symphony

It feels like spring is just around the corner – the subtle fresh smell in the air and the increasingly frequent appearance of the sun and tiny green buds on tree branches. This is likely just an illusion, one to be replaced with a damp, gray reality, but it’s fun while it lasts!

I just started reading Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink. I spotted this book on the Powell’s Calendar of Events, but the reading/author visit didn’t fit into my schedule well. Instead, I requested a copy from the library and I picked it up this weekend. It’s been great reading material for my daily commute on the MAX – and it’s a topic of particular interest to me because I find that my own motivation waxes and wanes due to...the phases of the moon...or something.

Overall, I’ve felt a lot more motivated this first month of 2010 and I attribute it to our new home environment and a sense of being more settled since getting married. Life is good and today’s sunshine is streaming through a magnifying glass and setting that belief on fire.

I spent the early part of the week working and continuing my first sewing project, which is now almost complete. Working from a pattern and instructions in Lotta Jansdotter’s Simple Sewing has proven very helpful to me. I’m good at following directions, which zaps good techniques straight into your brain. On the other hand, you can take note of elements that aren’t quite pleasing to you, and change them the next time around. I plan on making another tote bag to give as a gift this month, and there are a couple of changes I plan on implementing.



On Saturday, Lindsey and I ventured out to Forest Grove (much more of a “venture” for me than for her) for a knitting and crochet class. I already knew the basics of knitting, but I wanted my skills to be verified as accurate. When we arrived, we learned that a reporter and photographer from the Forest Grove newspaper would be present. (Hopefully a link to that article is forthcoming.) Lindsey decided to learn crocheting, while I breezed through casting on and the knit stitch. We were interviewed by the reporter while we stitched away. I was eventually taught the proper way to “purl” and lo and behold, it is a heck of a lot easier than I was making it out to be. I ended up with some new bamboo needles and a pretty skein of burnt orange yarn with which to make a lace-like scarf.

I stopped at home briefly, then drove in the opposite direction to SCRAP on the east side. I wanted to pick up some, well, scraps – of fabric – for two birthday projects I’m working on. I managed to find several, along with two balls of yarn, a few greeting cards, a knitting book, and a football trophy (long story), all for $9.


Next I stopped by the Mill End fabric store in Beaverton, which I’d been told was amazing. Turns out “amazing” is an understatement. I couldn’t believe the fabric selection – and the prices seemed very reasonable to my untrained eye. I selected some batting, canvas, and lighter cottons for my projects and spent a lot of time browsing the unimaginable array of fabrics. Several retro patterns caught my eye, including vintage Mexican prints that will someday live in our eclectically decorated home. Not to mention the gorgeous nature-inspired fabrics. Oooh, the possibilities. I have most certainly found a new passion.

Audubon on Sunday – not much needs to be said on that, as my shift was somewhat depressing. After that, however, Jesse and I headed downtown with Clara and the long-lost Danny. We hit up the Backstage Bar, which is hidden behind the Baghdad Theater on Hawthorne. This narrow, dimly lit space houses a restaurant, bar, free (yes – free) pool, and the all-important jukebox. We hung out for a few hours, playing generally not-very-good pool and choosing awesome songs to hear. It was a nice, low key way to end the weekend.

Then of course, back to work. It’s another very busy week into which I’ll try to squeeze an ounce of creativity. And several ounces of motivation for good measure.

As I walked home from the MAX station this evening, I had a moment of realization - or I remembered, rather - that I am very, very lucky and many pieces have miraculously fit together to make my life the way it is. In nearly that very same instant, I spotted a Great Blue Heron standing in the creek behind our home, so well camouflaged among trees and brush. I'm drawn to this type of bird in particular, and to see one at nightfall, sitting still and silent and hidden, made my heart jump. It was a moment of reassurance, of synchronicity - as Jesse would say. I'm on the right path and these meaningful, happy moments are my reward.

zoonosis

On Sunday I had my second Audubon shift at the Wildlife Care Center. The weather was positively miserably; raining steadily, fog creeping up off the ground, a deep chill in the air. Things were slow from the get-go, with view visitors walking the Audubon grounds and very few new intakes for the day.

