Art & Soul, part four
That's part quatre for all you French-speakers out there. Including all ten of you in the US.
One of the pretty lamppost banners on Alberta Street ("Alberta" is cut into the blue piece at the top). The plan was to drive to the arts district in my own car, so I wouldn't be at the mercy of waiting for the shuttle arranged by some of the arts businesses. Why yes, I do like to do things the hard way. So thoughtful of you to notice.
But the shuttle turned out to be such a blessing, and more convenient than my car. (Hell, if I could use a shuttle like that to get to work, the local transit system could spend their advertising money elsewhere.)
My college roomie Wendy, the one I stayed with before my first A&S class, came over to visit. On her way in, she saw that my car had a serious flat, and the tire pressure of another one seemed questionable. AAA rode to the rescue, but got held up by -- whoops -- the Portland Marathon traffic. But Wendy, the sweetheart that she is, didn't mind 'cause we got plenty of time to hang out together. (We haven't seen each other in person since I got married four years ago. Oy.) So we took the shuttle anyhow, which appeared right when we were ready and was dispatched by phone when we wanted to go back to the hotel.
The shuttle dropped us at Collage first...
I'm sorry, got a little contact high just thinking about the store.
The shuttle dropped us there, and oooh... so many delicious options packed in such a small place. Wendy had to wait outside after a while, because the high concentration of small things to look at, combined with the old-building smell (which I happen to like), was kind of overwhelming. I zeroed in on some Interference Violet from Golden, which I needed after learning how to play with it in Michael deMeng's class Friday. Makes me want to be in two places at the same time, so I can paint and blog simultaneously.
Poppy and Ivy was next door, and while I thought many things were cute or even laugh-out-loud, I didn't really click there. Until I saw the Bacon-Flavored Mints. Any shop that stocks something as nasty-rageous as that gets my vote. No, I didn't get them for myself. I got them to inflict on The Husband, who as you will see appreciates the glories of bacon. (The mens, they like it when you show them you're thinking of them even when wandering about in an art-shopping-induced haze.)
And then we bumped into Ricë and Earl, who took a very cool picture of a little sidewalk graffiti that I had to have for myself too:
Now that I think about it, I should incorporate that into the book I'm working on. More about that in the next post.
The rest of the jaunt was pleasant but unremarkable... observing the kids hanging out Being Cool, keeping an eye out for curious and fascinating shops as well as remembering to dodge dog poop, nothing you wouldn't have to do in any other urban area. (To the ladies who were expecting a less-unvarnished Art Experience: come on... it's an art district, not Pottery Barn.) Unremarkable -- until the heavens opened up and released all the water floating above the Pacific Northwest. Damn, we got soaked! And denim feels really good when your legs are the main heat source to dry out your jeans. Oh yeah, baby.
But we really did have a great time together, and then I rejoined Ricë and Earl for a drawing class. I was ready for my bed by the time I tumbled in, so tired I didn't even have time to get cranky about the state of my hair, or worry about the next day's class. Big emotional to-do expected... in the next post. A cliffhanger -- bwah hahaha!!!
One of the pretty lamppost banners on Alberta Street ("Alberta" is cut into the blue piece at the top). The plan was to drive to the arts district in my own car, so I wouldn't be at the mercy of waiting for the shuttle arranged by some of the arts businesses. Why yes, I do like to do things the hard way. So thoughtful of you to notice.But the shuttle turned out to be such a blessing, and more convenient than my car. (Hell, if I could use a shuttle like that to get to work, the local transit system could spend their advertising money elsewhere.)
My college roomie Wendy, the one I stayed with before my first A&S class, came over to visit. On her way in, she saw that my car had a serious flat, and the tire pressure of another one seemed questionable. AAA rode to the rescue, but got held up by -- whoops -- the Portland Marathon traffic. But Wendy, the sweetheart that she is, didn't mind 'cause we got plenty of time to hang out together. (We haven't seen each other in person since I got married four years ago. Oy.) So we took the shuttle anyhow, which appeared right when we were ready and was dispatched by phone when we wanted to go back to the hotel.
The shuttle dropped us at Collage first...
I'm sorry, got a little contact high just thinking about the store.
The shuttle dropped us there, and oooh... so many delicious options packed in such a small place. Wendy had to wait outside after a while, because the high concentration of small things to look at, combined with the old-building smell (which I happen to like), was kind of overwhelming. I zeroed in on some Interference Violet from Golden, which I needed after learning how to play with it in Michael deMeng's class Friday. Makes me want to be in two places at the same time, so I can paint and blog simultaneously.
