Look Up//Look Down #30: Circles Plus Texture

While photographing the Golden Gate Park Windmills yesterday for the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt, I came up with this pair of photographs for this week's look up//look down photo meme sponsored by Helena. Looking up at the tail of the Murphy Windmill and looking down at a California poppy. I find the symmetry of shapes and textures really interesting, especially given the striking difference in the color palettes.
If you're participating in the Scavenger Hunt, I hope you stopped by yesterday and joined the linky party.  If not, it's not too late!  Just click here and add your post. And don't forget to go visit some of the other photographers who've linked up. Everyone enjoys comments, and there's some really fantastic posts out there.

Summertime Scavenger Hunt Linky #2: My Windmills

Welcome to the second link-up for the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt!!! Here's your opportunity to share what you've been doing on this year's hunt and to check out what everyone else has been up to.  Please add a link to a specific post about the Scavenger Hunt below.  Your post can be anything - a post about your favorite find; a story about your adventures while hunting; etc.  Feel free to link to a post you've already done if that works best for you. Also, let us know if there's a way for us to see all your finds so far. For example, you can see all my posts by clicking on this link. Finally, please try to visit at least 3-5 other posters. I will host another linky at the end of August and at the end of the hunt on September 21.  This is also a great time to ask any questions you might have (just leave it as a comment, and I'll get back to you straight away). 

My share today is titled "Tilting at Windmills." When I put windmills on the list this year it was partly because I've always been fascinated by windmills - both traditional ones and the newer wind turbines. It was also to force myself to go visit the windmills in Golden Gate Park. It was so much fun to finally photograph these wonderful structures.  The top one is the North or Dutch Windmill and the bottom one is the South or Murphy Windmill. It was a dreary day, so the light was not what I hoped for, but I did manage to get the above photos which show you the windmills in all their glory.
I also took these photos which I think do a better job of capturing the mystery and mystique of the windmills.

And, finally, two instagram shots:

I really prefer the second and third sets over the first set. What about you?
Please add your linky below:

GIT: Passport to Art (Passing on Wisdom)

The last few days I've been making really good progress on my Passport to Art altered book. Today, I'm sharing a page I did in response to the prompt for Day #7, which contained a quote that I really liked: "The wisdom acquired with the passage of time is a useless gift unless you share it." My page records the fact that we invited each of our Goddaughters to join our family on a summer trip to Europe (and some fun facts about the trips) . Gina went with us to Paris, Budapest and Venice; Maddie went with us to Ireland and London. Taking them along on these trips really forged a stronger bond between us and their presence definitely defined each of these trips. They were terrific additions. Have you ever invited a friend to join your family on a vacation? 

As a reminder, on Wednesday, July 31, I'll be hosting a linky for people to check in about the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt! You can link up an old or a new post and can be anything related to the Hunt. Hope to see you tomorrow!

Driving Cross Country (Passport to Art altered book)

Here's my most recent spread for the altered book I'm making in the Passport to Art altered book class sponsored by Bernice Hopper. This page is in response to the Day 17 Prompt which talks about striking out on new paths. It documents the cross-country car trip that Paul and I took in 1982. We drove a 1963 Volkswagen bug from Los Angeles to Ithaca, New York (and then I went on to Cambridge, Massachusetts). It was a wildly unreliable car, and it stranded us in a ghost town in the southwest (which looks like the the one in the picture) and on the Chicago expressway on a Friday afternoon at 5:00 p.m.! The map at the top of the layout shows the route we took. The journaling along the bottom relates a couple of interesting facts about our trip: we traveled with bikes on the back which we rode to a hotel in Chicago when we broke down; we camped in the southwest until we got tired of the red rock; in Iowa, a mechanic named Fuzzy was unable to fix the VW - in fact he didn't even know where the engine was; we got stopped for speeding in Colorado; and we stayed with Paul's uncle on his farm in Omaha, Nebraska. You can click on the photo to see the layout in more detail. 
I really like how this altered book project is making me recall all kinds of trips and travel that I have done in my life. I'm glad that I drove across county - ONCE. I don't feel the need to ever do it again, but it is an experience that I am glad I didn't miss out on. We traveled approximately 3,000 miles on our trip!  What about you? What's the longest driving trip you've ever taken? 

