Trulee Destree

Strange Voices From the Abyss

2010-04-27T23:02:00.000-07:00

Strange Voices From the Abyss is my very first art show featuring collaborative pieces with my very good artist friend and all around cool chick, Dayna Collins. The show will run through the months of May and June at Venti's in Salem (click here to view the fantastic blog post owner Leslie wrote about us!). If you find yourself downtown, stop in and get some great food and check out what we've done!
We will be having a reception at Venti's upstairs on the opening night, Saturday May 1st from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. All ages are welcome.
Yours truly working on a "self portrait"

Dayna, adding her great touches to one of our pieces.

Alley Art Studio, Dayna's creative space, where all the magic is happening!

Kinetic Art ( AKA a mobile!)

2010-01-31T17:22:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted, so I thought I would start this post with a lovely self portrait...but since I don't have any lovely self portraits handy, this is what you get! So this story begins with a new friendship that has come into my life. That sounds really funny on re-reading that last sentence! This person has a cool sensibility, can be incredibly silly at inappropriate times (which I love) and is also incredibly creative and artistic. My new friend came over for our first play date on a Friday night. Our goal: to make kinetic art.
We started with light weight coated wire, cut four lengths. Each length we bent with pliers and made spiraled ends.
A California Red and some acrylic paints...all good things.

This is the mess we left...I guess you've wondered, "where is this new friend?" Well...silly me, I didn't remember the camera until the next day. Maybe the Red had something to do with it?

These are some shot of the finished mobile. My completed mobile became a gift for the Walker family for their new baby. I made 7 double-sided pieces of mini art to be clipped onto the mobile. This type of mobile utilizes tiny alligator clips so that any type of 2D art or photos can be changed out.

This is the finished mobile. I hope it looks fabulous in its' new home. I will definitely be making more of these....thanks Heather for the fun play date!

Stage Make-up

2009-11-24T22:46:00.000-08:00

I wonder who it is that I put on all this make up for. The morning is spent applying the mask from which I hide from the world during the day. Is it a shield to spare me the pain of freedom? Many years I've wasted putting on a good face for the world. When underneath lies the true beauty that is within us all.

photo by Shelby Koning

Magic for the Ignorant

2009-11-14T14:46:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here wishing that there was a spell or potion or charm available to make life become simple again. I spent a lot of my early years wishing for time to speed up; to become an adult and determine my own way. Little did I know that things become more complicated as you get older, that the more you know...well the more you know, the more you know. Ugh. Words that used to flow out easily take so much thought to get straight. Words that I used to understand are sounding more like foreign gibberish. How I wish I could put my blinders back on, and enjoy the freedom of ignorance.

A Blessed Commute

2009-11-09T20:34:00.001-08:00

I saw nature's amazing touch on my Friday morning commute last week. The sun is such a blessing when we get into the rainy season in the Pacific Northwest. I was driving my daily 20 minute drive through rain and fog when all of a sudden, the sky opened up and rays of light punctuated the darkened morning sky. Forgive the mock poetry. It so took me by surprise, I had to grab my camera and try to not cross into oncoming traffic while getting this shot. The beauty is well worth the risk. I only wish I had gotten a picture of my squinty eyes and genuine smile of gratitude.

And then, I caught this on my drive home again on the same day. I love Oregon!

Making a Difference

2009-10-28T15:36:00.001-07:00

Saturday October 24th was Make a Difference Day. It happens annually on the 4th Saturday of October. The day was started to help promote volunteerism and the power of community. Our family chose to work on a project close to home, helping to clean up the leaves and weed the nature scape at Bush Elementary School. This is our second year working on this project. Last year the group planted trees, shrubs and plants that are native to Oregon. It was fun to get our hands dirty, and then for the months afterward, to see "our" plants maturing and changing with the seasons. Here are pictures of the volunteers from this year's garden cleanup.

Deven enjoyed raking long lines into the leaves.

Olivia did a great job raking, but really preferred using a broom later on as the leaves were wet and "sticky."

This is Ashleigh, the creator and visionary for the naturescape project at Bush. She's also an excellent source for plant information. Here she is showing some of the students from the Nature Club how to properly weed.

"ArtTeacherJill" (as Deven calls her), taking a break from her little patch of leaves to tell me about the art exhibits she saw during her recent trip to Switzerland.

Willamette students, making a difference with their sunny smiles.

