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Thursday, October 11, 2007

where to begin?????

Portland and Art & Soul were just amazing!! Portland itself is sooo full of artsy places to visit and see..I think I could have spent another week just visiting shops there!




We had an amazing time at the workshops.. crammed our little brains with lots of new techniques, terms, and aspirin! lol
The first workshop was with Mr. Michael DeMeng "Assemblage Retratos"... which basically means Assembling Portraits.. gluing, painting, nailing, screwing junk together to make it look old, worn, rusted, weathered or like it has been under the sea!
This class was fun for me..being able to get messy and not having to worry to much about straight lines.. or accuracy..really felt good!


This is my 'assemblage' piece.. and now after doing it and seeing it all.. I'd love to make more and experiment more with different found objects and a different color palette.


Here is a table full of art that Michael 'critiqued' after class..



It was so fun to see what everyone came up with..from simple and striking to some of the more elaborate offerings with working mechanisms!



Here is my friend Christy .. while Michael holds up and talks about her 'mexican' art influenced piece:



He was a GREAT teacher.. very encouraging..and instructive and full of great ideas and insight on where to go next. He really made the class fun and made everyone feel very comfortable with whatever route their art took them.


The second day.. we spend in Misty Mawn's class.."Spontaneous Art"..and I found this one, for me anyway, was a little bit more challenging. Its hard to just 'let go' and relax and let the art flow for me...so by lunchtime.. I was more than ready for a glass of wine! :)

"To empty one's mind of all thought and refill the void with a spirit greater than oneself is to extend the mind into a realm not accessible by conventional processes of reason" - Edward Hill

Nothing is more intimidating than starting with a blank white sheet of paper..and trying to suddenly create.. with no plan in mind. Misty showed us its easiest to just go with it.. to just throw paints together on paper (she does this sooooo easily and naturally..she flows like no other! ).. add in some textures using various objects...and then to just start collaging papers.. text.. pencils... and waaa-laaa.. within minutes she created a beautiful drawing:

She is amazingly talented..and you can tell she's very deep and sensitive.. truly artistic to the core...and just the sweetest being!

After lunch at the Kennedy School..and a glass of wine.. ;).. I was able to come back a little more relaxed..and came up with this chick:


I'd love to sit back down..and give it another college try and see what else flows. Maybe more wine ??



A picture of us after class:




We then had a couple of days off from class..so we went to a ton of shops.. around Portland..and did lots of sightseeing.


We visited Pittock Mansion:


Which was GORGEOUS!!!! I want to LIVE there :) Amazing views.. beautiful marble.. exquisite furniture..ornate moldings.. very Drool-worthy!











Some of the shops we stopped in:



great finds inside "Rejuvenation":




Our Daily Haunt:


And unfortunatly, this shop was closed when we went on monday :( ..


and we weren't quite brave enough to stop in this place:


hehehehehe


We visited "Edgefield" for drinks and to stroll thru the amazing grounds there.. SOOO many photo ops.. but it was just starting to get dark when we arrived...


My Hosts, Christy & Greg:


This place has the cutest little bars tucked in and around the grounds.. The Little Red Shed ..quaint and cozy..complete with a stone fireplace and liquor..what more could a girl ask for??? lol


Our last class was on Sunday with Sally Jean "Soldering for Virgins"..and that was really fun too :)


We learned how to solder.. and make little charms and whatnots! Sally is so fun..and a great teacher at explaining step by step instructions..and what to do and what not to do. Her 'man slave' (her hubby Brad) was there to give us glass cutting demo's..and he was very informative too. They are a great team..and make everyone feel relaxed!


Here are the charms I made while in class:


Us with Sally Jean:



The whole week spent in Portland was very inspiring..very motivating..and even tho the sky looked like this most of the time I was there:




the bestest part was being there to just hang out with one of my bestests friends in the world :) They made me feel so welcome and comfy there.. and SPOILED!!



We came home everynite (either after class or a day of shopping..) to find Greg ready with dinner and DRINKS for us!!! :)


Here are some pics from around Christy's yard ..







