How crazy! I won the photo challenge again at In A Yellow House ~ Art. I’m so thrilled to see my photo win again but then Chelsea of In A Yellow House announced at the same time that this will be the last photo challenge she’s holding…EVER. I’m sad. I joined this photo challenge when Ashley of Ramblings and Photos was holding it while Chelsea was away in Europe. It’s been six weeks since I joined the challenge. So of the 5 challenges that I participated, I won on 3 of them! Yes, I am pretty psyched with my wins but pretty sad at the same time that this challenge is no longer going to be around. This challenge really stirred a lot of creativity. I will miss it. I guess this just means finding more photo challenges, I’m sure there will be lots =)

Here’s my winning photo:

And here’s my other two wins of the past weeks. It has been a fun ride =)

Theme: Work and Play

Theme: Trees

Hello Friends! I hope you are having a super fun weekend =) I have been very busy this week and just have not had time to blog or catch up with blogs that I follow. I know, I don’t like it when I get behind. But I will try my best to catch up this coming week.

Let me start by telling you how thrilled I am for this week’s photo challenge at In a Yellow House. This week’s theme is Art. How exciting! I’m seeing lots of fun interpretation for this theme. And this is mine, Latte Art – the patterns made in the foam topping espresso drinks. Yes, it is an art and takes a lot of practice to master. I have watched baristas make it look effortless and yet perfectly create hearts, stars, flowers, and leaves. Some are ornate, some elaborate, and some skill-intensive like it has words that goes along with the art. Yes, words, ain’t that cool!?!

So here are some photos that I took yesterday when I ordered a Mocha Latte. How cool! The pouring of steamed milk into a shot of espresso is the biggest challenge for the latte artist. And this one turned perfectly neat!

The final photo is my entry to this Art photo challenge. Truly, this requires a great deal of skill and practice from baristas, as the espresso, steamed milk and pouring must all be “just right” to get an aesthetically pleasing appearance. And I’m sure that this can be an enjoyable, creative and even a competitive activity. So the next time you receive a decorated latte, show some appreciation to your barista =)

Do check out the rest of the Art submissions at In a Yellow House. Have a great weekend and support your local everything!

Yay! I won the photo challenge again at Ramblings and Photos. That’s 2 weeks in a row ♥ The theme was “Work and Play.” I’m sure you remember my entry below on the talented sculptor, PJ Acker. Thanks to her and her beautiful art.

This win warms up my heart =) I will admit feeling low and this really help cheer me up. Thanks to the lovely comments left on my blog and Ashley’s blog today. It means a lot to me. Thanks Ashley! Great news to start the week.

This coming week’s photo challenge theme is “On the Water.” So join and play if you have time.
I hope you guys had a great holiday! *Hugs*

This past Wednesday, I took a mini-vacation. Just for a day. I was able to visit a part of Oklahoma City that I’ve never been before, The Paseo Arts District. It’s just a curved, two-block street that has maintained its Spanish revival architecture with original stucco buildings with clay tile roofs still intact. I happened to stop by Gallery One at Design Center, one of the many galleries in the district. The gallery is a house to several artists, and I was happy to get to talk to one – PJ Acker. She’s a very nice and talented lady. She started out with a background in nursing but has been drawn into the world of arts as long as she could remember, thus she continues to work on her art passion. Her work includes different mediums of expression, from charcoal, to pastel, oil, acrylic, and watercolor, then sculpture.

During the visit she was happily working and talking at the same time about her love for sculpting. This is work and play for her. Work, since she gets to sell her pieces once they’re done and some pieces that were made-to-order. But at the same time, Play, since this is something that she loves doing and is passionate about. She loves being a sculptor. I could see the twinkle in her eyes as she molds clay into her hands while talking about the adventures that she went through while working on her latest piece. She looked very happy and content. I thought this is a good balance between work and play, so I’m using the first photo below as my entry for this week’s challenge at Ramblings and Photos for this week’s theme of “Work and Play.”

This is PJ’s latest piece. I thought this mother-child piece was so beautiful. You could see the emotion and strength in the mother’s eyes and the baby on her back is laughing. She’s a warrior and a mother. PJ just recently added the baby on the back. I bet the finished piece will look wonderful since she envisioned the baby to be tugging and eating part of her hair. She wants it this way coz that’s what babies naturally do. She likes to put details on her work that reflects motherhood; and it clearly shows. I asked permission of course to post this photo since she’s still currently working on this piece. I called her today and she is as sweet and happy as I remember her the other day. Such a nice lady!

You can check out more of her work on her website http://www.pjackerart.com/. Support your Local Everything!
Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy your 3-day weekend! Yay! ♥