Luckily, another WCC employee had worn their rain boots that day, so Angela and I were assigned to the hospital. I walked in to see what kind of birds were in the various cages along the wall, and I couldn’t believe it when I saw a giant beaver tail sticking out from behind a towel in one. I could hear him crunching non-stop on a vegetable. I was told that the poor guy was found lying in a puddle in the middle of a road. He was eventually plopped into a large metal sink in the hospital’s back room. They put some water and more food in it so he’d be comfortable and have some room to move around. I wanted to hang out with him for my entire shift, and got to feel his tail and pet him. He was very relaxed and really only focused on eating everything he could get his little claws on. I loved him and wanted to take him home with me.

A little while later, a very large juvenile Red-tailed Hawk was brought in. The bird had flown straight through a plateglass window into someone's garage. Not realizing this, the homeowners let their dog into the garage as they left for a few hours. Fortunately, it didn't seem as though the dog bothered the hawk (probably because the hawk was large, fierce, and very agitated). He was suffering from injuries inflicted by the window glass, including cuts on his talons and a sizeable gash across his throat. Experienced hospital volunteers were able to grasp the hawk safely and apply topical and intravenous medication. They sheathed his tail in a cardboard sleeve so he wouldn't injure those feathers while in captivity and set him up in a big cage to rest and heal up.

I spent some time cleaning the mice tanks. Mice are raised in the hospital and allowed to breed to provide food for the birds. Several of the tanks had tiny little "pinky" babies that are no bigger than a thumb nail. I've been told not to get too attached to these creatures (i.e., naming them). I don't think there's too much danger of that happening.

A couple of the caged birds needed oral medicine administered to them, so I volunteered to get a robin from its temporary home. I was reassured that no work gloves were needed for this task, as a robin can only do minimal damage to human flesh with its beak and feet. What a relief.

I slowly opened the cage door and stuck my hands in. The bird jumped around, squawking like crazy, and I panicked -- yanking my hands back JUST enough for the bird to push past me and jump out of its cage. Good job, Sara. Angela and I chased the robin around the room, as gently as we could, finally getting close enough that I could pick it up. Scary.

Next up was a "ruddy duck." I set my mind to retrieving this plump, unamused little guy without incident. Though he tried to grab me with his flat, rubbery bill, I didn't let him. Ducks sure do feel weird and squishy when you pick them up.

The rest of the day was very slow and uneventful, as the weather continued to be wet and depressing. I watched as Hazel, Ruby, and Jack were weighed and then I headed home to prepare for the week.

thread

My long-awaited sewing class arrived Saturday! Clara and I packed up our machines and set out for the industrial district just east of the Willamette. We met Clara’s friend, Jena, outside and ventured into the fabric swathed warehouse together.

The class was co-instructed by three individuals. We each set up our sewing machines and made sure it was threaded and the bobbin was properly wound with thread. My bobbin ran out, and we discovered that my machine has an ingenious system to fill it up again – without having to remove it from its spot in the machine! I learned that my machine is from 1963, while Jena’s was from the 70’s, and Clara’s from the 80’s. I wasn’t sure that mine would even function properly since it is so old, but it was very well taken care of by its previous owner. On top of that, one instructor explained that vintage machines are often preferable because of their durable all-metal design. The downside to this is that the machine is heavier, but so what?!

We were then given scraps of fabric and we began a series of exercises which would normalize our use of the machine and ease us into healthy habits. The first was to do a simple straight stitch, with backstitching at the start and end to really secure the line of sewing into the fabric. We moved on to corners, free form curves, and circles. We learned how to make a pillow, and then tried the seemingly random task of making a sleeve. Holy moly is it hard to get that one done correctly.

We stayed for about two and a half hours and I feel like that small amount of instruction was an instrumental breakthrough for me. I think I only needed to be shown the basics and now I can rely on books from the library and instructions on the internet to proceed.

And as if one good development wasn’t enough, I later remembered that the woman who had gifted me the sewing machine had also given me a bag full of Singer boxes. I scavenged around our house and found it. To my delighted surprise, inside was practically every attachment ever made for this kind of machine! There were a ton of special discs that can be swapped out to create a variety of decorative stitches, extra machine feet, needles, and bobbins, and a buttonhole attachment. Oh, and retro electric scissors.

