I'm working on a mixed-media project and it needs some hurricane waves. I have never seen a hurricane with my own eyes, so I used a reference and drew a baseline sketch (on the left). I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the first draft, so I transferred it to an 8 X 10 linoleum block and began carving. It took 3 or 4 hours over a couple of days and then the carving was done and ready for inking. I had Murder She Wrote on in the background for company; there's noth

I haven't done a linocut in a while (a shamefully long while) and missed doing it. I saw a hex sign on my wall I love and thought it might be a fun linocut project. Hex signs are round emblems the Pennsylvania Dutch use on the exterior of their barns. They each have their own meanings. Common misconceptions are that these are Amish - the Pennsylvania Dutch are a little different - and that they're something to do with witchcraft because of the word "hex." They're not, and th

Some of these maximalist public spaces have been around awhile, others only just opened, but all of them - four hotels and a vintage shop - are jaw-dropping. Some are fun and fabulous, others glamorous, and one is nothing short of sacred. All of them create their own little world within their walls. Sadly, as I have never been to any of them, I'm going to have to use promotional photos where possible here. I normally try to only use my own photos because I don't like treading

Here we are, well into the 99 degree thick of it. I have romanticized autumn and winter so far, so here is summer with all of my little traditions, punctuated by photos of last night's fireworks. Solstice or no solstice, for me summer begins on Memorial Day weekend. As with any other three day summer weekend, cookouts and a trip to the pool to cool off are on the table. And for me - when I'm reminding myself what matters - photography day trips are as well, on any sunny day.

As of today, June 19, 2026, my photo (and once upon a time music) blog, All Eyes And Ears, is 20 years old! I became a photographer in January of 2006 with a new point and shoot digital, an Olympus D435. I had recently left my job and had nothing but time, so I drove around taking photos of everything I'd noticed around town that I'd always liked or been intrigued by. Old neon signs, funny things, weird things, historic things, creepy things. While Flickr was good and I still

Bring the color back into your life - please. If everyone did, there'd be beautiful color everywhere again. It is sorely needed. It is good for morale. Color is good for you, and not just in your diet. I understand that we are living in an ever-tightening restrictive fascist nightmare, to say nothing of inflation choking us, and now we're enmeshed in a war. I get that it's all too much, everyone's nervous system is cranked up to 11, and too much stimulation of any kind feels

The Washi'd Edges I live by the seasons; as I live in the Midwest, we get the full array of them and they are glorious. I've already posted about my love of autumn, but I could go into winter, spring, & summer at great length too. (And probably will.) The activities, music, foods, visuals of each season are something I cherish getting to experience every year when they roll around again. I swap out perfumes to work with the seasons, go to the same places every year or two at

Gold Key was lurid as hell I've mentioned in the personal project posts that I want to make a collage about a candy store I frequented as a kid. That probably sounds weird. Let me elaborate (though it will still sound weird). I switched banks recently and got to talking to the personal banker about our childhoods. To my surprise, he grew up in the same small town, in the same neighborhood - and before I could say anything about it, he said, "Do you remember Dorothy's Sundries

This month's passion projects involve that upcoming jewelry launch I've mentioned before, a personal collage (this will be a separate post), a finished painting, and my renewed love for photography combined with my love of exploring. I made myself a trial bracelet and necklace for the jewelry line. For the bracelet, instead of using the silver lined seed beads I'll use for the line's bracelets, I used some 3mm gemstone beads I've been wanting to work with for a few years but

It's been a while. I took a little break to get some fresh perspective and learn some new things, to up my game. I started a new painting, this time an homage to Peter Max, a longtime favorite artist. It's specifically my version of his Sunrise 2000 , meant to help me learn technique. I had so much fun with it, and am now almost done. I just want to "gild" the edges of it with a metallic gold paint and sign it. I've redone a fair amount of it since this progress picture, but

