We're Back!

Hello Dear Bloggy Friends!

How I missed you!
It's hard to believe that we're almost in August already! Our vacation was just right....enough time to linger and enjoy all the sights....beautiful weather....and a new camera to break in! Heehee!

We took over 1400 pictures!  I couldn't believe it myself!
Fear not, I won't show you all 1400...but, this post will be chock full of photos...so be forewarned ;P

Most of our travels were along the coast from Oregon to Southern California, so we visited many beaches and stopped at a ton of view points.  It is amazing how the coastline changes depending on where you are.

 

There were natural formations like Arch Rock:

 

 

....and Devil's Churn:

 

 

There was regular sand:

 

 

Black sand:

 

 

Dunes:

 

 

 

....and no sand at all! 

 Just sea pebbles and smooth driftwood....and an agate or 2 if you hunt for them :)

 

 

I searched for some while Maggie and her Daddy built a really cool structure.

 

 

 

 

Some beaches had great tide pools:

 

Those are anemones that Maggie is touching.

 

Some had great hiking opportunities:

 

 

This is Wedding Rock. 

 The above picture was taken where the arrow below is pointing.

  I've circled a person on the side of the cliff for scale.

 

Some beaches were great for stacking rocks:

 

 

All were beautiful in their own way :)

 

 

 

We got to enjoy lakes, rivers and streams, too:

 

 

 

...and gorgeous waterfalls, as well:

 

 

I was able to meet up with some Blog Friends on my travels,

including Kathleen Hockman from M&L Hockman Ranch.  

Maggie and I went to her sanctuary on a drizzly day to help with chores.

 

 

This sweet boy is 1 of 3 horses Kathleen cares for. 

His name is Jax.  What a Love!

 

 

This is the 2nd time I've been lucky enough to spend time with

Heather Henry from Little Red Henry. 

We made it an art/coffee date :)

 

 

Here we are with our works in progress.....

 

Wonderful Jenny Wentworth who is also a Blogger/Artist,

was able to sneak away from work to join us for a bit.

 

(Photo courtesy of Heather...thank you!)

 

In addition to making art, there was art to appreciate all around...

 

Yes, the water is purple!

 

A 3 tiered treehouse!

I'd love to own that car :)

 

And then, there is art in motion....animals! 

I really wanted to see how close I could get with new camera and take some neat pictures of them.

 

I caught him just as he turned his head and the light hit his eye :)

Roosevelt Elk fawn.

Never seen a slug like this before. It resembled tree bark.

I never realized just how cute porcupines are :)

 

 

We got to do some fun things!

 

Maggie decorated her bike for Independence Day and

rode in the Parade at the campground.

 

 

And....she also was the only girl to participate in the Banana Slug Races!

 

 

3 kids caught slugs to race.  Maggie is holding "Lightning - The Wonder Slug". 

We even made a pennant to cheer him on...haha!

 

They put them in the center and the first one to crawl out of the outer circle won. 

That giant, spotted one was the winner.

 

We visited Oregon Caves for the first time:

 

 

We saw a Sumeg Village:

 

 

I got my big behind in there...but it wasn't easy!

 

We made sure we acted silly from time to time, too!

 

 

Another great Summer of memories!

 

 

It's good to be home, though.  Maggie starts 2nd Grade in just 2 weeks! 

 Time to get back on schedule :)

I brought home lots of fabulous sea glass and treasures.  I'll be re-opening my Etsy store with new hairclips and that painting from last post for sale.  At this rate, Christmas is just around the corner!

 

How has your Summer been?  I'd love to hear what you've done!

 

 

Hugs all around!  Thank you so much for sticking with me to the end of all those photos!! Haha!

Now to finish unpacking and continue vacuuming sand out of the car....

 

Sunny smiles,

Cam

The Trees are calling...

...and I am listening :)

 

It is time for our annual Summer Vacation...5 weeks of tent camping, sightseeing, soaking up nature and relaxing!  I created this piece in anticipation of cooler climate and gorgeous green trees!

