a group of women from the Portland Art Collective gathered in a former greenhouse tucked into the woods
to paint,
and gild,
carve wood,
draw,
gather ephemera into journals,
bead,
assemble pins from interesting bits and pieces,
and stitch.
There was also the sharing of stories, laughter, and good meals. 
My new grand-dog. David and his wife adopted Baxter from Jenn's brother. Jenn and pup traveled here from Texas last night on a plane, with little Bax tucked into a duffle bag stashed under the seat. Apparently he was an excellent passenger and seems to be a wonder dog in every other way, too. Baxter doesn't even mind moving in with two cats, although they are less than thrilled.
This is my current crochet work-in-progress; an afghan that will take up 18-5 ounce skeins of yarn. Whew. Can only wonder how long it will take to finish.
My fave at the farm, "Pink Ruth".
I made it out to the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens in Woodland, Washington on Thursday afternoon and got a real dose of Spring. Hulda Klager began working with lilacs on her farm in 1905, and by 1910 developed fourteen new varieties. Eventually sold by Hulda's family, the gardens and farm buildings were saved from housing development by the local garden club and maintained today by the Lilac Society. Unfortunately, there is now a big townhouse development along one side of the property. Still, the gardens are beautiful.
Have a great weekend.
My "squares" sampler awaits, too. Not getting done at one square per day, but still a work in progress.
My classes at ArtFest this time were the best! The second day was "Porthole Pendants" with Melissa Manley. We worked with copper pipe, washers, and silver solder to make pendants in two sizes. This one has a mica picture window on the back side.
This is the "porthole" side where a small image is under a flat marble, held by washers and prongs cut from the pipe. Melissa is an excellent artist and teacher. She'll be teaching at the Art and Soul retreat in Portland in October.
My last workshop was "Heavy Metal" with Ty and Marcia Schultz. We spent the day making molds from silicone putty, then pour casting a metal with a melting point of 300 degrees F. I had mixed results. It was difficult to come out with anything fairly thin, like the religious medals I brought to make molds. But the buttons are great; they'll make nice charms. The molds made in class can be reused with either the metal, or polymer clay and resin. Really enjoyed doing something new and fun here!
