Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Merry Christmas 09

Now we are Cres and Jo plus five. Click image to enlarge

Our granddaughter, Audra Elizabeth, arrived April 22. She is a joy to us all. You can see more photos on babyaudra.com

Eric and Christina married on June 20 in Tampa, Florida. The wedding was beautiful. You can see more photos on

Cres and I vacationed in Alaska and the Yukon in August. The picture on this eCard is us in Denali National Park. This blog, Behind the Scenes, has more on events during the year.

Best Wishes for a Wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.
Click image to enlarge

Friday, December 11, 2009

Christmas trees at Rockwood High School

Last weekend we toured Rockwood High School built in 1955. This tree and the one below was decorated by the students.

University of Tennessee Orange tree

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Audra with Santa

Audra is sitting on Santa's lap
Photo sent from Amy's iPhone.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Snow on Flowers

Snow on the Geranium
Snow on the Dianthus
Vista House
Walk in Vista

Friday, December 4, 2009

New Wedding Marquee

Here is a photo from the wedding placed on the Marquee. Eric and Christina are in the gardens at The Plant Museum after the wedding.
Click image to enlarge

Monday, November 30, 2009

Cres and Audra


Cres and Audra just before she left to go back to Franklin.
We miss her!!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Knoxville News Sentinel Announcement

The clipping from the Knoxville News Sentinel, Sunday, November 15, 2009
Click image to enlarge

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Christina with Bouquet

This portrait image of Christina was created from the image below. I cropped the image to make just a head shot. Then I moved the roses to another layer and erased the background around the bouquet to make it look like Christina was holding the bouquet closer to her face.
This is the original image.

Monday, November 9, 2009

My Sons at Frozen Head in about 1985

Passed this rock yesterday and thought of the many hikes we had with Justin and Eric.

Painting of Emory Gap Falls and Enjoying Nature at Frozen Head State Park

This is a painting of Emory Gap Falls in Acrylic on Canvas, 2010. It is 30" X 40".
What a way to spend a beautiful Sunday with nature. I am at Frozen Head State Park in the Cumberland Mountains in eastern Tennessee. It is 72 degrees on November 8, 2009. The park's small streams, waterfalls and mountains make this one of the most beautiful spots on earth. Cres and I have been coming to this park for about 35 years.
Beautiful Flat Fork Creek
Cres at DeBord Falls
Bob and Cres on top of Emory Gap Falls

Monday, November 2, 2009

Kitchen Art

Found this Serreid clock at the going out-of-business sale of a very good local interior designer, Jean Barr of Barr House. She was in business for 35 years. We will miss her. She had marked this clock way down to 85% off. I guess she thought no one would buy it.

Terra cotta seems to always be one of my colors in the kitchen and this clock fit right in.
My rooster painting on another wall also reflects the terra cotta.
The rooster has its place by by range and presides over my French Country kitchen.
Here is a close up of the rooster that inspired the painting below.
This is my French Country Rooster painting. Decorating and finding interesting accessories make a house a home. See more of my art on my website. http://www.joselynholcombe.com/index.html

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Jack-O-Lantern

This is the photo of the Jack-O-Lantern that my husband Cres carved. I added the metallic gold and copper paint. Don't think that this addition really helped the look.
Here is the Jack-O-Lantern lit up with the candle inside. I added the extra hair and chin by only carving about halfway through the pumpkin to allow some light to come through.
Cres with his Halloween creation.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Cox Glacier


Cox Glacier, 24" X 30" Tissue Collage and Acrylic 


In Prince William Sound, we viewed Cox Glacier from the catamaran. Being in the Sound was like being in an icy cathedral. The overhanging clouds made a high ceiling. The mountains with the hanging and tidewater glaciers made black and blue walls.  The atmosphere was gray, thick and calm.  Within the sound was the calving of the ice; everyone stood still with a certain reverence for nature.  Being there was like being a part of the earth's life processes.
Click image to enlarge

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Audra


This is my granddaughter, Audra. She is almost 6 months old. Her mom, Amy, has entered her in a Gap/Disney contest.

Please follow the link to vote for Audra .   
You can vote for her every day until Nov. 17th if you like ;)  Thanks!
http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/entries/Audrasmommy/567092756/



Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Sun Through the Crepe Myrtles

This photo was made as the sun was setting through the crepe myrtles in my parents yard in South Carolina. The name is was given to this plant because of the papery crepe-like flowers that bloom though the summer. The bark will peal off in sections making the trunks interesting.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Mushrooms

After over a week of continuous rain and gloomy days, we had a beautiful sunny Sunday yesterday. We went to the lake to enjoy the day and much to my surprise there were beautiful mushrooms emerging from the still soggy ground. Such a lovely splash of color from nature.
Click to enlarge to see spider web.





Thursday, September 10, 2009

Colorful Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, Canada

This is the colorful Dawson City in the Yukon. The Klondike Gold Rush had the population up to 40,000 by 1898. Today the population is 1800.

In this Downtown Hotel at the Sourdough Saloon you can get a Sourtoe Cocktail. The Sourtoes are actual human toes that have been dehydrated and preserved in salt. You must let the toe touch your lips to be a member of the Sourtoe Club complete with a certificate. If you don't believe this, here is their website: http://www.sourtoecocktailclub.com/
This is the Westminster Hotel in Dawson City

Diamond Tooth Gertie's Casino is where the Can Can show is recreated as during the gold rush.

A very colorful residential house in Dawson City. I can imagine how it will look when the snow covers the ground.

Another colorful street

A colorful residence

Blue residence

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Braeburn Lodge - World Famous Cinnamon Buns

The Braeburn Lodge is located at mile 55 on the Klondike Highway about an hour from Whitehorse, Yukon. It is famous for its very large cinnamon buns. The buns looked more like a cake. It took several days to eat even after sharing, I am told. The story goes that a small airplane had a blowout in the cold winter and used a bun for a tire.
The owner of Braeburn Lodge holding some of the cinnamon buns.

The lodge is a checkpoint for the Yukon Quest dog sled race. The Cinnamon Bun Dog Sled Race, a 200 mile run, is held in February.
Compare the owner of the lodge to the figure of the fisherman below.
The fisherman figure is sold in the Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska, about 15 miles from Fairbanks. The figure is about 12 inches tall.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Burl and Mosquitoes

Two things that I did not think of seeing on our trip to Alaska and the Yukon were mosquitoes and burl. Lucky for us most of the mosquitoes are in the early summer and not in August. We did see one the size of a house fly, which lit on Cres. Usually I am the one that mosquitoes go for. This rendering of a mosquito from burl shows the sense of humor that one must have to live in this part of the world. All the rest stops on the road trip were were as appreciated as they were during the Klondike Gold Rush. Also delicious berry pies were baked fresh every day at these lodges.

Burl mosquito at The Moose Creek Lodge, Mayo, Yukon, located between Whitehorse and Dawson City on the North Klondike Highway

A burl is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is caused by some kind of stress in the environment.
Burl figure at The Moose Creek Lodge, Mayo, Yukon

Burl mosquito and bird house stand at The Moose Creek Lodge, Mayo, Yukon

Stack of burl at Burl World beside Mentasta Lodge, Gakona, Alaska

Cres at Burl World looking at a moose antler carving on the top of the cabinet and furniture made from burl.