June Pig

She died ...last Sunday...she had a good life....this was her favorite thing to do......

baby shower for the newest Humelbaugh

Rob (my little brother ) and Karen my lovely sister in law (with baby)
Brenna had a good time too!!! they got so many nice things...
Packing was tricky due the massive quantities
My Mom...in orange...chatting with the hostess...Jenny...Karen's wonderful freind ....she did a wonderful job it was a NICE party...family and friends...it was just nice....

spinning

I've been really into spinning lately...I got Mom's spinning wheel off the deck and have made a couple of spindles...this one is with "found objects" copper pipe. computer part, old dresser knob, bead....it is a top whorl and it works great!!!

Sewing

here we are ME....and my great niece Ella sewing she is very interested for only 20 months.....and I am looking decidedly great auntish......it is OK I am embracing my age......and my knowledge...........

LOVE

My Mom and Dad........Homer and Robin....celebrated 50 years of wedded bliss...last May.......we had a family celebration....that included lots of laughs and food.....he bought her an electric lawn mower for her present...not sure what she gave him........not sure I want to know...........I love them..........



it was raining....it IS oregon..........they were walking from their house to mine

life and death

My Father-in-law died last April...we had the service in May this is my husband sitting with his Mother ....and in front of them was the youngest grandchild and the first great-grandchild...Luke and Ella....the church was overflowing ...there were so many people there who were influenced by this man....he made his peace at the end and chose his death in a very dignified and peaceful way...I am very proud of him.....

Wonderful week

This last week has been very full of interesting weather, locations, and art. I started with the first of 2 days all about wood block printing at this wonderful place DIY Lounge at Collage Where last Saturday we were shown how to carve our own wood blocks by this fabulous teacher...

Nicole Cipriano

and this is Nicole and the owner of this marvelous place Jen Neitzel


this is the first block I started carving ...it is absorbing work





then I went up to Seattle with my husband on a job site ( he worked I played ) and I visited great fiber and book shops and generally lazed around....OH ....and carved some more....Thursday I came back to Portland and spent the night with my SIL Amy and we went to the Portland Art Museum ...the special exhibit is "the Dancers" Degas Forain and Luatrec ....great show .....then....yesterday ....back to print class to see what these carvings can do....6 hours just flies by as different papers inks, and paints are explored here are some of the prints I got with these blocks ....




and prints







and a crew from the OPB show called "Oregon Art Beat"
was there filming for the first few hours that was interesting ....and I might see myself on TV in the fall....HUM....anyway I had a great time and can recommend the store and the instruction as excellent...go see

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Moments in life

Last Thursday on the first day of spring our youngest son married his love.... We did not get to attend the wedding but we get to have the pictures and we will celebrate with them when we can. ...We are so proud of Conrad and couldn't be more pleased with this wonderful women whose name is now Alison Henkel. Conrad flew into Ohio last Tuesday very early in the morning order to surprise Alison and propose....and she said yes.....everybody knew this was going to happen except Alison....Conrad never even considered the fact that the ring actually has to fit on a finger and ....low....it fit perfectly....the brides mother works at city hall...the mayor married them...co-workers surprised them with a cake and reception what could be more special than that.....we were with them in spirit and only wish happiness and joy for THE REST OF THEIR LIVES....Conrad has had to fly back to Camp Pendleton and Alison will finish school...(she graduates from Kent State on May 11th) and then ...finally get to join him......you know time seems like it goes so slow when you are away from the one you love......

Blogged with the Flock Browser

yesterday

I take my FIL to church when we are in town....yesterday when I arrived at the nursing home he was feeding the birds that live in the lobby...he saves bits of food for them from his meals and is very careful not to give them "too much sugar" he always wears these hats that I made for him...he lost one ...I made him a new one then he found the old one....now he wears both....

then when I got home I found my nephew Nate digging a hole in the pasture....the nanny goat had delivered two babies while we were at church and being a first time Mom just didn't have together enough to get them going...so they both died...and Nate was kind enough to dig the hole to bury them....then she delivered the third...very tiny baby....took her all day to decide she was her Mom...and the baby is very weak and small...but Oh so cute... hope she makes it


here she is still a little wet and wobbly



Nate made biscuits for dinner....they were very flaky....he didn't want me to take his picture 'cause he wasn't wearing a shirt.....