I took a trip to Joanne Fabrics that evening to stock up on basic necessities like thread and straight pins. I had a specific project in mind that I wanted to select fabric for (a lined bag with pockets), but their selection of fabrics was overwhelming. I finally asked an elderly woman for help, but she was frigidly cold and mean to me! She tried to snatch my shopping list from my hand and I almost started to cry. Based on the miniscule amount of helpful information she provided, I was able to choose a thick cotton home decorating fabric for the shell of the bag, and thinner, solid cotton for the lining. Fortunately, the lady who cut the fabric for me was much, much nicer and single handedly saved my opinion of the establishment.

By Tuesday evening I had the exterior of my market tote bag finished, with only the handles and interior lining left to go. I can hardly decide what to make next!

ex libris

Though I’d given some thought to the topic of bookplates before, I was unaware that there’s an entire underground obsession with this vein of printing. Jesse and I caught the opening reception for a small, yet very impressive bookplate show at the Washington County Museum last night. After we grabbed drinks Jesse was handed a big magnifying glass with which to view the stunningly intricate detail of the small-scale prints.

Bookplates have been around for centuries and they are printed in a variety of different methods, including relief, intaglio, lithography, and even screenprinting. They are affixed inside books to denote from whose library (personal or otherwise) the book came. People throughout history have commissioned artists to design elaborate bookplates for them, and this is still done often today for collectors who want to trade.

The exhibit that we visited had designs (more than 230, according to the WCM website) of virtually every technique and subject matter. What most impressed me was how much the artists could squeeze into such a tiny, little image. Many of them were rich with story, emotion, and unbelievable depth and shading.

Sadly, images of the best historical bookplates are copyrighted like mad. If you’re interested in browsing through this petite gems, check out the following websites:

Confessions of Bookplate Junkie
American Society of Bookplate Collectors & Designers

University of Notre Dame Bookplate Registry

I decided to check Etsy to see what caliber of bookplates are offered for sale there. Overall, I was pretty disappointed, after looking at hundreds of professional plates designed by prolific artists last night. Here are some nice ones that caught my eye. Each photo is a link that will lead you to the seller’s Etsy page, in case you’d like to get some for yourself!

amandamonkey

The Little Fox

Kelly Christina Artworks

Oiseaux

Add this to the list of projects I want to try. Etching is sort of the bane of my existence, but block printing is a legitimate option. I could also see Jesse cranking out some sweet computer-generated designs. And when the day comes that I break out my screenprinting kit…it’s going to be a bookplate trading bonanza.

contemplate

this song's been playing in my mind for days.

android

I am not even going to say what time I got out of bed yesterday. It was a work holiday for me, and I'd been so busy over the traditional weekend that I never stopped to plan out a productive Monday off.

Saturday night, Jesse and I ventured downtown. I'd been hanging out at home during the day and was craving a jaunt to Portland to participate in the nightlife. Well, to be there at night. We caught the end of happy hour at Oba! and snacked on green chile mac & cheese and spicy corn fritters. By the time we were finished, it was nearing the start time for a movie I'd been eyeing at the cozy, hip Living Room Theater. We grabbed some popcorn and a big bowl of olives and watched the Coen Brothers' "A Serious Man." I had only read a brief synopsis about the film on the theater website and we'd seen a somewhat cryptic preview months ago. Jesse and I both loved it. Just go check it out.

On Sunday I had some friends over to eat, drink, chat, and check out what Scentsy products are all about. After my apartment cleared out, I was feeling tremendously lonely all of the sudden, so Clara and I grabbed some pizza and watched the white knuckle season premiere of "24" - which was new for me.

Monday arrived too soon, and before I knew it, Jesse was out the door for the first of his two shifts. I got coffee brewing (on my own - this is rare) and set my mind to not turning on the television. I cooked up some steel cut oats for the first time ever and doctored them up with a bunch of tasty ingredients from the pantry. Maybe way too many tasty ingredients? I jumped in the shower and then dressed in the most comfortable (slovenly?) clothes I could find.

