Judy – Page 3 – Dear Liza

Some Cut and Paste Fun

August 24, 2025

Dear Liza,

I continue to recover from shingles, and as with all recoveries, I have good days and bad days. On bad days I just sleep and watch architectural history videos.

But when I feel better, I do like to make a bit of something, and I use what is laying around. The other day, Auntie Bridgett brought home a great pile of old baseball cards from the 1990s. After I made sure they weren’t going to make me a millionaire, they became collage fodder.

First, I glued the cards together with four edge pieces so they’d be easier to work with. I use UHU because it dries fast and doesn’t make the paper curl. Then I collaged the four as though they were one piece, sticking bits down in whatever way seemed best.

I’d seen something like this done by Zoe Walker in our ZOOM group, and I thought I’d give it a try. I laid four of the cards face down, chose some leftover papers from other projects, and went to it.

There are so many things I love about collage. There’s really no wrong way to do it, just whatever looks right to you. I try a few bits together to see which colors play well together, and wait to put the most detailed bits on near the end.

Once I got to this point, I decided to cut the cards apart and see how they looked.

I liked them! But I was wearing out and they still needed… something.

So I hunted up bits from old magazines to freshen the color, put in dots, and I was done.

I’m not sure what to call them, or where they will go, but I managed to get some rest, stay happy, and use up some scrap paper. And sometimes, that’s enough.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Auntie Katie’s Next Adventure

August 17, 2025

Dear Liza,

The end of summer brings a festival called Burning Man to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. It is a week-long happening of art, music, creativity, and fellowship. It is also camping out in dust, wind, and heat.

I will not be going, although I love many things about it. A few years ago I went to a mini-exhibition Burning Man in downtown Portland. It was delightfully quirky.

Then last year, I attended SOAK, the northwest’s own regional festival, and that was enough outdoor living for me. Sleeping on the ground was more fun 40 years ago.

But Auntie Katie, being younger and more adventurous, has been to Burning Man many times and is packing up again! Every year has a different theme, and this year’s is “SPACE”. Aliens, space travel, astronomy, science and fiction and silliness, all are welcome.

Part of the Burning Man ethos is sharing with the community. Folks make food and art to share, and help their neighbors. Katie and her buddy Douglas play music for folks, wandering around the camp with their ukuleles. like traveling minstrels. I know they are good; they play for us on Thanksgiving!

They spend months compiling and rehearsing on-theme songs. This year’s play list has a few hundred songs and includes “Merry Christmas from Chiron Beta Prime” by John Coulton and “Yakko’s Universe” from Animaniacs, so you know a good time will be had by all.

And Katie made space boots! An old set of boots finally died and they have become ART BOOTS. Silver paint, adorable pink and teal planets, and tiny bright lights will go with her silver-y jumpsuit and make a fine, shiny show walking around camp at night.

I (almost) wish I could be there to see it.

Love,

Grandma Judy

More Gelli Fun, and a Rolloff Page

August 16, 2025

Dear Liza,

Every now and then, I go back into the Art Closet and try another few Gelli prints. I am trying to be more methodical so I can photograph the steps as I go and learn what works for me.

Friday, I started with a bright red plate and made this cool pattern with a cardboard vegetable tray from the market.

Then, because I always forget that yellow is transparent, I tried to lay some down. I added some orange, to try and make my point.

Once everything was good and dry, I put some black on and rolled it out. I like the print, but wish the yellow and orange were more visible.

While I was Gelli printing, I used a page in my Art Journal as the rolloff page.

And while you and I were chatting in Saturday, I cut some black paper into a simple sunset landscape. I think it’s done, but I’ll have a look tomorrow.

More printing and snipping tomorrow!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Gelli Cards!

August 12, 2025

Dear Liza,

I am still making lots of mistakes with Gelli printing, because there are dozens of ways to do it wrong! But Ruthie Inman said don’t let a little thing like that stop me, and every now and then I get one right.

These are my favorites from the last few weeks. As you can tell, two used the same sycamore maple leaf and one is some lavender blossoms,

For today’s project, I chose these two to trim up for greeting cards. I couldn’t find a mat that worked with either, so I glued them down by themselves.

