The Oregon Zoo in Fall

September 29, 2026

Dear Liza,

Yesterday was a sunny, cool day here in Portland, and Grandpa Nelson and I headed off to the Zoo. Being a school day, there were only a few people there, which is my favorite number of people at the Zoo!

The animals were all out and about, though. This North American River Otter was enjoying his new toy. The hanging bucket had toys that the otter wanted, and the raft he needed to use to get them kept floating….

It was a testament to persistance!

These giraffes were in separate enclosures, but still found a way to chat over the wall. I couldn’t hear anything, but they had a nice time, anyway.

What kept catching my eye was the early afternoon light. Through the trees or bouncing off surfaces, it was bright and magical.

Shadows were everywhere! This one is me with some of the decorations for ZooLights that are being installed for the winter.

One the way home, I noticed this sign in the train station for the first time. The train station is WAAAAY deep under the Zoo, and this sign shows why, except in an emergency, you should take the elevator.

Yep.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Auntie Beeswax is Out in the World!

February 21, 2026

Dear Liza,

What a busy day!! Today was the launch of Auntie Bridgett’s new collection of cartoons, “Auntie Beeswax: Beehives and Cat Puke.”

Rose City Comics, on Mississippi Avenue, was kind enough to host the launch, and provided chairs, a table, and a cooler full of sparkly water. Bridgett’s Aunt Bernadette baked and decorated dozens of incredible cookies, and I made about a hundred Oatmeal Everythings. (Which aren’t as pretty, but were very popular.)

It had been raining all morning, but just as we were setting up, the sun came out and we a chilly, sunny afternoon ahead of us!

As the day wore on, strangers and friends came by to meet Bridgett, have some cookies, and buy the book. The whole day felt like a big hug.

And when our time was up, we passed out a few more cookies, packed up the books and headed home, grateful for Portland, Rose City Comics, and friends.

I’ll bring a book in my suitcase when we come to visit you this summer!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Portland Festival of Lights

February 14, 2026

Dear Liza,

Happy Valentine’s Day! But that’s not what this blog is about.

Last evening we three bundled up and bussed off to our drizzly Downtown and enjoyed a bright, warm celebration of Portland city life.

Even before we got to Pioneer Square, known as Portland’s Living Room, we could see things were going to be interesting.

Shimmering lights, crocheted tents, furious “fire swamp” explosions, and an electrified juggler made us forget the rain.

Hundreds of folks were out, enjoying the show and the community. A well-tended bonfire in a beautifully wrought fire-pit warmed chilly fingers and evoked a camping-in-the-woods vibe.

Furthering our adventure, we walked to Director’s Park and found warm coffee and sweet s’mores (By Marsh & Mallow, in their new location). A delicately carved, glowing Nautilus shell lit what is usually a wading fountain.

Refreshed with sugar and caffeine, we had one last stop : Portland’s World Trade Center. We heard it before we saw it. “Audible” was a deafening understatement!

There were artworks you could walk into, walk through, and just marvel at.

And as our own batteries were running low, we had a long, quiet look at the Willamette and then headed off to catch the bus back home.

Thanks, Portland! It was delightful.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Auntie Beeswax Is In a Book

February 4, 2026

Dear Liza,

You know that Auntie Bridgett Spicer writes a comic called Auntie Beeswax, which is published twice a month in the Portland newspaper, The Willamette Week.

Well now, 182 those cartoons are all together in a beautiful new book! “Auntie Beeswax: Beehives and Cat Puke” will be available at lots of bookshops all over Portland. It will sell for $14.99, which is about 12 cents a cartoon. Such a deal!

The Release Party will be February 21st at Rose City Comics, on Mississippi Avenue, right next door to GiftyKitty, where Bridgett sells her artwork. Donna, the manager, is arranging a fine party. So exciting!!

And you know that this spring and summer will be packed with street fairs, Comic Cons, and book signing events, so lots of folks will be able to see ( and buy) the book! These are always exhausting, but we meet so many wonderful folks, it’s always fun.

Auntie Beeswax is a cheerful, quirky lady who keeps bees, chickens, and way too many cats. She spends her days caring for her critters, helping her neighbors, and trying to get her grumpy niece Mallory to see the Sunnyside of life.

I am looking forward to a busy, cheerful spring time. And I’ll bring your copy of Beehives and Cat Puke in my suitcase when we come to visit.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Working with Positive Charge

January 29, 2026

Dear Liza,

YEs, I know it’s too early for Valentines, but these things need some lead time.

Auntie Bridgett, our friend Cynthia, and I had a fine crafty morning last week, making Valentine cards. We cut, glued, wove, pieced, drew, and painted (as our whims and talents determined) and ended up with 12 pretty nifty cards.

This was my style… torn paper collages that I trimmed into shape. Pretty, thematic, and easy enough to do while chatting.

These cards will be distributed by Positive Charge, a group here in town who works with Meals on Wheels to make sure folks who are isolated get some holiday cheer and pretty things to look at, along with their nourishment.

These are Cynthia’s. Aren’t they nifty? That weaving took a long time! Fancy scissors helped make the edges pretty, too.

Working with Positive Charge is helping us to feel better in these difficult times. We know we are bringing happiness to folks, and the company and crafting is just good for the soul.

Auntie Bridgett, of course, used her cartooning talents to make these cuties. Sketching and watercolors are her happy place.

Today we will walk the cards down to Floyd’s Coffee Bar to be picked up and handed out on Valentine’s Day. This artsy do-good-ery is the sort of thing Bridgett’s character Auntie Beeswax would do, and I totally approve!

I hope you are finding ways to stay happy, too!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Sending Out Some RESIST Cards

January 10, 2025

Dear Liza,

I’ve been making some more Art Resist cards, and have started sending some out to friends. I even tucked some into Christmas cards!