A long time ago, I wrote a couple of essays about why I love Leonard Nimoy so much, and since I already do an "admires" feature, and today would have been his 95th birthday, I have combined them into Vol. 6 of the Magic Attic Admires. There’s a reason that I tag anything he’s in with: “I love this man”. The following are some of the reasons why. (Warning: I’m an unabashed fangirl.) I love him because he’s a photographer , degreed in it and everything, and a damn impressive on

A new digital camera is a new lease on life for me. My old camera was getting very old and not performing as I need it to. I didn't want to break the bank and buy brand new, nor am I comfortable with mirrorless technology yet. So a "new" (to me) DSLR it is. I bought a used Canon Digital Rebel T7 from Adorama. Received it on a Tuesday, took it out for a spin on the Saturday following. I shot the "creepy bunnies" I shot so many times years ago, the Quarry Trails falls, a Great

One of my favorite days of the year for three reasons. 1) I have Irish heritage in the way back and it does stir something in my blood. Just like the veil between life and death is said to be thinner on Halloween, the veil between my everyday life and the Irish family past is thinner on March 17. I can feel the mist in the air, and ... 2) The scent in the air of the green, growing things there soon will be. It comes from both the rolling green land of collective family memory

Another eccentric titled person from the early 20th century who let their freak flag fly and drained the family coffers to do so! And again, because this is 2026 and you are now obligated to issue a tiresome disclaimer before liking anything: I don't admire the profligacy, just the determination to publicly be his crazy damn self no matter what. I'll skip the early bio again and get to the point: Henry was a young boy when enough people in the family line died to give him the

The Magic Attic Art Company has been around in one form or another for four years, and in that time, my tastes have changed, including in what I make. Some of the things I've made in the time since I got started no longer conform to the present-day Magic Attic aesthetic, so I am ready to move on and sell them off at a discount. To clear out the old stock, The Magic Attic's first clearance sale will start later this year. I will offer these older items at a 25% discount for ab

We've got a live one here, folks. The Marchesa Luisa Casati was a true eccentric, another Bohemian like Peggy Guggenheim who led a romantic life - though hers was ultimately sadder. by Augustus Edwin John, 1919 Now, this entry I must start with a disclaimer. When The Magic Attic Admires a person or thing, the admiration doesn't extend to everything they did or said, every decision they made. The admiration is usually limited to their willingness to be publicly, genuinely, t

Between 1936 and 1962, Diana Vreeland, editor of Harper's Bazaar, wrote a series of articles for the fashion magazine. These articles were full of whimsical, fanciful, outrageous, wildly unrealistic suggestions to make your life more stylish and pleasurable. Examples below: Why don’t you… put all your dogs in bright yellow collars and leads like all the dogs in Paris? Tie black tulle bows on your wrists? Have two pairs of day shoes exactly alike, except that one pair has thin

There is much in store this year for The Magic Attic Art Company, but there are a lot of personal projects too. Since I hold to the concept of "moving in silence," I won't share too much, but I will share a little now and more once they're done! I am redoing my bedroom and to that end, I bought a 36" by 48" canvas for that big wide open space above the bed. It will be an abstract in jewel tones and gold. I'll be brushing up, no pun intended, on plotting out abstracts beforeha

Or you can click here I look forward to January every year. I know many think I'm crazy; it's still winter, but all of the "fun" is gone. Well, after the frantic Christmas shopping, getting the decorations up, traveling around, making the dinner, cleaning up after the dinner, returning gifts, getting the decorations down, eating lots and lots of sugar, etc. is all over, finally, finally , it is January and I can take a breath. There is no real stress over January (aside from

I'd intended to make my own Christmas cards, either a linocut or my own photos printed onto cards, as I mentioned here . Photo cards are now, as with everything else, expensive so I thought a linocut would be more fun. And I know that if it had worked out, it would have been. I follow a lot of artists online and something I don't see often is posts or remarks about a failed project. Well, my linocut Christmas cards were a failure and I'm posting about it! I drew something I l