Bush' 5th grade teacher Terry, trying to hide from the camera (but not doing a very good job, as I'm a stealthy photographer!)
Another helpful Willamette student.

Ashleigh's husband Tom, who is also the President of the Parent Club at Bush. He arrived to help after a morning of coaching his soccer team to victory.

And of course, Champ was there working along side me. Here he is showing his two-rake technique which really gets the leaves up.

I promise I sweated alongside all of these great volunteers...it was only a little break to take pictures.

This was a picture that Olivia and I took. She pointed out that once you raked away the wet leaves that had fallen on the ground, they left a "shadow" on the wet concrete. Really cool looking layers from the cracks in the cement, the shadows left by the leaves, and the remnant leaves. Very inspiring...now the question: how to replicate this on canvas? Nature is definitely the ultimate artist!

Zombies Attack!

2009-10-25T17:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true! As part of Culture Shock Community Project's 13 Days of Halloween, October 22 was the night of the Salem Zombie Walk. Who wouldn't want to participate in that? Knowing that my kids love Halloween, Zombies, and anything that allows them to put on a costume, this was the perfect event. Come along with us for our walk through Salem....

First of all, we needed makeup!

No, I'm usually not THIS beautiful.

The kids in their full zombie mode.

The Grand Marshall of the Zombie Parade.

A beautifully dead bride.

A young zombie family. 'Danger' is this baby's middle name...literally!

Deven in full character....her really got into the spirit.

This guy's costume was great...

After the walk, we had fun taking pictures and freaking people out on our walk back to the capital.

Gross! Where are this kid's parents?

Zombie girl and her Mama.

We had a great time stepping outside our usual routine. If you are in Salem, check out the rest of the events scheduled for the remaining 13 days of Halloween. And watch out for the undead, they do indeed exist!

Lemons Into Lemon Meringue

2009-10-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

Question: What do you do when your bathroom is having some work done, and you are without a toilet or shower for the night? Answer: Hotel time! This was Champ's answer to this very same question last Wednesday night. And off to the Red Lion we went to surprise the kiddos with a mid-week night out.

Little happy campers in their bed.

"Mom, you never let us jump on the beds at home!"

And the best part?
(other than a great glass elevator)

An indoor swimming pool to hide out from the rain!

Champ and I sat poolside while the kids got their swim on....2 hours. Seriously!

And the next morning, up bright and early for "Crazy Hair Day" at school. This is Deven's gelled and spiked 'do.
Libby opted for starfish buns :0)

Sheesh, I need help fomatting! This was Deven going to sleep (obviously).

The pool was so much fun, I had to leave you with this parting shot! So the lesson from all of this: When life hands you lemons, make yourself some lemon meringue!

Rallying for a Cause

2009-10-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

Last week I attended a rally at the Oregon State Capital to promote the Public Health Care Option. This event was organized by the Salem chapter of Moveon, a political action group. It was a beautiful afternoon; sunny, breezy and full of energetic supporters of the public option. Here are a couple of pictures I took of the surroundings.

I'm still figuring out the formatting thing, this guy was supposed to be at the end...he was there solo, promoting his own cause. Would have loved to talk to him about this sign.

One of the speakers...
Some signage.

This was the chairperson of the committee that put on the rally. She was a very passionate speaker, and it was obvious this is a cause she really believes in.

All in all it was a good lunch time gathering. I would have liked to see a more diverse gathering of people....different ages, economic status, and ethnicities...health care affects us all.

From a Child's Eyes

2009-10-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

These are my kids, Olivia and Deven. You probably already know that! I wanted to preface this post with that info because this is going to be all about them, or rather, their perspective. As a family, we attended the opening night of the Launchpad Gallery's Family Show. Fitting, right? This is not the first art event the kids have attended, last year we took them to another opening show and they had fun. The secret? Give them a camera, and let them go! So, here is the show from a child's perspective. Enjoy!

Dayna's piece Never Enough Time (click HERE to see her post about this piece)

Ms. Dayna herself! By the way, she did an extensive post about the opening night also, click HERE to check out her blog, and views of the show from Dayna's eyes.

My dear husband, Champ, from the side.
The photographers, out from behind the lense.

My piece Lonesome Wanderer.
Deven and his mama.

The them was 'family' and it was great to see so many interpretations. I would love to talk with this artist to hear the connection. That's the amazing thing about art: it doesn't have to make sense to anyone but the artist.