And.. on the Monday morning before I left.. we were able to meet up with a dear friend, Annette (funnyfarm).. we spent a couple of hours chatting..hugging..crying..giggling.. it was so good to see her again and reminisce about the old days :)

I already miss Christy and her hubby..Portland and the autumn-colored trees..the vistas.. I even miss the gloomy sky and rain! :( But I am thankful for my pictures.. to keep me 'there'..and feeling that inspiration and motivation from the many artists we were surrounded by.. :)

If any of you ever get the chance to go.. I highly recommend taking a workshop class at the next Art & Soul or ArtFest
Get out there.. learn new techniques.. open the mind..push the envelope..and let your creative juices flow!!

17 comments:

Lori said...

I AM SOOOO JEALOUS!!!! what great classes!!! what great teachers!!! i love the things you made, your charm is GREAT!!! have you soldered before? it doesn't look like it was done by a virgin!!! who took the blurry pic? was that after several glasses of the afore~mentioned wine? i thought it was just further evidence of my deteriorating eyesight but the rest of the pics were clear as bells...you are very cute!!!

Rabbit Hill Creations said...

Awwwww...you lucky soul. It looks like you had a wonderful time! Love all your creations. I'm definately shooting for next years Art & Soul. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Diane Duda said...

You two look so happy! And no wonder...you got in to all the best classes! Lori's right...great soldering. It looks perfect!
Glad you had so much fun.

xo
di

FrostingsNSparkles said...

Wow, Sandy, that looks spectacular. your photos are fantastic, and reading this post has made me want to go there, it was like a really well shot documentary! I'm so happy for you that you got to have that amazing experience!! And your work came out BEAUTIFULLY!! Go Girl!!

Anonymous said...

LOL...."sorry, still laughing at Lori's comment... i have to agree with her, i am jealous too!!"

Sandy, you have to leave this post up for a long time...there is some yummy and magnificent Art along with information here. This is so incredibly amazing all of it. You are indeed a lucky gal and quite the beauty indeed.."love the last pic. a lovely way to top the post off!!"

Unknown said...

Hey Sandy
great meeting you at A&S and great work. I notice you went to the Edgefield. Such fun. I love the Little Red Shed (I think that's what its called) with the fire blazing. Last time I was there I got a bit tipsy. Luckily I was staying on the premises...a mere stagger away.

ciao,
Michael

Nancy Malay said...

I so enjoyed looking at all of you photos - what a great time! I'd sure love to go there myself....I'll add it to my list of things I want to do before I die! You always do such awesome work, Sandy - you could teach classes yourself! Nancy

CCs Whimsies said...

I still think you are no Soldering "virgin"... She rocked it, and I can't wait to see what you do with your "skills"...

franswazz said...

Wonderful blog, I love all the stories.
Beautiful pictures, you are very talented.
I too was in Portland for A&S and I must say that by noon, both with Anne Bagby AND Misty I was more than ready for a glass of vino....O Boy, they almost killed me...and I am a tough old bird....well not THAT old...and not THAT tough....

Jodi Ohl said...

Thanks for making us a part of your wonderful experience! It looks like it was soooo much fun. I want to go to Portland to see all the sights and visit all the cool shops ! I've been thinking about going to the Art and Soul fest in Hampton, Va in 2008 which is close by me--from what everyone says about each event, it's a transformational experience.

lucy

Sandra Evertson said...

Your assemblage is Gorgeous!! And so are all the photos, looks like it was a wonderful trip!
Lucky you!
Sandra Evertson

Anonymous said...

i was more than ready for a glass of wine about that time, too. ;-)
you are such a sweetie...you and your dear compadre, too It was a treat to have you both in my class and to finally meet you!
thank you for your kind words about me.
i love all your photos.
xoxo

Sea Dream Studio said...

I WILL NOT be consumed by jealously!! Sounds like a most spendid adventure! Your creations are enchanting!!

Carrie said...

Awesome charms, awesome pictures!!! There are so many, I don't know where to start! ;)

saffron said...

Hi Sandy,

I hope you're doing ok with all of the fires. I was thinking about you when I heard of the fire getting close to Temecula.
We're doing ok, no fires on our mountain (as I knock on wood). Such an unreal, scarey time.

But your trip to Portland looks so lovely and how fun!! Those rain clouds look so wonderful, let's hope for some here this weekend!

-saffron

vintagepaletteart said...

I miss you two so much! Thanks for sharing these beautiful pics with us Sam! And your charms ROCK! Love ya! Stay safe!

*Nana

Dana said...

Sandy ... I'm worried about you ... the map shows a wild fire burning in your area ... prayers for your safety!!!!!!!

xo
Dana