Rat Creek Adventures in Wonderland

We saw the sun and decided to take a drive around Dorena Lake near Cottage Grove.

After driving almost all the way around the lake we saw a road cutting north called Rat Creek Road so we explored the road. We came across this great old barn...


... built in 1889.


The road was curvy and wooded...


... and we found some great trillium in bloom...


... and Blue Grouse flowers or Snow Queen or scientifically known as Synthyris reniformis.


There were some huge old growth trees...


... and even a nice little waterfall.


As I said it was very wooded...


... revealing some odd looking white cups that were very small...


... I have not discovered just what they are.


Then it got weird in a nice way. From fantasy mailboxes...

... the other side...


to the roaring Rat Creek.


Then there was the dog and peacock in the road...


... so we waited for the peacock to pass by.


Next we saw some fence post decorations that made us smile. The included this old tin car...


... a locomotive...


... two more little cars...


... a merry-go-round, wagon and an out house...


... one more old car ...


... and a wise old owl.



Next we saw another nice barn.


The road had become a one lane drive so we retreated back toward the lake.


There was an old gas pump with gas for 15¢ a gallon with a wooden box for payment.


I liked this comfortable old farmhouse...


... and this nice large nursery.


Almost back to Dorena lake I got a shot of Rat Creek...


... and found this Fawn Lily thanks to Sharyn's help.


What a lovely flower that opens wide from ...


... a slender white bud hanging from a long stem with two mottled leaves.


Our Oregon state flower

Oregon Grape
Berberis aquifolium

A low growing plant, the Oregon Grape is native to much of the Pacific Coast and found sparsely east of the Cascades. Its year-round foliage of pinnated, waxy green leaves resembles holly. The plant bears dainty yellow flowers in early summer and a dark blue berry that ripens late in the fall. The fruit can be used in cooking.

There were more trillium mostly white...


... and a few lavender/pink.


Then Sharyn my able and astute spotter found two giant trillium...


... and we were amazed at their size.

Thank you Su for the great flower identification on a few of these.

It was a fairy tale drive and it was good to be out in the sun.

Scrabble Score ~ Scrabble Queen 313 ~ The contender 294

Quote of the Day ~ "Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale." ~ Anon

Mrs Monoprint and Her New Press

My friend Renee Manford has a new addition at her artist's studio...

... at Clay Space. Well of course there are plenty of potter's at clay space...


... but Renee's thing is painting and her first love monoprints. Now she has her own press.

"Known as the most painterly method among the printmaking techniques, a monoprint is a non editable kind of print and is essentially a printed painting.

The characteristic of this method is that no two prints are alike. Images, however, can be similar, but editing is not possible. The true appeal of the monotype lies in the unique translucency that creates a quality of light very different from a painting on paper or a print, and the beauty of this media is also in its spontaneity and its combination of printmaking, painting and drawing mediums." ~ [M]onoprints.com

The genius behind Renee's new press is Ron (pictured above) who took it upon himself to make Renee a Press with a little help from Vern.


The press is a wonderful mechanism of wheels, adjustment wheels and a bed for the pressing.


Renee paints the image normally on a thick acetate sheet that looks like glass and presses it onto an art paper.


Note the symbol on the bed of the press.


Looking closer I noticed the graph paper under the bed came from Takach Press Corporation of Albuquerque, New Mexico. If you think this isn't a small world, think again. My sister-in-law is married to and now has a married last name of Takach. No Takach is not a common name, so how cool is that.


The press is pretty large but fits cozily into Renee's studio space.


So now Renee can make her wonderful Monoprints at her own studio instead of using the lab at our local Community College and all of her materials and paints are in one place.


This is a great asset to an artist to have a private space for work that demands great concentration, spontaneity, and easy access to tools and materials.


Ron and Vern really came through for their friend, very special.


Renee has a full length mirror on the back of her door and being the snap-snap semi-pro photographer I am I couldn't resist taking this picture then reversing the mirror effect.


I've wanted to take a picture of this firing bed at clay space and finally did it.


I got a sneak peek of the new monoprints that will soon grace Renee's Web Page. This piece is titled "The Red Barn."


I didn't see a title for this ocean piece but I love the colors and light.


"Coastal Bridge" is an example of what I call complex simplicity with a contrast between the detailed bridge and the elegant background.


"Setting Sun - South Beach Yachats" is notable for the lightened sky, shadowy beach and the white capped waves.


"Yachats, OR - View from South Beach" captures the beauty of this unique Oregon beach community with it's famous "La De Da" slogan.


"Home Along the Siuslaw" takes unusually bright colors to depict a home along the mirror like Siuslaw River.


"South Beach Facing Yachats, Oregon" the town and mountains beautifully reflected in the Pacific Ocean.


Deep contrast is fantastic in this monoprint titled "Twilight at South Beach Yachats, Oregon."


I think Renee likes Yachats in this additional monoprint titled "South Beach - Yachats, Oregon."


"Roadside View" is a muted scene similar to so many seen in Oregon.


"Clouds on High" is breathtaking in it's depth and the movement felt in both the sky and sea.


Beautifully filled with color "Coastal Inlet" is simply wonderful.


"Tropical Swim" captures a swimmer in the surf off a tropical beach.


The tropics take over again from Oregon in the paradise of this "Tropical Retreat"


"The Drive, Leaburg, Oregon" takes us from the coast to a small town east of Springfield/Eugene Oregon with headlights on and darkness.


"Phthalo Pool" refers to the blue color of the pool - cool color.

So I looked it up on the Web;

"Phthalocyanine Blue BN, also called monastral blue, phthalo blue is a bright, greenish-blue crystalline synthetic blue pigment from the group of phthalocyanine dyes.

It was first developed as a pigment in the mid-1930s. Its brilliant blue is frequently used in paints and dyes. It is highly valued for its superior properties such as light fastness, tinting strength, covering power and resistance to the effects of alkalies and acids. It has the appearance of a blue powder, insoluble in water and most solvents."

No Scrabble we are watching the movie "The Men Who Stare at Goats"

Quote of the Day ~ “Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.” ~ Lyman Frank Baum