Christmas in Virginia

Christmas is always a mixture of excitement, adventure and a little bit of worry.  Decorating, shopping, cooking, entertaining, and visiting.  Sometimes years we have visitors and this year we were the visitors.  I took my journal with me, but only had a chance to make a few sketches of decorations inside the house.

A brightly decorated tree with presents tucked underneath is one of the images that represents a family Christmas.  As we approached the day, more and more presents appeared under the tree.  The Morning light highlighted the ornaments on the tree and in the garland that crept up the stair case.  The iron vertical rails marching up the stairs and the dark wooden steps added nice vertical and horizontal elements to the image.  

Stockings hung by the chimney are such a classic Christmas image I couldn't resist.  

"the Stocking were hung 
by the Chimney with care, 

in hopes that Saint Nicholas 
soon would be there"

From 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' by Clement Clarke Moore

As the poem describes, this sketch was done before the stockings were filled and the fire lit the next morning.  I am happy to report that no coal was received this Christmas.  

gargoyle among the winter flowers

Having grown up in the north, I think of winter flowers as the bulbs in pots inside that are forced to bloom for Christmas and Easter.  Having lived most of my adult live in the south, I now think of the wonderful plants that bloom outside.   One of my favorites is the Sasanqua or Christmas Camellia (Camellia sasanqua).  Most Camellias are small evergreen trees.  Our Sasanquas are sprawling unruly bushes.  Most of the year they are just part of the green background in the yard, but when they bloom they are a sight to behold.

The dark green leaves are a perfect foil for the 2 to 3 inch flowers.  The flower's numerous beautiful dark pink pedals open to reveal many bright yellow stamens and anthers.

Several plants in the Camellia genus, including Camellia sasanqua, are used to make tea.  The Sasanqua is also used for other purposes.  Its seeds contains sasanquol, also know as 'tea oil'.  It is an alcohol that has anti-inflammatory properties.

While I used the term 'gargoyle', my garden statue is actually a grotesque.  True gargoyles sit on roofs and serve as spouts for the rain water collected from the roof to be expelled from.  Our garden grotesque sits on a large granite rock that is slowly being covered by foliose lichen.  Some day he too may be covered in lichen.

Swamp Sunflowers

Every year my gardening efforts start with cleaning up the flower beds, cutting back the old dead stalks and trimming the bushes.  But in the front garden beds this happens in late November or early December, right before we decorate the front porch and bushes with strings of lights for Christmas.

Not long after I made this sketch the flowers were gone and I was trimming back the five foot stalks.  It will be eight months before these garden giants bloom again.  

Backyard views

As I mentioned earlier I have a growing series of entries done from my back porch, looking out on the flowers, animals and garden sculptures.  It is an ever changing view.  I guess that is why I keep doing more.

back yard views

Alien oaks in the parking lot

This oak (Quercus lyrata) does not turn bright red, or day glow yellow.  The green leaves fade to a yellowish brown and fall.  It wasn't the leaves that caught my eye, but the acorns.  They are large, deep red brown and have an amazing thorny cap.  The cap covers just about the entire nut of an immature acorn, hence the name 'Overcup Oak'.  As the acorn matures the cap peals back from nut, but they do not drop free.  The ground under the trees are littered with these large acorns and the strange yellow-brown leaves.

The leaves remind me of an insect or strange alien monster.  I think it is the combination of  the leaf shape and the way the curled and contorted leaves scuttled along the patio.

Owl hill

Last summer I did these sketches at my In-laws house.  They have a wonderful wooded lawn and gardens.  There are long sweeping beds of irises and day lilies.  

There is also some whimsy in their garden.   Vegetables sometimes appear where they are least expected.  The zuchini were a tasty treat, and didn't bother either the roses or cardinals.  

Fall colors of yellow, gold and red are filling the yard.  The red leaves of the Virginia Creeper were gone within the week, while the yellow leaves of the grape still cling to the fence.  The chill wind of fall has blown the leaves off of  many bushes and trees, leaving them scattered about the lawn.  

The tall yellow swamp sunflowers are some of the last flowers of the fall.  The bright golden yellow is a contrast to the copper sculptures they share the flower bed with in the back yard.

Helianthus angustifolius, is also known as the narrow-leaved sunflower, narrow-leaf sunflower or swamp sunflower.  It is one of the fall blooming perennial flowers in my garden.  The multi-branch stems have many long thin rough and sandpapery leaves.  Over the years, individual plants have become small clumps in the flower beds.  

