A Day at Sitka Center

On Saturday, I was lucky enough to get into a free class offered at the Sitka Center for Arts and Ecology in making cyanotype prints. I have worked with this process before, but always came out with pale blue prints. This time, the instructor introduced to the proper way to bath the print so that the end result is a deep indigo blue.

She also showed a method of treating the print with tea to make the print look like an old sepia photograph. While we were limited to printing local flora, one of the students brought an example of how this process can be adapted to print transparencies.

Sitka Center is located on beautiful Cascade Head just north of Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast. In the summer, they offer a variety of art classes taught by professors from local colleges and well-known fine artists. Imagine working in a studio nestled in the pine forest within view of the ocean. In the other seasons of the year, Sitka Center offers 3 months residencies to artists who want to work in the solitude of Sitka. The rent is free for the three months - the artists only have to agree to do an art-related community service and make a presentation of their art at an open house.

The residences the artists stay in

The view the artists have from their residence.

Sitka held an open house after the class and I stayed for the artists' presentations. The woman that taught my class, Sakaya Taniyokuchi, came from Japan for the residency and focused on cyantotypes and beautiful sculptures made of bark and pieces of trees in which she embedded broken, clear glass. The other artists included in the open house presentation included a local photographer who spend his residency photographing the remaining buildings in abandoned towns and other historical structures and then tells a story of how the place was named; a woman who plays several types of recorders (old-fashioned flutes) and entered playing a drum and the flute at the same time and another woman who came to Sitka to find her artistic voice and did so with drawings, cutting driftwood into small circle pieces and sewing the pieces together to form a "blanket" and making driftwood installations. It was an inspiring afternoon and I look forward to taking more classes here.

Sakaya

The grounds are full of art made by artists in residence

At the end of the open house, I decided to investigate a new beach nearby, Road's End. This was not a good day for the beach because when the Pacific Northwest has a rare sunny and warm spring day EVERYONE goes to the beach and it was very crowded. But this crow does not seem to mind.

And these kids seem to having the time of their life in this oh-so-cold water.....


And except for the stop-and-go traffic both going to and returning from the beach, this was a perfect day.

Virginia's Eastern Shore

Chesapeake Bridge/Tunnel

On the one day I had time to snoop around in the Norfolk area, I decided to travel the 14 mile Chesapeake Bridge-Tunnel to the Eastern Shores of Virginia. I was not disappointed. You begin at the toll booth (a hefty $12 toll at that) and you are almost immediately out over the Atlantic Ocean as it enters the bay . It was amazing to be driving with water all around you. Just before you get to the first tunnel, there is a gift shop, restuarant and pier built off the bridge - there is nothing on either side but water. I had hoped to see seabirds, but the wind was blowing fairly hard and there were few birds in the air and only rock doves (read pigeons) on the rocks below.

There are two segments of tunnels, each a mile long and with one lane of traffic going in each direction. I am not good with small, dark enclosed spaces, but managed to make it through with a death grip on the steering wheel of my rental car. The bridge views more than made up for the tunnels. It is an engineering feat to be admired. The only other bridge I have been on like that would be the highway that runs through the keys to Key West in Florida and there are several islands that connect that bridge.

Immediately after coming off the bridge, I saw a sign for a wildlife refuge. That is a mandatory turn off the road for me. I drove to the headquarters building and met up with the volunteers that were working the counter. They showed me the bird viewing window that is mirrored so you can see the birds but they can't see you....a bird nerd's paradise. I watched for a long time and added a new bird to my birdwatcher's list - a glossy ibis - brown head and neck and black body with a long curved beak and when the sun shone on him, his feathers all irridesced ergo the "glossy" name. He was in the company of Canadian Geese and a kildeer. The ibis is the speck at the left of the photo below:

Pond through viewing window

I told the couple that what I really wanted to see was a cardinal. For three years I have come to Virginia and never once seen the state bird. We don't have them here in the West, but I can remember them as a child growing up in the Midwest, all clustered around the feeder and miss their cheery red feathers. I was told that if I hiked down the nearby butterfly trail I might see one and about a mile down the trail, there he was - high in the tree, but I was able to take a photo just before he flew away. Yeah!!! On my way back to the parking lot, I came across the oriole who jumped from branch to branch showing off his beautiful colors and I obliged him by photographing his choreography.

