Sketches of art, watercolor, photos, recipes, books, interviews, Jewish topics and Highland Park, New Jersey

Spring Brings Striped Purple Crocus

March 21st, 2013 by Leora

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Spring has finally arrived in the form of striped purple crocuses. One of the names of the upcoming holiday of Pesach (also known as Passover) is Ḥag HaAviv or Holiday of Spring. An advantage of Passover coming early this year is the by the time the magnolias and dogwoods are in bloom, our Passover cleaning/cooking will be done, and we will better be able to enjoy the spring buds. Next year there will be an extra month of Adar so Passover will be later in the spring. If we didn’t have that extra month of Adar, we might be celebrating Pesach in the winter.

In renaming this blog, I had some ideas of settling into a particular niche. I’ve read oh how a proper blog should have a niche and stick with it. Well, I fear that may not come to be, as I have all sorts of ideas for this blog, and rarely are they consistently of one sort or another. A friend today gave me a poem she had written several years ago. It is somewhat biographical, and it also alludes some of the difficulties of the Sacrifice of Isaac. So stay tuned for that one. I have in mind to write a review of Ester and Ruzya, a wonderful book. Some ideas for interviews of other bloggers have come into my head on a particular topic – we will see if I follow through with that one. And once I get back to my art group, I suspect that art exercises and sketches will again be topics for blog discussions.

What can one say about a striped purple crocus? It’s symbolism seems to be universal, as it often pushes out of the ground before other flowers do (my neighbor’s snow drops appeared a while back, however). The word crocus is Greek, and it may have its roots in the Hebrew כרכום karkōm. I am guessing that this is a Crocus vernus.

Happy Pesach to those who celebrate. Happy Easter to those who celebrate that holiday. And happy spring of crocuses, forsythia, tulips and daffodils and whatever grows in your part of the world to all.

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Filed Under: Jewish,photography tags: Pesach;
by Leora on March 21, 2013 Comments (7)

How to Produce a Portrait with Paint

March 18th, 2013 by Leora

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My daughter, who is ten, requested that I post her image of a girl. As I don’t post without some explanatory text, I decided this would be a nice opportunity to teach you how to do a portrait yourself using Paint. This method was taught to me by my daughter.

This is how she created this portrait:

  1. Find an image via Google Images that you like. It isn’t going to be exactly what you will produce – it is just a template for new image.
  2. Open the image in Paint.
  3. Color over each part of the face, and create your new image. Use the brush tool or bucket tool for large sections and the pencil tool for details such as the eyes.

Easy? Hard? Depends on how much experience you have drawing, both on and offline. If you don’t try, you won’t have much experience, will you?

I follow a similar process for creating images, except I usually use Photoshop or Illustrator. I explained to my daughter that when you use those programs, you can put your work in layers, so you can see what you have done and what you still need to do. Here is the process I used recently to create a puzzle piece using Illustrator:

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  1. Find a similar image to what you want. Open it in Illustrator.
  2. Save the image in a layer of its own. Make the layer a template, so it looks dimmed.
  3. Make a rectangle over the rectangular area – use the Rotate tool to get it to look angled.
  4. Use the ellipse/circle tool to make circles over the areas where the puzzle is cut.
  5. Use the Pathfinder tool to cut or add the semi-circles on the puzzle piece. Minus front gets rid of the front; Unite combines the circle and the rectangle.
  6. Save as png, gif or jpg file for the web.

Drawing a puzzle piece is easier than drawing a portrait.

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Filed Under: web building by Leora on March 18, 2013 Comments (17)

Review with Edison Train Station Mural

March 15th, 2013 by Leora

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Mural at the train station in Edison, New Jersey


We were picking up a friend last week, and I spotted this mural of a river. I call it the Edison Train Station Mural. I am guessing the river depicted is the Raritan River. See what happens when you bring your camera on small local trips? I never noticed the mural before. I decided to do a quick Google search, and guess what? The mural is by Katherine Hackl of Katherine Hackl Pottery & Tiles.

On My Blog

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Local Groups: Forming an Art, Writing or Tennis Group

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

  • Ilana-Davita has a weekly review, and in the weekly review she links to the recent JOFA journal. I open the journal (a pdf), and what do I find but a nice article about Eva Oles, z”l, of Highland Park who passed away earlier this year (I didn’t even know she had died until I was sitting shiva for my father – I was a little distracted). It is written by Roselyn Bell, whom I know as Rosie. Thank you, Rosie, for the sweet words.
  • Lorri has a review of the book Nehama Leibowitz: Teacher and Bible Scholar by Yael Unterman. Years ago I wrote a short post on an essay by Yael Unterman.
  • The March Jewish Book Carnival is on Ann Koffsky’s blog.
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Filed Under: Central New Jersey,week in review tags: Edison;
by Leora on March 15, 2013 Comments (8)

Local Groups: Forming an Art, Writing or Tennis Group

March 13th, 2013 by Leora
spacer Saltshaker watercolor: exercise is draw or paint an everyday object

Do you work from home? Are you retired? Are you a stay-at-home parent that can afford an hour or two of babysitting? If you have a strong interest and some knowledge in a favorite subject, consider starting a local group. Examples of such a group topic could be art, writing, photography, gardening, sewing, tennis, golf, current events, even blogging.

Recently, I decided to set up a group for artists. In an earlier part of my life, I took many art classes, including attending art school at Boston University for one year. I didn’t want a beginner class, and I am not ready to take out the time for a university level academic course. Plus, I wanted to meet others locally who share my interests. When a fellow artist with similar ideas moved back to my area, I decided it was time to set up my artist group. This post will review how I set up the group, and in my guidelines I generalize the steps so they can apply to other subject areas beside art.

