David's Specials... Burning sky
 Dancing Dolphins
 Big white Heron and the island
 Traveling Dolphins
 Schooner at sunset
David's Specials on a WednesdayI had an idea some months ago about supporting my husband’s fine art paintings. I was calling it “The Tuesday Specials” but today it is Wednesday, I know - I'm late a day! I'm proud to present some painting from his collection of Key West pictures today.The pictures are from original paintings done in Acrylic and/or Oil…and some of them are already in famous collections all over the globe. The originals that are available for purchase range in price from $ 695 to $ 4,500 based on sizes. There are also prints available.
For more details see our website: www.vanhulstart.com . For orders and special requests please send an email to me (susanne49@yahoo.com). They make also a very special gift for Christmas!
How like a winter hath....
A 1500 Year Old TreeI think the tree is an element of regeneration which in itself is a concept of time. ~ Joseph Beuys ~
The Angel Oak is a Live Oak (Quercus Virginiana) that is a native species found throughout the Lowcountry (Costal Carolina). Believed to be in excess of 1500 years old, its massive, draping limbs and wide spreading canopy present the aura of an angel but the naming of this tree was acquired from the tree's previous owners, Martha and Justin Angel.********
My Wordless Sunday #42
Fitting into one category? ~ ME ~
The Basket Weaver Tradition in South Carolina
Sea Island basket weaving is a true African American art form whose origins date back to the end of the seventeenth century. This folk tradition was born out of the rise of South Carolinian rice cultivation during the 1680's. During this agricultural period, American slaves wove fanners, circular baskets approximately two feet in diameter, as tools used in winnowing rice. These slaves' knowledge of rice cultivation was attained from west Africa, a region that has contributed to rice cultivation since the first century A.D. For this reason, there is a great similarity that exists between baskets made in America and those made in west Africa. This African influence on rice growing and the fact that the majority of South Carolinian slaves came from Angola and Senegal have led historians to conclude that the roots from which Sea Island basket weaving has grown are planted in West Africa.
Although basket weaving and its techniques have changed very little over the past few centuries, there are some changes this folk art form has undergone that are worth noting. When baskets were first made on the Sea Islands, rush plant and white oak or palmetto were used to make a harder and stiffer product. Today, sea grass is the material basket weavers prefer when making the softer basket that currently comprises the majority of this folk culture. One other way basket weaving has changed is in the amount of creativity that is put into the final product. Baskets made in west Africa and during American slavery were very simple in form, while sea grass baskets of today are more decorative in style. In spite of these changes, basket weavers throughout the Sea Islands continue to carry on this folk tradition.
May your stuffing be tasty...
Happy Thanksgiving
May your stuffing be tastyMay your turkey plump,May your potatoes and gravyHave nary a lump.May your yams be deliciousAnd your pies take the prize,And may your Thanksgiving dinnerStay off your thighs!~ Author Unknown ~
Eliza's House Eliza's House
 Living room
 Passage to the bed room
 Bed room
 View to the back yard
Eliza's House (c. 1870)
was once occupied by former Middleton slaves. This two-family duplex was constructed of mill-sawn weatherboard with a central, double (back-to-back) fireplace, and the interior and exterior walls were whitewashed. There was no connecting access between the two units, but occupants of each half had equal use of the porch and the loft.
It is known as "Eliza's House" in memory of Eliza Leach, a South Carolina African-American born in 1891, and the last person to live in the building. She died in 1986, at age 94, and almost to the last continued to live in the house much as her predecessors would have done: raking the bare "swept yard" clear of leaves and twigs, chopping wood for her fire, and toting water from the Spring House -- even though modern conveniences had long since been installed. Eliza also worked over 40 years at Middleton Place, performing a variety of duties, from sweeping and raking in the Gardens to collecting tickets and distributing brochures to visitors.
The original occupant of Eliza's House is not known. Middleton Place Foundation archival material suggests that in the 1880s the house was lived in by Ned and Chloe, former slaves of Williams and Susan Middleton. Before 1865, Ned had been one of Middleton's drivers, or field supervisors, and his wife Chloe was one of 30 slaves Susan brought as a dowry when she married Williams in 1849. Four years later, in 1853, Chloe had become a nursemaid for the Middleton's son. Chloe apparently had three children named Catherine, Elias and Julia. In early 1882 Mrs. Middleton wrote her daughter that Ned and Chloe had just been moved into their "palace." This is taken to mean Eliza's House. Mrs. Middleton also said that the marble nymph Ned called "an image" had been taken "into his piazza" for temporary storage. This was a reference to the Wood Nymph statue by Schadow (1810), buried for safekeeping in 1865 and now overlooks the Azalea Pool in the Gardens.
Let's play again...
I was playing again with textures....
