Gretchen Cole
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gretchencole.bsky.social
Gretchen Cole
@gretchencole.bsky.social
240 followers 380 following 280 posts
Aspiring Jesus-follower. Also your basic Grandma: birding, gardening, crafting, reading, volunteering.
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gretchencole.bsky.social
“Steward of the forest #garden” I wasn’t feeling well today, so naturally I worked in the yard. Detailed the whole shade garden!

#collage #analogart #birdart #flowerart #homeremedies (I still feel sick, but my attitude is great :)
On a field of white clover, from L to R a giant lily of the valley hovers over a lady watering rudbeckia. In the middle of the rudbeckia are two bluebirds. Above the rudbeckia is a rainy field of daisies, topped by a robin. In the lower right corner, a house finch glares at a ladybug
June 20, 2025 at 1:12 AM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Heiress of the aviary 2

“You are no longer slaves but children, and if children, then heirs”
“Consider the birds of the air”

#collage #analogart #paper #scissors #glue #bibleart #birdart
A large door in a walled garden welcomes a winged woman in a blue dress surrounded by various birds such as a nuthatch, jay, robins, owls and a giant hummingbird!
May 23, 2025 at 10:08 PM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Heiress of the aviary

First in the « heiress » series, based on Galatians 4:7, « You are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child, then an heir through God. »
Consider the birds!

#collage #analog #fussycuts #diecut #vintage #washi #stickers #birds #bibleart
A little girl in white stands in a cozy sectional area with a small library in the background. She’s surrounded by hummingbirds and supervised by a large bright green cockatiel. Behind and above her, windows open to a landscape of hydrangeas, greenery, trees and mountains filled with bluebirds and other birds.
May 19, 2025 at 1:48 AM
gretchencole.bsky.social
I think it’s done now
“March”
#collage #stickers #washi #scissors #glue #birds #flora #fauna #renewal
May 9, 2025 at 10:08 PM
gretchencole.bsky.social
“Surprise!”
#spring #collage #analogart #diecuts #specialtypaper
Rolling hills dusted with snow and winter trees (rendered in cut paper) are the backdrop for, reading upper left to lower right, a yellow and brown bird(sticker), a family of deer in silhouette(die cut) and a photorealistic daffodil (sticker)
May 9, 2025 at 2:02 AM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Study for “Heiress of the forest garden.” (Galatians 4:7)

Some composition and value contrast issues— always my weak point
May 8, 2025 at 9:34 PM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Started this in a class today & finished it at home. The interplay of b&w and color was what I came for, but I stayed for the balance between close observation & leaving the viewer with something to do. #art #drawing #painting #mixedmedia #scienceart #funwithfriends
Watercolor, colored pencil and graphite represent from left to right a cool brown magnolia seed pod, an off-white shell full of tiny holes, a warm brown, ridged half-shell facing down, and a small tan deer antler
April 28, 2025 at 10:18 PM
gretchencole.bsky.social
And the last set
A bed of Jacob’s ladder. Spreads and transplants well. There’s a wild geranium in there somewhere, too! Foamflower (tiarella), “running tapestry “ variety from Bloombox. Seems pretty rugged and has wonderful leaf color all season Packera aurea with ajuga. Got this from someone in a swap group. It’s a good spreader if you have some spaces to fill
April 25, 2025 at 2:04 PM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Here’s more
Wild Columbine and wood poppy. Both volunteers from plants I introduced elsewhere. Prairie rocket (sand wallflower) came in a packaged mix. So glad it keeps showing up! Close-up of buttercup (ranunculus). It volunteers in the lawn and generally blooms through May as I mow around it. Golden alexander (zizia aurea). So delicate and happy!
April 25, 2025 at 1:59 PM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Current views in the garden, thanks to @crazyidealist.bsky.social for asking
#gardening #flowers #spring #renewal #reaping
A hillside covered with violets, punctuated by a couple of wooden steps and some wineberry cane. This is the reductive method of gardening: I took away everything that wasn’t violets More violets with a stand of ajuga (bugleweed) in full bloom. If you plant it, it will spread. A tiny baptisia is sprouting in the foreground— it’ll be 5 feet tall in a few months. Bleeding heart, related to Dutchman’s Breeches, blooms along a brick walk and amongst the brick paths in the strawberry patch Wild geranium is blooming, and native aster is leafing out vigorously.
April 25, 2025 at 1:51 PM
gretchencole.bsky.social
I’ll take some proper pictures later, but here’s a few random spring snaps
Veronica (Speedwell) growing in my garden My neighbor’s curb includes daffodils, tulips, anenomes, and a redbud in full bloom. Her and my strawberries are also blooming already! A sticker collage depicts a gardener at the end of the day surrounded by spring flowers and planning to sit down with a book on the porch! A nice moment in a local park
April 25, 2025 at 1:29 AM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Impression de la japonisme

Photos taken at the #PhiladelphiaMuseumofArt, found #flowers, #bird, & brick texture. #analogcollage
#art #japonisme #artaboutart
A brick wall hosts 5 French sculpted and painted vases and urns influenced by Japanese style and subject matter : cranes, bamboo, florals. The bamboo urn is overflowing with fruit tree blossoms; a vase decorated with single chrysanthemums holds an enormous wild rose of a similar shape; a blue parrot flies across the picture plane, and a little girl eating an apple (sculpted but unpainted) sits under the fruit blooms.
April 7, 2025 at 7:35 PM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Just because I could

