Mixed Media Artist

Mount Hood...not always easy to see with Portland's weather! Last week I shared a few shots from our adventure visiting Dani out in Portland Oregon.  Since it was Labor Day weekend, a long weekend, we crammed in as much activity as we possibly could.  And the weather was amazingly cooperative too! I thought you might enjoy seeing what happens when two artists share an apartment...your kitchen takes on a nautical theme...and your studio sits in the middle of your living room! We took a trip to the beautiful rose gardens.  Portland is known as the Rose City because of the wonderful rose-growing climate.  Even though the gardens were past their peak, they were still amazing.    From the gardens, we caught a little steam train (kind of steampunk steam train...) over to the Portland Zoo.  I love how it's all hooked together so that you can park at one spot and take the train around to the other places you want to see. ...

Art in the Pearl , an amazing art show in downtown Portland, Labor Day weekend A year and a half ago, Dani moved to Portland Oregon to take a job working for Michael Curry Design .  Even though I hate having her so far away, I am very proud of the work that they do, and I'm thrilled that she is making her living doing the kind of art she loves.  We were able to take a long weekend and visit her over Labor Day, and yes...I am just now getting around to going through the pictures I took.  Don't judge me ;-) Along with about a million other people, we decided to head out to the beautiful Columbia River valley and do some hiking.  By "we", I mean Dani and her roommate Meg, Mike and me.  First stop, Crown Point.  That's Meg and Dani above...I told them to look tough.  And here is Crown Point building, with its amazing interior architecture: We stopped to see a couple of smaller waterfalls, and also stopped in to see Herman the Sturgeon (est...

I accompanied the love of my life on his last business trip! So that you don't think it was a total vacation for me, I brought back pictures to show you that I was hard at work...refilling the well :-) It's important to take an artist date once in awhile, just to refresh and relax you. These dates can also be a great source of new material for your work, as you can see from these images. I think my next little quilt will be of spruce trees... Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

The Vladimir Mother of God I had the opportunity to visit the finest collection of Russian icons in this country, right in my own backyard practically! If you live in New England, or will be traveling here at any time, I highly recommend a stop at the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton MA. The brainchild of Gordon Lankton, the collection is truly breath-taking. Mr Lankton began collecting the icons during business trips to the Soviet Union. In the beginning, he could find them in flea markets for very little money...that's how out of favor they had fallen during decades of communism. How many generations does it take before the worth of an object is forgotten? Thank heavens Mr Lankton recognized the beauty and worth of these gorgeous pieces. John the Baptist , circa 1450 The oldest icon in the collection Icons are referred to as having been "written" rather than painted. I would suggest that if you can visit this museum, you sign up for a docent tour...you won'...