Ruby Lane's Creative Hands Newsletter for July 2003

Creative Hands
Ruby Lane's monthly newsletter celebrating the Arts & Crafts
community
__________________________________________________________________
Welcome to Creative Hands!

IN THIS ISSUE:
o July Featured Artisan: Darna Michie - A Few Reflections
o July Artisan Shop Sampler
o July Show Sampler
o Share Creative Hands With A Friend
__________________________________________________________________
JULY FEATURED ARTISAN: DARNA MICHIE - A FEW
REFLECTIONS

My first camera was a Brownie. It was a box camera and it
didn't have a flash; it had been my mother's and I'd begged her
to let me have it. It was 1962 when she gave it to me and her
only stipulations were that I had to buy the film and pay for
the film to be developed. I bought my first roll of black and
white film at the corner drug store; I don't remember exactly
what it cost, but I do remember being surprised when the clerk
told me my total. The roll of film would hold 12 photos, and
with camera in tow; I went out to explore the world in search of
the perfect photo. The price of developing the film was
expensive, so I was very particular when picking my subjects; it
took me weeks to use up my first roll of film. The Brownie
camera was a point and shoot camera, but I soon discovered that
I took the best photos in the early morning or late afternoon.
The mid-day sun was so bright that it washed the photos out and
especially when using black and white film, the shadow is
important to the character of the photo.

When I was in the seventh grade, my school elective was
photography. By the time I was out of Junior high, I'd learned
about lighting, zoom lenses, and how to develop my own photos in
a dark room. In the ninth grade, my photography teacher loaned
me his 35 mm camera when I went on a trip to Olympia, our state
capital. I had purchased 2 rolls of color film with 24 photos
available on each roll. I felt very important as I carefully
adjusted my settings to take photos of the inside of the capital
dome. I liked to enlarge my photos to 5X7's or 8X10's so the
details would be discernable. My photos won blue ribbons at the
local county fair and I received honors and prizes at several
school contests. I dreamt of being a photographer for a
magazine, but then I grew up, got married, had children and
because of the expense, my photography was put on the back
shelf.

Fast forward a couple of decades ñ My how times have changed! I
bought a Sony Mavica 73 digital camera three years ago, and I
was amazed by how easy it is to use and the quality of the
finished product. Now when I go out to take photos, I bring
20-30 floppy disks with me - and take photos to my hearts
content!

We invite you to visit Darna at Victorian Hats Darna's East Angel Harbor Shoppe.

__________________________________________________________________
JULY ARTISAN SHOP SAMPLER

If you want to see some very nice art photography, visit these
Ruby Lane Shops:

CCT International Fine Arts

__________________________________________________________________
JULY SHOW SAMPLER

Here's a list of upcoming shows around the U.S. featuring fine
art and handcrafted items:

Jul 11-13, 2003, Cain Park Arts Festival, Cain Park, Cleveland
Heights, OH

July 17-20, Comic Con International Art Show, San Diego
Convention Center, San Diego, CA

Jul 26, 2003, Clear Lake Art Sail, Clear Lake City Park, Clear
Lake, IA

Jul 26-27, 2003, North Shore Arts Festival, Orchard Road &
Lawler, Shokie, IL

Aug 1-3, 2003, Breckenridge Main Street Station Art Festival,
Main Street, Breckenridge, CO

Aug 1-3, 2003, Boardwalk Art Show, Ocean City Boardwalk, Ocean
City, NJ

Aug 2-3, Eden Corn Festival, Route 62, Eden, NY

Aug 4-5, Cape Cod Fine Art, Between Cinema and Drive-In,
Wellfleet, MA