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Month: January 2012

Signs of Spring

Posted in Reference Photos

Every few years we get a break and have a winter without a lot of snow.  We had one big blast of snow this past October and a little bit last weekend. I'm hoping it stays mild the rest of the season.  In the meantime, we're enjoying the early signs of spring showing up around us.

Skunk cabbage SibStudio dot com

During a walk today, we found some new skunk cabbage sprouts. The water was so clear  you can see the roots and leaves as well as the reflections of the sky and trees above.  The water has an abstract look to it.

Ferns  SibStudio dot com

And tucked in a sheltered, sunny corner we found some ferns already unfurled, peaking up from the leaves.  The ferns in our yard are still not visible. More photos to come this week as well as a new painting. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

New Painting: Peas

Posted in Art Work

This is my newest painting completed this week

Original painting of Peas by Kathy Sibley

It is one of a series of paintings of fruits and vegetables that I am working on. In our garden, we create a teepee of  poles, tied at the top for the peas to climb up. I love watching the vines of the pea plants reaching and pulling the plants up and up the poles.  I think peas are the best when they are picked  from the garden and cooked right away.  This painting celebrates freshly picked peas.

This painting and the first two of the series  [ radishes and garlic] would look great in the kitchen or dining room. You can find them in my Etsy shop.

SOPA/PIPA Unintended Consequences

Posted in Uncategorized

The road to hell is paved with good intentions…….  Our Congress – both parties – in an attempt to fix copyright  issues, have come up with two pieces of extremely  poorly written legislature – SOPA and PIPA.  The legislature is worded so broadly it will shut down online businesses, bloggers, news sites, Pinterest, Etsy…..   Not the intention of the law, but that is how badly it is written.

 If someone in the comment section of a blog posts a piece of copyright material –  the entire blog can be shut down. An innocent comment by an uninformed reader has the potential to shut down the entire blog. The potential for misuse to shut down any blog  for malicious purpose is enormous.  This same thing also affects Facebook, LinkIn, Tumblr, Twitter ……

For online businesses like Etsy  – "… under SOPA, anyone who is a "holder of an intellectual property right harmed by the activities" of even one shop on Etsy, could hypothetically serve our technology partners (e.g. payment processors, hosting services) with a notice that would require them to suspend Etsy's service within 5 days. That means that a trademark violation in one shop could affect everyone’s business." – Etsy

Nothing like a common enemy to bring folks together – Google, Reddit, M C Hammer, Wiki, Pinterest, Etsy, Facebook ,Ebay,  etc, etc , etc.  They are working on getting the attention of Congress to stop these bills. Google had a blackout banner, Wiki is blacked out completely.  Pinterest offers a link to petition and banners for your twitter account, Etsy has a good explanation here and are working with others to take action. That's just a small part of the web businesses taking action.  The above sites have action you can take to help stop these  bills from being passed.

SOPA has been temporarily put on hold until February.  PIPA:  " In recent days, [Senate Majority Leader] Reid has said he will go forward with next week’s vote." .  Congress need  to throw out these two bad bills and start over – this time working with people who understand the business of the internet.

1/20/12 Update:   “In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT I.P. Act, ”  – Senate Majority leader Reid.  –  This is a first step in the right direction. –

Snowflakes

Posted in Other Artist Work

I've enjoyed our snow free – so far – winter. I don't like shoveling and being on the road with drivers who drive too fast  in snow.  So when I saw this fantastic photo of snowflakes, it reminded me of  the part of snow I do like – it's so beautiful! 

Snowflakes

Photo was taken by Julian Colton via Flicker.

These snowflakes are just gorgeous!  I love the close up look at all of the tiny details of each snowflake.  And it does look like each one is different!