My latest batch used pictures from The New Yorker magazine, so some of them are famous people like Paul McCartney and Michelle Pfeiffer, as well as a certain political buffoon. Here are all the cards that were on my shelf this evening.

I wanted to include a note to my friends, and got some Gelli print practice in putting patriotic colors on some of the cards.

I sent them out to 16 friends who I thought would enjoy them. I hope they will know that they are not alone in their hopes for our country.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Crafty Christmas

December 28, 2025

Dear Liza,

This year, our Portland family got together for dinner, a movie, and collage. Yep, collage.

First, of course, was dinner. Slow cooker pork shoulder, lots of veggies, and Hawaiian rolls. Auntie Bridgett’s beautiful Christmas plates made everything sparkle!

When we were all sufficiently stuffed, the party divided into two. The fellas watched Die Hard on the TV, because they wanted to, and it was Christmas. Not my favorite, but it’s not just my Christmas.

Meanwhile, we ladies went crafty. I finally passed my wedding dress (made by your great grandma Billie in 1974) off to Kestrel. Although it fit her, I don’t think she will wear it as it is, to get married or for any other reason. But it seems a perfect blank canvas for some textile crafting. We’ll see what comes of it.

Then we settled down at the table for some collage. Kestrel helped me haul some boxes of collage papers and other supplies down from my art closet, and we went at it.

One of the boxes was a collection of vintage images from old Life magazines and publications from the Oregon Historical Society, and that determined a theme.

The other box was Jennifer Coile’s Art of the Met calendar pages, and they played together well. Here is Katie’s creation…

Here is Kestrel’s,

And here is mine. I love how creative we got with just old papers, lots of chatter, and some glue.

All in all, it felt like a very successful Christmas. Food, fun, and family, wrapped up in our weird personalities and seeing how everyone is growing into themselves.

The only thing that could have been better is if you had been here.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Bit by Bit with Ruthie

December 18, 2025

Dear Liza,

Ruthie Inman is not just an old and dear friend, she is an artist who manages to challenge and open my brain every time we get together on ZOOM. At our four-times-a-month Zoom classes, she comes up with projects that expand my idea of What Art can be.

This month, we started by cutting out and painting nine rectangles of similar (but not identical) sizes and painting each of them two colors.

Then we cut circles that would fit into the rectangles, sectioned, and colored them. There were also circles with loosely-goosey spirals. It was an intriguing set of things, but I didn’t see it turning into much.

I didn’t like the flat colors, so I gave the rectangles some flicks of black and the circles, some grey. They looked more folksy and organic.

The next class, things got more interesting as we started stacking our shapes. Seeing which colors went well together, I altered some, adding black lines or white highlights. International stamps and Gelli prints came into play.

We cut and added Corrugated cardboard circles, to give our creations some height. With a few more dots and lines, I made the pieces feel cohesive and right.

And then, what to do with all these bits? I knew if I kept them separate, they would get lost. Ruthie suggested laying them in an interesting combination in our Art Journals.

Since my Art Journal is also my ‘what I did today’ Journal, these lovely rectangles became part of December 2025.

I really like how this project turned out! I keep learning to see art better and make it better.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Elevated Doodles

December 10, 2025

Dear Liza,

Sometimes, instead of a well-thought out, challenging art project, I just want to doodle on the couch with Auntie Bridgett and Grandpa Nelson.

That’s how this series came about. It started with this, a ballpoint pen doodle filled in with colored pencils and patterns. Then I rounded the corners and added some flourishes. I liked how it looked, so I photographed it.

I decided to try and make another one like it, to see each step and share with you. Here’s the doodle. I wasn’t crazy about the wonky corners, but Picasso said that if you hate a piece, keep going.

So I colored it in with Staedtler colored pencils, like the first one. I left some spaces empty for Micron #12 patterns.

Once the spaces were filled in dots and dashes, it started coming together. Almost like a free form quilt.

I thickened up the lines and rounded the corners, and belatedly noticed that these were watercolor pencils I was working with! So I got my brush pen and added the tiniest bit of water… and magic happened!

I get the feeling this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Christmas Cards for Positive Charge

December 4, 2025

Dear Liza,

Our dark, rainy weather has started, but I have a sunny warmth in my heart (and my art closet). Auntie Bridgett and I are making Christmas cards to give away through a local non-profit called Positive Charge. These lovely ladies make sure that folks in rest homes and hospitals get a bit of holiday cheer from people they don’t even know!

I love to make art, but I’m not very consistent. Some days I seem to have a gift, and other days, everything I touch goes to smudges. So to make a bunch of cards, I need a few Grandma Judy proof tricks.

I found this one on several YouTube channels, and gave it a try. It is pretty easy.

Start with a blank greeting card. About an inch or so from the top, measure to find the center and put a tiny pencil dot. About an inch from the bottom, measure and put dots about 3/4” from each edge. Run strips of painter’s tape between the dots to make a Christmas tree sort of triangle. Press the inside edge to get a good seal.

Then comes the fun part! Using whatever paint, sponges, brushes, or other mark-making tools you have, add some color inside the triangle.

Here is acrylic paint applied with a packing material sponge. It is more interesting if there are flecks, dots, or other irregularities.

When you like the look of it, carefully peel the tape off to leave the triangle. You can re-use each piece of tape about three times before it starts ‘leaking’.

Then you decorate your tree! I made several, but have only decorated one so far.

I used UHU to apply circles punched from a fancy Christmas envelope from my dentist’s office for the baubles and star, and some recycled wrapping paper for the base.

These are just the basics. You can add ribbon, glitter, or whatever you like.

Enjoy!

Love,

Grandma Judy