A poem while you're waiting

I'm currently working on another Amigurumi character. The concept for this one is Waldo. Y'know, the guy from Where's Waldo fame. It's almost done, but don't know when I'm going to get the chance to actually finish him and put the final touches on him (glasses, walking stick, etc).

Meanwhile, I've always got a poem to post....


Indolence


Obliquely reads effulgent light
And canters to contingent plight
If e'er thy soul might yet proclaim
It's bastion to such childish blame.

Indeed that spectre's last remorse
Might e'en shade such weakened force.
And yet beside such congenial anchor
Forbare within ones eminent rancor.

 *  *  *

Consider sunlight's ardent inquisition
Or one's pulchritudinous supposition
If that considered spurious blight
Would speak evocative of its might.

In this convulsive evocation
Engendered 'neath some provocation
Ambling, sauntering gray concourse
And at such caterwaul, there endorse.

 *  *  *

About contentment there disposed,
To be about substantial woes.
And in that self recrimination
Might an adverse desecration

Such to be a value stated
Or else in darkness unabated
That it, all fortifications falter
Considered offerings at thine alter.

 *  *  *

To be eclipsed by midnight rays
And shielded from unknown malaise
Or yet benighted quarreling fires
Defrocked midst expectorating mires.

Might that wondrous bold considering
Of this suppurating, mindless bantering?
Thus the darkened chorus condemned
And by conflagration, from it stemmed.

Fractal Flames

In the simplest terms, fractal images are a geometric patterns composed of the same or nearly the same pattern (a triangle made of smaller triangles). Flames are a "class" of fractals with certain specific characteristics, specifically the use of color and shading and the way the pattern is repeated. To create fractal flames, however, you don't need to be a mathematician, but understanding them helps to appreciate them. These Flames were all created using a free-ware program, Apophosis, that I have been using for years. It never ceases to amaze me when I take the time to look at some of these images.

A Considered Iteration

This Ain't Your Ocean's Coral

(click on an image to see it at full size and take a second to look at the detail)

Terragen

As indicated recently, in the past several years, quite a few others have stepped into the environement rendering arena...a few have even entered the public domain such that you don't need to shell out hundreds of dollars to use them (as a dabbler, rather than a professional user, I'm not prepared to pay for a professional license).

Although scaled back from the commercial-use product, Terragen is fun to play with. As a romantic at heart, it's no surprise that I have an apprication and love of sunrises and sunsets, so much so that it is what I've elected to do here. These two renderings are of the same scene, one with cloud layers, the other without.

Late Afternoon (Terragen render without cloud layer)

Late Afternoon (Terragen render with cloud layer)

Bryce

I love computer rendering software Bryce was one of the first I ever used.

I was first introduced to Bryce in 1995 and fell in love with the program's capacity to create realistic renderings of nature (mountains, lakes, canyons). The software was such that settings could be tweaked to make pseudo-nature scenes, surreal images that approached photo-like quality. It came with many pre-packaged textures and the interface was such that a novice could put together something impressive with a minimal of effort.

Software of this sort is quite common nowadays, but at that time it was something fairly new.

I was not the only one to have discovered Bryce and there were a few BBS's dedicated to the sharing of those images. Within a couple years, the internet was inunndated with user-created Bryce rendered images which could be graded and rated. They came out with guidelines to help users avoid coming off as amateurs, and the number one rule to avoid getting low ratings was to avoid (at all costs) using the checkered texture as it was the most often used and tell-tale sign of a newbie (aka n00b).

More for giggles than anything else, I created this image as a direct contradiction to rule number one. I personally think the checkered texture and its variations are pretty cool, actually.

The Chekered Texture Rocks!

Digital Doodling

I've been a fan of digital art for many years. There is great potential to do some truly awesome work if you know what you are doing. Knowledge coupled with good tools is a great thing. Unfortunately, I have not quite grasped the digital painting landscape yet.

