Paul won the logo contest for Burton/Wolfe Entertainment company

Paul Kerrigan, our son-in-law won the logo contest for LeVar Burton's new movie/video production company. You may remember LeVar Burton as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge from Star Trek-- The Next Generation. He was also the host of Reading Rainbow on Public Television and in the mini-TV series, Roots.

The new production company is called Burton/Wolfe entertainment. The announcement about the logo is on LeVar's twitter page:
http://twitter.com/levarburton

See Paul's website at http://meepcamp.com/index.html
The logo is posted there and check out the Love link on the Menu bar, more Milo and Kelly photos. Just lovely.

Cactus Monday:Ocotillo cactus and ground squirrel

We visited many of the National Monuments, Ruins, and Parks in our treks across Arizona since 2000. One very interesting place was Casa Grande Ruins. They had a lovely visitor center with picnic tables. We had lunch and watched the round tailed ground squirrels play in the many holes around the area. (Help me on this, I think they are round tailed ground squirrels?) There was also a wall-like row of Ocotillo cactus in bloom. Our visit to the Casa Grande Ruins was on our very first trip to Arizona. We were so enthralled with all we saw we have been back many times--it is our favorite vacation destination.

During my last Chemo therapy session four weeks ago I did these two little ATCs that kept me occupied.

Ocotillo cactus with watercolor pencils
ACT format on some kind of linen paper
This is not my favorite paper for watercolor pencils, real grainy

Photo taken at the picnic area

Round tailed Squirrel Watercolor Pencil Drawing
ACT format

Photo taken in the picnic area Casa Grande Ruins

Cactus Monday: Pink Flower

Did this today at the hospital during a three hour wait for some tests. Sketching makes the time go by a lot faster. I did three small cards. Will post others later.


From Photo taken at the Tucson Botanical Garden several years ago.
Watercolor pencils and Micron pens.
ATC format 2.5 x 3.5 on watercolor paper

The Last Persimmon Watercolor: Judy Butler

Fall is upon us. The nights have turned cold with the first frost only days a way. The leaves are begining to fall and the persistent breeze shifts the leaves into swirling piles all over the yard. In the far back end of the yard are two very fickle persimmon trees, some years bearing fruit and others not a peep. This year there were a few lovely bright orange fruit that ripened just in time for the orange theme of Halloween. The Persimmon tree's leaves just shrivel up and do not turn bright colors. The hanging orange bobbles shine bright against the dark burnt umber green of their leaves.

Lewis went out and picked the LAST PERSIMMON thinking I might like to draw it. I thought that was a fine idea. I did this quick sketch trying to capture the shriveled leaves and the bright color of the fruit.

Cactus Monday: Our Garden Cactus Next to the fall Mums

In our front garden our three native cactus plants live side by side by our fall mums. The mums are having a bumper crop of blooms this year. It makes for an interesting arrangement. Lew has dug up and put in pots the other cactus that wold not make it through the winter.

For more Cactus Monday Fun see Teri's Painted Daisies blog.
Click on each contributor.

Cactus Monday: Backyard Cactus Coming Inside for the Winter

It was a beautiful fall day...Low 70s, mild breeze, and bright sun. Milo came over to hang out in our yard. Lew dug up one of the cactus in our front garden that would not make it through the upcoming cold days in Middle Tennessee. So while Milo played with the recently harvested mild peppers, I sketched this ominous, very spiky cactus--yes, these splinters were well out of his reach! This cactus will soon be off to spend the winter months on the sunny window ledge at Lew's office. It almost doubled in size during its time in the garden for the summer.

I had not been out in the yard for over two weeks.
It was such a glorious time with the family.
Kelly and Lew were the photographers.


Preliminary sketch of cactus.
Will finish this week for next Cactus Monday.

One of these spikes is 3 inches long and the cactus is only ___ inches tall.

The sun was so bright for a change we had to take off the sweaters, put up the umbrella, and get in into the shade.
It has rained here for weeks, very little sunshine in the last month. This was wonderful!

The mild banana peppers are all shades of yellow and bright red.

For more Cactus Monday Fun see Teri's Painted Daisies blog. Click on each contributor.

International Artist Blog: Sketching In Nature

Kate Johnson invited me to join the international blog of artist called Sketching in Nature. I am so thrilled to be an artist "Correspondent" for this group. Here is a little about me that I will share with the group.

My name is Judy Butler, an educator and amateur naturalist who has taught the art of journal keeping to students and teachers across the United States for over 20 years. Now that I am retired from school administration for over seven years, I am spending time with my educational consulting company, Dragonfly Enterprises as well as drawing and nature journaling. Keeping journals, taking photos, and doing watercolors of nature’s bounty is a respite from deadlines and reports that are a part of owning your own business.

One of my personal and professional objectives is to encourage educators to use journals with their students and to keep their own reflective journals. I developed a website to provide resources to teachers at JudyButler.com.

For 11 years I coordinated a large environmental program called the Harpeth River Environmental and Educational Project for Williamson County Schools in Middle Tennessee. This project was part of my responsibilities first as the Gifted Education Coordinator and then as the Curriculum Director for the school system. We raised over a half million dollars in grants to support the project that focused on the marriage of science, social studies, creative writing and the arts. A description of some of the activities for this program is available on one of my blogs called Reflections on the River.

I am not a trained artist having had no formal art school classes. I remember being in elementary school and being "the Pet" of all the teacher because I loved to draw and put up fancy bulletin boards for them. I learned early you could get a lot of positive attention with art skills. While in college getting my undergraduate and graduate degrees in speech pathology and special education my family opened an arts and crafts shop in the suburbs of New Orleans. This allowed me to attend vendor training and then teach non-stop classes in the art shop in the evenings and weekends: learn the craft one day and teach it the next. I know many of you understand that strategy. From flower arranging to tile mosaics to decorative painting in oils, I received an in-depth arts education over the years the shop was open. The morning glories shown here are typical of the influence of decorative painting on my work with squiggly lines and embellishments. See my blog, Naturalist Journal: Down The Nature Trail, for examples of other paintings with stories and descriptions of the art pieces.

As an adult and a stay-at-home mother for a while, I brought in extra money teaching decorative painting and running art summer camps for elementary children in my back yard. My daughter grew up with paint brushes in her hands before she could walk. Not surprising she got her undergraduate degree majoring in drama and art. She also attended graduate school at the Savannah College of Art and Design for a year. Visit her blog and website for her unique artistic designs. She has three art exhibits coming up between now and the end of the year. I am very proud of her. My husband is also a fine artist in the areas of music, writing and the visual arts. Our daughter was surrounded by a love of the arts all of her life.

I think my drawing skills have improved over the years because of frequent practice, pushing myself to do detailed nature study, such as the nautilus, and my obsession for art books. My first teacher in this book world was Clare Walker Leslie. I notice that so many of the "Correspondents" mention her in their introductions. I have worn her books thin over the years. I only discovered Flickr and blogs in the last year. Imagine my astonishment to find one of my other heroes, Cathy (Kate) Johnson was part of these online social networks. Kate's book, The Sierra Club Guide to Sketching in Nature was part of my art learning arsenal. I would get giddy when Kate would comment about my work on Flickr. I thought that was so exciting. My secret dream was that I would be invited to the Sketching In Nature blog as a "Correspondent." Wow. A dream come true. Just amazing.