FOUND: BOOK JOURNALS BY JACOB DEATHERAGE

Ah, the Trillium Artisans store . Being there means seeing the marvelous creations of artisans who specialize in making art from materials most people would throw away. I spend a lot of time browsing, thinking, Wow. Why didn't I think of that?!, and even more time making a cross of my two forefingers and silently intoning, "Step away from the craft. Step away from the craft!" It's so easy to get sucked into new and fascinating paths! So far, I've managed to resist scrapbooking and felting, and I can't seem to get the hang of knitting. But oh, the lovelies, the goodies you can create if you just learn to do....Okay. I'm digressing here. This is a blog about Jacob Deatherage's Book Journals.

Another digression: Doesn't he have a great last name? Talking to him, I split it into its two components: Death Rage.

"Yeah. Kinda grim, huh?" (I think grim was the word he used. Jacob, feel free to correct my memory!)

I said, "No! Not at all. It's like Raging Against Death. You won't go easily. It's great."

Anyway, Jacob takes old books and turns them into journals you can write in. (Ooooh. I wonder if he does custom orders? Must find out. I want one with graph paper pages, my favorite handwriting paper.)

Tch. I'm so long-winded today. Enough. Pictures are waiting.



Three Favorites

I especially like the three journals above, one for the art on the cover, and the other two for their titles. I mean, a personal journal titled, "The Road to Nowhere"? Or one called "A Marvelous Work and a Wonder"? Perhaps the humility, not to call it pessimism, evidenced in the first title would lead to the production of the second. You just never know, do you?

One of the most charming things about these journals is that the pages aren't all blank. Jacob intersperses plenty of writing material with selected pages from the original book, as in the Dr Seuss below:



What will that next page say, anyway?


When I manned (womanned?) the Trillium store Sunday, Jacob had his books out at the Lents Farmer's Market just around the corner, so I wandered over and shot a photo. This shopper's intensity, I think, mirrors my own:





You can find Jacob's Book Journals here: Book Journals and at the Trillium Artisans store if you're in the Portland, Oregon area. (Clicking on the link will take you to a map, address, and more information. Do check it out if you can!)

INSTANT SCREEN DOOR FOR PENNIES

As far as I'm concerned, any vacation, anywhere, has to include visits to every thrift store in the area. Our trip to Hood River, for Lavender Daze, was no exception and Mama and I hit (hold onto your hats) all both. We made up for the dearth of stores by going to one of the them twice. No kidding. In one day.

We found some serious scores, but arguably the best thing we found was something we didn't buy, because it was an easy (really, really easy!), cheap (really, really cheap!) way to keep flies out of the house.

In the picture below, you can see two screen doors, the black one we paid good money for, which is useless a good part of the day because we leave it open so the dog doesn't drive us crazy wanting in and out and in and out and....you take my point, I'm sure....

And the other one, the one I put up yesterday, the one that looks like two sandwich bags full of water.




Water, water, everywhere. To a fly's eyes.


Yup. That's my other screen door.

Apparently, because a fly's eyes are compound, made up of hundreds of lenses,




Image from ThinFilmsBlog

the baggies will not be seen as little containers of water, but as an entire wall, filling the doorway. I got to watch the action after putting the "screen door" up last night, because I didn't remember it until after we had let in a couple. DH and I sat at the table and watched one head repeatedly for the out-of-doors, only to veer away from the door when it got near the bags. Is that cool or what?

Try it. No tools involved, and next to no money. You could even use bags that had already been used for something else. Just fill two with water, zip shut, and tack to the door jam. E-Z breezy, so to speak.

THE CRACKED POTS ARTIST CHALLENGE

Every year, several months before the show at Edgefield McMennamins, Cracked Pots issues a challenge to its member artists: Make art from the chosen recyclable materials. Last year the materials we were to use were Cd's and coat hangers. The year before that, small appliances, and (I think) garden hoses.

This year's challenge was to use lids, caps, and/or non-motorized tools, in any combination. I didn't enter, but seeing what the other artists had come up with was a must--it's always so amazing, what people can do with the most unexpected, unpromising of things. The entries this year were nothing short of spectacular.

It's a contest, with people, artists and show attendees alike, filling out a ballot with their favorite on it, but I didn't get to find out who won, so I'm just going to put up pictures of some, actually, most, of my favorites.




Whimsical birdhouses covered with smashed bottle caps






Fishes of cut mirror glass swim a river of rock and cork





Contrast--soft, matte cork and hard, shiny stone





A curtain of corks





A Bulbous Band





Pickaxe heads connect towering wooden curves





Steel hand tools come together to make a musician who plays typewriter


I think the last one is my favorite, but I loved the pickaxe arch, too, and there was an office chair completely covered with smashed bottle caps that was 100% fun. I just don't know how anyone could vote for one favorite in the bunch.

