Endings and Beginnings

It has been a while since my last post. Over this past year I have struggled to not have politics be part of every one of my conversations even though I have been pretty whipped up about what is going on in the world and here in the U.S. For the most part I failed - so I have kept quiet with my on-line space. I have spared you all that ranting. Then too...

I was also pretty busy with my book arts. I was on the curating team for the Puget Sound Book Artists this year as lead curator for the first themed exhibition. Now that the final survey is out for response my duties have nearly ended. I am glad to say it all turned out well. Here are a few pics.

 

 

 

 

The banners in the display area

 

 

The flat cases are hard to photograph.

 

We had a great turn out - some folks are out of camera - off to the food buffet around the corner.

A few of the thank you gifts.

While all this was going on my husband and I tackled a few projects:

We replaced the 6 raised beds - only 8 yards of soil to fill them!

Supposedly what doesn't kill you makes you strong, right?

I lost track on how many wheel barrow loads it took. 

With that accomplishment under our retirement project belt we thought "why not build a shed?" 

So - we did, but wait, first we had to build a deck. 

This required a good deal of supervision from the country folk. 

They would come out in ones and two, three on occasion. 

I quite liked it when they stood on their heels to see from the higher perspective. 

The first deck begat the second deck or what you might call the

gangplank over to my studio.

There are no rules unless you make them, right?

 OMG! I have never seen so much screwing. 

We should have taken out stock in the screw company.

Every joist, beam and stud had to have the fancy self screwing gold plated ones.

Its recycled wood, mind you! 

The whole thing required lots of breaks for "thinking about it".

And there were a naps too.

Yes, it was I who said there was no deadlines.

I was held to it.

It also required lots of sorting, painting and flipping boards over and over...

Finally we were able to get serious and open the box of tinker toy parts

fitting a to b and c to d. 

It looked just like a tinker toy too.

 I was beginning to be a little concerned as we left that extra length on the uprights

rather than saw them to the proper length per instructions.

The dang thing is now 10 tall and wobbles like a willow branch.

Saints alive we are insane or what? 

We opted for a painted canvas roof because we didn't think the roof

would hold us up to put anything else on. Ha....

But no worries once the wall boards were on it started to look real.

By the time trim was put on and the excess canvas cut off

it was starting to look even better. 

Of course our trifocals were steamed up

because we have had the warmest, driest summer on record. 

I mean really, we were just trying to make it like a camp anyway.

But once we got the barn door on the tinker toy shed was starting to look pretty spiffy. 

The windows will just have to wait until next spring or summer.

We are buttoned up for winter's arrival. We are out of steam.

We do have some old clear stain glass windows which need a bit of work.

This little project may turn out to be pretty darn cute once it is finally completed. 

I hope our youthful selves will find freedom to play inside. 

I hope it will be like the craft lodge at girl scout camp

(camp Amahami in New York). 

I call this place the Raven's Lodge.

For if you believe in universal messaging you may find it 

 significant that as we constructed and hung the barn door

two ravens tak-tak'd over head. 

Ravens are rare around here. Two is unheard of.

I am pretty sure it will stay 

"Raven's Lodge"

Now, just at the other end of the board walk is 

the Crow's Nest. 

(My Studio)

Back in behind - under the tent tarp is the campfire area. 

Can't wait till the fire burn is lifted!

We don't need a lake to complete the tableau...

there's the cow's watering tub (an old claw foot bath tub)

left from our farming days

if anyone wants to take a dip.

So, when the world of humans gets to you as it did me... 

remember to go out into nature, find the child within and then just play. 

Spring

After a very long winter of political outrage, a cold/cough that took a month to recover and then a frantic effort to make some books for this year's Puget Sound Book Artist Exhibition I finally noticed it was spring. It is our tradition to celebrate by going north to Skagit Valley to see the daffodils.

The dark low hanging clouds made the skies dramatic. Of course we bring our boots. The puddles on the edge of the fields were as muddy as ever and our favorite garden store, Christianson's, was beautifully decorated. A walk through the greenhouses inspires the camera and stimulates ideas for ones own garden.

The swans are present but no snow geese this time. 

Here are the books I entered in PSBA's member exhibit. 

This year it is a themed show called Northwest Musings.

This one I call Home

These are the birds that kept me company 

while I watched CNN, MSNBC, Fox, BBC, NHK, 

and if I felt wild I would look at RT 

just to balance out the political craziness. 

Somehow it felt like my civic duty to stay informed. 

I watch less now. 

I have made my mind up. 

This one is called "A Wish for Democracy"

It was the result of a participatory project at my local library. 

The book was designed around the comments 

on democracy by ninety three library patrons

 from January 20 (Inauguration Day) to February 20 (President's Day). 

This was my first collaboration and my first edition book of 4. 

This set is called Snap 1 & 2

It is a photo montage of the Pacific Northwest. 

It isn't a new set of book but it fit the theme. 

Let it Not Happen Again

Today we visited the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. The structure of the memorial was built to look like the waves - the waves of Japanese American citizen rounded up on March 30, 1942. Paper cranes danced in the brisk winds. Little tributes were placed under family names. Please note the ages of these so-called enemies of the state. This atrocity was committed during an act of war.

Today's ethnic group, the Muslims were being detained without cause or due process at the airports all across America this weekend. Who will it be tomorrow? Will it be you or me? Will it be our children or grandchildren? Can we not learn from past mistakes?

Let us never forget! 

Let us fight for democracy for all peoples. 

The travel tag every detainee had to wear. This group of Japanese detainees were sent from  Washington State to Death Valley and then later relocated to Minidoka Idaho. 

“Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself”

FDR’s First Inaugural Address

Unfortunately, we did not hear such wisdom last week.