 I have an iPad and some very good tools, but I have yet to master them. I see what they can do, just don't quite get it... yet. I will continue to work on them.

These are two rather simple "doodles" (well, one is a doodle, one is a sketch). There's something about faces that I've always felt compelled to draw (especially the eyes; Oh! the eyes I could show you that I drew in my high-school notebooks!).

So. With the tools at my disposal, I intend to continue to refine and perfect my digital finger painting (no pun intended...alright, the pun was intended). 

Justification

And THIS is why I don't commit to a daily update. It has been several many days since i lastposted and it will probably many more days befor i get around to posting again; I simply have too much going on. I hope to have something read in the next couple days....maybe.

Let Sleeping Oxen Lie

Okay. So the subject of this "project" item is taken from Noah Scalin's 365, use your pet as your inspiration. Simple enough...this time. Instead of attempting to draw or paint, I have opted the easier route (for me, anyway) of photography.

This pic is of my dog, Oscar, nicknamed, the Ox (ergo the title of this post). Considering he spends 23 hours of the 24 hour day sleeping, he's not difficult to take pictures of. Taking a good photo of him, now that requires a little bit of work. Without sounding too arrogant and pretentious, photography is all about lighting. I love that  I (of all people) was able to get it just right, with sunlight streaming and filtered through the Venetian blinds.

The Key Master

The Key Master is a little Amigurumi fella I crocheted. He took a couple days of on-off effort to complete.   For those unaware of what it is, Amigurumi is (defined as) "the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures".

I've been creating these little guys for a couple years now. My interest began when I was perusing a bookstore and came across Nelly Pailloux's book Crobots (Crochet Robots).  I asked my wife if she'd make a couple of these things for me but her response was for me to learn how to crochet.

So I did!

I found crocheting is not too arduous, not too difficult and very relaxing. I later followed up with Christen Haden's Creepy Cute Crochet (the book has Cthulhu and the Grim Reaper on the cover, lovingly crafted in yarn!)

Anyhoo, this little guy has been completed for a couple days now, but every time I think about taking a picture to post him, it's 5:30 in the morning (natural sunlight isn't so great at that hour, particularly when taking the pic with my phone). I'll have to work on getting a better picture taken and posted.

"I Dream the Night"

    I dream the night
        and a corduroy vest pocket
        watch inlaid with gold and a
        sterling silver chain.

    I dream the night
        and four quarters of the moon
        light streaming through
        plantation style venetian blinds.

    I dream the night
        and a tasseled quilt in the brown
        stone row-house bedroom bed
        loved to frayed and tattered strips.

The rhythm and poetic style here, composed of visual images and using compound words broken to separate lines, was inspired by an old and long-time friend, Jennie L. I originally intended this to have several additional stanzas...perhaps another day.

Office Art

Yeah, I love to fold paper. I am, by no means, an Origami Master; at best, an educated enthusiast. Folding paper is soothing and a great way to spend a couple minutes when at work and waiting for a meeting to start or for some automated task to finish.

Paper Cranes, made using traditional Japanese Origami tissue paper. Yeah, they're traditional and somewhat passe, certainly not at all avant guarde, but they're fun to make and even more fun to play with (imagine sitting in a conference room full of Aerospace Engineers and flapping the wings of a paper crane).

These Origami Mystery Boxes are made from three square sticky notes. I love these! They are particularly impressive when you have good strong colors, which make them pop out. I was impressed one Christmas by making one using bright colored paper and discovering that they looked like an impressive ornament when put on the Christmas Tree. I learned how to make these one day while I was poking around On Demand shows and came across a section that had crafts for kids. I'm forever in debt to the guy who demeaned himself in his attempt to make origami an exciting showy activity for children (it was pitiful, but I appreciated his effort). Over the years I've continued to make these little boxes and handed them out to kids who think they're pretty cool but soon ruin them by taking them apart and can't put 'em back together again.They're called Mystery Boxes because -- depending on the size -- you can put little treats or at the very least secret messages inside.