From the Bain Water Works, an abandoned, decaying industrial site… The Flickr Raleigh Social Group organized a shoot there today. More photographs.

Yesterday I took a little bit of a long lunch from the day job and went to the arboretum. It was a lovely day–about 80° and breezy, the sky blue with fluffy clouds…. I suppose noon isn’t the best time for photography– the light and shadows are a bit harsh… but it was really more about enjoying the day than getting the best shots. This lovely climbing rose is a Lady Banks’ Rose.

Kiva (www.kiva.org) is a non-profit that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world. I just loaned a small amount of money to baker in Lebanon to update his oven. (I was born in Beirut; my dad worked for Tapline and Aramco.) I think this is an excellent way for individuals to make a positive difference and help folks find their way out of poverty. Check out the site. :)

New works in my etsy shop. The Flora series is a bit of a departure for me. My art often works with themes of order and arrangement. In the Flora series, I’ve tried to capture and appreciate the beauty of the moment. I hope you enjoy these photographs as much as I do.

New series. Eight collages. On flickr. In my etsy shop.

The 10th International Collage Exchange is now online at http://virtual.tart.co.nz/. Dale Copeland, the organizer and collage evangelist, puts and amazing amount of work into these exchanges. 159 artists, each sending in 13 collages, and somehow Dale keeps it all straight.

Thanks so much to Brigette for her kind words about my art on her blog, weirdbuglady.

Yesterday at the arboretum. Spring is on its way!

It’s been a beautiful weekend. Yesterday I took a borrowed canon 70-200/2.8L lens (sweeeeet indeed) to the arboretum for the afternoon.  Life is good. :)

Lost & Found #5, found silk, mulberry paper, digital print and hand stitching.

Remember those fabulous lights my family bought me for Christmas? I was able to photograph my Lost & Found series without taking the plexiglass out of each frame before shooting! I’m totally thrilled– framing and re-framing to get a glare-free shot is really time consuming. The right tools make life so nice! :) Photos of the Lost & Found series are on my flickr photostream.

There are a few spring flowers beginning to show themselves at the arboretum. I visit almost weekly with camera in hand. This weekend is a bit grey and damp (but the kind of grey and damp that tells you the colorless days of winter will be soon past and heightens anticipation of spring), so I’m enjoying a quiet weekend in the studio. This photo is one of the fruits of this weekend’s efforts.

I love the immediacy and simplicity of polaroids.

I just bought this stunning scarf from etsy seller entropyrains.etsy.com . (Click on the photo to go to her flickr photos.) If you love shibori like I do, you will love her stuff! I can’t wait for it to get here!