Their tall stalks lean toward the sun, contesting ownership of the walkway in the front yard.  They wave in the wind attracting bees and butterflies, and slowly shed their petals.

Swamp sunflowers spend the summer growing tall, taller than any other perennial in my flower beds.  When they are ready to bloom in fall most are 6 feet tall.  They are this tall even though I cut them back in Summer before the buds form.

Oaks and Maples

When I was a child we would collect fall leaves and press them between wax paper to preserve the colors.   We collected mostly Oak and Maple leaves because those were the trees that were planted along the road side and easy to pickup from the sidewalk while walking home from school.

At the Folk School we collected several types of Oak and Maple leaves: White Oak, Scarlet Oak, Sawtoothed Oak, Post Oak, Chestnut Oak, Red Maple, Silver Maple, and Striped Maple leaves.  We found several leaves that were still green or just beginning the transition.  The color change can be triggered by length of daylight or a temperature change.  We had a cold snap the night we arrived, and each day after that more an more leaves started turning colors.

White Oaks leaves turn pale yellow, and the large acorns drop from the trees leaving behind their caps.  The leaves have seven to ten rounded lobes with shallow to deep sinuses between.  Before turning, they are green to blue-green above and whitish below.  The oblong acorns have a warty cap that only covers 1/4 of the acorn.

Sawtoothed Oaks have a three to seven inch long leaf that is lanceolate shaped, with a bristle-tipped tooth at the end of each vein.  They were all still a dark shiny green.  The acorns are oval and the very scaly cap covers 1/2 the bicolored acorn.

Scarlet Oak's leaves turn from green to yellow-orange to a beautiful dark red.  The five lobed leaves have deep sinuses and bristle tips.  Before turning, they are green above and paler green below.  The tip of the acorns may have concentric rings.  The shiny scaled cap covers 1/2 of the acorn.

Post Oaks leaves turn a rustic orange brown.  The leaves are six to ten inces long with five rounded lobes.  The middle loves are distinctly square.  Before turning, the thick green leaves are paler and pubescent below.  The oval acorns have bowl-shaped scaly caps that cover 1/3 to 1/2 of the acorn.

Chestnut Oak leaves resemble a four to six inch long Chestnut tree leaf.  They are shiny green above and paler below.  The acorns are oval and as they mature separate from the thin warty cap.

Red Maple leaves turn a brillent red.  The leaves on the end of the branches turn first, and the color change spreds down the branch like a slow moving fire.  The leaves are palmate and have three to five lobes with serrated margins.  The trees are not named for their fall leaf color, but for the red color of the twigs, petioles and clusters of long samaras (another word of the day).

Silver Maples are more of a soft yellow-orange in color.  The leaves are palmate with coarse serrate margins.  There are five deeply sinused lobes.   The underside of the leaf is pale silvery white.  The long petioles allow even a light breeze to flash the leaves silver undersides.   

Striped Maples leaves turn a pale yellow.  The leaves have three lobes with serrated margins and long drip tips that cause the leaf to resemble a goose foot.

A tale of Apples and Crabapples

Our class spent an afternoon in a lovely apple orchard.  It was on the top of a small hill with beautiful views of the garden, fields and mountains that surround the Folk School.  We spread out among the trees, each picking a tree to sketch and a shady spot to work.  As we sketched we were serenaded by the penny whistle class, who were practicing in the nearby building.

The previous day I had sketched a branch with a few leaves and one small apple.  Today we would tackle a whole tree full of apples!

Orchard

I picked a small tree that was isolated from its neighbors making it easier to determine shape, and eliminating the confusion of branches and shadows of other trees.  Sunlight reached through the tree's branches nicely lighting up one side of the trunk.  The sunlight also cast shadows on the ground below the tree and on some of the interior leaves helping to define the shape of the tree.

It wasn't until I was close to finishing the sketch and walked over to take a closer look at the apples that I realized this was a crab apple tree!  Oh well.

Crabapple

Apples

A branch

Leaves are attached by their 'petiole' (word of the day during class) to the twigs, which are attached to branches, which are attached to the tree's trunk.  We were moving on to bigger things; multiple leaves, fruits and branches!

For this exercise I picked a branch that had a few leaves and a small apple.  The leaves were a bit dry and their color a bit faded, but the apple was spotted with reds, yellows and greens.  Making it wonderful subject to paint.

