Blue Dahlia Studio: My (art) bags are packed and I'm ready to go!

I leave for ArtFest first thing in the morning and have managed to successfully cram all my supplies into two medium sized bags, whew! I am still packing all of the rest of the stuff I need and doing all those things that must be done when you leave your husband alone for a few days. Had to make a unexpected trip to the vet, studio cat #1, Dana, needed her "treatment", in other words she needed her glands expressed, yuck! It it a routine thing with her, I find that if I sugar coat it by telling her she is going for the "treatment" instead of what it really is she doesn't get the crazy eyes and hide in some dark depth of the house when I come to scoop her up and put her in the kitty carrier. Hopefully there are no more unplanned events today. We catch the ferry tomorrow and will spend the morning in Port Townsend visiting all our favorite shops before heading up to Fort Worden (yes...where they filmed Officer and a Gentleman). I am lucky enough to be sharing one of the officer's houses with the most amazing group of women, it has been a year since most of us have seen each other so we can't wait for our reunion. I think one of my favorite parts of ArtFest is sitting around the big dining room table in our house, drinking wine, sharing our art and laughing so hard we almost wet our pants. The classes I am taking are awesome, "Wax the Casbah" with Judy Wise, "Junk Mail Artist Book" with Carla Sonheim and "Wood Collage Vignettes" with Karen Michel, they are all wonderful artists. I did manage to finish a piece for the gallery, and in only two days! The truncated time frame was actually good for me as it did not allow time to over think the project and micro-manage every step, which I have a HUGE problem with. Sometimes its better to just start throwing things together without getting to far inside my head. It may not be my most sophisticated work but I am pleased with the outcome and think it is kind of fun. The theme this year was sea creatures, this piece is very 3-D, it reminded me of those old plays where they had a ocean scene and would have the wave props stacked one behind the other and shift them back and forth to look like the waves were moving.