A Bevy of Birds and one Beseiged Cat

The chirping and screeching that intruded upon my normally quiet backyard alerted me that something was going on that was out of the normal. Figuring this might be a photo opportunity, I grabbed my camera and ran for the door. What I saw at first was a bevy of birds swooping and chattering at a grey tiger cat sitting under a lilac bush on my neighbors fence. I frequently chase the neighborhood cats away from stalking the birds at my feeders, so I started for the hose when I realized something I had never seen before was happening under my nose. The cat was not stalking the birds. The birds were stalking the cat. Several birds. Different species of birds working together to give this cat a reason not to get anywhere near their nests again. Robins and grackles and a Anna's hummingbird all took turns swooping at this cat, who was cowering into the bush to avoid being pecked. None of the birds would cooperate with the slower shutter speed of the digital camera so that I could get a photo of them with the cat, but got a few of the birds waiting on a nearby swingset waiting their turn. Nature never ceases to surprise me.

Twined Bindings

I jumped at the chance when my friend, Jan, invited me to join her in a bookbinding class at the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts. The class, Twined Bindings, taught by Oregon artist Roberta Lavadour, would teach us how to combine twining (generally a basketmaking or weaving technique) with the creation of a book. Roberta is an excellent instructor and over the two days of class, not only taught us how to make her twined binding (she originated the design), but also taught us her shortcuts and secrets to creating books. The books you see above are the students' completed projects (mine is on the end on the right). Roberta paced the class instruction so that almost all of us were able to complete a book by the end of the class. Check our Roberta's website and view her OPB video feature from Oregon Artbeat for more information on this fabulous book artist.




The Oregon College of Arts and Crafts is set in a wooded area in north Portland. The campus is filled with workshops and studios, as well as a heavenly gift store filled with original art of both student and local artists. The campus if fun and funky as evidenced by this small sapling near the parking lot that had been completed wrapped with red yarn as an installation project. By the time you leave the campus, your head is spinning with ideas for future art creations.

Prior to going to the Book Arts class, I visited the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts. Each year the Festival sponsors three events: a main exhibition (this year focused on modern mosaics), an open show where artists from throughout the area can submit three pieces of both two and three dementional works for judging and sale and an art faire. Hundreds of artists participate in the open show event and it takes quite a while to explore the art. The mosaic show was incredible. Not just the mosaics that graced the walls of ancient Greece and Rome, but funky, edgy uses of ceramic, glass and natural material that took your breath away. I toured the booths at the artist faire and spoke to several of the vendors and came away with, of course, a few bird prints. Unfortunately photography was not allowed for any reason at the show and I was unable to bring back photos to share of the event, although one of the booth artists let me photograph her simple arrangement of a goldfinch nest on a silver platter.

Later in the week, I attended work-related training in Ridgefield, WA and came across these barn swallow nests (if you look closely you will see two tiny heads peeping out of the nests) and a killdeer who would play injured to draw me away from its nest right up until I pointed the camera in her direction, at which time she stopped her drama and looked at me as if to say, "you didn't really think I would let you photograph my bad side, did you?"

Wishing you all a wonderful Fourth of July!!!!

A Walk through the Market

Sunday morning, I woke early so I could visit the Farmer's Market before I worked my shift at the gallery. After a rainy weekend, Nature blessed us with blue sky filled with billowing white clouds and mild temperatures, perfect to walk the outdoor market.

I love the the vivid colors and myriad of activity at the market. From jewelry to soap, flowers to bakery goods and the best fruits and veggies avaliable for harvest, the market is full of nooks and crannies to explore. The kids are treated to balloon animals and clowns and the wet noses of dozens of dogs of all sizes and shapes with one thing in common: a wagging tail.

And every week, someone puts a posie of flowers in this gentlemans hands who stands at the entrance to the market.

The lavender is in full bloom around the city and the local lavender festivals should begin soon (although I am holding out for the big festival in Sequim this year that will take place in July). All too soon it was time to go to open the gallery, but I left the market with fresh strawberries, red raspberries and cherries, sweet ripe and just harvested from the local farms to enjoy throughout the week.

And I could not leave you without sharing this sunset photo from the night before. This is the silver lining left behind by the departing storm that reminded me of the elaborate skies painted by Maxfield Parrish. The beauty of nature goes a long way in alleviating the stress of these times and I find myself turning to nature more and more as I brace for the upcoming changes and layoffs at work. No matter what happens in the everyday world we live in, we are always blessed with the beauty of nature.