#collage #analogart #beach#summer

Photo from an old National Geographic

Images from Studio Crisalyn, Peter Pauper Press, and an Artistry in Mosaics catalog
Three women in swimsuits and a mermaid are enjoying a stream that runs in front of a camper which, in turn, is parked in front of a vineyard. A large, colorful sun overlooks the scene.
April 6, 2025 at 11:47 AM
gretchencole.bsky.social
West Chester showed up & showed out, filling a whole block from the old courthouse to the bank and from Gay to Market. Especially folks of a certain age, faithfully protesting this nonsense since around 1968 & not giving up till the American Dream is a reality for everyone! #Handsoff
April 6, 2025 at 1:10 AM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Pool party!

#collage #analog #✂️ #spring #art #justforfun
A beautiful swimming pool with a woods in the background is the home to birds, dragonflies, a turtle, a frog and a host of plants. A little girl is ready for a party in a floral dress and sunhat. A cat is at her feet.
March 28, 2025 at 1:31 AM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Have you heard I went to Cuba? This was the vibe.

#collageart #Cuba #travel #escape #coconuts
A collage labelled "Cuba" depicts a green landscape with a village, a cluster of city buildings, a 15th century fort overseen by a royal palm and a hibiscus, and a rising sea that is host to a large fish and a beautiful coral reef. Overhead, a bird flies with a coconut bearing the motto, "Coconuts migrate?" All is serene and colorful and lush, even the bird with his mysterious burden.
March 23, 2025 at 9:22 PM
gretchencole.bsky.social
More about Cuba

#🇨🇺 #travel #embargo
The only picture I saw of Castro in Havana was on a billboard in Revolutionary Square saying “Faithful to your ideals, teaching and example” The larger billboard in front of it simply urges us to “drop the blockade” Tall palms watch over terraces full of vegetables at an organic farm we visited A woman walks by a mural that depicts Havana: the capitol building, palms, birds, Afro-Cuban art, and the sea A brightly colored abstract design in the Art Brut style is captioned in Spanish: “I don’t have time to hate those who hate me since I’m very busy loving those who love me”
March 16, 2025 at 12:13 PM
gretchencole.bsky.social
#Cuba is so beautiful!
A small house surrounded by taller buildings and trees Tall palms overlook a terraced farm A lone palm looks across the river at the hills José Martí, the national poet of Cuba
March 16, 2025 at 1:47 AM
gretchencole.bsky.social
A moment of peace on this sad day
The Cathedral:
#Collage
painting by Adam Nicolson for The Plough
#art #birds #forest #peace

PS I included the image of the maple keys because for me, they are a symbol of abundance. There are so many every year! Plenty for food and for making more trees :)
March 5, 2025 at 3:23 AM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Highlights from the Struble Trail Friday. Paved trails can be lovely... and also don't always stay on the pavement if there is another path

#hiking #landscapes #water #photography #birds #ducks
A serpentine cliff topped with pines hangs over the river. All the leaves are brown, but at least the sky is blue. Mallard drake watches over duck as she feeds in a pond, eating for 6, or 7, or 8. The picture is very pixelated close up due to low camera resolution A male mallard looks at a ...turtle? Nope, that's his mate ducking again and again to stock up on whatever is on the bottom of this pond. Another very pixelated photo. Bridge after bridge lets the river flow one way and the traffic another.
March 3, 2025 at 2:27 AM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Quote: Neal Stephenson, Termination Shock
Sticker: Phantom Stickers on Etsy
Sticker of a tattooed sumo panda presenting a scroll is surrounded by the handwritten quote: “You woke the bear from his sleep; you cannot cry when he tangos.”
March 2, 2025 at 10:29 PM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Greystone at dusk

#hiking #trails #photography #ChesterCounty
A stream runs through the layer of duff on a forest floor in winter Wheaty winter fieldgrasses stand out against the treeline A meadow and a treeline as the clouds begin to pink up Rosy clouds over bare trees dotting a meadow
March 2, 2025 at 12:56 PM
gretchencole.bsky.social
A congregation of starlings on a winter day
Cut origami paper on my photo

#birds #collage #art

PS: a small group of starlings can also be called a “chattering”
A dense wild woods of bare trees hosts a dozen or so sitting and flying starlings shown in sillouhette
February 28, 2025 at 3:14 AM
gretchencole.bsky.social
#goodnews overview as of today
This chart lists actions taken by judges to block DOGE data access, the funding freeze, the pause and firing of USAID finances and workers, and the firing of CFPB workers
February 23, 2025 at 10:19 PM
gretchencole.bsky.social
Winter at Greystone Hollow

My landscape photo, animals from field guides and other sources

#collage #art #chestercounty #birds
Redwings, jays, chickadees, tufties, juncos, and a nuthatch all gather around a leaping deer in a wood-lined meadow
February 22, 2025 at 1:32 PM