Sticks, Stones, and Paper Stew Blog

Getting Around

This month has certainly been filled with more activity. We took a mini-vacation to Bend, OR. It was our last visit with my sister-in-law before her move to Colorado. She and my brother never married but we love her dearly and I totally consider her part of our family. This was the first time our dogs traveled to central Oregon and stayed in a motel. With that said, it wasn’t the most relaxing trip due to the dogs anxieties, but we all survived. They even made a new friend with Amee’s little pup Willie. She’s so darn adorable!

Tumalo Creek with the Willie, Hazel, Moby & Dave

Saturday we went to Eugene for a little belated birthday party for my brother Tom. He grilled meat, we brought chips/dip/fruit salad, cake & ice cream to finish it off. People in Eugene have been more challenged with securing vaccinations. Tom hasn’t managed to get one so Sunday morning I signed him up for a Pfizer vaccination in Albany. Tomorrow he will get his first shot plus a nice road trip to Albany and back. I’ll be putting in a few hundred miles driving, but that’s fine with me. I just want him protected!

Today is Monday and I’ll be picking up the giant cow head. She’s spent her time at the gallery and received much love, plus the People’s Choice Award. Not sure where she will live as the studio space is crazy right now!

I think that’s about all for the moment. We have multiple house and yard projects in various states of being. Hopefully I’ll be able to show both beginning and COMPLETED photos soon. Completed is the state I want everything to reach, which means I need to pull myself away from the computer and get busy.

Thanks for checking in. The next blog posting should host completed artwork!

Community Love

Last night the awards were announced for the Howland Community Open. Red received enough votes to win the People’s Choice Award! Woo hoo! She’s thrilled and is looking forward to her remaining days at The Arts Center. I’ll actually be visiting tomorrow to talk about how she was created with a young fan and her mother. It should be a fun afternoon. I’ll bring along some tools and wool to demo the process. Maybe we can get another person hooked on the fun of felting!

So that’s the exciting news for the week. Red will return home to the quite studio after the 17th and eventually be joined by a tiger….

Fingers crossed that the cats won’t decide to destroy her!

Thanks for checking in!

On a different slant

Oregon just opened up vaccination for more people! WooHoo! I lucked out by checking with one of the local county health departments Tuesday afternoon and was placed into the queue for the following day! They processed 2900 shots that day! Yes, I had a sore arm and was completely wiped out for 36 hours, but today I feel back to normal. First one down, second one scheduled for mid April.

Wool work has slowed down this past week. I did have a wonderful order for 12 Easter eggs in natural colors. They went off to California and are already getting love. The eggs are about 3.5″ long and 2.5″ wide.

Oh, there were a couple of Owls created for friends. This was the small one that measured 5″ long.

This ewe had triplets, but one went off to be bottle-fed at another home. The lambs were 2 days old when we visited.

On the first day of Spring we visited our favorite farm near Philomath, OR. This is where I get my wool. Carol and Harry are amazing people and we helped celebrate Carol’s birthday. Plus there were lots of lambs. On a different day I visited my friend Heather’s farm (about 4 miles from home). No lambs there, but she has a flock of 6 Jacob sheep and a llama named Mo. Maybe someday a sheep or two will follow me home….

A new something has started on the design board. This project, which could potentially have multiple components, uses a new technique I’ve been wanting to learn for years: soldering! I’m currently limping along with YouTube videos as a teaching source but have a built-in teacher onsite! Yes, my husband is an excellent solder worker. He has a background in electrical and mechanical engineering, plus countless hours of building and refurbishing/fixing boards and other electronics for his profession. Now I can finally tap into his knowledge for an art project. Right now I’m just learning how best to approach what I want and not even trying to create the actual work. The final goal is to have several works accepted into an upcoming show focusing on Climate Change and “What Will Nature Do?” through our local arts center. I’ll try to keep some sort of weekly postings as things progress.

Anyway, I think that’s it for now. I hope everyone is doing well as we move into Spring or Fall depending on your hemisphere. Thanks for checking in!

Completed Cow and Genetic Dogs

Happy March!

