© 2014 Theresa Funk, all rights reserved.
Category Archives: Photography
Kale Afornia
We need to eat more kale.
© 2014 Theresa Funk, all rights reserved.
Sacramento County: A Passing Shot
This photo was taken with my mobile device while travelling through Sacramento County California at sixty miles per hour from the passenger seat of a car. I like to take Passing shots between site locations for my Conservation Art series to help inform color, composition, and brush selection. Rain is in the forecast for the next two days, so I am prepared for strokes of burnt umbra between each downpour.
© 2014 Theresa Funk, all rights reserved.
Outsider Art with an Artist Outside
I celebrated the Vernal Equinox today by spending nearly the entire day outside. The first half of this first day of spring was spent in Orangevale, California playing a round of golf at Shady Oaks Disc Golf Course. The second part of this last day of winter was spent pushing paint around on paper ein plein air.
A discarded home entertainment center serves as a make-shift art cart al fresco:
Outsider Art is a phrase used to describe self-taught artists. I didn’t go to an art school to learn how to make art, but I am an astute student.
~T.
© 2014 Theresa Funk, all rights reserved.
Olly Olly Toxin Free
In the game hide and seek, calling out “Olly Olly Oxen Free” is used to let the best hidden players know that the seeker is giving you a pass. In our garden, insects get a free pass from pesticides. I’d much rather deal with holes in my spinach than having toxins in my body.
© 2014 Theresa Funk, all rights reserved.
Art Garden Art
Blue sky and windless days are optimal for making art in the garden.
My paint brushes soak in rain water while Addison County Vermont dries in the California sun.
Addison County Vermont, 13″ x 11″ pastel and watercolor on mixed media paper © 2014 Theresa Funk, All Rights Reserved.
Rain Reigns and the Garden Rejoices
California has been in dire need for more rain and snowfall to help avert a crisis drought situation, so you can imagine how happy we’ve been to receive rain in the course of this past week. With a 90 percent chance of more rain this weekend, we and our garden have been rejoicing. I still intend to chant and shake my rain stick until the first of March.
Dry farming is used among a growing number of Californian farmers and vintners, and I’m inclined to put the practice into action. The Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz teaches dry farming techniques to students and dry farms tomatoes, winter squash, dry beans, apples, and apricots. Allowing generous spacing and moderate irrigation after transplantation is recommended to encourage the roots of the plant to drive its roots down into the soil and is key to the success of the technique.
Still, the sound of a light and steady rain falling is music to my ears. And the garden rejoices.
~T.
American Ninja Terrier: Big Adventures of a Little Dog
When asked what breed of dog Stella is, I often answer that she is an American Ninja Terrier. The American Kennel Club doesn’t include this rare breed of domesticated wild canine on their list of dog breeds, but I don’t let that stop me from using the name to aptly describe her.
Why do I call her an American Ninja Terrier? Firstly, she’s American. Secondly, she’s stealthy like a Ninja and twice as fast. Thirdly, I like the ease in which American Ninja Terrier rolls off the tongue as opposed to Rat Terrier Basenji mix.
In the latter half of the 19th century, Basenjis were re-discovered in their original habitat – the headwaters of both the Nile and the Congo, in the heart of Africa. There, they are the hunting dogs of native tribes and so highly esteemed that they are regarded as having equal rights with their masters. Stella has proven her ability to successfully hunt, kill, and consume small rodents with ferocity. Because of her hunting nature and ability to run at high speeds for long distances, every outing with her requires that we keep her on a leash.
To date, Stella’s big adventures have spanned nineteen states: Tennessee, Kentucky, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Nevada, and California. When she isn’t on an actual adventure, she’s probably dreaming about the next one.
~T.
THERESA MAE FUNK 