Amish Washday-Mobile Art by Tracey Grumbach

Amish Washday- Mobile Art by Tracey Grumbach

This was taken last Friday on my trip Exton, PA with my son and my husband. We were checking out a trade school for my son there, so I kept my eyes out for interesting scenery along the way. As fate would have it, our trip took us straight through the heart of Lancaster County Amish country. I didn't get any shots on the way there because it was pouring rain, but on the way back the sky decided to show off in the most summery way with huge puffy white clouds. Also as luck would have it, it turned out many Amish do their laundry on Friday and tons of farms had their traditional clothes flapping in the breeze on their laundry lines. I am totally in love with this shot.

Since this is one of my favorite mobile art pieces I've done this summer, I thought I would share a list of some of my favorite things I've come across lately. What are some of your favorite things you've discovered recently?

1.  My daughter is heading off to college in August so she has been busy scouring ways to decorate her apartment. She happened to come across this site, Society6, and shared it with me and now I find myself drooling over some of the designs on this website. Check it out. I can't vouch for the quality of their products because although she did order a wall tapestry, we haven't gotten it yet! I will let you know how it turns out.

2.  So, we've started composting here on These Nine Acres. Two reasons this is a good idea for us...first, it will eventually be great for our future gardens (we have plans to build more next spring) and it reduces our environmental footprint. In order to collect scraps from the kitchen, I bought this Natural Home Stainless Steel Compost Bin for my kitchen counter. Not only is it beautiful, but it is also convenient to throw compostable items in it on a daily basis. It comes with a filter to keep bad odors from escaping, which I love because who wants to have stink in their house? I fill it up with plant based scraps and egg shells (sometimes coffee grounds too but not too many) during the day and then Brian empties it into our larger outdoor compost bin where he mixes in hay, yard scraps, etc. Great for us and great for the environment!

3.  Vitality Extracts Bracelets- I splurged on a couple of these essential oil diffuser bracelets a while back when this company was relocating warehouses and had a massive sale to liquidate much of their stock, so I got them dirt cheap. Can I just say I don't go a day without wearing at lease one of these? Many times I actually wear them stacked. I dab a bit of lavender oil on the lava stones and I smell lovely all day. I not only love how they work but I love how they look too. I can't vouch for their oils as I have never purchased them, but I can totally recommend their bracelets.

4.  I have a confession. I have a thing for paper. Truly, it is an obsession. I love writing old fashioned letters on cool papers. I love using paper in art. I love hanging up beautiful papers for decorations. The list of possibilities just goes on. I totally should be a collage artist because I actually lust over paper, but alas, I am stuck in the digital world for now. But, I can indulge my love for paper through Flow Magazine. I have a disclaimer here, people...they are NOT cheap since it is an imported magazine from the Netherlands, but oh my goodness do I love it. I sometimes splurge at Barnes and Noble and buy their magazine or books for paper lovers. This is the most recent one I purchased and I just sit with my coffee in the morning and devour all the deliciousness of the papers. I know...it's weird, I admit. I'm already daydreaming of all the letters I will write to my kiddos when they head off to college/trade school.

5.  My obsession with PBS Masterpiece shows still rages on with my latest love, My Mother and Other Strangers. I can't wait for Sunday nights for this delight to air! One has to feed an obsession while one waits for Poldark, Call the Midwife, and Victoria to return, doesn't one? Alas, Downtown Abbey is sadly dead and gone for quite some time now and I've devoured the entire series Larkrise to Candleford on borrowed library DVDs. I'm part of the way through Home Fires on DVD too. Seriously, my 1/3 British heritage must all be expressed in the entertainment genes because I just can't get enough.

Pop on over to Facebook or leave a comment here and tell me something you love that you've discovered lately.

Have a fantastic Tuesday!

xo

Amish Saturday Outing- Digital Art by Tracey Grumbach

Many Amish take the opportunity to take their buggies out for a ride on Saturdays, especially the young people who are courting. If you take a drive through Lancaster County, PA on a Saturday afternoon, you will have plenty of encounters with buggies out and about. Some of the carriages are enclosed, like this one, while others are open. On cold winter days you will find the occupants of the open carriages bundled in blankets with heavy coats and hats to protect them from the cold.

When I am photographing in Lancaster County I always try to respect the Amish and not shoot their faces. Many don't like being photographed (some don't mind) but if I don't have permission directly from them, I respect their choice of not having their likeness recorded on "film."  I prefer to focus on the farms, carriages, landscape, laundry hanging on the lines, quilts, etc. instead of portraits.  If I do take pictures of them, I like to do so from behind so that their faces are hidden. Nothing against anyone who does take pictures of the Amish, I just prefer not to...a personal choice.

