Well this is about art, but the food was pretty fine. Today the Hands On cafe featured brunch, this was the risotto cakes with poached eggs, a salmon fillet w/ shallots, arugula, pine nuts and dried cherries, covered in a white wine tarragon sauce, I suffered with a brie, pear, arugula omelet w/leek sauce, alas it wasn't as pretty as my table mates choice. On to class!
I was greeted to A LOT of pieces that needed finishing, I let my energy go into two panels out of our 6 panels.
Here I am applying the cold wax, the final process, allegedly. After I hung it, saw a section that need a little tweak. Affirming to myself that a piece never really has to be done, does it?
As we wrapped up around 2pm, we started the critique process. Two people took turns, telling the artist and group what was working and give feedback and/ or suggestions, it can be a valuable tool to hear how other artists are perceiving your work.
Here is Lisa in action, getting a closer look at Courtney's work.
Meet the class. So here in no particular order :
Ann: she was quite prolific and had a very subdued palette that was both calming and exciting. She did many pieces but chose these two for the final show, the balance of white was refreshing.
Georgia: who made good use of her time, she was right next to me and stayed busy. Her choices, bright and lively great use of color, like her. Thanks for sharing!
Tangie: her pieces combined an amazing sculptural aspect, restrained in color, very earthy. The niche in her canvas ( which I wish I got a close up of) had a old wood box , a piece of weathered drift wood that came out of the top , inside are small perfectly round stones she had collected (and was so thrilled to be both gifted with one and find out the secret location to gather them), I am thrilled! They are treasures. Thank You.
A.J. : She is a student, who we found out today, might of rather taken the summer off. But instead pushed through and amazed us with a carved piece on the left the layers of bright floral layers was a real stand out . On the right, her niche had a small found skull tied in front of some collaged maps , very weathered vibe, think she found her "niche" *grin
Me: Well hate the photo, just a little tired this week. But will say I gave myself permission to, experiment and not finish. I tended to want to see what other people were up to, I like the energy. But I buckle down waxed 2 pieces, and even feel them almost done. I would hang these on my wall.
Courtney: She went in a neat direction applying bits of fabrics in a female form with strong marks. On her niche piece she made a nest of fabrics and female sculpture sitting inside. Very distinct style.
Lisa: (Disclaimer, sorry I didn't get a smiling shot, please refer to yesterday where I did!) She was a power house, I loved her compositions , colors & techniques, plus she had the best assemblage! she was right next to me, and just kept hitting home runs ( no pressure, really!). Her piece here, the crow was an early standout color composition & shading , the box has a old star chart a little branch a hanging small rusty cage with a bird....yeah, wow. Her tree piece to the right has a more subtle color palette, seemed modern and interesting with the transfer of the tree and the rest painted on around it
Kristen: She had a real fresh approach, a former science and math major, she brought in a mix of numbers and formula's , also circuit boards in the niche piece. The strong graphic piece on the right was standout, she was a joy to see across the room always smiling.
Deborah: She chose one piece for her showing, her "breath" piece from yesterday, now has a strong crow on the right, great color and balance, the red niche has a silk tissue paper transfer of a women's face inside and one of those special round stones, very mysterious.
Guess these pics are out of order, but here is a close up of Lisa's crow.
Linnea: was one of our lovely T.A.'s . she worked quietly but powerfully, on her vision, she didn't just let things happen she clearly had a plan!. Her final piece on the left had a bee hive pattern carved in deeper in places and owl people of her design expertly carved out, very symbolic. (a close up of the nest is coming)....her piece on the right had a bee drawn into the plaster a fabric piece that came down into the niche, a clever specimen inside. The line work and colors were calm and well chosen.
Here is that close up of the eggs, nest and bee hive, we were captivated and someone said they would like to see the whole series.
The lovely Pat Wheeler worked on 6 pieces for demos, so valuable to see a working artist share her process, perspective and life. Being a big fan of her work, life and vision. I am beyond thrilled that the 2 small pieces in front with the bright blue, came home with me. We traded for one of my recent works from circus puppet theater. No greater currency exists then when two artists appreciate each others skills and exchange a little piece of ourselves,
The final photo is Pat closing out the class with a reading, she pulls tidbits from her many resources, poetry, anthropology books etc. Being in a group of women can be nurturing, even if it is not spoken what we need or expect. I finish my day feeling capable.
Yes , I'm still here, my dreams of a low key summer are slowly materializing
Today got to do a little junking with one of my favorite junking partners
We targeted the Sellwood area in Portland...at one of the antique stores we got an offer to see the upstairs living quarters @ Justin and Burkes... OMG, we stepped off the streets and into the pages of DECOR magazine...my photos don't do it justice.... I learned a lot however,
2) Silhouettes in glass domes are quite striking.
4) Dripped wax down mirrors, drop cloths and yummy chandeliers, and big shells, make the end of any hallway the place to be. 
