Orange Bowl

Orange bowls don't necessarily contain oranges :)

The large version can be enjoyed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: New Socks. The old ones were getting very thin. This is probably due to the amount of walking that gets done in them.

Six Stars

Cold rainy weather is a good thing. Not being able to decided on a background colour can be a good thing too.

The large version can be viewed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Rechargeable batteries. I use them in both my graphing calculator and my camera. Whilst the calculator is a very handy tool / toy, it tends to "eat" batteries so having rechargeables is very useful.

Sandstar

Effort #2 at coloured background. Made with the same parameters as "Morrocan Wind".

The large version can be viewed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Comment moderation. Yes folks, now anyone can comment on my blog (not only registered users). The neat thing is that with comment moderation, I can preview comments and OK them or not. Whilst most people who take the time to comment are great, every so often some "dodgy" stuff gets posted. With moderation, the dodgy stuff dies and more people can have their say! Of course if it does not work or if my regulars tell me they don't like it, it can be turned off at a later stage. After all, this blog began as an experiment so trialling new stuff is all in the spirit of the thing.

Morrocan Wind

This one was inspired by a challenge on the Frac Fan Forum which specified no black or white backgrounds.

The large version can be viewed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That its not just me. Sometimes when things go wrong, I think its all my fault. Its a relief when my colleagues report that they have similar issues. Its good to know that I am not alone.

Spiral Addiction

Saw it, liked it, rendered it :)

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: A new toaster. The handle of the old one broke so it got replaced with a shiny new version.

Cognition

It looked like a cog in the middle. This one is "Mediocre" with some severe tweaking.

The large version can be viewed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Movies, subways and coffee with a friend. Sometimes its really wonderful to get out of the house :)

Sunscape

Made in Apophysis with the "disc" variant. Clearly this is a variation which is worthy of further exploration.

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Resoled leather shoes. My favourite pair of shoes are back are in use. I have missed them and its great to have them back again.

Night Shade

This fractal umbrella has been designed for all nocturnal shading needs.

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: The fact that tomorrow is Friday! Guess who is in serious need of a weekend.

Cold Flame

This one is fuelled by creativity and passion. Once it starts burning, it can't be extinguished.

The large image can be viewed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That today was not a total loss. Enjoyed dance class *as usual* and then filled up my car (price now $1.67 per L, an improvement on the $1.77 per L price of three weeks ago). The rest of my day is not worth contemplating!

Sink Hole

Done after a really lousy day at the "office". Pity I can't send some of my more difficult students down that hole!

The detail is best enjoyed in the super large version.

Today's Gratitude Item: The fact that today was not "lousy". In fact, it was great. The practical part of a major assessment that I had been stressing about went off without a hitch. My students impressed by rising to the challenge. They did what they needed to do in almost total silence and it was wonderful to watch them.

Restless

The title really says it all.

The large version can be enjoyed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Getting to bed before 11pm on what has been an insanely busy day.

Ice Dawn

Dedicated to all of those currently stuck in a heat wave. Don't you wish you were able to transport yourself into this graphic :)

The large version can be enjoyed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: The ability to touch type. Life would be a lot more painful without this handy skill.

Jade Sphere

Done with the same parameters as "Bubble Bauble".

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Rubber gloves. Washing stuff manually would be a lot less pleasant without these handy little items.

Bubble Bauble

The "bauble" bit was done in Apo (as usual), the background in PSP.

The large size version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: The tutorial class that I held at lunch time went well. We are having a *big* assessment next week at school and I was worried that my classroom would not be big enough to fit all the worried students in need of extra help / reassurance. Happily, only a dedicated few (around 20) turned up and we had a very productive session.

Patience

This one took a while to create, a while to render and a *long* while to upload. It was worth the wait though!

The super large version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: A perfect cup of "tea"^*. Once again, its the little things that make life worthwhile.

^*Technically the black currant "infusion" that I enjoyed is not "tea" as it has no actual tea leaves in it. I think of it as tea because it comes in a "tea bag" and is brewed in a similar manner (sans milk and sugar).

Haven

Its not quite "Sanctuary", but its close enough.

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Longer days. I noticed that it is getting dark later *at last*. For the first time in ages, I did not need to put on the outside lights when my student left after our afternoon session. Looks like we are finally on the "right" side of winter.

Magen Fly

These ones look like they have wings! This is #4 in the greeting card series.

The full size image can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Seating plans. I set one up for one of my "challenging" classes and am hoping that it will be effective. Funny thing is, the students that generally work hard had no problem with "the plan". Those who are less keen on my math class looked distinctly unhappy.