Here is a little before and after...I like to go back through all my pictures from years before and find ones that are horrible. I can then use them as a basis to turn into beautiful digital art pieces by painting, texturing, and adding layers on iOS apps and on the computer in Photoshop. Here is a rare before/after of this piece.

I hope everyone had a joy filled, peaceful Christmas celebration yesterday. I had a wonderful Christmas spending time with family. I think we must have played the dominos game Chicken Feet a million times and we played some card games, ate some delicious food, exchanged gifts, and just hung out. It was a wonderful few days.

My mom is still here, but plans to return home tomorrow morning. If you could please keep her in your prayers for safe passage, I would very much appreciate it.

Have a wonderful day today. I plan on slowing beginning to put away gifts and organizing the house. I can't stand when it is in disarray. We will be back in homeschool tomorrow, starting the long winter stretch, counting the days until spring break.

xo

The Steeple

The Steeple

At some point I have to be honest with myself and realize just how far behind in blogging I am.  I've been waiting to share my digital creations with you all until I feel like I have something of worth to say, but look where that has gotten me.  Terribly behind. 

Truthfully, I prefer creating now days rather than talking or writing. I still enjoy writing, but don't like the pressure of having to write just to share my newest creations. So, I've decide to yet again allow the blog to go through a sort of transition and give myself permission to share my art without having to write. Between homeschooling, my health, and summer time activities (such as yard and garden maintenance, day trips, pool outings, and vacation, there just isn't going to be a lot of time or energy left to force myself to write.)

So, without further explanation, please sit back and enjoy these digital pieces...one a day until I can catch up.  Have a beautiful Thursday.

(This image was created this past winter while on a ride through Pennsylvania. Snow was still on the ground and I just had to get out and go for a drive one day. I came across this beautiful church in Lancaster County, I believe. I loved the stonework.)

xo

The Cage Without a Key

The fog is like a cage without a key.

Elizabeth Wurtzel

I haven't felt much like writing lately...so I will let the quotes and my creations speak for themselves. 

xo

Freezing Over

It is so pleasant to sit and do nothing-and therefore, so dangerous. 

Death through exhaustion is like death through freezing-a pleasant one.

Reinhold Messner

While driving through Lancaster county after our historic blizzard a few weeks back, I came across this silo in a farmer's field, spilling over a waterfall of frozen water. I've actually seen this same silo before, this scene duplicated about 2-3 years ago when I was driving along the same stretch of road. I've never seen another silo do this, so I don't have a clear explanation for why it spills this way. I'm guessing that without a top, it fills with rain water throughout the year and when winter hits, the water expands as it starts to freeze, pushing upward until spilling and creating this beautiful waterfall. Whatever the explanation, I love this scene. It reminds me of a lighthouse, the way it is up on the hill with long grasses blowing in the winter breeze...

Digitally painted and texturized, this has turned out to be one of my favorite pieces this winter. I hope you like it too.  

Happy Friday...have a great weekend and I will see you on the other side.

The Amish Horse Team

Yesterday would have been my father's 73rd birthday.  Ever since his death in June, it has been a struggle without him.  We butted heads a lot, my father and I, but his love for me was endless and he was a great father.  I miss him dearly.  Holidays and special days are most difficult.  I found myself very quiet and reflective yesterday, remembering and honoring my father.  If I am not careful, I can let the sadness of it all overwhelm me and I know my father would not have liked that.  He would have used that tough love of his and he would have told me to stop being sad and feeling sorry for myself and get out and do something.  So, I did.

I took a drive in and around Lancaster, PA.  I just couldn't sit home and mope, so despite the -3 degree temperatures, I ventured out.  Along the way, I came across an Amish farm where I found this team of horses waiting patiently to head out into the frozen day to do some work.  I only stopped briefly to grab this picture and then I was on my way again, but something about them grabbed my attention.  I swear they knew I was taking their picture.  All 4 of them seemed like wise souls...the way they watched me somewhat interested in my presence yet somewhat detached and more interested in their owner letting them begin their day.

I'm glad I was able to get out, but the truth is, I am still sad.  I do miss my father every day and time doesn't seem to heal a thing when it is a loss this grand.  I am confident I won't wallow in the sadness of being without him, but I am also confident it won't ever become easy.