Art Club, Friendship Club

I just finished tying on my warp when it was time to leave, actually past time to leave. I had called my new neighbor across the road to say I'd pick her up in ten minutes, when I found a threading error that I was sure I could repair in minutes. Poor Lynn had to stand at the bottom of her driveway for too long - we weren't late to Art Club but I felt bad that I left her in the cold, no pun intended.
This is Sherry's studio and she has graciously offered it to us as meeting space. We had an organizational meeting last month so this was our first actual meeting. Sandy (center) sponsored a collage ice-breaker, based on a class that she had taken. She offered all the supplies as well. We were a little tentative with each other at first, but it ended up being a wonderful afternoon. There are few opportunities to meet people out in our valley, plus the community is changing rapidly with home foreclosures, bank auctions and new residents. Lynn and her husband bought the house across the road through an online bank auction and moved here from Akron, Ohio last month.

Ian takes the dogs for a ride in the truck each morning and told me this morning that he stopped to look at a house north of us with auction signs posted. A guy pulled up in a quad and chatted with him for a bit about the sale, wondering why if the house was sold on the court steps on Wednesday, why the auction signs are still up. In passing, he added that he's losing his house and three of his neighbors are too. Lynn asked us a couple weeks ago why everyone out here seems to have a fifth wheel parked by their house. I've wondered that and how they can afford such lavish barns and quads for every family member. It's the second mortgage that paid for the toys!

Lynn and Ken bought their house at auction for $97,000. The last owners bought it for $130,000 and then added a family room and six-car garage. She told me as we drove by the recent auction house that the winning bid was $35,000. It's a mess but I'm not sure the bank accepted the bid. I'm so tired of the phone messages from Sharron Angle's group, telling me that it's Harry Reid's fault that everyone is losing their home in Nevada. Well excuse me. Wasn't it your party in the White House when these bogus loans were issued? But I digress.

Susie asked me to take this picture and email it to her as she wants a point of reference. The blue was formed with plastic wrap and the multiple shapes and colors were done by tearing rice paper in small shapes and also tearing up strings of gauze, wetting them to the paper, which is 140 lb paper, if that means anything to you, and then daubing on paint. The picture I don't have have is of this completed as a lovely stream, falling over rocks with bushes on the banks.
This was my second experience with water color. I have only done pen and ink in the past so used the exercise to practice painting negative space. My paper and string was just too pretty to throw away after it dried and lifted from the paper. It's in the foreground and also where most of my color went - I used purple, gold and green of course. I'll cut the watercolor paper into gift bookmarks. So much to learn! It was a perfect day to be indoors.