Remembering Suge

Albert "Suge" Maples III 1952-2011

Today my family and I said our farewells to my cousin Albert Maples III, who passed away suddenly and according to all of our minds too soon. As is always the case with funerals you are left reflective and today is no different.

Suge as he was known to his family and friends had such a huge spirit and a love for life it is hard to imagine that he is now gone from our daily lives, but we all know that his beautiful smile and spirit lives on.

Rest in peace my beautiful cousin...say hello to Mommy and I'll see you on the other side!

Blog Hop ~ Liberate Your Art

I recently had the pleasure of participating in the "Liberate Your Art" Postcard Swap hosted by Kat Sloma of The Kat Eye View! What an experience and what a pleasure.

I rarely think of myself as an artist, or even artistically inclined, I do however love photography and that is a form of art. I have dabbled in photography since I was about 15 when my parents purchased my first 35mm SLR camera, but I have always steered away from this joy because when I was in college and wanted to pursue photography courses I was told I had to take art classes as a prerequisite. Part of me understood the reason for this, but my angry twin refused to enter into these entry level art classes because I can not draw!

So instead I just pulled out my camera and took photos, not necessarily thinking about the composition, lighting etc. It worked for me! For the most part I take great pictures and because they are usually of people they were fine. As long as they weren't blurry and out of focus I was doing good - capturing the moment and usually coming away with a good shot.

Recently I have decided to develop more into photography through the use of Internet sites and photo prompts offered by a wealth of women online. I'm still not going to call myself a professional photographer, but I have a better understanding of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture but most importantly how these three functions come together to give you a great exposure!

With that in mind, and after taking a number of shots over the last year I decided to look at some of my favorite shots as art and liberate them and myself by participating in the Postcard Swap! It was a freeing experience for me because I am not always a fan of my work and this was an opportunity to say "You can do this and someone will enjoy it (hopefully)!"

While I didn't receive a lot of feedback, I did receive some and I enjoyed the art that came my way. I had the opportunity to connect with women from as far away as Germany and as close - if you want to call it close as New York City!

Below you will find photos of the Postcards I received and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. I would gladly participate again!

The works of art I received during the Postcard Swap!

Summer Colds are the pits!

It’s 80° outside and the relative humidity is hovering between 65-70% and my throat feels scratchy. Not a good sign. Scratchy turns into sneezing, coughing and congestion! Dang it, I’ve got a summer cold that is hell bent on knocking me to my knees. I fight it and go to work sneezing, hacking and being just plain miserable.

My head before meds,

Last night I come home and my body feels as though I have been in the ring with Sugar Ray, but I’m ready to fight back. Armed with Theraflu Severe Cold, Coricidin Cold and fresh ginger tea I dope myself up and off to bed I go.

This morning I greet the world and I can breathe, hallelujah! The worst is over, but I still have a few issues – lingering headache, a little cough and some phlegm buildup in my chest. Ginger Ale, Orange Juice, Hot Tea, more Coricidin and plenty of sleep (try just about all day) and I’m feeling much better.

The upside to this story of misery is that I have taken out my computer and albeit late in the day, I’m working on being a little creative. I’ve uploaded some photos and with this post, I’m getting back to writing. Next I will write a couple of book reviews and edit some photos.

The clouds are parting as is the congestion in my head.

So what’s the point you ask? It’s real simple, don’t let illness put you down before you realize that you have been running on sheer steam. Take time out for yourself and get some rest – if you don’t do it yourself I can tell you that your body will wake you up and sit you down!

Liberate Your Art...Postcard 2!!!

While I don't know the sender of Postcard #2, I can once again say it is a wonderful work of art! See for yourself! The artist hails from Raleigh, North Carolina. Thank you for the beautiful image.

My second postcard from an unknown artist in Raleigh, North Carolina. Aren't these shells beautiful!

My First Postcard!!!

How excited I was today to find my first Liberate Your Art postcard in the mail! My first work of art came from Valerie-Jael, and it is definitely a fine piece!

While receiving this card was truly an exciting time, I also felt like I was out of my league. Valerie is definitely an artist, but don't take my word for it, below is a photo of her work.

Art work by Valerie-Jael

It was so fitting that I received this mail today in the wake of reading a wonderful post the other day about another Postcard project. Over at the blog Tea & Cookies, blogger Tara Weaver talks about a Postcard Project she started, and the feelings she recounts when she received hand written mail was very similar to what I felt today and I don't even know Valerie. It felt so good to look at the days mail and find something other than bills or junk! Thanks to Kat Sloma for starting the Liberate Your Art Swap!

Link Love

As I attempt to formulate my thoughts into cohesive thoughts I thought I would share some link love! The links below are some of the sites I regularly follow..places where I find inspiration and just some great information. I hope you learn something new, or meet a new webfriend!

Chookooloonks - Written by Karen Walrond of Houston, TX. This is a wonderful blog both for the fabulous images and the wonderful stories she shares. Currently traveling in Kenya with The One Campaign, her travelogue will move you to action!

The Kat Eye View of The World - Written by Kat Sloma of Corvalis, Oregon. Looking for photography tips or inspiration! Well this is definitely a place to start! Kat is the brains behind the Liberate Your Art Swap I recently participated in. Check her out!

Tayari Jones/Author of Silver Sparrow - The name says it all. This is the blog of author Tayari Jones and currently she is keeping readers abreast of all things Silver Sparrow, but when not promoting she offers a wealth of good information on writing, publishing and great reading! If you're a bookie as I am it's a must!

If you're looking for varying views on the world, family or just about anything in between then check out Vision and Verb a collaborative site written by women from all over the world. These women also share some great photos with wonderful in sight and wisdom!

White Readers Meet Black Authors - Looking for something to read, stop here first! Author Carleen Brice started this site and seeks to encourage an open minded look at some of the great material written by authors of color. Check out her site as well here. Currently she's releasing a chapter a month of her new work for .99.

Photo Inspiration can be found regularly at Shutter Sisters!

If you're looking for groundedness and creative inspiration try going to Summer Camp! Find details here.

Enjoy!

Removing the Rust - Back to Blogging

Wow, this has been a very busy summer and it has kept me away from this page - Not Good! I haven't posted in nearly almost two months, but that doesn't mean there wasn't anything to tell you guys about instead I have been swamped with planning my biennial Family Reunion and life!
The Shockley-Beatty Family Reunion is now under my belt and all-in-all it was a fabulous event! More than 120 Shockley's and Beatty's converged on Cleveland, Ohio for four days earlier this month and it was a lot of work, but I hope a lot of fun for all those who attended.

One of the best parts of this event was the fact that family members came from all over this wonderful country of ours - as far away as South Dakota and as close as Elyria, Ohio. Many of my cousins met one another for the first time and reunited with family members they had not seen in many years.

The Shockley-Beatty 2011 Family Photo

The true highlights are the Family Olympics when young and old form teams and compete in some of the wildest games you have ever seen - it's a blast and has become a staple of our reunions. This was our third Olympics and teams are already talking about the next Olympics.

Family Olympics - the Snail Race

One of my personal highlights was the production of "The Shockley's Journey to Oz" my adaptation of the Wizard of Oz! This is the family's second production and because of the popularity it is also becoming a family tradition. In "The Shockley's Journey to Oz" I traced the family journey from Marion, Tennessee in 1915 to present day. It was a blast!

Easing on down the road, a scene from "The Shockley's Journey to Oz

With the reunion behind us I am returning to my writing, photography and life journey. Thank you to Kat Sloma over at The Kat Eye View of the World, for today's blog title. Today I read her newsletter and the topic was removing rust - a task I will be completing over the next few weeks.