Judy – Page 10 – Dear Liza

Starting From Scratch

Dear Liza,

I have stated using some of those pieces of art calendar that Jennifer sent up! After several days of looking and sorting and staring, I decided to start with these few.

Because they all had a sort of golden, brown antique-ish look, with touches of red, I used acrylic paints and an old card to make some papers to complement the art.

This was a bit too yellow, so I added some brown and scraped it down a bit.

This seemed a good start, but it needed another color. Red, maybe, but not RED.

These two mixed together to make (mostly) what I was looking for. Once I got a few done, I started laying the bits down to see how they looked.

As with any artistic process, this went on for quite a while. Lay it down, go do something else, come back, have a look, trim some pictures, move some bits.

This is as far as I have gotten as of now, but I’ll let you know as it progresses. I think it needs another layer of something, and some darker bits.

I love collage! No special skill is needed, or special training. There is only a need for bits to glue down, and an opinion about “what looks good”.

Love,

Grandma Judy

The New PDX Part 2

Dear Liza,

Besides its amazing ceiling and comfortable, interesting seating, the new Main Terminal at PDX has lots of things to enjoy.

All of the shops are local! Country Cat, which was a favorite cafe in Montavilla for years, still uses its original logo. Portland Coffee Roasters, Loyal Legion Beer Hall and Paper Ephiphanies all offer goods made here in Portland. It is all at “Street Pricing”, too. No jacked-up 7$ bottles of water!

Orax, which sells handmade leather goods, is not only local, it is history making! Owner Carmen Martinez told me that is the first Latina owned shop in any airport in the country! (I have not verified her claim.)

And there is art! This gallery above the bleacher type seating features Yoonhi Choi and her process for creating the frosted glass walls used in the Arrivals corridor. Since we were not Arrivals, we could only see a few yards of it…. But it is stunning!

Gently shifting video screens high overhead provide visually interesting but restful scenes of forests, flowers, and waterfalls.

There are even delightfully bright mosaics in small corridors the way to the restrooms.

We won’t get to see the “Past Security” part of the airport until Spring, but just the front terminal is a jewel, and well worth a drive out or a trip in the Red line train.

Love,

Grandma Judy

The New PDX Part 1

Dear Liza,

Auntie Bridgett flew down to visit her family in San Diego this week. This gave us the perfect excuse to see the newly remodeled Portland Airport Terminal.

Our airport here in Portland has been under construction for years, and I have always found it to be a bit of tangle. But the signs all over the terminals told me it was going to be wonderful, organic, and local. And they weren’t wrong.

I was pleased, amazed, and delighted. The first thing you will notice (and keep staring at, from every angle) is the ceiling. It is an enormous waving sea of timber that floats over the giant open space of the Main Terminal.

The ceiling is made of glulam, a light weight, super strong material made from wood all harvested within a hundred miles of Portland. It is supported by giant, tree-like Y supports.

The floor is delightfully flow-y but low-key, as if it doesn’t want to detract from that ceiling.

The place was pretty busy when we were there, but the noise was minimal. The wavy, open ceiling seems to soak up the sounds of rolling suitcases and crying children and the inevitable echoes. We sat comfortably on a beautifully designed set of bleachers for quite a while and could whisper to each other.

There is so much more I want to tell you about the new airport! See you tomorrow!

Love,

Grandma Judy

So Much Art!

Dear Liza,

My friend Jennifer is such a sweetie! A few weeks ago, she was up visiting from California and asked if I would be interested in ‘an art calendar’ to use in my collages.

“If you feel like mailing it, sure!” I smiled. I have learned never to turn down art supplies.

And just the other day, what come in the mail?? Three years of this art calendar!! A whole 1,095 pages, printed on BOTH sides. A whopping 2,190 pieces of art.

These are on good quality paper, and about 4 inches by 5 inches. That’s a lot of art!!

I am already feeling both inspired and overwhelmed. With just the two evenings I have spent flipping through and sorting, I have pulled a couple that seem destined to go together. These two, a fabric print and a piece of jewelry, look like a poster for The Lion King.

And this fellow, cut from an unrelated postcard, could use this millefeuille glass paperweight as a lovely mandala. He needs work, though…I’ll let you know.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Playing with Vincent

Dear Liza,

Falling deeper into the deep hole that is collage, I have started snipping at all sorts of things. Months ago, Bridgett and I picked up a bunch of postcards at the Portland Art Museum for almost nothing. Some of these became my latest victims.

There were lots of prints of Vincent van Gough’s works, and some of them seemed like they could go together. I carefully cut the elements of the cards apart and moved them around.

I liked this combination, showing Vincent’s lovely irises springing happily from head, while his face maintains a very serious expression. Having got the idea in my own head, the tiny fiddly bits became a problem. Fractions of millimeters became very important.

I also remembered to scratch the shiny surface of the picture with a pin where they overlapped so the glue would stick better.

And there you have it! My interpretation of Van Gough’s creative process.

That little gap between his head and his coat is on purpose, by the way. I liked how it mad him look a bit more wonky.

And finally, I got it the way I liked it, trimmed it up, and will mail it off to my friend Richard tomorrow.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Layers of Details

Dear Liza,

I showed you some of the acrylic cards I made with Ruthie Inman last week. After an hour and a half of gleefully painting, I had seven different card fronts in blues and greens, and no idea what to do with them.

I wanted to do something, though, and I decided to start with this one.

Looking for ideas, I hunted through my box of old projects, and found a leaf we did several autumns ago.

So I drew the leaf and put in the divisions. and then thickened the lines and rounded the corners with a micron 08 pen. I liked it, but I could tell it wasn’t done yet.

