Happy November! I'm here to welcome in the month and dip my toes back into the water of blogging.
Can't say I'll be totally successful, but I'd love to try.
I am looking for installation art ideas for large groups to do. Thinking of a fundraiser to be held in February and would like to engage those who attend in something to DO, rather than eating, drinking, and talking to the same old people. What if everyone got engaged with each other in teams and created four or five art installations?!
I think this would be great fun and I've found several ideas on Pinterest. Suggestions for small, cheap, colorful materials would be appreciated.

Here are some of the ideas I like:
Hundreds of different colors of Post It Notes.

Or how about this? Pinwheels!
If anyone else has some cheap, relatively quick-to-make designs, let me know.
Hope your November is off to a good start.
Tomorrow - femminismo

Starting From the Same Place

I met Tina Walker and her sister Tracy Albrechtson Kreuger in Taos at a workshop and learned right away I was sitting next to two impressive artists.
Both had a way of using spare bits of stuff and concocting beauty.
After returning home to Oregon we stayed in touch and I got in on some great artist collaborations.
In one of them, Tina sent out kits of materials to several (!) people, including me.
Each kit had the same things in it and we had to use them all in a project.
Today was the day to unveil the results.
I used my materials to make a book and ended up stamping scraps of cloth (included in the kit) with names of departed loved ones. What can I say? It wasn't a melancholy memory trip, but more of a joyous one.
Thank you, Tina, for providing this opportunity.

When Things Go Well

NOT MUCH feels as good as "things" going well. Plans made, plans realized. Deadlines made, deadines met. People entertained, people enchanted, people having fun.
We recently held a masquerade party at Valley Art Gallery and it was great.

3 Leg Torso played for us and we had wonderful food and wine and fun. Surrounded by the art in the gallery, the tango, klezmer, world music was terrific. What a setting!
Valley Art continues to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year with more fundraisers and more fun.
The gallery is at 2022 Main St., Forest Grove, OR 97116.
www.valleyart.org

Peering Through Windows

Recently a wonderful art class fell into my lap.
I was going to take a class from one instructor but circumstances changed and the class was canceled. (This was an opportunity to learn more from Jill Berry in person. Unfortunately she had to have surgery, instead of meeting with me and a few hundred of her adoring fans at Art & Soul in Portland.)
So I looked around for another opportunity and found it by signing up for a  "windows" class from Roxane Evans Stout.
Picture yourself able to peer into a cottage window, or out of one. You get to imagine the view.
The first picture is from the class. The next ones are an offshoot project. Same principle; just smaller 3x4 inch to fit on a 6x6 inch canvas.
Making these small worlds within books is great fun - femminismo

Eureka!

This morning I was walking around the kitchen in a fog looking for the coffeemaker when it hit me what I might do with the pages I collaged a bit yesterday.

I started looking for images and found three or four. They might make an excellent query into aging!

More letter - femminismo

Now we are getting somewhere

This was a good feeling! First to paint these cards (5 1/2" x 8") all black and then use various stencils to add more paint colors.

I used acrylic glaze which has increased the drying time, so that is irritating, but I do like the glazing nature of the look and the raised surface.

Do not think I can wait for it to dry properly, but perhaps I'll just paint something else!

There is nothing like the feeling of renewal I get by playing with paint or glue - femminismo

Just a Little Bit of New Year Cheer

Well, it's certainly been a while, but no time like the present to check in again! Today has been a time for reflection as I take down the Nordman fir Christmas tree's ornaments and leave it unadorned and bereft in the living room.
The familiar ornaments - some from the '70s, some

further back than that - bring back memories of times and people past. I walk through scenarios I haven't thought of in a very long time. I realize it's time for art, and so my hands reach for paper - mail, actually - to recycle. I decide to paint a dozen 5" x 8 1/2" cards with black gesso and then go on tomorrow with another coat of another color. Twelve cards. Enough for one for each month, or ... . We shall see - femminismo

September Once More

THIS seriously has to stop! Today my doctor asked if I was still writing. "No," I said. "Too bad," she said. "Yes, isn't it?" I replied. So what's been going on this awesome month of September? We camped over Labor Day on our property in the hills above the city. It was so quiet and beautiful. Great weather and a beautiful moon to enjoy every evening. Fire danger in the woods is high so our campfire was very small. Guests came up to join us for the day or even two or three days, in some cases. We enjoyed having the family up and the children found our creek is full of small frogs. We were spending our last night of summer in our small trailer on the land when it was discovered we weren't alone. A field mouse had invaded with his sights set on a portion of our chocolate. There was a rustle in the bag of Hershey Kisses, flashlights and cursing, and the mouse jumped out of my clothing bag, onto the seat cushion, down into the cushion and disappeared. The Mister discovered his escape route and the next morning sealed it up. There will have to be more "sealing" done or he and his kin will move in this winter when we're not there very often. For now we are back home with running water, HOT water, flushing indoor toilets and the only nuisance we're battling is the sugar ants. TODAY is September 11th, and usually I make "Living Leaves" of paper to hang in the trees and commemorate the day. Not this year however. I seem to be unable to plan ahead for these events. They sneak up on me and then there's not enough time to do something proper.