A leaf

The workshop had two parts.  One was to learn how to identify trees, which requires some basic knowledge of dendrology.  The other was to learn how to draw and paint trees and their parts (leaves, fruit, branches, bark, etc).  At the intersection of these two are the journals we would be starting.  I say starting, because we only had a week and it will take a lot longer then that to fill the journals.

We started by looking at leaves.  The part of a tree that collects sunlight and converts it to energy for the tree.  A part that we see a lot of.  A part that can be used to help identify the tree species.  We learned about the pattern of leaf arrangement, their shapes, margins and venation.  We also learned how to use leaf characteristics to identify trees.

Even though it was October, the daytime temperatures were still more like summer most days.  We did have two cold nights (31 and 34 degrees) that prompted the leaves to start turning color.  Some of the first leaves to turn were the Sassafras, and so one of these colorful leaves became my first journal entry.

I spent a week at the John C. Campbell Folk School attending a workshop on identifying and sketching trees in an illustrated journal, lead by Marilynn Brandenburger and Carol Parks.  It was a wonderful fall week and the workshop was amazing.  Carol led us on some great walks looking and learning about the trees, and Marilynn's demos really helped us make better journal pages.  I haven't had a chance to scan my journal entries in yet, but Marilynn has updated her blog with some beautiful examples.

While I was off identifying trees and sketching and painting them in my journal, my husband Steve was busy attending a glass bead making class lead by Bob Rubanowice.  This was Steve's second glass class, earlier this year he attended a glass fusing class lead by Beverly Fuller.  He made some really beautiful beads!

Plein Air Workshop at Smith-Gilbert Garden

I recently attended a Plein Air workshop Pat Fiorello was teaching at Smith-Gilbert Garden.  The gardens cover 16 acres and include several separate plantings that are linked by woodland paths.  Placed around the garden are 30 contemporary sculptures.  At the center of the garden surrounded by the perennial beds is the historic Hiram Butler House which dates back to 1880.  The gardens were lovely and offered a wide variety of possible subjects to paint.

Pat began the workshop with a demonstration.  As she worked on her painting she walked us through the steps of selecting a subject, deciding what to include and what to leave out (both are important), working with changing light and shadows, using color and light to develop depth and interest.  She also discussed techniques and pigment combinations for different effects.  I enjoyed watching her paint as much as listening to her discussion of painting.  When she had the majority of the painting done she sent us out to find a spot and begin our own paintings.  The finished painting and other photos from the workshop can be seen on Pat's blog.

After a quick turn around the garden I decided to setup in among the roses.  I picked a spot where I could look through the roses at a distant piece of sculpture, which turned out to be an untitled metal piece by Edward Chrisman.  Pat came by after I had finished my initial sketch and gave me some great pointers on painting roses.  I spent the rest of the afternoon among the roses painting.  Even thought it was overcast, it turned out to be a wonderful day to be at the garden.

I had taken my newly built pochade box (described in a previous blog post), camera tripod and new light weight chair with me.  I was happy to find it was easy to setup and comfortable to paint either sitting or standing.  I found an old computer bag to carry the pochade box in which has additional pockets and space for extra pads of paper and a roll of paper towels.   The Camp Time Roll-a-Chair has a shoulder strap and the tripod has a handle.  So it was easy to carry all the items out to the garden.

Pat captured this photo of me while I was painting.  I had all the comforts of painting at home, with the added benefit of being in the middle of a wonderful rose garden.  What a great day!

Getting ready for a Plein air painting workshop

While I am really pleased with my watercolor journaling kit, and my home painting alcove, I still needed a plein air watercolor kit.  Something besides my giant burlap bag!  The problem is that I am not really sure what to get.  There are a wide variety of wooden boxes (including the pochade) with and without legs, as well as a wide variety of chairs and stools.

So I started with what I believe I want in a Plein air kit:

1. be light weight (maybe less then 5 lbs)
2. be portable (fold up - fit in a bag with carrying straps)
3. be expandable (who knows what I will want)
4. be able to support a 10 x 12 pad or canvas
5. be able to transport and support an essential set of watercolor items:
• travel pallet
• 10 to 12 tubes of paint
• 3 to 6 brushes
• water cup
• pencil, eraser, ruler
• other miscellaneous items:  razor blade, sponge, paper towels 

I was leaning toward a Guerrilla 6 x 8 Thumb Box, but I will have to wait for the new model to be available!  Maybe the 9" x 12' isn't too big?  But wait, I have a camera tripod, and a wooden box that is just being used to store my acrylic paint tubes.  With a lot of inspiration from what others have done and posted to the net, and help from my husband I now have my very own unique prochade box.  Below are some photos of the modifications we made.

