Some Photos From my San Diego Trip

Violet's Birthday Party - the hat stayed on just long enough for me to get this shot!


Ethan learned to ride a bike on his own while we were there, he was born to ride...


Violet and Ethan's mommy, my sweet Heather


Daddy giving Violet birthday smooches


My precious girls, Marissa and Heather, on the pier at the beach

Silent Night

stranger in a strange land

If Wishes Were Horses (Then Beggars Could Ride)

disclosure

I Hear You Calling

California Here I Come

This will be my last post for awhile; Walter, Marissa (my younger daughter) and I are flying down to San Diego at 7:00 AM on Thursday. We're excited for the chance to spend 5 days with my oldest daughter Heather and her family; especially for the celebration of Violet's one year birthday and Easter as well. They've been getting lots of rain down there but we're hoping for clear skies for Ethan's Easter egg hunt and T-Ball game. I'll be taking a boatload of pictures while there!

I shared my 'writing on the wall' post on my live journal as well as here and got a surprise comment from 'anonymous'. the subject line was "my mom" and the post said:
"mom, you're inspiring and a bit wacky, and that's why I love you so much"....it was from Heather who checks out my live journal periodically. I am very close with both my grown daughters and I feel grateful beyond words for them.


I have a magnet on my refrigerator, a quote from Mother Teresa; "We cannot do great things on this earth. We can only do small things with great love". I think about that a lot, and it gives me hope. This small Italalian ceramic jar is filled with the coffee beans my husband grinds. He likes Columbian and I like Italian roast, so we each grind and brew our own cups each morning. He likes everything handy, so he wants his coffee beans on the counter near the grinder, accessible. I started pouring his beans into this lovely little canister, the colors cheer me in the morning and through the day and i feel happier just looking at it. It is small though, and he only gets 3 pots of coffee from it before it needs filling. I made an agreement with him that he'd never have to fill the jar, I would keep it full, I just wanted the pleasure of looking at it on the counter. Most mornings i'll peek in jar and see if it needs filling but some mornings I'll notice the jar placed in the middle of the counter, a hint from my husband that the beans inside are in need of replenishing. I had no idea when I started being his "coffee bean fairy" how much pleasure it would bring him, a way I could express and he could experience my care and nurturing of him. Since I started doing it months ago, he's mentioned it several times, how nice it is that I keep the small containor filled for him, and the comment is usually followed by a kiss or hug. Who would have known that such a small act would mean so much to both of us?



I just got the mail and i found the most *delightful* surprise package, a large shiny metallic blue padded envelope from my lovely and talented friend Deb Trotter. Inside I found this wonderously beautiful collage, a Deb Trotter original, along with a collection of fabric pieces she felt I may enjoy using in fabric collage. What can I say, I'm just blow away by her huge heart and generous spirit, a duo I witness in her constantly. I will treasure this gift from my sweet friend as I treasure my friendship with her. My life is full of friendships, jewels, thank you...

xoxo
katie

the writing on the wall

today i was inspired by a sark quote that one of my live journal friends shared in her post today. and i did something impulsive, and exciting. i wrote it out big on one of my studio walls in black and red permanent marker...whoooohooooo!!!!! it's doing things like this, the juicy things, that infuse me with pulsating energy and creativity. do something wild and impulsive today, i dare you!!
xoxox
katie

be grateful for them all

i don't have too many of my own words right now
but a Rumi poem i constantly come back to
and some photos i took while on my evening walk
on our property
our little piece of heaven





Guest House

This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond. - Rumi

I've walked along this paths and in this grass
hundreds of times over the years
in the summer, i love to swim in the river
my children grew up swimming in this river
and God willing, my grandchildren will swim here as well
I've spent hours huddled in the grass at twightling
at the river's edge
watching the beavers swim up and down the waterway
hauling bits of wood back to their homes
some of my favorite hours have been spent doing this



we share the land with coyotes. some neighbors shoot at them when they see them
we watch them with curiosity and admiration whenever we get the opportunity
all i have to do when i feel sad or lonely is go out my door
and once again i remember that i live in paradise

morning art journaling; an exercise in speed and freedom

i've been feeling a bit overcommitted the past couple days
several emails have gone unanswered
i'm quite tardy with it.
business packages to invoice and assemble
so i can get them out in today's mail
2 art journals to finish and ship
other artwork deadlines,
and on and on it goes.
and i'm considering taking on another
large committment - vending at Art Unraveled
am i crazy? or just undiscipled....
i want to work on being focused
accomplishing small goals
and working on my larger ones

i started my day finishing the last art journal
it's my last leg of this year long RR committment
and i'll be happy to finally get my book back
in the coming days.

