Now hear this...

 

Yesterday was a really really long long day. So Charlie and I headed out to the Rock Fort to sit a spell and listen to the woods. I was dressed in Blaze Orange but most of the weekend hunters had left the area to go back to where ever they came from. The bottom photo is of my crochet project. I am making a new rag rug and crocheting it. I don't have a loom but I do have balls and balls of material my Grandmother painstakingly put together from old shirts and sheets. Thus...a new rag rug!

~~~~

The morning hours were spent in a long 'intake' interview. 'Intake' is what the VA calls it. Rich and I were interviewed by a gal named Jennifer via secure video connection. It was not painful or difficult, she asked questions of Rich and then asked questions of me without Rich. He was happy to go watch TV in the other room. The program is called VA Family Caregiver Assistance. 

The VA feels it may be cheaper to pay a family caregiver to care for a veteran who needs assistance in all aspects of his daily life....or Activities of Daily Living.... than find a place in a nursing home for him/her. 

I just need to say this. I care for him because I do care. I quit a very well paying job so I could be with him and take care of him. Leaving him home alone every day for hours on end was not an option. There are about 5 more steps with an exam with a nurse, and exam with an Occupational Therapist, more social workers, and even a virtual home visit I think. It takes time and I am not terribly worried. 

One of the benefits that a caregiver can get is access to ChampVA insurance along with respite care and in home assistance. Mental Health access to deal with stress is also available. 

I told Jennifer that it would be amazing to be able to talk to someone from MH just to blow off steam. Okay, I know I have friends, but truly, who wants me to ring them up and complain about how frustrating it is when the person I care for is doing things that drive me crazy? I know he can't help it because of 'brain injury' but yet... somedays having an adult toddler is insane. 

Add a Pandemic to the mix and what have you got? Rhetorical question there. 

Anyway, it was really NICE to talk with another human, even it was a social worker doing an 'intake' interview.

The latest townie news is this. Our 25 bed hospital is nearly full, there is NO more room. The ER is full most of the time. They are treating some patients that need higher quality of care but have no place to transfer them to. That is unless beds open up with deaths or discharge to a lesser unit.

The Doctors made a plea via our local paper and radio stations to PLEASE please wear masks, wash hands, and socially distance...and please do not bring people outside of your household in for Thanksgiving. 
Many of our folk really are trying hard. Others think it is still a hoax or they just don't need to follow the guidelines.

And I know in my heart that if my husband suffers a Medical Emergency, it could be the very last time I see him. 

This really got to me yesterday and that is why Charlie and I went to The Rock Fort and sat while I crocheted. Fresh air, sunlight, birds, and a kind dog helps a lot.

So this morning I decided NOT to read the news. 

I went into distraction mode and created art with Mandebulb 3D, Incendia, and Corel PaintShopPro [a program cheaper but similar to Photoshop which I cannot afford!].

Viking Terminator!

Sleeping Dragon

Have a good day. Stay safe. I'm going out to enjoy the  new snowfall.

This and that ~ the day after Christmas

On those frigid dark mornings I sometimes dabble in a bit of fun. I took a photo of a bare tree in the pasture and 'developed' it into something else. 

Not quite sure what it is, but I do like the colors. Very abstract.

Can you tell that it is dark and below zero outside?
I thought it would be fun to make a Christmas colored fractal...

I don't know why I enjoy 'making' these odd shapes and designs, but it just ends up pleasing me and it is a challenge to work in a graphic program that makes unbelievable worlds.

Or a bit of other worldly...

And...then I decided to see what I could do with a Mandelbulb I made.

Sort of cool. Interesting shapes and patterns.

But then I took it to another photo program and did some manipulations.

Okay this one I like. I mean I really do like it.

Well the sun is coming up. It is about -7 and that is with no winds. The sky has beautiful orange and pale blue colors in it.

Rich's daughter and her family are coming today along with Mom. The house is prepped and tidy. Well, tidy for me.

I need to gather my outdoor gear for chores this morning.

I do love cold. I have the appropriate gear to wear in it and be very comfortable.

So have a great day whatever you are doing.

Just some art today

And some Mandelbulb 3d.

What I do sometimes when I am having my morning coffee and waking up.

Sometimes I need a break from all of the other busy things going on right now.

Looks like the digging for the basement will begin as soon as next week.
I best get busy and get the rest of my preparations done.

Playing with Fractals

It is cold outside!  And I mean cold!  We are having our first deep freeze of the year and it will probably get to -12 F here tonight.

The above and below fractal are something I've been playing with.  Since I don't fully grasp the idea of the IFS formulas yet, I like to take a few formulas and just keep changing them in ways.
 
These are in panorama view.  I sort of like them in their simplicity, but they are nothing to write home about.

I had intended on talking about photography and my last trip down the valley before the latest rain/sleet/snow event occurred but then I was looking at the things I was doing tonight and decided to talk about them.

These are different quick renders from the program Mandelbulb 3D.  It is a rather delightful program that I've been exploring for years.

Some of the artists have been pushing this program beyond what I could even imagine.  They are coming up with astonishing images that look like they were drawn for a movie set.

I come up with...
