More Fun on the Peninsula!

Barb Kobe, famous doll maker from MN was here for a whole week around the Fourth of July. She and her husband saw many of the enticing sights of the Olympic Peninsula, from the ocean and sea stacks at Second Beach, to the lavender fields of Sequim--don't forget the Lavender Festival this weekend--should be Perfect Weather!











We did manage a little time for making dolls and talking, too. A Large Topic was: How to Make a Living Doing What We Love. I'm quite happy that my "regular" job supports my art habit, and am
thinking about how I can supplement my retirement
(in 5 years) with art/business/writing that I love.


I like teaching through my books and online classes...and having time for my own art projects. Barb likes teaching in person best. Anyone living in MN and the surrounding area should check out her classes.


Here's a doll I made in her class in CT, 10/04, the last time we spent together in person. It proved to be significant in my decision to leave my comfortable life in the Northeast and move out here.


I keep flirting with the idea of working BIG--started back on my Big (9') doll since I finished the Big portrait. I can still move her, and have her leaning against the kitchen counter, so I can tailor the covering of her head (the maquette is the small white figure). I'd like to do some large sculptures for my yard, after getting a book about Niki de Saint Phalle from SAM and using my bright figures from the Seventies on the barrel I painted...but maybe only 5-6 feet tall, instead of 9. I KNOW I'll have my own small publishing business.



Last weekend, Steve and Linda came from Iowa, while Hugh came over from Seattle. It was good to have the three older siblings together. I picked up my Golden Eagle Pass (available to those 62 and over), to let the carload into the National Parks. Hurricane Ridge, just 17 miles south of town (and one mile up) is always a favorite family destination. Too bad the rest of the brothers couldn't be with us.



The Lupines and Lots of other wild flowers were in bloom, Linda trying out her new camera close-up lense. We'll no doubt see those flowers in the cards she makes later this summer.

I was attracted by the lichen on the rocks, taking a couple of pictures for potential paintings later.
There is still a bit of snow on the north side of the mountain, with lupines blooming in front, and Port Angeles, the Strait, and Canada in the blue distance...A perfect day for the mountain!




















Driving over to Lake Crescent, we impulsively turned left, up the Elwah and discovered a park I'd never seen before...and Lake Mills. In the river valley, the forest is purple-green and hung with moss. I chose the colors of my house from the rain forest...using my Artistic License...green with purple trim, and the bright fuschia doors to celebrate my own freedom.






















We marvel at how the Native Americans found their way through these dense forests and up and down the steep slopes.

Hugh will be back in a week and a half for our PALOC's production of Peter Pan. He'll be in the production in Seattle later. I'm hoping that Annie will sell more paintings, that her tooth won't take ALL her cash, and that she and Patti will be here in August, as well as Arlinka. What a flurry of Activity my house has been! BUT I have been working on ART, too.

More of that later...I must go to my "regular" job now.

Stay Tuned!