My brain is already running crazy with the recent test results from our two dogs. I’m getting ahead of myself… let’s step backwards to the cow completion:

On display at The Arts Center of Corvallis Oregon

Here she is complete with a pink tongue sticking out. The stand is cedar with a round of gold leaf. Cow is 94% Oregon wool, 4.5% wool from Italy, 1% foam, 0.5% wire. The Italian wool/fur is so amazing! She turned out pretty close to what I envisioned. Working so large has been quite a challenge and I’ve learned so much for the next project (starting very soon!).

During the cow creation, I took a small break and made a quail head for my girlfriend’s birthday. Hopefully I’ll start dedicating more time to bird head explorations in wool. It was very fun to create.

Now, on to the dogs!

I finally turned in Hazel and Moby’s cheek swabs to the Embark company. After several weeks of waiting the results are in and a total surprise! First dog is Hazel:

Hazel’s mothers line is total Mini Schnauzer and her father is the mixed terrier line. The Supermutt has traces of Manchester toy terrier, Chow, and Australian Cattle dog. Such a total surprise!

Now Moby:

Are we surprised by the GWP? No, but 100% was a shock! He’s still a wacky dog and I think it’s time to get his brain back into Nosework. He would really appreciate having some fun with life again.

Ok, I think that’s it for now. Artwork, Artwork, Dog, Dog.

Oh, and I’m starting a new sculpture for an upcoming show at The Arts Center! Right now it’s just a bag of carded wool that will turn into something related to science and climate change…

More adventures to come! Including a 700 mile challenge!

Thanks for checking in! Stay safe and healthy out there.

Mooo-ving Forward

Last week I started a post talking about the amazing snow that we were having. Talk about short lived! Oh well, that’s winter in the Willamette Valley! It’s still possible to receive some more during the month of February.

In honor of the upcoming Lunar New Year, I’ve been working on a cow/ox head sculpture. Yes, year of the ox is almost upon us. Last year I started the new tradition of creating a zodiac head just before the new year. Since felting seems to be my current muse, I jumped into this head with gusto! Below are a few images as it’s grown.

Getting the horns on was a big step and made it start to feel like a real cow.

Tuesday I chose a specific breed : American Milking Devon. This is a heritage breed and boy is it RED! I’m in love with their color! They are a versatile variety that can cover about everything a farmer wants. However, their coat color is going to be an interesting blend which I stressed over. Rather than ordering from my usual Texas supplier, I went to a specialty shop in Maryland. For over a year, I’ve wanted to order from this group. I actually emailed them for recommendations on what fiber to purchase because I wasn’t familiar with the blends. The order has been placed and fiber should arrive early next week? The due date for this piece is Feb 16th.

One of the reasons I chose this breed is the color. The color red symbolizes prosperity for the new year. Red Ox for the New Year!

More to come!

Materials used: Local Oregon Wool, 18g wire, foam

You can also follow along on Instagram @gale.everett.studio

Thanks!

First of the flock out the door

It felt good this morning to have an order waiting on my computer for a sheep (with hats). This gal is heading about 45 miles south to live in Eugene. She will be well loved!

I’ve been a bit turned off of ETSY for many years, but right now it seems like a safe way to market and sell art. It’s nice to start the year on a positive and I’ll leave it at that!

Now the shop is empty and I need photos to restock. Marketing is not my strong point and I totally recognize that fact. Sometimes I wish my husband would handle that part of the business. Maybe when he retires in 5+ years! Maybe by then I’ll be selling at art fairs…. certainly something to work towards!

The day is beautiful and more work is calling before a dog walk…. sigh….

Onwards!

you can find my shop at

www.etsy.com/shop/galeeverett

Gathering energy in the new year

The light is returning! Happy New Year!