Poppy and Ivy was next door, and while I thought many things were cute or even laugh-out-loud, I didn't really click there. Until I saw the Bacon-Flavored Mints. Any shop that stocks something as nasty-rageous as that gets my vote. No, I didn't get them for myself. I got them to inflict on The Husband, who as you will see appreciates the glories of bacon. (The mens, they like it when you show them you're thinking of them even when wandering about in an art-shopping-induced haze.)
And then we bumped into Ricë and Earl, who took a very cool picture of a little sidewalk graffiti that I had to have for myself too:
Now that I think about it, I should incorporate that into the book I'm working on. More about that in the next post.The rest of the jaunt was pleasant but unremarkable... observing the kids hanging out Being Cool, keeping an eye out for curious and fascinating shops as well as remembering to dodge dog poop, nothing you wouldn't have to do in any other urban area. (To the ladies who were expecting a less-unvarnished Art Experience: come on... it's an art district, not Pottery Barn.) Unremarkable -- until the heavens opened up and released all the water floating above the Pacific Northwest. Damn, we got soaked! And denim feels really good when your legs are the main heat source to dry out your jeans. Oh yeah, baby.
But we really did have a great time together, and then I rejoined Ricë and Earl for a drawing class. I was ready for my bed by the time I tumbled in, so tired I didn't even have time to get cranky about the state of my hair, or worry about the next day's class. Big emotional to-do expected... in the next post. A cliffhanger -- bwah hahaha!!!
Art & Soul -- celebrity edition
I came, I saw... I loitered with the in-crowd!That's Ricë Freeman-Zachery and her husband, the Ever-Gorgeous Earl (EGE). I'd seen her byline a million times in various Somerset/Stampington publications. And I stopped by her blog a week or two before A&S, not knowing she'd be here. But then there she was, live and mostly pink-and-orange. (She later told me her hairdresser did something completely against the rules to get the hair color right.) I was just going to smile politely and ask to take their picture, 'cause I was celebrity-stalking. But then she cried, "You look just like our niece!" and waved the EGE over so he could note the similarity.
Normally, this doesn't impress me much. I can't tell you how many people say I look just like their fill-in-the-blank, and usually that person is named "Kim" or "Tracy." (I'm not kidding.) I guess it's because I'm about the same color and height of every black woman my age in America.
But Ricë's got this delightfully loony cackle that sounds a lot like mine when I get going, and a spark in her eyes that one usually sees only in people under the age of 13. (Don't tell her that. People under 16 or 17 freak her out.) The EGE, on the other hand, generally maintains a look of mild amusement in preparation for whatever madness is about to ensue.
So we all chitchatted for a while, and I traded an ephemera bag for one of Ricë's felt voodoo doll pins (I think it has a sprout of her hair on it, too). It was a welcome and entertaining break from my hardcore shopping for More Stuff, at the mob scene that was Vendor Night. Ooh, I got so much stuff: Russian Scrabble tiles, printed gaffer tape from 7 Gypsies, pages of foreign-language books (including Arabic. I'm sure I'll be breaking some taboo when I use them), pre-Revolution Russian money... the list goes on.
Then I continued my trek, only this time around to take pictures of My Celebrities:
Thomas and Jane Wynn (note that I shot Jane from the proper angle)...
Keely Barham of "True Colors" fame...
Traci Bautista, Karen Michel and Claudine Hellmuth...
Sally Jean Alexander...
Juliana Coles (don't be scared, she's just challenging in the classroom)...
and Karen Michel again, with Nina Bagley in the background wearing the green scarf. (Michael deMeng was vending too, but he got lots of coverage in my last post.)After that and lots of walking about, I was wiped, so I went to hang out with Ricë and the EGE again. We ended up getting a late late nibble, during which Ricë mocked my meat-eating habits. I'm an omnivore, but she apparently missed the celery sticks next to my buffalo wings. Poor thing, she must've been distracted by the tentacles of the fried calamari she and Earl were eating. Oh... I had such a good time, and I kept them up way past their bedtime. More fun tomorrow.
Art & Soul, part two of... lots
By the time I got out of class Friday night, I was famished for food and other people. But at this point I only knew my roommate Kecia...
... and I'd only met her online up to this point. So I wandered over to the free drinks at happy hour, and there was La Lemoncholy herself with lots of interesting people: Jan (you can see her arm behind K's head), Sammy (who'd just been in my deMeng class), Blaiz, and Mija. Then the connections started clicking. I realized I knew of Mija through our mutual art friend Tally, who's been my dear friend since third grade. And I'd seen Blaiz's work on Artitude's website long before I knew these were real people I might someday meet.
With Jan's prodding, we finally got off our tuchises and found dinner at Sayler's Old Country Kitchen. Whoooo-whee, those folks do MEAT. Huge steaks, chicken breasts -- their idea of a chicken dinner is "oh, two or three chicken breasts" along with the (generous) sides, according to the waitress. Poor Mija... she looked and looked for a side salad with her shrimp cocktail -- and got one when she asked, but it wasn't specified on the menu.