 

This girly's face has some definite Micki inspired touches!

 

 

We just bought a new camera...so I can't wait to take a zillion photos to share with you on our return!

If you are curious about past year's trips, you can read last year's post HERE and the year before HERE.

 

There's nothing like being away in another world to help renew your spirit and re-energize your mind!  I'm so ready to spend some time hearing what the trees have to say :)

 

Hope you all are enjoying your summers, too!

Redwood sized Hugs!

Cam

My Weekend CREATE-ing

Hello Everyone!

I hope the weekend treated you all well!  Mine was amazing!

My Mom and I went to the CREATE Mixed Media Retreat, finally, after waiting for over 6 months for it to arrive.  I don't know if you remember that I asked my Husband for this gift last Christmas....a Christmas, Birthday, Anniversary gift all rolled into one....

My Mom wanted to attend with me, so it was nice to have a Partner in Crime to go with.  Plus, she lives just 15 minutes from where it was held here in California, so we didn't have to spend the money on hotel rooms.
If money was no option, one could take (4) six hour classes and (4) three hour classes over 5 days.  We took (3) three hour classes and (2) 6 hour ones....5 classes in all.

On Wednesday, we took a class called "Carved Birches - no cutting tools required" given by Staci Swider.

This was a 3 hour class.  We used 12x12 canvases, acrylic paint and oil pastels.  The neat birch tree effect was created with molding paste, crackle medium and house paint!  A really cool effect!

 

My oil pastels weren't blending very well, so the teacher let me borrow one of hers.  It was some French brand of oil pastel....and it was like butter! So creamy!  I need to add those to my wish list!

 

Thursday night, we took a class called "Crinkly Iridescent Vestiges" given by Helen Shafer Garcia.

 

 

 

We were given a special Masa Paper (rice paper) that we drew simple images on, crinkled up and soaked in water.  We outlined our drawings in a wonderful acrylic ink and watched them bleed. 

 

 

We filled them in with watercolors and embellished when dry.  We worked on several, but this is the only one I finished.

 

 

 

We took a 6 hour class Friday morning called "Unleash your Creative Spirit" with Staci Swider again.  This was so different than what I'm used to, that it really forced me to just go with the process.

 

Here's my view of the class from my side of the room :)

 

 

 

We started with a 2 foot square wood panel.  We covered it in gesso and acrylic paint (I used my hands the whole time).  We dripped water over the top and swirled it around by moving the panel to and fro.  We soaked up the water and some paint with a large piece of watercolor paper.  We did this as many times as we liked........then, we were told to find something hidden, looking at the panel in all directions.  Some found faces, others found animals.....

 

 

I saw a giraffe :)

 

 

We were told to incorporate some of the watercolor paper into the panel. 

 

 

We used oil pastels to define our lines....otherwise, it was all painted using just my fingers!

 

 

Saturday morning, we took a 6 hour course by Chris Cozen called "Incised to Perfection: Working with Color, Pattern and Texture"

 

 

There were lots and lots of layers put on this piece with flowers being "found" in the random designs.  Stencils and course molding paste were used.

 

 

I didn't realize you could paint over molding paste with watered down acrylic and have it bleed over the surface. Interesting.

We worked on 2 canvases, but I didn't come close to finishing the 2nd.

 

 

 Our last class on Saturday evening was called "Chip Off the Old Block" given by Pam Carriker.

We were given tips and guidance for carving our own stamps.

I've tried this before, but not for a long time.  I tried to pick an image that I could get a lot of use out of.

 

 

I carved both sides so I would have both wings.  I'm sure you'll be seeing more of these in art to come ;)

 

 

Thanks for letting me share my class projects with you!  Attending them was a wish come true....

 

I think we'll try to go next year, too! We'll see what the Hubby says....heehee ;P

 

Big paint covered hugs to you all!

Cam