Art & Soul, Portland... A Retrospective...

Wow, what a spectacular time in Portland, Oregon! But I always know I'll have a blast at Art & Soul... no matter which venue I go to (did you know they have retreats all over the country?). I got to see so many of the instructors I've become friends with over the years... make new friendships with people as nutty as me (we're a special breed)... and learn from some of the best teachers from all over the world. Not too shabby, ay?

I decided to man-up and take a class called Yes, I Want That Drill Press & More by Tory Brokenshire. We got to learn how to use all kinds of power tools including a drill press, belt sander, jig saw, chop saw and nail gun! We were building our very own shadowbox from raw lumber. Our manly helper, Gil, was very encouraging...

Tory liked my finished assemblage so much, she encouraged me to want to make more! I think I see one in every color scheme, hmmmmm.... maybe starting with pink? As I worked on my piece everyone kept noticing that my art was matching me. Funny.

Next was Mechanical Flying Bird with Charley Slaughter and Kerin Gale, where we got to make an unconventional automaton-style assemblage with a bird that really flies! Here is a little video I made so you can see it in action (please pardon my awkwardness, I'm still trying to figure out how to record from my computer - it flips your image backwards!)

This full day workshop was a lot of fun and Charley and Kerin were so attentive and helpful... as making a moving bird is no easy "feet"! Didn't everybody do a fantastic job!  We all got to sculpt our birds and "dress" them up so very personally. What a lineup...

Next I went to Julie's World, where students joined whimsical artist Julie Haymaker Thompson to make quirky little characters out of paper clay. She taught us a few tricky assembly techniques and a bunch of interesting painting techniques that I'll be using in my own work moving forward...

Judy Wise taught Let's Make Dolls... a fun and relaxing adventure into making a folk art style doll in under 6 hours! We worked with Sculpey—a bakeable clay—which was new for me. I usually work with paper clay, which air dries. I really liked the immediacy of creating with Sculpey. Make a head... bake it. Start the body... head's done. Attach it. Bake that... make some arms, legs, a dress while you wait. The possibilities were endless. And seeing what everyone else was creating gave me even more ideas! It was funny, but I had trouble naming my creations this time. When I made this one, I was creating her fingers and they kind of "fell" into a peace sign. So I think I'll call my little hippie chick Summer... after the Summer of Love!

The workshops were great, but having never been to Portland, I couldn't very well spend my entire time inside the Embassy Suites! Sometimes it was nice to just get outside... grab a few rays of sunshine... and watch the planes land. We were very close to the airport!

I also got to spend some time in the city, there was plenty to do...

I walked around and looked at all the beautiful downtown architecture...

Then made my way to the Portland Art Museum... two buildings worth of art from ancient times to modern contemporary. It was very inspiring...

Made my way to the Pearl District which has all the old warehouses, buildings and such...

I even got a chance to get over to Hawthorne which is a funky little area outside the city with cool shops, galleries, and eateries. They served coffee here... I swear!

Did lots of perusing... bought some interesting vintage clothes... and saw lots of art everywhere. On buildings...

And even on a retro VW bus...

All-in-all a fabulous trip. I am creatively inspired... finally well-rested... and ready to make my own creative dreams come to fruition. Thanks for joining me on my trip! Until next time...