We also discovered we had a few political differences amongst us... Jan (who's from TX) and Sammy are Republicans who were excited to see the celeb pictures of George and Barbara on the wall. And the rest of us... um... aren't. We had a politely animated discussion of Why They Hate Us, and no blood was shed. Aren't you proud?
Then I joined Mija and Christine for chocolate and wine in their room, and Dawn, Kecia and Sammy appeared soon after. Much loud laughter and snorting was heard in the next room over, and we got the "shut the hell up, you loud-ass art women" knock on the wall. I later told Dawn it's a good thing she lives on the opposite end of the country and I live in Increasingly Diverseville, because we agreed we'd soon becomeinsufferable inseparable. Then Kecia, Sammy and I chitchatted as we settled in for the night in our own room, and passed out from exhaustion.
Mija and Christine kindly extended an invitation for me to come hang out with them on Saturday, since none of us had classes. So we went exploring in Portland, to find:
We have something similar in my neck of the woods, but hoo-boy -- haven't been to this one before!
I found magnifying lenses that were about the size of thick page pebbles... inexpensive tubes to hold flat papers (really need those)... and the best find: hardback book covers. At first I thought, well, I know people make their own books with these but I'd have to go online and learn it and I'm already crunched for time to finish other projects, so I put them down.
And then hit myself on the head. Helloooo!! Going to take a class on Monday with LK Ludwig that teaches me to do exactly that! One of them even came from the 800 pound gorilla research institution where I work. So I was obviously meant to have all three that I bought, and only for a dollar-fitty. The fourth one was from the "Journal of Hispanic Culture," which Mija happily accepted, it being all about her peoples and all.
We also bounced to a scrapbooking store and Fabric Depot, which is like the Costco of fabric. It's freakin' HUGE. And packed to the gills that day, because there was a big ol' Columbus Day sale. But we still made it out in time to go to Vendor Night. More on that in the next post.
Yay! I have comments on my posts now! Go see all my wonderful peoples now.
... and I'd only met her online up to this point. So I wandered over to the free drinks at happy hour, and there was La Lemoncholy herself with lots of interesting people: Jan (you can see her arm behind K's head), Sammy (who'd just been in my deMeng class), Blaiz, and Mija. Then the connections started clicking. I realized I knew of Mija through our mutual art friend Tally, who's been my dear friend since third grade. And I'd seen Blaiz's work on Artitude's website long before I knew these were real people I might someday meet.
With Jan's prodding, we finally got off our tuchises and found dinner at Sayler's Old Country Kitchen. Whoooo-whee, those folks do MEAT. Huge steaks, chicken breasts -- their idea of a chicken dinner is "oh, two or three chicken breasts" along with the (generous) sides, according to the waitress. Poor Mija... she looked and looked for a side salad with her shrimp cocktail -- and got one when she asked, but it wasn't specified on the menu.
We also discovered we had a few political differences amongst us... Jan (who's from TX) and Sammy are Republicans who were excited to see the celeb pictures of George and Barbara on the wall. And the rest of us... um... aren't. We had a politely animated discussion of Why They Hate Us, and no blood was shed. Aren't you proud?
Then I joined Mija and Christine for chocolate and wine in their room, and Dawn, Kecia and Sammy appeared soon after. Much loud laughter and snorting was heard in the next room over, and we got the "shut the hell up, you loud-ass art women" knock on the wall. I later told Dawn it's a good thing she lives on the opposite end of the country and I live in Increasingly Diverseville, because we agreed we'd soon become
Mija and Christine kindly extended an invitation for me to come hang out with them on Saturday, since none of us had classes. So we went exploring in Portland, to find:
We have something similar in my neck of the woods, but hoo-boy -- haven't been to this one before!
I found magnifying lenses that were about the size of thick page pebbles... inexpensive tubes to hold flat papers (really need those)... and the best find: hardback book covers. At first I thought, well, I know people make their own books with these but I'd have to go online and learn it and I'm already crunched for time to finish other projects, so I put them down.And then hit myself on the head. Helloooo!! Going to take a class on Monday with LK Ludwig that teaches me to do exactly that! One of them even came from the 800 pound gorilla research institution where I work. So I was obviously meant to have all three that I bought, and only for a dollar-fitty. The fourth one was from the "Journal of Hispanic Culture," which Mija happily accepted, it being all about her peoples and all.
We also bounced to a scrapbooking store and Fabric Depot, which is like the Costco of fabric. It's freakin' HUGE. And packed to the gills that day, because there was a big ol' Columbus Day sale. But we still made it out in time to go to Vendor Night. More on that in the next post.Yay! I have comments on my posts now! Go see all my wonderful peoples now.