Art

This is the latest piece I've finished for the Art Show. May 8 will be here before I know it so I'm trying to focus on not just making art, but getting everything ready for sale.

I love this process. This piece includes pieces with paint, dye, calligrapher's ink and pastels. I've used pages from old books, postcards that were going to be recycled, freezer paper, and vintage papers, as well as traditional art papers. Each kind of paper takes the color differently and they all add to the texture of the finished piece.

I love color. I love texture. I love pattern. No wonder I love this process.

Apollo 13 Astronauts

That's Apollo 13 astronauts, Jim Lovell on the left and Fred Haise on the right. Sue sent this photo she snapped of us during the Apollo 13 celebration this past weekend. It's the only photo I have of myself with any of the VIPs from the weekend, and I'm glad to have it.

Free Will?

Do you know what you'll be doing in two minutes from now? Even if you don't, your brain may. Is that cool? Or is that scary?

Researchers in Berlin have learned that the brain subconsciously makes decisions before we are consciously aware of them.

They hooked people up to equipment that shows brain function - particularly decision making areas - and asked them to perform a simple task of pushing a button held in each hand - their choice of button, whenever they felt like it. The scans show the brain already knew which hand/button they were going to push before the subjects themselves knew.

I find this a fascinating look into the way we function. There have been tests before that showed motor skills activity in the brain showed up a second before the activity, but this is the first time it has been illustrated on decision making.

I'm still thinking about what this means. But I know it's interesting.

Days Off

I had the day off today and didn't get nearly as much done as I had hoped. I guess that's always the way it goes. It seems I work constantly, and never seem to get "done." I'm not sure what "done" is, but I haven't achieved it.

I did spend a couple of hours in the studio, which was nice. Never enough time for that either.

How do I find more hours in the day?

Saying Thank You

"Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone."
G.B. Stern

I'm trying to remind myself to say "thank you." How many times a day do I let an opportunity slip by? So easy but so meaningful. I will do better.

Cosmosphere's 40th Anniversary Celebration for Apollo 13

Saturday was our celebration to honor the Apollo 13 mission. It was 40 years to the day since Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swiggert returned to Earth after an oxygen tank ruptured on their way to the Moon and they had to abort their mission to be the third lunar landing.



The two surviving astronauts, Lovell (left) and Haise, peered inside Odyssesy, the Apollo 13 Command Module housed at the Cosmosphere. It was the first time Haise had seen it since he got out of it in 1970.

Earlier in the day, eight mission controllers from Apollo 13, along with pad leader Guenter Wendt and author Andrew Chaikin, had a panel discussion.



It was one of the highlights of the day as far as I was concerned. One of the really interesting things said was when they were asked if they were wondering if they could get the men home. The answer was, "No, our training didn't allow for that kind of thinking." One of them mentioned that early in his career at NASA he said that he couldn't do something. A co-worker pulled him aside and told him not to say that again, that that kind of attitude was not allowed at NASA.

Saturday kicked off with a rocket launch, where I met this lovely family from Kansas City.



I asked Flight Director, Milt Windler, to pose with them, which he graciously did.

It was an amazing day. I was very busy and didn't get a chance to take many photos. It was incredible just to be in the same room with these gentleman. I felt lucky to be there.

Tired and Sore

Saturday was our big 40th anniversary celebration for Apollo 13. All went well, but I'm sore in places I didn't even know could be sore. I'm hoping to wake up feeling better in the morning. I didn't have a chance to take many photos because I was literally running from one place to another most of the day, but I did get some that I'll share here later.

I woke up at 5:15 this morning. I guess my body thought since I'd been getting up around 5:00 the last few days that that was the new time to wake up. Blissfully it was not necessary today. Thank goodness. It will be awhile before I catch up on sleep.