Happy Spooky Halloween

Sandy

Darlene

Suzanne

Becky

 

Judi

Sue

 Beth

Tammy

Z'anne

Luanne

Joan

Carrie

Robin

Tory, Dayna, Melissa

 

Barkley, the Fisherman's Dog

Tomorrow is a friend of mine's 60th birthday.  Recently he got a new little dog that has become quite a pal.  I think he will like this.



Dorothy Caldwell Workshop

I was lucky this year to get into the workshop of my dreams--the Dorothy Caldwell Mark Making workshop at Nancy Crow's art barn in Ohio.

It was worth the price of admission just to worship at the shrine of Dorothy's work.  I spent lots of time returning to this gorgeous wall, trying to absorb it all.

Along with her own work, Dorothy set up displays of world textiles and mark making.  She shares a wealth of information about the processes and stories behind these pieces.

 This beautiful red and black piece was a gift from Dorothy's Australian students.

Besides just gazing in awe, we did work, and lots of it.  We stitched, drew, pierced, painted, waxed, discharged, burnt and in general made marks in every way we could.  This is a collection of the class's randomly stitched pieces.

 We went from working minutely to working outside on large scale paintings.   Mine is on the left.

I really want to show all the beautiful work that was produced in class.  It was amazing how much variety came out even when all we did was make a single mark on the page.  We did, however, agree not to post each other's finished work.  Here is a glimpse of some of the gorgeous piles of materials around the room.

My table as I start to assemble my main book.

Our main project was putting together a book of samples of all the techniques we covered in the week.  The assembly of the book was especially challenging as we tried to get the pages to flow from one to the other and read cohesively.  Here are some of my pages.

I loved that I was working without a plan, but after working on about 4 pages, I found that there was a theme of flight and eggs developing.  My mind has been on empty nest syndrome a lot lately as my boys get closer to leaving home.  It's funny what shows up even when we're not conscious of it.  I went with it and made my cover with that in mind.

Working with Dorothy was a fabulous experience.  She has a beautiful, quiet way about her and an almost childlike wonder about every mark she sees.   I have always found her work deeply soulful, and after hearing about her process and her connection to the land, I understand where that comes from.  A generous and amazingly talented woman who will inspire me for years!

ART IN THE BURBS IN TIGARD

ART IN THE BURBS - A FINE ART AND CRAFT SHOW AND SALE
OCTOBER 18, 19, 20.  Get a jump on holiday shopping! www.ArtintheBurbs.org

ART IN THE BURBS FINE ART AND CRAFT SHOW AND SALE THIS WEEKEND!

Two new pieces created by Jennifer Campbell will be for sale at Art in the Burbs this weekend (Oct 18, 19, 20), Friday evening and Saturday and Sunday.  Be sure to come to the show and sale that supports the Arts in all Tigard-Tualatin schools! www.jennifercampbelldesign.com
Jennifer Campbell

Teddy Bears for the new baby coming to our Family

I looked at my best selling card styles and determined that Teddy Bears were missing!  About the same time, I heard that we have a new baby due.  This will be my 3rd great niece or nephew.  Here's what I came up with and I am determined to spend another day working on a few more!  Why not?

Beading Again

It's been a long, quiet summer this year.  I haven't done a whole lot of beading, buying beads, yes...but not doing a whole lot with them.  To get back to it, I decided to play with some wire, wood and my bead soup.  I started out with painted dowel rod, making sure to cut two long pieces and two short.  Wrapped the wire around the cross pieces, to create a frame, then made wire wrapped bead balls.  I used 20 ga galvanized wire throughout.  Measuring by eye, I took separate pieces of wire and wrapped each of them around one end of the frame, added beads and finished wrapping the wire at the opposite end.  Created a hanger with another piece of wire and Bob's Your Uncle, a nice little piece of bead art.

 

It's so nice to be able to use up all those bits and bobs of loose beads that have been hanging around on my bead desk to create something fun to hang on the wall.

 

Last week, I was cleaning up the mess I call my bead desk and uncovered a bag of sea urchin spines.  These are really cool with all the different colorations and patterns they have.  So, out came the crystals, the chain and more wire to make a fun necklace.

 

Sea Urchin Spine Necklace

Even tho' it's still summer and the heat will be returning next week, I can feel and smell fall coming, especially up here in the woods. With the change of season, I will be at my bead desk more often and will be sharing more beady goodness soon.

 

Exciting event happening in Multnomah Village this Friday, August 16th!  5-9pm

Anne Bocci Boutique (a few doors down from O'Connors)

7824 SW Capitol Hwy  Portland  97219

 I'll be selling my jewelry at the event - Jennifer Campbell Design - jewelry with a tale to tell...

The party is in the basement - wine, food, fun, shopping!!!!  What could be better?!

From Anne Bocci:
"This Friday is the anniversary of my boutique, Anne Bocci Boutique, which supports many local designers, including many emerging designers to get their first boutique presence. Michelle Lesniak winner of Project Runway, Season 11, is one of the key guests at the party, along with Jon Manning, photographer and film guy-specifically Founder, Producer/Director at Brightwater Media, Alicia Wood of the Ms. Wood line who was named Best Emerging Designer, and jewelry artist Jennifer C Campbell who's designs in found objects have a tale of their own, bringing mystery, romance and intrigue from a time gone by.

 

Jennifer Campbell

Jewelry with a tale to tell

www.jennifercampbelldesign.com 

 

 

Yarn Bomb

Bridge for Blankets

If you've driven across the Willamette River in downtown Portland this month then you've probably noticed the yarn bomb on the Broadway Bridge.  I am so proud to claim that I played a small role in this grand project.  "Bridge For Blankets" is a public art project installed on the Broadway Bridge. The PDX Bridge Festival is celebrating the the 100th birthday of the Broadway Bridge.

There are currently four of these banners hanging on the Broadway Bridge.  Look very closely at the first block in the second row and you'll see a purple square in the yellow section.  That's my 12" knitted square.  Does that give you some idea of the size of this project? 

Bridge for Blankets is a service/installation project conceived and directed by Tyler Mackie, who grew up in my neighborhood of Maywood Park, a northeast Portland suburb, and I knew her long before she became this amazing artist.  She enlisted the help of over 200 knitters and purchased 840 skeins of Cascade Yarn Company's 220 super-wash wool yarn to complete these knitted 12" squares.  Tyler is still organizing fundraising events to cover the $5,600 cost of the yarn.  

 When the banners are removed later this month they will be taken apart and the 6' blankets will be distributed to the homeless through local agencies.  I am so proud of Tyler and feel fortunate to have been able to participate.

Wedding Finery

A wedding is a fine opportunity to make something special.

This is Liz just before the ceremony, wearing a necklace and earrings I made from family heirloom pearls and vintage Swarovski drops.

And here is the couple under the windblown veil I made.  That's a lot of tulle!  Her beautiful bouquet (and all the wedding flowers) were created by talented Cynthia Mooney, a fellow PAC member.

Congratulations Lizzie and Matthew!