Swarming to OMSI

Dear Liza,

We went out to OMSI the other night for a Science Pub, a program that we have gone to before, but usually at The Kennedy School. Like other pubs, you can have beer or wine, sodas, snacks, and learn stuff!

The big show currently at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is about Dinosaurs, but we walked right past them (after saying a polite Hello from a safe distance, of course) and into the Empirical Theater.

Urban beekeeper Mandy Shaw was there to talk about her love of, and work with, bees. We are all interested in the buzzy, pollinating honey-makers and Auntie Bridgett’s main character, Auntie Beeswax, is a beekeeper, so we wanted to learn everything we could.

And we did! In Mandy’s hour long talk (complete with great video and even audio recordings of different bee activities) we learned that male bees don’t mate with their own Queen, but with Queens from other hives, at a place called The Drone Zone. This was a complete surprise, and now I wonder where our local Drone Zones are!

We also learned that if a hive makes too many Queens, the spares are killed by the bees swarming her in what is called a Murder Ball, or “Cuddle of Death”, where their body heat literally cooks her. Gruesome, but necessary. This Cuddle of Death is also used to protect the hive from invaders such as Yellow Jackets and Wasps.

Mandy obviously loves and admires bees, and told us about honeycomb ‘memory’, Mason Bees, and how bees build their own honeycomb in a process called “festooning”.

It would take another two dozen blogs to tell you all I learned, and there are folks on YouTube, podcasts and elsewhere who will give you better information. So, go learn! My brain is still processing!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Free Comic Book Day!

Dear Liza,

Saturday was National Free Comic Book Day, and we walked out into the Portland rain to celebrate.

At the Ladd’s Circle Park, we found Siri hosting some pool noodle Light Saber contests and handing out “Young Jedi” comics. As you can see, the rain did not dampen their spirits.

Further into Ladd’s, we found Cecily hosting photo ops with this troop of Charles Schulz’s Beagle Scouts and handing out Beagle Scout comics.Why are these little guys so cute? Because Auntie Bridgett painted them, that’s why!

We were getting pretty wet, but wanted to stop by and see Katie at her shop, Books with Pictures. After all, all these tents and activities had been masterminded by Katie and her wonderful staff as a way of building community with fun activities around comics.

We discovered that the shop was full to bursting, with a line out the door! That’s a lot of good vibes there, with folks chatting and staying dry. Sadly, there was so much going on, we didn’t get to hug Katie. A quick wave and a blown kiss will hold me until we see her.

Just up the street we found Charlie on the Abernethy playground, helping people hunt up Pokémon and giving out comics. This little fellow helped me find one!

The rain got heavier and we finally had to call it quits. We sloshed up to Floyd’s Coffee House on Ladd’s Circle for a hot beverage and a sweet treat.

Another volunteer for Free Comic Book Day was there! Felix had us draw pictures of things that frightened us and gave us a scary comic. It’s not my style, but I can put it in one of our Teeny Tiny Libraries.

When we were warm and fed, we waved goodbye to Felix and headed up to catch the number 14 home.

What a perfectly Portland day.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Bees and Birthdays

Dear Liza,

This past Friday was busy around here. It was Grandpa Nelson’s birthday AND First Friday at SideStreet Arts, where Auntie Bridgett was having a show.

The first part of the day was for presents and quiet puzzles. Grandpa enjoyed his refurbished clock and a gift card from Donna.

Later, we headed up to the gallery to see Bridgett’s art, along with the four other artists featured in the Love Buzz show. It was a chilly, drizzly evening, so the crowd was small. But the artwork was beautiful (and so was Auntie Bridgett).

She had paintings, moleskin sketchbooks, zines, buttons, and all sorts of adorable bits for sale. Her fellow artists Jackie McIntyre, Lea Barozzi, Michelle Gallagher and Brenda Scott and were showing paintings, ceramics, and collage works.

I think it is impossible to see bees and be sad. The colors and movement in the show even brightened the grey evening outside.

