Cyanotypes & Gum Bichromates

I was really excited today when I used up old cyanotype printing solution from 2007 and to my surprise the images still came out fairly nicely. Cyanotypes are very forgiving as far as the process goes, and especially for me since I never few the cyanotype print as a finished product in and of itself. I see it now as ready for me to paint in it with watercolor, ink, or paint. We will see where these go....I think I would like to do an entire series on Cumberland Island involving cyanotypes.





After the cyanotypes I attempted a new process called Gum Bichromate. After much research, reading, and note taking I was successful with the first two prints, but with additional printing in black ink the second time around I lost the image. Since ending up with one image with multiple colors requires a multitude of exposures of the same image with proper registration of your negative each time, this can be a bit tricky. I think I know what I did wrong this time and plan on attempting again this coming Thursday when we are supposed to have no rain and plenty of sunshine.

Acres of Diamonds

"Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas; they are in your own backyard, if you but dig for them."

~ Russell H. Conwell



photo by: Shannon Murray, Arkansas 10-2012

Day Trip to the Beach & Bayou City Wildlife

One of my favorite places to visit near Houston is Bayou City Wildlife. I end up going every couple years, and I always leave with a smile on my face.

Surprise date

I was busy organizing and hanging stored away art and photos on the wall when I took a quick seat at my desk to check my email. I have many "favorites" filed in my Bookmarks, but I have one called CultureMap Houston that I have only been to once before.

I saved it under my Personal folder which is where I keep my email and some of the social media websites I tend to visit more often, but this one CultureMap Houston-strange I would place it here when I've only been to it once before.

I clicked on it tonight and within a couple clicks and a couple minutes I found something
screaming my name for my husband: "hotdogs & beer."

So I looked up the address of this must eat place called Moon-Tower Inn and threw my fuzzy hat on, went upstairs and told Patrick I had a surprise for him and that he would need his jacket. Within 20 mins there we were standing in line outside in a dark yard ordering beer and hotdogs. Patrick was more than pleasantly surprised and we found a cozy spot next to one of the three outdoor fires.

Luckily, because Patrick and I have been going on picnics lately we had a fluffy blanket in my car to wrap around us and talk while we waited for our wild boar hotdog that we ended up sharing. Perfect Surprise date night for us. :)

Our attitude towards others determines their attitude towards us.
—Earl Nightingale