Macramé

Every few months the Renwick Gallery has a craft happy hour.  September's theme was macrame.

Macrame is a form of textile produced using knotting (rather than weaving or knitting) techniques.  I did a wall hanging rather than a plant holder.  The picture below shows what I started (but didn't finish).

A few weeks later I did a simple wall hanging using colorful yarn.  There are many tutorials including this one on YouTube.  ~ JM

The primary knots of macrame are the square knot.

A simple wall hanging I completed at home.

Plant Photography

I'm lucky that my office is two blocks from the National Mall. When there is an opportunity to escape during lunch I hang out in the various gardens located on the grounds of the museums.

Click on this link to view an article for tips on photographing plants.  Some suggestions that are mentioned include:

• Check out the other visible parts such as the leaves, fruit, and bark;
• Play with light, focus, and composition;
• Focus on shapes, textures, and symmetries;
•  Experiment with black and white, zoom in and zoom out, find the abstract.

Below are the pictures I took.  ~JM

Capturing the large width of the palms as they provided shade on a sunny hot day.

Admiring the difference in texture and color of the various plants.

Experimenting with light and dark to capture the sun's rays shining on the unique shape of the roots.