Bird Tweets

Day 266 The Making of a Star... or in this case Stars

Today The Queen of Tarte, the Barn House Boys, Annie Fannie and Abigail,  Little Cottage and Sparrow have been memorialized forever as the creme de le creme of the local vintage flea market scene. I will remind everyone that there are many, many other fine contributors to this creative group of vendors however these 5 have been written up in the Oregonian, (our local newspaper) and identified as "the Ringmasters of the barn sales". Congratulations on the well earned publicity!

I spent the morning yesterday at the Tarte monthly sale and as i have already identified in my own article for Somerset Life Cindy has magic running through her veins rather than blood like the rest of us mortals. She does it  e v e r y   s i n g l e  t i m e. Never failing to create a brand new scene of delight and wonder that is completely unexpected and ever more over the top wild and wonderful than the last sale she had..or the one before that, or that. You must visit the the Land of Tarte  if you have not already managed to do so! She has 3 shows left for the season; October 24th is the Halloween Spectacular, November 7th is the Tarte Magic of Christmas and her season finale is on December the 5th.

In the stylized land of the more kingly barns I am honored to to say i have written my own article for the January issue of Somerset Life about the boys of Barn House, who are, as those who know them will attest, a force of creative physical energy beyond comprehension. Over the past year they have been generously providing me with access to their private lives as well as their Barn House lives so that i can better understand how it is that they have rocketed to such heights of personal and professional success in just over 3 years time. Read all about it come January!

This years Barn House season is complete. The boys are busy closing up the business, harvesting their garden and taking a well deserved time of quiet reflection. Not that they will be quiet for long. That isn't possible for men who are full of a passion for life and who welcome challenge. There is a lot of energetic discussion about what we all have to look forward to next year! 

Love, robin

Day 250 Barn House and The Busy Life of a Photograblogfriend

I have had more photobloggerati adventures in the past month than I can keep track of. I was home from my San Francisco date with Relyn, Julie and Diana less than 24 hours when it was time for me to head over to the Barn House for the Summer Flea Market extravaganza. I think my sleep patterns are forever altered to match that of an 18 year old who never gets more than 4 hours of sleep a night and attends parties more regularly than classes or a job.

Aside from the fact i had every car window open to the max, singing at the top of my voice to a blaring rendition of Bob Dylan performing Maggie's Farm  it was well worth staying awake another 24 hours to witness and photograph the set-up of the circus tents on Friday evening. This particular tent was dubbed the Taj MaTent. More on that later in the post....

 

Welcome one and all to a day on the farm.

Here is The Queen of Tarte about to perform the magic i describe in my Somerset Life article; Cinderella on wings....flying hither and thither, grabbing this and wrapping it over that, pushing one thing through the maze of objects until it is suddenly married in perfect union to another...."

See what i mean? Admit it. Now that you have seen this you know you cannot live without one of these for your holiday centerpiece. Honest to god, i swear this is a real fish-head preserved forever using i don't know what kind of chemical process.

That's Natalie and her little girl Hattie who is as cute as a bug.. and she was as dirty as a beetle by the end of the day. See that pretty white dress she is wearing?  

All little girls should have this much fun going to work with mommy!

When i saw this full size tractor sitting in front of The Barn House Boys outdoor booth  i just stood and gaped a moment. Then I got a grip and realized that this was to be expected. This is what they do here. They one up themselves in style each and every time they have a sale. This is a real live question... who bought that tractor? I know i saw it chugging down the road, lights ablaze  while driving home on Padden Parkway later that night.

Meet Joe. There is no one like him in all the world. He rockets around the farm so fast he is usually a blur, just shape and form. This is a rare moment of stillness and it is the only time i have ever captured a clear photograph with him so much on the move every moment of everyday. It was the end of the day of the sale and a well deserved moment of rest.

Here are a few treasures i found and loved. 

tennis ball sized opals...

sparkly hearts... XO

blue and blue!

Now i will explain the reason i titled this post The Busy Life of a Photograblogfriend. I can see now that it will never end... the meeting of like minded people with big hearts, fabulous style and endless good humor. 

While in San Francisco with my blogirlfriends i reflected on my surprise and delight about everything going so well amongst strangers. And now, after this endless and exhausting weekend of being among more strangers' I finally understand the reasons why thousands of people all over the world give up watching Dance With the Stars and Fox News in order fire up their computers each and every day. We tap, tap tap out the words that fall from our minds and read, ponder and understand what emanates from each others hearts. 

