WEIGHTY MATTERS

I wrote this some time back for another website (www.thinkcrafts.com), and am reposting today. Hence the "odd" reference to summer heat!
 
Ah, summer. Picnics, farmers’ markets, concerts in the park, camping, and festivals abound, and all the world wants to be outside.

Of course, with temperatures in the 80’s, 90’s, and even 100’s, we’re also looking for shade, and canopies are becoming very popular ways to take your shade with you. They’re getting better all the time, too, with pop-up types springing up in a matter of minutes, and collapsing into a bundle smaller than a kitchen stool.

The downside? If the wind comes up, a canopy can behave like a parachute with wanderlust, and go tumbling willy-nilly away from your set-up.

The solution, of course, is to weight it down. One way is to fill empty milk jugs with water, tying from two to four to each canopy leg, but jugs can be hard to lug, and I’m one of those people who find it all too easy to trip even on something as obvious as  Big Jugs O’ Water In The Corner.

As someone who does art/craft shows, I also wanted something that looked professional, without spending a bundle. My son and daughter-in-law had the solution.

You’ll need:

•  Four 4’ lengths of 3” diameter PVC pipe
•  8 end caps that fit your pipe
•  PVC primer and glue (It will be in the plumbing supplies area at the hardware store.)
•  Sand
•  Optional: 4 short lengths of chain with S-hooks on each end, and 4 sturdy eye bolts

Start by gluing an end cap to one end of each of the four pipes. You need to use the primer first, and then the glue, according to the instructions on the cans. Protect your work surface! My dear husband spilled some on our linoleum, and the purple stains don’t look like they’ll ever come out! (No worries for me—I’ve already painted polka dots on my floor; this is an excuse to do more!)

Let the glue dry thoroughly, and then fill each of the pipes with sand, then glue the other end caps to the open ends of the pipes. 

You now have four good weights that are ready to use by just standing them next to the canopy legs and bungee-cording in place.

Or you can finish up with just one more step: Drill a guide hole in one end cap of each weight that’s just a bit smaller than your eye bolts’ diameter. Screw the eye bolt in securely. Now you can use those short lengths of chain to hang the weights from each corner.

UNGARDEN SHOW, PT 3

I have more photos from last weekend's Cracked Pots show, and then I'm done. I know three entries on it might seem like a lot, but I loved the art, and want to spread the pleasure I got from seeing it.


I loved the fused glass business card holders by Brenda Calvert of Half Moon Farm, and this fused glass window, one of her larger pieces.


These found-object shrines by Kathy McConnell delighted me.


Missy Lambert does stained glass in old frames she picks up in thrift stores. I'm reasonably certain the colored glass she uses is also reclaimed. (The link will take you to her Etsy shop.)

And Dorothy Lewis, who is, like me, also a member of Trillium Artisans, has added these bags from recycled vinyl and old Cd's. I think they're great, and love that she's found a way to use those old disks we all have lying around.


For pure fun, you can't beat the fabric collages Bonny Gorsuch, of My Bonny.




That's it! I hope this somewhat conveys the fun, whimsy, quirkiness and beauty of the Cracked Pots Ungarden Show.

THE UNGARDEN SHOW, Pt 1

I was going to do this all in one, but between unexpected company (the band), and band practice itself, there isn't time to do a big post, so I'm going to do the simplest part first--my own table at the show. My apologies for looking ego-centric. (Not that I'm not--I know it's one of my faults, but I do try not to be too obvious about it as a rule!)

Here are the photos, and enough said, except that it was an awesome show, and I got to hang out with some amazing artists, most of whom are not only sweet people, but put me in awe of their formidable talents. Every bit of the art at the show was created from at least 75% recycled/reclaimed materials.

My table, covered with lovely estate sale fabric

Some of the Mini Cake Stands

A few of the new Coffee Pot People magnets

Brand new! Glovelettes from hankies, napkins, etc.

Bookmarks from old cooking illustrations

One of the glovelettes, next to a tray of rings

Tomorrow: Pictures of just some of the wonderful, whimsical, beautiful art shown at the 2010 UnGarden Show.

FUN STINKS!

This weekend is the 12th Annual Elephant Garlic Festival, in North Plains, OR. (Directions: Take Hwy 26 west from Portland until you get to the Glencoe Road Exit [Exit 57], turn Left, and follow your nose.)

I've just gotten home from setting up my booth for it, and can now say I've been to North Plains, after all these years of not even knowing where the town was, exactly. It's always been in some nebulous region, past Beaverton, maybe even past Forest Grove (not), just somewhere 'out that way'. I'm amazed such a place can exist so near the big city. It is truly a small town.

After setting up, the DH and I headed for the little strip of businesses on North Plains' main drag, looking for lunch. We settled into a booth at the Rogue Brew Pub, ordered, and then I opened the newspaper the Festival organizer had given me earlier, to see what it had to say about the Festival.