Photo Scavenger Hunt Update and News!

On Wednesday, July 31, I'll be hosting a linky for people to check in about the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt! Details below.

Item #1 Open Air Market

I've been taking a few photographs lately for the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt, but mainly I've been taking them with my iphone. I carried it to the local farmer's market the other weekend and created this nice little collage.

Item #8 A Tower

I also managed to snap this photograph of one of my favorite San Francisco landmarks: Coit Tower.  I hope to get closer this summer to take more photographs. 

Item #10 An Outside Bench

Finally, a very nice bench found outside my favorite day spa where I went for a massage.

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With these three finds, I have now found and posted 14 of the 21 items for the hunt . . . not bad since there's still two months left. And I know where to find the other 7. I just need to go on a few road trips.  I'm planning to do one in the next few days so that I have something new to post on Wednesday when I'll be hosting the July Scavenger Hunt Linkie!

On Wednesday, please stop by and post a link to one of your blog posts about the scavenger hunt and go visit some of the other photographers who are playing along this summer. The link can be to a new or old post and can be about anything related to the Hunt.

Let's Have a Drink Down in the Harbor

Once a month, Abi over at Creating Paper Dreams invites people to stop by for a cup of tea and a chat. I thought you could join me for a drink down in the Harbor.  There's lots to see before we sit down and chat, including wildlife.

And there's some really interesting things to photograph:

We'll probably even be able to find a fisherman for the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt:

After our little stroll, we can sit down at either Barbara's Fish Trap or Ketch Joanne and have something warm to drink while we catch up.
I'd start by telling you that we've decided to move Clara back to our local high school. Last year, after a series of very unfortunate events, we moved her to a different school which was exactly what she needed at that time. I truly don't know if we would have survived last year without that alternative.  But things are different now, and she's wanting to return to her home school. And we've all come to decide that it's probably the right thing.  She wants to run cross country and has made some really good friends this summer with a terrific group of kids who run at our local school. And, she's become very motivated to improve her grades so she can go to college and study animal behavior. That interest has been an outgrowth of her volunteer work at the humane society. Our local high school has an agricultural education track which would feed that interest and put her in with another nice group of kids.  She's worked very hard to get her life back on track, and we think she deserves to be rewarded by going to school where she wants - especially because she has developed such a good plan to succeed. So, now it's on me to get all the paperwork straightened out. 
I'd also tell you that Henry is getting ready to make the leap to college. He's all set to go off to the University of Oregon mid-September. In the mean time, he's having a great time with his friends. They're going to concerts, hanging out having house parties and basically enjoying their last summer together. He's decided to try out for the Club-level  University soccer team, so he's back to training.  As the time for breaking away gets closer, he seems interested in spending time with me again, and I am enjoying every opportunity to go to a baseball game with him or watch him play soccer.
If you were to say that I look different, I would tell you that I got some new glasses, which are much more modern looking than my old ones and that I'm wearing my hair a little longer and looser these days. I'd also tell you that I'm just feeling so much more relaxed these days. Since my summer classes ended, I'm enjoying spending a week or two with no commitments other than going to the gym and doing laundry. And, yes, the fact that Paul's health is holding steady also makes me breathe easier and look more relaxed. 
I enjoyed binge-watching a television show called "Hart of Dixie" on netflix and would ask you if you had any good netflix recommendations. I'd admit to watching the new summer television series "Under the Dome" and a few other guilty pleasures like "So You Think You Can Dance," "The Glades," "Project Runway," "Necessary Roughness," and "Longmire." I haven't picked up a book in several weeks!
I would tell you that, creatively, I've really been enjoying online classes, especially one where I'm making an altered book about traveling. And I'm being challenged by one about story telling. I would tell you that I'm mulling the idea about writing a memoir about the last year in my life but that I'm not really sure I'm up to it. And that's okay. 
Finally, I would tell you that I'm really excited about the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt that I'm hosting and that I'm going to be asking everyone to check in mid-week and join a linky party. I'd ask you if you plan to join in? (And I'd secretly hope that you would say yes).
And then I'd ask what you have been up to . . . 