The reason is so simple and obvious it's a wonder i don't win a prize for finally naming it out loud. It is friendship. Unadulterated friendship. Considering just my own experience i see that i I have received support beyond measure, laughed without breathing and felt a powerful bond between myself and others. Some i have met and loved, others i may never meet and will love none the less. It shocks me. 

Meet Tiffany and Kim. I had never met these two before this weekend at Barn House. I actually thought i might be at my laughed out limit after traveling with Relyn for 12 hours in a small vehicle just the day before. But no. It started all over again. I was all excited and thrilled with their company. They laughed like crazy women at everything. Mostly themselves and their antics. I realize now i am not the only one smitten with my own humor. I began thinking about how much fun it would be to go on photography expeditions with these two. I threw caution to the wind and immediately answered yes when Kim mentioned she would also like to meet up mid distance for a day of taking photos. I said yes and when! 

I know now It will never end, this finding of new blogirlfriends i want to know and be with. These are not the only people i met this weekend either. Oh no. There were lots of new faces around the midnight pre-sale campfire and i got to know all the other Barn House family much better. 

This is what i saw late in the afternoon as i walked up to the house for dinner. Dexter is a new member of the Barn House menagerie. He weighs in at over 800 pounds, is beefy but gentle as a lamb. He is always looking for friends. The sheep twins don't like him. He doesn't know he's a cow. He actually thinks he is a horse and wants to hang out in a herd.  Tiffany had gone off in search of some quiet in order to make a phone call and found herself hanging out next to the fence. Dexter stopped by for a chat.

Notice how she has placed her camera on the ground in order to be able to pay closer attention to Dexter'.

And the bling...who wears this sort of thing while petting a cow? A full on double string of pearls, matching bracelet and diamond rings? It was the sweetest thing in the world to see her befriending that sad little cow. Now am i not right in saying that bloggers are simply the best people to make friends with?

Ok. This is the Taj MaTent. There was to be a contest for best styled camp amongst those who were staying overnight on the farm.  Debi won hands down. It was palace of cream white linens with down pillows everywhere. It has a kitchen, lamps and a boudoir at the back for sleeping and changing costumes....

This is a little nest display Cindy made for the greeting cards i created using photographs from her Tarte Barn. See the pretty lavender gown?  I sold nearly all of them! I am quite happy to have such good fortune in friendships.  It was my new friend leah who pushed and tugged me into doing them in time for the sale. Thanks to you both!

Finally it is time it is time to close up shop and rest and recuperate until the next sale. We ate amazing food, laughed at each other's silly jokes and helped one another put the place back in order.

If you can make it from New York, Texas, France or Portland try to come next weekend for Queen of Tarte monthly sale!!! If you come we can be amazed together at our good fortune with finding great art and friendship in abundance!

Love, robin

Day 247 Robin Laws, Photographer and Writer: Drum Roll and Congratulations!

Good Morning Friends! I thought i would make the title of the post "all about me" and then move on to the more central theme of this post, friendship. As you can see i was published again in Somerset Life magazine this month and i couldn't be happier! Jenny Doh,  the editor-in-chief is a consummate professional and yet she manages to let her true self shine in her work with artists. She is kind, friendly and helpful at every juncture of the writing process. Thank you Jenny for allowing me to be myself too.

My friend  Maddie, who has been published in Somerset many times wrote a perfect tribute on a post earlier this year, she says: "Somerset has the talent, love and respect for artists, taking the extra time to celebrate each unique personlity with care. Attention resonates off each and every page."

My article and photographs are featured in the department of Locales of Intrigue. Anyone who follows my blog will recognize the subject of the article. Cindy, The Queen of Tarte and her monthly event and vintage art sale. Sometimes I can hardly believe my good fortune in friendship. The relationship gods must have singled me out for special treatment in another life because truly i have been blessed! Cindy and her circle of friends have welcomed me as one of their art troupe from the very first day i arrived on the scene. 

Get your copy of this issue and find out where to find the magic :) 

You all know that in this land of blogdom there is the chance to meet new friends that would never have crossed our path had we not offered ourselves up for love on the internet wire. I have found amazing women that have become good friends and i hope to visit many of them in real life during the coming years. (more surprises on that topic later this week!)

One such person is Debi who often shows up in my posts due to her place in my life as muse and friend. It was Debi's idea that i submit this article about The Land Tart. She saw the potential for me to shine my artist beacon out into the world. Her encouragement, editorial assistance and applause accompanied me on the creation of this story. I love you girlfriend!

I have a big P.S. to add here at the end. I am working on another story to be featured in the January issue of Somerset life about the Barn House  boys. I will show you the magnificent Barn House sales they host as well as the ways they express themselves as artists in every aspect of their life together.

