I'm Home with photos and there is news!

Here is the news....
The class descriptions are up for An Artful Journey…this is going to be great!

Winter 2012 Retreat - February 23-27 Join artists Flora Bowley, Tory Brokenshire, Katie Kendrick, DJ Pettitt and Albie Smith for three days of non-stop creative bliss! We hope you'll join us for an intimate gathering of creativity and soul restoration at the 4th Artful Journey retreat; registration opens July 12, 2011.

If you want to learn how to make a Santos this is the retreat for you.

 
Here is a link to Santos Sensations.
And the photos...
Here are some photos near my daughters home in Alabama after the tornado. She and her husband are now relocated here in Oregon and I'm so happy they will live near me.

 They do all pitch in and help each other.

 You just can't believe what you are seeing.

 There are some things you don’t think about if you are not from tornado country. Like this pharmacy that was blown to pieces. It made me think of it like a giant piñata and the tornado the bat to bash it to pieces. The recipients would be every junky in town if it had not been for the local police force. They surrounded the area and the clean up was a priority.


I can't go on a trip without a little bird watching.

I was afraid they all would have been blown away, how could any small bird survive this.  But the next morning little flowers bloomed and the birds sang. You just shake your head in confusion.

 This was my first Cardinal a little female just outside the window, beautful.

 And at the end of the drive she meets up with Mr. Handsome

These three beauties we saw on the way home in Utah.

Have a great weekend and hug your loved ones.

Getting ready and Mexico

Two weeks till Art Fest, I’m getting very excited as it all comes together and each chore is finished and put in a tub for transport. Today the Santos frames were checked off the list. They look like a row of soldiers, just wait to see what they will be transformed into.

 A few photos from Mexico

 It was hard to leave the sun, flowers and flip flops I tasted summer and it was good.

The first stop from the cruise ship was Puerto Vallarta. I headed for the town square and oldest church, after that I ask to see the cemetery but was told that it was moved up the hill to make room for a parking lot. “Oh that’s too bad”- “No no it was a dead cemetery all the people that came and knew the people there are all gone. There is no one to come visit the dead”.  I did find the new cemetery and people came to visit the dead, it’s a beautiful place and very much alive.

 The cemetery

Grandmother and child stand at the edge of the sea watching Grandfather work.

It boggles the mind to see these misshaped rocks precariously balanced next to the crashing waves.

 He told the on lookers how he does it and had a bowl for tips.

 You didn't think I would go on a trip and not share a bird picture.

I got some other nice shots but they will have to wait till next time.

An Artful Journy- Great News

I was invited to teach at An Artful Journey Feb 23 - 27 2012. This retreat is held at the Presentation Center in the redwoods of Los Gatos, Ca. I will be teaching a three day Santos class. It will be absolutely fantastic. The reason I can say that is because we will not only be making one Santos on a wooden frame but we will also be constructing an assemblage Santos out of wonderful antique and other found objects. The students will be bringing home 2 very different but beautiful pieces. I started to collect bits and pieces today that will go into a bin for the retreat. Yahoo an excuse to collect more stuff! Here are some shots of what I found today, these will be bodies or wings or ?

This will be a body of an assemblage Santos, can you see it?

This is an example of a wood frame Santos

This is an example of an assemblage Santos

I leave for a weeklong trip to Mexico on Sat and you can bet I will be looking for that rare find to bring to class. Cross your fingers I hope to find something great.   

adiós amigo de arte

Super Santos and my laptop died.

I have spent the better part of a week working on this over sized Santos. Stephanie Brockway the curator of "Day of the Dead" show at Gaurdino Gallery in Portland invited me to make a special extra large piece for a window display and boy it has been fun. It started with the torso that is a antique phone box two little bells included. The torso gave me the dimensions for the head, I was not sure if it would be a male or female and I'm still a bit fuzzy about it but I'm leaning toward male.

Here it it photographed on white and at an angle for the show card.

His legs are 1940's split wood crutches with size 10 wooden shoe stretchers, the base is a piano stool top. I made the rosary out of bingo balls and his arms are legs from a claw foot stool. There is a small shelve to light a candle and make your day of the dead prayers. Hie crown was fun to make and Steph's idea to make it from an old metal tape measure that I riveted together and soldered a copper cross to the top.

If you click on the photo it will enlarge so you can see the details, I had photos but last night before I got them into blogger my laptop got a bug a died. I think it got me as well because it made me just sick I hope I can retrieve all my paper work and photos. I will be posting the dates of the show and address as soon as I'm back up and running.