PPF/SOC: A Bonus Combo

I so loved playing in the Summer of Color challenge, sponsored by Twinkle, Twinkle that I decided to do an extra color combination. I settled on sky blue and red/orange (although my card looks more red and not very orange). Earlier this summer I found this quote from Edna St. Vincent Millay and finally created a card for which I thought it fit: "I know I am but summer to your heart, and not the full four seasons of the year."
Here are my other postcards from Summer of Color this year:

I've really enjoyed making these and having them all together as a set. My prior posts can be found at this link.
I'm posting this to Paint Party Friday and inviting anyone else who created a bonus card to join in the linkie below!
Speaking of linkies, I'll be hosting a linkie on July 31 for people who are participating in the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt.

FYV/PTA: Telling Difficult Stories

One of the goals I set in taking the Find Your Voice workshop was to find a way to tell difficult stories - the stories of times where I felt like crying or where I felt like my world was falling apart. Once I decided that I would use the workshop to explore the possibility of writing a memoir of my life during the last year, it became even more imperative to try to find both the courage and a style for telling difficult stories. It's hard (kindof like poking at a painful wound and then sharing the experience), and I'm not sure I will get there by the end of the eight week workshop.
Last week, though, I decided to try poetry as a first step in getting something on paper about a difficult time. And it worked. I'll post the poem I wrote later this summer. I promise. Once I work up the courage for that.
In the meantime, I was contemplating the prompt for Day 13 of Passport to Art which is about confronting hardships, and I decided to write a poem about what happened when my mom passed away during my summer travels. This week in Find Your Voice, the lesson is about trying different design styles. I decided to emulate the design style of Sian Fair of From High in the Sky (here's a sample of her work) and Julie Kirk of Notes on Paper (for example, this art journal page). Both tend to use printed text and a lot more white space than I do - they're also masters of clustered embellishments.
I wrote a poem and designed my page, with lots of white space and printed text (not a handwritten item in sight!).  I like how it came out and even though I haven't been able to write a full prose version of either this difficult time or the one I worked on last week, I feel like these poems are stepping stones to being able to tell the stories I want to.
Here's my poem:

When mom passed away
I wasn't there
I was
in Dublin.
Weeks before 
I had said my good-byes
I knew it wouldn't be long
But still
I left.
I returned home for the funeral
to say more good-byes
And then 
I left
for London
when mom passed away.

I welcome any input you have on telling difficult stories.

Look Up//Look Down #29: Sidewalk Lunch

While running errands earlier this week, I had the opportunity to stop by my favorite take-out teriyaki chicken lunch place. I was disappointed to find that it had changed owners, and the food was not nearly as good as it used to be. Sigh.
Fortunately, it did provide me with a good opportunity to take photographs looking up and looking down for the wonderful weekly photography meme sponsored by Helena. 
Here's hoping you don't experience the disappointment of a favorite restaurant coming under "new ownership" any time soon!

GIT/PTA: Detroit Altered Book Page

For Glue it Tuesday (sponsored by Artsyville) today, I'm sharing the latest spread in my Passport to Art altered book. This page was inspired by the prompt for Day 6, which encouraged me to think about the types of things which are speeding past in my life, as well as the changing technology of our age. 
As I reflected on the prompt, as well as the various travels of my life, I decided to journal about the trips I take to Detroit to work as a member of the Public Review Board for the United Auto Workers. I feel like I have really seen history pass before my eyes during my tenure on the Board. I have had the honor and privilege of working with some of the giants in the field of labor relations. On the other hand, I sometimes feel like I have a front row seat to the decline of the American auto industry and the effect this has had on U.S. cities and their workers. To see my page in more detail, just click on the picture.
I started with a page in my book which was had some photos of San Francisco after the devastating 1908 Earthquake and some pictures of workers rebuilding. I glued on some map paper (I was lucky enough to find pieces which featured Detroit, as well as other cities which used to have thriving auto plants, like Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Buffalo); some pictures from the Diego Rivera Ford mural in the Detroit Museum of Art (I bought a calendar and cut pictures up from there and put them in my stash several years ago); and some Club Scrap borders and backgrounds images of cars and letters to spell Detroit. I added a quote from my stash ("The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see." G.K. Chesterton); and some journaling blocks. The page has lots of layers, and I like that it documents some of my business travel.
The Passport to Art class is up to prompt #22, and I am way behind. But, everyday, I jot down notes from the class hand out, and I have lots of ideas for pages to fill my book. I'm hoping to create a lot of pages this week. The altered book is starting to take shape as one containing memories and insights I've learned from travel. Some pages relate to specific trips. Some to general concepts. I'm really enjoying the project and am so glad that I joined in!