simple stuff.

I don't have the time nor do I have the rendering power to come up with those stunning masterpieces.
However I can come up with beautiful work of my own.

I prefer fun but sometimes our group is given a challenge and I ... find that I can create strange... or a bit 'dark'.

Or I find something colorful and whimsical.

Last night I revisited Incendia which is another fractal program.  Since I went to Windows 10 it seems to want to flicker like mad.  But I got through that issue last night and used the program and some editing to create a 'sculpture' of sorts.

I haven't mastered this program very well, but I do enjoy using it to combine with Mandelbulb 3D and JWildfire.  Sometimes the results are incredible and sometimes I just flat fall on my creative face.

This one was done with JWildfire and more than one fractal 'flame'.

My final edit of the first two Mandelbulbs in this post is as follows.

Using Graphic programs to creat art.

Over the past year I've met some incredible Fractal Artists that do some incredible work.

There is a group at Facebook called Mandelbulb Maniacs which was founded by Ricky Jarnigan.  
The group has people of all levels and skills with the program.

I've been working with Mandelbulb 3D for a few years now and it seems that I learn something every time I create 'something'.

I often mix up my media.

I like to use other programs such as JWildfire created by Adreas Maschke.  If you like flames and colors, this is mind blowing stuff.  Andreas is always working on ways to improve JWildfire and make it even more easy to create beautiful works.

This took a bit, but it really wasn't that hard.  I started with Daniel Eaton's parameters he posted on Flickr, March 18th.  I then created this piece with symmetry settings, and something called Layerz.

Lú Bendett is another artist I enjoy  following and interacting with.  He has Fractart on FB and his images area both JWildfire and Mandlebulb 3d.

Here is a fantastic fractal he created for today!

*Spring has Sprung in a Vase* 

One other thing I'd like to mention, these two programs are free.
Yes .... free.  Free to download and experiment with.

The FB groups are worth joining FB for just to get tips and ideas, as well as fantastic parameters that are shared.

I will mention one other program.
Incendia.

It is also free but the programmer has left a message that they are not developing it any more due to lack of funds.
There isn't a lot of extra help out there for the program and it is very resource intensive, however...beautiful things can occur when you mix your medias.

I used JWildfire as a backround IN Incendia and rendered the fractal flower into the image.

Here is a Mandelbulb used as a backround and Incendia used to create the final image...mixing the media is very cool.

So when the outside world is cold, damp, snowy, yucky, and you are looking for something to do, start playing with graphic art.

It brings color into your life.

My entry today for a 'spring like' fractal for Mandelbulb Maniacs was this:

 

Fractal Artist Daniel Eaton

When I sent out some questions to a few Fractal Artists that I really admire, I got some immediate response and some interesting information.

*Full Deck by Daniel Eaton*

Daniel Eaton lives in Canton GA (North Metro Atlanta).  His on line address is:
about.me/danieleaton.



Please tell me a bit about yourself and a little backround so we know who you are.

I'm an identical twin that just celebrated my 52nd birthday.  I've been married for 29 years and have two grown children.  

My other hobbies and interests include politics, theology (especially the origins debates), technology (especially Android), making my own jerky, and making my own e-juice for vaping.  

I've been known to blog about these topics and have written some lengthy articles or essays on some of them.  I am a moderator on several forums and also the volunteer as the project manager and technical support person for an online non-profit.  

I enjoy reading and, more often due to my concentration issues, listening to audio books.  My favorite genre of books and TV shows are of the mystery/thriller variety.  

If I were to name one guilty pleasure in life, I'm also pretty addicted to playing DragonVale.  There should be a 12-step program for that!  But is satisfies the project manager side of me and, as I get into with the next "why do you do this" question, it gives me a sense of accomplishment that I no longer am able to obtain in traditional career or other physical terms.

I'm also a huge fan of the reality show Big Brother.  If you are into the study of sociology and the way folk's worldview shapes how they see others and interpret what they say, it is hard to find a clearer example that that show.  By recognizing the worldview of others, it helps us to recognize our own and allows us to become a bit more objective and irenic in the presentation of our own beliefs in topics that are known to get pretty heated.  

What attracted you to digital artwork and why do you do it?

*Replication by Daniel Eaton*

After two decades of being a computer programmer and project manager, I was suddenly disabled by a rare neurological condition nine years ago.  

While it resulted in a toll in my physical health that I couldn't fix, I was looking for something that I could do that would give me a sense of accomplishment every day and a reason to get out of bed.  

Without the physical stamina that would enable me to do anything physical, I thought about what I could do using computers.  I don't recall what brought fractals to mind, but I've been doing them ever since.  And when I wake up in the morning knowing that I have an overnight batch of rendered images waiting for me, it's hard to go back to sleep.

:)  

