The Heart of the Matter 3: A Dream Come True

FEATURE AREA & WINDOW GALLERY (January 27-February 20)

This will be the third year the gallery has hosted a group show featuring the universal favorite image for February: HEARTS. Participating in the show are:

Diane Archer, Stephanie Brockway, Scot Cameron-Bell, Dayna Colins, Chris Giffin, Kim Hamblin, Hsin-Yi Huang, Jacquline Hurlbert, Lucia Johnson, Kim Murton, Darlene Schafer, Sara Swink and Jill Torberson .

Opening Reception is Thursday, January 27, 6-9 pm.

A New Flock

I finished up a whole new batch of my Funky Junkyard Birds over the weekend and got them delivered to Guardino Gallery on Sunday. They will be featured in the upcoming The Heart of the Matter 3 show, which opens Thursday, January 27th and runs through February 20th. Meet the new gang:














And be sure to stop by Guardino Gallery (2939 N.E. Alberta) during February to see the show!

Vision Board: Courage, Create, Strengthen, Growth, Intention . . .

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of facilitating a group of women through the process of making a Vision Board. Beth, a friend I met several years ago when I was teaching a class through the Salem Art Association, gathered together a group of seven of her friends and we all met at my studio for a day of art, laughter, and food. I love preparing for a class -- designing handouts, providing snacks, deciding on music, lighting candles -- everything to make the class an experience and not just a class.





We warmed up using Muse Cubes, two dice that have words on them. One dice has movement words (bounce, stretch, bend....) and the other dice has words relating to sounds (whoop, sign, laugh . . .). Each woman took a turn shaking the two dice and then all of making the sounds and doing the movement as indicated on the dice. My photo is a bit blurry, but the ladies were busy whooping and bouncing in this photo! It's a great way to get warmed up on a sunny, Saturday morning.


We next moved to a little writing exercise to help us set intentions for the day . . . and to decide upon a word for the year.


Time to begin looking for images (and words).







Mid way through the day, we took a lunch break. All of the ladies had brought salads and treats, and I provided a hearty loaf of Great Harvest Dakota bread and sparkling water. We ate amidst our piles of magazines and images!



Lunch break over, time to get back to it!



Toward the end of the day, everyone shared their Vision Board process and a little explanation of the images they chose.








Not everyone had time to complete their boards, but here are a few that are almost done.




A parting shot of this enthusiastic, creative, intelligent, fun group of women!



On Monday morning, I got this encouraging message from Beth, the person who brought all of her friends together for this class:

Thank you, thank you for facilitating a wonderful day! I felt like Cinderella in leaving so quickly with only a quick acknowledgement of what a great experience it was.

I have talked with several who attended already. They also feel energized and ready to face the year in a new way with a new energy. I know it made a difference for me.

You set the stage for each of us. As I said to those I've spoken with, we now have our own little support group to call upon when we need the support to keep moving forward. I know that each of us will.

Unexpected Whimsy

My parents moved to Salem from Astoria last February and a few months ago we started dedicating two Wednesdays a month to what we've dubbed our Wednesday Wanderings. We target a small outlying community, drive on back roads to get there, find a fun place to have lunch, and if we can do a little sightseeing, it is the cherry on top of our day. Yesterday my Mom chose Albany as our destination. I called a friend who has lived in Albany her whole life and asked for recommendations. She immediately suggested we visit the Carousel Museum. So, I picked up my parents and we drove along the windy, scenic River Road, detouring onto Buena Vista road, eventually reaching Albany. Our first stop was the Carousel Museum.



Oh my! What a pleasant surprise was in store for us. We were greeted at the door by a volunteer who took us on our own personal tour of the museum (the museum is free, by the way). We got to see everything from rough blocks of bass wood, to carving stations, to sanding and painting stations. Here is an excerpt from their brochure:

Opened in 2005, the museum houses the world's largest public collection of Dentzel carousel pieces. Gustav Dentzel brought the first carousels to America from Europe, and treasures from four generations of the Dentzel family can be seen. The largest piece in the collection is the mechanism, which will hold the carousel itself, one of the last to be created by Gustav in 1909.



Into the workshop area we went.








As we neared the end of our tour in the workroom, our guide took us through swinging double doors to a huge warehouse where the carousel flooring was being constructed and the gears (from an original, old Dentzel carousel) stored.







These are glimpses of carousel memorabilia from the personal collection of W.H. Dentzel and his family.




This little guy was standing in the corner and I fell in love with him!




I'm drawn to vintage photographs and this one was on display in the museum. It has such rich imagery of a bygone era.


Our nice volunteer guide snapped a couple of photos of me with my parents!