Light Feathers

Sometimes just playing around can lead to beautiful things.

The large version can be viewed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That the large overnight / part of the day render that I did worked! Its a long story with a happy ending.

Aztech

A rather lame pun for a rather funky flame.

The large version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Not getting rained on. It was a close thing! Gotta love Auckland's spring / early summer weather.

Ink Splash

In my world, this is what splashes of ink look like.

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That summer is pretty much here! Today was the first "hot" day we have had in a while. Daylight saving starts on the weekend and there has been a definite change in the weather. Its no longer Spring, it certainly feels like summer!

Spice

Perhaps this is simply a bird's eye view of a swarm of worms on Dune.

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item That the price of petrol dropped again and I filled up my car at the lower price ($1.44 instead of $1.47). I should have filled up yesterday but did not get round to it. Am happy about that cause the price only came down today.

Motion Mosaic

Took a rather long time to design and even longer to render.

The large version can be viewed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: After a frustrating day trying to get Context Free to do what I wanted it to do, one of the guys over at Frac Forum posted a really handy little script for creating "woven tiles". This little gem, complete with "tweaking" hints means that today was not a total loss graphics wise. Thanks dsa157!

Midas

This is what happens when you let that king touch your shrubs. Ruined I tell you. Simply ruined!

The full sized version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Clear blue skies and cool weather. Today was perfect in pretty much everyway. The weather was great and I am on holiday. What more could a girl want?

Web Ball

The spider that made this certainly had a ball :)

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Getting 10 downloads *so far* on Shutterstock. This means that I have earned a grand total of $2.50 (US) so far. Its not the money though, its the fact that people out there are willing to download (and therefore pay for) my work. What a buzz.

Shana Tova 5767

Rosh HaShana is finally here! The magic of computers means that making a great looking card can be very very easy. Its a good thing we had some spare apples in the fridge. If you don't know what Rosh HaShana is, or why apples are featured in this card, please see the preceding link.

The large version can be enjoyed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Being officially on holiday *insert cheers here*. Because of Rosh HaShana, this blog won't be updated for a couple of days. New content will appear in the New Year (5767 that is).

Awaiting 5767

This one was created in Apo a while back. It's a fractal Shofar and its appropriate, especially as tomorrow is the start of Rosh Hashanah. I will be posting a traditional Rosh Hashanah graphic tomorrow, but in the meantime, I am still awaiting 5767.

The large version can be enjoyed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That I have outgrown "cheesy" frames like the one on the above graphic. How could I ever have thought it looked "cool"??

Ellen Tile

This one was inspired, and is named after one of my students. She drew the design using a compass. I recreated the design using "Context Free" and then used Paint Shop Pro for the rest.

The large version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Being able to remember the basics of Context Free so that I could recreate the design above.

Intimate Depth

Dig deep enough and you may be surprised at what emerges.

The large image can be enjoyed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Being almost finished with my senior reports. Happily it was only one class worth and my colleague was super quick at proof reading them so with a few minor changes, they should be good to go.

Blue Clam

This one was more "clam shaped" than anything, hence the name.

The large version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: My 8th graders are finding our new Geometry topic very easy. Finally, we have something that they all can do! A lot of them really struggled with the Algebra and it is a relief to be doing something much less taxing.

Cotton Clouds

Clouds are good not only for rain, but also for ones imagination. As kids, we used to look up at the sky and say "that one looks like a ....". Fractals are the same with people often seeing quite different things in the same piece of work.

The large image can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: My attempt to render while sleeping worked! Thanks to the amazing guys at the Fracfan Formum, I was able to set up my computer to do several large renders last night and then some more today whilst I was out. Lets just say that "the guys" gave me the tools and information to do what I wanted to do. Thanks everyone!

Chocolate Sensation

Next to diamonds, chocolates are a girl's best friend.

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: New sneakers. Specifically new sneakers bought one month before dance camp so that I will have time to wear them in. They were half price which is good, sadly they are pink which is less good :)

X-Factor

Named for the "X" at the center. Took a very long time to render.

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: The weekends here!! With only one week of school left before the holidays, things have been crazy busy. Next week *should* be slightly better but right now, I really beed my weekend.

Sunday Star

Made on a Sunday :) It looks really similar to some of my earlier work, but it is pretty so I went ahead and rendered it.