The new year has started slowly as I figure out my focus for 2021. Last year I created 100 laundry dryer balls and I already have two orders for the new year. I think this might be a good product to continue making on a serious level in order to fund my other projects. With wool felting taking up more space on my work bench, I’ve had to rearrange things yet again so drawing and felting can co-exist. Yes, drawing is part of my 2021 focus areas. I want to finally complete numerous images waiting in the file drawers. First back on the table is a drawing from last spring of Remy the Black Labrador. I’ve loosened up my colors, thanks to the blue sheep of 2020, and have shifted Remy into the blue/purple zones. I’m working with Prismacolor colored pencils on a very soft printmaking paper. Below is her current stage of development:

She has lots more to go before the image is complete, but I feel confident on the course its taking. There’s also several more colorful sheep in the works too.

On the sculpture table: Barney the Basset mix is slowly coming together! He belonged to my bro-in-law who lives in Austin TX. He was a sweetheart and a total slobbery mess. Oh, the drool! As a memorial, I’m creating a felted version (without drool) of the sweetie. Below is his current stage of development (and I can already see areas I need to fix!):

On a sad note: The end of December were the last days with our old cat MeMe. Her struggles with kidney disease culminated with euthanasia on December 31. She was 17-18 years old. What a way to end 2020! The amount of energy & care keeping her going ended and I was exhausted for days after that. However, there is a collective sigh of relief having passed through the life of MeMe. Now on the other side, the animals are all more relaxed, not having to be on the lookout for where she might be. She struck fear into both dogs and cats. Everyone was on edge when she came upstairs to drink water. I had to be on constant vigil for everyone’s safety. With that intense energy gone, the house feels empty but those remaining are starting to change. After years of not touching the litter boxes, the dogs are snarfing kitty-roca again. EEEEW! I had forgotten about those bad habits and didn’t want them to return! Her presence near the cat boxes kept the dogs away, but now are fair game. The other cats are relaxing into life not under the rule of “the old lady”. Fiona is blossoming with affection and becoming my new studio cat. Pippin continually causes chaos and gets locked out of my zone. Home life will be better in 2021!

Fiona and Pippin, the new studio buddies

Long live Queen MeMe’s memory. She will be missed greatly.

Thanks for checking in. More dog sculpture/image progress reports to come.

Happy 2021!

Mid December Push

I’m not sure what brought about the current flurry of activity, but I’ve actually settled into the studio for work. What’s been created? Well, numerous wool laundry ball orders have been finished and sent (sparking a focus on how to package the product plus labeling). Seven long legged felted gnome sculptures were also created and two found homes. Sheep seem to be a theme over the past several months, so I dove into learning to create a more realistic sheep sculpture, but not quite achieving anywhere close to a real phase yet. Three were constructed but not pushed onto the sales table yet. I also needed a drawing to finish off the sheep ball label, which pushed a totally different sheep image and quite colorful! Yarn production and wool dying has slowed for now, but that’s alright. I also normally create a holiday card, but that just hasn’t grabbed my attention this year. Chock it up to the strange world of 2020

Here are some images of the creations:

cotton sewn bag that fits 3 laundry balls

I still have a few more wool balls to create for another couple of orders. The Blue Sheep sparked interest from different people, so I’m contemplating drawing a few more wild sheep and making cards or something. Then there’s a loom waiting for attention. I purchased three beautiful spools of thread to make plain woven kitchen towels. Warping the loom is a bit daunting as a newbie, but eventually I’ll jump in and go. Can’t be too hard.

I will be pulling up my etsy page into a true sales spot. www.etsy.com/shop/galeeverett is coming back to life.

If I don’t write again before year’s end, Merry Christmas and have a wonderful end to 2020!

Going blue

I’m glad that this election season is coming to a close with hopefully a tidal wave of blue to wash away the pain we’ve experienced. Blue brings a calming feeling, memories of intense blue skies, the blue of a lake or ocean. Calm without the fighting. So, I’ve embraced blue for the new project. Wet felting is an experiment for depleting the overwhelming wool stash piled around the studio. I dyed up 4 oz of roving and was pretty happy with the color. The deep blue was a mix of turquoise, violet, periwinkle, and a few flicks of hot fuchsia. The lavender was a dye pot exhaust: the main batch of wool didn’t take up all the dye so I needed to toss in another round of roving to mop up the excess color. Hazel is modeling the size after round one of felting. I took it a bit farther in order to create a denser material for sewing. I might attempt a cat cave on the next round, but possibly too ambitious at this stage. Wet felting takes quite a lot of body work.

