Art Retreat

Salem Art Group: Spring Beach Retreat

The Salem Art Group now has ten members, the most we have ever had, but when just the right people appeared, we couldn’t say no. Twice a year our group retreats: in the spring we head to the Oregon coast, and in the summer, we head east to a cabin on the Metolius River. With ten members, we have to get a bit more creative with sleeping arrangements, but somehow we manage. A couple of weeks ago we found our way to Culver City, just south of Lincoln City, and on the Siletz Bay.

We all set up stations and worked on whatever we wanted.

Afternoon walks often occur, either in groups or on solo adventures.

We each bring our own breakfast and lunch, but every night we go out for a nice dinner. The first night we veered a little off of our formula and had dinner at a bowling alley, but it was a cool place with an unusually tasty menu. Of course, we reserved two lanes and bowled. No one had bowled for years, including myself, but somehow I managed to bowl an impressive 158!

During our days, I worked on a series of Salvage Collages on book boards, using pieces and parts of deconstructed vintage discarded books to create the collages.

We’re already counting down the days for our next retreat.

Beach Retreat

Twice a year my Salem Art Group goes on an art retreat, one in the mountains along the Metolius River and the other at the Oregon Coast. For October, we were off to Cutler City to stay at a friend’s beach house, which is perched on a small hill with a view of the Siletz Bay. I rode with Tory, and if you’ve followed by blog for any length of time, the photo of my stuff lined up on my patio is familiar.

Six of our eight art group members were able to make our beach retreat.

Starting at the left and around the horn: Katy, Tory, Bonnie, Dayna, Susan, Nancy

In a nutshell, we spent three full days making art. Of course, there were walks, lattes, chatting, a movie on the life of Eva Hesse, reading, laughing, and a bit of sleeping.

New oil and cold wax work by Dayna J. Collins

In our spare time, we all made a little journal.

Visual Journal by Dayna J. Collins. Created using posters torn off of European walls and layered with family photos.

And then it was time to load up and head home.

Twice a year, the Portland Art Collective holds an art retreat at Menucha, a conference and retreat center, located about 45 minutes east of Portland. It begins on Friday afternoon and runs through Sunday. We each set up our space in the Greenhouse and make art. And visit. And walk. And sleep. We also horse around.

And eat gourmet-ish food prepared especially for us.

And wear silly noses on Friday night.

But primarily, we made art. I took 22 boards, varying in size from 6×6 inches to 10×10 inches. I didn’t get any of them finished, but I moved some along from meager beginnings and got some initial layers down on virgin boards.

And before I knew it, I was laying waxed paper between my boards and packing them up, ready to continue working on them in my studio.

In the meantime, here are some photos of the happy artists at work (and play).

Mid Week Retreat at the Hop ‘n Bed

I’m a member of the Salem Art Group, a small closed group of six (soon to be seven) women. About twice a year we plan a mini retreat where we pack up food and art supplies (and a portable latte machine) and head out of town. Last week we landed outside of Independence, Oregon at the Rogue Brewery Hop ‘n Bed. The Hop ‘n Bed is a big old six bedroom farmhouse located along the Willamette River and smack dab in the middle of a working Rogue Brewery farm.

Come on in and I’ll show you my room: The Honey Bee.

Part of the check-in process included joining the Rogue Nation, which required a swearing in process of drinking a shot of beer and repeating a long oath of allegiance. Tory took the oath and drank her shot (and mine since I don’t drink anymore). PS Being a member gets you a hefty discount on the house.

As our group trickled in, we moved furniture and set up tables to accommodate our huge amount of art supplies. Joanna claimed the living room to set up her sewing machine, Kathy took over the laundry room for her encaustics (there was a back door for ventilation), and the rest of us jockeyed for space in the living room: Tory with her clay, Nancy and Katy with their oil and cold wax, and me, kind of in the kitchen prep area, with my oil and cold wax AND acrylics for my visual art journal.

After getting settled, I took a walk around the grounds.

It was time to spread some paint. Working in oil and cold wax does not bring immediate gratification the way working with acrylics does, so I brought both mediums. I started with the oil and cold wax, knowing I wouldn’t finish any pieces, but I would sure have the opportunity to add layers, scrape back, and add more layers over the three days. None of these pieces are finished, and some haven’t even been scraped back, but it gives you an idea of what I worked on.

Another day, another walk.

When I wasn’t working in oil and cold wax, I was playing in a brand spankin’ new visual art journal. But before I started laying down paint, I did a double take with the cover I had created several years ago. It was time to cover the cover!

Okay, that’s better. Now I can begin on the inside.

I worked on a lot of pages.

And before we knew it, it was time to head home.

Art Under the Trees

I’ve just returned from spending four days with my Salem Art Group at a cabin in the woods along the Metolius River. We left on Thursday morning — I took a small suitcase with clothes, a big suitcase with art supplies, my espresso machine, some food, my art journal, and a half case of kombucha.

Arrived. A sweet cabin located on US Forest Service land.

The view from my corner bedroom.

Everyone worked on their own projects. Tory won the award for most versatile, especially when she whipped out her harmonica and started playing a blues tune.

The rest of the gang: Nancy, Katy (it was her cabin), and Kathy in the photos below (and Joanna, who was inside the cabin with her sewing machine). A lot of oil and cold wax was being spread . . . . and even a little gelli plate action.

We had a visit from a Forest Service Ranger who was looking for a water line using a water witching technique with two pieces of a wire coat hanger. Of course, we had to give it a try.

I worked on several projects: oil and cold wax on 8×8 and 6×6 cradled wood boards and I also did some acrylics on watercolor paper for making cards. (I finished the cards, but not the boards.)