We all know that weddings are very enjoyable events for all participants, for the wedding couple, for the guests AND also for the hard working photographer, I had a thought to play with textures on some wedding photos I made. I have chosen a texture of a sheet of music, because it matches so well happiness and the loving ambiance
of a wedding day.
This last photo is a self portrait of an older lady, like me... :) I think the chosen texture overlay is perfect to hide
unwanted wrinkles in a women face....LOL...
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Today is the Tomorrow...
Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
~ unknown author ~
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My Wordless Sunday #41 and my 770th post!
I'm learning every day.... My daughter Jeannine
 Diana
 Ursula with two texture layers
 Ursula and another texture
I've learned something new yesterday after playing around for more than the half afternoon with PS and with layers and textures, using BW portraits I made some years ago.I admit, it was tricky a little bit in the begin but pretty soon it changed to big FUN. I have had a very good online tutorial that explains in easy 7 steps how to do it. The only one thing is to find the right texture to your photo. There are many sites online they offer a lot of different textures for FREE and some of them are asking only for a back link.My creations above are sure not the best and not perfect at all, but the girls are pretty, right?....LOL... It was my first try... give me a chance to do more and I will be better, I promise, because I know now the basics. :)It's actually very easy my friends, try it too,
it's a creative way to pep up your photos! What makes a river so restful?
Strong enough...?
“A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.”~ John C. Maxwell ~
I Was Tagged !
As I mentioned already in my post from yesterday I got tagged TWICE from 2 blog friends of mine:
Michael at "Postcards from myself" and Richie from the blog "An Arkies musing"
I'm feeling free now and do this games only ONCE and not twice and I hope you guys don't mind about my decision and agree with me :)
Let's play:
The rules in this game are: You get tagged and you will tag (5) others - it’s that easy! Or maybe not that easy....O.k. then... the exact rules of this meme are:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write 6 (or more) random things about yourself.
4. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
But in between you also have to write something about yourself, something most people think, they don’t know about you. If you don’t want to expose your darkest sides – show only the sunny side of you, maybe they ever find out the other stuff.
O.k.….well, then let’s starts!
What You Don’t Know about Me is:
1) I was born in Hungary, grew up in Switzerland. I have two official nationalities and additional the permanent resident card from the U.S.,of all that I’m very proud of it. Today I’m married with the love of my life: a real cornbread eating, “Southern Boy”. He is the best thing what could happen to me in the last 8 years! :)
2) I LOVE to travel – that must be the Hungarian Gypsy blood in me - and I have visited many countries in Europe. Mostly, I liked Italy the best – and still do today - and of course the Italian food and the excellent wines, especial in Tuscany. Did you know that in certain restaurants in Italy you have to pay a weird fee called, “coperto?” Coperto is a tax you must pay for using dishes, napkins, fork, spoon and knife….. Mamma mia! :-)
3) I speak 5 languages: Hungarian, German, French, Italian and today English too. Some of the languages need a little brush up from time to time – that’s why would be great to take some trips again!
4) I served in the Swiss Army from 1981 - 1988. And some of my friends still call me:
“The Little General”. :)
5) My biggest passion in life was always photography. I got my first KODAK camera (old and used) as a gift for my 12th Birthday. I was so happy and started running through many, many film rolls, in black and white, of course. Back then I already knew that one day I would be a “real” photographer! Today, I have changed all my equipment to the D-NIKON family.
6) I'm so excited to tell you about this, and this is now the newest NEWS I have:
We - hubby and I - are on the way to "hit the road" soon to fulfill finally our since many years dream. We will be going on our big travel journey called "Across America - Two artists on the road". We've bought last week a nice camper and are ready to go in 3 or 4 weeks. We will leave Charleston for good and our first stop will be Florida, to warm up a little bit...:)
Our biggest goal in general is to "Go West", to see a lot of great stuff, places and the beautiful landscape in this country and to meet a lot of interesting people on the way. I will blog about of course, doing my photography and I'm learning now also how to do videos... Attention blog friends: we are coming...LOL...