Cardinal in the treetop

Oriole dancing in the tree

After I left the refuge I drove up the road to Port Charles, a delightful little town on the Bay full of Victorian houses and a couple of Sears and Robuck houses - the kind you ordered and then built yourself. The town is well preserved and I wish I had had more time to ramble around and photograph the houses. The streets are named after fruit and I passed a sign for "Nectarine" street and the name captured my heart. I could see myself in an old house living on Nectarine Street waking up to the sounds of the sea and making art all day long. But I had to get back to set up for Vendor night and so I said goodbye and made my way back down the highway.

Just before I reached the bridge again, I pulled off to investigate a yard full of tables filled with interesting junk. The two women who ran the shop were amused that I would want to take photos of junk. They said a woman had stopped by last year and photographed an old freezer door that had been sitting against their home "forever". The woman sent them copies of the photographs she took and they were still amused that someone would take the time to photograph the freezer door....but I got that completely.

Old Sign

All too soon I had to head back to set up for Vendor night, but this was an adventure that was worth taking. I hope to come back someday and make it up to Chincoteague Island to see the ponies I read about as a child in "Misty of Chincoteague", a 1947 book by American author Marguerite Henry.

Revisiting Virginia

I am just back from Art and Soul in Hampton, Virginia where I was blessed with the best students I could ask for in all three classes I taught. And as always, my students inspire me with the art they create - no matter what is being taught, the students art is their own, built on the skills I teach them, while retaining their own personal flair. I know that some artists worry that their art will be copied, but I have never seen a piece of art that turned out to look exactly like mine. That is the beauty of art - no two pieces ever really look the same. Art evolves - new ideas are built on the foundations of learned skills. I love the synergy between student and teacher in class as learning and skill merge to create new art. Each bird that was created from papier mache had its own shape and personality, including a "camel backed" bird that was a one of a kind species. These are some of the awesome student work from my evening needle-felting class:

Vendor night was a whirlwind of color and materials that made promises of a masterpiece to be and the fabulous art vended by the instructors made the pocketbooks empty, but still filled with the joy of finding that perfect treasure.






And I was lucky enough to find a spot in Stephanie Lee's class, Selective Seeing: Painting the Mind's Eye View. A great instructor and fabulous class, made even better by Sarah Garrity's kindness in bringing us a variety of old cupboard doors gleaned from local antique and salvage dealer's that were perfect to mount our paintings on.


Life moves a little slower here. The storms are full of bluff and thunder, but the rain washes the skies to a cornflower blue filled with big puffy cotton ball clouds. The weather was warm all but one day and the wind brought the scent of the nearby ocean to curl through the air and beckon me to visit. There is a small wooded patch of lush green trees behind the hotel that I wander, filled with the songs of robins, sparrows and finches, all drawn together by the melodious call of the mockingbird, who sings the songs of other birds and takes them as its own. And as I looked up, I saw a grumpy owl who was clearly bothered by my presence under his tree. He flew into the trees, looking much like a flying boxcar with his chunky body and huge wingspan. Just as it is here, there were the always present seagulls and crows, looking for a careless human to drop a bit of food for them to scavenge.

I rented a car to explore the surrounding area and will save those adventures for my next post! While it is good to be home, I left a bit of my heart in Virginia.

Return to the Sea

What is it about the sea, especially one as dark and brooding as this, that steals the darkness and melancholy from our souls and leaves us in peace with a calm heart and clear mind? The ocean has always been magic for me, so I leapt at the opportunity to spend the weekend with good friends creating new art, walking the beach and doing a bit of writing on the side.

Mother Nature, too, was busy at creating her art. This bright bit of color in an otherwise dark gray day, was laying in the sand after being washed up by the tide and yet, it appears to be a found art collage of flotsam and jetsam crafted by a careful hand.

