Here we are in the beautimous park in Lake Oswego, under the towering firs at another art fair. My booth was arranged with two open sides until the third day of the show when rain forced a regrouping. So here is the booth on the first day. Weather: overcast and threatening. Mood: elevated.
On Sunday
Lisa Kaus and her great (and funny!) kids and hubby came for a visit. Lisa's work has been in all the magazines lately and over the internet too; she is a ball of energy, good juju and talent. Be sure to put her
blog on your list if you haven't already. She will inspire you to get to it.
This beautiful poodle-girly kissed me smack on the lips before I knew what was happening. Fresh and friendly! Check out the pink toenails. She be stylin'.
Here is one of the nicest men on the planet. Already taken by one of the nicest women. Leonard Tinnell and his wife Katie from Missoula make and market this incredible glass art. Their business name is
Mercurial Arts. I've been lucky enough to have my booth right across from theirs at this show for about 5 years now and it is one of the reasons I love this fair. (Pictures of the after-fair party with Leonard and Katie will follow.) Over a year ago I flew to Missoula to attend a painting and collage workshop with my favorite artist,
Inez Storer. I slept soundly under a feather duvet at Katie's house during that experience; we had late night girl talk parties and made treasured memories together. Love the wine and talk parties with the girl friends.
I've known
Gail Pendergrass for at least half my life. Go to her site and admire her lovely work, please. She is airbrushing colored glaze onto her pieces. I love that look. Mmmm, creamy and yummy. Take a lesson from her display too. The draperies and color. Tasty.
A fresh tatoo of Betty Boop. Very sweet, no? Recently the Portland Police Department relaxed their rule about not employing anyone with tatoos. They have become ubiquitous and no longer denote prison time.
Birdhouses from found objects and wood. David Britton sells out at every show; his assemblages are so clever and fun. And he has a
website!
Beth Lyons is an extraordinarily versatile painter. She is one of my favorite abstract painters and paints realistic work as well; furthermore, they share space in her booth quite comfortably. I didn't find a website but you can see more of her work
here.
This girl's friends stopped dead in their tracks to remark on the similarity between her face and the face I painted on "New Boots". All I could say to explain it was that I was painting the prettiest face I could and it happened to be just like this young woman. Ah, youth! That distant land.
Mary Naylor is a prolific ceramicist and amazing painter. See the rocks that look like they're balanced on her head? That is one of a series of rock paintings she has done. How many people do you know who can paint a pile of rocks and make them look good? Mary is one of those people. She is great fun and another lover of Mexico and the influence of Mexican art. She tells me her next step is to close down the ceramic business that she has very successfully done and to turn her hand to painting full time. This will be a woman to watch.
I've shown you my friend
Terry McIlrath before but realized I hadn't really shown you his paintings very well. They are just wonderful. Color, texture, charm and joy; his work is a reflection of his kind and thoughtful self. If you go to his website I'm pretty sure there's a pirate there who will make you smile. Terry, I love that one.
And YAY,
Sue Zell has finally put up a website for her tuffets line of upholstered furniture. I get more hits from people searching for Sue than anyone else I've featured; treat yourself to her beautiful new site. Your mouth will drop open. Ideas will flow. Tell me if I'm wrong.
Just a typical family out with the baby in a stroller. Love the doggies. Want a little one. Hubby say "ack".
Maia Leisz is a natural talent. She was my next door neighbor and laughs as much as I do; we formed a hyena squad between ourselves, being excited about materials, experiments, ideas, plans for the future. All the work in her booth was landscape but when I went to her site I found beautiful portraits too. Check it out.
Big brown poodle with no eyes that I could discern. Very dignified. A non-kisser.
So we packed out on Sunday night and repaired to Ricardo's Hideaway for the after-show party and swapping of war stories. Here Rick is swabbing the meat with marinade while the DH looks on approvingly. We like to eat and party. heh heh.
Here it is, kids. We love the reds. Rick has put in some special fun varieties for our amusement and enjoyment. Yes, they were both very good.
Here are the girls after a few sips doing some weird kind of white-girl dance or is it calesthetics? Me, Amy and Katie.
Katie and Amy, looking more dignified. Everyone has to drive back to Missoula in the morning but tonight we par-tay.
I'll close with a view of the table with the delectable meal that Rick has prepared for us. This is the holiest of times - when friends who love each other gather and share food and drink. Thank you, Rick, for providing the stage for our gathering. I'm feeling such connection to all of my friends. To the ones who visited me at the fair, the ones who live afar and the ones who are reading this right now. Hold my hand. We are one.
Time to share the garden. The rain has started to fall softly but I think I can get off a few pictures for you.
I tried to get my assistant to accompany me but he was busy, lazy and not in the mood. He says his job is just to look regal; and so it is.
Peace Rose flanked by a yellow Cape Fuchsia. Right outside the studio door.
The peaches are ripening along with the figs, grapes, apples and plums. The rhubarb is huge now and screaming "PIE". I wish I were one of those bloggers who baked and photographed. I love that. But I am not that kind of girl.
Buff Beauty. An old musk rose. Shameless, wanton in her seductive beauty.
Sugar peas twining around the Echinacea. Is this love or is it mutual support? I see metaphors.
Tall blue Salvia. The hummingbirds love it. Blue. I love a blue flower. The blue hydrangeas are at it too.
Little Fairy Rose; the last of the roses in my collection to bloom. Given to me by a woman I will never forget. She got it from her mother whom I knew back in the days when we both did Saturday Market. And so it goes. Old, beloved friends, haunting my garden.
An artichoke that we will cut and steam and dip in an excellent olive oil.
Dainty Bess. Given to me for one Mother's Day by my daughter Stephanie. This rose is fragrant with scarlet stamens. The petals dance above the stems like butterflies. It grows tall and I can see it out my studio window when I work. Thank you, dear Steffi.
The favas have grown quite tall. We have been eating them for several weeks now. My favorite bean. With olive oil. Mmmmm, doggie.
The enormous Matalija (?) Poppy. Just think of a big fried egg and you'll have it. We have a stand of these over 20 feet long and 10 feet deep. They are running riot.
A tender lettuce. Straw mulch. Oregon's nurturing climate and rich soil. A wedding bouquet for a little wild bunny.
The Moss Rose that Craig Windom left sitting on his curb with a sign attached that read, "somebody please take me home and love me". Craig, it has bloomed all month and is still putting on new buds. The stems and buds are resinous and fragrant. The flower has that overpowering old-rose smell. One of my favorites.
The dainty little strawberries that are intense on flavor and grow wild all over the beds. Everbearing.
Poppies and Delphiniums. Several years ago my friend Kay brought me the little Delphinium starts and they have returned every year since then. The Poppies came from Bev and John who have a nearby CSA farm.
The pink rose that Sky brought in a bouquet. I grew out 4 bushes from that cutting and they are all grown large now. Gratitude for the beauty and the sharing.
The raspberries were here when we moved here. And Boysenberries too although we took those out for being unruly and trying to take the place over.
A yucca for basket weaving and to remind me of Arizona, my childhood home. Who would expect that yucca would thrive in this wet climate?
This is the only sun we have in the garden today. Thank you for browsing around with me and allowing me to share. When my daughters come by they kind of roll their eyes and look for the exit when I try to drag them outside (they like to visit in the house instead) ... so it's nice that you have come to visit.
