The view from my window

The view from my airplane window revealed a Kansas landscape dusted with the colors of fall. I returned home on Sunday from days spent in Portland at the Art and Soul retreat.

The event was magical and wonderful, all rolled into one!

Marylin and I brought back with us precious memories as souvenirs from the trip. The hospitality was outstanding, as usual, and we felt quite blessed by the friendships we made and rekindled during our travels. Two particularly touching moments for me was when my friends, Shari Beaubien and Jan Harris, each gave me an exquisite gift. I hope to post pictures soon of their lovely artworks that now grace the walls of my studio.
We had the distinct honor of hosting several workshops for a second year in a row. Our classes were completely inspiring and brimming with such talented individuals.

We are always so incredibly lucky to be in the company of the most beautiful people. Above is just one of many artworks created in the Nature Painting workshop on Thursday.

I have created a Painted Nature Photo Album so that you can see the other BREATHTAKING!!!! pieces made during our time together.

It is OH... SO HARD FOR ME TO RESTRAIN MYSELF, and not post more artworks from our Fusion classes. But Marylin will be sharing those with you later this week on her blog.

On Friday, this incredible journey also led me to an early morning meeting with six other artists that are all part of the art challenge, Nature Gathered.

What started out as a somewhat daunting task to come together at 7:00 a.m., turned out to be a wonderful occasion, and a real bonding experience for those involved.
The day continued to weave into it more cherished memories with a visit to Apifera Lavender Farm, which is the home of the very famous artist, Katherine Dunn.
Katherine and I started conversing via email all the way back in March, and she graciously agreed to receive a visit from us while we were visiting Portland.

I have been a real fan of both Katherine's work, and endearing tales of life on a farm.
She was a most gracious host. The conversations were quite lively as kindred spirits discussed art and life.

She even introduced us to her also famous little donkeys; Pino, Paco, and Lucia, who were completely adorable!

We also got to meet the silly one-eyed Pug, Billy and lovable chocolate Lab, Huck.

The little donkeys were also happy to receive visitors, and sweet Paco proudly showed us his beloved pumpkin patch.Before long an entire morning had passed and it was time to go. But there were plenty of little donkey kisses to go around as we said our goodbyes.
What a wonderful adventure... my visit to Portland! These perfect moments for me to hold close to my heart...

THANK YOU EVERYONE.. for making this time so very special. I will remember it, always!