Or the abstract reflections of clouds and sea on the sand with the small calligraphic marks left by sea pebbles. Seems to be too perfect to have been created by happenchance. Everywhere I looked there was beauty and to walk in beauty, in Navajo tradition, is to have a balanced soul. The weekend ended in rain that appeared to wash the world clean of the remaining whispers of winter to make way for Spring. The daffodils nodded in agreement as they danced to the rhythm of the wind.

Priceless!

Cost of ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island: $8.90

Cost of gas to take a leisurely drive across the island: $12.00

Having a camera in my hands when a bald eagle flies past my nose: Priceless!!

Not to mention this shy Great Blue Heron who did not want his photo taken. Look at the wingspan - looked to be more than 3 feet and spread from bank to bank.

Artfest 2009

Creature from Carla Sonheim's Imaginary Creatures class.

I've spent the weekend at Artfest in Ft. Townsend, WA, taking classes, making friends and creating art. It was an amazing experience that began on Thursday morning with a watercolor portrait class by Tiphoni. In a room full of artists that had little experience with watercolor, every single person turned out a credible self portrait created from looking into a mirror and recording what we saw using a contour drawing (which is why the portraits look slightly askew - you aren't supposed to look while you draw) and filling in with layers of color glazes in red, blue and yellow to create the colors of the portrait.

Self Portrait from Tiffany's class

Friday, I spent the day at LK Ludwigs Artfest Journal class. This was an incredible class in that we learned so many ways to create journal pages. She creates many of her pages "outside the journal" and then attaches them to the actual journal page. We worked with metal mesh, tissue collage, layered collage, acrylic washes, surface treatments and more in just a one day class - and LK is so generous with her materials and her instruction time. This is a class I would highly recommend!!! I will be posting journal pages as I complete them.

Saturday, I attended Carla Sonheim's Imaginary Creatures class. We created creatures from random scribbles of watercolor on the paper. Everyone in the class turned out wonderful creatures from their scribbles. Carla also taught us the basics of drawing, including drawing a portrait of the person across from us with our left hand!! And although most of us were right-handed, all the portraits were recognizable and wonderful. Another great class to attend that gifts you with a sense of whimsey to add to your art!

More creatures from Carla's class

In between times there was the vendor fair and show and tell and wonderful walks on the nearby beach and fabulous shopping in town. And catching up with friends I miss so much, but only get a chance to see at these retreats. But the best part of all is the fellow artists you meet all on the road to finding their path in this artistic life!!

Spring has Feathers

a day of dreams
the garden and the hummingbird
float on my breath - unknown

In just a few moments in my garden, I was visited by most my feathered friends that struggled through the winter at my feeders. My Anna's Hummingbird was here this morning, but I missed getting a photo of her. This new hummingbird I believe is a Rufous Hummingbird - all rust and red in color. The House Finch looks a bit more orange - gearing up to wow the ladies...and as always, the jays come for their peanuts as soon as they hear me rustle the bag. Each jay picks up several nuts and puts them down, weighing each one to find the best one to take, although eventually, they take them all. We were graced with sunshine late this day and I planted my lettuces and snow peas while feeling the sun's heat warm my winter bones. Wrapped in the warmth of a spring day, I wonder what would life be without a garden full of feathers and flowers?

After the Storm

We had snow today - to me, March 1 should be the official day for snow to disappear into its winter den on Mt. Hood - but no, not this year - although it did not stick, it was strange to see snow after having several balmy days in the high 50's. But after the storm, the skies in the east cleared to show the almost full moon among the fluffy, cotton-ball clouds tinged with the rose pink of sunset. And the skies in the west were on fire with sunset. Nature gives us such a treat when displaying her beautiful artwork and for a moment, even in these difficult times, you can lay down your load of worries and just drink in the beauty of the world and be thankful.

Listening to the Sea on a Distant Shore

This is my completed collage for the latest Nature Gathered assignment, the Sea. Gesso on wood, with collage, acrylic, graphite and water soluble crayon....she's listening to the sea on a distant shore while enjoying a hot summer day...

By the Sea

Just a fun collage piece I put together while working on my Nature Gathered challenge.