Remembering again everything I used to be able to get done in a week - when I was full-time employed, had three kids, made dinner every night, made their lunches, etc. - and now I am barely able to clean the kitchen counter, go shopping for groceries and answer email. No kids, no full-time job; what's the problem? ON to other things: Yesterday I met with a landscaper and we talked about turning our front yard into a grassless area with a dry river rock stream.

The ferns we have in front of our house could go alongside the "stream" and look very nice under the magnolia tree (which will constantly be dropping its leaves and such). Anyway, life is going along fairly well (personally). Let's hope the latest convolutions in our world's tortured peace-path smooth out with the least loss possible - femminismo

Journal page for January 16

Behind and getting behinder ... but trying to catch up. The quiet of the afternoons should be inspiring me, but I find myself getting way too cozy with my knitting. Until next time - femminismo 

A little good stuff each day

Been doing other interesting things and got behind on posting my journal project. But since the overarching theme is "go gently" I've been easy on myself. (Real easy ... perhaps too much so.)

Go Gently ... little bird

Today: Day 7 in the 30-day journal with Lisa Sonora. The writing prompt is "go gently."

Ask yourself where in your life do you already go gently. Hopefully there are many places and you (and I) are careful not to ask too much of ourselves or others.

Love - femminismo

There is a crack in everything

January 6 - 30-day journal

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

- Leonard Cohen

The crack that lets the light come in can also allow inspiration to occur. What a concept!

Until I made the list of things I could offer imperfectly, I didn't realize how many more things I could offer (and try without much anguish). Allowing yourself to do things imperfectly sure gives you more to try - femminismo

My purpose here

Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it. - The Buddha

I am here to ... make life better.
I could imagine giving my whole heart and soul to ... art.
When it comes to finding my purpose, I feel ... I am getting closer. - femminismo

Make Your Soul Grow

This 4th day of the 30-day jouraling, the quote by Kurt Vonnegut is "To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it."
In addition to the art on this page - fiddling with glitter and tape and stencils - I visualize my soul on art and look at how it glows!
I wear my creative crown and strive not to give up, be gentle with myself and ignore my inner critic who is so tough on me - femminismo

Cultivating the roots

Roots are the way we all begin. Latched on to the uterine wall drinking in the nourishment. It is also what we must encourage so we can continue to grow. That's why I'm taking part in the 30-day journal project. Roots are the theme today and the writing prompts concentrate on this. I liked thinking about which of my roots needs the most care and tending - femminismo

Thinking Very Hard Here ... about commitment

Yes, I am thinking very hard about the writing prompts given me for the 30-day journaling that began on New Years Day. It is only the second, but the writing prompts (from lisasonora.com) bring up issues I've dealt with before. Committing to journaling for 30 days is ..., To definitely commit myself to journaling I would need ..., and the things that tend to get in the way of my creative commitments include ... . Same stuff, different year. It's hard to commit to something. Means I have to follow through until the end. I need to MAKE the time, not have the time. Things that get in the way are ... what ARE they now? I am retired, so I have a whole 8 hours a day that I didn't have before. Time to buckle down and make the hours count for something. Actually, I am thinking about commitment in many sorts of ways ... femminismo

Begin ...

I have started January with this 30-day writing/art journal page. The next pages contain my written material, with my brain jostled loose with a writing prompt. Beginning ... femminismo

Cold Winter Benefits

Today I had a class with Valerie Pace Donley who taught us how to weave small purses (prayer bags, intention bags) from all sorts of fabric scraps and snips of yarn. It is sure to be fun to do - something to fill the hands during this cold winter. The cold winter also brought my son and daughter-in-law over since their pipes froze and they had no water. And then who stopped by but my daughter, with my granddaughter and her two boys: my two great-grandchildren. Phoenix was born on Dec. 2, so he is quite new! Alex is adjusting to being a big brother and is only a blur on the couch next to us. (I like my photo since it's blurry around the edges.) I am loving the extra time I have with retirement ... and the art I'm making is a great enjoyment - femminismo

Lilith

Here is the almost finished painting from the Judy Wise class. I need to fix some things, but otherwise I had a great deal of fun. Merry Christmas to me - femminismo

Thirty-seven Days

I am imagining I have 37 days to live, inspired by the book "Life Is A Verb," written by Patti Digh (pron. "dye"). Coincidence? Perhaps not! And then later today at 9:30 a.m. (in only a half-hour) I will take a class with Judy Wise on "Intuitive Painting." I hope the results are marvelous and will post pictures of it soon. Between Patti and Judy and myself, I hope to regain some portion of my lost mojo - femminismo

Starting A New Chapter

Yes, here I go, starting a new chapter. Lucky to be employed for the past 30 years at work that enabled me to put bread on the table and gas in the car. Lucky to leave each job at the right time. Lucky to get the next one. Lucky or taking advantage of opportunities - whichever. I am glad things have worked out. Yesterday I was given a retirement party and there were plenty of folks there I was happy to see. Isn't that the best party? So now I venture into another chapter of this book of my life. Take a gander at the table decorations for the party ... All of them represent something from my career in proofreading and publishing. And the time that's gone by has swooshed by! From working in an elementary school as an instructional aide in the 70s, going back to school full-time for a year in the 80s and then on to proofing, editing and publishing - it's been a good chapter in my life. Even though sometimes all I wanted to do was stay in bed and pull the covers over my head. Perseverance will get you almost anything - femminismo