my goal with this journal was to work fast-
around 20 minutes per page.
that meant i couldn't overthink anything
i could work freely and let my hands
and heart see for me.
it was a wonderful experience
to play, experiment, and
not think so much
i feel good

the colors i was to predominantly work with
were yellow/gold and purple
with white and black


The words read: "so shut your eyes while mother sings of wonderful sights that be"


"And you shall see the beautiful things"


"saw it as they drew near - Tree of Forgetfulness"


"Pray will you teach us how
To build such nests as you do
Upon the swaying bough?

journal RR pages

i finished up the last two in Claudia's journal. i've enjoyed working in it - not my 'usual style' but maybe a bit of it will be part of my evolving style.
i took this photo in the alley behind pike place market, the little boy on
the bicycle from a vintage photo.


this one is another door photo i shot at the Hotel Max.

another journal page

in claudia's book
black, white and one accent color
about an hour ago i was out collecting
barn board from an old pile of lumber
up the road a bit
i looked up into the blue sky and saw the moon
i wanted to take a picture of it
i tried but it was invisible in every one of them
so i looked down and took a picture of my shadow instead
seeing my shadow in the rocks
captures the essence of my elusive mood
lots going on inside me today

page in calendar rr

i'm working in Claudia's journal
her color scheme is black and white with one color
the photo is from a door at the Seattle Hotel Max
a few doors down from my room
the door opens and i've journaled inside

remembering

i took this photo this morning
as the sun was just cresting above the trees
in the eastern sky

today i woke up with this feeling of longing
deep longing, for what i can't remember
longing tinged in sadness
it's all wrapped up in a delicate little bundle
like rice paper that melts in your mouth
and is gone without a trace
hints of sweetness left behind
this tremendous longing i don't understand
but feel deeply right now
for something other than
some thing or some one
a mystery, the unknown, the place i came from,
home.
everywhere i look, everything i look at
it's all made of longing when i look deeply
the walls, my cup, the paper in my book


lines in this poem keep appearing in my mind this morning
another one by Naomi Shihab Nye

Famous

The river is famous to the fish.

The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.

The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.

The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.

The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.

The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.

The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.

I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.

I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.

*************************************************

have i forgotten what i can do?
is that what i long to remember?

birdsong and crystal rainbows

after another late night, i slept in this morning. what a blessing, this life i am living...if only i could carry that appreciation with me every moment. The sunshine is bright and the morning sky is solid blue, above the hum of the computer i hear the clear sound of bird song. our sun/moon prism hanging in the window is broadcasting transparent rainbows all around the room...magic!
too often i can't appreciate just how wonderful this precious life is - today is one of the days i do and I feel grateful.

we live in a river valley, where many evenings the fog often rolls in from the west as the sun begins to set. i walked around with my camera last night until dark, trying to capture the fog...but, as i should have known, fog is too illusive for me, always playing games, just out of my reach. i did get this shot of our beautiful old walnut tree; i changed some of the lighting in photoshop as the shot was almost black. i love that tree and this photo captures a glimpse of it's character. the wise old tree is barren now, there are no meats inside the hard shells that fall onto the ground.



Here is a poem from one of my very favorite poets, Naomi Shihab Nye

"The Song"
From somewhere
a calm musical note arrives.
You balance it on your tongue,
a single ripe grape,
till your whole body glistens.
In the space between breaths
you apply it to any wound
and the wound heals.

