Jerry Fenter

Saturday I woke up irritable, short tempered, cross, crabby and was convinced that the world was plotting against me.  The strange weather was going to beat up my tomato plant, my new flower garden wasn’t blooming fast enough, my cats clawed most of the wallpaper off my bedroom shelf and I found myself wanting to get even with everyone and everything.  I chewed out a couple of telemarketers before breakfast then walked around grumpy and useless for the rest of the morning and afternoon. I paced.  I know I’m bad off when I pace.  My own crabby father paced whenever he was irritated and that was most all of the time.  Others were steering clear of me.  I was a virtual time-bomb waiting to go off.  Of course I couldn’t work.  I wasn’t creative.  I had no ideas.  Worst yet we had paid a lot of money to go to a concert that night at the Maryhill Winery.  “Earth, Wind and Fire,” I mumbled into a strong cup of coffee.  “Right, those old guys aren’t worth ten bucks let alone over one-hundred.”  We were to go with our neighbors, Sara and Jeff, great friends, but even their friendship didn’t cheer me up.  “I have nothing to wear,” I screamed at my closet. “Sara will look so good and I’ll look like my flannel shirt hillbilly self. I hate my clothes. Old Levi’s and Get Fuzzy tee-shirts… but then what parties do I get to go to where I need to dress up anyway? (mumble, mumble) I live so friggin’ far out in the woods,” I whined to myself, slamming plastic hangers hard into each other. (Honestly, I was a little Joan Crawford like.)  My cats hid.  Cody kept to himself. 

Also we were actually worried about a nearby fire.  I tried to come up with every excuse necessary to stay home.  “What if the fire surrounds our house while we’re gone?”  I asked.  Ron in his wisdom told me quietly to calm down (of course that made me even madder.) So I called Jeff (the king of our Search and Rescue).  He said no worries and that the fire was heading the other direction.  No more excuses.  I must go.  I must be calm and appear happy.

We get to the concert.  We park at least one thousand miles away from where we need to be.  We all pile out of the car and pack up chairs, purses, blankets and every other thing we might need and haul it all up to the entrance.  We get searched for any “illegal” liquids.  By this time it was about six o’clock.  It was getting cloudy and cold. Black clouds filled the sky, an orange glow came from the west (from the fire), and people were everywhere.  (I hate big crowds).  It took some time to settle in.  Ron was not talking to me (he knows when my dark side is loose). I’m cold.  I’m hungry.  Sara and Jeff get food while we watch our spot.  We have a long time to wait and I feel the first raindrops. “Oh, crap,” I mutter “what next?”

Sara and Jeff come back and it starts to rain.  Jeff bought a bottle of wine. It cost thirty dollars.  We go for food.  We stand in the wrong line.  We’re now getting very wet.  We change lines. After what is an eternity we have our food in our hands.  We walk fifty miles back to our spot. We eat with our blanket over our head. My corn chips and salsa blow out of my hands, nearly hitting the people next to us. I somehow save my burrito. Lightning.  (A cheer from the crowd)  Thunder.  (another cheer).  We’re blinded from the lights shining on the audience from the stage and can barely hear the tiny warm up singer hawking her new CD over and over. She doesn’t move while she sings.  More thunder, rain and lightning. Then wind.  I know my head is going to explode.  And then…

A break in the clouds, the wind dies down, a beautiful sunset paints orange and red from the west and just as the sun is going down a rainbow appears to the left of the stage.  It’s dark, I’m warm, I’m full and we’re all on the edge of our seats (or blankets). A little girl carrying a bouquet of light sticks and ribbons crosses our path.

 The stage lights up.  Blue, red, pink and yellow flashes precede the grand entrance of “Earth, Wind and Fire”.  The guys enter.  They are loud.  They are a celebration.  They play the familiar music from my past.  I smile.  I rock.  I dance.  My storm is over.  I turn to Ron and quietly whisper in his ear, “If there is a heaven this is just what mine would be like.”  He smiles.  We buy a thirty dollar bottle of wine.  We get down.  We get funky.  We dance.

Two important happenings in two different parts of the country this weekend. First a show by my good friend and exceptional artist Sue Martin at Art at the Main in Salt Lake City. The reception is Friday, August 20th. For information go to www.artatthemain.com!

