Random bits of Artfest

I tend to notice the absence of things quickly, sometimes before I even see what's present. This kind of perspective has an obvious downside, but the upside is that I notice people and things that get overlooked. Like at my first Artfest: I noticed there were like six African-Americans in the whole 500+ group of attendees.

But scarcity of men at art retreats was so obvious that I barely paid it any attention at first. As I put it to a friend, if you're going to Artfest to pick up guys after class, you will be sorely disappointed. No, if they're there, they've teaching.

Or they've been pressed into service hauling or vending stuff. Maybe they hang out in town while the wife/girlfriend is making art. You can count the number of guys on one hand who are actually there to take a class. Really, how many guys do you know who go to any kind of retreat not related to work or maaaaybe church?

But this year I found an interesting perspective from Chad Goodson, who was in my Strange Angels class. He and his wife Jessica Herman Goodson ate lunch with us, and I overheard a snippet of their conversation. So I pestered him about it:

What do you think? The estrogen is pretty thick at art retreats. Do you think things would be the same if the ratio were about 50-50 (60-40, whatever) women to men? Would you want it that way? Or would you miss the just-us-girls vibe?

Artfest, Day 3-Flirting with Photoshop

Okay, when I said "tomorrow" in the last post I was thinking "Monday." Sorry about that.

In spite of staying up late the previous night, hanging with Nancy...

Tally, and Janine...

I got up AN HOUR EARLY to semi-finish my Strange Angels piece, and it put me into a great mood by the time everyone came downstairs for breakfast. Off to "Flirting with Photoshop" with Pamela Huntington.

I really need to know how to do more than crop photos (even though you've seen I'm the mayor of Croptown). Use this background here... add some bits from finished pieces there... you're 2/3rds done with a new piece, like one Pamela displayed at the Artfest gallery.

And Tally was signed up for the class too. Bonus!

But things are bound to slow down for everyone if your computer refuses to read the class CD, and the instructor has to figure out what the hell is wrong with your computer. Poor Dale.

Even after getting over that hump, she had trouble opening files, which kept her two or three steps behind. Tally, on the other hand, was bored out of her mind.

I fell behind too, scribbling notes. Took a break, but I just got more frustrated when I came back. Meh. (Pamela's now friends with me on Facebook; I'll deluge her with questions some other time.) Off to dinner downtown at the Fountain Cafe, where I entertained myself taking faux Polaroids after Tally's real Polaroid refused to take pictures in anything but direct sunlight.

 

Tonia promised this little hole-in-the-wall had seriously mouthwatering food. Half the instructors from Artfest must've agreed, because they took our seats after we licked our plates clean. We raced back up to Show & Tell with a half-hour to spare -- or so we thought.

Done! Empty except for a few stragglers! We'd tried to bring our pieces early, but we were too early... and then we were too late. So, off to Artisans on Taylor to see Professor Goofballigus deMenticus.

Several pieces from Michael's book "Dusty Diablos" were on display at the gallery reception. My camera battery died, but I breathed heavily over each and every one as I scrutinized them from every angle.

 

And guess who else was there? Pamela, with Andrea Matus (who also happens to be dating Michael).

I missed out on dancing at Sirens later on, but I'm sure it'll be there after next year's Artfest classes. And there's your full Artfest recap, boys and girls. Hey, if you haven't sent me a Facebook friend request or clicked on the Like button, now would be an excellent time to do so! I'd love to hear from you.

Artfest, Day 2.5-Vendor Night

Remember how crowded it got at Artfest Vendor Night back in 2008?

Yeah, same thing this year too. But this time I didn't have to twiddle my thumbs and wait until someone figured out she didn't really want to buy a necklace. (I'm lookin' at you, Norma.)

This year, I found another lovely necklace...

this one made by Kecia Deveney, one of the most talented -- and BUSY -- artists I know.

Way back in 2007 when we shared a hotel room for Art & Soul Portland, I used to watch through exhausted eyes while she blogged the day's events before going to bed. Driven! Kecia didn't bring a mirror for potential customers, so I came up with a solution: take a phone photo of the person wearing the jewelry, then show them the photo. Like this, modeled by the lovely Janine Shea:

(Come to think of it, the last art necklace I bought was from another roomie, Liesel Lund. See how being my friend profits you in so many ways?) It was all about supporting hard-working, talented friends that night. Andrea Matus (remember, she taught the class I'd just had) let me go home with this fascinating suspended piece.

I like how the metal element looks like a deconstructed mouth and tongue sticking out.

A little too tired to take many more photos, but I couldn't leave without a photo of Sarah from "Gilded Age Massage Experience."

Yes, that's an actual corset, and she wears it every day. Wonder how comfortable that is to wear while kneading someone's back into submission... Ow. Ow ow ow gasp ow.

Speaking of supporting friends, don't forget to Like my friends-and-supporters page in the upper right corner of le blog. It would be ten kinds of awesome if you followed this blog too! Tomorrow: last day of classes...