Six Days 'Til SEWN

Six more days until the start of Mary Ann Moss' newest online class, SEWN.  It's going to incorporate patterned paper, sewing, flights of whimsy, imagination and perhaps a bit of pixie dust, just like all of MA's classes.

I haven't had much time to paint many of my own designed papers, but I've done a few, sampled here for your perusal.  The ones I have done, I like (mostly).  I have NO IDEA where all the shenanigans of this class will lead, but having taken Mary Ann's other classes, I know it's going to be fun, fabulous and extremely creative ride.

I have rummaged through my paper stash, found my washi tapes and my paper-only sewing machine (with LOTS of needle threaders, as I can barely thread that darn machine on the best of days!), assembled glue and scissors and my paper cutter and now, NOW I'm reduced to doing a blog post about how excited I am.  And counting the days....

tick tick tick.....

Round Robin Art Journals

I am taking part in a Round Robin art journaling exchange.  There are seven of us involved.  We each created our own journal and we all are working to the theme of where we live, a sort of 'staycation' travel journal group.  It's been both a challenge and fun to work in other's journals, trying to find new and fresh things to say about the special place where I live.

I used the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival as the theme for my page for this journal.  I love the Tulip Festival and I have a special connection as my mother lived in the Skagit Valley while she was growing up and I still have a lot of family in the area.

It will be very apparent that I tend to work intuitively, rather than to a firm plan!  I covered over a lot of the map I did as a background, but hey----it was fun.  I know it's there!

This set of pages if for another journal in the Round Robin group.  I am suggesting that the viewer take a bike ride with me through my town and I used a lot of my original photographs, which was fun.

This is my sign-in page for the bike tour entry.  I love the ferry picture and was happy to finally have a good place to use it.

Since the journal I was working in had a pocket placed in just the right place, I used a lot of small photos of town and put them into a handcrafted paper envelope I made to hold them.  The artist whose journal this is had included a few photos of her town on her page spread, so I just carried on the idea with my spread.

One of the other members of the Round Robin group, jna, has become my new art friend.  He very kindly shared a photo of a hand with a pointing finger that he took and used in this journal on his spread.  We had chatted about doing a collaboration within the Round Robin.  I used his photo in my spread and enjoyed incorporating his image.  I also did my lead-in to my spread in a similar manner to how he led into his spread.  Very derivative but you know the old saying, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."  My new journal friend is a very talented artist and I am happy to follow his lead in this journal.

I will be traveling a lot in July and early August, so I have worked ahead.  I am caught up with this project so I can vacation without feeling guilty and will be able to enjoy my time away that much more.

43 Years and Counting

taken in Gyserville, California, September 2010

My DH and I were married 43 years ago today.  YIKES!  43 of anything seems like a lot, but years?

Oh, please, don't misunderstand me.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  He's my guy.  He's the one.  He is still the one and only.

But.....43 years??!?

Guess that means we really are old.

And happy!

It's THAT Time Again!

Father's Day weekend is fast approaching and for those of us who live in Edmonds, that can only mean that the Edmonds Arts Festival is about to begin!

All our supplies and dodods, gismos, bits and bobs, thingamajigs and tools have been moved into the Frances Anderson Center, the home of the Festival.  The whole Festival rises out of plastic tubs....we store our things in them during the year, we load and unload them into trucks for the short drive to and from our storage facility, we rummage and search and somehow, every year, a whole magical arts festival emerges.  It's downright amazing!

The Student art work is hung and ready, waiting for the Patrons to arrive on Friday.  The creativity and talent these young artists show is inspiring.  And no, I am NOT just saying that.  These young people do phenomenal work.

By opening on Friday we have over 240 artists vendors on the field and on the plaza.  The shopping is wonderful!  Something for everyone....

We have two food courts, not counting the food truck in the Kids' Creative Corner, where we have projects for our young Patrons, from spirit houses to chalk drawing and all sorts of things in between.

We have three juried galleries, too.  Paintings, Prints and Drawings are in the gym (come see our new hanging display boards that were funded by a stupendous grant from the Hazel Miller Foundation).  In room 207 the Photography can be found and I think this years selections are the strongest group yet.
(And I can say that even though my three submissions were not juried into the show!)  The third gallery features sculpture, glass, jewelry, weaving, wood and other dimensional work.

For me, having been involved with the Edmonds Arts Festival for a number of years now, the very best part are the friends I've made.  The directors and volunteers are an amazing group of people.

If you are in the neighborhood, be sure to come see what's new this year.  The Festival is free (no dogs, please, it's a city ordinance that our doggie friends are not allowed on the Frances Anderson Center grounds) and all are welcome.  Come celebrate the arts in Edmonds with student and adult art, music, dance, food, singing and wonderful family fun.  And maybe a little shopping?

Thank you for putting up with my once a year advertisement!

All photos are from previous Festivals.

Eating Me Out of House and Home

 I bought a bird feeder thinking it would be nice to entice a few songbirds into the yard....

