More Britanny Sketches

The first four sketches I drew from our walks along the Northern Atlantic Coast of Brittany.





The war memorial in Tréguier captured my heart with the weight of the world on this mother's shoulders. The French lost so many soldiers in each of these four wars.

Bonjour après un Voyage Sensationnel en France

Where to begin? I have so much to share with you about my incredible adventure in France that it will come to you in several installments. It started on the northern coast of Brittany in Keraret between Plouguiel and Plougrescant. We stayed on a wonderful farm walking distance to the Jaudy River estuary where the tide rose and fell daily. At low tide, many boats sat in the muddy river bed. The sun shown, the flowers bloomed and the ebb and flow of daily sketch walks slowed time to stop and really see the wonderous sites around us.

The Celtic name for Brittany is Breizh- the abbreviation above is written in Celtic letters. The Triskell symbolizes the three Celtic elements of water, air and fire and turns to the right in the direction of good. The other triangular symbols decorate the Breton flag.

The Jaudy River Estuary seen at high tide.

Les fleurs bloomed profusely- hydrangeas, holly hocks, roses- to name a few.

In Tréguier- the nearest large town, we visited markets and boutiques. Some buildings were built in the 16th Century like the half-timbered one in the center of this sketch.

Another Tréguier street scene.

These sketches I drew at the Eglise Ste Gonéry in Plougrescant. I liked the idea of sketching over collaged pages.

At Eglise Sainte Catherine in the village of La Roche Derrien, the organ music filled the church and carried my pen in joyful directions. To take time each day to see through pen renderings offers a meditative way to view the world around us. In one or two days, another post will continue the journey.

Creativity, Image and Illusion

Happy Solstice! It's the first day of Summer and the roses are finally blooming after a cold, dreary Spring. I'm off to France for a month. Whether I post or not depends on the French Cyber Cafés. Å bientôt.

Check out the display window at Mario's on SW Broadway PDX to see Jennifer Mercedes' wonderful graffiti.

I highly recommend Lynda Barry's new book, What It Is, about creativity, image making and imagination. Her activities and questions at the end of the book keep images flowing and the creative spirit moving. Plus it's a visual treat.

This month, Scientific American Reports has a special edition on preception- 105 Mind-Bending Illusions and what they reveal about the brain with many thought provoking artilces.

The Peony Place

The week I made a wonderful discovery in my neighborhood. The Peony Place is where to go for cut flowers and Fall tubers. Located on a third generation farm in Milwaukie, the family has created this wonderful garden in only three years. Marian's grandfather loved peonies and passed on to her his appreciation and knowledge for their care. Visits are by appointment at peony.place@yahoo.com. With our late Spring, the peonies are still blooming so see them soon.

Exquisite Corpse Muse

The Surrealists developed the Exquisite Corpse Game. They divided a piece of paper into thirds or fourths and folded it up. Each person contributed to the drawing or collage. The first person drew a head, the second the torso and the third the lower body. When the page was complete, they unfolded the paper and saw the creature they had created. Google the Exquisite Corpse and go to images to see the variety of corpses- from the 1920's to very modern interpretations. Art is seen as a collaboration and sharing of ideas.

The Portland Art Collective is exchanging Exquisite Corpse Muse book pages for a four-part flip book- head-piece, face, torso, legs. By flipping the pages, the reader changes faces or torsos to create new beings. This idea fascinates me. I chose Frida Kahlo as my muse and exquisite corpse. She's one of my favorite artists. She inspires me to use color, live with passion, keep going, take heart, care for Mexican culture and art- Viva la vida!

Sketch and Artist Dates

We returned to Oscar Albert to sketch this week. Linda Aman shows her paintings and will offer a Pen & Ink Watercolor Workshop there June 17th.

I highly recommend Heather Raffo's play 9 Parts of Desire. She interviewed many Iraqi women to write her play and Luisa Sermol stars in the one-woman show at the CoHo Theater in Portland. We are far removed from the blood, death, devastation anbd violence of war. We can support artists in war torn Iraq.

Fran Forman is showing her photo collages at 23Sandy Gallery. Fran's collages evoke a surreal world with texture and shadow. Shu-Ju Wang is also showing many of her artist books. Her new Gocco prints on fabric really speak to me.

Sunrise, Sunset

The Portland Art Collective held their spring retreat at Menucha last weekend. The Columbia River Gorge is one of my favorite places. Walking the new labyrinth in the rose garden offered time for contemplation and meditation. Mostly, we hung out, made art and got our creativity flowing with shared inspiration and mini-demos. We reconnected with one another in a gorgeous setting. I feel blessed with this wonderful group of art friends.

We played and worked from sunrise to sunset.

We made paste papers
felted coasters on a new product called art felt paper- available in Silverton, OR at the Purl District
and drew Rorschach bugs on Braille magazine paper

What fun!