Month: October 2023

Posted on

Animals of the Bible

Did I tell you about Animals of the Bible? Animals of the Bible is my latest digital production! It’s designed to be wall art but can be used for anything like cards and invitations all the way to 24×36 wall pieces. You can find the set at Abbey & Lincoln. You can also purchase the individual animals if that works better for you.

Animals are depicted throughout the Bible and the ones in this first collection have particular meaning: 

  1. Giraffe: Symbolizes vision, foresight, and seeing the bigger picture.
  2. Eagle: Represents strength, freedom, and soaring to new heights.
  3. Cow: A symbol of provision and sustenance, reflecting God’s abundant blessings.
  4. Lion: A powerful symbol of courage, strength, and divine protection.
  5. Fish: Often associated with miracles, like the story of the loaves and fishes.
  6. Donkey: Known for its role in carrying Jesus into Jerusalem and symbolizing humility.
  7. Lamb: Signifies innocence and the sacrificial lamb of God.
  8. Camel: Reflects endurance, resilience, and the journey of life.

I smile when I look at them and it was fun creating the print around the illustration. Scaled from 4×6 to 24×36, whether you’re looking to decorate your home with meaningful art, enhance your church’s visual materials, or create engaging educational resources, these illustrations are a perfect fit. You can use them for posters, greeting cards, Sunday school materials, placemats at children’s parties. You can even make gift wrapping!

Check it out using the link above. It’s $19 for the set or $3 for each individual print. It’s a great way to decorate your kid’s nursery, playroom or classroom.

Posted on

Knitting and Netfilx

Knitting and Netflix. Tis the season. To be fair, knitting and Netflix is a year-round thing with me. But at this time of year, knitting includes endless watching of Christmas movies.

 So, that means knitting with Netflix, Hulu, Prime (Hallmark and Acorn), even YouTube. And movies. 

This season will last well into the new year. It might border Valentine’s Day. It’s hokey and formulaic but that’s part of the joy of it. I count on them when I am feeling stressed about orders and if I will get them and if I can get them out on time. 

Movie madness will ease when the orders are filled, and I can go back to calm and peaceful knitting instead of the furious pace of order fulfillment.

Having something on while I’m working is a perk of this particular job. Some would say it’s a distraction and I can see how they get there when I am so engrossed in a scene that I forget to work. But that is a rare occurrence. It is infinitely worse when there is nothing on and I am making the same hat that I made yesterday and the day before that and the day before that.

The formula movie with just enough of a plot change and a cast of non-stars or B list actors or actors who were A- list actors who are now in almost every Hallmark movie keeps interest alive. If I want a grittier kind of feel good movie, I can switch from Hallmark to Lifetime. It’s the same formula but with an evil sister, co-worker, ex or secretary. Kinda Halloween and Christmas mash up.

I am not alone in this: Christmas movies are plentiful because they are watched. Some folk don’t even have work as an excuse. Nor do they need one. It’s a little slice of peace and happiness and if that isn’t what Christmas is about then there’s no point in making a movie at all.

 

Posted on

How Great Thou Digital Art

How Great Thou Digital Art: According to AI, this is Noah’s Ark. It’s pretty cool. AI is still in its infancy so while part of this rendition is cool; other parts still leave much to be desired.

The thing is, do any of us doubt AI will catch up to us and then surpass us? We may become as dependent on AI to do more and more things for us so we do less and less independent thinking.

At the same time, AI does give us access to getting to know the world a little better. I asked ai to produce this painting for me. I have also asked it t show me the Garden of Eden: actually not bad.

 

This is the AI generator I use.

 

 

But then I asked it for a portrait of Adam and Eve: I have no idea who they’re talking to or who or what that is in the background.

I am finding AI text more reliable than pics or photos, but as I said, I don’t think it will take too long for it to come around. As good as the images are, they are nothing compared to a human held brush working on canvas.

I will continue to use AI for some of my work and my designs. But I am going to monitor myself so I don’t lose sight, sound, touch or hearing of my humanity. I think about being 80 years old and sitting in front of a (hopefully) up to date laptop, marveling at what new technology will be before us and think back to when AI didn’t rule the world.

 

 

Posted on

Knitting Is A Sport

Knitting is a sport. So is crochet.  When people ask me to teach them how to knit or crochet, the first thing I find out is if they are athletic in amy way. The sport itself doesn’t matter. What matters if they have the hand eye coordination. Along with the patience and curiosity.  Coordination, patience and curiosity are all things athletes must have as well. As someone who played tennis and volleyball, I know of what I speak.

The Sport of Knitting

I picked up the knit stitch fairly quickly and that lulled me into a confident sense of knowing what I was doing. The first knitting pattern I attempted was from Good Housekeeping where they had squares with the four playing card symbols knit in. Yes, my first pattern was intarsia. I was certain I could do it because I knew the knit stitch.

I had no idea about the purl stitch or how to change colors. I thought I could just do it – long before Nike ever thought of the slogan. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before that dream fell through and I decided knitting a scarf was just as noble. Didn’t need a purl for that. I figured out how to change colors though it took me a minute to figure out changing colors on the same side got rid of the delineation line. Or at least kept them all on the same side so it looked better. It has been more than 50 years since I learned that lesson.

And I still continue to learn. The sport of knittng evolves just as traditional sports do. When I was growing up, Chris Evert and Evonne Goolagong (my personal favorite) were at the top of the field. Evert began to dominate. She didn’t hit particularly hard and she wasn’t a volleyer but she had precision. And a two handed backhand. All of a sudden, two handed backhands ruled the court. I fought my tennis coach about it when she insisted everyonego one handed. 

Evert was on top of the world. Until Martina Navratilova came along. She had the coordination and she might have been patient. But she wasn’t very curious. She had strength and that was enough to shake Evert’s world. But when she became curious enough to add discipline and fitness to her game. Well. It wouldn’t be until Serena that tennis paid that kind of attention. (No offense, Stephie Graf.)

The Gift Comes Later

Knitting and crochet are definite blessings to me. Knitting,especially, kept me from losing it several times over. It has been a balm to my mind and spirit. But it wasn’t always like that. It came after I learned a few things so I didn’t have to watch the technique so closely. The big breakthrough for me was learning how to increase so my crochet didn’t form a cup after the first few rounds. That led me to learning the granhy square and once that door unlocked, the future was knit and crochet bright.

There have been challenges along the way. I can’t always get a pattern to work out. I sometimes have trouble understanding other folks’ patterns. Don’t get me started on crochet charts – never will I ever get the hang of those. I don’t want to, either.

Overall, this craft is a blessing and a spiritual gift for which I am continually grateful. I honestly don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have it. I shudder to think someone should kidnap Mr. Honey and say the ransom is that I could not knit  or crochet. I think I would pray his kidnappers were nice and that they fed him well.