Every year, like clockwork, I end up battling beetles.  They are the literal scourge of my weeping pussy willow and cherry trees as well as my beautiful roses.  I tend to blame the former occupants of our home...

I’m having a rough start this morning.  That happens.  It is the inspiration for today’s discussion on coffee and for the use of the new ring flash for my camera.  Notes on the ring flash will...

We rarely stay directly in the city we are visiting and our trip to Chicago is no different.  You can usually save a couple hundred and get reasonable accommodations by staying in a nearby town.  We picked a...

This week’s installment in the Necronomicon Art Journal is the crawling chaos of Nyarlathotep. The best description come from the short story of the same name: “And it was then that Nyarlathotep...

This week’s inspiration on Love Art, Happy Life comes from the short-lived artist Egon Schiele.  I love the way the guest instructor, Roxanne Coble, gives some context to Schiele and his work through...

Earlier this month, A.D. and I ventured with a friend to Gettysburg, PA and Dover, DE for a mini-vacation weekend. I talked of our time in Gettysburg last week and this week Dover gets a shout out. A.D. and I...

There is little comparison between homemade chicken stock and store-bought.  There is a time investment at the front end that is daunting for some, but it is a fabulous way to use every part of your likely...

Mother’s Day can be challenging.  My mom sent me a picture a few weeks ago and asked me to create something similar, and I thought, ‘there is no way, that takes a technique I don’t have...