Going Down South

Day after tomorrow will find me back "home".
I actually have 3 "homes" I could potentially be referring to any given time you hear me say "I'm heading home". Currently, the home longest in the running is the ever expanding Vancouver, WA where I attended high school and my parents still reside. Though second place Olympia is catching up to it.

The teenage "cool places to hang" that hold the most nostalgia for me (surprise upon surprise) but hardly NONE of those cool places were in Vancouver. Most were found within the city limits of Portland, OR.

Some of youthful Rekoj's favorite spots were and still remain:

Anna Bananas Coffeshop

Powells Bookstore (best on a NW rainy day)

The Roxy (though no longer the same)

The Church of Elvis (currently struggling - go buy their stuff!)

Twist (I SWORE that someday I would have Twist dining set)

Beulahland

Uretech (was always the second part of an afternoon to Powells)

Hawthorne District (first "city" neighborhood I ever fell in love with)


And so many more. These are my "old school" spots of Portland. Things have been changing these days in Portland. What used to be more rough around the edges is being softened by a mass epidemic of knitted cozies, coffee shop communities and gentrified neighborhoods. It seems that even the puddles attend a weekly stitch and bitch.
In summary, Portland now has the kind of artistic support network that I left home looking for all those years ago.

Would my life be different if I had stayed and attended school in Oregon? No doubt. Could I really look back and say I'd change things now if I could? Nope.

Yes indeed Portland is established and hip and cool and filled to the brim with artists of success. Seattle is trying, but it just ain't there yet.
But it is kinda exciting to be a part of the ground level of getting it there.

At least that is how I feel right now. We'll see if I'm still singing the same tune after this Sunday's Crafty Wonderland show at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland.
Monday mornin's blog post could find me humming up a moving van?
Not too likely but dreaming sure is fun ; )

Barney

Barney
Originally uploaded by Rekoj Design

Ah the joys of an artist in an office - post-it note sketches! This paticular sketch is of a custom order I have for someone's birthday. Shhhh! Don't tell!
This will be my second commission in a month and I'm coming to realize just how much I love doing them. I get to make a piece of art special for someone that they will love ....Well, we hope anyways =)

I'll post pictures of the final product after the aforementioned birthday. In the meantime, this has reminded me to upload the pictures of the custom bag I made ages ago. Obviously I am in need of more post-its to remind myself of such things.

Photo Shoot Sucess

Organic2F
Originally uploaded by Rekoj Design

Much fussing, cussing, box cutting, paper tearing, lamp shade scorching, battery draining hours later, Rekoj FINALLY has some worthy pictures of her infamous wood burned pendants.
I'm absolutely THRILLED with how well they (eventually) turned out and I can't wait to start listing them in the shop . Some folk may be disturbed by the excessive use of cow skull, but me - well - I love it. Rekoj has a pretty long term connection with cow skulls. In fact, it was with cow skull line drawings that got me started into the Rekoj style anyways. I even have a commemorative "coming of age" as an artist tattoo of you guessed it - a cow skull.
This cow skull that will soon play a major role in my etsy shop is completely vegan however - no cows were harmed in the acquisition of this skull because tis ceramic. Yippee!

I'm pretty well tuckered from the whole process - took 5-6 pictures each of 20 pendants total. I've got about 60 more to go but I figured I would get 20 of favorites listed at least. I'll be using the Etsy spacing out trick of only listing 1 or 2 a day though. You can check out the whole lot on my Flickr page - if you're interested in one before it's up in the shop just shoot me an email.

In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts on my friend the skull. A minor poll if you will - Is using a skull in every shot to display my jewelry overbearing and creepy -- or will it finally give my etsy pics a consistency I've so longed for?

Donation to DIFFA

I've got four Rekoj Men's shirts all packed up and ready to go to the silent auction for DIFFA. My involvement in this is very last minute - I didn't really know about it at all until last week when the girls at the Urban Fashion Network put out a plea through the email begging for Men's items.
I had just one Rekoj Men's button down shirt left - a piece called "Flock" with seagulls floating up one side. In the process of saying I would donate "Flock" I decided why not donate a few more?

I had a small stockpile of discarded men's button downs just waiting to be painted... I had a free evening and it was for a good cause so I went for it.

I painted three "new" shirts:
Coastal
Crane
Autumn Leaves

A few hours of my time doing something I love to do anyways and it will help people living with Aids?
Sure!

So if you happen to be attending this oh so hip and fashionable Party at the Mansion, be sure and say hello to these 4 Rekoj shirts - they'll be having a blast and living it up like they belong amongst the finery!

Today's Inspiration: Stella Im Hultberg

I am so completely in LOVE. These peices of lovely gorgeousness were created by Stella Im Hultberg - who just had a show at one of my favorite galleries and I didn't even know about it until now. I'm going to go by a.s.a.p. to see if by chance, the show is still up.

I can barely contain how inspired I am by seeing her work. I can only imagine how wonderful they would be in person. On Stella's blog she has added a post about her show at RoqlaRue with some very beautiful pictures. I am floored by all of them but if I had to pick a favorite it would be "Nothing Remains" - of course I'm a sucker for crow imagery. She lists it as being tea stained paper with oil and ink. But I know that there has to be some magic in there.

DPD Jungle

An unexpected trip out into the rainy wet to pick up some plans from Seattle's Department of Planning and Development was my artsy afternoon experience. Elevator lobbies that only go so far and then you must switch to a different lobby to continue and the rustle bustle of thousands of workers on lunch in the concourse on the main floor. It was all astounding really and my muse just rattled her cage the whole time. Not to mention coming across this fabulous newsstand with a rainbow of magazines and right there was the magazine that Kelly Rae had published an article in (Cloth, Paper Scissors) so I went in to buy it and ended up not being able to let go of 3 others. (Juxtapoz, American Craft and good ol' Bust) An unexpected splurge but now I have little pockets of inspiration stashed at my desk – yum!

And what exactly is this fabulous illustration you ask? A "commission" for an African safari returning co-worker that's what. Yep - drawing at my desk and I didn't even have to pretend I wasn't. Sweet!

Travel to Sumac

This past weekend brought me a new love in my life…Sumac. It is the plant you see pictured here and at this time of year it is streaking the desert hills with the most brilliant bursts of color. It was a reprieve to travel out of Seattle these past two days. I got on Interstate 90 early Saturday morning, armed with my coffee and an apple muffin. Snoqualmie Pass was spectacular. I feel quite daft for not realizing the mountains and the forest were so … right there.

And then the sweeping descent into the Yakima valley that followed? Spectacular. For me the “fall colors” in the desert take the cake on any New England deciduous.

Not only was the desert shape shifting itself into the fall of subtle greens, burgundies and golds, but my return journey on Sunday was under a rain cloud. Rain. Rain in the desert like I have never had the pleasure of experiencing before. The softness to the air and the rich loamy earth smell. I took the Old Canyon highway between Yakima and Ellensburg yesterday on my return and I ended up stopping what felt like every half mile to take another picture. Photographs will never capture it though. The richness of color.

Today, all I want to do is start painting after painting. I want to take that leap into the unknown of full time artist. Just so I have some ACTUAL time to paint all these paintings I want to paint.
Now would be a fabulous time for a return of my insomnia…