Senior awareness day at Micke Grove

June is here. Where did May go? Whooosh! Another month flew by. Full of fun and interesting things to do, places to go, people to see.

The last Thursday in May is Senior Awareness Day in this county. It is celebrated each year with an annual event at Micke Grove park between Stockton and Lodi. It's a lovely old grove of Oak trees with a zoo, an historical museum grounds with many buildings and farm equipments, a Japanese Garden, a playground, and lots of lawns and picnic tables. It is an awesome place.

This year, I got a call from the woman who puts it on, and it seems that there were not a lot of artists represented there, and she asked if I would be able to participate. With nearly perfect weather this year, it seemed like a good place to be, so I said yes and then had to decide what art to take. And who could I get to help with the logistics, carrying , setting up, watching my stuff while I was looking around at other people's art. Trevor!!!! My grandson was laid off recently from his security job, so he was available and always happy to help me out. He was the answer to my prayers that day. This is an event that starts early. Why do they think older people are up with the birds? I like things that start at 10, but this one starts at 8 in the morning, which means set up starts at 7. That's pretty early for me, and even earlier for Trevor who is a night owl. But we managed by loading the car the day ahead, and only had to get ourselves together the next morning. Trevor unloaded the car at the art show section and I moved the car to the assigned parking lot. A shuttle car picked me up and my friend Jean who was in the parking lot too, and took us back to art show. There we set up our things, hung our works, and set up our tables. There were many empty spaces for more art. We could have hung twice as many paintings. The three dimensional art works took up only two tables, and things were spread out pretty far.

The day was perfect. I got to spend it with good art friends and we were all close enough to visit most of the day. Trevor fit right in, he likes people and can converse with most anyone. The streets were full of booths and tables with freebies and lots of information for seniors. There was a little parade, horses, decorated carts, a small band. And on stage there was a good band and a fantastic Patsy Cline type vocalist. We could smell the BBQ, and just relax and visit with old friends and make some new ones. A couple of people came by that I met the first year I showed there, who have remained in touch over the years.

There were three judges of the art this year. It was pretty obvious who they were, once they had their clipboards and started looking at everything and making notes. When I first started showing my work, this would make me pretty nervous, but after doing it more often, I am more confident and it does not bother me a bit. I am more amused by the process than intimidated.
One judge returned a couple times and sat and looked at every little detail of my cloth book entered as a three dimensional piece. I also took Alice Meets the Internet and set it on a corner so both sides could be viewed. It got a lot of attention and comments. Several people took pictures of it on their Iphones. I also entered the collage piece that was used for the Spring art Show, and the torn paper face I did a few months ago.

Finally the winners were announced. I took First Place in 3 dimension with the Alice piece, an honorable mention for the Fabric Book, and a Third Place for the torn paper face. Some of my friends got ribbons as well, and we are all happy for each other. One of Jean's students (a 90 ear old) got a ribbon for her watercolor. This is her first and she was so pleased, and Jean was so proud of her. Her picture is shown here.

At the end of the short day there (It's all over at 1 o'clock) we reverse the process and take things down and get the car and load it up again. Trevor was my lifesaver. He not only helped me, but some of the others as well.

I'll post pics soon.

Spring Art Show

Here are a few pics. We had 280 people , most of whom got into the spirit of the gala and came dressed in variations of vintage Hollywood.

Spring Art Show

It's time for the Spring Art Show in Woodbridge. Oh my, what a lot of work goes into it, and how few volunteers give so much of themselves to make it a success. We are all grateful for their hard work. The Gala event is tonite. We'll be dressing up like Vintage Hollywood and showing up to help do whatever is needed. My grandson Nathan will be posted at the door in a black suit and tie and top hat to play doorman. It will be fun for all of us. Can't wait to see what everyone comes looking like. Will take pictures and post them later.

Senior Art Show

One of my friends snapped this pic of me at the Senior Art Show this year. We were working on hanging things and taking a little break.

Wildflower Train ride

The Western Railroad Museum on Hwy 12 between Rio Vista and Fairfield has a Springtime special train that runs only in the month of April. It's a special car with comfy chairs and tables, serving the patrons lemonade and cookies and a docent to tell a bit about the history of the car, the museum, and the wildflowers. The trip takes about and hour and a half through the open meadows/valley floor. While the ride was a bit rough and lurchy, I thouroughly enjoyed every little lurch and rumble. Railroad noises like the bell and the whistle were fun too. The scenery, with the grasses and trees, the wind farm, the sheep in the fields with babies, the cows and farmyards - it was Spring at it's finest. We had 13 in our party. We took our own lunches along and could eat on the train. Two of my grandkids joined us at the last minute as we had two cancellations. There was a crisp breeze blowing and most of us had warm jackets along, thankfully. The Valley breezes are usually quite brisk in the spring, in fact now through May. Here are a few pics. The two on the tracks taking my picture are my grandkids Candis and Nathan. It's Easter break. We lucked out.

Lilac Time

Here they are. Coming in like mad and in the middle of rain storms. I picked these a couple days ago, so I could have them close up near by doorway. Aren't they beautiful? I can't have them inside because of allergies. Darn. The other pic is looking down my stairs to the garden. I keep some pretty things on the little landing.

Mixed Media Group

Last Thursday the mixed media group met and were led by Vivian Choy in a basket making project. Folded newspapers were the base. Here is a pic. I didn't work on this, but instead carved more stamps. I'm folding challenged as most everyone knows.