Rallying for a Cause

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

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

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

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

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

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.