i'm back and happy!

okay, so one would think that when a blogger comes back from teaching two art classes in oregon, the first photos she would post would be of the, uh-hummm, ART CLASS?? well, i don't want you taking me for granted, now, do i? pictured above is the original high school built in the early 1900's. and no, smarty-pants, i was not a member of the graduating class of 1919!! the powers that be turned this building into a middle school when the new high school was built further down the road, but i still love this stoic relic. not a ton has changed, either. oh, a new wing or two, but generally it remains faithful (except for the fact that everything looks decidely smaller). and the inside of the building even smells the same!! ahhh, a little "home old".

actually, my handy-dandy class assistant, photographer (and much-younger sister), shannon lee webb did the honors by snapping a bunch of delicious shots of the happenings around the art tables and the disc with said amazing photos are winging their way to me, as i type. i promise to regale you with interesting stories and glorious visuals when it arrives.

suffice it to say, for now, that the weekend's art adventures could not have gone any smoother.....ahh, yes, there was the nerve-wrecking electrical outages caused by blowing the circuits - but we had a brilliant strategist on hand who quickly solved our problems of too many plugable units (griddles, heat guns and crock pots for bubbling encaustic wax) and not the right power cords! thank god for the skills of cat bonney!

i have to tell you that besides the fantiastic time we had making art, i got the chance to get to know two artist freinds a whole lot better.

i met karen o'brien at anahata katkins class at journalFEST last october on the olympic penisula. i noticed her quietly creating right around the corner from me and was entranced with her work. after a few minutes of chatting learned that she lives in the very same town as my mother and sister and teaches all manner of mixed media mayhem! i pointed them in karen's direction and happily they have jumped into the foray of "art journaling" with great abandon. karen came to BOTH of my classes - wow (wonderful, but a tad bit intimidating)! she kindly invited us to come by her amazing home on 5 green arces to see what's new in the studio. oh, man, it's hard not to be totally enarmoured by the surroundings (a view to die for), the lighting in her studio (to die for, as well!) and her adorable daschunds and cute-retired-fireman hubs! and let's not mention her whimsical work! ahhhh, and her altered books. well, i tell you.....we were so inspitred to run right home and start creating. shannon took some great shots at karen's place and i will be sharing those with you, as well!

the other highlight of the trip (besides the success of the workshops!) was getting to have lunch with the ever-lovely stephanie lee. stephanie is a wonder......she does it all. painting, jewelry, book arts and mixed media. she is also an author! i know stephanie from journalFEST as well, but had first heard of her here in the NW when she came up to another artist friend's studio for a class in working with plaster. missed that class - wah! so, was delighted to learn that she was offering a class in writing at journalFEST. bugged her insistently in class about where she haled from - i just had this feeling! come to find out, she is located in a bitsy town in southern oregon. shoot, i should know it well, as i graduated there! you know, the high school pictured right above! what are the chances?? what a hoot! anywho, met for bite at a local eatery and an hour and a half picking her brains about teaching, art and life in general. i am still just amazed at how artists can meet from all sorts of walks of life, from all over and have so much in commom. i thank stephanie so much for allowing me to steal some time in a busy schdule to yak. i came away with a renewed commitment to "listen to the bling" in all things - to be open to new opportunties and new vistas. to say YES to life and to stay in touch with this amazing artist and person!

i promise to get back to you after the disc comes - i can't wait to share with you the creations that this group of groovy women came up with - really, it was a super-duper experience! i feel pretty darned blessed!