July

 Hello my faithful friends. I've taken time out to just live without blogging, without taking photos, without creating the time needed to organize and report. It's been that kind of summer, in a very good way.

(check one more off my bucket list: paddling a kayak)

This photo above sums up for me a time with friends on Bainbridge Island a few weeks ago. Bare feet and fresh air. Campfires. Letting go and letting ourselves just be. Asking life to slow down a bit.

Nia class with the women. Surrounding each other with love, kindness, and willingness. 

We gathered to paint with Misty. Check out her new site. It's gorgeous.

 We painted like no one was watching.

Meanwhile at home the garden is in full giving mode. Jenny and Shellie helped me pick blueberries. That was a week ago and in the cool of the morning today I picked two more containers full. Yesterday I baked fig newtons. I love July.

Pictured above are some of the portraits in oil paint that I've been exploring. I will get back to them once I'm fully prepared for the fall classes I'm teaching in Bali and Mexico. First things first.

My daughters have been spending time painting with me in the studio. It's been a great time for all of us and I've been filling sketch books with abstract paintings.

My friend Joely told me about an indigo class at the local Oregon College of Art and Craft. Knowing nothing about the teachers or what was to be presented I immediately signed up! Yes, I've had a lot of experience dyeing but there's nothing more fun than bouncing off a room full of enthusiastic students.  Five days! Five days of indigo.

We made our indigo with plant material (Persicaria tinctorium), fruit juice and pickling lime. It smelled like fruit cobbler, not the usual swampy smell.

Our terrific teachers Marilyn Zornado and Judilee Fitzhugh guided us through many projects like the lidded box above and the long journal below.

Thirty some years ago I spent several years at Oregon College of Art and Craft taking classes in calligraphy, ceramics, printmaking, papermaking, metalsmithing, painting, and more. It was trippy being back on campus communing with my memories there; most of the students I knew then are teachers now scattered from one coast to the other. I'm proud of all of us; we absorbed our lessons and now we're sharing with others.

Bali Indigo with Sue Stover and myself is only 6 weeks away now but there's still time to jump aboard. We have amazing projects and field trips planned for you and the setting will be divine. Go here for more information. xo