Blogged with the Flock Browser

H2Oh No Call the Plumber !

H2Oh No Call the Plumber !
Originally uploaded by hummingwoods2.

This is the piece I made for the Salem Art Association auction. This year my Dad will photograph all the donations for the publications. It will be a big job but, it will give him lots of exposure and folks will be able to see what a wonderful job he does. Now don't use this photo as an example ....this is photographed with my little camera...he has imaged this but I forgot to get it from him this weekend...I'll post an example of the differnece when I get them both together.

"Ondine on the rocks"

I created a piece for the annual art auction put on by the Salem Art Association...this is not it....in the process of thinking about what I would use as my subject matter....( the theme of this years show is H2O ) I came across a reference to a german water wraith called "Ondine" ....google or wiki her story...fascinating....I started making figures ... my Mom gave me this painted canvas...I added batting and some free-motion-stitching and stretched it on a frame...."Ondine" sits nicely "on the rocks "...waiting...waiting....actually since I like to have something to do while I wait I decided that she crochets.....while she waits.....the stretched canvas is 10" X 20"......

Ondine

by Mary Barnard

At supper time an ondine’s narrow feet

made dark tracks on the hearth.

Like the heart of a yellow fruit was the fire’s heat,

but they rubbed together quite blue with the cold.

The sandy hem of her skirt dripped on the floor.

She sat there with a silvered cedar knot

for a low stool; and I sat opposite,

my lips and eyelids hot

in the heat of the fire. Piling on dry bark,

seeing that no steam went up from her dark dress,

I felt uneasiness

as though firm sand had shifted under my feet

in the wash of a wave.

I brought her soup from the stove and she would not eat,

but sat there crying her cold tears,

her blue lips quivering with cold and grief.

She blamed me for a thief,

saying that I had burned a piece of wood

the tide washed up. And I said, No,

the tide had washed it out again; and even so,

a piece of sodden wood was not so rare

as polished agate stones or ambergris.

She stood and wrung her hair

so that the water made a sudden splash

on the round rug by the door. I saw her go

across the little footbridge to the beach.

After, I threw the knot on the hot coals.

It fell apart and burned with a white flash,

a crackling roar in the chimney and dark smoke.

I beat it out with a poker

in the soft ash.

Now I am frightened on the shore at night,

and all the phosphorescent swells that rise

come towards me with the threat of her dark eyes

with a cold firelight in them;

and crooked driftwood writhes

in dry sand when I pass.

Should she return and bring her sisters with her,

the withdrawing tide

would leave a long pool in my bed.

There would be nothing more of me this side

the melting foamline of the latest wave.







detail of the quilted painting...funny my Mom didn't "see" the waterfall till I quilted it in
we have a vague plan of completing a series of works based on Ondine/water....

Blogged with Flock

Beauties...and the beast

Christmas 2007 114
Originally uploaded by hummingwoods2.

Our son, Conrad, spent this Christmas in Ohio so that he could attend the baptism of his godson, Samuel. These are two handsome boys. It is so enjoyable for us to hear Conrad describe the new things Sam learns.

and now the beast...some of my time and more emotional energy has been sucked up for the last few weeks by the aging of my in-laws....my FIL has been placed in a nursing home and I feel that his voice is not being heard....Our family has struggled this last year to try and understand some actions in his life and this has caused some family members to loose respect and ...I feel....maybe ....he is not being given the respect any human deserves....he is also being drugged....for a number a reasons probably good and not so good.....but it makes it hard to know how much of "him" is really there now....so this is not new in the world of the elderly in our culture today.....but that does not make it right....I just don't know what ....exactly .....to do about it....

of the Poetry Foundation

Poetry Foundation: The online home of the Poetry Foundation

epiphany...birthdays...etc

It's my Dad's birthday today...I am hoping that this year he explores the difference between art and craft/manufacture/production...it will ...as always...be an interesting journey
snow..we have had a fair amount this year....nothing that really sticks but falling alot
paper...as in brown paper grocery bags.....recycling
really the one quilt that I am proud of for the year 2007....."hoisted"....