Also my talented husband and well known artist Ron Fenter will be at the Maryhill Art Festival this weekend showing and selling his new line of pottery and sculpture.  He has brand new work after almost selling out his show at The Dalles Art Center.  For information go to www.maryhillmuseum.org.  Everyone come out and support him!

Did I just imagine it or has Revlon come out with a new line of lipstick called…get ready for it…Just Bitten?  Vampires seem to be everywhere these days, golden shiny ones like Edward from the Twilight series, evil Vampire kings and handsome Nordic Vampires like Eric from the True Blood HBO series and now an avalanche of werewolves and shape shifters running rampant in movies, books, TV and on the internet.  Everyone, I think, including myself seems to be spending the dregs of their summer escaping from the daily stress of life into the unknown realms of fantasy. Ahh, doesn’t it feel good?

Vampires don’t get no respect.  Hey, I don’t get no respect.  I can feel for them.

Vampires are angry and they can bite (it’s encouraged).  Hey I’m angry and I can bite.  Just ask the person I chased off my porch yesterday.  Sometimes it feels great to be angry and just not care what anyone thinks.

Shape-shifters can change into new and anonymous things, persons or animals.  I’d like to become something or someone else whenever I feel like it.  As a shape-shifted mountain goat I could climb mountains with ease.  As a shifted cat I could curl up in the sun and sleep most of the day.  As an innocent couch I could spy on everyone! 

Werewolves are strong, can run fast, have strong teeth and hang out with friends.  What could be better?  They don’t have to work or to answer to anyone. 

Sometimes I think we all need a break from the polite world to just spend a day or two letting out some of those repressed feelings we keep hidden.  I try and do just that when I’m alone but, “oops” sometimes it will accidently spill over into my public persona.  I actually hung up on a telemarketer from Amnesty International today. That’s kind of like beating up a nun.  I donate to AI so now I’m positive that I’m totally losing control.  I crave fantasy.  I want to pretend everything is all right.  I want no more phone calls asking me for money or time. I want to watch movies for ten hours at a stretch.  I want to disappear.  I don’t want to face reality.  It’s the end of summer.  I want a long break and some exciting and outrageous fantasy.  I want to play dress up and make mud pies like I did when I was small.  I want to pick and eat so many berries that my whole face is blood red with juice.  Just like a vampire.

(crayon print class canceled…no sign ups)

I’m back from vacation and back to work!  Inspired by Yellowstone National Park and the great state of Nebraska get ready for some great stories of wildlife up close and Beer Can Chicken at it’s best.  I’m going through vacation photos right now and will include some of the most excellent in my next post.

I’ll be giving another Making Monotypes with Pastels and Metallic Crayons Workshop on Saturday and Sunday August 28th and 29th, 2010, from 11:00AM until 4:00 PM at The Dalles Art Center. (The monotype shown above is from a piece I did for a special friend who will be having her first big art show in Florida next month!  I’m really proud for her.)  Over the workshop  weekend  you will learn to make wonderful one of a kind prints using crayons and pastels  at The Dalles Art Center. We had so much fun working with crayon and hot copper before, that we’re doing it again. The workshop will be limited to eight people and the cost is $80 for the workshop, with a one time $10 supply charge. Jerry will bring paper for printing, crayons and some pastels. (However, if you have any old pastel sets, crayons, etc. around your house please bring them to share with others.) Also any squares of fabric for flags…8” x 8” to 12” x12” would be appreciated. The fabric should be light colored to show off the bright colors of the crayons. We will be printing on a copper sheet, heated with an iron, so dress for mess. Bring some drawing paper to sketch ideas, pencils and a roll of paper towels. You must come both days. This is a crazy process! Fun too! SIGN UP AND PAY BEFORE WEDNESDAY, August 25th, AT THE ART CENTER OR USE A CREDIT CARD BY PHONE. THE TOTAL IS $90.00. THIS PROCESS IS TOTALLY FUN! YOU NEED NO EXPERIENCE TO PLAY AND CREATE BEAUTIFUL PIECES.  Sign up early!  To see some examples of our last creations go back in my blog posts and check out what we accomplished.

I’ll be sharing my pictures and highlights from Wyoming and Nebraska soon.  Have a great week. 

“Art does not reproduce what we see.  It makes us see.” 

                                                                            –Paul Klee 1879-1940