It took almost a week before the feeder was truly discovered.  Now, it's in constant use.

I had no idea that so many birds were living and congregating in my side yard.  There are lots of shrubs along there and I keep it pretty dense as a living wall between my yard and the information log cabin that sits next door.  Apparently by adding the feeder I created the perfect bird neighborhood.

The birds really do get up early.  And eat.  And then they snack.  And then they eat again.  And again.  And then they have lunch.  And so it goes, all day long.

I may have to take out a loan to keep them in birdseed!

$32 a Pound

I'm at the Saturday market and what do I spy?  Fresh, gorgeous, woodsy morels.  And I think, well, it can't hurt to ask.......  $32 a pound.  

Well, that was a bit rich.

But fresh morels!  Woodsy, perfect, yummy morels!

I bought 5.

 I assembled a few ingredients.

And I made myself the perfect lunch.

Chefs" Tour of Dream Kitchens

Chef Shubert Ho, Bar Dojo and Shooby Doo Catering

Yesterday was my friend Susan's birthday and I had gotten us tickets to attend the Chefs' Tour of Dream Kitchens here in my town of Edmonds, Washington.  This tour is always great fun and a hot ticket as there are only 70 spaces available.  It is put on each year by the Edmonds Center for the Arts as a fund raiser (and kudos to Nancy Fleck for thinking up the idea in the first place and then organizing it so beautifully and running it each year).  Basically what happens is that "they" take you around in a comfy van, from beautiful home to beautiful home (and, boy, do those homes have dream kitchens), where chefs from local restaurants demo a dish and then you get to eat it.  They pass out the recipes, too!  And wine.  Did I mention the wine?

Above we have Chef Shubert Ho, from Bar Dojo, one of my favorite places to dine in town.  He made beef satay with spicy peanut sauce and it was delicious.  I love satay!

Chef Bill Pennington, Arnie's of Edmonds

Chef Pennington made Prawns en Croute.  He had two very fine helpers, one of whom was only 10 years old. (I chose not to show her photo as I don't have her parents permission.  Trust me, she was adorable in her chef's whites!)

My friends Jeri Hamilton and Susan Penning

Darin Since, The Loft Cafe and Social Lounge

Chef Since made a delicious Braised Pork Belly with Gnocchi and Apple Brandy Gastric that was spectacular.  It only takes two full days to prepare....time well spent, judging from the results!

one of the Tim Morris, Epulo Bistro

Chef Morris made a fantastic Burrata Cheese that was unusual and yummy.  He served it on toasted baguette with a salad of grape tomatoes, lightly dressed, and a chiffonade of basil.

Tim and his daughter and able assistant

The last chef was Jordan Schey.  He made really good crab cakes with a Wasabi Cilantro Viniagrette.  Let me tell you, that sauce was fine.  It made a good dish great.

Jordan Schey, Hills Restaurant

Susan and I had a great time.  So much so, in fact, that I  have already purchased tickets for next year's tour.

Inspired by Others to Try

I have been so inspired by viewing blogs where people paint and sketch and then post their work for others to see.  It's hard---scary---to do that.  I have been especially impressed by MAM and her sister, who have just returned from a trip to Italy.  They have been sharing the sketching they did in their travel journals and I get such a thrill out of seeing what they did, how they did it and picking up all the little details that you get when you sit and quiet yourself and sketch.  It is such a great way to really experience something, be it an object, building, person, action or whatever it is that catches your eye.  By taking the time to sketch something you must focus and be in the moment.  I don't do that enough an I'm trying to pay more attention to what is right in front of me, to really see.

At lunch today I took a few minutes and sketched the apple I was enjoying with a hunk of cheese.  This evening I added a little watercolor to the sketch.  It's not much more than the visual equivalent of a note to self, but while I was sketching I was really looking and I enjoyed the process.  I think that's enough.  In the spirit of sharing, as my inspirational bloggers have been doing, I am trying to be brave and share.

Enjoy the weekend!

Wood Block Printing Class---Day 2

my block with the second color of ink applied

This is a continuation of my reduction wood block printing class that I took at the Schack Art Center in Everett this past weekend.  If you missed the first post you can find it here.

Betsy Best-Spadano was the instructor.  She was wonderful!

Here's my block just about to be run through the engraving press.

This is what the block looked like when it was removed from the printing press....

...and here is what the print looked like as I peeled it off the block.  Two out of four colors were now printed.

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My block began to look used, as each successive color was printed.  I love how it looks as it gets inked and then reduced some more.

And here are the prints with all four colors printed.  I am very happy with these.  I wish that it would have been possible to have done a larger run, but with 8 other people needing to ink and print their blocks, a small run was all that was possible.  I can't wait to do more printing!  I had a wonderful weekend.  Just what I wanted for Mother's Day!

Our instructor, Betsy Best-Spadano, did her own blog post about the class.  If you are interested, you can read it here.