I got to work at my art table, in front of our big window overlooking the pretty, pale trees and a loudly churning creek, for the first time! Nose to the proverbial grindstone, I finally finished up the first of my Pay It Forward books. I won't be posting photographs of any of these books until they are all complete and distributed, but I took a few pictures of my messy workspace. It's a lot more satisfying to have a space covered in scraps of paper and shiny smears of PVA. I have the materials for my next book, and the slightest vague concepts for the other 4. Not to mention various other book and non-book ideas that I only HOPE will be realized.

Jesse brought home a delicious lunch and sweetly said I looked pretty in my slovenly, glue-stained clothes and no-makeup. Not that I believed him, pretty sure he was joking. He turned on the tv, I thought it acceptable to relax and watch Seinfeld for a while. After he left, I dug through Chloe's to-be-bedroom for my sewing machine. I'll be using it at my first sewing class on Saturday, and I wanted to make sure it actually worked. I have an old Singer 603E that I got for free from a very generous lady on Craigslist. I knew it was serviced just before going into storage from several years. Fortunately, it seems to function, but only time will tell.

A non-sequitur note: I need to devote a lot of thought and energy into getting restful sleep. It's been a difficulty for me for years, and I know it will be a blend of several techniques and natural elixirs that help me get there. Tips are welcome. My attempt tonight will be: (a) yoga, (b) hot shower, (c) hot sleepy tea, (d) clean sheets, (e) happy thoughts.

hero

And then there was Sunday. I slept in late (top 3 bad habits) and quickly ate my morning Voodoo. Jesse drove me up the road to Audubon for my first day in the Wildlife Care Center (WCC), which would consist of one hour of orientation and four hours of training. I didn’t even feel nervous.

While I was waiting, a man brought in a Cooper’s hawk that had died in transport after crashing, in flight, into a horse. Volunteers determined that the bird was very malnourished, which probably contributed to its death. I met with Deanna, the Volunteer Coordinator, in her office to review the orientation packet (while a sweet dog named Emma barked incessantly). Some of the things I learned are top secret.

We then walked over to the Care Center so Deanna could give me a tour and I could participate in “rounds,” when daily updates are given about animals already in some phase of care and those who will be arriving during the shift. I learned that the duties of WCC volunteers are broken into four main areas, which each individual rotates through on a weekly basis. The four stations are:

Kitchen/Laundry – Preparing meals for the birds (more on that later), doing dishes, and washing many, many, many towels.

Educational Birds – Cleaning the “ed” bird enclosures and feeding them their evening meal. The current ed birds include:

Syd, a Red-tailed Hawk
Ruby, a Turkey Vulture
Julio, a Great Horned Owl
Jack, an American Kestrel
Hazel, a Northern Spotted Owl
Finnegan, a Peregrine Falcon
Aristophanes, a Common Raven

The Mews – These are outdoor enclosures for birds recovering from abandonment or injury. These duties include cleaning the enclosures, preparing and distributing meals, and moving birds around if necessary.

Hospital – This is where the most seriously injured birds are housed indoors. Duties include taking blood, measuring and feeding medicine, setting injured wings, preparing and distributing meals.

Aristophanes

After the tour, I was tossed immediately into work! First, I accompanied a new co-worker, Angela, out to the mews. I watched her enter each enclosure (very carefully, to avoid any escapes) and retrieve any uneaten food from the previous meal and dump out and retrieve water dishes. I then tried this on my own, entering the enclosure housing an annoyed Red-tail Hawk that glared at me, psychically threatening to jump and grab me with its talons, as I went about my job.

Later, I assisted with recording measurements and photographs taken of another Red-tail that is having beak problems. I also learned how to measure out liquid medications and feed them to birds, avoiding the glottis cavity at the back of their throat which leads to air sacs rather than a stomach. I held a Mourning Dove as it was fed candy-pink Amoxicillin and then fed the same medicine to a Robin.

A laminated “menu” resides on a double-door fridge in the kitchen. It sets out daily meals for every category of bird, both in content and amount. I’m not going to go into what their meals consist of. I prepared meals for the birds in the mews and Angela and I went out to divvy them up. Our supervisor then notified us that the two Screech Owls in one of the mews needed to be moved to a different enclosure so that a Barn Owl, which had arrived that day, could be placed there instead.