Deven (with Dayna's hubbie, Howard, in the background)

Shelby's piece All That Remains.

Cute pic of Dayna and I...but who is the curious on-looker in the rear?

Howard is the cutest! I wish I knew which piece intrigued him so...

I guess this means goodbye! I hope you enjoyed the view.

Surreal Uber Awesome

2009-10-16T13:37:00.001-07:00

I had the honor and pleasure of taking an art class with the talented and F'in awesome Traci Bunkers at Art and Soul on October 1st. The class was titled Surreal Uber Painting, and it was everything it claimed to be. The techniques she taught for this type of painting really mesh with my mixed media style. Plus, I love the word Uber....meaning BIG. No teeny weenies for me (the pun is either intentional or not, depending on if you laughed).

I didn't take any pictures of the process because I was so engrossed in creating the piece, and absorbing Traci's awesome energy, that I didn't take a pause to shoot some pics. Know this: I will be utilizing this technique again very soon....thoughts of some collaborative work with my talented friends have been swirling vigorously! And of course, I will keep you all posted.

Traci graciously let me take her picture at the end of class. These are her Surreal Uber creations; the one on our left is in progress, the right is a completed piece.

Traci from another angle. Once I hauled out my camera, some of my fellow classmates started snapping pictures too.

The class was really fun, and you should check out Traci's work using the link at the beginning of this post. She sells some really great things like vibrantly-colored dread ponytails and great stamps, journals etc. Probably the coolest chick I've met from Kansas!

Rockin' Magnets

2009-10-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

I made these little babies for a 'swap' or 'trade' (not sure on the lingo!) that was going on at Art and Soul earlier this month. So 'swap' in a few words: People involved in the swap make a lot of a little something, then they bring their little somethings to the swap site (in this case the Art and Soul Retreat) and they trade with each other! Pretty simple, right? And fun....I got to talk to a lot of new people, AND I came home with some really great stuff (this could be its' own post!). Check out my friend Dayna's blogpost for more information about the swap. Okay....so on to the Rockin' Magnets, and how they came about...
First I started with a 2" x 2" Bazzil Chip...kind of a card boardy type thing.

Then I covered one side of the chip with a fun-patterned paper using gel matte medium...I really liked paisley patterns for this project.

Then I painted the back and sides of the chip in a coordinating color.

On the back of each chip I wrote my identifying information and my blogspot address...BTW, if you received a magnet at Art and Soul, and are reading this post, comment me. I would LOVE to hear from you!

On the front of each chip I placed an image of a Rock legend. I picked out artists that I really love and enjoy: Elvis, Jim Morrison, Bob Marley, Janis Joplin, John Lennon, and Jimi Hendrix. Then I randomly cut out phrases from a bible and placed them on as well. A few doo-dads from Dayna's impressive collection, and voila: some Rockin' Magnets...oh yeah, I finished everything off by gluing a magnet on the back with E6000. Okay now voila: some Rockin' Magnets!

This was one of my favorites; Jim Morrison with the phrase "be a transgressor" on it. It is now in the hands of Traci Bunkers who taught the class that I took at Art and Soul. More on that to come....

Customer Appreciation at Life Source

2009-10-16T11:39:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, Champ and I happened on a great event when we went to Life Source Natural Foods for our grocery shopping. October 10th was the store's Customer Appreciation Day, and it was a fun gathering of vegetarian food, organic wine and beer, music and people.

This was the BBQ...all veggies and fruit. Ever had grilled fresh pineapple? How about a pear? Delicious. All were marinated in balsamic vinegar, safron oil and herbes de provance (my spelling is off on that one).
Also some Tofurky sausage for the more traditional bbq flavor :0).

Of course I only got pictures of the food, but the best part of the gathering was the people. Generous, warm and interesting to say the least. If you haven't been to Life Source, check it out. Shopping for groceries can become an event and not just a chore.

Lonesome Wanderer

2009-10-11T11:17:00.001-07:00

This photo was taken by Shelby Koning, my very talented photographer friend. When the Launchpad Gallery posted an open call for artists for a show called "The Family Show," Shelby and I decided to work together on a collaborative project for the show. Shelby came up with the vision, I put my fears of clowns aside, and we settled in for coffee and a photo shoot. We then separately took the finished photos and made our own mixed media version of the vision.