Hello Monday

Hello Monday . . . a meme started by Lisa Leonard
Hello Summer Lull . . . that wonderful time of the season after summer school and graduation activities are over but before we have to start ramping up for the next school year. 
Hello relaxed evenings, stone fruit, watching movies and sleeping late. I love summer.
Hello miscellaneous appointments . . .  the internet expert came out and got everything running, the kids went to the dentists and have no cavities (yea!), I got my eyes checked and have new glasses on their way, a hair cut and facial scheduled for this week, Clara's off to the doctor on Tuesday, and the handyman is coming to take all kinds of junk to the dump tomorrow.
Hello old-fashioned double header . . . Henry and I are going to the Giants game on Tuesday, and we have really sweet seats!
Hello to garage-turned-game room . . . Clara and I finished cleaning it out and have started to fill it with fun stuff (a pool table, a TV for the Wii and nice carpet). I still want to get a dart board and card table. Clara still wants to paint and get a couch. Henry's planning a garage party for Wednesday.
Hello new running buddies for Clara . . . she's been running with the high school cross country team three days a week and really enjoying it.
Hello a return to soccer . . . since Henry plans to go out for a team at University, he's decided he needs to start training again.
Hello to one last color challenge . . . I'm going to make one last Summer of Color post card using the pair of sky blue and orange/red. I'll be posting my creation on Friday. Feel free to join me!
Yes, it's a wonderful time of the year!
What are you saying hello to this week

Communing with Nature (July's Simple Moment)

I grab my jacket to protect against the chill of the evening and walk back to the trail head and over the bridge. I climb the hill to reach the vantage point overlooking the ocean. I had passed through here about an hour ago while on a run with the class from my gym. I had noticed the seals and resolved to come back and take a photograph if they were still here.
 And they are. 
I don't ever remember seeing this many seals gathered together on the beach before. I am astonished by the variety of colors . . . brown and white; grey and dappled. There are small baby seals mixed among mature ones I assume to be their mothers. My eyes begin to catch movement among the herd. One seal rolls over and waves a flipper; another moves across the sand, scooting along on its belly, its body rising and falling like the sea swell in the distance. I hear the dull roar of the ocean and feel the sharp breeze against my legs. One seal raises her head and seems to look directly at me, her brown eyes round and liquid.
I breathe deeply and look around in wonder. 
Although the sky is grey, the ocean is a beautiful array of blues and greens.
I take a picture and post it to instagram:
seals on the beach
#fitzgeraldmarinereserve
#ilovethecoast
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This simple moment is inspired by Alexa at Trimming the Sails. To read other Simple Moments from July, click here.

A Balalaika Story told Two Crafty Ways (FYV and PTA)

For Week #4 of the Find Your Voice Workshop, one of the creative challenges was to tell the same story in two different crafty ways. I chose to work on a story about getting lost along the Danube Bend when we took a day trip out of Budapest, Hungary.  I had already created this scrapbook page which has basic journaling: "After touring Visegrad, we took the bus to Szentendre. Unfortunately, we got off five stops too soon and had to walk a long way. Luckily, Szentendre was cute and relaxing when we arrived, and the boat trip to Budapest was lovely." Here's the page in in its two page spread:

For my altered book page (created as part of my book for the Passport to Art class, based on the challenge for Day #9 which was about overcoming difficult things and what was learned in hindsight), I painted over part of a picture in my book, collaged on some map paper and a copy of the same tower photo used above, and then added rock candy crackle paint over the trees and tower:

