By the Light of the Moon

2012 Reno Hot Air Balloon Races

Baby Gifts, Part II

Hello Friends!

After a long interlude,  I bring you baby gifts part two. I love maps. I love making them, in fact I've managed to make that a large component of my career. One day, while at work, I started to notice that often street lines can mimic the shapes of a bicycle. When my friends, Tim and Jill had their son, Jonas, this seemed to be a particularly apt gift for the clan. You may recall that Tim loves bicycles so much that he organized his garage using dismembered bicycle parts.

So here you go, bikes on a map.

 Lansing

Reno

Grayling

Aren't they fun? And so easy to make. All you need is a map, a canvas (or piece of cardboard), and some black paint.

And as an aside, I will be the first to admit that, ahem, presentation is not my strong suite. By this I mean cute table settings, packages, and hairstyles just don't find their way into my life all that often. But I recently stumbled across a cute kids book at a thrift store which I quickly disassembled to make notecards. So the Engelhardt clan received a decorative package with a few wall decorations on the inside.

Baby Gifts, Part 1

I am moving into the part of my life where my friends are starting to have babies. I love the idea of a little handmade gift for the newly arrived little ones. This first piece of art is for Baby Jack, Maggie and Jon's little guy making his appearance in November.

Dino and I can't wait to meet him!

That One Time I Went to Burning Man

However one may feel about the art extravaganza that is Burning Man, you have to admire the art that is produced for this event. Although the art will be burned at the end of the festival, artists from across the globe gather extraordinary and intricate structures on the Black Rock Desert playa for a week of celebration of art and community. 

This week a work trip took me to Black Rock City, the third largest city in Nevada for the week of Burning Man, and I was able to photograph a few of these amazing structures.

The Big Ego

The Temple is constructed each year as a quiet space. Participants leave photos of loved ones and decorate the walls with writing before the burn. 

The Temple was constructed of laser cut plywood and then assembled in the playa.

 Motorized vehicles are not permitted in Black Rock City, so Burning Man participants decorate bikes to travel around the city.

Because the event is held in the middle of a salt desert, frequent wind storms create white out conditions. Objects returning from the playa are distinct in  their coats of fine white dust.  

Lots of Knots

 The past few months have brought marriage knots, anxiety knots, and my favorite, bread knots. I hope I am surfacing above the fray and will be back to posting more regularly. "Repotting" as Terry calls it, is indeed a slow and deliberate process.

Wedding White

I'm catching up on some of my pictures before the summer has completely sped by. Rob and Peggy's garden wedding was a simple affair; full of love, dog barks, and family.

Ichabod...

...has a new friend. Meet Zebulon.

Yes, that's right, I am a dog mom now. For the past month, Zebulon has joined me on hikes

Photo shoots...

Weddings...

and squirrel hunts.

He had me at hello, and I am so glad he's mine.