The supervisor and I each captured one of the Screech Owls and hiked over to their new enclosure. My owl was very small and adorable, and I could feel his tiny heart beating in his chest. I carefully released him into his new home and he flew up to a tall perch and sat staring at me. Angela and I got the travel carrier containing the Barn Owl, and she slowly opened its lid. The Barn Owl came flying out wildly, brushing over our heads in a flurry and finally landing on a perch.

I cleaned out the screened-in duck enclosure with a hose while three of them walked around my feet. We did some final clean up in the Center and it was time to go home. I realized that this is a pretty serious job and a very real commitment. This is going to be fun!

bonsai

Thursday night was long-awaited, as I’d read about the “Museum by Moonlight” event taking place at the World Forestry Center. Clara joined me, and we tasted beer and chocolate, and explored more tree product-related exhibits than you can imagine. The experience was a little anticlimactic for us, but we enjoyed posing for a photograph (which we forgot to retrieve that night) in a raft, wearing life jackets. We also tested our skill as smoke jumpers, trying to navigate a tricky harness contraption hanging over a video being projected on the ground.

only with my luck - a SEA CAVE at a forestry museum

The evening improved when we decided to bail on the museum event and head downtown for dinner. We decided on Rock Bottom Brewery and after tasting tempura battered Anaheim chile peppers, my life is never going to be the same.

It’s rather miraculous how the timely clouds clear, or at least become more translucent, over the weekends, and the brightness of the sky is nearly blinding to my pale, unacclimated eyes. That was the case on Saturday, when Clara and I ventured downtown to explore the Lan Su Chinese Gardens on “free admission” day.

We first parked near a lot full of food carts, only some of which were open. Fortunately, Brunchbox, a burger cart I’d heard glorious things about, was one of them. I opted for the Black & Blue – a burger patty grilled with blackened seasoning, then topped with a healthy serving of melty blue cheese. Add lettuce, grilled onion, and barbecue sauce for good measure.

Clara decided on Thai food, and we found a park bench on which to dine. That’s an ambiguous sentence, isn’t it? The cold wind was funneling down through the tall city buildings and my fingers froze as I gobbled up my tasty burger.


We headed to the Gardens, apparently along with every other person in Portland, and strolled around through beautifully shaped doorways and over delicate stone mosaic pathways, inspired by things like “Plum Blossoms and Cracked Ice,” which varied from outdoor room to room. Winter’s harshness was reflected in the nearly geometric pattern of bare branches, the choppy wind passing over the mirrored surface of a central pond, and the tightly sealed, hibernating buds of myriad bushes and trees.

When we were done there, our lunch had settled enough that we were ready to take our place in line at Voodoo Doughnuts. After a 10-minute wait, we each selected 3 doughnuts to take home. (It was pretty difficult to pass up the $8 bucket-o-doughnuts.) In my quest to be a good wife, I picked up a Bacon Maple Bar for Jesse. I got a cinnamon raised doughnut with maple and bright pink sprinkles for immediate consumption, and a lemon/marshmallow crueller for the next day’s breakfast. Mmm. Unparalleled tastiness.


We then headed just over the river for a brief stop at Redux – where, of course, I couldn’t find a single piece of jewelry to commit to. For some reason I never purchase anything there, despite a very large and varied collection of lovely accessories and art.

For our last stop, we navigated (well, Clara navigated, I pointed her in the wrong direction) to the 23 Sandy Gallery to check out a book arts exhibit called “The Assignment.” We were pleasantly surprised to be told upon entering that we could handle each and every one of the books on display. This, in my experience at least, is a major rarity. I was excited to see a book about Rochester (specifically the race riots of 1964) in the show, as well as a flag structure book about Elvis. I’ve seen very expensive classes offered on this particular structure, but I studied it well enough at 23 Sandy that I can start experimenting on my own.

That evening, I headed back downtown with Jesse, where we got dinner at The Virginia and saw The Road at the Fox Theater. Those activities completed a lovely day for me, spent almost wholly in the midst of a city that always offers something new and novel

I also managed to watch The Life of David Gale (again) and Gran Torino over the course of the weekend. So far, I really am doing better about not being lazy (in the sense of doing things mindlessly), with the exception of sleeping in too long on the weekends. I’m really enjoying getting out more often and being a “consumer” (borrowed from Jesse) of food, sights, media, experiences.

