Oregon Coast

We picked 2 days in June to take advantage of the Oregon coast. Bad luck for us it was VERY wet!

We stayed right on the water - literally. Complete with Tsunami warnings. It was magical, despite the weather. We came across an outdoor "art gallery" which was amazing.

You can see the rain pelting down, but these huge sculptures, made of fiberglass demanded some attention...

There were some amazing views of the rocky coast.

And some really awesome eating. My favorite was this place in Gold Beach.

I had a gourmet chicken burger with provolone and basil mayo. I was in foodie heaven!

It was a nice break, but I am glad to be back home and ready to get to work in the studio.

Garden Progress

We are moving forward on the garden. I can't believe how much work we have done and still no plants!
We have the raised beds built and started an outline of 2 rock beds.

The last 2 days my hubby has slaved digging holes for the deer fence. This contraption is called a Dingo.

I had to laugh. When I was taking photos, I noticed my hubby's tee shirt logo. Very fitting.

Lucky for us it was successful- all holes dug, even without Max's help. Next is the fence....

My journaling....

I have been doing a fair amount of work in my journals. I think I have finally found the tools that work for me and travel well. Basically pencils - Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils and Prismacolor colored pencils. I am amazed at how much can be done with them.

Can you believe it...the only thing extra I used is a fine line permanent ink pen. Here is another:

I am definitely hooked...

Life in the Country

I love living in the country. Each day is a new adventure ( aka: challenge), learning experience and project. It also  brings wonderful eye candy and inspirations from nature. We have learned many obscure things since moving here, the latest is to leave the hood up on your car when you go away for a week. Why? Because mice will fill your car fan with dog food and insulation! I got into my car to drive - the fan sounded like ground glass when turned on and the car smelled like dog food. Much investigation revealed ....

My fan! This took a major effort for a squadron of mice...

We have wonderful neighbors with a large farm full of all manner of creatures. Here are 2 looking at me from across the yard.

We are undertaking the ultimate country task - a vegetable garden. No small feat. The ground here is rock with a little dirt, so we have decided on raised beds. The project begins with digging...

My two favorite men at work...well at least one of them is working, the other is looking for gophers.

Phase I is to spread a layer of gravel....oh my aching back.

Probably a little ambitious, but I rarely do things small. More to come on this....

ArcheDream for Humankind

ArcheDream for Humankind (click on the link)

I saw this amazing show this weekend called Deep Blue. The masks and costumes were exquisite. There was a talk at the end of the program and they use everything from feather boas to lace table cloths for the costumes, which are transformed magically under black light.

Yummy Fabrics...

Whenever I visit my kids in San Diego, I shop. Not for just any old thing, things that are rare in rural Oregon. This trip I had a bee in my bonnet - I bought fabric - yards of it. Silk and velvet in amazing colors.

I have no idea what will become of them, surely some fabric pages for the new book collaborative I am doing with 11 amazing artists called "Signs and Symbols." It is based on the zodiac, but who knows where it will lead. Here is my cover, a recycled 45 record album. I slipcovered it in hand dyed fabric and used some of the vintage optical stuff gather dust in my studio. The images are printed out on fabric and I did a bit of hand quilting and added some doll arms covered in text. It was pretty fun!

Artfest Pics

I am finally back home. I feel like I have been gone for a year, but it has only been 3 weeks. Artfest was an intense inspirational experience. My students in my class "Cover Girls," were awsome!

Here are some...hard at work. As you can see, paper chaos!

Here is one of the completed album collages by William Bowen. Amazing...

One of the highlights for me was the "Iron Chef Challenge." Teachers volunteered to create a piece of art using some or all of the materials provided in 30 minutes (we actually got 45 minutes.)

The crowd...

Sunny Carvahlo and me, hard at work and surrounded by onlookers.

A close up of me working on my piece.

Putting on the final touches. Believe it or not, I never took a final photo of the piece. Lucky for me, my friend Lynn Leahy won it in the raffle...

I had the luxury and pleasure of taking 2 days of class from Jesse Reno. He was a great instructor and a master of his process. He is living proof that the best way to grow as an artist is to make art prolifically. No excuses- paint, paint, paint. You can only get better.

This is the piece I finished the first day. I did all the things he said I would do. Fell in love with it too quickly, did not take my time and really look from a distance often. I did not really get it....

This is day 2 and what a difference. I took my time with the under layers. Looked and worked on a small portion and looked again. By lunch I still could not see where I was going with this. When I saw it with fresh eyes it clicked and I ran with it. I could continue to work it, but I have decided that I will make 5 more this week and see what happens.