Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Day 4988: Collage Playdate & Scotland's Towie Ball.


"Big 3": junk collage & digital.


                                                                       
  

Want music?



    Click: Hall & Oates, Every Time You Go Away.


2GN2S

Collage Playdate: Saturday, April 18, 2026


My favorite, an entire free Saturday, music on and time to play.


I am picking from my small scraps.  Tear outs from junk mail, magazines that appeal to me for color, or print. I will work on 7.5" squares of heavy white stock leftover from a previous project.


I never usually tape off an area, but today I did, and was not very good at it. That doesn't stops me as I've learned there's always a way to fix it. The above is a a background, and I love to use the torn edges and various text. It can't stand on its own yet but with collage, I just playing.

I rotated and this might not be the final version as it works pretty well where BIG is right side up. I didn't do a step-by-step because that would be work and this was play, but you can see the progress? I could crop further, but settled on the uneven edge.


This is Big 2 version, both different than the start? What do you think?






These objects were shaped with intent, but not for obvious use. In Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around 3000 BC, Neolithic communities created carved stone balls with remarkable precision.
The dimensions are consistent. Most measure about 73 mm in diameter and weigh roughly 500 grams, suggesting controlled production.
The designs are deliberate. Many feature knobs, discs, or spirals, with the Towie ball standing out for its intricate concentric patterns.
The condition raises questions. Many examples show little to no wear, which challenges the idea that they were practical tools or weapons.
The context matters. These objects are often found in burial sites or near important structures, linking them to meaningful locations.
The craftsmanship is clear, but the intention remains open, leaving whether they signified status, ritual, or something else still unresolved

 



  
 
A 4+ minute video,  Thievish as a magpie here.


 
Just because ...

  
Scaly breasted munia



Wednesday's Smiles ... 

 
















   





Hoping you see all the good things in your day.


  




 

Monday, April 20, 2026

Day 4987: Artist, Judy Martin & Sea Bunny.

"Playtime 4/18/2026": junk mail collage.



                                                                       
  

Want music?



    Click: DeBarge, After the Dance.


2GN2S

*I love finding an artist whose work immediately touches my heart, meet Judy Martin's large scale, hand stitched artwork from dyed and/or re-purposed cloth. Thanks to Robyn Gordon for the introduction.

Judy Martin

“My own work is about finding heart
in the inner world not the outer.”
- Judy Martin




“Experience always provides you a new place to start. And then to mend from, since you might remember the story of the projects that went before. what you liked, what you dreamed of changing. 
What you needed then, what you need now.”



 



  
 
A 5 minute video, Love is mute,  here.
 
 
Just because ...

Spot-winged thrush




Monday's Smiles ... 

 























Hoping you feel all the good things in your day.


  


 

 

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Day 4986: Feed Sacks, Revisited & Pasadena Goat Firefighters.


"Recalculating": junk collage, photo, ink drawing, watercolor, digital.



                                                                       
  

Want music?



    Click: Bill Withers, Just the Two of Us.



2GN2S

Repost: Day 1593: Monday, December 5, 2016


I vaguely remembered ordering something a long time ago.

Normally pretty frugal, I sometimes splurge. And, look!



It's my book wrapped in a real flour sack!

Cousin Katha, I immediately thought of you! You'd love it!

And inside ... amazing!

  

If you don't know about UPPERCASE magazine

it is a beautiful high-end, pricey, no ads, quarterly magazine.

I was lucky to be published in it, & now subscribe.

. . .

"UPPERCASE is a small, independent publisher of books and magazines for the creative and curious: products that spark the imagination and inspire creativity. Founded in 2009, UPPERCASE is loved by readers around the world and has been recognized for its design excellence.




Feed Sacks: The Colorful History of a Frugal Fabric

WRITTEN BY LINZEE KULL MCCRAY


Feed sacks are the perfect example of a utilitarian product turned into something beautiful. Author Linzee Kull McCray explores the history of the humble feed sack, from a plain burlap or cotton sack to exuberantly patterned and colorful bags that were re-purposed into frocks, aprons and quilts by thrifty housewives in the first half of the 20th century







  




Isn't that the best? 

When you've ordered something but forgot & so it's like a gift!

  







On the steep, brush-covered slopes of the Arroyo Seco, home to the Rose Bowl, a new kind of wildfire defense has arrived — on cloven hooves.
Starting this morning, more than 600 goats are being deployed across roughly 100 acres to help kick off Earth Day celebrations in the city.

  

 



  
 
A 4+ minute video, Ugly Butterfly,  here.
 
 
Just because ...



Sunday's Smiles ... 

 





















Hoping you feel all the good things in your day.