Because I do this for my own sense of fulfillment and don't want the stress of trying to sell them or keep others from "borrowing" them, I give all my stuff away. This means not only do I do fractals as gifts for people on occasion, but I also publicly share all my parameters online for others to use and enjoy.  I've also used my understanding of computer programming to create a lot of Apophysis scripts, a tutorial on how to write an Apophysis script based on Apophysis parameters, a windows app that would do unattended batch rendering, an explanation of fractals for kids or interested adults, and even came up with a combination of tools to let me embed the parameters of about 20,000 images into the EXIF data of the image itself so that they can be browsed in a visual format and archived online.  I've also done a few J-Wildfire scripts based on some of my old Apophysis stuff.  They are available on the J-Wildfire forum.  So when I have the mental clarity to do it, I not only enjoy making fractals, but enjoy using my knowledge of programming to make my fractal production a bit easier to do, easier to explain, or easier to organize.

 What if it all do you want others so see in your work?

To go back to my listed hobby of the origins debate, I believe that fractals, like nature, show evidence of intelligent design.  

It is more than just beauty.  It reflects a reality that there is something bigger than us out there.  When I am zooming deep down into a fractal, it reminds me of a microscope.  

When we put something man-made under a microscope, the more we magnify it, the more we see its flaws and imperfections. But when we put something natural under the microscope, we find more and more detail.  Whether it be cell structure or DNA or the atom, we see increasing complexity that brings me a sense of awe.

So not to take anything away from all the developers that have spent so much time in creating these amazing tools for us, but they are like the guy that makes a camera,  The beauty and awe are in what these things capture.  And when I luck upon a nice one, I am reminded that God is the Supreme Fractalist.

Do you have goals?  

Because I am disabled, I have no real professional goals.  I'm kinda stuck on the sidelines of life.  

So my goal is to make my little spot on the side of the road something that benefits people.  I want folks to enjoy their interaction with me, benefit from the little things that I can offer, and, while they may not agree with all my opinions, see me as someone who has researched reasons for their beliefs and can present them in a loving and reasoned manner.  So my personal goals are in the area of becoming a better person and helping others in whatever way that I can.  

What is your favorite program and why?

Over the 8+ years that I've been doing fractals, I've used about a dozen different apps.  All but one have been free, so that fit my disability budget perfectly! :)  

I started out with Chaoscope, moved to Apophysis and a couple of different ports of that, played with Mandelbulb 3D, Incendia, Fractal Science Kit, Mind Blowing Fractals, several different apps for iOS and Android, and have settled on my current favorite - J-Wildfire.  

I enjoy being able to use my old parameters from my Apophysis days, love that it is in very active development with frequent updates of new features, and benefit from an active user group.  It's very simple to create some nice stuff with the mutagen window, yet has a ton of capabilities "under the hood" that allow you to get as complex and deep into every aspect of the fractal as you desire.  The ability to have sub-flames alone (the ability to include one fractal as a part of another) gives it a powerful capability that sets it apart.  With the scripts and other resources that are available, and with the fact that it is cross-platform and will run on anything with Java, it truly is an app that anyone from beginner to expert can use on any computer platform.

 Do you have to be a real geek to try these programs?
 

It's not a requirement, but it helps. :)  

But I encourage folks to not let their lack of understanding to scare them away.  You don't have to understand the math behind fractals.  I sure don't.  

So when I explain how to do fractals to those who never have, I try to take the geek/nerd stuff out of it and put it into every day terms.  Parameters become "recipes" and all those variations become "ingredients".  By adding or adjusting the ingredients, you can come up with a finished product just to your taste.

 *Orange by Daniel Eaton*

Any additional thoughts on Fractal Art?

Not everyone "gets" fractal art.  

Out of the tens of thousands of fractals that I've created, there have only been a couple that my wife or kids have said "that's beautiful" about.  They just don't "get it".  

So don't get into fractals for the attention or the accolades of the masses.  

Do it for yourself.  

Do the images that YOU think are pretty.  

And find some forums like the J-Wildfire group where you can appreciate the work of others and share your own.  

They "get" it and are more likely to appreciate your work and offer assistance as needed. 

 And try to learn from them.  

Don't be bashful about posting a piece and the parameters for it and asking folks what THEY would do to make a piece better.  You may not agree with all the suggestions, but it's a great learning experience.  And as you have the opportunity, try to pay it forward.  Try to share your knowledge and experience and resources.  It is in the learning and teaching/helping that you will find your greatest reward.

~~~~~

Daniel made this blog-post pretty simple for me, there was no better way that to just cut and pretty much paste his information here.
I've gotten to know Daniel through Flickr, the JWildfire group on FB, and have admired how freely he shares his information and knowledge.  How he always seems to be willing to help and answer anyone's questions and also how he encourages others.

One of the things I might ask the reader to do is check on the links provided by Daniel Eaton, read about him and his neurological disorder.   I learned something even more than digital graphic arts today.
I learned about  a man who finds  graphic art and sharing his love for it a place to go and be himself. 

I find doing Fractal Art as a way to simply enjoy beauty which he describes so well.  The fun part of it is the learning curve.

Thank you so much Daniel Eaton.