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Archive for May, 2009

Follow a Line

Monday, May 25th, 2009

. . . to Tell a Story is the name of the workshop with Alice Kettle. What a fabulous morning I had. My first reaction was sheer panic because she had given us a pile of papers and journals and told us to get out our drawing materials. She had placed still lifes in the center of all the tables and told us to draw, paying attention to the weight and thickness of lines.

kettlestilllifes

We then cut tracing paper into 4 pieces and drew individual design elements that we saw in the still life. Next, to my relief, we cut our larger drawings into post card size pieces. Using those as a base, we cut and collaged our drawings on tissue paper to make little compositions.

stilllifecollage1

morecollage

Here is work from the class on the wall. I didn’t get a photo of mine.

classcollages

Our next task was to make collages using fancy papers and something called sugar paper on which we had drawn lines. We also drew lines of different weights on tracing paper, cut it in fourths and then did things like crumpling, folding, pleating. All of these things were used to make more colorful collages. Here is my assemblage.

colorcolages

The next project was to pin various papers, old photos, maps, etc to a length of vilene (British stitch and tear). We then stitched the pieces to the vilene, so that everything was fastened down.

vilenestitching

This was then cut into many little pieces.

collageminicompositions

We glued these little compositions into a small journal that was provided.

minibookcollage

minibookcollage2

myfollowalinebook

This was so much fun.

Then it was time for lunch. At lunch, I found out that a very special person in my life had passed. I lived with Marjorie and her family when I was in high school and took care of the children and cooked meals while she taught piano lessons. She had an incredible impact on my life and I would not have gone to college had it not been for her influence.

This greatly influenced my afternoon as I was a little weepy, knowing that it would not be possible for me to leave here to go to her funeral. I did talk to her oldest son tonight and he has asked me to write something to be read at her funeral and this makes me feel that I will be there in a way.

This afternoon we started drawing lines with the sewing machine. I didn’t take any photos, too distracted. We were to pay attention to the lines we had drawn with pen and charcoal as we stitched on fabric. We will be making more compositions which will go into a larger journal.

All things considered, it was a good day.

Every Thing is…

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

up to date in Kansas City. This is a very pretty city. Around the Art Institue, there are art museums and outdoor sculpture galore. Here is Judy posing with on of my favorites.judybethechange

I arrived here with mucho baggage on Friday afternoon and got settled into my room and ordered room service. I set to work alphabetizing the name badges.  I pulled out the names for the workshops starting the next day so that they could be ready and  easily located. I had to arise at 4 am, Portland time, to get breakfast and set up the registration table. The hotel is undergoing renovation and just reopened the restaurant. I was the firs guest and was given a free breakfast and had my photo taken with the adorable manager, Solomon.

I had some great helpers and we were able to get the rest of the name tags stuffed and added the special ribbons. So now we are set for every one to show up. I have not had too many glitches. I had a nice dinner with Judy last night and a good night’s sleep. Today, I don’t have much to do because Judy is in her class and there is not much happening.

sdanametagtable

Here is the goody bag that everyone is receiving. I love our new logo.

sdagoodiebag

The workshops are held at the Kansas City Art Institute.

kcaientrancekcaisign

My class with Alice Kettle is starting tomorrow. I just took my supplies to the room because I will be busy with registration right up until the class begins. She is so adorable and calm and friendly. The class room is all set up and looks delightful:

kettleworkshoproom

kettleworkshopsetup

Our room at the Marriott is pretty nice, too. Here is the bed with lots of soft pillows for lounging. Too bad we don’t get much time to do that.

marriottbed

Hope you are all having a nice memorial day week-end. I have some tidying up to do and then there is a rumor of a happy hour in Kerr Grabowski’s class room at 4:30. I think I will crash that.

A Fun Day

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

I had a great night’s sleep. The Scooter dog slept until dawn. Such a good boy. I did a mad dash through the studio to straighten up before I picked up Sue Reno out at the airport. Terry came by and we pile in her car and headed out on an adventurous ride through the back roads of Oregon. We kept making wrong turns, but always ended up where we needed to be. Kind of like making an art quilt!!

Here is a photo of a glimpse of Karen Miller’s show. She cuts inticate stencils on mulberry paper and makes Katazome piece and other beautiful Japanese style work.

karenshow

Here a couple of photos of Sue and Terry.

terrysue

sueterry

I didn’t do a very good job of using the camera today.

I got an interesting e-mail today.

I am writing to let you know that one of your photos with a Creative Commons license has been short-listed for inclusion in the seventh edition of our Schmap San Francisco Guide, to be published mid-June 2009.

The photo in question is a photo that I took in February and is posted on my Flickr account. It is this one taken in the butterfly exhibit at the Academy of Sciences Museum in Golden Gate Park.

academyofsciences

I am pretty tickled to have a photo selected for something like this. I don’t get any payment, just credit because it is a free publication. Works for me. Of course, I only made the short list.

Sue brought me a wonderful piece of her art which I will share tomorrow if I have time. It is F & P time around here — finish and pack.

Good Things

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Well, Scooter is definitely a good thing. He has made our life a little more interesting and gotten us off our duff to get him outside several times a day. It is the key to housebreaking — training the owners!!

Here are some more photos. I promise this is not turning into a dog blog. We gave him a bath and now his hair is a little curlier.

scooteronlawn

scootersitting

He is such a funny boy. This is how he drinks his water.

scooterdrinks

You looking at me?

scooterulookingatme

I received the other two collages that I purchased from the Collage Mania auction to support the American Cancer Society.

This one is by my friend, Carol Larson in Petaluma. It is very textural and is called Nightfall. I love her work and am so happy to have a piece in my collection.

collageclarson

The other is by my friend Carol Suto from the East Bay area of California. I met her through Liz Berg. I have always been a fan of her work.

collagecsuto

It is also a good thing that I am making progress on all of the stuff  I need to get done before I get on a plane Friday morning and head for Kansas City. I have been filling in my wardrobe with some new summer clothes and footwear. I just love these Merrill’s that I picked up over the week-end.

newmerrills

Another good thing is that tomorrow, I am dropping all of my duties and having a fun day with Sue Reno who is visiting from Pennsylvania. I will bring her by to see my messy studio and then Terry is picking us up and we are driving to Philomath (near Corvallis) to see Karen Miller’s big show and a High Fiber Diet meeting. We will take a leisurely drive through the wine country and stop for lunch.

And They Call It

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

….Puppy Love.

puppylove

Today, was my play date with Mia, except that Scooter got all of the attention. We took a walk to the Rhodie garden.

miawalkscooter

I think Scooter likes his new pack.

scooterspack

The Rhodies are beautiful right now.

rhodies1

I especially love this creamy Rhodie with tinges of peach.

creamrhodies

The baby ducks are making their debut in the reservoir.

babyducks

Scooter was so tuckered out, he made a bee line for his crate:

scootercrate

I received some great mail today. The first of my Collage Mania pieces arrived. This one is “Nevermore” by Pat Dolan. It is beautifully mounted. I love it. The photo does not do it justice.

ravencollage