Soon the nights will lengthen,
you will lean into the year
humming like a saw.
You will fill the lamps with kerosene,
knowing somewhere a line breaks,
a city goes black,
people dig for candles in the bottom drawer.
You will be ready. You will use the song like a match.
It will fill your rooms
opening rooms of its own
so you sing, I did not know
my house was this large.

the finished bag

playing with fabric

finally spent some time playing in the studio
and again feel myself
excitement bubbles in a pool of tranquility
i want to incorporate some of my faces series
into fabric
eventually dolls, that's where i'm moving
i don't know what this is
an experiment i guess
it seems like it would make a nice tote front
but don't think it's sturdy enough
as there are some paper pieces and a
small bird i glued to the surface
it seems too square for a wallhanging
and symetrical
but that's what came out
i still think it wants to be a bag
maybe a bag that doesn't get used
but hangs from the wall...yes, i like that idea
i tried a new-to-me technique
i printed an ink jet copy onto glossy photo paper
spritzing my fabric with water
the image with water
and burnished the image onto the fabric
(Leslie Riley wrote about it in the newest
issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors)
i then used prismacolors to add some color accents
and sprayed it with fixitive
i tried to add more ephemera
danglie doo-dads but it kept feeling cluttered
it wanted to be simple and breathe

in case you can't read the words they say
"and come with the fragrance of the earth in your garments"
from The Prophet

as i'm writing this i just got an idea
a possible approach to this piece
that i can't wait to try out
back to the studio i go....

happy monday everyone :-)

fun times in seattle

i had a great time, came home feeling very happy :-)

i picked up my dear friend Misty Mawn and new friend Melanie Komisarski from the airport yesterday afternoon.

First stop on the way to our hotel was the big Daniel Smith Store where we all stocked up on art supplies. I
purchased two moleskin sketchbooks that so many of my friends are raving about, a tube of Quinachronome Gold
oil paint, several black coptic markers and a roll of rice paper....don't know exactly why i needed that.

next stop was the infamous goodwill outlet store...OMG!!! to think i live across the sound from this gold mine
and had never been there. i think it may be a monthly adventure for me now. it was a new experience for both of
them as well and we all came away with a bag of treasures. Mine included this funky chair in the photos here -
just had to have it. i didn't remember till we got out to the car though that we had no extra room...it was stuffed
to the brim with their luggage. Luckily Melanie assured me she didn't mind having a part of the chair lie across her
lap. I also found an old butternut coffee tin, a big rusty broken flashlight, a beautiful dress made in the far east, a heavy
wool sweater i felt for purses, the cutest little jean jacket in the world for my granddaughter violet and more odds and
ends. all for under $15....whooo hoo!!! now you understand why my studio looks like it does - these things call to
me but i can only take on one project at a time.


next stop was Hotel Max...what a fun place - lots of stimulation and inspiration for artists. There are huge photo
prints that cover the doors of each room and original artwork in each room. My room had an interesting acrylic abstract
piece, Misty and Melanie's room had a gorgeous encaustic piece. My room was small and cozy, just right for me.

the bed
was comfortable (i'm picky) and it had 4 plump soft pillows and was covered by a soft, warm comforter...it made the perfect
little nest. Our rooms were on the 7th floor and my window looked out at the space needle about 6 blocks away. lots of traffic
and hub-bub, quite the shift in scenery and energy for this country girl.


We ate a delicious dinner that evening at the Snappy Dragon with Bernie Berlin and friends.

At 7:30 the next morning we were out the door to do some exploring of the city on foot. first stop was Starbucks for a tasty latte.
we then headed over the the pike place market where the produce vendors were setting up. we stopped at a bakery for muffins.we all took
lots of photos - i posted a few of them here. i'll post more later.

Misty surprised me with a wonderful collection of gifts...i loved everything see picture below. The golden box she painted
was filled a variety of teas and a lovely little ceramic tea saucer she made.

i got them back to the airport on time to catch their shuttle to Port Townsend for ArtFest. It's the first time either of them have attended
and they were both so excited - i hope they will have a fun and memorable adventure.

tomorrow i drive up to Port Townsend to help Laurie Mika at her table for vendor's night. i'm excited to have the chance to see art friends for a brief
time even though i didn't attend classes there this year.

