Tuesday Treasures || My first holga

Let me introduce you to the beginning of my lomography obsession.

For my first darkroom class in college it was required to purchase a 120mm Holga camera, take photos with 120mm B&W film, develop the film, and make prints in the darkroom with those images. I always wanted  Holga before this assignment so I was pretty pumped about this to say the least.

Meet Duane, my first Holga.
Why Duane? Because when I went to go see the amazing and brilliant Duane Michals speak about his work at the Denver Art Museum...he signed it for me! I will never forget his amazing talk and inspiring words. My favorite quote comes from his presentation..."
You cannot be creative without taking risks" You'll notice that I have painted it. Everybody in my class had the exact same holga so I wanted mine to stand out. Mint green and colorful vintage buttons it was...because knowing me you can do anything crafty without vintage buttons.

My instructor said  how some students even used a holga for their graduating portfolios. Guess what? I became one of those students! Although it wasn't with this camera...one of my portfolios was created entirely with a holga. This was the first photography award I won which just so happens to be taken with this Holga for my first Holga assignment from that darkroom class.

 

 

Holga has become such a big part of my photography work. I love the surprises that it comes with. Stay turned for a post about all of my lomography cameras!

You can take a look at my Holga portfolio on my website! mariahbaumgartle.com

 

 

Have a good day. Have a beautiful day. Have a blessed day!
The Wonder Seeker

Thursday Thoughts || "Don't do that"

I'm not much of a rebel. I do however have a difficult time listening to others.
I like to experience things on my own. I'm the type of person that will turn my head away from a horrible movie rating and go pay money to watch it anyway.

Life is going to be changing and I'm going to be hearing these comments probably more then ever before shortly...

"Don't do that"
"Don't go there, it's not worth it"
"It's really not that great"

These are some of the most negative words that you can allow to pass into your brain, seep into your body, and stop you from creating EXPERIENCES. We however are not talking about anything illegal or dangerous to your health here, that's something I am far from supporting. We're talking about overall life experiences and adventures.

These are the words make me feel so rebellious and I just want to shout out "I'M GOING TO DO IT ANYWAY AND IT'S GOING TO BE AWESOME, DAMN IT!"

I love to come back and say "WOW! That was incredible!" and really confuse the person who told me it was a bad idea in the first place. Maybe that experience you went and had was absolutely horrendous. At least you experienced it and learned a great lesson. It might even be something that you look back and laugh about later on in life.

My honest advice? Don't ask opinions...just do it. I promise that your experience is going to be different from another person's experience.

Always to open to new ideas, new places, and new experiences.

 

Have a good day! Have a beautiful day! Have a blessed day!

The Wonder Seeker

Tuesday Treasures || Chrysanthemums

Mums are the ultimate Mariah proof flower I have discovered. Why? Because sadly enough they are kind of difficult to kill. I'm really bad with flowers and plants. They die easily around me, I did not get the green thumb that was supposed to be passed down to me. The other day at Trader Joes and was really wishing for a bouquet of flowers but knew it might be a waste of money...and then I saw the cutest little pot of mums. Winner!

I was researching about mums, what the symbolize, etc. I found out something so wonderful! Chrysanthemums are actually a great symbol of happiness. In Japan they have The Festival of Happiness which happens in March! This is a day where they celebrate chrysanthemums.

A Chinese Philosopher (not named) says "If you would be happy for a lifetime, grow Chrysanthemums.” Once upon a time the chrysanthemum was used for a great herb of healing. Legend says that boiling the roots would heal headaches. (source)

There is a large variety of mums and all of which are beautiful. I think I may have a new favorite flower after all of this positive research!

These beautiful little violet flowers really brighten up the kitchen. The meaning of violet chrysanthemums is a merry wish for wellness. I have a great love of flowers in dramatic morning light. It's my favorite time to photograph flowers!

 

 

I hope you enjoyed today's Tuesday Treasures!
I hope March brings you many blessings and adventures!