Only after I glued it down did I notice the white blotch on the lavender blossom one, but there is always a way to fix it! I pulled out my box of words cut from calendars, J. Peterman catalogues and magazines.

A few snips and careful UHU application (tweezers are best for those of us with short fingernails!)

and this one is ready for a friend who has just moved to a new country.

And that’s my art for today!

Love,

Grandma Judy

More Art with Ruthie

August 8, 2035

Dear Liza,

Between her busy art gallery (Artful Journey in Peoria, Illinois) and my Shingles, it has been a long time since I’ve sat down for a ZOOM art session with Ruthie Inman in Illinois.

So when we finally got together this week, we yakked and cut and collaged until I was totally worn out! Ruthie had chosen a very fitting collage project.

She had us building a small accordion book to glue into an existing art journal. I am still writing most days in the Journal I was keeping on our France trip, and always welcome the chance to add something interesting.

We measured some light-to-medium card stock about 3 by 5 inches, and joined 5 pieces together by their one inch flaps.

Since it was going in my France Journal, I chose bits and pieces that reminded me of the gardens, museums, restaurants and Emergency Rooms we had visited.

I used quite a few pages from Jennifer’s donated art calendar, adding them to ‘failed’ Gelli prints and roll-off papers, bits of an old Time/Life book on medicine, and pages from falling apart French language Agatha Christie mysteries. When I’m totally happy with it, I’ll stick it in my Journal.

I just love sticking bits of nonsense together to tell a story!

Doesn’t everybody?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Walking in the Rain

August 6, 2025

Dear Liza,

I am slowly (way too slowly, if you ask me) getting back to normal after Shingles knocked me flat. I still have some pain most of the day, take medications to sleep, and get tired easily.

But the world is still out there, and I’m getting out in it more. I like walking in the early morning, because the shadows are long and better for my still-light-sensitive eyes. And, as always, Laurelhurst Park is my favorite place.

Early mornings at the park are quiet and delightful. There were the usual dog walkers and baby walkers, but also pickle ball players, tai chi groups, and a maintenance guy power washing the picnic tables. A lady was training her puppy to sit and stay.

And there was the rain. Just a light drizzle, not enough for anyone to mind, but a steady, cooling reminder that time moves on and summer will end.

I was enjoying it so much, I walked until I was very tired. Feeling discouraged on my way out of the park, this piece of serendipitous advice found me, and I made it home.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Trying Something New

Dear Liza,

You knew I wouldn’t stay down forever, right? Once an Adventure Grandma, always an Adventure Grandma.

So while I am getting up to speed after the Shingles knocked me flat, I am learning something that I’ve been wanting to try for a while:

Gelli Printing.

Ruthie Inman sent me the basic equipment years ago (because she knows I’m cheap and really wanted me to try it), a squishy gelli plate and a brayer. I pulled them out last week and I’ve been itching to feel well enough to jump in.

I watched several videos enough to feel that I had the hang of it….

And, as so often happens, only got the first steps right.

Sometimes I tried to roll paint over the masks, or got my left and my right mixed up, or this one, where I tried one too many layers and covered the whole thing up,

Finally, after watching Carolyn Hassard‘s beginning video all the way through, I tried a simple, two layer print. First, the background layer.

Then the second layer, green paint overlaid with some masks cut from watercolor paper scraps.

And finally, my finished print!

It is embarrassing how many tries it took me to get one simple print right.

But now that I’m feeling better, I realize that even if a print is not what you were after, or even ‘pretty’, it’s usually going to be interesting!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Coming Back

Dear Liza,

It has been just about a month since I have posted a blog. While we were in Bordeaux on our tour around France, I got sick and was diagnosed with shingles. Yep, shingles, there on the right side of my face. Ghoulish, huh?

Being sick is never fun, but being sick in a country where you barely know the language and have no contacts, personal vehicle or knowledge of how things work is terrifying.

I was lucky to be traveling with Grandpa Nelson and Auntie Bridgett. Grandpa is a genius at transportation systems, internet apps and reservations. Bridgett knows enough French to ask the right questions, pays attention to details, and is a firm, gentle caregiver. Between them they got me to emergency rooms, got our travel insurance activated, picked up the right medications and kept me fed.

