ALASKA Day Two Fairbanks

I awoke at 2:30 AM and peeked out between the room darkening drapes.  The sky was pink.  In Fairbanks the sky never really got dark.  Being just south of the Arctic Circle the sun did dip below the horizon for an hour or two but it never got darker than dusk..  I grabbed my camera and took the picture, Fairbanks Dawn, and went back to bed. 

            The dining room opened for breakfast brunch at 6:00 and we were up to taste the caribou sausage and have scrambled eggs, bacon, strawberry yogurt crepes and many other delicious and filling things. 

            The bus left for the gold mine tour at 8:00.  On the way to the gold mine we stopped to see the Alaska Oil Pipeline.  It was quite an engineering project.  They seem to have thought of everything.  The oil is very hot when it is pumped from deep in the earth and the pipeline is built over permafrost.  In the photos you can see the heat dispersing flanges atop each leg of the support system that keeps the pipe above the ground.  Another consideration was the frequent earth quakes in the area.  The structure is designed so the pipe rides on crossbeams and can bounce up and down as well as shift side to side if it needs to.  Another interesting fact,  the caribou herds in the area are thriving,  they love to huddle near the pipeline to enjoy what warmth is gives off in the cold Alaska winter.

            We stood in the pouring rain to watch how the gold ore is pre-washed in running water and  caught in a washboard like ditch to eliminate much of the gravel before panning for the actual flakes.  We were each then given a pan with some gravel in it and taught how to wash the rest of the gravel away to reveal a few flakes of gold.  Together we both found about $20 worth of the yellow metal.  The gift shop weighed everyone’s findings and put them in a plastic container for us.  We then shopped for souvenirs until the bus left.

            The next adventure was an afternoon  riverboat ride on a stern wheeler.  The spruce trees in the area are strange looking because they struggle to grow in the permafrost.  They are tall and skinny and the branches are not neatly graduated from top to bottom like we are used to seeing.  They had lots of “character”.  We floated past log cabins and the home of  Iditerod champion, Susan Butcher, and saw her dogs.  After training runs around the property they all jump in the river to cool off during the summer.  The boat also went to a replica of a native village where we saw examples of furs, native clothing, salmon being smoked and there was a huge stuffed moose. 

            Our third event of the day was an evening salmon bake and a comedy show about life in Alaska.  The best skit was a take off on the “whose on first” done as a sled dog race.  It was still daylight when we arrived back at our hotel. And, though it was still daylight,  we were tired and ready to sleep and we had to have our bags out in the hall at 7:00 the next morning.

To see all the photos for day 2 please visit my photostream on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36275350@N06/

Coming soon,  Alaska Day 3 Denali

ALASKA Day One Flying from Grand Rapids MI to Fairbanks Alaska

            We lifted off from the Grand Rapids airport early in the afternoon on a beautiful day.  The sky was blue with just a few little white clouds along the horizon.  Soon we were soaring over the coastline of West Michigan.  I took a beautiful photo of the Lake Michigan shoreline.  The horizon is diagonal as I wanted to get the full length of the curving shoreline that was visible from the airplane window.  If you look closely at the shore you can even see several rows of sandbars all along the edge in the water. 

            After an hour or so in the air we landed in Minneapolis before flying on to Alaska.  I found the repetitious shapes of roofline and plane windows interesting and took a photo of the sight while we were waiting for the plane to take off again.

            As we flew north and west I snapped a lot of pictures out the window.  The buttermilk sky below us was beautiful.  It was almost as if there was an upside down view of the ocean and sky but the dark blue was really the clear sky we were flying in and the clouds were below us.

            As we got further north and near Alaska  the clouds became very small and far between.  I could see lakes below.  Some of them were smooth and reflected the clouds and sun like mirrors.  Others were rippled with wind currents that made them shimmer and glitter in the sunlight.  I could see little clouds above the lakes and the shadows they cast on the  water below.              Occasionally we flew over more dense banks of white clouds all beautiful expanding puffs of moisture in the blue sky.  Since I love the color blue I could hardly stop taking pictures it was all so beautiful.  Once I had just put my camera away when Don said “Oh!  Look”  and pointed to a small jet below us.  I quick grabbed the camera and turned it on again in time to snap the shot of jet and jet trail zooming out of a big bank of clouds.