Grandpa Nelson and I visited with the artists for a while, then walked around the corner to Ankeny Tap and Table for his birthday dinner. Yummy sliders (my first actual beef in over a year… amazingly delicious) , French Fries, good conversation and a glass of red wine made for a fine celebration.

We waved at Bridgett as we headed home, walking quickly as the rain had started in earnest.
Love,

Grandma Judy

Back to the Clock

Dear Liza,

Last November, I found Grandpa Nelson’s old clock in the garage. His mom, Mona, had embroidered it for him and his sisters when they were little, about 60 years ago. Over many years and many moves, it had gotten stained and damaged.

I decided to take a chance on repairing it. I peeled the fragile fabric off its Masonite backing and gave it a wash. The stains faded, but didn’t go away.

There was still lots to do. The delicate fabric needed to be strengthened and stabilized. Looking online, I found Hemline Iron-On Invisible Mending and ordered some. Then “craft cowardice” set in, the fear that I would mess it up, and the clock sat waiting for me to get up my nerve.

With Grandpa’s birthday coming up, I wanted to see if I could get the whole thing back together. I pulled out the iron-on repair kit and gave it a try. It worked beautifully! From the front, the repairs were barely visible and the whole thing was stronger.

I added bits of embroidery to spiff it up a bit. A stitch here and there put some of the main lines back, while still letting it show its history.

I ordered a clock mechanism from Amazon, and it went in quick and easy. Polished glass and a red ribbon made it look ready for birthday giving!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Sister Corita and Me

Dear Liza,

Back in March, I got some books about Sister Corita Kent for my birthday. As you might suspect, Corita was a Catholic nun. She was also an artist and teacher at the progressive (as far as Catholic institutions go) Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles back in the 1960s.

I will not attempt a detailed biography here. There are dozens in print and online, by folks who have done their research.

What I want to talk about is how some of Corita’s “Ten Rules’ have affected me and my art.

Number 4. Consider everything an experiment.

I know Crazy Quilts are an OLD thing, but mine is a NEW thing, at least to me. Combining piecing, embroidery, beading and quilting in one totally original creation big enough for two people to snuggle under was a seven month expeiment. It worked out pretty well.

Number 6. There are no mistakes. There is no win and no fail.

This is comforting to me, after years in the classroom where I dreaded making mistakes in front of my students. Knowing I can learn from everything makes me braver.

Number 7. The only rule is the work. It is people who do all the work all the time that figure things out.

For the past few years, with help from Auntie Bridgett and Ruthie Inman, I have been reading, thinking and experimenting with art. The stitches in my Crazy Quilt were an experiment. Laying down layers of collage, then tissue, then ink. Three dimensional constructions covered in paper mosaics… all experiments. I like some better than others, but I learned from them all.

And, as Sister Corita promised, I am figuring things out.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Cubo de Cuba

Dear Liza,

Amy and I went out for lunch the other day, and since we were both feeling adventurous, we went to Cubo de Cuba. I have walked past it since we moved to our house six years ago, and it always smells delicious. Turns out, it is!

This place is colorful, friendly, and very funky. The walls are a bright yellow and have been drawn and written on by hundreds of folks. Tiny cartoons and bits of poetry elbow each other for room all over the place.

Delightful portraits make you feel like you are visiting a happy cantina on a backstreet somewhere in Havana.

It is also very informal. The menu is on the wall by the order window, and there is a wooden pig you can sit on while you make up your mind. The fellows behind the counter are helpful and charming. The cooks are also the waitstaff and bring your food out when it is ready.

And, of course, it is delicious. On such a rainy, chilly day, it was delightful to slurp up some black beans and rice with fried plantains with mango and avocado on the side. There are spicy options, but I opted for non-spicy this time. There was chicken and pork, but I went vegan. And it was all wonderful.

We chatted about upcoming trips (Spain and Italy for her, Netherlands and Denmark for me) , family and remodeling headaches, and cleaned our plates! When it was time for dessert we split a flan.

It was the perfect sweet mouthful.