With the dark background, it needed something more in the leaf to make it stand out. I added a few dots, liked the look, and just kept adding. It was better. But not done yet.

Auntie Bridgett suggested that I make the outside a bit lighter. I used yellow and white acrylics, thinned with some medium, to lay down a few thin layers.

It still wasn’t right, but I was afraid to do anything to it for fear of making it WORSE. Bridgett to the rescue! “We can take a picture of it, put it in my computer with Procreate, and see which looks best.” This was a new idea for me, but I’m always willing to learn.

How about these dots on the outside? Nope.

Maybe outline the sections? Yellow? Or white?

That was it! Yellow, please. So I picked up a yellow Posca marker and made it right.

And boom, done, it’s on its way to you!

Love,

Grandma Judy

The da Vinci Art Show

Dear Liza,

After I chatted with you on Saturday, Bridgett and I went over to Cousin Kestrel’s Middle School for their art show and sale. Since da Vinci is a magnet school for the Arts, there was a lot to see.

Of course, I wanted to see Kes first.

She was selling stickers, sketches and other art. Rest assured, some are coming your way!

The student show was in the main hallway on the first floor. There were about 20 young artists showing and selling their art.

There were textile artists, like seamstresses, knitters, and felters, ceramicists, jewelry makers, and pen and ink artists. There was all manner of crafting, as well.

A lovely young lady named Eleanore had all sorts goodies, including Christmas tree ornaments made of tangerine peel and cinnamon stick. See them there in the little display tree?

And here it is on my Christmas tree, alongside a dragon.

To be fair, there was also a show for Professional artists in the gym, but my ‘talking to people’ muscles were tired and I scooted out.

On the way, we passed some of the student murals that decorate all the halls.

There was also student art that wasn’t for sale, and I particularly liked this one. It felt very timely.

And here’s my last picture of the day, Kestrel with her head down, drawing… as always.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Bringing Christmas Inside

Dear Liza,

We headed over to the Belmont Boys Christmas Tree lot the other day, and, as always, Lawrence helped us find a fine 7 foot Nordman. The day was really cold and a bit breezy, so we made our choice quickly, got the tree on the car, and headed for home.

Because the tree is so tall and thin, Bridgett named it Slim. Grandpa Nelson put the lights on, bringing Slim to life.

Next… well, you see those two boxes stacked up? Those are Christmas tree decorations! So that’s what came next.

The first decoration to go up was part of the Ugly Duckling set that your Mommy Olga helped me pick out at the Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense.

It was a gift for Bridgett, who loves the story. Now, she loves the ornaments, too!

Another ornament we got in Denmark was this felt Viking ship. They are sweet Vikings, more fluffy than fierce.

I love that our ornaments bring distant friends close. This Santa rubber duckie reminds us of Kitty, Mike, Isaac and Rhys, who are celebrating in Ireland this year.

And some ornaments even travel through time. This fragile pine cone belonged to my Momma years before I was born, and now it lives with all my new friends helping our tree tell our story.

Happy Seasoning!!

Love,
Grandma Judy

Fun with Acrylics

Dear Liza,

Ruthie Inman has done it again. On a chilly day after two very busy days, I was feeling tired and not terribly artistic. Not awful, but … blah. And sure enough, within ten minutes of our art group’s beginning, I was slapping paint down like an inspired ten year old.

Before we got together, I had started an alternate project, coating the photo side of old postcards with gesso so they would take paint better. My plan was to use the same paints from Ruthie’s project on my alternate postcard project. I pulled out a dark blue, lemon yellow, and white as my color scheme.

I started with my project, laying down colors in a pleasingly haphazard way. Wet but not runny, brushing to blend until I liked it.

Then, at an inspiration from Ruthie, I pulled out my impressions makers (an odd collection of Starbucks coffee cup holders, fruit packing sleeves, crumpled tissue and bubble wrap) to change the textures of my colors.

I made about eight postcards in all, and one even looked something like Ruthie’s idea, this lovely, opalescent landscape. Of course, following directions is always optional, but it’s good to try new things.

Anyway, with this pile of colorful backgrounds, I can think about what can go on for the next layer. Some more textures? Collage pictures or words? Maybe some handwritten sentiments or just pretty squiggles?

Who knows?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Crossing the Vista Bridge

Dear Liza,

While Auntie Bridgett was busy with her table at the Alliance Française Christmas Open House, I took the opportunity to explore the neighborhood. The day was very cold but strikingly clear.

Just behind the Kamm Mansion’s tiny parking lot is a stairway that goes straight up the hill! I counted the steps, and it’s at least three stories high. I wish I had thought to take a picture, but I was anxious to see what was at the top.

And what I found were amazing views! Downtown was laid out in sparkling detail. I stopped every twenty feet or so and took another picture. Here is the Fremont Bridge (on the left) with Mt. Saint Helens, 70 miles away, beyond.

A few more steps, and I realized where I was: directly above Goose Hollow! That meant I must be getting close to…

The Vista Bridge! I have gone under this bridge dozens of times, on the train to the Zoo and Washington Park. It was built in 1925 and links two sections of the West Hills.

It also, as the name implies, offers some amazing views. Here is Mt Hood, shining brightly behind Downtown Portland.

Here is one that includes a hint of the chain link fence the city has installed. It sort of frames the view. Perspective is good.

Once I was across the Vista Bridge, I made my chilly way through the neighborhood and back to the Alliance Française. A few cookies and a glass of champagne, and I was toasty warm.

Always something to do around here!

Love,

Grandma Judy