The Meal

Nothing makes us feel connected quite like sharing a 

meal together.

 On February 22nd at 12pm Eastern Standard Time, 

thousands of strangers from around the world

 will sit down for a bite in unison and capture a

 shared experience at the exact same time

with simultaneous snapshots

 – self-portraits of people and their foods –

 will then be tweeted and posted online for the world to share.

 The aim is to inspire a feeling of community across

 geographic and cultural boundaries. 

So wherever we were  

  camera handy and

 something delicious nearby – and remember

 that thousands of strangers, both near and far,

 are sharing that meal with you.

The Meal 2013

One moment. One meal. 

One photograph. Let's eat.

Last year over 4,000 people from around the globe

 sat down together to share a meal. 

Not only did we help to raise awareness

 about world hunger, 

but we also shared a community experience

 the Art House way.

 This year on February 22nd at 12:00PM EST

for the 2nd annual The Meal.

 Whether it's breakfast in LA or a midnight snack in Beijing, 

let's take a moment from our hectic lives 

and share it with strangers around the world.

My Photo is titled "Even Better The Second Day" 

honoring the amazing first dinner Jenni created 

for us in her new place.

Amazing meal and we got to take home leftovers for today!

VAKA

Last night, I had the privilege of being in the audience for the dance performance by Black Grace, from New Zealand. It was incredibly powerful, both the athleticism of the dancers and the story they told with their bodies. According to Neil Ieremia, the choreographer, "the dance forms are carved out of the space that surrounds them. Sometimes the thing that interests me is the space between the dancers rather than the dancers themselves". I identify with that feeling, as I sculpt the clay and integrate found objects into my sculptures. For me, dance is just another medium to create sculptures, whether as a dancer myself, with my own body or the space between my fellow dancers and myself, or as a member of an audience as a witness, one who beholds the dance. I am moved to share some words that Ieremia, wrote in the program notes. I quote, "During this creative process we have realized that we are our own vaka (canoe) carrying our values and belief systems, experiences and memories good and bad, and a hope that when we leave this planet we leave it in a better shape than when we found it". He also posed some questions for the audience to ponder. He spoke about the "VAKA, as a vehicle for survival that carries our hope for life". Ieremia was also inspired by artist Bill Viola's video installation The Raft.
 Vaka was such a timely piece for me to bear witness to. I am always thrilled by the synchronicity that life presents to us, when we least expect it, if we move through life with eyes wide open. I have been revisiting my "boat" series of sculpture these past few weeks, as I move forward developing my body of work that will be a part of my solo exhibit next year at Gallery 114. I have a number of these "vessels" from my past, one of which is currently at the gallery. Lately, I have felt compelled to create some new boats. These boats are imbued with a bit of a different  story for me, it seems, as they unfold, but still carry with them some of the past. They still are vessels that hold things, move through time, represent journey, staying afloat, moving forward. They have evolved into a story that seems to be almost a continuation of where I left off. The dance performance made me think a lot about the things we hold onto, and the things we leave behind, be they people, objects or memories. I suppose that this vessel, still has many new journeys to take and new places to visit, in my internal and external landscape. I welcome these voyages into the unknown, with a sense of wonder and mystery, about the stories they will continue to tell me, and lessons they will teach me as they unfold.

The Chair Affair Is Gearing Up! Get Your Tickets

table & CHAIR AFFAIR 2013

WHEN: Thursday, March 21, 5 - 8:30pm

WHERE: Castaway, 1900 NW 18th Ave, 97209

YOU'RE IN FOR A TREAT...

Come help the Warehouse provide basic donated home furnishings to over 6,000 people each year. Together,  we can put used goods to good use every day! As March 21st approaches, stay tuned to the EVENT WEBPAGE for art & artist sneak previews, auction catalogue, dinner menu, parking info, and other event details!  Questions? Email Jocelyn or call 503.235.8786.

February at Gallery 114

The current exhibit at Gallery 114 featuring Hannah Karsen' photographs and Jeff Leake's paintings, is outstanding. I also have a sculpture in the members corner of the gallery. The exhibit will be up through the month of February.

Chair for Chair Affair 2013 Completed!

SESAME STREET TIME- CHAIR AFFAIR 2013

Today I am putting the finishing touches on my chair for the Community Warehouse's Annual Chair Affair. This year's creation is a child's rocking chair, with the timeless theme of Sesame Street. It was only yesterday that I shared watching the show with my little ones, now 30 and 33 years of age (and by the way Jenni and Adam are participating in the Chair Affair once again along with my newer "kid" by marriage, the very creative Tiffany). My little rocker is perfect to cuddle up in and watch Sesame Street or rock and read in. It comes with a blanket for snuggling on those chilly Portland days. It also comes with a little Ernie doll and Sesame Street tee shirt to wear, along with a sleep sac for those nights when your little one wants to go "camping" with Ernie in the comfort of their own bedroom. I know that the lucky recipient of this chair will make hours of memories with it and hopefully it will be an instant heirloom that they will share with their little ones someday.

The Never Ending Eloquence and Relevance of Mary Oliver's Words

Red Bird Explains Himself

~ Mary Oliver ~

“Yes, I was the brilliance floating over the snow
and I was the song in the summer leaves, but this was
only the first trick
I had hold of among my other mythologies,
for I also knew obedience: bring sticks to the nest,
food to the young, kisses to my bride.

But don’t stop there, stay with me: listen.

If I was the song that entered your heart
then I was the music of your heart, that you wanted and needed,
and thus wilderness bloomed that, with all its
followers: gardeners, lovers, people who weep
for the death of rivers.

And this was my true task, to be the
music of the body.  Do you understand? for truly the body needs
a song, a spirit, a soul.  And no less, to make this work,the soul has need of a body,
and I am both of the earth and I am of the inexplicable
beauty of heaven
where I fly so easily, so welcome, yes,
and this is why I have been sent, to teach this to your heart.”

It has felt like a whirlwind lately with the Gallery 114 interview and I have missed Tuesday night dance. I rejoiced in returning this week and was met with our new poem that had begun the week before, "Red Bird Explains Himself". My hidden line beaconed to me and it couldn't have more perfectly illustrated my life right now. The hidden line that I picked was "a song, a spirit, a soul.  And no less, to make this work". Indeed it is what is needed for me to create my work.

I was thrilled to have gotten this line. It first resonated for me, as an expression of my elation at being the newest member of Gallery 114, and all the possibilities that it holds for me. My creative spirit has felt as if it has been given a much needed jump start of sorts, with the prospect of my always longed for one woman show, that is scheduled to take place next February. Yes an entire year, a lifetime away, so it seems, but much work/passion has to transpire and come to fruition between February 2013 and 2014. The line spoke to me of the song, the spirit and the soul that seems to flow through me as I create and am created as I birth my work. But that word "work".... when I read it a second time I was met with the two meanings of the word "work". I first thought of the thrill of the work yet to come, and then the fear set in, and I was met with the question, can I make it "work"? I hesitated for a moment and then affirmed the first word of the poem aloud, YES! I am filled with many emotions now as I ponder this coming creative year. There are pieces I have recently created, as well as pieces yet to be created, that long to take their rightful place in the gallery next year. It will be a process that will unfold and no doubt hold many surprises, fears, joys and satisfactions for me as it evolves. I welcome them all.