Have a good day. Have a beautiful day. Have a blessed day!
The Wonder Seeker

Sunday sights.

This weekend we out downtown to do some walking around, window shop, and also have a really great lunch. I decided to only use my lensbaby on Saturday as a little bit of a challenge.

The Burlington City Arts center has a free art museum and they had some new exhibits that we have not seen before. The first part of the exhibit was all clay and it was really fantastic, since Ronnie does pottery he really enjoyed it.

The exhibit was called "Dysfunction" Burlington City Arts says "Beginning with the exhibition’s title, a playful pun, Dysfunction presents artwork varying from beautiful and precious to surreal and grotesque in an effort to initiate a dialogue about our own assumptions concerning ceramics."
(Source)

A few of my works of art were "Ladies in waiting" by Jessica Putnam Phillips, "Shirt" by Shae Bishop from Bakersville NC, and "Wobble Table" by Brooks Oliver from Helena Montana


Patnam's work is based off the concept of women "serving". This concept was very beautiful and the colors she used were just fantastic...but you also know of my love of pink and gold. I love vintage decals on ceramics!

 

Do you see that shirt? Oliver created small ceramic tiles and stitched them together to create this shirt. The colors and details are marvelous and I cannot images the hours taken into a piece like this.

 

This table WOBBLES. The table swings and the objects turn around the table. These pieces balance on this table while somebody pulls a lever. It's an amazing installation piece. I honestly didn't think it moved until the museum docent pulled a lever and oh my goodness. I'm not sure why I didn't take video of it. I'll make sure to go back so I can share it with you!

We went to this place on Church Street called The Red Onion and oh my- The sandwiches are amazing! Their Red Onion sandwich is to literally die for. It has turkey, red onions, bacon, apples, and this amazing sauce- I don't even know what kind of sauce it is! It's a heated sandwich too which are truly the best. The sandwich I got was roast beef with lettuce, horseradish mayo, pickles, and sprout...it was very good as well but The Red Onion...oh man. Not only is their food good but their décor is just so cute. They have these amazing pink walls and fresh flowers placed on all of the tables.

 

 

 

 

Have a good day. Have a beautiful day. Have a blessed day!

The Wonder Seeker

To Providence we go!

A few weeks ago we took a little trip to Providence, Rhode Island.
I was so excited when Ronnie said he was going for an event and I was able to go and explore! I've actually always been very interested in exploring and seeing Providence, I even had it on my list during college as a place to move to.

My plans for Providence were...well...no plans but to explore! I had a map of downtown and just circled places I wanted to see and just started walking from there. Downtown is much smaller then it seems on the map. My exploring radius was going to be from the Convention Center to the Rhode Island art museum. I hit the art museum within 20 minutes of walking!

My first goal though was tea and food. I went to a beautiful little café called Small Point Café where it was filled with great interior colors and plants. I decided to try the hot mulled apple cider and veggie quiche. It was so beautiful and was honestly some of the best quiche I've had. After my stomach was happy I approached the most interesting window display I ever did see. It was filled with all of these crazy monsters and creatures! I still have no idea what it was about but it was just really fantastic.

The art museum was seriously incredible. They had the most amazing photography exhibit called Wild and Precious by Jesse Burke who displayed large photo prints of their daughter in nature. Here is a link of the beautiful work and more about it! A great highlight of the museum was the amazing chandelier from the perfect Chihuly, I adore his work so much. Seeing a piece in New England was so fantastic.  Also just the architecture of the place was something to really love.

Providence just had some really interesting art around the city and I enjoyed it very much. Did I mention the really great street art around? I'm a fan of street art. I'm also a fan of quaint little shops, which there is a great supply of as well. I really wish we were there in the spring though, I think the parks around the city would be so beautiful with the trees full of green. Luckily we did catch a day full of sunshine!

The next day we took a quick trip to the zoo before headed home. The best part of the zoo? Peacocks, red pandas, and never forget the otters!

The weekend trip was a success and I'm super excited to see where we will explore next. 

