And by "abundance," I mean a freakishly long Art and Soul post. I thought of breaking this story into two parts but I'm motivated to get this done since I'm starting to feel a bit caught up with my life. I still have charm pictures, fatbook and goodies I bought from shopping but that will be another day. So please, if you care to, make yourself comfortable, sit back and stay awhile. :-)
First...just a very quickie mention...after several weekends of crazy running around and living life, we didn't have anything planned this weekend. Happy sigh. We did have some friends pop in and stay with us Friday night... they were heading back to Canada after taking helicopter lessons in McMinnville. We walked up to our local McMenamins and then hung out and played/listened to music. Lovely.
Okay...sorry sorry sorry...back to Art and Soul!
As you may or may not know, I have a serious obsessive, compulsive disorder called "Charmswappicus Maximus." I cannot show up at an art retreat without charms to swap...Art and Soul was no exception...
Classes started on Wednesday and oh what a day! My first class was Nina Bagley's Gatherings. I was so excited for this class and had been looking forward to it ever since Art Fest when I saw Julie's creations! I'd been gathering supplies and took enough stuff to work on this project for a week solid NO JOKE! And I was in absolute Heaven just wandering around the class and peeking into the other artist's stashes. Cassondra, Dede, Leslie, Keli, Lonnie, Suzanne, just to name a few...
Here are the "pages" I completed ...
This class just felt magical because it feels like making shadow boxes on vintage book covers is abolsutely the most exquisite vehicle for using and displaying my most favorite and prized treasures. Also, when I was in Nina's class, I bought one of the lampwork glass egg's that her sister, Ellen, makes and sells in her Etsy shop. With a hole drilled in the length of the egg, these creations are perfection!
So dear Cassondra was in Nina's class with me and also during the day, I connected with Gina and Julie. SO happy to meet Gina and to see Julie again! We all went out to dinner at Lovely Hula Hands, which was marvelous, despite my oh so many wrongs turns. Thanks again for your patience, girls! :-) Oh and btw, if you haven't seen it yet, I highly encourage you to check out Julie's new book, Pretty Little Felts. It's like a candy store in book form! Full of so much good stuff and inspiration!!!
Both Cassondra and Gina stayed with me and so on Thursday, we got up mildly early and headed out to do some shopping, via Starbucks. We hit Poppy and Ivy, Splurge, Rerun, Full Circle Resale by Gazelle and Monticello Antique Mall. A couple of cute pictures from the day...
Friday all three of us had classes so we made our way to the Art and Soul again, via Starbucks. This day I had Stephanie Lee's Junk Drawer Metalsmithing and I'm very happy to report that Cassondra was in this class with me as well! Another sweet benefit was Edina (oh such gorgeous hair! :-), Christine, whom I met at Art in Ashland, and fellow Charmsters, Brenda and Lori were also in this class. It was marvelous!
This class SO did it for me! I was so happy and comfortable! I love soldering and this was a different style and technique. Plus Stephanie is such an enjoyable, generous teacher. Here are my pieces...
Friday lunchtime was super fun. Cassondra, Julie, Deb, Sherri and I went to lunch at The Original Taco House. Julie, Deb and Sherri are all good friends from Utah and whenever these three are together, there is SO much laughter...here's a pic of the three of them...
Friday night was a big booksigning event! How fun!!!! SO many incredible artists have new books out or books that were recently published. Here's a picture of me with the wonderful and gorgeous, Julie Collings...
And then a pic with one of my new favorite artists, the brilliantly talented, Stephanie Lee...
So how you doin'? I tell ya, this long weekend was just SO full! I'm not even capturing all the other brilliant experiences I had of meeting up with all the Charmsters, swapping charms in the lobby, seeing my sweet friends Ilene (what a heartfelt greeting - that just made my whole day!!!), Suzanne, Melissa, Lisa, Allegra, and Kecia. Plus there was just the fun of running into people in the hallways, bathroom and the onsite store, collage. And speaking of collage, I also got to see the very dear Maria. And let me tell you, this gal is a house o' fire! Maria did such an amazingly, fantastical job keeping up with all the Art and Soul attendees. She was ALWAYS there! Just a shining star, in my opinion, and the best ever onsite store!
Okay...so Saturday was shopping with the WHOLE gang! First Gina and I went and shopped on Alberta. OH so many treats! We went to collage, Swoon, Imp, Office, Bolt, Close Knit, Tumbleweed, and Frock, where I bought the cutest ever over the knee socks for Miranda! There were a few other shops sprinkled in there too. I took these pics while I was wandering...