The length of this darn entry (and the possible necessity for a second entry to cover Sunday) helps me realize that I need to blog more often – particularly over the weekends. I’m still waiting for my little, easily transportable computer to go on sale so I can finally initiate the habit of blogging while doing 30 other things!

st. christopher

This has been quite a week, including slight progress toward my overall goal of making creativity a priority and experiencing Portland to its fullest. The one hitch to note is that my pretty $1.99 plant from IKEA died because I forgot about it.

poor baby

One thing that I think I need to keep in mind is that I can’t try to be good at everything. I’m tempted to give pretty much everything (except scuba diving) a try, but even that hyper-experimentation isn’t necessary. With that said, I’m officially not adding gardening to my list of skills to improve upon.

One challenge recently arrived in my inbox out of the blue, and after very brief consideration, I decided to accept it. The job? A weekly 4-hour shift at the Portland Audubon’s Wildlife Care Center. I have been volunteering with Audubon since September, and working in the Care Center was high on my list of long-term goals. In the meantime I had been working at individual events like art festivals and open houses, generally just once per month.

So now I’ll be at Audubon every Sunday from 1pm to 5pm! I’m not yet sure what my exact duties will be, but the Center accepts injured and orphaned birds and other wildlife and nurses them in the hopes of rehabilitation and eventual release. I hope to gain immense knowledge about the birds in this area and ideally, having a scheduled event in the middle of my Sundays will help me to use the time before and after even more wisely.

I also just registered for my first sewing class! I’ll be attending the Sewing Machine Basics course at PDX Seamsters on January 23rd. Joining me will be my friend, Clara, and her friend, Jena. (Both enviably great bloggers, I should mention.) All three of us have sewing machines that we don’t know quite how to use, but we’re very excited to learn. One order of business to be completed before the class should be getting the latch on my sewing machine case repaired… Any tips on how to accomplish that?

Lastly, I found a great deal on a book called 1000 Fonts: An Illustrated Guide to Finding the Right Typeface. I intend on using this reference as a jumping off point for my hand-lettered broadside posters. Jesse is conceptualizing one using Modest Mouse lyrics, while I’m thinking about a David Gray song. (Note: I just realized a lovely coincidence that confirms my choice of lyrics is meant to be transcribed in a gorgeous way.)

To top things off, my sweet husband is taking me out to dinner tonight. Due to divergent work schedules, we don’t have as much time together as we’d like. Now I’ll be cutting into that further with the Audubon gig. He, however, is fully supportive of my endeavors and I’ve realized that’s a valuable, valuable thing.

Hope the New Year is going well for all of you, too. If your resolutions are losing their shine and becoming hard to stick with, check out this article at Real Simple.

elysium

Big things are in the works. A custom blog graphics redesign (really this time), a new computer for blogging on the go, and a refreshed dedication to getting my thoughts onto the screen. New projects, challenges, and a more focused approach to crafting and living in the wonderful world of Portland.

What prompts this rejuvenation and what makes it success possible? The start of a new year almost always infuses some motivation into the dreary winter psyche, but too often it is short lived. I’m hoping that the other component of this impulse – my noticeably improved and utterly comfortable new living environment – will more than prevent against the inevitable creativity depression that will try to take hold in a few weeks or months.

The narrowed focus of my blog will align closely with what I’ve been exploring over the past year: seeking creativity and contentedness in Portland. My plan now is to conceptualize and executive specific art projects – often experimenting with techniques and/or media that are new to me. I’ll blog about my successes and failures, and include instructions on how to begin the project yourself at home. Here are some ideas I intend on trying:

Knit & felted bowls

Glass etching

Hand-lettered broadside posters

Assignment-specific book arts exhibit submissions

Stenciling

Reversible painted headboard

Handmade rub-ons

Sewing

Gold leaf

Paper making

I will also spend more time exploring the many exciting places Portland has to offer. I’ll be more consistent in terms of toting my camera with me and checking out new places. This week offers up two new experiences: an adults-only night of coffee, food and bouncing fun at the World Forestry Museum and a weekend stroll through the newly-renamed Lan Su Chinese Garden.

So here’s to a New Year full of courage and innovation, pleasure and challenge.

Share what changes you plan to implement during the next month in honor of this rousing holiday!