Julius designed the yearbook cover

School's been out for a couple of weeks already, but I just had to share a special treat we got on the last day of school - our son, Julius, had his artwork featured on the front cover of his school yearbook!

All the kids voted and picked his design, and he's only in 6th grade! How cool is that? Well, the only downside is that somehow the teachers credited the wrong kid's name on the back cover - but during an all-school assembly they announced the mistake and had Julius stand up for a round of applause, which is very nice. I'm bummed that his name isn't on it, but still totally proud of him, and I just love his design! It had to be some sort of dragon as that is the school mascot - I think it's so great that Juke's design was chosen by his peers, and I wanted to share it with you here. Yay for Julius!

Christine's Oregon Coast Travel Journal

Naturally, I took more than 400 photos during our recent family vacation to the Oregon Coast. Here are just a few of my favorites!

For starters, the Velvet Elvis is a staple. The first thing we always do when checking into our yurt is to hang Elvis in the front window. So if you ever see Elvis at an Oregon state park, you can be pretty sure the Claringbold family is staying there! A little history: our very first Christmas together (1991), Chuck and I both bought each other Velvet Elvis hangings. It was a big surprise! The one I got for him was pink with a younger King on it, and that one has since been lost, but the one he bought me still remains and lives in our camping equipment just for this reason.
We had gorgeous weather, blue skies, and sunshine. Is that a clipper ship on the horizon?
It was relaxing! Naps were actually taken!
We walked in the woods. I took a zillion marco pictures of wildflowers, wanting to save all the beautiful colors for future inspiration.

We went to the amazing Oregon Coast Aquarium and were simply enchanted by the huge variety of fabulous creatures there...


...especially the Oddwater exhibit...

...and the Passages of the Deep, where you walk through acrylic tunnels and watch fish, sharks, and rays swimming all around and over your head... so cool!
This picture has its own caption:
We had campfires and cocoa and good food. We also got a lot of reading done. Tangereen scored a cool Star Trek book at a local thrift store, where I also found an awesome psychedelic coffee cup for my collection!

We explored tide pools too.
We checked out a big old bus that was for sale. Chuck was so excited, he totally wants to buy an old school bus for the band.
Besides all this, we also played lots of baseball, spent hours at a huge antique mall, and what trip to the beach would be complete without lunch at Mo's?

I have to say, I think this was the most fun and relaxing family vacation we've had in a very long time. Now that I'm home, I'm trying to get back to work, so I'm making a new batch of Mandala Record Bowls for the upcoming Recycled Arts Festival (June 28 & 29 at Esther Short Park in Vancouver - see you there!).

Hot stuff!

Well, I guess it must be hot summertime somewhere as you can see by these heat-inspired treasuries (featuring my Chili Pepper Feng Shui Mirror and Magenta Eye Candy Cuff)...here in Portland, Oregon it is still cold, cold, cold, and rainy. We are leaving for a Yurt-camping trip tomorrow - I really hope to get some sunshine at the beach!

My shop will be in vacation mode until June 16. Thank you!

Congratulations Tangereen!

If I can just brag for a minute - my beautiful, brilliant, sweet (and tall!) daughter, Tangereen Velveteen Bailey Claringbold, graduated from 8th grade yesterday! She got special recognition from her geometry and Spanish teachers. Now she is moving on to high school - I can't believe it! We are so proud!!!

Sign your kids up for summer art camp at Buckman!

This summer I'll be teaching some fun kids' art classes for the SUN (Schools Uniting Neighborhoods) camp at Portland's Buckman Arts Focus Elementary School. Sign your kids up for four days of ceramics, printmaking, and other fun adventures by visiting the DIY Lounge website! The camp will be happening July 7 - 10.

Live Debris goes live in Beirut

Three of my pieces are currently in an exhibition in Beirut, Lebanon!

The show is called Live Debris and it is curated by Taylor Stevenson, a Portlander who curated last year's traveling Tossed and Found exhibition, in which I also had work (and I originally heard about it all from SCRAP's website -thanks, SCRAP!).

Live Debris is an international exhibit of reuse art and craft from the US, Spain, Brazil, and Egypt. The show is on display through June 6 at Umam Documentation and Research in Beirut, Lebanon.

These two Eye Pop Art pieces, made from upcycled vinyl records, plus a Basic Black Roman Record Cuff, are part of the show:
"Live Debris is a collaborative project dedicated to the proliferation of reuse art, craft and design. Beginning in Beirut, Lebanon in March-June, 2008 as a series of lectures, workshops and exhibitions, US artist Taylor Stevenson is teaching reuse techniques and curating an exhibit of international art and craft made from commonly discarded materials. From the hills and shanties of Cairo and Rio de Janeiro, the catwalks of the United States, the villas of Latin America and the streets of Spain and Lebanon, Live Debris highlights programs and individuals who are transforming their communities through the creative revival of common trash. "

Click here to read an interview with Taylor in the Beirut news!

New listings for a new month!

Check out some of my newest Roman Record Cuffs and Eye Candy Record Cuffs!

These all came about in a burst of inspiration following the awesome workshop I attended yesterday - it was the monthly meeting for Trillium Artisans, and this time we had a "field trip" to Lisa Gastelum's house for some hands-on practice with taking artistic product photography in natural lighting.

Here are a few photos from the workshop:


We had a lot of fun with Kristina's chickens!
It was such an informative and fun workshop - thanks, Lisa!