Magen Gold

Graphic #3 in the greeting card series.

The super large version can be enjoyed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Warm socks. When life gets hard, having warm feet on a cold day can make it bearable.

Magen Funk

These are supposed to be funky. This is the second in my greeting card range.

The super large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Lunch. Or more specifically, the volunteer lunch we enjoyed at the library today. Take some fresh bread, salad, hummous, sushi, chocolate thingy (for with tea / coffee) and half a dozen ladies and you have a recipe for success. A good time was had by all.

Glass Star

Late at night, strange things tend to happen. I think the universe is telling me to take go to bed already!

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: A successful dance performance. After months of practice, we finally got to perform our choreography and it went really well. The only thing better than the audience appreciation was the sense of camaraderie amongst the group. Lets just say that dance group is filled with the nicest people!

Cyclone Cynthia

Sometimes weather can be pretty and nasty at the same time. For the record, I don't know anyone called Cynthia :)

The large version can be enjoyed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Chocolate cake at morning tea. For some reason, cake always tastes better when it is unexpected :)

Squashed Star

Made whilst experimenting with the "hyperbolic" variant.

The large version can be viewed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: The fact that the week is almost over. I need to sleep. Enough said.

Spotted Violet

Those white / yellow spots took forever to get right! Hopefully it was worth the effort.

The large image is available at the preceding link. If you don't see the full image, try the small version which seems to be easier to download at the moment.

Today's Gratitude Item: Toilets that work. You can stop laughing now. Lets just say that after parent teacher interviews and before dance class, I had to go and the toilets attached to the hall where we dance were out of order. Happily, the alternate loos were fully functioning.

Pearl Swirl

Done with the same parameters as "Cosmic Sunflower". Life is very good :)

The large image can be enjoyed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That the staff (ie: teachers) beat the students (ie: the 1st XI) at soccer at lunch time today. The field was more mud than grass and the main reason I watched the game was to support the referee who happens to be a student in one of my Maths classes. Needless to say she did a brilliant job!

Cosmic Sunflower

This is what my "bright ideas" look like :)

The large image can be enjoyed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Being safe on the road. I was one car behind a "fender bender" coming home from school today. Am grateful that my car was not the one to be "hit". The accident was not serious in that no one was physically injured. The one car looked significantly worse for wear though.

Abyss

We all have days like this! If this graphic hits too close to home, just know that you are not alone.

Thankfully today is not one of "those" days for me.

The large version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Waking up this morning and realising that I have everything that I need. Being content means not worrying about a whole lot of stuff and just enjoying each day for the gift that it is. I know this is Corny but who says "corny" can't contain a grain of truth?

Dust Flower

This one was a real surprise. It does not use the "blur" variation which would usually result in a flame that looks like this. It uses two transforms, with only linear and spherical variations. Weird.

The original graphic can be viewed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item

Having the time to read a book. Started (and finished) "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. The story was compelling, heartbreaking and at times, humourous in a dark way. My mom asked me to get it from the local library and read it after seeing the author on the Oprah show. This is a good thing, as this is not the kind of book that I would usually read and it does offer some insight into the making (and breaking of) addiction.

The saddest thing about the book was the last page where it summarises what happened to many of the characters in the book. Suffice it to say, they were serious when they said that the success rate of "The Clinic" was seventeen percent and that this was the highest in the country! Certainly a depressing prospect.

Ice Cave

I get cold just looking at this one. It appeared with minimum tweaking which is amazing. Why is it that the best ones often take minimal effort?

The large version can be enjoyed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Salt and Vinegar rice crackers. The plan is to eat some right now.

Four Seasons

This one has it all, Spring, Summer, Autumn and finally Winter at the bottom RHS.

Inspired by Vivaldi.

The detail is best appreciated in large size.

Today's Gratitude Item: Finally having a "good" day. For some reason, everything seemed to go well today. Perhaps it has something to do with the weather. After a few weeks of cold / cloud / rain we finally had a warmish sunny day.

Tish B'Av 5766

Please view in large size to be able to read the text.

Tish B'Av is one of the saddest days on Jewish Calendar. The book of Lamentations is read in shul on this day.

Today's Gratitude Item: Having a good lesson with my favourite private student. Teaching can be "tough" at times and having a "good" student is a real pleasure.

Living Light

After the storm, the sun will shine again.

The large version can be enjoyed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That NCIS is back on television! I love that show mainly because it is so fast paced, that it makes my time on the treadmill simply fly by *watching TV is not bad for you if you are walking at the same time*.