and the rest of nest...

I was looking through all my Art Nest pictures and goodies and realized I still have a TON of stuff that I would love to share with you! Most of my pix are on Flickr but I really haven't even begun to show you here pictures of some amazing artists I got to meet and hang out with. Oh and plus there's the gorgeous art that came home with me to Oregon. So I'm just gonna get right too it and try to keep the chit chat to a minimum. This is a long one, so hope you can hang in there with me! :-)

Here's the inside of the trades I brought to Art Nest.

 

These are what I call "girlfriend gifts." You know, those extra little treats that your sweet pals bring special just for you? These are from Kari, Cassondra and Natalie. Thank you, girlfriends!!!

 

I'll get you a close up view of that little birdie...Natalie embroidered that and it's so cute!

Here's what inside the stripey tin, which was from Cassondra.

 

I showed a pic of the Welcome Packets that Julie and Candice put together for us before but here's what the inside looked like. Such treats!

Here's Kari admiring them... :-)

 

Julie and Candice made the packets from Anthropoligie tablecloths. In fact, those girls even had matching aprons that a friend made for them from the tablecloth! !

 

Zoom in of that sweet spot!

 

And then there were the trades....

 

Utterly gorgeous. EVERY one was so beautiful, clever, and artistically unique.

 

Here's a close up of Julie's...

 

This is a handmade bowl that Denise made...

 

And this was Cassondra's...

 

At the Artist's Sale, Kari, Cassondra and I shared a table. It didn't surprise me that I let this situation turn into the situation I always let myself get into when I have a garage sale with my neighbor. We always end up pretty much just exchanging  junk. Here's the goodies I bartered with Kari and Cassondra for...

 

This seems like a good spot to squeeze in what what I made...

My paintings from Kelly Rae's class and from Mati's class...

 

Here's lucky me with the two of them...

 

Here's most of artwork from Kelly Rae's class...

Most of the artwork from Mati's class...

And then here's what I made in Jane's class...

 

I LOVE how this one turned out. This is a bead that Miranda bought for me when she was living on Maui. I love it.

Me and Jane, when I was buying one of her necklaces...

So on to the art I actually bought. I absolutely wanted to buy something from every artist. Kari, Cassondra, Beth, Jane, Gloria, Caryn, Natalie, Julie, Mati, Jane Wynn, Kelly Rae, and Britt all had amazing jewelry, originals and prints of their art. Jodi had her homemade Chai Tea (which I bought a bag of! Yum!!!) and then Julie invited her local antique dealer to bring in some of his wares.

I make no secret that Glen is out of work right now. He is, fortunately doing some contract work which we are SO thankful for, but still, I'm feeling that with this economy, there may be some rainy days in our future and I'm trying to be frugal where I can. Having said that, there were a few pieces that just spoke to me. When I saw this piece of Caryn's, I just had to have it. I love the message that "she carried joy." It just gave me a feeling that I may feel like I searching for happiness, but really, I already have it. :-)

 

So lovely. Then this set from Julie Haymaker...

 

Since it had the word "nest" in it and a nest, this just seemed like a lovely piece to own as a sovenier.

 

These are very special little treats that I bought from Julie's amazingly talented daugther, Marina.

 

And then the last night, Jane Wynn set out her spectacular pieces and I decided to buy ONE MORE sovenier for myself! :-)

 

 

Gadzooks...I could go on and on...I'll just share a few more pictures of the people...

  

Me and Denise. What an absolute pleasure it was to get to know Denise. Bright, funny and such a kind heart.

BTW, you'll notice in these pictures that there was an awful lot of hugging and cuddling. It was always just the spontaneous reaction when I got close to these people. I just wanted to keep hold of the beauty of each person WHILE I was in the moment. Sometimes it looks dorky, but that's how I roll.  As I look through these pictures now, oh how I wish I had taken a picture with each and every person at Art Nest. I could easily say something nice about every soul that was there. :-)

 

Karen and I. What a sweet new friend I found. Karen has a project in the works to host an Art Retreat in Alaska! How beautiful would that be??? I'll be sure to share any info with you that I get on this!

 

Diana and I. SUCH a sweety!

Britt and Maya. GORGEOUS women inside and out. 

I'm thankful I spent some quality time visiting with Maya. She said the prayer before our meal on our last night. We all gathered in a (very large) circle and held hands. Maya's words were so perfect and so eloquent. The love that poured out of everyone during this time was just magical. Thank you, Maya.

 

The dream team...Julie, Mati, Jane, Kelly Rae and Candice.

  

Me and Kari. I LOVE this girl!!! How lucky am I that she is my friend? She's just magic and gifted and funny and sweet all rolled in to one!

 

My sweet and talented friend Natalie, and two new friends Jane and Courtney.

 

Me, spectacularly talented Beth and Kari. I regret not buying a piece of Beth's jewelry. I definitely need to get something of hers. It's breathtaking!

 

Me and Caryn. WHAT a marevelous talent and soul!

 

Kari and Laurie. SUCH sweet, sweet peeps!

 

Diana, Candice, Lorraine, Courtney, Julie and Lorie.

 

Cass and I. My girl.

 

I was THRILLED to get to see these girls!!! I met Sherry, Deb, and Shannon at Art and Soul last October!  These girls are SO kind, so talented, and definitely contributed to making this such a special retreat for me!

And one of my favoritest pictures of the whole event...

 

This is Jane, Gloria, Karen, Lorie, and Debbie (L to R). There were just so many smiles, lots of love, and genuine caring happening every day in every room of the house. It was so wonderful seeing my pals...

 

And making new ones. I am so thankful I get to say, "I was there!"

Thanks again to Julie, Candice, and Cassondra. Dream team, in deed!

Comments

[Stacy]

Oh Michelle, it all looks like so much fun! Such fun girls all together in one place!
sTacy

[Britt]

xoxoxo

[Karen Tessandore]

oh my gosh, I love all these photos! I just have a big smile right now and such warm feelings toward everyone that was there. I find myself checking all the girls' blogs a least daily hoping for more Art Nest. Thanks for the fix!

I especially love the things you created in Jane's class. I'm just waiting for my torch & tripod to arrive in the mail and off I'll go in that direction. :)

~ k

[Denise S]

Hi Michelle,it was such a kick to meet you after following along with your blog for the last few months. You took some terrific photos of everyone.
We had an emergency with my DIL the first night home from ArtNest. I ended up spending the night and next day with my little 11 week old grandson.
I have not a any chances to play with all the art ideas yet but its gonna happen.
I loved getting to know you better and hope to cross paths again one day soon.

ps-I did take a few moments today and went through some of the trades and yours was one I still marvel at how tiny and perfect.

[Maija Lepore]

Such wonderful memories!!!

[ArtsyMama]

Oh sweetie...I love you too! I miss you.
Smiles!!!
Kari

[Jeanne]

Looks like you gals had a blast at Art Nest! What fun...thanks for sharing it all with us.
xo
jeanne

[iHanna]

Beautiful art, things, people. I think your paintings are beautiful! well done, you go girl!

[Caryn Duncan]

Hi, I can't get enough of this post. It is such a beautiful tribute to our time at the nest. I have such warm meommories of our time together. Thinking of you often, Caryn

[julie collings]

your collection of images captures so well our weekend at the nest, how fabulous to read your post and immerse myself again in the cozy wonderfulness of it all. so many darling faces, amazing art, and smiles and laughter. so wishing you were my next door neighbor!
your tiny box has captured my heart. thank you also for the wonderful wools, such a happy stack on my desk.
happy friday! Julie