Last Thursday, art on Alberta in Northeast Portland's Alberta Arts District

For y'all in Jackson, Last Thursday is sort of like ArtMix in Fondren, only different. It's outdoors, covers 15 or so blocks on each side of NE Alberta, and attracts a CROWD of people who pack the sidewalks as tightly as the house-made boudin blanc at 3 Doors Down Cafe. This week I'll participate for the third time if the weather cooperates--it looks good so far. I may or may not sell more than a thing or two, which is fine and dandy with me because watching people is such a great way to pass a couple of hours. Plus I've had the satisfying fun and therapy of creating all of the stuff I put on display, painted wooden items, decoupaged purses, photograph cards, collages, matted photos and art cars.

Here's what I found for you about the Alberta Arts District and Last Thursday on portlandneighborhood.com:

"At first glance, the name “Alberta Arts District” may seem a little overstated when taking into account the number of galleries on the street. But when one discovers that nearly every business - from restaurants and bars to the finest in dress shops, with very little exception - functions as a gallery with a rotating roster of artists represented on their walls, one begins to understand the full nature of this community’s devotion to art. And Last Thursday, as it is simply called, is the designation given to the ever-growing event occurring on the last Thursday of each month when each of these establishments is open late and essentially transformed into the artists’ opening night reception

You just can't miss Alberta's "Last Thursday", which seems a combination art gallery "hop" and neighborhood street fair all rolled into one. It is every last Thursday of the month during the summer. If nothing else, enjoy the swarming crowds, and have fun people watching. You'll also have the opportunity to pick up some local arts (and crafts) work at great prices. Support your neighborhood arts!"

What follows are photographs of my latest art cars, recently concocted, painted and glued.

What else could I do with a VW convertible? Party Bugs it is!






Remember the Chambers' Brothers? Here's my homage to their "Love, Peace and Happiness." Love equals that strategically placed sweet patriotic heart sticker on the little guy's chest. Peace--you can see the word and the symbol on the base of the 1966 Ford Thunderbird, and the round dude is flashing a peace sign with his right hand. Happiness? He's a three-dimensional Smiley Face--what could be happier, I ask you?






Woody and his decisions accent that hand-painted 1959 Cadillac Series 62 pretty well, don't you think? (If you've got eyes like mine, you'll need to click on the photo to make complete sense of the decisons thing.) Love those fins!




Who doesn't love a parade? Or icons? That's Buzz Lightyear and a Barbie standing tall behind a daddy and his little girl. To me, especially since the daddy's wearing Mickey Mouse ears, they look like they're sitting on the curb at Disney World, watching the daily parade. In the bed of the truck you've got Tweety Bird, Mickey Mouse and Homer Simpson. Icons indeed!








This lovely lavendar limousine sports message near and dear to every one, whether you're a mama or daddy who's tried to get your little girl to be still while you put up her hair in a pony tail, or you're the right age to remember saucily walking by the cutest boy in homeroom, your pony tail swinging just right, catching his eye and turning his head, or you just might be the grown up boy whose fell head over heels for that pony tail.



One or two, long or short ... pony tails rule!




You can't see it very well, but beside this little person with the short, fluffy pink hair there is a triangular pink sign with a black question mark on it. Pony tail in the making?



Last but not least in these newly minted art cars is this 1955 Chrysler C-300, in honor of U. S. Navy Master Diver Carl Brashear. After seeing that movie "Men of Honor," nothing would do when I came across my miniature diver but an art car in Brashear's memory. One of the women I work with bought this one for her fiance.



Finally, here's a photo Lindsay took of me and my stuff at Last Thursday, May 31. Later on, after the sun went down, I had to put on my short-sleeved top and wished I had my cardigan, too. I'll be taking it with me this week! Look closely and you can see my patriotic pinwheel headband.

Tuesday, May 23, our take-Milton-and-Kay-to-the-beach day!

Beach? Awright! Let's go! Kay and Milton for sure wanted to see the Pacific. She walked out of the apartment without a jacket, surprising me when I saw her out on the sidewalk because it was cool in Portland and supposed to be cool and cloudy on the coast. When she felt the air outside, Kay headed for their truck and her newly acquired Eddie Bauer jacket--she found it at the Goodwill the afternoon before. Mama walked out holding Kay's turquoise jacket as well as another one for herself because she knew what we were in for. Folks in Portland layer, layer, layer, keeping lots of their layers in their backpacks or tote bags as the conditions change throughout the day. You can tell by the skeptical look on Kay's face that she's having a time reconciling her knowledge of the beach, taken from the Gulf Coast, and wearing jackets! And Milton wouldn't let me get away without a picture of me, too. I'm glad he did.




Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, our first stop! I found out online that it's a protected marine garden that stands 235 feet tall. We stayed there for quite a while, walking, looking, taking pictures, going all the way to the backside of the rock. Just before we made our way to the sand, the long-suffering group posed for yet another photo!



This is my favorite shot of the gulls and the waves.



Lindsay took this shot of Kay and me, walking and talking.








That's Tillamook Rock Lighthouse in the distance, north of Cannon Beach, Oregon.




These gulls are on that point of rock that you can see in the next picture, to the left of Haystack. The sun came out, thankfully, so that you can see the details.




As you're looking west, this is the view just to the south side of Haystack.



Here at the base of Haystack Rock, the group posed for me once again, pointing at starfish and anemones. I just couldn't get my camera up and focused quickly enough, so the cuties humored me.



Duncan's ready to go to the car and on to the next stop on our personal tour.



Hug Point rocks! Here's what I found out about it at the Oregon state parks site: Just south of Cannon Beach, this little wayside gives you easy access to the beach and a peek at some interesting history. Imagine travelling by stagecoach along the beach (before the highway was built, the beach was the only way to go). North of the parking area you can still walk along the original trail carved into the point by the stagecoaches. The wayside was named after this trail because it hugs the point. Looking further north, Haystack Rock—one of the most identifiable landmarks along the coastline—is easily visible.

Caution to visitors; be aware of the tide! It is possible to become stranded at high tide when exploring the point. Take a look at the stagecoach trail, the view of Haystack Rock and the two caves around the point, but have a plan.

Our plan was to get there around low tide (Lindsay looked it up the night before, so we had a time to aim for) and enjoy!

Cristina posed for me at the point where the rocky road emerged from the sand.





Look closely and you can see numerous starfish clinging to the rock, along with loads of sea anemones.




Here's how Leland and Lamont creatively made their way off the wagon road!





Lovebirds!



The shiny spot to the right in the darkness is actually a pool of water, trapped in the rock and reflecting the rock roof above it.



There's Cristina and Leland, and Lamont, just outside the entrance to the cave. Amazing. Thank goodness it was low tide, right?



Lindsay inside the cave--you can see how large it is. I don't even want to think about being there when the sea is there.



Milton and Lindsay walked Mama slowly down the steep slope towards the Cape Meares Lighthouse, our last stop of the day minus supper at Kyllos in Lincoln City. At 38 feet tall, Cape Meares is the shortest lighthouse on the West Coast. Situated atop a 200 foot tall headland, it provided aid to ships until 1963 when it was decommissioned.

I love these two pictures!




Milton got Mama situated on this bench where she could see this group of rocks with the hole.





On the walk down to the lighthouse, these huge, windswept rocks caught my eye.



This is the beach taken from the opposite side of the headland.








Here's a bit of the fauna and flora at Cape Meares.








Believe it or not, this is a Sitka Spruce, known far and wide as the Octopus Tree! It's up the cliff from the lighthouse, in a steep wooded area. You can tell how tall it is from Lindsay's photo of Lamont standing in front of it. Its base circumference, according to a great big sign beside the fence that encloses the tree, is about 50 feet. Here's a bit more I found at Salem-News.com. Since it still lives, no one knows its age, but some guess the Octopus Tree has been around since Jesus walked the earth. Indians who used to live in the area called it The Council Tree. Some think its limbs were shaped that way by Indians on purpose to hold canoes for their dead, based on findings of archaeologists.



We're about ready to leave the lighthouse--aren't we lucky these two sweet and lovely young women are part of our party?



Truth be told, the same thing could be said about these handsome and industrious men.



And here's lucky me with my two grown sons!



To finish off this plethora of pictures of our great day, I've got alternating pix of the Hansons and their Frisbee! Lindsay took this first photo of Leland and the last one of Lamont. Thanks for sharing, Lindsay!




















For you, a visual definition of one tired puppy!