Frozen jewels

Not much to say today. Here's a memento from last week's icy storm:

Digital collage

Today I found myself working on a digital collage, which is something I haven't done in a long time (probably not since I stopped teaching Photoshop classes). I had an idea of what it was going to be about but realized at the end that it was something I hadn't planned.

My mother-in-law died on Saturday morning at the age of 86. She was the last of her eight siblings left alive after her older sister died two months ago. It's a sad time because Doris is gone but also because it signifies the end of an entire generation of that side of my husband's family.

The collage I made expresses the idea of releasing one's hold on life and moving away from the world, our friends and families, and our identities. As I was making the piece, I started thinking about the Passenger Pigeon and its extinction. I found a newspaper article written by James Audubon about the abundance of the bird. The text that is in the background is that newspaper article. I hadn't connected all these ideas to Doris until I finished the collage and was pondering it. Strange what your subconscious will express when you're not paying attention.

Freedom flight

Blue trees

The area of eastern Washington near Wenatchee, is fruit tree heaven. Apples, apricots, peaches, cherries, pears. In the winter, the trees get a little break. Don't know why some of the trees are painted blue on the trunks, but it's a lovely shade.

Blue trees