What's in a Name?

While at Menucha, we, as a group, decided to rename ourselves. My new name was Madeline "Maddy" Lily. It was all in silly fun and I adored my new name, but I wondered....could a name change really wipe the slate clean and give you a fresh start in life? Could this be the name for your alter ego, the person you always wanted to be before life got in the way? And, if so, could you say "What would Maddy do?" when a dilema arouse and get an answer not colored by your past experiences?

While tempting, in that I am at a place in my life where I would fervently like to reinvent myself, (and how many times have you asked your younger self, "what were you thinking when you selected your career path in life!?!), the thought of the work required to make a name change (credit, social security, passport, work, etc.) was more than overwhelming. What would Maddy do??? Maddy, I'm sure, would say, "not in this lifetime."

Art in the Gorge

Every spring and fall, a group of artists from the Portland Art Collective gather for a weekend at the Menucha retreat located on the rim of the Columbia River Gorge to enjoy the company of good friends and creating art into the wee hours of the night. I try never to miss these magical weekends filled with fun, laughter and the sharing of art techniques. This weekend was no exception.

The retreat itself inspires art through its beautiful scenery and rustic accomodations. Each night we were treated to stunning sunsets over the river below us. There are paths that wind through the forest everywhere you look and birds and wildlife abound.

There are stone steps that lead to secluded garden areas that wrap around you like a cozy blanket while the fragrance of flowers and deep cedar forests fill your senses with wonder and longing for a world without the trappings of civilization. Even if you do not believe in magic, you will expect a fairy or two to greet you on the path.

In the center of the complex is a stone labyrinth, secluded in a circle of trees bordered by roses. As you walk the labyrinth the world slows down and a sense of peace comes over you. After you travel the maze to the center, you are treated to a beautiful mosaic created with different colored stones.

In the forest surrounding the labyrinth, is a series of ceramic sculptures haphazardly placed here and there, as if left by an ancient civilization for us to discover and wonder about.

And the flowers.....everywhere there were flowers of every color, shape and size that filled the air with an explosion of color and fragrance that left no doubt that spring had finally arrived after a long, hard winter.

And, of course, I could not leave out the bird life that filled the air with song and the whoosh of air through feathers. Goldfinches, Downey woodpeckers, robins, towhees, swallows and jays combined with the usual suspects: crows, grackles and starlings. And in the distance, raptors rode the lazy thermals rising from the river.

Who could not want to create art in a setting like this? Surrounded by good friends and fellow artists whose company is like a healing elixer and whose art is always incredible and inspiring!! All too soon the weekend was over and I had to head back home. But while I was there, I finished my last two assignments for my Nature Gathered group, Elements and the Heavens. Be sure to take a peak, and while you are there, explore the art of all the artists who are participating in this challenge. Our show is coming up in August at the Sixth Street Gallery in Vancouver, WA. I am counting the days until fall, when we will return again.

Nature Gathered: Seasons

And here is my Seasons piece. It was hard to find a way to portray all four seasons in an interesting manner. I turned to my favorite subject and medium and found a way. Watercolor on Arches hot press paper.

Natured Gathered; Landscape Assignment

Just wanted to share my landscape for the Nature Gathered group. I used watercolor on clayboard to paint a sunset I saw recently in Chehalis, WA. This is the first time I've used clayboard and it has it's pros and cons. I had difficulty blending color on the clayboard. When using watercolor paper, I can blend and mix colors right on the paper or use glazes of color. I could not do this on the clayboard. On the other hand, it was easy to lift color off the clayboard to fix a mistake, something you cannot do generally on watercolor paper. Next time, I will try liquid acrylics on the clayboard to see if they are easier to work with on this surface.

Idaho Sunrise

I have come

to this town

to see the artist

who passes out daylillies

and calls them herself.

Reiko Nakagawa

Artful Windows in Port Townsend

I saw the reflection behind the bunnies hanging in the window and could not resist snapping this photo.

This was taped to the window of a store.

A fairy tale sky to disappear into....

Art is the window to man's soul. Without it, he would never be able to see beyond his immediate world; nor could the world see the man within. Lady Bird Johnson

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.