Renewal?

Renewal        4"x5"                    ©Eva Macie

I had cataract surgery on my right eye Thursday and although it’s too soon to really judge, I’m not pleased with the results I have now. The doctor warned me that being an artist I may find the color change a bit unsettling at first. It seems as I aged the eye lens yellowed and became more opaque. When my old lens was replaced with a new clear lens, the cool brightness was unnerving! Not only that, for awhile everything was blurred! I was expecting fantastic vision as soon as the protective shield was removed. Needless to say I was shocked and upset when it wasn't. I’m feeling a little better about it today as the dilatation is returning to normal and my vision is improving. I’m praying that it will continue to improve.  I created a digital image from my Citra-Solv papers, which probably was not the best choice, but I’m still hooked on the stuff. I wanted to show the difference in the temperature change in my eyes. The top is my interpretation of the right eye vision with the new clear lens and the bottom represents my left eye vision.  Depending on the how much my vision continues to improve, I am scheduled to have the left eye done April 22. If it doesn’t, I may opt out for now.

Citra-Solv Tea Ceremony

Tea Ceremony          6.5" x 6.5"                         © Eva Macie

The ongoing disaster in a country that is near and dear to my heart, Japan, and the wonderful Japanese people have been on my mind. Looking through my Citra-Solv papers I discovered what I perceived to be a figure of a Geisha. With few added brush marks I was able to bring the ghostly image forward.
 

Please Help The Victims Of The Quake

                                                     ©  msnbc.com

I captured this haunting image of these precious children from the NBC nightly News. I hope it will inspire you to donate at least $10. to your favorite organization that is helping these people. You can find them at this link HELP.  On behalf of these wonderful people I thank you!

Citra-Solv Collage

                                                   'Wanderer'                                              ©Eva Macie
The comforting sound of pots and pans rattling in the kitchen makes me proud of some of my accomplishments in life. This one is my son, John Allan, who is living with me now. He is a trained chef and is busy making vegetarian lasagna from scratch. I mean pasta and all! The sink is full of freshly wash vegetables that he bought at the farmers market and the counter is heaped with all sorts of goodies and a pasta machine.

The reason for all of this wonderful prep is that my grandson is coming for a visit. Branden has been interning at a Buddhist meditation retreat. We thought he would bring a friend along, but there has been a change of plans. After a few days in Atlanta, Branden will be on his way to work at an organic farm in Tennessee. He really has become a wanderer. I hope he finds the fulfillment that he is looking for. I created the above digital college from one of my Citra-Solv pages and I thought it was a fitting illustration for the current situation.

Steampunk Digital Collage

"Better to see you with, My Dear"                                © Eva Macie

Because of my upcoming cataract surgery I have had eyes on my mind. The digital collage above that I created obviously reflects this. As I blogged earlier I took an online digital collage class to brush up on my skills. It was a Photoshop Elements class and since I use Photoshop CS5 there were some things I wanted to know about this program. Although it was strictly a PDF class and the focus was exclusively on extraction, I learned a lot and enjoyed it.

I decided to use ‘steampunk’ as my subject matter. It is very popular now and I love the idea of recycled parts and vintage elements to create something new. I used a model from a magazine so I guess this is the only place I dare show this. As for the goggles I was given permission to use them by their creator, a super craftsman and artist, Nicolas Chambon. You can see these and his other fantastic goggles and creations at his website atomefabrik.com. Be prepared for a treat if you like steampunk.