            As we got closer to our destination, mountains began to appear below us.  Blue and blue green and mossy green, they were jagged and still covered with snow in places.  One mountain had what looked like a glacier flowing in stripes of white and blue green.  At other times there were small lakes and crazy looking rivers that glinted in the sun.  A spot of sunlight seemed to be following us on the ground and reflecting in the water like a silver mirror.  It moved along as we moved over the ground.  The sparkles progressed over the landscape as we continued towards Fairbanks.

            Once we landed in Fairbanks it was a short bus ride to our hotel which was owned by Princess Cruise Lines.  It was located on a river and had a lovely deck overlooking the water.  We ate burgers in the little restaurant in the hotel and then relaxed on the deck for a while before turning in for the night.  It was still daylight as we were near the longest day of the year and this was Alaska. It was still early in the evening Alaska time too,  but at home it was probably after midnight as Alaska is one time zone further out than California and we  had been up a long time.

To see all the pictures that illustrate this blog please go to my photostream at Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36275350@N06/   or search for alicehuntstudio once you are on Flickr 

If you haven’t been to Flickr before, it is a huge photo sharing website with beautiful pictures from all over the world.  It is free and you might have to “sign up”  to get into the  photos but it is easy to do and well worth it if you like photography.

Soon I will have Day Two photos edited and the journal entry edited for a blog so check back soon for the next installment.

ALASKA

It has been a while since I wrote.  Early June I was focused on weeding thinning mulching and pre/deadheading the gardens before leaving for two weeks in Alaska.  The house also needed to be left spic and span for the big annual party/picnic/family reunion that was to occur the day after we returned..........

June 19th we flew to Alaska for two weeks.   Two weeks with no internet!  It was a real vacation.
A photographers dream come true......... and something Don and I have always wanted to do.

Now I am back and getting all the photos out of the cameras.  As soon as I have some of them edited I will start putting them up on Flickr and Facebook and writing more blogs to share all the fun.

New Bead Necklaces by Alice Hunt

I have recently finished creating several new necklaces using my handmade beads and beads of natural polished stone and pearls.  This one has seven of my aqua blue and gold handmade porcelain beads and four of my large handmade porcelain beads with solid gold luster.  Setting them off are freshwater pearls and polished fluorite beads that are aqua with just a hint of lavender.  Dangle earrings are made with surgical steel hooks and the clasp and extender on the necklace is fashioned from gold filled wire.  I designed it so the necklace can be adjusted for length by hooking into the links of the "chain" at different points to create the look of a "choker"  or a longer length necklace.

See the other new porcelain bead and stone necklaces in the NECKLACES section of my website:

http://alicehuntstudio.com

Lunch and Pastels and Pottery by Trish Joseph

Last week I had lunch with friends.  We enjoyed a long lunch and visiting and then we went to see Trish Joseph's showing of Pastels and Pottery at the Little Yellow Frame Shop in Richland Michigan.  I took lots of photos and they are now up on Trish's page in the Gallery of Friends section of my website: alicehuntstudio.com  

Her pastels are vibrant florals except for one which is of a bowl of fruit.  I love the bright colors and the almost Van Gogh movement of lines.  Her pots are beautiful and represent her wide range of talents.

Trish has been experimenting with glazes and styles for many years and has perfected many distictive looks.   Some are salt glazed, some are wood fired,  others are fired in standard gas or electric kilns.  Her handles are especially interesting and distinctive as well as her sculptural and carved designs.

Please check out the many photos of her work on my website under "Gallery of Friends"

Please leave a comment,  I’d love to hear from you.

See Jewelry and Buttons designed and made by Alice Hunt at these sites:

http://alicehuntstudio.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AliceHuntStudio

Work by Trish Joseph Featured at The Little Yellow Frame Shop in Richland Michigan

Celebrate Spring with an art show of new colorful floral pastels.

Opening night of the exhibit is Saturday, April 24, 6-9 pm.  Trish Joseph will be there  to greet you as you visit the show of at least ten new energetic, bold florals combining pastels and colored pencil.  The gallery will be showing her pottery  as well, and several figure drawings which are also in pastel.

Chocolate and cheese nibbles will be served.  Please come and join Trish on Saturday, April 24, 6-9 pm at The Little Yellow Frame Shop and Gallery (8174 N. 32nd Street, Richland, MI 49083)

If you are unable to attend that evening, the exhibit will be on display until Saturday, July 31.