The large version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: The fact that petrol went down 5c today. Its now at $1.51 per L which is still expensive but at least the price is going in the right direction.

Sun Stone

If you could capture the sun in a stone,
Would you claim it all as your own?
Or would you try and play it fair,
By giving each one you know a share?

The large version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Being able to fix my dad's "dead" mouse by simply putting in fresh batteries. I love those "easy to solve" problems.

Forest Floor

Same parameters as "Blue Cocoon" but with a touch of the "bubble" variant. I was suprised with the result.

The large size can be viewed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Being able to go for a nice long walk outside! It is still quite cool and the rain that plagued us over the weekend has disappeared which made this particular walk most enjoyable.

Blue Cocoon

Do blue butterflies hatch from blue cocoons??

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: That I am done marking two sets of "block tests" for my 8th graders. They took the test today and quite a few of them have already asked me when they will get it back. The deal tomorrow will be "work well this period and you find out your grade. Much around, and I don't tell you what you got!". In my job, leverage like that is too good not to use.

Ice Flower

Made with the same parameters as "Strung Out". This gives new meaning to the idea of tweaking something beyong recognition.

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Having our six year old library volunteer help me put the videos in the kids section of the library back into order. The task took twice as long as it would have without her help but it was well worth it. She got a thrill out of doing it and I got a thrill out of watching her put her "abc's" into practice!

Strung Out

How long is this piece of string?

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Sold 25 fractal greeting cards at our local craft fair. This may not sound like much but considering the horrible weather and very low turn out to the fair, it was pretty good. It was interesting to see which graphics were the most popular. It was my first time at the "fair" and hopefully next time, the weather will be more cooperative.

Better Late than Never

Created late at night. The name comes from that fact that getting to bed late is better than not getting to bed at all.

The large version is at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Peace and quiet. After a "full on" week at school, being able to just stop for a while is really wonderful.

Paperchain

For some reason, this one reminded me of the paper chains we used to make as kids. This is somewhat more sophisticated though.

The large version of the above graphic can be viewed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Email. More specifically the email set up at school which allows me to contact my colleagues very easily. I know that sometimes email can be a real pain but sometimes it can be extremely useful.

Pink Trace

If you are a fan of pink ribbon, you will probably appreciate this one :)

The large version can be viewed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: After over 12 years of suffering cramps in my feet during winter, have discovered the reason. The cramps started when we moved from "sunny South Africa" to NZ. Turns out that whilst the winters in SA were cold, its a different cold to over here and the cramps were simply due to the cold / damp weather. Happily this problem is now a thing of the past as my electric blanket ensures that my muscles don't seize up when I go to bed. Discovered this the hard way when I decided that it was warm enough to do without the electric blanket and my muscles disagreed :)

Sunset Harmony

Abstract is good.

The full sized version can be viewed at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Being sent the link to a new webpage that has "excellence" questions for NCEA^* Maths students. This is really helpful as my students are currently revising for their upcoming exams and getting to practice these sorts of questions is really important for them. Best part is, for now the website and resources on it are free. Bad news is that the author of the page has not yet put up the answers to the questions.

^*NCEA is the name of the New Zealand exam system. It is a rather complex beast that is unpopular with a lot of teachers for many reasons. Going into those reasons is fairly pointless as we are stuck with the system so most of us just do the best that we can.

Impact

Art that makes you think (or not).

The large version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: My mom. Being able to talk to her about pretty much anything is really good. A problem shared is a problem halved. That and she makes really really good chicken!

Superstring

Named after the theory.

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: My dad! Seen as its father's day today, this is a very appropriate item. There are so many great things about my dad that to list them all would take a very very long time. I love his sense of humour, his generosity and his compassion. We have always had a very special relationship and the best thing anyone could every say to me would be that I am just like him!

Ocean Song

The only problem with these is that after a while they all start to look the same.

The large version is available at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: An afternoon nap. Its the best option after a very busy week.

Driftwood

The form appeared with only a touch of tweaking. Sadly, the gradient took forever to find!

The large version can be seen at the preceding link.

Today's Gratitude Item: Another new toaster. The first new toaster did not work properly and was exchanged for a second one. The second toaster worked except that it tended to toast one side too much and the other side not at all. We now have toaster #3 which will hopefully produce evenly browned toast. Best of all, I did not have to run around trying to buy said toaster. My dad took it on as his "mission" and hopefully he has succeeded :)