still here...

OK... So I have been MIA for a bit but what can I say... my family comes first and sometimes my life is not my own.  The rest of July is packed and August is impossible... I hope to see myself more in my studio in September.  Anyway... We just got back from a camping trip in the UP (upper peninsula).  I am originally from Michigan so it is fun to take the kids back to see the places I remember as a kid.  Being outside, unplugged and in nature really got my creative juices going.  Colors, textures, negative spaces, random groupings.... aaahhhhh.... I can't wait to get back to work.  Here are some pics... hope they inspire you too.

Tahquamenon Falls (lower)

 

hay bales on the farm

old house at the ghost town (Fayette State Park)

 

another old building at the Ghost Town

   

Letterboxing

Today we hatched as new Letterboxers and had our first find. What is Letterboxing you ask... check out the link. It is basically a treasure hunt with the prize being and exchange of rubber stamps. You get a set of clues (I believe there are several ways to obtain clues but we got ours from one of many letterboxing websites) that lead you to a box that contains a rubber stamp and a log book. Once you find a letterbox you stamp the log book within with your personal stamp and you stamp your personal log book with the stamp inside the found letterbox. Then you discretely re-hid it again for the next letterboxer to find. It combines hiking, nature, clues, art (as many of the stamps are handmade vs store bought), map reading and a basic sense of direction. We are very new and I had no idea how popular it is and really surprised to find that there are letterboxes stashed everywhere... really everywhere. Today, as a family we found our first box. Our collective trail name is Collins 5, but I think we will all come up with individual trail names too (Andrew is getting really creative). It was really a lot of fun. Besides all the local letterboxes we plan on making some side trips when we travel back and forth to Michigan and may even plant one of our own...what a nice way to let the kids stretch their legs after being in the car for several hours or to just burn some energy.

Think you want to try Letterboxing too... check out these sites

www.atlasquest.com

www.letterboxing.org