When we were full and warm, we hugged and parted ways. It is amazing to me that I have such dear friends in my ‘new’ city, places to explore, and new adventures to be had.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Grey Walk to Ladd’s

Dear Liza,

We are in The “April Showers” part of spring, and boy, is it drippy! It’s not terribly cold, though, so still good weather for walks.

I needed to get to Auntie Katie’s place to feed Hopey and Maggie while she’s away doing comic business, so Grandpa Nelson and I headed out.

The rose gardens in the Ladd’s Addition Rose gardens are getting ready to bloom! This little guy is showing color already, and by Monday when Katie gets back, there will be lots of blossoms.

In Katie’s own garden at Books with Pictures, the wild roses by the fence are fully open and making the bees happy.

They sure brighten up the corner by the stage!

The tall purple irises are up and looking gorgeous. I love how they look with the antique bed frame Katie has installed as a part of the fence.

Another way you can tell it’s April is that the neighborhoods are covered with tiny green maple seeds.

They look like tiny helicopters close up, but like a green carpet from a distance.

They sure look pretty with the pink cherry blossoms.

When I’d fed the cats and said hello to Sir Isaac Snooten, I joined Grandpa Nelson at Floyd’s coffee house to warm up and rest before heading back up the hill.

Just another perfect day in Portland.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Crystal Springs

Dear Liza,

We had some lovely bright days this week, before the rain set in. On one of those days, Cynthia and I went to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. It was full of happy people and magnificent Rhodies and azaleas.

The forest-y design of the garden lets you wander aimlessly, finding little side trails with wonderful views.

Kids were out, enjoying the day. This fellow wanted to “go talk to the goose.” The goose had no comment, apparently.

And, of course, the bees were busy. This purple azalea was humming with activity!

There is so much peace and beauty to be had in this wonderful place. I have renewed my membership and will head back soon.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Poetry vs Power

Dear Liza,

Your great grandma, Billie Evans, read a lot of poems. Those that she really loved, she memorized. “So I could always have them with me,” she said.

“Ozymandias”, by Percy Shelly, was one of those. She loved the description of the great sculpture, now in ruins, in the middle of a desolate land. Mostly, she loved the twist at the end. Have a read, then I’ll give you an update on the Big Man himself.

Ozymandias

BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Shelly wrote the poem in 1818, when Europe was fascinated with ancient Egypt after Napoleon’s army there brought back bits and pieces of the crumbled civilization. Broken chunks of mighty statues were all that was left. Shelly saw the futile and fleeting nature of power, and gave his take on it.

All this came to mind this morning because of two stories in the news.

Archeologists in Egypt have found what appears to be the top half of the statue of Ozymandias (also called Ramses II, the pharaoh named in Exodus), the same statue that inspired Shelly.

I’m thinking about this while watching the news about claims of “absolute immunity.” I love that Ramses II is still broken and that Shelly’s poem is still wonderful. Poetry outlasts Power.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Pages for The New Journal

Dear Liza,

Once we had the journal cover made, it was time for pages. Since this isn’t a journal for writing, but for doing art in, we were free to experiment.

I started gluing images down to scrap paper, which is always fun. Making THIS piece of junk mail look spiffy by sticking on THAT piece of old napkin is very satisfying.

When the pages were dry, I lined them up with the butterfly cover. I love the way the greens and soft pinks go together.

But wait a second! That cartoon dude is SO out of place! He looks like he got into the book through an unlocked window. He’s adorable, but he’ll have to wait for another project.

I kept looking, and more images kept showing up. This little girl and part of a watch face came together nicely. It needs something else, but it will come.

The Zoom Art group got together again this morning and I added this landscape over the splattered page. Not bad, but as it is here, it felt unfinished.

I put it aside and went on with the day. When Cousin Kestrel came over this afternoon, I asked her for advice. She suggested a setting sun with some rays, and I gave it a try.

I love it! Thanks, Kes!

This page of text strips goes with the color scheme and looks suitably cryptic. The splatters add a little character. As I told Ruthie, “Splattery will get you anywhere!”

And that’s the newest art journal so far.

Love,

Grandma Judy