Since my box is 9" x 12", I was able to purchase 9 x 12 palette extensions that are made to fit this size box.  When closed, they fit nicely into the box above all the other items in the lower half.  They do not interfere with storing my 9" x 12" watercolor block in the top of the box, but they do make the box close snuggly.  I thought about adding something to keep the block in place, but as it turned out the wood screws used to add the hinges and hooks (see below photos) stick out just enough to secure the block in the lid.

I wanted to use the travel pallet, which I also use at home.  It was a bit larger then the divided space in the box, so we shaved down the dividers to allow it to easily fit.  I added velcro squares to one of the pallet extensions and the top of the pallet so that it will stay put!  I also added a bamboo roll to store the brushes I carry in the box.

We added two larger brass hinges to the back, since the original ones were small and well worn.  This will provide better support when the box is open and I am painting.

Judsons Art Outfitters sells supplies for building and repairing Plein Air boxes.  Which is where I purchased a Tripod Mounting kits.  We attached the Universal tripod mount and four rubber feet to the bottom of the box.  The feet keep the box flat when it is set on a table.

The box hinge only opens to 90%.  I needed a hinge that would keep the lid open at an obtuse angle.  Unfortunately the sliding angle brackets Judsons sells did not fit this box.  After looking at several descriptions of how other people had made hinges we went to the hardware store and purchased some 3" and 4" mending plates, bolts, split washers and wing nuts.  I also picked up a very small wrench that can be carried in the box that can be used to hold the bolts while I tighten the wing nuts.

We added two D-rings using bolts so that a shoulder strap could be added for carrying the box.  We used lock nuts to secure the bolts.  I'm not sure I will be using the shoulder strap as often as I originally thought, since I have an unused laptop shoulder bag that the box fit into, which would allow me to carry additional items like water bottles, extra pads of paper, roll of paper towels, etc.

We added additional brass hooks to ensure the box stays closed while being carried.  This is not as important now, since the extension pallets keep the lid snuggly closed.

I purchased some small plastic containers to hold small items in, a paper towel holder and a hook.  You can just see the small wrench next to the tubes of paint.  I may sew up a roll for the paint tubes, just to keep the box neat.  I now have a wonderful box ready for Plein Air painting!

One more mountain to hike

Sunday morning we hiked up Scaley Mountain.  There is a parking spot not very far from the top of the mountain so it is a fairly easy 3 mile roundtrip hike.  The trail begins an old road which was flanked by an impressive stand of fall wildflowers (Joe-Pye Weed, Goldenrod, Sunflowers, and Rag Weed).  The trail winds upward through the forest, passing through a rhododendron tunnel.

As we climbed higher we passed through several small exposed rock balds that were surrounded by rhododendrons.  I have to come back to see them in the spring when they are in bloom!  At the top the rock balds are larger and provide an excellent viewing of the surrounding valleys and distant mountains.

Stars on the mountain

After hiking all day and being well fed, we retired to the rocking chairs on the deck of the lodge we were staying in.  As darkness grew we could see town lights off in the distant valleys.  And then the stars began to appear.  Just a few at a time.  Eventually there were enough stars for us to locate the Constellations Cygnus and Cassiopeia.  After quite a bit of looking we found the North Star and the handle of the Big dipper just above the lodge roof (the dipper was hidden by the roof).  It was hard to pick out the Little dipper due to all the stars in the sky.  And as it continued to get darker more and more stars became visible.  Here is an interesting bit of astrological trivia; while Cygnus and Cassiopeia are Constellations, the big and little dippers are asterisms.  

Someone asked about the 'Summer triangle' (another asterism) but no one knew where it was in the sky.  I now know how to locate the Summer triangle.   The triangle is made by three stars from three different constellations:  Deneb is the brightest star in the Constellation Cygnus.  Vega is part of the small Constellation Lyra.  Altair is part of the Constellation Aquila.  

Hiking and viewing mountains

Saturday morning began with banana pancakes!  We followed that up with a hike up Satulah Mountain.  This is a short moderately difficult hike.  The trail follows an old rocky road for about a half mile distance up about 400 ft, to the top of the mountain.  There is the remains of a shelter on one side of the mountain at 4,543 ft (Highlands Cashiers Land Trust has an old photo of the shelter on their page).  From here you have a 270 degree view of mountains in three states (North Carolins, and Georgia) to the south, east and west.  You can see the Piedmont, Blue Valley and Rabun Bald.  