I tore the facing page, added some paint, map paper and embellishments, then told the sane story in a totally different way:
"Damn it!" We got off the bus too early.
"How early?"
"I have no idea."
"I thought it would be easy to tell when we got to Szentendre."
[It wasn't.]
Now we're wandering through the Hungarian countryside, hoping to stumble upon our destination.
It's hot.
[And muggy.]
"Just keep walking and stop complaining."
Everybody thinks it's my fault.
"If we stay along the road, we won't get lost."
"What's that noise? It sounds like balalaikas."
"Oh my gosh, they're playing balalaikas!"
"What a cute town."
"Yes, boys, you can sit in the shade and play cards."
[And eat ice cream. Or drink beer.]
"Yes, girls, we can go shopping."
Szentendre, Hungary
The moral of the story is written along the side of the page: 
A week later, people only remembered the balalaikas and good times . . .
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I think the second version of the story does a better job of capturing the emotions of the day and the lesson I learned (no one except for me remembered the bad part of the day, so I should let go of the guilt). As such, it works really well in my altered book about travel and the lessons learned. I think for scrapbooking, it would be unusual for me to incorporate anything other than basic journaling. I'm not sure why; it's just the way I do things. Do any of you incorporate unusual journaling in your scrapbooks?

PPF/SOC: A Summer Afternoon

The color pair for the last week of Summer of Color, hosted by Kristin at Twinkle, Twinkle is sepia and sage. I loved this combination and had picked out a quote to use, but once I finished creating my postcard with acrylic paint and stencils, this Henry James quote seemed to be a better fit: "Summer afternoon - summer afternoon, to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." 
I've really enjoyed the Summer of Color, and I have one extra post card left. So, I'm going to continue to play for one more week.  If anyone wants to join in, feel free to come back here next Friday and I'll set up a linky. The color palette will be red/orange and sky blue!
Let me know in comments if you want to play along.

Look Up//Look Down #28: Summertime Greens

It's the height of summer, and I decided to do something a little different with my toe nail polish.  It's very different for me, and I'm still getting used to it. I'm not sure I like it.  I do, however, really like how it pairs with the little green tomatoes on my tomato plant! 
Looking up at some baby tomatoes on the vine and down at my latest pedicure.  Look Up//Look Down is a weekly photography meme developed by Helena.

FYV: A Story in Photos told 3 Ways

Take 1:

Scavenger Hunt Item #9: Something out of place

A dog. On a piano. On a bluff overlooking the ocean.

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Take 2:

Artist Mauro Ffortissimo's latest art installation. He has placed twelve pianos in various places along the Coastside. He encourages people to play the pianos and also documents the decay of the pianos over time. When I saw this piano, I thought it was perfect for the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt item #9: someone or something that is clearly out of place or doesn't belong. You can read more about the sunset piano project here. 

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Take 3:

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Lesson #4 in Find Your Voice is about experimenting with different story telling styles.  One of the creative prompts asks us to tell the same story in photographs a number of different ways by using different story telling styles.  Yesterday, I took Gypsy with me to take a photograph for the Photography Scavenger Hunt, and the photos I took lent themselves well to this assignment.

I really like Take 1. It is slightly different than what I would typically do for my blog. It leaves a lot to the viewer's imagination to figure out what is going on. It's kindof funny, and it's a well-composed interesting photograph. 

Take 2 is more journalistic and something that would be very typical for my blog. I made a collage in picmonkey and added text about why there is a piano on the coastal bluff.

Take 3 is a totally different style for me. I made a comic strip and told the story from Gypsy's point of view. I added the comic bubbles and text and made the collage in picmonkey.

So, which version is your favorite?

GIT/Passport to Art: Family Travels

A simple post for Glue it Tuesday at artsyville. This is an altered book page about how Paul and I decided early in the kids' lives that we would travel with them internationally (A LOT).  I listed some of our major international trips on map paper and glued it on the right. I used grey acrylic paint along the bottom half of the page to make a smooth transition from the art to the page.  Used some art doll stamps (painted with water colors) to represent the family. Added some quotes from the Passport to Art class: "I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece." from Tom Robbins and "We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment." from Hilaire Bellec.

The page was inspired by the prompt for Day 8 in the Passport to Art class about taking a leap of faith, which these trips truly were. Although the kids (at 15 and 18) don't remember a lot of the details of many of these trips, they do remember that we traveled together as a family and are both totally fearless travelers. They will always remember the importance we placed on family trips and will not be intimidated by new experiences.  Paul and I remember it all and wouldn't trade the experiences for anything.

