Fashion Art

There's something wonderfully symbolic about a fresh pair of hosiery.  To celebrate the New Year, I purchased an attractive pair of seamed stockings.  I played with them to see what visual images I could produce.  Here are some results.

I'm attracted to art made with female bodies and feminine clothes.  The lines of a silhouette, the curves of surfaces, the textures and colors.  They all evoke aesthetic and personal responses in me.

Being a model as well as a photographer is hard work.  When shooting, I'm not able to see through the viewfinder so I have to take a lot of bad pictures in order to get a few good ones.  Plus, this time my calves are howling like wolves from flexing them so much.  The things we do for our blogs!

 

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

Wishing You A Happy New Year!

Resolutions

Do you have any resolutions for the new year?

Mine is to restore balance to my life.  Work less, travel more and visit friends.  I've been suffering some ill effects from working too hard and need to cut back on that.  Easier said than done, however.

How 'bout you?  What are your goals for 2015?

Shout-Outs

When fellow-bloggers are nice to me, my heart melts.  You guys see the real me, so when you say you like me, it has infinite significance.

Several of you sent cute Christmas gifts.  I want to mention three.

The first friend is Jessica, whose blog Chronically Vintage is a must-read.  In addition to vintage-y tree ornaments, Jessica sent me the coolest book -- a photographic history of women motorcycle-riders.  I'm swallowing it up in big bites.  Here are some pics of the ornaments and book...

 

 

 



Next is Ashley, my friend in Minnesota.  You may remember I recently mentioned Ashley's new online stationery store Moonstone Paperie which carries products that Ashley designed herself.  Many have a beautiful image of a moose on them.  (I got a coffee mug and notepads with that image.)

For Christmas, in addition to some fab notecards with a motorcycle on them, Ashley sent me a metal moose silhouette that works as a chalkboard.  I tested that out by writing my name on it, as you can see...

 

Isn't that pretty!  I'm hanging it where I can see it every day and be reminded that I have a friend so sweet.

My last mention is Emma who not only sent me a big box of beauty products, she handwrote a lengthy guide to using them.  She encouraged me to have a "spa day" in my home and that's just what I'm gonna do.  Wheee!!

Friends make life better.  My friends give me confidence.  Thanks, everyone!

Motorcycle Riding

There are two kinds of motorcycle riding.  One is casual.  Bikers cruise along at normal speed with little input or excitement.  That's not what I'm going to talk about.

The other kind of motorcycle riding is INTENSE.  We attack challenging roads at high speed.  It's more like racing than ordinary riding.  The best riders separate themselves from the pack and plunge into twisty curves with heightened concentration.  At this level, skill becomes critical in the real sense of that word.

What I like about this type of riding is you can't fake it.  You confront an endless series of tough situations and you either have the talent to handle them or you crash.  Your concentration instinctively focuses and you perform what's necessary... or you crash.  You can't fake performance.  You can't pretend to be a good rider.  You either have what it takes... or you crash.

When I was learning how to ride, I always hung out with the most talented riders.  My skills developed by reaching for the magic they possess.  Today, I went out with one such rider and we had a blast.  Four hours of high-speed riding (which felt like 12 hours) on incredibly difficult roads.  So challenging.  So exhausting.  So much fun.

On the way home, I grabbed some pictures of my shadow (below).

Is there anything you are passionate about?

 

 

 

Christmas Prezzies

Did you get what you want for Christmas?  I hope so.

I'm not going to display stuff I got 'cause that'd be gauche.  Instead, I'm going to discuss three gifts I gave away to others 'cause they're cool.  You might want to consider buying them for yourself.

First up...

This album, which I found on vinyl, is fabulous.  It is Little Richard's first and best record.  Made in 1957, the music is startlingly fresh.  The songs are vibrant, complex and groundbreaking.  28 minutes of the birth of rock 'n roll -- back when that meant something.

If you don't know Little Richard, you're in for a treat.  He's the most exotic, bombastic performer in the history of rock music.  I first saw him on television in the Sixties -- he was dancing on top of a piano wearing a dress.  A dress!  I didn't know that was allowed.  Little Richard broke barriers.  Wearing makeup and women's clothes was one of them.  His personality was so extreme, though, that this wasn't what got the most attention.  He's a singular star in the music universe.

Second gift...

 An ID badge for Dexter Morgan, forensic technician specializing in blood-splatter.  If you watch the terrific show "Dexter," this needs no explanation.  If you don't, I can't describe its appeal.  You wouldn't expect to like a serial-killer but Dexter grabs your heart.

Third up...

Do you like music?  The Beatles?  "Across The Universe" is a great musical made exclusively from Beatles songs, woven together to form a loose story.  What makes the movie so wonderful are the performances.  Brilliant singing from real talents.  Joe Cocker does a song in it and, sadly, he died last week.  Bono and others appear.  The DVD was released a few years ago and makes for a fun night of watching TV.

What'd you get this year?

Merry Christmas!