This is the finished piece. The title Lonesome Wanderer came about when I was stuck for a title. Funny huh? I was trying to find a name for this piece, and nothing was coming to mind. I asked Dayna (click the link to see her piece Never Enough Time), my art friend, mentor and studio neighbor (among other labels!) for advice. She suggested that I open a book of poetry and see what jumps out at me. So I randomly pulled a poetry book from her shelf and randomly opened a page. Out jumped a line from a poem "left wandering lonesome" and I knew I had it. I apologize for not having the exact poem here, but I will post it at some time in the future. At Dayna's suggestion, I glued the poem to the back of my piece.

Some details of the piece, including bits of an old clock that I wired onto the canvas. I was amazed, as this piece progressed, at how personal it was becoming. The idea of family typically evokes happiness and joy for me. This piece drew on the loss I feel from my childhood. The fact that I am now a "grown up" and will no longer be able to feel those innocent feelings; I can't un-know the world.

This is Shelby's piece, All That Remains. It's amazing what creative people can do with some great photos and art supplies!

The two pieces together.

Art on a ....Bra?

2009-10-11T10:17:00.001-07:00

That's right, I said bra. As in brazier, over the shoulder boulder holder etc etc. The challenge was given to me by my good friend Dayna, who heard about the project at Mary Lou Zeek's gallery in Salem aptly named, Bra Ball. This is all done in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Dayna gave me this fabulous bra (a DD no less!) to get started on...what to do, what to do????

When in doubt, I usually start with gesso. Okay, my girls are primed and ready...but for what?

How about....
Gold circles???
Yep, shiny gold paint is always a plus.

Next, a coating of sky blue...still wondering where this is going? So am I at this point....

So why not some dark blue for contours....hand painted of course!

And the final touch for day 1...some star stamps. Yikes. This sure is a challenging one.
So I enlist the help of my two favorite creatives, Olivia and Deven.

They are both so full of ideas for the bra, they can't wait to get started...oh the possibilities!

More paint, in green and brown!
I hate to be a party pooper....but this is where our bra is stuck. Great bluish mounds with gold tops, rounded by stars with green sides. Any ideas my friends? Anyone?

Coming Soon

2009-09-30T00:04:00.000-07:00

I will be receiving a tutorial on the amazing possibilities of the blogging world soon. Stay tuned for what's new!

Patience Grasshoppa....

Big Time Blog Slackin'

2009-05-14T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hi to my faithful five followers ha ha. Really there hasn't been much to follow! Just wanted to say that I'm going to make more of an effort to not only chronicle my goings on with my trusty digital camera (which I do)...but to actually upload the pictures off of my camera and onto my computer. I make this promise to you, my favorite five. Just give me a few days to get it all together!

New Year's Eve Party!!

2009-01-10T12:13:00.000-08:00

This was the first New Year's Eve where we didn't have any major plans...the changes of having children!! At the last minute we decided that we wanted to party and put on our party clothes.

Champ in his pimp party gear! I promise I will get better at putting together these posts...I had intended a different order for these pictures and had a few more in mind. Oh well.

Olivia put together her own outfit. The side pony tail is all mine!

Deven got fully into character, once that mustache was put on, he was hard core!

Our New Year's toast...the kid's got to have some Pepsi...we had something a little stronger :0)

Blessings in 2009 to you all!

The Weather in Salem is Crazy!

2008-12-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

Okay, normally that title wouldn't apply, but this past week has been nuts! I wake up every morning not really sure of what I can accomplish for the day. Like today, for example, I woke up wanting to go to the gym. As of five minutes ago, I thought that would work out. Now it's snowing....again. Ha Ha. Gotta love it when we realize we have no control.

My very first blog post!

2008-12-17T10:58:00.000-08:00

First of all, thank you Ferozah for inspiring me to create this blog...I have been wanting to do this forEVER, but all I needed was a call this morning to make it happen. I shouldn't be surprised, Ferozah has been my events coordinator and general motivator for over 10 years now. This would be a good place to post some old school picture, but since digital cameras weren't invented when we became friends, I'll have to scan some in later!

Something really fun happened this week: before the storm settled in and closed down Salem for a few days, my good friend and fantastic photographer, Shelby, took some pictures of Champ and I for our anniversary.

It was a wonderful experience...and a great reminder that even though we've been a couple for 8 years...married for 6, there is still something magical when we look into each other's eyes. Yes, it's official: I still love my husband very much!