What an amazing group of artists, to have come up with such wonderful art.

CRACKED POTS FAVES TA DA! & RUBY RESOURCERESS

More of my favorites from the Cracked Pots show at Edgefield, starting with a perennial favorite, Megan Klepp. Her business name is Ta Dah which I also love.

Pictures:



Even her sign is art







Megan covers things, mostly orbs, with old marbles. I love the ones she does that have things springing from the top the most, but they're all great fun. It's quite a process to make them. I asked her how she kept all the marbles from sliding down the balls as she worked and she was kind enough to explain it, but (I'm chuckling while I type, here) it isn't something I'd have the patience for myself!

Next is Ruby the Resourceress, who makes clocks, primarily, but other things as well, from old tins. I adore the whimsy of her work, and when she said she loved barter best, I quickly arranged to trade for her owl clock. It's going above the archway in my kitchen.

Ruby also told me she plans to get out of the business of selling her work, and just start teaching other people how to make them, with the goal of fostering the creative spark in people who think they don't have one. Isn't that the coolest thing?


"Whoo's your little whoosis?" (A song Mama sang to us often)









Now a man whose last name is, I think, Luz. I tried to read the card on the piece I got from him last year, but it was too faded, and he wasn't in his area when I came by with my camera, and didn't have business cards out. If I find out his name, I'll update this entry with it.


Amazing what you can do with old garden hoses



Scrap metal chairs for little folk


Last is Elliot Works, who made some strip bulletin boards from molding and corks. What a great idea! (His wife, Sarah, and I had a great conversation, which is one of the hugest benefits of doing shows. I SO look forward to meeting her again!)






Next blog entry will be pictures from the Artists Challenge. There were some amazing pieces put together by the Cracked Pots artists this year. I walked around with my camera blinking and my jaw dropped.

Now, for me, off to the printer's. I have some things to (hopefully) jury in tomorrow, and since I'm seriously low on the actual items, I'm taking a folder full of photos. (Now, wasn't that just about as alliterative as anyone should be on a Monday morning?!)

CRACKED POTS AT EDGEFIELD, MY FAVES

The Cracked Pots at Edgefield Garden Art Show is easily my favorite such event of the year, and not just because it's been a good show for me personally. No, I love that show because there are dozens of artists, and an almost overwhelming variety of garden art to look at, all of it from recycled materials.

I had a feeling I wouldn't be getting away from my area (no booths at the show, as they want the art to flow through the grounds) very often, as the show draws serious crowds, and DH was out of town, so I'd be flying solo. I wanted to see everything, though, so got there several hours early the second day, camera in hand. I wanted to share my favorites. Unfortunately, I don't have names for all the artists, though, because many hadn't yet arrived. If you know who did the uncredited art, please let me know!

First up is a new Cracked Pots artist. I love, love, love her art and will probably have to have a piece. The artist's name is Janet Julian. Here are several of her pieces, made from salvaged posts and wood, and hand-painted.










Joe and Mackie Clifton make wonderful creatures and creations from scrap metal oddments, including toaster, spatual handles, old rebar, etc.



I think I'll do the other artists tomorrow. I keep falling asleep at my keyboard! No, wait. One more. I don't know her name, but isn't this wonderful?

I'VE BEEN PROFILED!

Yay! Cyndi L, of Layers Upon Layers, profiled me in her blog! I just had to shout it out, I'm so excited and pleased. Go take a look:

http://www.layersuponlayers.com/artist-profile-anitra-cameron/

There are lots of pictures. And quite a few words, so thank goodness the photos break up the text, lol.

DeLILA RETURNS!

One of my favorite Coffee Pot People is back! I've always loved DeLila, but DH knocked her off her shelf maybe two years ago and broke her hat off, and she has stood on a high shelf in my shop ever since. Finally, this week, I took her down and surveyed the damage. It wasn't as bad as I'd remembered, and I still had a box full of the broken stained glass piece I'd made the hat from. A little engineering and a yard or two of copper wire later, and there she stood, as good as new. Actually, maybe better than new.

Meet the ultimate, original, party girl. This girl has got it goin' on, and if you put a candle at her feet, and a tea light behind her hat, she will happily get lit every single chance she gets. (Responsibly, of course. DeLila is full of joie de vivre, but her mama didn't raise no dummies.) Her favorite quote: "If there's anything half as much fun as being alive, I don't know what it is!"