Since fighting the shingles virus left me very feeble and nearly blind in one eye, Grandpa made sure there were wheelchairs at the train stations and airports across France and in Amsterdam. I rode around like a dippy Cleopatra, grateful for all the help but not really aware of much that was going on.

The highlight of the trip was that during our stay in Amsterdam, you and your family came to visit! We had a few hours of silliness and love before I was exhausted. Thanks to your parents for making the long trip!

Once we got back to Portland, my doctors appreciated all the care I had received in France. My ophthalmologist was pleased that the shingles hadn’t gotten into my eye, but merely swollen and numbed a bunch of the nerves, which should go away eventually.

Then there are the meds for the ‘next stage’. After the virus has gone into remission (apparently it never really goes away) there is weird nerve pain that sticks around, for weeks or even months.

And that is where I am now. My general health is improved to the point that I can walk around the park, make art, and cook dinner. I still need meds to sleep, because the prickly nerve pain is always there, hovering behind my eye. I also must not expose myself to direct sunlight, as that can re-activate the virus, so I wear a big scarf and carry a parasol when we go out walking. Here is my self-portrait.

So, life’s not normal yet, but progress is being made.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Last Day in Toulouse

June 22

Dear Lisa,

Now that we are having shorter stays in each city, we are having less of a chance to get to know them well, like we did Lyon. We are seeing the highlights.

And our last day was full of them! Auntie Bridgett and I wanted a real French lunch out, and Chez Mamie looked fun. (Chez Mamie means “Grandma’s Place.”) She must be one of those fun Grandmas!

Chez Mamie is in Place du Trinité, which has this incredible fountain of three caryatids holding a large, flowing basin of water. In the heat, they were the most comfortable imaginary creatures around.

It was a fun, interesting place, and delicious, as well. I had a canard confit, a duck leg cooked until it falls off the bone, and roasted potatoes. Bridgett enjoyed a nice white fish and a yummy peppery cream sauce.

There was also a city wide music festival going on, with all sorts of groups out playing in the streets and main squares. Everyone sounded wonderful, but I didn’t get any good pictures… I was either too far away or looking at everyone’s back.

Around 8:30, Bridgett and I headed down to the Garonne River to see the sunset. (Grandpa Nelson had been done in by the 95F temperature and opted out).

The crowds along the river were big and getting bigger by the minute, folks out to celebrate the Solstice, hear the music, see the sunset, and hang out with friends.

It was lovely. We stood and listened and watched the sparkles on the river as the sun dissolved into a cloud bank.

And then we headed home. Thanks, Toulouse! You were wonderful! Really hot, but wonderful.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Old Toulouse

June 19

Dear Liza,

It keeps getting hotter here in Toulouse, so we are limiting our time outside. This afternoon we managed to have a very warm (but really interesting) afternoon in Le Musée de Vieux Toulouse.

This museum, like so many others, is housed in an ‘hotel particulier”, a mansion once owned by a rich, influential family. It is smaller and more modest than some, but I thought it was charming.

It has a few Roman relics, like this lovely hunk of someone’s mosaic floor. There are some carvings and columns, but I get the feeling that the real good stuff is at a fancier museum.

Between the fall of Rome in 500 and the rise of the merchant class, there’s not much on display. People were too busy just making a living.

But once money started flowing into the city from trade in silk, woad, and farm goods, art and architecture started to thrive. It is really interesting to see a painting almost 100 years old that shows the original towers down by the Canal du Midi. I took a picture of these copies a few days ago. As you can see, the neighborhood has changed a bit.

And this painting of St. Sernin Cathedral is painted from almost the same angle as my photo.

A few changes, I grant you…

The folks at the Musée were very patient with me, answering my clumsy French questions slowly.

I have been practicing reading in French, both in museums and in my translated Agatha Christie novels, and it is really paying off! I was able to read this bit about Jules Léotard, the son of a local gymnastics teacher, who was the inventor of the ‘flying trapeze’ that we see at the circus.

Here is a piece of popular music that was written about him, after he was famous and then became a famous cyclist, participating in the newly popular long distance bike races.

And that’s what I learned today!

Love,

Grandma Judy