Monday Morning Round Up

Scavenger Hunt Item #5: A Sunset

I've been very busy taking all kinds of classes this month! I hope you've enjoyed what I've been posting.  Today, I wanted to stop and catch my breath a bit and reflect on a few things as summer goes rushing by.  

First, the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt is in full-swing! I love seeing so many wonderful finds pop up in blog land.  The linky at the end of June (here) was a big success! I'll do another one at the end of July (and August, as well as on September 21 or so). I promised a prize to someone who commented or linked-up, and I have been terribly neglectful.  The winner is: Susan of Honeysuckle Cottage and Wisteria Studio.

Also, here's a few shout-outs to some interesting finds that I have seen posted:
Nicky's very colorful fence.
Jane's tiny theatre.
Miriam's sandy dinosaur.
Karen's beautiful candles, mighty fisherman and unique thing taking a nap.
Cool Quilting's surreal airplanes
So far, I've found 12 of the 21. I know where to find most of the rest of them (I just need to take some trips), although finding something that doesn't belong or is clearly out of place will depend a bit on serendipity.

Next, I wanted to check-in on how I've been doing on my summer plans. My purpose in making this check-list was to make sure that I had some summertime fun and accomplished a few projects as well. The balance is working so far!

Some of the things I've accomplished are: picked sea glass and blackberries; took Clara and her friends to have summer fun at Great America, Fisherman's Wharf and the Boardwalk; planned a trip to a Stern Grove concert; signed up for dog obedience classes starting in August; done lots of exercise and on-line art classes; called the computer guy; scheduled doctor and dentist appointments for the kids; and an eye doctor appointment for me.
Our biggest accomplishment has been the garage. It is almost completely cleaned out! We are working on getting a TV set up for the Wii and also some sort of game table (ping-ping, pool, air hockey, etc.). Now I'm hoping the kids will bring their friends over to hang out.

Some of the things I still need to do are: schedule my own doctor and dentist appointments; go to the zoo, the Filoli Estate and the museum; hang out and relax in the backyard with friends. All-in-all, the summer is going along pretty well!

Third, I wanted to reflect on some of the things I've learned about myself in taking the Find Your Voice Storytelling Workshop. I've learned a lot about myself as a story teller - I realized that I want to tell stories about me (from various time periods in my life - past and present) and am still considering telling "the big story" (our life during the last year). I'm enjoying recording a variety of travel related stories for the Passport to Art class, and I find these to be good practice. It's definitely challenging for me to tell longer stories. My forte in the past has really been stories of about a paragraph in length only! I have realized this is because I tend to tell stories mainly in my blog (WORDS plus photos or PHOTOS plus words). I also tell stories in my scrapbook, in my art journals and through photography; but again, these tend to have few words attached to them.   I also really like my answer to the question posed: "why do you create?" You can see my pie chart above, but the biggest reason I create is that it is an outlet for my thoughts, feelings and emotions. I also create to make connections with others and to get feedback; to create a record of activities, relationships, thoughts and things; and to make things that I enjoy looking at or re-reading. It took a while to figure out the answer to why, but I think (for me) I managed to capture it. Have you ever pondered the question why you create? If so, I'd love to hear you anser. 

These photographs make me happy because . . .

I selected this series of photographs for the Week 3 assignment in the Find Your Voice workshop I'm taking which asked for a group of photos which make you happy and a list of five reasons that they make you happy. This is a series of photographs taken from the dugout at a baseball game.  Why do they make me happy?
1. They capture moments that are often invisible to baseball fans.
2. They capture the combination of boredom and joy experienced by players in the dugout during a baseball game.
3. They are unposed and authentic.
4.  Henry's shoes in the first one and his smile in the last one.
5. They border on photojournalism.
I recently posted a craft project (an altered book page) and a list of five reasons it made me happy. It is interesting to me that there is virtually no overlap between the lists! The only reason found on both lists is that they tell a story that I was happy to have record.  There's one more assignment left to do (write a story that makes you happy and list five reasons). I've decided what I want to write about (a travel story). I can't wait to see what similarities (if any) exist between my lists at that point. Do you think your photography makes you happy for reasons that are different from your other artistic pursuits?