Running Amuck

Just a little preview taste of some of the fun from the Painted Hills Photo Adventure.

This image is attributed to k.Cyr and all rights are reserved.

Paint the Hills

I am windswept and sun bleached.  

Eastern oregon is an amazing, inspiring place.  Which is the main reason for the adventure of the last three days.  Cyr, Jo, Kelty and I left on sunday morning to drive to the Painted Hills, part of the John Day Fossil Refuge about two and a half hours east of Bend.  Our friends Lori and Shane joined us for the first leg.  We had no destination besides the hills, with  Cyr's camera in tow, as well as costumes and a vintage black film sign with moveable letters.  

Cyr took 345 photos.  

Much of the trip was pulling over at old farmhouses, or walking up the fossil bed self guided path so Jo could play her violin in front of green clay cliffs.  We found an orchard, the John Day River, a baby bird in an old pioneer cemetery, several old bridges, a shoe tree, a coyote dead on a fence,  a rickety foot bridge with cowboys driving trucks through the river nearby, two perfectly suited camp sites, a hundred year old country store, a chocolate blackberry milkshake,  and most of all- silliness, laughter, and poetry.

I'll show photos eventually.

A Quiet Prayer For His Heart

My friends Dan and Rachel have been married almost eleven years. They have two sweet, lovely children named Lucy and Knox. (I have sadly only gotten to hang out with Lucy and Knox on a couple of occasions, but when I did- I was bowled over by Knox's sweet grin and giddy laugh when Lucy entertained him, and had a wonderful time playing princesses with Lucy.)

This piece is for the Williamson's. I've been working on it for quite a while- five months or so. It is the story of a prayer, a meditation, a focusing of healing energy that was a way for me to surround this family that I care so much about in love from across the country. Blessedly, the heart that needed this prayer has healed.

I finally mailed it to the Williamson's on Tuesday. I hope they will receive it today, so I can share this post. It's hard keeping a surprise a surprise. It especially made me giggle when Rachel saw it in progress in the photo of a birdhouse I was working on and inquired about it... Tee Hee tee Hee... Sneaky Sneaky!

An Aside (July Fourth)

The one break from long hours at the studio this past week came in the form of the fourth of July.  It was a day for spending outside with the PoetHouse Girls.  Lori, her pup Kita, Kelty and I participated in the Pet Parade (we walked alongside a very adventurous Chihuahua, whose owner must have loved the movie Up).  Then we met up with Jo and Cyr on Bikes to participate in the annual Freedom Ride, where thousands of Bend-ers gathered at Pioneer and Columbia parks to take Downtown by storm, clogging the streets in a rowdy pack.  After a dip in the Deschutes, we rode around town soaking in sunshine.   Cyr, Jo, and I ending the holiday watching Fireworks from Overturf Butte and a burrito from Taco Salsa with our fellow PoetHouse Honorary Girl, Jason.

Done and Done

Miss Cyr and I just finished hanging our labels and artist statements at St. Charles Medical Center.  

Imagine a deep, audible sigh.  

There is not quite anything like the feeling of accomplishment that accompanies displaying a body of work, anything that I can imagine anyway.   After living in the studio for the last few weeks, being so focused on each step of the process, I now get to unwind myself and think about the narrative I created. . .

Images from the show are on Cyr's trusty camara, and I will post them as soon as I can.

We will also be planning an opening for early August, hopefully I will be able to film another short walk through like the one I did for the Evergreen show last year.

it's all progress

by the woods

I am smack dab in the middle of this collage.  A lovely little forest, I haven't quite decided what direction it will take.  It has a slightly spooky air about it, but a comforting one as well.  I personally feel at home in the woods; however,  in many a fairy tale forests are presented as an ominous and foreboding place.  I could research for hours, reading and re-reading stories, as well as thesis papers discussing the psychological landscapes surrounding them.   

It also makes me want to visit places like this, if only I spoke dutch or german.