I’ve learned quite a lot with this larger attempt. First: don’t use the wool roving straight from the bag/ dye pot. Put it through the drum carder to get the fibers in alignment and not clumped. Second: work in the garage where there’s more elbow room. Definitely not a kitchen counter job! Third: if you discover holes or thin places, needle felt back over to patch and know that another round of wet felting is always an option. Hopefully I will get better with more practice to achieve a more consistent material without holes.

MeMe kitty hasn’t been a happy camper over the past several weeks. For those of you who might not know, she’s well over 16 years and has kidney disease. I took her in Monday for a full work up and they checked off quite a long list before discovering high blood pressure! Cats are normally around 150, often going to 160 during a vet visit. She was at 220! No wonder she’s had that pained look and howling at all hours day and night. While she was in they drained her giant cyst. Her fighting weight is even lower than July, putting her at 7.6 pounds. I think that’s feather weight category for the kitties. The behemoth girls are almost 16 pounds! Not a fair fight, but they still happen. I’m hoping the new blood pressure med can help sooth her body and gain weight.

I’m off to finish scouring the final batch of wool for the season. It sat in the outdoor vat for over a month and is super stinky! The forecast is looking like rain for days to come so the drying might have to come indoors if we can handle the smell. I still have 4 fleece waiting for a wash but they will have to wait for spring!

Worth the time

In the studio during the auction! Wearing my Maasai necklace with the zebra block in progress behind me.

Last night was the auction finale for Makindu Children’s Center. As you might recall, I donated a hand made Gingko Leaf lamp. That little lamp stirred up quite a flurry of bidding, topping out at the second highest amount in the auction. The lamp went for over double the normal retail price! I was shocked and so happy that it could raise that sort of funding for those kids. I’m looking forward to mailing it once I receive the address!

Empty garden except for herbs and late seedling starts.

The season has certainly shifted bringing a chill to the air! This morning we had a light dusting of frost on rooftops and railings, which probably means the garden was touched as well. Monday, the plumeria plants took a crazy journey up the hill and were deposited in the garage for the winter with supplemental heat (no greenhouse this year). I’ve spent several days dismantling both garden boxes: yielding 10 pounds of green tomatoes (to be turned into salsa), green beans, cukes and peppers which are now tucked into the refrigerator. Yesterday I cooked up another big batch of applesauce destined for the freezer and there’s still another 10+ pounds remaining!

Persimmon starting to shift towards a yellow-green color

Other things to note: the vultures have migrated south! I keep track of when I last see those big black birds knowing the clean-up crew won’t be back until late February. Moby killed another possum almost 2 weeks ago and we hoped it might entice a vulture to pick apart the remains. The cameras were aimed and ready! Unfortunately, the birds weren’t interested and only looked from above. They must not have needed extra calories. See you next year vultures!

An artist friend and member of the Calapooia Gallery started pushing for me to apply for membership. I’m impressed at her tenacity to keep prodding, since this has been ongoing for several years! It’s a beautiful space located in historic downtown Albany and super close to home. The current members are all very lovely people who create amazing work. However, I think they want me to submit the lighted creations and I’m kind of on the fence with that line. It takes me weeks, rather than days, to create a lamp. Psoriatic arthritis hasn’t been kind with my finger joints. Hence the reason I’ve been exploring other creative ideas like wool. Hopefully our paths will cross during the Saturday Market so we can have yet another talk. So much to think about. In the meantime, I have received a lamp commission. Time to pull out the paper again! I thought I was done with lamps and papercutting????

Thanks for reading to the end. My body is doing better this week for those who emailed and called. I stopped eating large amounts of tomatoes. Yes, tomatoes can increase inflammation. Kind of hard when one loves the flavor of a big summer tomatoes! The tomatoes are gone so life can become less puffy… maybe?

Have a good weekend everyone! Remember to wear those masks and wash you hands!