From reading this blog, it might seem I spend all my time out in the country, but I do get to town. Two weeks ago it was Portland to hit my favorite bookstores and delis. This week-end, it was Corvallis. I get spiffed up-- well not too spiffy-- and head to town in the buckboard-- okay truck.Saturd
ay it was to see parapluie's booth at a clothesline art sale. This sale of work by artists from the local area is held every summer on the lawn of the courthouse. Such sales are an artist's way to give back to the community. It also allows potential customers to see a variety of work in a casual setting, as well as purchase some at a price more reasonable than most galleries can offer.
Parapluie's new series has been dragons. She is an impressionistic and sometimes abstract painter who looks for shapes more than some might. Because of her personal history as well as that artistic eye, what she has seen recently are dragons-- those nebulous shapes in the clouds, along the water, in a rose, whenever you let your imagination run free. Her colorful paintings are vibrant and happy, and this has been a very enjoyable series to watch her develop. She has more about it on her blog, Umbrella Painting Journal, as well as a photo of the two of us there together.
After the art show,
I headed down to the Saturday Farmer's Market where they close off the street closest to the river filling it with colorful booths and people for a few hours. I enjoy the produce, the chance to bump into old friends, if I'm really lucky, my grandson-- okay, his parents too, all enhanced by live music which ranges from folk to jazz-- depending on where you are. One guy was even playing a didgeridoo which always sounds pretty cool. My favorite though was the singer performing, 'I'm so Lonesome I could Cry,' as I walked by. Any day that starts off with a Hank Williams classic and harmonica has to be a good one.
7 comments:
This sounds like such a lovely day....Art, Music, Fresh Food...Lovely, Rain...just lovely!
And by the way, I LOVE PINK and that song is brilliant and so touching...! I cannot hear it without it bringing me to tears...BRILLIANT! How do many of our so called "leaders" sleep at night?
I like Hank Williams (Sr.) too Rain! :-)
What a great day Rain. Oh how I love art fairs....the whole atmosphere of them. And music to boot....even better.
Sounds like my cuppa tea! I love things like that and wish there were more to enjoy around here.
The Clothesline Sale has been a beautiful event and has made Corvallis like a culture I would expect in the old world -maybe Europe or SouthAmerica. It is charming. But for me I just don't fit into it. I felt invisible. I would call out to people I knew who were walking by and I would feel immediately bad when I realized they really didn't want to talk to me or see my work. But I really have not marketed myself. Instead I continued to be on track with my creative journey. There are titles and written statements and architectural intent that is hard to get across at a sidewalk sale. There are so many ideas people are confused and want to run away. I am considering how I might go about being a cretive artist without aking people to buy my art.
I have my dragon series at the Pegasus Art Gallery in Corvallis until the end of the month. If the people who look at it begin to see how I see, if it stimulates there sensitivity to shapes and if they give themselves permission to be more imaginitive, I will feel successful.
Days like that are wonderful. Each year we have a couple of street fairs here on Main Street in Franklin, TN. I love to wander up and down, rarely buying anything, nibbling on some of the food and snacks being sold, listening to music. But mostly just watching the people. I usually find a strategic bench to park my butt on and people watch while Roomie goes back to re-visit a few booths where she could not make decisions the first time through.
This looked like a lot of fun! Loved her paintings. Such vivid colors.
And ditto on the Hank Williams.
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