On the way back to Mountain Retreat for lunch, we stopped at the Highlands Nature Center and took a quick walk around the Botanical garden.  The garden is 11 acres, and includes over 500 species of trees and other plants.  There are also example gardens using native plant for landscaping around buildings.  These border gardens included Black-eyed susan, Joe-pye-weed, and lobelia.

The garden trails wind through woods with large Rhododendrons and azaleas (neither were in bloom at the time).  Then around a four acre lake.  The pond's water lilies were putting on a show, and the fall flowers along the banks were attracting many insects including swallowtail butterflies. We took a short hike up a hillside trail through an old growth hemlock-hardwood forest.    

The afternoon hike up Whiteside Mountain followed an old logging road for about a mile.  The road provided a moderate ascent of 500 ft to the top at 4,930 feet, the first of several overlooks.  The trail continues around about one half of the ridge top, providing numerous vistas.  The trail then rapidly descends back down.  This is a short, steep and often difficult half mile back to the logging trail.  The hike was worth the views at the top, but requires more time then the distance would suggest.  To the north Shortoff and Yellow Mountains,  Chimneytop Mountain to the east.  The foothills and Piedmont to the south.  Nantahala Mountains on the western horizon.  

Escape from the heat!

It has been unbearably hot this summer which kept me from my porch, and indoors for most of the month of August.  I was delighted to escape to Highlands NC, at the Mountain Retreat and Learning Center for a lovely three day weekend.  This was another trip sponsored by the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Natural History.  The current President of the Friends is a Past Director of the Highlands Biological Station and was the organizer of this trip.  He had also promised to lead us on some great hikes up Whiteside and Scaley Mountains to view the flora and fauna.


The Mountain Retreat includes the majority of Little Scaley Mountain.  The facilities are on top of the mountain, where there are great views from the decks of buildings and the tower.  The sunset photo above, was taken from the tower (photo at right was taken earlier in the day).  While the view from the top of the tower was beautiful, the wind was howling!

The mountain top is a rock bald with a forest of ancient wind-sheared white oak (krummhloz), that are 400 to 500 years old.  The view from the deck of the Lodge where we were staying was wonderful!

My watercolor travel kit

I looked at a lot of bags, camera cases and small packs in my quest for the right watercolor travel kit.  I was actually running out of time, when I found a Mountainsmith lumbar series packs that was perfect.

I wanted a pack that was small enough to carry with me at all times, but big enough to carry all the essentials:

1. Koi Pocket Field Sketch Box  
2. 5" x 8" journal (or two)
3. mechanical pencil(s)
4. ink pen(s)
5. kneaded eraser
6. 2 oz spray bottle
7. 2 oz dropper bottle
8. kleenex packet (or two)

I also was interested in something that was tough, light and waterproof (or at least water resistant). What I found was something that that would easily hold the above, and also carry:

9. a water bottle for me - journaling is thirsty work!
10. my field hat
11. other personal items like a phone, keys, cash, plastic cards
12. and I could secure my raincoat to it as well

I use the Fleece lined eyewear pocket for glasses, phone, etc. This pocket has a waterproof zipper and cord port - so cool! The zippered main compartment has a zipper cover that does an excellent job of keep out the rain and easily holds my watercolor kit, journals, kleenex AND other items. There is one hanging interior mesh zippered pocket that I use for pens, pencils, erasers, 6" plastic ruler and wax resist crayon (I just know some day I will use it).  I use one of the two side water bottle pockets for a water bottle and the other to hold the both 2 oz water bottles and/or my hat.

The elastic rigging on the front of the pack is useful for holding my hat or raincoat, or even a larger journal.  The adjustable waistbelt makes it really easy to get into and out of, and it was very comfortable to wear all day every day of the trip.  While hiking I position the pack to my back, but when sketching I move it to the side, or even the front for easy access of items.

The beach!

You can't go to an island and not visit the beach.  On this trip we visited two different beaches.  We went to Sancho Panza Beach at the north end of Little St. Simon's Island to do some bird watching.  We spent a wonderful afternoon at the Main Beach, which is about mid island and not very far from the Landing.

The trail to the Main Beach led through several small dunes.  The meadows between the dunes were filled with numerous pink flowers.  The Sea Pink, Marsh Pink or Rose of Plymoth (Sabatia stellaris) have five bright pink petals.  The petals are separated from the bright yellow center by a distinct carmine colored line.  Sea-Pinks range along the Atlantic shore from Maine to Florida.

Besides bird watching,  swimming and beach combing, we also seined!