If you want to meet us and let us maybe park in your yard for a day or two, please let me know! For your generosity we can offer you our help in all kind of work like cutting the grass, cooking a REAL Hungarian Goulash for you, walking the dogs, sitting your vacation home, cleaning the pool, paint a picture for your home or office (see our website for Davids paintings: www.vanhulstart.com ), or let me do some nice pet photos made from your four legged friend or even a portrait session with you or your family, we will also cut your hair or babysit your kids...you name it....whatever it will be, we will do it with big FUN - and I'm looking forward to meet you! For early reservations in advance please write to: susanne2049@gmail.com :)
7 ) I have also two wonderful kids from my first marriage, Jeannine (38) and Daniel (33) and two sweet grandchildren, two boys “Fabrice” (5 now) and “Janis” (3 in January 2009), living over there in Switzerland and I'm missing them very much! On the phone they always say: “Hi America Grosi”! Grosi is a Swiss-German slang and means ”Granny”. I am for them the "America-Granny" :...sounds real old...right? :)
8) My goal in life was always to not work at a regular job past 50 years old. I almost made it, I was 51 when I stopped doing my wedding photography business and came over here to this wonderful country America, together with my husband, who was back then my boyfriend - we got married in Key West! I’m proud of myself about reaching my goal. My next goal is to live 58 more years to realize all the plans that I still have in my head. :)
9) I'm not always just a nice person....LOL...something that can make me really angry is when somebody is too late for an appointment and not on time! That’s the moment when I’m freaking out! It must be my “built-in” Swiss watch, I guess! To be on time means – for me – to show respect to the waiting person, or at least: please call!
10) My biggest dream as a little girl was to get a BIG box of colored pencils – I have loved to draw since I was a little kid!! But because my parents were very poor and because of certain very sad political circumstances that happened in the far past, I never got THOSE pencils! Until 2001 – here in America I could finally fulfill my dream and today I’m a proud owner of the BIGGEST box of Colored Pencils you can buy – MY Colored Pencils! And finally, my deepest childhood dreams came true. I had to wait almost 43 years. Now I am coloring everything in sight!
Oops,....these are now more than 6 points about me... O.M.G. I must be a chatterbox - LOL..... :) Of course, You can tell your whole life story if you like.... :)
And now I’m going to TAG 5 blogs I'm reading with RSS feed:
Sue Henry Photography
Karen in BC, at MyBootsnMe
Angie, Angie's Photo Blog
Bill, Oregon Fine Art Gallery Blog
Letitia, Malta Magic
I admit....
Some good news !!Oh my goodness.....!!! I get tagged yesterday not only once, no no....TWICE.... from two nice guys, both are good blog friends of mine!
Michael is living and working in Charleston, like me - and Richie is at home in Arkinson. Go and read their blogs please, it worth's to invest your time there!Well, now I guess, I'll have a lot of "homework" to do to figure out 6 points about me that you don't know already. The biggest task is to bring it down to "paper" in a way so you can also understand it....English is not my strength.... Come back folks tomorrow and you will leave with a big smile on your face...LOL...Thanks again to Michael with "Postcards from my self" and to Richie from "An Arkies musing"! You made my day, guys... :) Beauty captures your attention...
“It's beauty that captures your attention;
personality which captures your heart.”~ unknown author ~
My Wordless Sunday #40
On a Rainy Saturday Like This...
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It's the circle of life
It's the circle of life, and it moves us all, through despair and hope,through faith and love, 'till we find our place, on the path unwinding.~ John, Elton, The Lion King ~
Do you believe in luck?
“If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love,
you have to find the courage to live it.”
~ unknown author ~
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South Carolina State Capitol Building The Capitol Building in Columbia SC
 The sculpture of George Washington in front of the building  George Washington is overlooking the new modern Down Town of Columbia,SC
 A sculpture of General Wade Hampton at the backside of the building
 Nice evening light view from the Capitol Building with sculpture
The South Carolina State Capitol Building in Columbia, SC One of the most popular tourist attractions in Columbia, South Carolina is the SC State Capitol Building. The SC State Capitol Building consists of the South Carolina General Assembly, and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina.
It is an extremely historic building whose creation began in 1852. However, many events following that year caused delays in its completion. In 1854 what had already been built needed to be torn down because inappropriate materials were used. In 1865 building was suspended due to the war and the destruction in Columbia. In 1885 construction was to continue but the architect died and a new one had to be appointed. By 1907 after an estimated $3,540,000 was spent on the structure, it was almost finished. There are many distinctive architectural designs on the SC State Capitol Building. For example, the copper dome on its roof makes it stand out within the complex. There are also 6 bronze stars on the building, which represent the hits made from Sherman’s tanks in 1865. Today the SC State Capitol Building is home to a number of remarkable monuments and memorials commemorating different people who played a significant role in South Carolina’s history. They also commemorate those who fought and died for the state and the country. Within the SC State Capitol Building is a beautiful portrait and art gallery. Here you will find amazing works of art and portraits of notable members of the Senate and House. Tours are available of the SC State Capitol Building and the grounds. It’s a great highlight of the Columbia area. It’s filled with so much history and is significant of South Carolina government. It’s a terrific learning experience for people of all ages.Read more about here
Fall Medley in Pink and Red
Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~ George Eliot ~
A summers wave good bye...
A fallen leaf is nothing more
than a summers wave good bye
My Wordless Sunday #39 *** BEAUTIFUL ***
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