Shops "On Vacation" Until New Year

As of today, I've placed my Etsy shops in vacation mode until the beginning of the new year. Thanks so much to everyone who has visited, purchased items, and emailed or convo'ed me with comments and well-wishes. I wish all of you a wonderful holiday and look forward to hearing from you in the new year!

To Infinity & Beyond

...er, maybe just to outer space and back. Here's the scoop. A week or so ago I entered my Celestial Staircase fractal image into the new contest being sponsored by Etsy and NASA to commemorate the end of the space shuttle program. It has made it through the first round of voting and has now entered the second phase: to be voted on by registered Etsy users.

Here's where you come in, visit the Space Contest Page, register as a user (if you are not already registered), then find my image in the 2D reproduction section and vote (if you feel so inspired). All votes are greatly appreciated, and if not voting, stop by anyway to see what the hubbub is all about. Who knows, my fractal may be flying into outer space sometime in the near future. :)

2011 Desktop Calendar Now Available

OK, OK. I know I said that this year's calendar wasn't going to be a cd case calendar, but at the last minute, I changed my mind. The other calendar I'd been working on was meant to be a small wall calendar, but I just couldn't seem to get it as polished as I wanted it to be. So, I am going to hold on to that idea for next year and we'll see what happens.

This calendar features 13 of my mandalas. What doesn't translate in the photo too well, is that the background of each page is the featured mandala in a soft wash, and then the smaller mandala in full-color and detail. The calendars are now listed online at my Etsy shop. Hop on over there to see extra photos.

Benoit Mandlebrot

If it is possible for a mathematician to be "famous", Benoit Mandelbrot was considered one of the famous ones. Known as the founder of fractal geometry, Benoit Mandlebrot, died last week at the age of 85.

He was the author of The Fractal Geometry of Nature, and had a long and illustrious career at a wealth of institutions including IBM, the University of Paris, Boston University, M.I.T., Harvard, and Yale University.

Fractal Pattern in Ice

I was just downloading the photos off of my iPhone and found a photo I took last December. This fractal pattern was created by ice forming on the top of my car. It happened several times last year, and I'm disappointed I didn't manage to get a better photo. The pattern was so beautiful and covered the entire roof of my car. Maybe I'll leave my car parked outside again this year in hopes of catching a better photo. :)

Browsing for Gifts for the Holidays

I've been browsing around the Internet lately to search out gifts before the holidays are upon us. I've been known to be a bit behind in sending out gifts (sorry everyone), so I'd like to turn that around this year. I really love pottery, so I was searching Etsy to see what the sellers there had to offer. Low and behold, I found these cute little bowls (shown above) and fell in love! :) Something about the bright turquoise matte finish on the outside, coupled with the glossy bright orange on the inside just made me swoon. They were created by Theresa Gramlich Neidlinger at Utile Mud and are wonderfully crafted. She also mailed them out to me the same day I ordered them, and packaged the bowls in bubble wrap and packing peanuts. I couldn't be happier. Family, friends...don't be surprised if you see something from Utile Mud headed your way this holiday.

2011 Calendar Coming

I'm currently finishing up work on my 2011 calendar and can't wait to get it out! The format is a bit different this year and will not be a CD case calendar. The images are larger and will be easier to frame if desired. I'll post an update once I get them finished, photographed, and posted on Etsy. Stay tuned!