For a map and more information please visit www.LittleYellowFrameShop.com

or call 269.629.9507

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OIL PAINTING by LURALEE KIESEL Shown at the BBAC EXHIBIT

Luralee Kiesel's new oil painting, Weeping Willow #6 can be seen in the exhibit,  Michigan FINE ARTS Competition currently on display at the BBAC (Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center.

Luralee's paintings are inspired by nature and full of movement.  Imagine being a little bird or small rabbit sitting inside a willow tree, rosebush, or forsythia looking out through the branches.

Additional paintings by Luralee Kiesel may be seen at alicehuntstudio.com on the page GALLERY OF FRIENDS. (See link to Alice Hunt's Website above)


Weeping Willow #6 is a vibrantly colorful impression of willow branches in oil on a 36 by 60 inch canvas.

This exhibit runs from April 2 to May 7, 2010.  1516 S. Cranbrook Rd.  Birmingham, Michigan 48009  248-644-0866                www.BBArtCenter.org

To see the comments or to leave a comment,  click on the word comments below and the comments of others will appear and a new box at the end where you can leave us a note.  Please do say "hi" we love to know you have been here.

Quilting Artist Carol Overton

Work by Quilting Artist Carol Overton of Lawton Michigan, was recently seen in the art galleries of Nazareth on Gull Road in Kalamazoo Michigan.

Carol, a skillful seamstress, upholsterer and quilter now specializes in creating her own artistic designs in fabric.

One of the quilts was a full bed cover size with a center motif of Carol's view from their cabin on a Canadian lake.  This carefully selected group of fabrics depicts a sunrise over the lake reflected in the water, framed by tall spruce trees.  The quilting stitches artfully express the lines of moving water, clouds and the trees.

I recently visited this exhibit and took these pictures to share with you just a few of the lovely art quilts that were on display.


This quilt of a horse in shades of black and white skillfully depicts the flowing mane of the horse with carefully stitched details.


The Optical Pattern in the quilt below pops open to reveal a bright red fabric as if the dragon has just jumped out at the viewer.  Carol says, "In experimenting with op-art quilting designs, this piece looked as though it were about to burst open.  As I was trying to imagine what might come out, I came across a wonderful dragon fabric which gave me my answer."  The dragon fabric is used on the back side of this quilt.  This quilt is machine pieced, appliqued, and quilted.

The New Handmade Bead Pendants and Butterfly Pendants

Handmade porcelain bead pendants will be introduced at the  West Michigan Potters Guild  Springfest 
in Grand Rapids this weekend,  Saturday March 20.  Gold filled wire in fanciful loops and spirals embellish 
my colorful handmade beads and turn them into lovely new pendants for you to put on a satin cord or your 
favorite gold chain.  The extra large loop at the top allows for many sizes of chain to be used.  Bead designs 
range from colorful stripes and dots to contemporary fossil impressions and blues, greens and purples 
dominate the color spectrum.  Color co-ordinated glass and semi precious stone beads complete the little 
works of wearable art.

New handmade butterfly and floral pendants have just been finished and will also be introduced at the show 
March 20th.  My handmade porcelain butterflies and flowers have been combined with brass wire to create 
the loops  and satin cord necklaces I made  have been selected to combine with them.  If you are in the 
South West Michigan area this weekend come and see me in Grand Rapids at the Springfest being held 
Saturday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Church of the Servant 3835 Burton SE.   For more information see  www.westmichiganpottersguild.com

See more Jewelry and Buttons designed and made by Alice Hunt at these sites:

http://alicehuntstudio.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AliceHuntStudio

NEW SATIN CORDS FOR PENDANTS ARE FINISHED !!!

Hurray!  I have just finished making about a hundred new cords for all the new pendants for this year.  I like certain colors of cords and since most of my jewelry has gold highlights I like the cords to have gold clasps.  That is just a color coordinating thing of mine.  The ones that can be ordered ready made all have silver clasps.  Now they are finished and I can get my coffee table back.  I have been spending the evenings working in front of the TV putting the ends on the cords and attaching the clasps.  The ends are a bear to hold and crimp just right with the pliers.  I am always happy to have this job done for a while.

