Oh Lord!

Last week, Snow White predicted that our early August sojourn to the Spokane- Coeur d’Alene area would be a memorable one. Hmmmm, those kinds of prognostications tend to make me a tad nervous. I prefer forecasts such as good, great or fantastic because memorable can go either way.

Right now we’re about 58 minutes into the nine-hour drive home to Oregon, so I have plenty of time to reflect upon the last few days. Let’s see…

Groom and I experienced a couple of lightning storms, were caught in a snarling traffic jam and I’m nursing an impressive spider bite. Currently, it kinda looks like a Dr. Seussian illustration for “red eggs and ham” but with a traditional yellow egg yolk center. Yep, I just lost my appetite, too.

Plus, somebody stole our credit card number and spent the weekend trying to spend our money. As we have the plastic charge-o-matics in our possession, we are perplexed as to how this could have happened. The bank’s fraud department immediately cancelled our account and promised those illegal charges would not find their way onto our bill, phew! It’s always fun to be out of town and have one’s credit card cancelled. What’s even more fun than that? Coming home to our in-box full of declined auto-pay bills stacked like a multiple-car pile-up because of the credit card cancellation. We’ll have to untangle that mess.

Memorable? Yes.

But it wasn’t all bug bites or bouchons (French for cork, stopper, traffic jam) electrical storms or theft (well, an acquaintance of ours at the show did have all her cash stolen by two men with a coughing fit distraction routine). There was also plenty of fun and beauty, conversation and celebrity encounters, networking and art, delicious dinners and boat rides on the lake during our 1,000+ mile journey.

As Kimmmmm says, my life vignettes always have a story-arc and this trip is no exception. Its theme could be titled “Progression.” In June, after Art Fest in Spokane, I wrote about spending time with – and I’m looking for an adjective here that doesn’t sound phony or overused like amazing, but means the same thing. Groom and I were invited to join a friendly, fabulous, fascinating group of artists for a fine meal. As the evening progressed and the vino flowed freely, we were invited to stay with them when we returned in August for Art on the Green.

After making certain their offer of generosity was not just from the glow of the grapes and still looked good in the harsh cold light of day, we accepted their invitation. To set the stage, I must ask you to board my time machine once again and travel back with me three, maybe four years to our first time participating in Spokane’s ArtFest. There, a charming couple wandered into the booth. I said it at the moment and I’m saying it here.

The instant I made their acquaintance the metal flap covering my heart, the one that protects me that I usually control by a hand-crank lever, just flew open. It did it of its own accord; I had nothing to do with it. I’m standing there in the presence of these two people, Mary Gayle and Tim Lord, with a completely naked open heart. Not usually how I operate. My heart tends to look more like a New York City apartment with lots of locks and bolts. But not this time. Boing! Open.

I introduced them to Groom and by the end of our chat it was pronounced that if we lived near each other, we’d be friends. The next year, they stopped by again and they suggested we have dinner. It finally happened last June and a date to stay with them was set.

The first time I walked into their enchanting home, I had a visceral reaction. First, I got all goose-bumpily, then I broke out into hives and then I started crying. Again, not my typical response to some one’s abode. When they asked me what was wrong, I told them Nothing! I felt like I had just fallen down the rabbit hole.

They started laughing because Tim Lord, a talented and accomplished artist, had just agreed to paint a picture for the Alice in Wonderland Invitational to be held at the TINMAN Gallery in the historic Garland District.

He spent the next 35 days (or 200 hours) in his studio, creating a colorful tea party story. When we arrived at what I’ve dubbed The Lord Manor, he was under the gun for the deadline. The opening was Friday, July 30th and he was down to the last 48 hours until the gallery doors were unlocked.

Traditionally, gallery owners prefer to have the artwork hung before a show. Traditionally, artists are known to be late.