Wow. This thing promises to be all kinds of fun! There's a car show, live music throughout, a car show, a parade, 10K & 2M walk/runs, even a Battle of the Bands. There's a shuttle from the end of the Max line in Hillsboro, and admission to the Festival is free. What more could you ask for? Maybe the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at the Senior Center Saturday morning?

They have a great website, with schedules for the festival, music performances, car show, etc., so anything I haven't told you is probably here.

Have you never heard of Elephant garlic? It's lovely stuff, very mild, and it is not garlic intended for a pachyderm's diet. It's huge:




Oh, by the way. There's a recipe for elephant garlic stew on the website that sounds yummy!

FIGHT HEAT WITH A CREEPY SALAD

It's still hot, though not quite a fiery as yesterday, which topped out at 106.3 degrees F (41.28 C). I'm trying to get work done, but trying to stay cool at the same time.

Ceili keeping cool under the bed

Somehow, hot weather seems to call for Jell-o, so I went looking for a package, and also some fruit to stir into it.

I came up with a small package of apricot Jell-o (yes, it was even that brand). Now then, fruit. Grapes? That didn't sound too good. Ate the last pear and banana yesterday. One slightly shriveled Red Delicious apple in the 'fridge, a donation to my lunch at an art show, of a variety I find inedible. (Which makes me ask: What has been done to the family of Delicious apples? They were really good when I was a kid, and we had them in our orchard.)

Anyway, I stood at the cabinet, shuffling cans, searching...cranberry sauce? Okay. Sure. That could work. Maybe.

I took pictures, so here's what you do:

Fix the Jell-o as per box instructions, and put it in the refrigerator to partially set up. While you're at it, put the can of jellied cranberry sauce in the 'fridge, too. An hour and a half or so later, take them out again.

Open the cranberry sauce, and cut four slices. Put a slice in each of four small bowls.


Divide the apricot gelatin (there, used a different word!) amongst the four bowls with the slices in the bottom.

Cut two more slices of cranberry sauce, and cut them into sixths.


Stand three wedges in the Jell-o in a line at the rim of each bowl, and your dessert/salad is done. Unless you have whipped cream or topping, which would be yummy on top.


The color combo is a little dark, a little creepy, but hey, marigolds come in that color combination, so it can't be all that bad. I'm SO looking forward to dinner tonight. Which reminds me to say: Put the bowls back into the refrigerator until you're ready to eat them.

Bonus Picture: Sandie and Coco surveying a flower bed full of Mega Blossoms at the Cracked Pots show.

*Click on any image to see it full-sized.*

CRACKED POTS AT EDGEFIELD, PT 2

Here are more photos from the recycled garden art sale at the Edgefield McMennamins last week, out in Troutdale.

These mosaics from Sandra Carlson caught my eye, with their happy motifs and bright colors. It's funny. I have no dearth of creative juices myself, but I look admiringly at mosaics, and all I can think is, I could never in a hundred years do that. Maybe that's why I'm such of fan of them, and of the artists who do create them.





Then there were the creative garden containers, with their lovely contents, put together by Ann Munson:





Now, this next is becoming something of an unlooked for tradition. Every year I go a-wander with my camera, grabbing photos of what catches my eye and heart, and every year I find something to love in the display of a man I know only as, "that guy who has the hotel down in Mexico." He hasn't been in his space since I first met him three shows ago!

That first year, I traded a piece of my art for a piece of his, a funky, funny head-of-a-man made from a plastic milk jug and plastic bottle caps. It has a solar yard light for a hat and stake, and it stands in my front flower bed, smiling, absorbing the sunlight by day, and smiling a glowing, incandescent welcome by evening.

This year, I really wanted to snag and bag this:

It's made from a metal fence post topper, and I think it's perfectly wonderful.

The other item from "the man from Mexico" that I yearned for was this:
If you click on the picture (or any of the others), you'll see the full-size, full-resolution version, and in that one you can read the "sign" over the birdhouse entry: "Gnome Tweet Home." Sweet.

Okay. That's it for now. The Artists' Challenge will be tomorrow.

CRACKED POTS AT EDGEFIELD, PT 1

Well, I realized as I was going through my photos that one blog on the Cracked Pots at Edgefield was simply not going to be a good idea, so this will probably be a three-parter. Even at that, any show that easily takes a full day to see well could do with even more.

I got roughly fifteen minutes of time, zipping around with my camera, shooting one-handed, and chatting briefly with each artist, to get what I did before hurrying back to my own space. The flyers, posters, and website all say the show begins at 1pm each of the two days. Those of us who've done the show before know that's almost laughable. People come as early as 9am, or even earlier, for all I know, and this year I had folks ask if I'd sell to them if they showed up the day before, while I was setting up! What I'm saying is, even when I arrive early, it's never early enough!

