Art Journey-Getting back on Track

Yesterday I knew that I'd hit a new low in my Art Journey when I found myself having lunch at The Island Cafe on the Columbia River, with cool boats and wonderful things to paint everywhere...and No Sketchbook, pencils or paints! Even worse, I didn't even have my camera, or cell phone...Hello?

The photo above is from a previous visit when I didn't take many scenery shots. 

This is the last thing I painted from our trip to Florida.  I miss painting, but it takes discipline to keep at it, which is the only way I know I'll improve.

So, when I found this site for the Sketchbook Project I was so excited since it's a great way to be accountable and stay on track.  Check it out...anyone who can join:

http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject

Also, I found this wonderful book if you would like more information on how to keep a Watercolor Journal:  

 http://tinyurl.com/4ykeztb  by Cathy Johnson.  I love how she give you prompts and style samples. Best of all, she gives suggestions for Sketch Crawl- which is a great idea for getting 'Artsy' friends together for a fun activity.  

Fernhill Glass-Glass Blowing

While I was off at Ambiance, http://tinyurl.com/5v7wyxl shopping in Astoria, dear husband was growing more bored by the moment.  He took off walking around the city, and found this cool Glass Studio (Fernhill Glass), which he brought me back to see.  It's definitely worth the visit.

 The owner Claude Kurtz, was making a vase.  I can't even begin to explain the process but it involved rolling, blowing into a tube, shaping and firing. Repeat!  Fortunately, there is a gallery that's open to the public, and you are able to watch the process.  Suffice to say, there's a lot of work goes into their beautiful pieces!

 firing and shaping...

 more firing...

Claude formerly worked in WA. and at a studio at McMenniman's Troutdale for 10 years before coming to the Oregon Coast....

 Their studio, opened in 2004, is one of several involved with making the the glass floats for the Finder's Keepers "Float Faeries" Event in Lincoln City. http://www.oregoncoast.org/pages/glass-floats.php

 Their work is beautiful, and they make and sell everything from 'Japanese' Floats, vases, paperweights, plates to glass fish etc.  They have a great showroom with a large variety of items to purchase.  Plus, there's a very cool store parrot, who guards the checkout desk.  I was so involved in checking out all the cool glass that I forgot to take his picture, but he's a real personality!

There was also some beautiful polished glass to purchase by the scoop.  If you find yourself in Astoria, this is well worth the stop. 

Before I die. What's important to you?

What would you do before you die?  I came across this on Twitter and it stopped me 'dead in my tracks' as they say.  What's important to you to do in your lifetime? http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/198bOF/candychang.com/before-i-die-in-nola/ 

It sounds like a cliche, but I hope to do something meaningful to make the world a better place. Maybe this will get me off the dime to teach art in the schools where programs have been cut, or teach women who have lost hope to find their purpose through watercolor journaling. 

What would you do?

Turquoise and Orange Earring Color Splash

I don't usually love the color orange, but this year I find myself strangely drawn to it, especially if it's paired with turquoise.  Maybe since it's been one of the rainiest springs on record here in the pacific NW, it just brightens everything up.  Orange is a happy color.  You can't be in the doldrums when wearing orange.

I love pairing orange, turquoise and copper. 

It's been fun using these bright colors in my jewelry making, since there's such a good choice of beads on the market.  Here's some sample of some items that were recently listed in my shop. 

Drop by and take a look while my orange craze continues.

When I purchase beads for my ETSY shops, I can't resist the orange beads.  Maybe they hearken back to my youth, and the bright Orange Crush soda cans.  Whatever the reason, I was surprised to learn that Orange, along with Turquoise, Purple and Yellow are hot colors for this year. 

 http://www.suite101.com/content/hot-trends-for-spring-2011-a327146

Flamingoes at the Urban Cafe

One of my favorite destinations in Astoria is the Urban Cafe.  It's a great place for lunch, although we've been known to indulge in one their wonderful desserts as a late night treat.  Today though, I was drawn in by the flamingos.  There must have been 50 of them in the window.

 I had to check out the plants showcasing a small outside eating area too.  OK, it's been a long, wet spring, and we're starved for color.

They have a great selection of Quesadillas-Caribbean 'Jerk' Chicken, Curried Chicken, Apple and Walnut,

and Roasted garlic, to name just a few. 

 

Another popular menu item with my family is their Garlic Pesto Chicken Mac-a creamy, cheese, basil sauce with chicken and penne pasta.

I usually opt for one of their yummy Salads like their Urban Greek Spinach Salad, or T. Paul's Thai Salad, or their Cajun Fish Tacos. Whatever you go for, you must try the Blue Iced Tea shown below!

Friends of the Library Pop Up Store

Earlier this month, the Friends of the Library Pop Up Store opened on NW 23, where the old Music Millennium store used to be.  The city is making it very attractive to non-profits to occupy vacant storefronts in the core downtown area.  It's a win win situation for both the city and the non-profit organizations. 

The store is supposed to only be open for two months, but there's the possibility of it staying open longer. 

In addition to over three thousand donated books, there's some amazing art work, cards, jewelry and gift items.

There's a great children's area which is totally user friendly for the kids to sit and look through books, and a chance for harried parents to get a chance to browse. The kids love being able to go through and read the books, and if Shelly's around, she's been known to drop everything to sit and read to them.

It's worth the trip downtown if you're looking for a good read, or a special gift or card.  Plus, the art is very reasonably priced too.  All the book sales go to the Multnomah Library for special programs, plus a  percentage of the art sales which are sold on consignment.  It's a great example of a win win situation for the Artists and the Library.

Above, some fun collage art, and below, some beautiful acrylic paintings that come framed and ready to hang in your home or office.  New art comes in daily, and new books come in every Wednesday.