 

 

 

Have a good day. Have a beautiful day. Have a blessed day!
The wonder seeker

Tuesday Treasures || Fallen blue feather.

 

 

Today I had a bit of anxiety and knew I just wanted to breathe and read once I got home. I have been obsessed with my new french press and orange blossom & jasmine candle. The book of choice is Pilgrimage by Annie Leivotiz. In Annie's book she photographs objects along with places and talks about them in her journeys. This has really inspired me to speak about treasures I have to photograph and share with you all. I have so many treasures and always finding more along the way in life! I've always been really bad about finding something interesting and wanting to take it home, usually hearing the words "Ew, Mariah. Put that down!" Oops! :)

 I present to you my first Tuesday Treasures.

 

Earlier last year I found a blue jay. I don't believe I've ever seen a Blue Jay until I moved to Vermont or ever realized just how amazingly gorgeous they were. I was obsessed with seeing that bird fly around my home during the late summer and fall. I always tried to take a photograph of the bird but he was always so quick (assuming it was a "he"..I usually just assume every living animal is a "he" though.) and would be gone by the time I ran out with my camera. Last year during the summer I remember seeing the blue jay and was upset that I couldn't get a photograph of him. Later that day I walked out of our basement to start a load of laundry, looked on the ground, and there was a fallen feather! I was just so thrilled to take it and keep it for myself! It's honestly the most beautiful feather I've seen. Here's a little throwback to when I found it.

 

 

 

On Sunday I actually saw my bluebird again...he has a lady friend and I believe they have a nest high in a tree a few homes down from us. Too far to photograph from my balcony, but I can see them and it's so wonderful. They also sound so beautiful. Today I photographed my feather with my macro lens and I forgot just how amazing that shade of blue is...it really inspires me for my next hoop art colors and design!

 

Maybe I should be more like a Blue Jay.

I really enjoy finding the meanings of certain objects. Today I researched and learned the that Blue Jay represents being easily grounded. If your animal totem is a Blue Jay then it's rare that you feel flighty or nervous. This is the complete opposite of me. Today was a very good example of that and just the way I've been lately. I'll try to keep my cool, like you, Mr. Blue Jay.

The Wonder Seeker!

Once upon a time I used to blog about everything...art, crafting, places, love, and just simply...life. I miss it, I really do. I'm going to be very honest when I say this... a lot of the time I feel very trapped in a certain stereotype that I feel the need to fill and fit in for not myself, but for others. 

Mid spring last year I decided to start my new blog BaumgARTle. This blog was based on finding out more about myself as an artist, exploring new artwork, and finding inspirations. I started this blog because I wasn't working full time as a photographer and I felt as thought I had let myself down. I won't lie though...exploring new things really did help and has allowed me to find another passion that I would have never thought I'd see myself doing--Embroidery! I now design hoop art with photography and embroidery. I'm very blessed to have found this great new opportunity in my life! 

I feel as though I have a lot more to offer and explore then just blogging and speaking about artwork. 

I want to talk and speak about art, words, books, places, singing, learning, health and wellness, and be able to use my humor. (At least I like to pretend I have a little bit of that) My mind is always racing with thoughts, I find amazing things that fascinate me all the time, and I'm inspired by so much all. the. damn. time. Sometimes I feel really limited that I should only be speaking about artwork, my artwork, and other artists. Although this new change will mostly be art you will also find things that I wonder about and seeking new things. I LOVE to learn. If I won the lottery I would honestly go back to school and take classes on so many different subjects. I honestly am just so full of joy that I want to spread that!

So here I present to you my new blog, vlog, and also the new name of my Etsy shop where I sell my new and beautiful hoop art! (Which honestly brings me so much joy)

WONDER: Noun: "a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable."
plus this is the perfect definition (well I mean...it is the exact definition) of how I feel most of the time about things.

Now that I have found a little bit more freedom with my thoughts I'm positive that you will hear more from me.

I promise!

Have a good day, have a beautiful day, have a blessed day!
Mariah the Wonder Seeker.