Monday, May 9, 2016

Art, More Art & Food

The last week has been pretty great around here. I wish you all could join in the fun  here but I bet you are all having your own fun.
Saturday was an art field trip from SF to Sacramento CA -- my pick up time was 7AM! I am NOT a morning person -- just ask the other three who were in the car with me!

My friend Monica and her sisters and old friends have had a yearly art  and crafting meet-up and I have been lucky enough to be invited along the past two years. It is too much fun!
We shop at places like SCRAP or book sales, we craft, we have show and tell and we eat.

This year my talented pal Monica brought a big box of stamps she made using a die cutter, freehand, pieces of plexi and sticky back foam from Michaels. They were so much fun to stamp with. Some folks stamped the designs on tote bags but I made my pages for my altered book.
Now I really, really want Monica to help me make a bunch of these stamps for ME.

I loved seeing all the recycled papers on the work tables and all the different things everyone made.
This is an incredibly creative group I can tell you..


Even the trash was pretty nice. We had to clean the stamps with baby wipes so the ink pads wouldn't get all muddy.

Did I mention food?
Lots of wonderful salads and fruit and dips and crackers......thanks to Tracy & Melissa.

The very next day, Sunday, was the SF Correspondence Co-Op's 5th birthday party!
Five wonderful years of monthly mail art get togethers. I've made such good friends from the group. That first meeting, organized by the one and only Jennie Hinchcliff, seems like just yesterday.

Of course here was food.....

And sangria.......

And, friends and socializing....

There was an artistamp for our passports.....

There was a raffle...and a swap table.

And some of the folks even wrapped gifts to pass out...
I am looking forward to the next five years of mail art meetings and friends. As I've said before, I highly recommend starting up a mail art group of your own.

Friday I went to a fabulous show of collages by two local SF artists at
Inclusions Gallery
The artists are Mark Faigenbaum and Kim Smith. If you are local, I highly recommend the show.
And Kim has a pretty great book out (used on Amazon) too.
(The above collages are Kim's)

These are some of Mark's. I would like to have them all if anyone wants to buy me one.
After that I went to the soon to be reopened SFMOMA on a special tour given by two pals who work there.It was so amazing I didn't even take any photos and that is a first. It is huge, filled with art and the store is great too. I'm just saying. 
GO
if you can get to SF. 

Today I just had to kick back and think about all the art I've seen in the last few days.
And, I did have to eat lunch. There is something so wonderful about being with other friends and making art together and going and looking at art together.
I am so inspired.
I need to stick around my studio for a few days now and get busy and make things.
But -- being out with all my friends is addictive -- I am planning the next adventure in my head now.

SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL

22 comments:

  1. Pamela, It was such and inspiring art filled week wasn't it. Thanks for taking me to Inclusions Gallery. I was very inspired by the collage work. YES the annual Sacramento meeting of women artist and crafters IS always a fun filled to the brim of a day! Let's plan one in SF so we don't have to wait another year to get together with all those artistic friends. Thank you for posting the fun weekend that I was a part of.. for some of it. Wow you packed in a lot!

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  2. Monica -- yes, let's plan an SF art get together! And you and I were in it together for most of the art this past few days. Now, you've got to get over to SFMOMA and see how wonderful that it. I want to go back to Cortland and see that great collage show again.

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  3. Beautiful feast for the eyes, too!
    Thanks for sharing, Pamela

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  4. You guys have so much fun! We have started on a very small scale with a group of Mail Me Some Art participants who live on the southwest coast of Florida, and have met 3 times so far. Another get together is scheduled for June. We have experimented with encaustic techniques, gelli printing, and painted paper bags/stitched hearts, starfish and jelly fish. So not really mail art focused, but fun nonetheless.

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    1. cjsrq -- any art group sounds good to me! And trying out mixed media techniques sounds wonderful. Have fun at your next meeting.

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  5. OK, I'm a few days late visiting, but you have done more in ONE day than I do in a week. And your weekends seem to be filled with art, fun, art, food, art, get-togethers, and did I mention art? What great eye candy you presented us mere mortals this week!

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    1. You are funny! And pretty busy yourself too. Today is gelli printing day for an altered book I'm working on.....

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  6. You do know how to have fun, Pamela! I'll have to check out those two artists. And I get to have a bit of fun next weekend, too. Going to a Jane Davies workshop in Washington. Can't wait. (Next year -- Melinda Tidwell!)

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    1. Yes, I do, Adrienne. A jane davies workshop? How wonderful -- have a great time......

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  7. Eye candies all over the place!! What a treat Pamela, your pictures, every time....

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  8. Hi Pamela! I tracked you back here from your comment on my blog (Lost Coast Post.) I wanted to respond to your inquiry about where to find the Prima watercolor set...I purchased mine online at www.franticstamper.com...

    Glad to have found you & your blog! Happy creating!

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    1. Thank you Michelle -- I will check out that link. I have been reading your blog for quite a while and have really enjoyed it. I have made some comments too -- and friends, if you are reading this, check out Michelle's Lost Coast Post blog -- great post on making a watercolor kit up now.

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  9. Hi Pamela, Must be great to have a circle of mail artists to meet and chat with. As far as I know, there are only a handful of us mail artists in the whole of South Africa!

    I just received your re-mailed package, so it eventually made it here, and naturally it was worth the wait. Now I have my very own stamp head piece of work. Thank you. Something on its way back to you.
    Cuan

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    1. Hey Cuan! All the way from South Africa -- happy my mail arrived the second time around but it was my fault this time....I made you something else and I will pop it in the mail tomorrow (first checking your address very carefully). And I am looking forward to mail from you -- love your collages.

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  10. Thanks for your comment about scones. I first learned of Trader Joe's when I was in the LA area a few years ago. To my knowledge there are no Trader Joe's even in Kansas City. After all, Wichita is the largest city in the state and we can't get either a Trader Joe's or an IKEA.

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  11. That looks like you all had a fun time together. Thanks for sharing it all with us. I am having such a good time reading your blog this morning. I hope you have a creative week.

    Gaby xo

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    1. Thank you, Gaby Bee...and yes, I am having a creative week. I have loads of arty projects all going on on my work table and I've got to get them finished up and in the mail. Glad you are enjoying the blog and many thanks for the comment. You have a good week too...

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  12. Pamela, you get TONS of comments. Far more than I get, especially since I post every day. If you want to join us for T Stands for Tuesday with a cappuccino or any drink, even art, I know you will feel the love! I promise these T gals spread it around.

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