crafty mcgee

self portrait tuesday: up and out

Obviously, it's not a picture of me, but it is a picture of time passing. I took a photo at the exact same spot, at the same time, every day for a week. Yep, time passes....and it's time for me to say goodbye to Self Portrait Tuesday. I find myself thinking of too many ways to get out of taking pictures of myself, and it's turning into a chore. I'd much rather concentrate on crafting and drawing with the occasional photo (not of me) thrown in.

self portrait tuesday: a weekday in the life

Come along with me through my typical weekday routine:

1) 5:30 a.m. - waiting at the bus stop; 2) 6:00 a.m. - into the gym 3) my daily walk through the park on my way to work. At the present time, they are cutting down many of the trees to make the park more "friendly"....grrr. 4) a quick stop in the coffee shop for my large decaf. Their incredibly eclectic music collection can often set the tone for the day - today it was Alison Kraus and Gillian Welch singing "I'll Fly Away" from the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack - nice! 5) at my desk, computer on....6) at my desk, looking out the window at the artist's studios across the street. Just like the movies! You may see photographers, painters, dancers, musicians, the occasional soft-core porn...repeat photos 5 and 6 for several hours (which becomes the imaginary step 7) - 8) let loose for an hour, I often run errands or sit someplace pleasant and read. Today was the perfect First Day of Spring - I found these early camellias in a sheltered spot. Back to work, repeat imaginary step 7 for another few hours. 9) Up a hill to the bus stop...10) off the bus, up another hill to my house 11) yay! home at last!

self portrait tuesday: time to carve stamps

I have to send some stickers this week for Moki's tiny carved stamp swap, so I thought I'd combine the process with SPT. In the relatively short amount of time it takes to carve a stamp, I (from top left) gather the tools and make the drawing, trace it, cover the back of the tracing paper with carbon, transfer the drawing back to the carving block, carve it, and viola! In this case, an itty bitty picture of me. Here are the other stamps I'm sending along (they'll be in color in the package):

On 1" by 3/4" stickers!

self portrait tuesday: me at 47

Today (March 6) is my birthday, and time is the theme of this month's Self-Portrait Tuesday. One thing you have to give me, I'm consistent! Physically, there's not a heck of a lot of difference between me at (from top left) 6, 16, 22, 30, 40 and now. In all other areas it's a very different story, but these days I'm feeling a lot like I remember being as a kid. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but as long as I don't have to relive my adolescence, I'll be OK. I've read other people's birthday posts and they always contain lovely quotes and/or deep sentiments - I've got nothing. I'm not good at that kind of thing. I'll just say that I'm a teeny tiny bit freaked out about being nearly fifty, and I'm (pleasantly) surprised that I've held out this long!

self portrait tuesday: even worse than I thought

I knew my knees were starting to look weird, but I only saw them in a mirror. Now that I see them straight on - holy crap! Now, I think I have pretty nice legs, and I used to have knees to match. But the last few years I've had this Picture of Dorian Grey thing happening. I can just hear some impish entity intoning "Rose, you can stay fit and trim into maturity - only your knees will betray your true age - mwah ha ha"! I mean, who has cellulite only on their knees? When did I get knock-kneed? They look like aliens straight out of Star Trek. I, for one, am glad to see the "All of Me" challenge end, although it's been really interesting seeing other peoples pictures.

self portrait tuesday: I'm not upset, really!

People who don't see me very often ask me what's wrong when I'm looking like this. But this is my thinkin' and learnin' face, and when I'm doing those things I'm actually happy! This is what I look like most weekends: hair unfixed, no make-up, messy workspace and I'm happy as a clam. They say that worry gives you lines, but in my case, I think it's just concentrating a lot. Oh, I'm also one of those people to whom guys "smile" when I'm walking down the street, no matter what happy thoughts I might have in my head at the time. Note to any of those guys who do this: it doesn't work, and thanks a bunch for actually putting me in a grumpy mood.

More "All of Me" SPTers here.

self portrait tuesday: my ugly *little feet

This month's Self Portrait Tuesday theme is "All of Me", in which we are meant to embrace, love and photograph the bits that we try to hide from the world. I do love my feet- I appreciate more than I can say how they hold me up and get me around. I slather them with ointments, unguents, medications and good thoughts. They are still ugly. Gnarly toenails, webbed toes, high veiny arches, callouses and weird crackly skin on the bottom. They've been this way since I was a teenager. Was it because I went barefoot nine months out of the year as a kid? Is it some mild form of karmic retribution? A message that I need to be more (or less) grounded? I sure don't know. I'll still never get to wear pretty sandals in the summer. Sigh. *At least they're little.

illustration friday: glamour

Despite all of the marvelous things that could be (and are being) done with modern glamour this week, I chose to go with the archaic usage of the word, as in a type of fairy spell. This is a hand-colored photo collage. It is also doubling as a Self Portrait Tuesday post, that's me asleep in the glade (with a little Elphaba action on the skin). What does this have to do with personal history? Well, I've always thought of myself as being a bit on the fey side.

self portrait tuesday: personal history week 4

Because it fits, I am combining this week's Self Portrait Tuesday with the "10 Things You Never Knew About Me" meme that Caroline tagged me with.
1. I don't like summer. Even here in the Pacific Northwest, where summers are as perfect as they are ever likely to get, the season doesn't thrill me like it seems to do to most people.
2. I do like bananas.
3. I would probably be a Canadian now if I had been able to get a work visa when I applied to art school there.
4. I am allergic to wine, but I love good beer.
5. I make maps for a living.
6. I used to be able to play the piano pretty well, and I was an ace drummer.
7. I was a real ham as a kid - I would get up and perform anytime and anywhere.
8. I was absolutely positive I was going to have a girl when I was pregnant, and my son proves just how wrong I was every day.
9. I hardly listen to music at all these days, but was crazy about it until about 5 years ago.
10. I am a secret football fan. Go Hawks! Go Steelers! (I grew up near Pittsburgh). No matter who wins the Super Bowl, I'll be happy.

I am tagging anyone who wants to play along.

self portrait tuesday: personal history week 3

This is one of my favorite old photos. It's of my dad, at about age 5, probably taken in 1939 or 40. He would have turned 71 yesterday. Now, I certainly don't want to leave behind anything about my dad, but lately I've been moving away from the rural living dream I've built up, and what this picture could represent, in part. The ultimate fantasy would be living like Tasha Tudor, totally self-sufficient and nearly technology free. The second tier is to simply live a farm life way, way out in the back of beyond. But the thing is, I've lived in cities all of my adult years, and I like them. I seriously doubt I could adapt now to rural living, at least not happily. Anything can happen, but moving to the country is something I'm no longer trying to achieve.