Journal pages

Wrapping up my Chicago week with a few pages from my journal. It's a mix of sketch, collage and notes:

And what my tray looked like on my trip home. More about this project later:

I am thrilled with this crochet thread I dyed in variegated colors. Now I need more:

Art in Chicago

A few arty things around Chicago--

Lots of nice public art. My favorite was this huge Chagall mosaic. It's a large block, probably 10 ft. x 60 ft. and 20 ft. high--all covered in mosaic.

I think "The Bean" is a brilliant piece of public art. I love the way it reflects the city and the people around it.

And everyone interacts with it, either snapping their own photos to get those fun house mirror effects, as I did, or crawling under it. I don't know when I've seen people interact with a piece of art more than this one.

Several bits really caught my attention at the Contemporary Art Museum. This exhibit was so absolutely weird, but I found myself looking at it for a long time. Mike Kelley, the artist, gathered all these old handmade toys at thrift stores. He displays them in groups such as marine life, birds, dogs, as if they are scientific exhibits, with corresponding charts on the wall. It's this weird mix of science exhibit/church craft sale set up on card tables.

It was really touching, though, to see what sort of things people make, and what sort of things they throw out.

I also was inspired by this flower curtain and the simple idea of attaching bits of silk flowers together to form a type of lace:

My Heart Skips a Beat--Chicago

A friend once read me her favorite poem by Mary Oliver, and it ended with the speaker being filled with a moment of transcendence upon turning a corner and spying a deer (my lousy paraphrase!). I responded with something like, "umm, yeah that's nice" but didn't have any real

connection with the poem. Later I was driving into San Francisco on a route I had never taken, came over a hill and saw the Golden Gate bridge sparkling in the sunlight. I actually gasped at its beauty and realized I had found my "deer."

It's not that I don't enjoy the occasional moment in nature, but my heart really skips a beat at city sights. Here are a few of my "deer" from Chicago:

Great Return

I got home from Chicago (more soon) to find some wonderful surprises waiting for me.

First from Carolyn at Loves Stitching Red, this beautiful heart! Carolyn was one of the winners of my heart giveaways and surprised me with this lovely one in return! It's fabulously textural, and the frothy lace and shell make me think of the beach at night.

If you are not already a follower of Carolyn's blogs, make sure you check them out. Loves Stitching Red follows her explorations with color and many other delights, while her other blog focuses on her experiments with stones and subtle colors. I love them both! Thanks Carolyn!

A while back a representative from Strathmore paper company asked if they could use one of my journal spreads to illustrate what's happening in art journaling to art supply stores. In return, they would send me their latest products. I returned home to a big box full of their newest art journals and am thrilled by them!

They come in 3 sizes 3.5"x5", 5.5"x8", and 9"x12", and each size comes in a range of papers including heavy drawing paper, Bristol, 90 lb. watercolor or 140 lb. watercolor. You can tear off the cover sheet you see above to have a nice brown journal. The front and back covers are both heavy board, perfect for splashing on paint or collage. And the spiral is thick and strong. If you like to get messy in a journal and glue and paint, check these out. They'll be in stores in June.

To all you fellow moms out there, Happy Mother's Day! One Portland tradition is to take moms out to the rhododendron garden which is in full bloom this time of year. I enjoyed the day there with my boys and send a few sun-drenched rhodies your way.

I'm Off

One of my favorite things to do is to explore a city I've never been to before, so I'm happily off to Chicago for the week. I made a little sketching journal out of my newly dyed fabrics that I hope to fill while there. See you next week!

Santos Workshop

One of the great things about being in a mixed media group of artists is that I'm often introduced to materials and techniques that challenge me and are things I wouldn't necessarily try on my own.

Recently Gaylen had a gallery show of her work featuring her beautiful Santos. She offered to show some of us how to make them after we ooohed and ahhhed over her exhibit. 3-D work and using power tools are way out of my comfort zone, but I decided to give it a try. We met at Kitty's studio in the country this weekend for step two of the process.

It was one of those perfect spring days.

Kitty's property is a feast in itself. She has commissioned beautiful pieces from many local artists.

Even the downspouts are works of art:

One of my favorites was this ceramic mosaic on an outside wall:

I'm on the left playing with shooting pictures through the outdoor mirror along with Dayna and Tory:

The Santos project was inspired by Gaelyn, but Tory taught us how to make beautiful, unique heads that took them in a different direction. And Stephanie, our wood carver, made each of us a wooden frame to speed up the project and let us get to the fun stuff more quickly.

Here is Tory's gorgeous Santos that got us on our way:

It was an amazing day as we watched each artist give her Santos its own personality.

Paula's had a calm simplicity:

Gloria's reminded us of Cirque du Soleil:

Jennifer's quirky Venetian character:

Kitty's very expressive face:

Stephanie and Dayna's winged wonders:

And Tory started on another colorful character:

We gathered together at the end of the day:

From left, Stephanie, Paula, Dayna, Kitty, Gloria, Jennifer, Tory and Gaylen.

I added a few finishing touches to mine once I got home:

She will preside over my studio as my Santos of Hand Stitching. It was so much fun that I'm now feeling the urge to make a second-- "Our Lady of Perpetual Color."

Not Much

Been in one of those creative funks this week when nothing seems worth doing.

Did a bit of sketching to play with Derwent Inktense pencils. I like. They look like a watercolor pencil but are ink. After you add water, they are waterproof and nice and intense in color.

And when all else fails, I take out my journal and do some quick painting and collage just to be moving.

And then I wait.