There's a wonderful selection of cards....

Did I mention over 3,000 books?  I snapped up several barely used gardening books for under $5 each!

Stop by and check us out!

Oprah's Last Show Girlfriend Get together -The End of An Era

The Moscow Mule and Kleenex, in case we do the 'Ugly Cry!'

The last Oprah show aired on May 25th, 2011. It was a much anticipated/dreaded event among my friends.  We are among Oprah's legions of Ultimate Fans, although we never set foot in her Chicago Studio, or made the cut for the Australia trip, or even dreamed of being in the audience when Oprah gave away all those Favorite Things.  No, we are the minions who faithfully tuned in each day. I guess you could say that we're the 'Silent Majority' of Oprah fans.  We've scheduled teacher conferences, Dr. Appointments, play dates, shopping trips, house cleaning etc, all around that all important 4 PM time slot.  No calls would be taken,

 no dinners made (except during the commercials), until the show was over.  Now we are facing a veritable desert of How to Live our Lives, how to determine what books to read, how to navigate the twists and turns of our life's journey without her inspiration and guidance. Oh the misery....

When in a quandary make a Moscow Mule.  They really are yummy!

OK, we didn't have the fancy tin cups.  I thought this was a drink that Oprah's staff made up to go along with the Yosemite trip, but not so much.  It's been around since the 50's? and there really are cute little tin cups that go with the drink.  My friend Barb's (my Gail) parents actually had them!!!  Who knew?

http://www.oprah.com/food/Moscow-Mule-Recipe_1

We figured after all the wistful conversation we needed something substantial to eat, so I made this Chopped  Italian Salad.  It was very good, but bear in mind that I'm one of those 'A little of this, and a little of that" cooks who loves to adapt recipes, so make sure the quantity of ingredients sounds right to you considering your families needs.

 

Italian Chopped Salad

1/3 c olive oil

1/2 c rice vinegar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon each oregano, dill,

3 cloves garlic

1/3 c fresh basil chopped

1 head chopped romaine lettuce

1 red pepper finely diced

1 sm. red onion diced

3 oz. each Genoa salami cut into strips

3 oz. hard cheese diced

1 cup canned, drained, garbanzo beans

1/4 c Kalamata sliced olives

1/4 c chopped Italian Parsley

1/2 c. fresh Parmesan Cheese

OK, we had some Coconut Shrimp (from Costco), and some Pita Bread to go with the cheese and veggies.  The Coconut Shrimp was worth the calories!

In the end, Oprah spoke from her heart.  It was her Mission Statement, and it was perfect.  We'll miss you Oprah!  You're the BEST!  Thank you for a great 25 years!  Looking forward to OWN.

 I thought Mighty Girl did a great job 'Telling it like it is' what we have all learned from Oprah, so I'm linking you to her Blog: 

http://mightygirl.com/2011/05/23/oprahs-last-show-project-what-have-you-learned/

Painting at the Rhododendron Gardens

It's been such a rainy and busy Spring that the Art Buddies have had a hard time getting together and painting.  It seems that members of our group have been busy traveling, moving, working, or dealing with health issues, so our time together has been pretty hit and miss.  Sometimes impromptu works, so when it looked like we had a clear day, Joanie and I were able to grab our art supplies and head out to the Portland Rhododendron Gardens.

It was pretty crowded, but the flowers were beautiful, and we saw lots of lovely spots to paint from.

Due to the wet spring we've had, the Roddies were about a month behind, so the season will extend well past normal. There's so many things to paint, buildings, ducks, a bridge and foliage, that we know we have to come back in the fall.  The gardens were really lovely, and I tried to capture as many angles as I could for painting later.  I couldn't believe that in my haste to get on the road early in order to capture the early morning light, that I forgot my camera and had to use my cell phone.  

Easy Infinity Scarf Pattern

Last year was the Year of the Infinity Scarf, I'm told.  I guess I'm a little late to the party, but I wanted to make one even though it's the end of the cool season ( I hope!).  There are so many patterns you can use to make these scarves, but this one is pretty mindless, and makes a great 'Take Along' project.

  Directions:  Cast on 200 stitches.  I used size 10 1/2 circular needles and a bulky yarn. Join ends and attach a marker

Knit the 1st row to the end

On the second row, Knit 1, Purl 1 to the end

Repeat the pattern until you reach the length you want

That's it!

The reverse side has a nice pattern to it as well.

Cheesecake Tarts with Raspberry Sauce

Last night was our monthly Book Club meeting at my house.  In our group, the hostess cooks dinner for everyone, and we all enjoy a relaxing meal and conversation.  I haven't entertained in a while and I forgot how much fun it was to plan a sit down dinner, and bring out the good dishes...in this case my Mom's china, which she keeps at my house since she doesn't entertain much anymore.  It was a good time also, to spruce up the house and get out the Easter Decorations. 

For dessert, I served Brownies and mini Cheesecake Tarts with Raspberry Sauce.  They take a little work, but are easy to make ahead of time:

2 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese softened

3/4 c sugar

3 eggs separated

butter

1/2 c graham cracker crumbs

Cream together the cream cheese and sugar; add slightly beaten egg yolks.  In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff and fold into cream cheese mixture.  Butter 18 miniature muffin tins, and coat with the cracker crumbs. Fill each cup 3/4's full.

Bake 350 for 15 min.

When cool, top with raspberry sauce and refrigerate until ready to serve

Raspberry Sauce

1 10 oz. pkg. frozen raspberries, thawed

2 tablespoons currant jelly

1/4 tsp. lemon juice

t tablespoon apricot brandy

1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in two tablespoons water

Heat berries in a saucepan, and add the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil, and then thicken with cornstarch mixture.