Art and Life: Graduations, Friendships

I recently paid what I later thought was an exorbitant amount ($15.00) for a magazine on blogging. I learned that I am not blogging frequently or regularly enough (knew that) or involving my audience (?) sufficiently. Well, I guess I'll continue in my own particular limbo of Art and Life and trying to figure out how it all fits together (for me) out in public (for us), thinking that some of you out there may be immeshed in similar questions and appreciate another perspective.


Art and Life Adventures: Sue and Art Girl Tracy
made a less than 24-hour visit from Rhode Island. As they said, "We are just Toooo Popular!" Above they rest, exhausted on one of the cushy red sofas at The Buzz in Sequim, after I dragged their East Coast Time Zones through a tour of beaches from Fresh Water Bay (what is that new road through the wilderness all about?) to Port Williams. Sue gamely helped me select rocks for my Rock Relocation program to my magnificent Art Yard (more pictures of that later).






Tracy shot images for her texture collection. You may remember a picture of Arlinka from this same beach last summer, with my later portrait of her in the Strait Art Show this spring. The clouds over the mountains in back of town never lifted during either visit, and I found myself saying yet again, "the backdrop to PA is a range of snow covered mile-high mountains--Really!"

At some point after our NW summer officially
starts, July 5th, I'll go out onto Ediz Hook, another of my favorite beaches, and take a photo of Port Angeles with the white-topped Olympics in the background, so you can see I wasn't fibbing.

What could be better than Good Friends, with whom the conversation and laughter pick up right where they left off six or seven years ago?

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There's also Good Family...one of the many reasons I moved here 5 years ago. By the way, my 5-year anniversary was June 20th, when Sue and Tracy were here, celebrated with Mexican food.


Last Saturday, June 26th, I went to Seattle to help brother, David, close out his studio in the coop building in Ballard, where he's been for
many years, although not always in the same
room. As an artist, I feel such a tug of pain when any other artist gives up his/her work space, but David's studio will rise again, better than ever attached to his and Brian's new home in Shoreline....I'm SURE of it!





David's studios have been the scene of Lots of Wonderful Art Making, several years of my classes as a guest instructor from the Northeast.
I love his collections, which feature more than several of my art works from over the years. The bright green one above is from my Old Schoolhouse days, and that was a Long time ago! Anyone in Seattle should be Sure to attend his Studio Sale on 7/10/10 for some Great Deals!


I got one from his wrapped rock series, which I've always coveted. The series started from his residency at Fort Wordon, which was featured in a much earlier blog of mine.

A typical Hastings' Experiential Event, celebrated
with food--fried clams from the Lock Spot, within
walking distance of the studio, on a Suddenly Sunny
day in NW June.

The last time I remember eating from the Lock Spot
was with David and Doug, overlooking the Ballard
Locks, on my 58th birthday, a sunny day in March,
2005, when I had almost decided that I needed to
make the 3,000-mile move to the NW. Returning
to Albany to find my car buried in 18" of snow com-
pounded the decision.

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Speaking of Doug, whose painting is in the background of his daughter, Serene, on the left, and her friend, Sarah, who graduated from Roosevelt High School this month.

Serene's graduation reception after our studio work in the am. Looking at all those bright young faces, I wondered and prayed about all their futures...Serene's brother, my nephew, Thayer, is off to South Africa for the summer, exploring ways to be in this challenging world.

Even though this next generation may not enjoy the riches of material goods that we have, I hope that they all find an equal or better joy in creativity, friendship, and service to our planet.