Well, that's my update for now... wishing you all a beautiful day!

thursday

this is what sprung into being
while i played with paint last night
she's a soulful bird
she sings the blues...

Spring Equinox

Happy Spring Everyone!
the weather here in the Pacific Northwest is perfect
warm, sunny, and the air smells fresh
this piece is called "Abandoned"
the photo is one i took of the abandoned
chicken house in our field
i altered it in photoshop a bit
then printed it out, collaged, and did some painting

more RR pages

in Deb Trotter's book :-)

2 journal pages

I'm getting a slow start on Deb Trotter's Altered Calendar - life has been crazy this month, crazy and strange, but i persevere. This book is SO much fun; my challenge was to create around Bing Crosby's rendition of "Swinging on A Star" - she even included a music CD with that song and others to listen to so we can get into the spirit of the theme. She also provided me with several elements to collage into the story....see the pigs faces/parcial faces? These are cut from a small picture called 'the three pigs', one of the pieces i was to incorporate...here are pages 1 and 2; you'll have to imagine that they are sitting across from one another instead of up and down as the story on page 1 leads into page 2; if you want to see a close-up, click on the picture.

artist trading cards

I'm working on some artist trading cards for submission. The challenge here was to wet down watercolor paper and then randomly drop colors onto the paper, then do some pen drawing. on the card with the beads in the corners I cut out paper pieces, layered, glued and collaged.

attitude is everything

the sun is shining brightly on the frosty meadow grasses
a sweet smell outside
i finished my breakfast; yogurt with fruit and flax seed oil
time for a brisk walk with the dogs
i hope i see my breath
confirmation that i'm really here
not feeling very solid lately
ephemeral is more accurate

i brought a book at the thriftstore
in braille
1960 book two, learning braille
i feel blind too
i want to collage on these pages
the texture
mingled with fingertip ghosts
who have eyes that don't see the physical world
my eyes do
to a certain extent, a tiny extent
i want to see
i do see my limitations
but there's more
i know that
endless possiblilites
believe, katie...
you're a spirit that thinks you're a body

i saw a friend i hadn't seen in a long time the other day
i told her how much i liked her colorful hat - beautiful
she said you knew i was diagnosed with breast cancer?
no, i didn't
she took off her hat to show me her hair stubble growing back
i asked her how she was
is it really hard to go through?
no, a little nausea...not much in the scheme of things
it's all attitude she said
i think of dana reeves
attitude
it reminds me of my shortcomings
i know it's true

how is it i can hold joy and melancholy from one moment to the next
one flowing into another and back
something wants to label it all
and make it solid
but it's just a flow

this may not make sense to anyone but me
but i needed to say it
to connect with myself and others
words feel so difficult
sometimes i imagine a world where i don't have to talk
i don't need to

the year long color journal RR is almost over

only one more month left. here is my contribution to this months journal:

Attention All Big Hearted Artists and Friends

One of my online friends, Sara Hopp, who owns the quite fabulous online shope 'Manto Fev' has just learned her husband has a brain tumor, The medical expenses for his diagnosis, tests, surgery, etc are big and ongoing right now.

There is a raffle in the planning stages to donate money for these rapidly accrueing medical expenses. If you'd like to donate or for more information, you can read about it here:

wishing you all a beautiful day!
xox
katie

Hey Art Festers

although i'm not attending this year
i'm driving up to port townsend for vendor's night
laurie mika is vending and i'll be there helping her

so i hope you'll all stop by and say 'hi'
i'd love to match up online friends names with faces

the visit

my life has been totally consumed by family the past several days
heather and violet flew back home to san diego yesterday
we had a wonderful laid back visit while they were here
violet learned a new word: dog
she was fascinated by them and daisy and sophie were both on their best behavior
after i got home from driving them to the Seattle airport last night
i felt like i could sleep for a week
it was a satisfied exhastion
i haven't been keeping up with my blogs or anything online so i have some catching up to do
please forgive me if i missed something big and haven't commented
hope you're all doing well :-)
xox
katie

here are a few pictures from our visit.....