Golden Rule Palace

Living Intensely

 

I am living a different life up here. I have amazing experiences everyday, that would never happen in the city. My neighbor came over for a visit the other day and brought me a "bouquet" of asparagus from her garden and her month old lamb "Woolsey." All transported on her ATV! We did a weekend "pet sit" for them involving feeding Titan the baby bull and herding the chicks into their coop at night. Today was an amazing day. It started with a balloon landing at the bottom of our street in a vacant field.

We took a trip to Shady Cove, a small town about an hours drive away. My hubby tried his hand at fly fishing while I journaled and took some photos. I stopped at a local thrift shop and scored some bargain priced vintage books. We ended with a new tradition - amazing roadside barbeque ribs. Now that is living intensely!

Artfest 2010

I just found out I will be teaching at Artfest 2010. Here is a "peek" at one of my class samples. To see the entire piece, you will have to tune in to the Artfest website on August 1! We will be playing with collage and paint on album covers.....sound simple, but is proving to be quite a challenge to select and save graphic elements on the cover and integrate them into a new design. It is a lot of fun and I am off to find more albums at the local thrift store...

Summer Visit

We just finished a visit with our daughter, who came up from San Diego to spend a week. It is always amazing how much you try and cram into a visit to make the most of the time. We went to Portland to check out Portland State with the hope that she will be going there in 3 short semesters. I would love to have her closer. One of our local trips was to the Oregon Caves in Cave Junction. No trip is complete without a stop at "Burlman's" Home of all things tree and burl...This guy was just hanging out.

Journal Struggle

I have been trying to develop a journaling routine over the past few months. My struggle is on several levels. Journal size, paper and getting into the habit of doing something every day. I imagine I am not alone in this. I am trying to embrace the process and eventually I am sure I will make it mine... Here are 2 of my most recent pages.

 

This one is one of my "blob" creatures. I just floated watercolor on the page and doodled her into existence....

Spring is here

It is amazing to see the changes spring brings in our new home.

 

This moth was drying his (her?) wings outside my studio door. What a sight!

Getting Ready

 

I have been busy the last month preparing for my classes at Artfest. Somehow I managed to finish Pearl - my gallery piece. I think she fits the theme....

Right time, right place

Getting to know a new place and finding folks who are in to art and artmaking is a new thing for me. I developed my circle of art friends in So Cal gradually - it just happened. Now that I am a newbie in a new town, beginning the process is a bit daunting. I basically started by going to local art stores and the local art museum and talking to folks. I found a local coffee shop where art is displayed and handed out my card. It turned out the shop has a 1 year waiting list to display, but the month of February was a no show and can I "hang pictures right away." Talk about being in the right place at the right time! My first "coffee house" exhibition...the photo is not great, but you get the idea.

St. Francis- my first patron saint entry

 

This is St. Francis. A peek at the first entry in my patron saint book - which is in the mail for the next addition.

Getting to Work

It has been a long time since I have posted. Having only moved once in my life, I was not prepared for the length of time it takes to get settled. Our move was complicated by the typical rural senario - the van couldn't make it up the driveway. In true small town fashion, calls were made and we had folks we barely knew helping us ferry all our stuff (which was considerable) to the garage. It was such a gift and we will be sure to return the favor when called upon. Once we had everything, it was all the work ahead finding places for things, putting furniture together and trying to find all the cords that will make all the electronic things work. We are truly rural in that we have no "high speed internet" or "cable tv". We do have lots of (3) dishes and antennas and somehow it is all working. I am still struggling with the internet access and speed, but I am guessing as I settle in to a routine I will loose some of that urgency that goes with city life. Right now, I am having difficulty uploading and may have to forgo a photo for this post. Will see....

My studio is together to a point. And I am finally back to work. I have the dilemma of more space and trying to figure out how to organize so I dont have to hunt for things. My first project was to design a book for a round robin group I am in called the "Patron Saint" project. 13 artists will create artwork for a new patron saint each month, in one anothers books. It is something to look forward to each month and will keep me from feeling isolated, as I start to find like minded artist folk up here. 

Well, no luck on my photos, so I will add them when my connection cooperates....

Progress...

 

Here is a glimpse of my developing studio space. It is exciting to see it coming together. This photo show the addition of cabinets and drawers, yeah! and a great shot of the massive table my daughter built for me. My hubby and I installed the cabinets ourselves and managed to still be "friends" at the end. (I am a bit controlling...) What you are looking at is 10 glorious feet of counterspace. Our goal was to get the cabinets in and ready to accept the other 75% of my art and sewing stuff. This trip to the Palace was coupled with a 2 day art retreat for me at Art and Soul in Portland. I took a sketchbook class and also LK Ludwig's Storybook class. I finally finished the book and will post some photos as soon as they are taken.

Now that we are back in So. Cal and have recovered from the election, we are scrambling to get all the things crossed of our lists before the final move. We feel a little displaced - sort of like a couple with no country. We are doing repairs on the house here, trying to fit one last MD/Dental visit in and don't forget about the all important haircut ( I have gone to her for 20+years).  Until we were heavy into this process, it did not dawn on me how many relationships, beyond friends and family, that we have created and will miss. I suppose that is a "glass half empty" attitude - look at the potential for many new relationships and friends - and hopefully a great hair stylist . Looking forward to new experiences.