Golden Rule Palace

Journalfest

What an experience. I love just playing and being a student. Above is a spread from the journal I did in Tracy Bunkers class on Thursday. I made a decision to use only collage items I was given or collected during journalfest and love the look of random papers ghosting in the background.

Friday I had Anahata Katkin. She has such great energy and it was infectious. I did 3 pages in class, but this was my favorite....

The last day I had a class with Alex Shur. I am totally taken with working with watercolors in books. They are so soft and dreamy - and portable!

Teesha and Tracy are such great people and know just how to put on a great event that appealed to everyone I met. Truly a transforming experience with enough inspiration to last me for quite a while. 
 

The joy of online classes

I was encouraged to look into providing online classes, so I decided the best way to check out this new technology would be to take a class myself. I enrolled in Suzi Blu's class titled "The Goddess and the Poet." It is an amazing experience and I encourage you to try a class on line, there are many out there. You work at your own pace, get feedback on your progress and get to try new things in the comfort of your home. (No hauling of supplies!!) This is a page from my Moleskine Journal - who knew it could handle all of that paint....Suzi's site is: www.suziblu.ning.com

 

Teddy bears and Patron Saints

I have been away from sewing for a while and getting ready for my fall teddy bear web update has me dusting off my Bernina. I really missed her! I was repairing some vintage doll clothes to put on some of my bears and decided they needed a wash. As soon as I hung them up on the line, I ran to get the camera - this was just too cute....my fall update will be Thursday, October 1 at 12noon PST.

 In keeping with the sewing theme, I decided to do my Patron Saint for the month of September as an art quilt. Saint Kennith is a fictional patron saint of sarcastic wit, recovering alcoholics, hearse drivers and crabbers. One of his symbols is a black cat. I altered an old photo - radically, and sewed it right on the fabric. I treated it first with clear gesso, my new favorite art supply...

2010 Calendar

 

I just received my advance copy of the 2010 Melange calendar put out by Stampington  and Company. My artwork is featured the month of July. It is a beautiful full size calendar featuring 12 artists work and their websites and contact information. You can check the calendars out at : Stampington 

Surreal Visit

I just returned from a trip down to the San Diego area. I was able to fit in a bit of teaching and these are some snaps from one of my classes creating "surreal creatures." I had a great time and loved how everyone in class embraced their creativity. Aren't these great!

 

  

 

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!