And so it was, we arrived in Spokane at the perfect tension point. Would Tim Lord finish the Wild Tea Party at the Deadwood Cemetery in time for it to be hung or would he be carrying it in with him as the paint dried?

I mentioned earlier that the theme of this week is Progression. We had the rare opportunity to see the back-story of the painting. I can’t speak for you, but most of the time when we drool over art, it is already hung in a museum, presented in a gallery or nailed to the wall in someone’s home. This time, however, we were granted front row seats to the process.

Tim Lord’s transparent sketches were taped to the window for light allowance, photographs of the cemetery were freshly developed and taped to his drawing board from their trip to Deadwood, South Dakota, and I recognized the clock in the center of the painting as a real one designed by Chris Giffin.

Granted free access with our cameras, I noticed through my lens that his palette was still moist with usable paint, that a vast convention of brushes had assembled in one place and paint cans were stacked within easy reach. I smiled at the fun collection of toys, dolls, rabbits and Virgin Mary’s that served as visual inspirations for the characters in his painting.

And best of all, his painting was not quite done. This afforded us the luxury to watch his creative process unfold and measure time through his progress. Each evening, we’d say our goodnights and I’d wake up and the first thing I’d do in the morning was tip toe into his studio to A) see if he was still up after painting all night and B) see what magic had occurred overnight. We took photos and it was fun to meet each new character as they materialized on the canvas.

Tim Lord did finish the painting by Friday afternoon and Mary Gayle delivered it to the TINMAN Gallery in time for it to be hung.

Usually, when writing about crowds, it is normal to say “standing room only,” but as this gallery opening was a standing event to begin with I must turn up the volume on the description and toss in phrases like body pressed up against body, throngs, and shoulder- to-shoulder.

People were not shy about crowding into the alcove or announcing above the din that the Wild Tea Party at the Deadwood Cemetery was their favorite painting and best of show.

While a hearty congratulation is extended to The Lords for their success, a thank you for their hospitality is also proffered.

Meanwhile, at Art on the Green in Coeur d’Alene, management placed our booth location next to sand castle artist, Scott Dodson of Post Falls. While we set up our structure on Thursday, the sandman was already working on his, playing in a 16-ton sandbox. Spending three consecutive days next to him, we were able to watch his entire progression from dump truck loads of sand piled onto his four-story wooden platform to a finished castle by Sunday evening; forty hours of continuous creating.

Chakra Girl continues to impress upon me that “two makes a pattern.” One, we were invited to stay with a painting in progress and two, we were the only booth in the show set up next to a developing work of art, so we were able to witness both unfolding.

Within the peaks and valleys of this trip, the lesson seems to be about enjoying the moment where we are and accepting our place in the process. In a learning curve with our new metal jewelry, I am always in such a rush to complete things that the finish line tends to be the almighty goal. In the past seven days, I’ve been given life-size demonstrations of experts in their fields relishing the entire progression from start to finish.

I think one reason Tim Lord is so successful as an artist and why people buy his work before the paint has even dried is because he places himself right in the middle of his life and work while I tend to avoid total immersion in the name of efficiency. I gotta ask myself this question, “How’s that working out for me?”

We also had several other delightful encounters. One was with a woman named MaryEllen Garasky who writes a blog ilovecda.com (I Love Coeur d’Alene), who is writing about us because we were one of her four favorite finds of the show.

One visit I’ll have to share later. That’s because it’s a secret. A very famous actor and his wife are expecting a baby and I was introduced to a close relative. I know the gender of their unborn child, but my lips are sealed until they announce it publicly, but I’d be painting the nursery blue.

Groom and I also visited Stonehenge, what my cousins call their homestead on the lake in Nine Mile Falls. We had a blast catching up, being silly with their 15-year old boy, and taking a boat ride as the sun went down.

(As a brief aside, some of these photos are worth a closer look. Simply click on them for better detailing and then hit the back arrow to return to the blog).

Yes, Snow White, you are right. This weekend is memorable.