Bliss, Paradise, Agave and Yes...the Eagle has Landed

Well, here we are in our post Apple Blossom Paradise of Birds and Flowers blissful rest and relaxation….NOT.  As always the beat goes on in the art world of Rod and Martha.

Starting Sunday – not even a full day after our parade float adventure, we were up and atom at the break of dawn, well, maybe not that early… to move the float from its overnight storage at Terry Signs back to the city storage yard or at least just outside the gate there.

And, so while many of the good citizens of Wenatchee were preparing to get themselves and their families to church and the not so good citizens, tourists and assorted carnies and traveling roustabouts were catching up on their sleep, I drove the float right through downtown Wenatchee with Martha following in my truck hazard lights a flashing. Clap, clap, clap a trap down the avenue we went with the back end bouncing off of every manhole cover and dip, blip or pot hole in the road. “Whew!” Was all I could say at the end of that little trip.

Later that afternoon we did take the opportunity to enjoy the company of friends at a local restaurant, which also gave me the opportunity to snap some pictures of the artwork there done by our friend Terry Johnson and some other artists as well. The only signature I could read on the other art was Valdez… don’t know the first name or anything about the artist…sorry.

And, then the following day, a work day for me, I was back at the city yard on my lunch break to move the float back into the yard and to get that great hulking contraption back into its trailer. Getting it into the trailer without any assistance was a bit of hassle and managing to get it lined up and into the trailer with all of an inch and a half clearance on each side was challenging… but, hey what’s life without a few challenges. Done, finite, kaput… never again.  Well, as Sean Connery learned “never say never again”. We’ll see. If Bill and Cindy Rietvelt ask us to help them with a float or a giant Woolly Mammoth, we’ll be on that.

In the end I can say, it was fun. We were a little surprised that we didn’t get an award. Or, more accurately that the award for ‘most creative specialty unit’ went to a local business that had a pick-up truck pulling a flatbed trailer with a couple of potted trees from his landscaping business in the trailer. While our float had literally hundreds of man and woman hours into it did not receive any recognition. Oh well that’s how it goes sometimes.

And, while I was moving the float on Monday, Martha was delivering three of her bird themed paintings to Leavenworth for the Bird Fest’s Nature Artists of Icicle Studio.  The show features a number of artists and is described as “Powerful and gentle, inspiring and restive, educational and fun.” The show is being held at the studio of professional photographer Reed Carlson who is also a member of the Two Rivers Gallery a co-op gallery that Martha and I belong to. Martha and I are very excited to have her work in this show and we are really looking forward to the opening reception coming up on May 17^th from 5 to 7pm. Gosh, I hope I can make it from my last appointment to get there before it’s over.

As, the week has progressed Martha has been busy teaching art at the local emergency housing program and preparing for her ‘I am the Earth’ art class at the Lewis and Clark elementary School in Wenatchee. Meanwhile, I published a short video of our parade experience, took photos of a baby eagle in its nest high atop a telephone pole from a nearby hillside and published one of said eaglet pics on EPhotzine online magazine. Getting up the hillside through the brush was a fun way to spend part of a lunch hour after having moved that crazy parade float.

And, for those interested, I have made a bit more progress on that portrait of my granddaughter. I think it’s starting to come to life. Wish me luck on that.

Well, enough for now. Enjoy spring and have a very artful day.

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