This past Saturday night was gallery walk at my new exhibition space, The 940 Gallery. I have a partner in the gallery, Dale Klein who is a photographer. He does both old school black and white pictures which he tints and digital photography. His work is humorous, well composed and sensitively tinted. I especially like his Guadalupe shrine photographs. He was also interviewed for KPTZ, our local radio station for a segment on local photographers they are doing on air.

This gallery walk opening was the first time I had all three of my felt collages on display. I also featured  some of my paintings on canvas paper that are matted in a soft yellow so that the gallery had an air of summer in it.

Marlene and her husband, Larry brought Dale and me each a rose .

Some of Dale's work. 

Two of my pieces.

Some Flower, a favorite of mine.

This piece received lots of comments from visitors.

A grouping of both of our works.

Dale during his interview.

One of Dale's cards and a funny, favorite picture of his I adore.

This month's walk was so well attended! We are a little bit hidden in town, a tucked away atelier and gallery but hopefully, more and more people will find us. I have new pieces I hope to get framed for next month and a feature of this new work is the moon.

A beautiful full blue moon hangs in the sky this late evening and I can not keep myself in the house for want of going outdoors and dancing in its' light. I think this moon has had a lot of pull and influence on many of us this month. On this night the glow seems special, almost surreal and I am being magnetically, magically pulled towards it.

We have finished the driest August ever here in Port Townsend, no rain this entire month. I am missing it, wanting it, needing it. Everything feels dry and tight, brittle, brown. When the rain returns, just like this blue moon, I will be dancing in  it.

MY current sock knitting project.

My front porch frog has returned!

Daisy.

Old ancient Jesse girl.

Now that the temperatures are not ( hopefully ) reaching the too hot 80's or higher, a burst of energy has come upon me and I had a fabulously busy studio day yesterday. It was an unexpected day at home and I was so glad Phil worked for me. Lita drove all the way over from Ellensburg for a quick visit and I felt an explosion of energy. It was like I radiated creativity from all my pores! I even took some time to paint on a canvas I began much earlier this year. Hurrah! I am more me.

So as this last holiday weekend of the summer begins, I long for fall and all the flavor it brings to life. See you around the studio and shops in the next few days!

Pictures Around Here

A neighborhood tree covered in moss that is just waiting for the rains to begin.

My sweet tall son and Lisa. 

My beautiful hydrangea, it bloomed!

It really bloomed!

Milagro says if I could get out of my recreation area, I would climb that tree!

I had such a fun day in the shop on this fine, wonderful, much cooler Saturday. So many customers stopped by to show me things they have made, that I was in a state of perpetual excitement today. The more I see someone's finished work, the more I want to make things. I consider all my customers friends and I am the richest woman ever, surrounded by people I really love and enjoy. Here are just a few of the wonderful people stopping by today:

Beautiful Joan and the scarf she knitted with Diva Yarn.

A fun hat Joan made. She is so imaginative!

KC and her embellished jacket made with a fabric, crochet and maybe a bead or two.

Maia, I could not forget Maia! One of our loveliest customers!

Geez, but I've Been Busy!

Working six days a week or close to it, in the shop haas kept me so busy that I only find a few minutes before I leave in the morning or just before bed to post. It might help if I were an actual typist and could write things once instead of having to go back and correct my errors. Summer is here with a vengeance and the temperatures are climbing into the 90's. It will be a hot time in the bead shop for the next few days!

We did manage to get to the county fair last Friday night where I made a dash for Randy's awesome crab cakes, Jake abandoned us for his friends and I was able to sway a bit to the live music playing on the grand stage. The evening was just about perfect for a stroll on the fairgrounds! I meant to take pictures of the animals but I was so enraptured by the flowers that I only managed to photograph them.

Here are a couple of my favorites :

Soon summer crazy time will be over and I can get back to some serious studio work. A friend has promised me the use of his plasma torch and I hope to be cutting metal by October! That will be great fun. I am already bursting with ideas.....

( Incidentally, if you come to Tucson in 2013, I will be BACK at my original Windmill Inn location with a new promoter running the show. The show will have a different focus and I can not even begin to tell you how exciting that is! Stay tuned for updates on this very beady blog! )

Hands are so important.....

I am working in the shop on a daily basis but things have ground to a halt in the studio. I have injured the middle finger ( the BAD finger ) on my left hand and given myself tendonitis in my right lower arm. Such misery! I know, it is misery on a small scale and an inconvenience on a big scale but I have had to stop making everything and I can not even knit or crochet for the moment. My Diva yarn shop will be without samples for awhile. I always look for the silver lining and believe that everything happens for a reason so I am trying to look at all of this as a time for some kind of spiritual growth. I have been lucky to have sold so much jewelry in the last few months that I made more, lots more,  causing the tendonitis. Good for making a living, bad for the arm.

The middle finger thing is because I have osteoarthritis in the top joints of many of my fingers, caused by years of over use and I whacked this finger good a few weeks ago. This caused the joint to leak fluid that belongs inside - outside. The end result? It must be fixed and I will know more after seeing the hand surgeon on Monday.

So I can not knit while watching TV, can not make more jewelry to replace pieces sold in the shop, can barely type on this laptop and of course, no silver work!

Am I  a normal person who just sits and watches TV or reads? My hands are idle. Idleness does not make Lois happy. Sigh. I am whining but just for a moment. Bear with me. I am on a hand vacation!