Oh. It occurs to me it might be good to explain Cracked Pots. Cracked Pots is a non-profit here in Portland that encourages recycling. They do that by speaking in the schools, showing kids that they can create art by using things that would otherwise go into landfills, and once a year they host a juried art sale at Edgefield McMennamins. All art must be at made from mostly recycled materials (I think they've set the percentage at 70%) and must be for the garden. This year there were at least ninety artists participating. One of the really cool things about it is the lack of booths and tents. They encourage artists to blend their art with the grounds, which are beautifully landscaped, and extensive, as much as possible. It's a wanderer's dream.

I love the ideas people come up with for using discards in the garden!




The artist wasn't around when I snapped the pictures above, so I don't have info on him/her. I've tried to credit people, but it isn't always possible, for which I do apologize.

This whimsical art, painted on old boards, was done by Jean Hybskmann, of Troutdale:

I am absolutely in love with the mosaics Parris Foley does!



And isn't this garden furniture by Donna Mauch and Debra Shaffer, of 2nd Site, delightful? I can't decide which I like best--the potting benches, or the arbor made from a baby's crib.




And I think I'll stop here. More to come later!

PS Click on any image to see it full-sized, and at full resolution.

COME TO CAMP CACTUS!

I have a show coming up, starting tomorrow evening. Well, twenty-nine other artists are sharing this particular spotlight, but I suspect we all say, "I have a show this weekend." I think "the more the merrier" fits, especially in this case, especially since I've seen some of the other art that will be there already.

If you're anywhere near Portland, Oregon come by Friday evening for the opening night party, and/or Saturday or Sunday for the show itself!


Heading to Lincoln City now, to see Mama and take her the new lawn mower. Happy Thursday everyone!

SOMEWHERE OVER THE WEEKEND

I had two shows and a class reunion over the weekend. The first show was kind of a bust--one small sale. I did have a very nice time getting to know my tent-mate. We'd met on a number of occasions, but never had a chance to really visit. A s-l-o-o-o-w Saturday sale gave us time to talk, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, finding Mary has had a very interesting and varied life.



We packed up fairly early, and I went to that class reunion, our (holy cow) forty-first. It was sweet, and I wish I had photos, but my camera battery died. Got the camera out, aimed it, and got the message "Battery Depleted". sigh.

The class reunion was supposed to be over at 7:30. None of us wanted to leave, the banquet room hadn't been reserved, and the staff didn't seem to have a problem with cleaning up around us, so we stayed. It was going on nine when I got home.

Up early, then, for the Sunday show. That was a much better kettle of fish, for me, at least. It was a garden tour combined with an art/craft/plant show, and I did well. Actually, it appeared to me that anyone who was selling plants or garden art did.

Biggest thrill: Two vendors over was a woman I recognized, but couldn't place. Lucky for me, she knew who I was! I nannied her two children twelve years ago. It was so lovely to reconnect, see pictures of Joni''s daughter, now a lovely young teen, and get to re-meet her son, seventeen, and probably close to six feet tall. The amazing thing was, except for the fact that he was greatly elongated, he still looked just like his five-year-old self! He didn't remember me at all, but that was okay. I remembered him.

Biggest mistakes: I forgot to bring the little tub I put cool water in when it's hot, to stand in. If I can keep my feet cool, I'm usually all right. Otherwise, I have an alarming tendency to first swell up, especially my hands and feet, and then pass out. Got that from my Mom. I did the only thing I could think of, pouring small amounts of water over my feet on a small square of carpet. That averted heat stroke.

Other BIG mistake: I didn't notice that one of the credit card slips I ran got shuffled under the slider, and when I tried to run the card today, I saw there was no way on earth to read the number. No number, no money. I called the buyer, and am praying she returns my call and doesn't have a problem with reading me the number over the phone. Otherwise, I just ate $110. Ouch.

Well, live and learn. I don't usually make the same mistake twice, but I sure hate making them the first time!
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ALBERTA ART HOP--PHOTOS AND....

Saturday was the 10th annual Alberta Art Hop, here in Portland, Oregon, and my first time participating. And a glorious day it was! I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about it. Instead, I'll just put the photos up, and let them speak for themselves, with the occasional comment.

My booth




The booth next door




I really liked her work!




A lull in the action brought music




While "next door" a massage relaxed and soothed




Sunny & hot




Vendors found their own shelter




Creating on the spot




Finished work on the flipside




Canvas is where you find it. Same artist as above




My Mega Blossoms, mere shadows of themselves




Shadow play




Members of March Forth! Marching Band









Definitely not your traditional, garden variety marchers!


It was a great day. More fun than profit, but, as I told my husband later, it was definitely more money than I'd have made sitting home. Looking forward to doing it again next year, when (I hope!) the economy has picked up!