This was stenciled on the ground and this was stenciled on a wall...
I love these odd, unexpected little finds that you'll come across throughout Portland.
After all this, Gina and I headed over to Stars Antiques where we met up with Cassondra, Julie, Sherri and Deb. We hit the antique shops and Coco and Toulouse and then lunched at a great place (Picatto's or Pizatto's?) on SE 13th. AFTER that, there was still daylight so we made our way to one last little antique shop called Madison Park and it was SENSATIONAL! What a perfect way to finish up our shopping field trip. Did I mention Saturday night was also Vendor Fair? Well, no need to be nervous. I didn't take any pictures; however, I did get to meet up with Catherine. I won a giveaway she had on her blog and here is my amazing prize...
Catherine creates the most visually-stunning pieces using Precious Metal Clay. Such a talent! Okay so let's move on to my last class of Art and Soul...Lisa Kaus' Gridlocked.
This was such a sweet treat of a class. Lisa was SO generous with her excellent "share" pile and she also stayed late so that those of us who wanted to, could stay and finish our projects. I sat with Deb and Sherri which made this class even a sweeter treater! Edina, Kelly, whom I met at Art in Ashland, Kecia, and Denise were also in this class! Here is my project and a few of my favorite sweet spots...
This little copper spot is actually a piece I made in Stephanie Lee's class. Just soldered right on to a piece of brass. I LOVE this look!
Yep, that's me. So lucky and SO blessed. Some of the people that are so talented and significant contributors to making the artisitic community so meaningful through their teaching, hosting, and/or participation are my friends. I am so grateful that blogging has led me on the path I am today. My life is richer and fuller and so very rewarding and satisfying because of these friendships. And how lucky is that?
So much fun! I'll get there one day....... *wish*
Posted by: Kelly | October 12, 2008 at 01:50 PM
I loved every bit of your post! What a wonderful group of women you got to play with!
ox
Posted by: Maija Lepore | October 12, 2008 at 03:54 PM
oh my gosh what a wonderful week you had! I am so green. ; )
We haven't met yet but I'm in the charmer's group. I've been pretty quiet lately because I just had a baby in August. I'm looking forward to getting back into some swaps, though!
I'm so glad that you posted so many pictures and wrote about the lovely time you had. I can just feel the magical energy that is Art & Soul!
Jenny
Posted by: jenny | October 12, 2008 at 08:01 PM
You are SOOO lucky!
I'm glad you had fun and that I got to see you. Thanks for mentioning me here, You sure get around!
Catherine
Posted by: Catherine Witherell | October 12, 2008 at 10:36 PM
My oh my....what fun!!!
Love that you used the Lucky bingo card. Gorgeous piece!!!
Kari
Posted by: ArtsyMama | October 13, 2008 at 03:50 PM
I am still all teared up about having to miss two and one half classes (two day ones and one evening one) but I got to take Michael's class and that was a hoot.
Now I need to get my better half heal after the surgery and I will be embarking into a de-stashing mode to make place for all the new things I bought.
Watch out Etsy, here I come with my oldies but goodies.
It was truly nice to see you and I hope we see each other soon again. Thank you so much for coming by and leaving a message. KIVA thanks you too, I am sure.
Posted by: Allegra Smith | October 14, 2008 at 12:34 AM
dear michelle,
i loved your post! the photo of cassondra and the pink dress, fabulous.
thank you for taking pictures. . . i enjoyed so much hanging with you and the gals. thank you for the wonderful dinner at hula hands! unforgettable.
it is so cool to see your photos of your gatherings book again. such lovely work. i am mesmerized by the ones of your gridlocked class. i so wanted to take that one with you. the blue is stunning with your pieces.
hope all is well, julie
Posted by: julie collings | October 15, 2008 at 04:26 AM
Lovely, lovely projects! What fun you had. Sorry I missed you this year Michelle... I'll be in Hillsboro this coming weeekend. If you can stop by, I'd love to see you!
Posted by: Deryn Mentock | October 15, 2008 at 08:10 AM
I hung in there and that Gridlocked is absolutely my favorite thing you did! Those were great photos and lots of wonderful finds...can't wait to see the stash!
Posted by: Gina | October 17, 2008 at 10:21 AM
From what I've seen, ARt and Soul is pretty cool to go to. Love your charms!
Posted by: karla nathan | October 18, 2008 at 10:12 AM