Art Garage: Wide Open

Nik held one of her fabulously fun Art Garages a week ago and I wanted to share just a wee bit about the afternoon not only because it was a great group of artists, but there was a special out of town guest in attendance: Randi Feuerhelm-Watts. Randi is a visual journal artist that I have long admired and when I'm teaching my Visual Journaling classes I often use her book, Wide Open, for prompts and examples. Randi has written a new book (not yet published) and she wanted to share a new technique with us. I don't want to give too much away, but the project involved baby wipes, water soluble felt pens, and lots of office type doodads (rubber bands, paper clips, bull nose and binder clips, etc.).


Here is Randi doing a demo with Paula.


Who got to play with Randi? Nikki and Paula, Stephanie, Tammy, Tabor, and ME!








Can anyone say tie dye?

Art Garage With a Side of Pambiche

Talented Portland artist, Nikki Blackwood, occasionally whips together little art gatherings that she calls her Art Garage (they're held in her garage, of course). I've been before and was able to attend again on Thursday. The groups are small and intimate and brimming with talent. For this week's gathering: Tabor Porter, Judy Wise, Stephanie Brockway, Nik, and me. What a treat!



After working about an hour (yes, a whole hour!), we took off on foot for a late lunch and as it turns out, a good part of our art afternoon was spent dining at a restaurant that is a coveted Portland experience: Pambiche. (When I told my daughter where I had eaten lunch, she said "You got to eat at Pambiche!??!") Pambiche serves cuban creole cuisine and was a real treat, as you can probably tell from these photos:








I worked on a couple of journal pages during the time we did do some art - here's a peek at my pages in process.