How to Set Up a Local Group – a Checklist

  • Identify the Subject – be specific about the group you are forming. I was specifically interested in visual artists. If your topic is too narrow or too broad, you may have a harder time getting other participants. Talk with a friend about your ideas before going public with your request.
  • Find People. Who will join your group? I talked to a few friends and acquaintances locally in order to find other people. I also posted to a local Yahoo group. You will have to investigate how people communicate in your local area if you are unsure how to find others. Maybe there is a place to post at your local supermarket? If you don’t want to reveal personal information such as address or phone number in your public post, consider using throwaway email address as your initial contact information.
  • Pick a Leader. Ideally, you will be the leader of your new group. If you are shy but have a friend who is willing to take on this role, you can delegate this requirement. But to maintain control over how the group will go, be prepared to take on a leadership role. You will need to send out messages to your group. You will also need to decide who talks when and what sorts of activities your group will do when meeting.
  • Study Group Dynamics. In a discussion prior to our first meeting, a friend and I discussed how we would deal with the problem of someone “hogging the floor” and either interrupting or talking to much. Fortunately, this was kept to a minimum in our first meeting. But I have found in past groups, if no one is moderating, others can monopolize the floor too much, and everyone else gets frustrated. Setting guidelines and sticking to them can be a good approach.
  • Pick a Setting. I knew I would be able to hold meetings in my own home, and a friend graciously offered hers as well. If that is not possible, find out if there is a local space your group could use, ideally for free.
  • Connect with the Other Group Members. I am using email to connect with the other group members – I ask for feedback at the end of each email. Also, I have a book for members to sign in when they attend a meeting and to post any ideas or feedback they have for the group.I found having the phone numbers of group members in my cell phone helpful as I wanted to remind members to come while I sat waiting for my daughter to finish her ballet class.
  • Show Off Your Group Online. If you already have a blog, you can post about your group. Alternatively, if members are willing, you could set up a site in WordPress specific to your group and maybe even make some money off the new site.

Mental Health Focus: Why Form a Local Group At All?

A few reasons why forming a local group could be good for your mental health:
  • If you are working in one area but find your mind often or your web browsing often wanders to another topic, maybe your body is suggesting it needs an outlet in that area.
  • If you are working alone, wouldn’t it to be nice to socialize with a few local people who share your interests?
  • Forming a group can feel empowering. After our first meeting, I expressed my joy to a friend on how successful it was. That felt good!

Take Care of Yourself: What Would You Do?

Have you ever set up or joined a local group? When I posted about my art group last week, someone commented that she was excited about a local photography group. What has been your experience with local groups? If you haven’t participated in a local group, play around with the idea of having a group connected to a favorite topic – what would the topic be? What problems might you need to overcome?

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Filed Under: trying to connect by Leora on March 13, 2013 Comments (18)

Andromeda in Snow, Reds of Female Cardinal

March 12th, 2013 by Leora

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My andromeda shrub has not seen a lot of snow this year, so it was a delight last Friday when I got a chance to photograph the andromeda in snow. In the spring, the andromeda shrub produces these pretty wedding bell-like flowers. A robin once laid her eggs in my andromeda shrub.

We have gotten little snow this past winter – lots of threats and warnings, but no school has been cancelled due to snowstorms. I love photographing snow scenes, but New Jersey only gives me infrequent opportunities. I grew up in the Boston area, and they got much more snow this past winter. Anyone remember the blizzard of 1978?

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The cardinals were content to visit our backyard once again and enjoy the bird feeder and branches.

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This shot of the female cardinal shows a lot of her red – unlike her male partner, she is mostly brown, but when you get closer, you can see the pretty bits of red. I think it’s quite lovely.

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One can see the reds of female cardinal here – love those streaks of red amongst the brown.

I enjoyed this description of the northern cardinal from Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology:

The male Northern Cardinal is perhaps responsible for getting more people to open up a field guide than any other bird. They’re a perfect combination of familiarity, conspicuousness, and style: a shade of red you can’t take your eyes off. Even the brown females sport a sharp crest and warm red accents. Cardinals don’t migrate and they don’t molt into a dull plumage, so they’re still breathtaking in winter’s snowy backyards. In summer, their sweet whistles are one of the first sounds of the morning.

I do find my cardinals tend to visit in the cold. I don’t see them in the summer.

For more Nature Notes:
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Filed Under: nature,photography tags: andromeda bush • cardinal;
by Leora on March 12, 2013 Comments (19)

Portrait of Jill with Colored Pencils

March 10th, 2013 by Leora

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I did this portrait of Jill with colored pencils and ink pen at the first meeting of our artist group. I set up a still-life for the group to sketch, but then I asked the group if it was OK if I drew one of the members. Jill said it was fine, and she also approved my posting this particular drawing on my blog. I did two others, but I felt this one looked more like her, although maybe a Jill Caporlingua who is twenty years younger. I left the spiral on the left of my sketchbook in the reproduction for the web to give the viewer the idea that this is a sketch and not a finished portrait.

I did the pen part of this drawing without looking at the paper; I just stared at Jill’s head and let my hand do the work on the paper. This is called “contour drawing.” It is a great way to learn how to draw.

In case any of you would like a drawing exercise, here’s one for our next artist group meeting:
Draw (or paint) an everyday object. It can be depicted as realistically or as abstractly as the individual desires.
Suggestions: scissors, salt shaker, pillow, curtains, stapler, fork

I did a few sketches and then I did a painting of a salt shaker. I looked in Google Images – lots of other artists have also drawn salt shakers as a subject.

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Filed Under: art by Leora on March 10, 2013 Comments (6)