There is more good news to come!

Love, robin

Day 233 Farm Life at Barn House

I spent most of the day Saturday at the Barn House farm. I went dressed for the cold rain and the muddy fields.  I was lucky though because the baby ducklings were still living in the cozy warmth of the house so i hung out  inside for over an hour.  Jermonne was busy caring for the babies when i arrived. He is a gentle, loving man and has an innate sense of how to calm and nurture all the creatures on the farm. In turn they trust him and are quite affectionate. I swear those ducklings knew his voice and starting hopping and bobbing around whenever he spoke to them. I loved watching and listening to him chirp and tweet at his furry little charges.

They had their first real swimming lesson while i watched. No cold outdoor pond water for these kids! They had a warm bathtub and the encouragement of their favorite human.  They were pretty scared, swam very fast and kept wanting to hop onto Jermonne's hand. It was so fun to watch!

Meanwhile outdoors the sky was overcast and the air cold. Joe was busy doing the hard work of preparing the garden for spring planting. Joe grew up in the sunny and dry climate of the desert and isn't always happy with our weather here but in the three plus years that he and Jermonne have lived here he has been adjusting. He says there is nothing that can compare to the beauty of our warm northwest summer days. Joe is a meticulous gardener and his creative talents are as obvious in the garden as they in their home which is a wonderful place to be!

I wanted to meet some of the other members of the Barn House family so i went on a field trip with Jermonne. I  followed him into the fenced off area where Celie the goat and the three sheep, Shug, Avery and Odessa all hang out during the day. Everyone has a name here. Anyway Jermonne went off to get something and these three went racing after him, leaving me in the dust. Where the heck are they going in such a hurry?

Oh. Snack time.

Here we are back at the house and i see the babies are snuggling in after a long and happy day. There were many more highlights to the day, including my encounter with the friendly rooster and the chicken protecting her passel of little black chicks but those are for another day.

Love, robin  

Day 225 Beauty is One Word

dear friends,

My "See What You Believe" photograph from Day 222 was selected for the One Word project over at Shutter Sisters today! Now that makes this Wednesday very happy  :)  If you haven't had the time to listen to the song Dream by Pricilla Ahn that accompanies that post by now it is sooooo worth it to do so. I have had it looping through my head for days now and i do believe i have been having a taste for a snack of  bark and leaves....

love, robin

Day 202 The Fashion Of An Artist Isn't Always What It Should Be

Don't laugh at my new invention. Or scoff at my fashion sense. My newest hooded camo gloves are my brilliant, though unattractive solution to a lifelong problem. You see i have this weird circulatory syndrome that causes parts of my body to go temporarily numb when exposed to chill air and moisture. 

It often occurs while in the dairy section of the grocery store. It always happens when i am outdoors in temperatures below 45 with high humidity.  It poses a real challenge for me in photography. And i just can't have that happen anymore. It is frustrating my inner artist. And it hurts a lot.

For example it was very distracting on the day i was doing my Tuba Christmas shoot with Elizabeth and Atlas. I had trouble holding the camera and pressing the appropriate buttons at the right moment. At one point I had to leave the concert area, walk over to Nordstroms and warm my hands in the makeup department before going back into the cold rain.  

I've been pondering this problem for quite some time. I try to use those hand warmer things that heat up when you open them but that doesn't help much when i want to have my hands on my camera, ready for capturing that perfect shot. They remain willing and ready but they are in my pockets, warming my ribcage.

So i had a brain wave and went out looking for a pair of battery heated gloves. No luck. They make them but they are very bulky, not helpful for the dials and and small buttons of a camera. Darn.

Then, while in the outdoor sportsman section of the store  i saw these camouflage gloves sans the fingers. Brilliant!

They had little hoods velcroed to the back for use when you needed more warmth and less use of your naked fingers. They were the only style i could find, the marbled brown, black and army green fleece. Boys size medium. Oh well art before fashion is what i say. What i did was to sew in little pockets to the interior of the hood so that i could add the little hand warmers.  

You see i can use them when i discover frost resting upon every detail of the Avalon winter garden. 

I didn't have my new invention yet so for these photos i alternately went in and out of doors, warming my hands then venturing back out into this exquisite world of icy detail. 

My teeth chattered and i shivered in the cold air. My breath was icy white, occasionally fogging up the  viewfinder so that i had to stop and wipe it clear.  

Anything in the name of art! Anyone have a story of exceptional lengths you have gone to in order to satisfy your creative daemon?