We’ve been having a long stretch of glorious weather here. It’s been sunny with highs in the low 60s for almost a week, not your ordinary Seattle February weather. On Saturday I went to Carkeek Park with my daughter, Eden and my BFF, the Corey. It’s a park along the Sound about a ten minute drive from my house and I go there often. It’s got a lovely stretch of rocky beach, a salmon stream, and woody bluffs overlooking the water. And I logged a lot of hours at the playground when the kids were little.

We arrived on the beach mid-afternoon, not in any hurry. The tide was really high and we saw a seal about 15 feet out from the shore. Then we heard a shout and looked out at the water. Orcas! A pod of at least seven individuals were slowly making their way South, not too far out and easily seen with the naked eye. It was amazing. I’ve lived in Seattle for over 30 years and I’ve never seen them from the shore before. If you click on the link below you’ll see a video taken from Golden Gardens Park just South of where we were.

Orcas!

Many people get a little depressed here in the Winter because the days are so short and gray. It’s easy to forget that we are surrounded by natural beauty as we go about our daily lives. It’s an honor to get to see that we aren’t the only creatures sharing this environment. Everyone on that beach, crowded on a sunny Saturday in February, watched those orcas pass. All of us shared in that experience of seeing those tall dorsal fins moving through the water, moving past us with the snow covered Olympic Mountains behind them and the blue sky above.

After the Orca show was over we headed inland and walked in the woods along bluff, armed with our cameras. Corey is a very good photographer, click here for a link to his website. Eden unfortunately forgot her camera. She enjoys it and has a good eye already at 13.It would be interesting to look at Corey and my two sets of photos from the same walk. I’m always zeroing in close and use the macro setting on my camera. Corey definitely looks more at the big picture. Eden and Corey started calling me the “crazy fern lady” after I lagged behind too many times.

On a day like that, filled with sunshine, strong light, and easily access to incredible city parks, it’s easy to remember why we live here.

crazy fern lady shot

the view from the bluff

tree closeup

my companions

I continued my studio tour the other day by visiting my friend Leah Adams, a neighbor, fellow parent, and felter. Leah has her studio at Ballard Works, a building near the Ballard Locks that houses 19 artist studios and also Sev Shoon Arts Center. Leah originally rented a small studio with a tiny glass block window. She recently moved into a much bigger, light-filled studio with a whole wall of windows. Leah shares the space to make it more affordable and was very lucky to find a studio-mate who works in felt and is a good match. It’s so important when sharing space to find someone who has similar studio habits. I’m sure we all had those roommates in college who left their dishes in the sink.

Leah makes wall hangings, small sculptures, and beautiful nuno felted clothing. She’s also been experimenting with making faux “sheep skins,” felting raw wool to make fuzzy skins that leave the sheep very much alive. But much of her time is taken with the bread and butter of her work: felting kits and felted rocks which she sells in shops and at craft fairs. It’s challenging to transition from her production work to the experimental projects that she finds more creatively fulfilling. We talked about being open to process, not getting frustrated by the time it takes to develop new work, and the bias in the “art” world against people who have to make their living with their “craft.”

Even though felting lends itself to sculpture, wool seems like such a foreign medium to me. I just have no desire to work with it. But I appreciate it’s unique charms. While Leah and I talked she was busy turning shanks of raw wool into fluffy puff balls. These are only the first layer of a piece which will be less than a quarter of its original size.

I bought one of Leah’s scarves at our school auction last year. I love wearing it and always get compliments on it. It’s actually the only scarf I wear that I didn’t make.

nuno felted vest

small sculpture

big windows, high ceilings and space

Continuing my January of studio visits, I spent a lovely afternoon with Alicia Tormey last week. Alicia is an encaustic painter and has a studio at Inscape, the old INS building which has been turned into studios and now has 100 artists all working in the same building. Alicia showed me around her very tidy studio which was full to the brim with new art, materials, and inspiration. We also took a field trip around the building and visited a few other artist’s studios. Even though I love my cozy and convenient space, I sometimes get studio-envy of people who work in the big, old, buildings full of history and artist communities they house. I definitely am jealous lately of their high ceilings and vertical space, ie walls, something I don’t really have in my attic space.

Look for Alicia’s beautiful work at Grover/Thurston Gallery. She has just signed on with them after the sad closing of Pacini Lubel Gallery and will have new work in their January group show. I’m excited for her new adventures.

blocks of bees wax

Alicia in her studio

Lou Cabeen in the classroom

Today I had a lovely visit with Lou Cabeen, an artist and surface design professor at the University of Washington. Lou will be one of the presenters at the upcoming SDA Washington Symposium on March 3-4. She has such an interesting perspective, as both a fine artist and an academic. We talked and talked and talked about dye chemistry, the set up at the UW, and fiber in the art world. I think we could have gone on all day.

The excuse for our visit was for me to see the class set up for surface design in the art building on campus. I love my cozy little studio but I am definitely jealous of their space and facility. What I wouldn’t give for one of those long tables sometimes! And the exhaust hood! And that sink! It’s definitely to “dye” for.

the work tables

the long, long washout sink

the dye room!

the geometry of dried fennel flowers

Surprisingly, our “snow event” has been sticking around. It’s snowing like crazy right now and isn’t supposed to warm up until tomorrow. I guess that means the kids are getting a whole week off from school. Lucky them.

I took a walk to meet a new friend for coffee (Hi Wyly!) and get some groceries. Along the way I found a few photo opportunities. It’s so different shooting in the snow. The light is flat, diffused, and soft. The lack of contrast makes it difficult to get good shots. But then, without the snow, there wouldn’t be any.

a cascade of grass head icicles

Hammamaelis blooming under the snow

hydrangea

artichoke

blueberry leaves

a neighborhood cedar

our snow covered back yard

We don’t get much snow here in Seattle. Whenever it’s predicted the kids are glued to the windows, waiting for any sign of flakes. In the last two days we’ve been having a “significant snow event” as the weather men call it. School was cancelled before the first flake fell and everyone’s staying home. The kids spent the whole day outside, cramming all the snow fun into one day as they can, since it’s supposed to start raining again tomorrow.

I took a short walk in the neighborhood and snapped a few photos before returning to the warm indoors. I’ve been taking the time to get my dye book organized but mostly dinking around and doing a jigsaw puzzle. It’s nice to take some time off and recharge my batteries. School’s already cancelled tomorrow, too. By the time the roads clear I’ll probably be pacing the floor and more than ready to get back to the studio. For now, it’s time for surfing the web, sipping tea, and spending time with family.

a gradation of dark to light