golden brown, turning as few times as possible, 3-5 minutes.
You want them to be cooked through (but not squishy).
Cook longer if needed.
Turn the heat down if oil starts to smoke.
Scoop onto plate, sprinkle with salt and eat right away.