Spring is coming.  The ice on the lake is starting to groan and thunder as it shrinks in the cold at night and warms in the sun in the morning.  Today is the seventh consecutive day of sunshine and we are not used to such luxury in March here in Michigan.  My husband and I went out for a walk this morning and it is beautiful out there.  He  picked up cans along the way  as the melting snow is revealing a lot of them tossed out by careless drivers.  We aren’t the only litter picker-uppers out there.  After climbing down a flight of stairs to the beach below the road and picking up a half dozen cans he put them in a pile across the road to pick up on our return home.  We met a woman we had not seen before walking the other way shortly after that and exchanged hellos.  After reaching the corner by the highway we turned around and came home.  On the way back we couldn’t find the pile of cans, I guess our new friend picked them up.  Our collection bin in the garage is full anyway and my husband said he needs to go to the grocery store today and turn them in…..

Now I am back inside at the computer getting started for the new week.  Today I am going to take photos of the new bead pendants I made with some of the beads from the “Beads in the Gold Fire” blog a few weeks ago.  I have finished them in time for the Potters Guild Spring Fest.  ( See details about that in the EVENTS section of my website )

See Jewelry and Buttons designed and made by Alice Hunt at these sites:

http://alicehuntstudio.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AliceHuntStudio

First International Sale for AliceHuntStudio a shop on Etsy

I just had my first international sale on Etsy !

Someone in Japan has bought Pearly Pink Porcelain Earrings.

An exciting milestone for my Etsy shop!

As I prepare to ship the items to my new customer far away, memories come up from the deep.

Years ago, I had a pen pal in Japan.

Back then, my parents subscribed to a newspaper called The Christian Science Monitor which covered world wide news and had a Home Forum page with a pen pal column.

A person could write in and give a description of themselves and ask for pen pals, or answer one of the letters already published.

It was another world. Almost another Universe it seems. Some other lifetime somewhere.

If someone wrote in that she was a thirteen year old girl in Japan,,, she WAS a thirteen year old girl in Japan.

And there was no reason to doubt it.

I do not want to turn the clock back.

I love all these technological advances.

Someone in Japan can look at my shop on Etsy in the middle of the night and in the morning I have a message on my computer that she wants to buy a pair of earrings.

We used to send special airmail paper letters that took a couple of weeks to arrive.

No, I don’t want to return to those days.

But with all the technological progress, we seem to have accepted an almost equal regression in behavior.

The pen pal column disappeared decades ago. Long before the internet arrived.

Today we collect our “pen pals” online but we must be very careful.

This sale has reminded me of that safer more innocent time.

Will we ever be able to trust like that again?

I must not think about it any longer.

Beads in the Gold Fire

This is the time to work on finishing new inventory for the coming year. I have been busy doing doodles and dots in gold on some beads I am finishing up. Here they are shown in my kiln ready to be fired. The dark brown dots and doodles will turn to pure gold in the heat of the kiln and when it is cooled and I open it up it will be like opening a pirates treasure chest.

Soon after that, I will be able to have lots of fun making them into necklaces and pendants to show you at my first art fair of the year, the Potters Guild show in March.

My new shop on Etsy AliceHuntStudio is filling up with Valentine goodies !

Happy New Year

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http://www.etsy.com/shop/AliceHuntStudio

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It is time to put away the holiday decorations and get out the new 2010 calendar. That sounds so ambitious.

I just feel like hibernating. Curl up with a good book and read until I fall asleep.

After all the presents and projects cooking and entertaining a rest is deserved....

But my mind is already percolating with new projects and how to finish old ones and the things that make the first page of my list will take me through March to complete.....not to mention the rest of the pages.

Isn't it fun to have so many things to do. Never bored.

Changing Seasons

Is Fall my favorite season? Sometime I think so when I capture colors like these. Frosts have turned everything from green to orange and now the orange is fading into a quiet restful gray of November before all the glitz and sparkle of the holidays. Next week is the Potters Guild Fall show in Grand Rapids. See you there?

Seven Swimming Swans

This morning we looked out to see this set of seven swans gliding across the lake.

March 12, 2009

There is such a widespread community out there on the internet.  I am just beginning to explore it.  I have had my website (alicehuntstudio.com) up now for a while but am just discovering Etsy,  this Blog site, and last night as I checked Google for how they were listing my website I found someone had posted a photo of one of my handmade buttons on something called "Flickr"  so off I went to see what that was all about and created a small page for myself in that "community".  The possibilities are endless.

Alice Hunt