Happy Halloween from me and my 'Scare'crow

A couple of weeks ago my Landlord, who owns the Building where my new Studio.Gallery is, handed me an entry form for a Scarecrow Contest that the local Chamber was holding.  This was several days before each entry was due and I had out of town guests that whole week.  He thought it would be a good idea for me to participate because it would 'put me on the map' and as a new Business that could be very helpful.  (They were doing a map to hand out that showed where all the Scarecrows would be).   My company left Sunday afternoon and entries were due on Monday morning.  While I had a few days to think about it my time to actually get something done was pretty limited.   So, Sunday evening I was busy cutting out black foam-core in the shape of my 'Scare'crow.  Obviously, I couldn't just think normal Scarecrow ~ I had to be different.  (Different enough that I'm not sure most people understood why I was even calling it a 'Scare'crow  : / )   Did you ever notice that sometimes when you think outside of the Box you leave all the good ideas inside . . .?!   Well, below is my 'Scare'crow.  I guess we could just say he is . . .

  'Big Bird' dressed for Halloween as a Witch?!  :)  

My next door neighbor at my Studio is Horan Estates Winery.  They did 

'Millie Merlot' (she won Grand Champion out of 45 entries)  Thought you might like to see her too.  By the way, by the end of the second week of this Scarecrow Contest, Little Cashmere (pop. 3100)  had over 100 Scarecrow 'participants' .  Even though most did not make it in to the contest, people just decided to participate anyway.  Some of the entries were hilarious and if you are local, worth taking a drive out to see them while you still can.

Here's Millie . . .

May all the Ghosts and Goblins in your Life 

be ones that make you Smile.

                                      Charleen

The Local Library . . .

This is another little discovery from my recent trip to Boise, Idaho.  Some of you may be familiar with these already.  Evidently they are scattered 'Worldwide'!   When I went to the website for them I couldn't believe I hadn't heard about them before.  They are everywhere!  This one popped up recently on the front lawn of  one of my friends neighbors.   The Homeowner built it himself and supplied the initial books.  Borrowing a book is free and it just requires that you return it or exchange it for another book.

Several of the neighbors were skeptical that anyone in the neighborhood would use it but they daily see people stopping and borrowing books, exchanging books and adding books.  It's evidently a hit with both young and old.

The rules and regulations are simple.  Borrow a book, read it, and then return it to any Little Library or pass it on and share it.    If you would like to see more about these Little Libraries you can go to www.littlefreelibrary.org

Happy Reading Everyone!

Charleen

A Semi Guided Art Tour . . .

Last week I spent several days visiting 'old' friends down in Boise, Idaho.  I say old because we have been friends for over 45 years.  My girlfriend and I often kid about the fact that we don't know what made us friends initially ~ we came from completely opposite backgrounds with little in common.  She grew up on a farm in North Dakota and didn't see her first indoor plumbing until she was almost 6 when her parents put in their first indoor bathroom.  It was bedpans, metal wash tubs, and outhouses until then.  Me . . . I never saw my first outhouse until I was 13.  I was up in Canada visiting relatives in 'Ecum Secum' (yes, that's for real!) Canada and that's all they had ~ and all we had while visiting! :(  .  We just didn't have outhouses where I grew up in New York, and quite honestly, that was just fine with me.   (We did have fire escapes though, and they were great to climb outside on, and watch all the activity down on the Boulevard.  But then, that's another whole story . . . )

As a young woman, I moved to Boise in 1966 (yes, I know, some of you weren't even born yet ...)  At that time it was a small city where the men would still walk down the street and  tip their hats to the Ladies as they passed by.  Remember this was 1966.  I hadn't seen that in New York since I was a small child.  But, Boise had its ups and downs like many other cities.  A nice busy downtown  ~ and then the first big Mall moves in, and sadly, the downtown withers away.  Boise struggled for a while, but today it's a beautiful thriving city that has managed to nicely blend the old and the new.  Wonderful old buildings tucked in and around the new sky high ones house great restaurants, shops and galleries.  They (whomever the 'They' are) have done a great job in revitalizing the city.

ANYWAY . . . I tell you all this because my girlfriend and I walked all over downtown and found some amazing art tucked down alleys everywhere.  They have one spot actually called Gallery Alley with paintings lining the backs of all the buildings.  So . . . I thought it would be fun to share it with you.  I hope you enjoy the 'tour' !  :)
  

This one is a tribute to the Lady shown.  She ran that Market forever.  It was the Neighborhood Market in the 'North End' of Boise where it was (and still is)  mostly older homes  ~ from cottages to Mansions and everything in between.  I was told the Market is now a Yoga Studio.

Cute!  :)

Definitely Eclectic in styles and what is being said!

Politics are everywhere!

Have a great weekend!

                                                       And I'd love to hear what you think of the tour . . .  :)                                                                    Charleen

IS IT REALLY OCTOBER ALREADY . . .

If it is, then that means the '30 in 30' Painting Challenge is over and I no longer have to feel guilty about not getting as much work done for that as I planned.  :(  I did have high hopes but I should have done a reality check before I signed on.  With being gone for 5 days, getting ready for a Show Opening, having 11 days worth of out-of-town guests, AND trying to get my new Studio space opened "I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING!!"   (Oh yes, and there was supposed to be a 7 day vacation in there too  For those of you that don't get my Newsletter you can Click Here to see why THAT didn't happen)  :/  Do you ever have those moments where you think "Now, why did I do that to myself?"  This was one of those.  The positive side(s):  My trip to Coeur d'Alene for my Show Opening went very well; I enjoyed all 3 sets of out-of-town guests; and I did get my New Studio.Gallery Space opened!  It opened unofficially last Friday for the first time.  This is one corner of my space . . .

I'll try and include more photos in my next Blog.  The interesting thing is, this is supposed to be a place where I can primarily work on, and display my jewelry, but the sales I made the two days I was open were all Artwork related ~ cards and prints.  As they say

 'go figure!'  :)  (My plan is to be there just 3 days a week)

One of my out of town guests was an Artist by the name of Yuko Ishi.  We had never met before (long story) but she came and spent 2 days with me.  What a lovely person.  I was so pleased to get the opportunity to meet and visit with her.  Originally from Japan (where she had a Rock 'n' Roll Band when she was younger!) she now lives in Washington State and is a wonderful Mixed Media Photographer.   We had a great visit and I enjoyed seeing her work and meeting the person behind it.  A lot of Spirituality behind the person and the work.

Song of a Rufous Hummingbird II by Yuko Ishi

If you would like to see more of her work Please visit her site by Clicking Here.  

Here's a new Necklace . . .

Earth Song

 For more information on this piece you can Click Here

and here's a small piece I just did yesterday . . .

Out on the Patio

4" x 4" Acrylic on Board  

These small pieces come with a Stand.  

I haven't worked this small in quite a while.  It was a fun piece to do.

(There were also a couple of new pieces (Jewelry and Collage) included in the September Newsletter).

OK.  Back to work.  Thank you for visiting and I hope you 

Have a wonderful week!