musings

'Sticks' 9x12" ink, colored pencil on paper;

Kathleen Faulkner

I live close to forests.

Moving around in them 

is like eating healthy food.

I makes me feel good.

WIP 3@6x6" ink, colored pencil;

Kathleen Faulkner

land of wild

'Fallow Field' 18x24" oil pastel on board;   Kathleen Faulkner

The field is at the end of the road;  beyond that, the Skagit river.
I've only been to this field a few times.
Once it was covered in river water.   Another time the water between the rows had frozen.
This last time it was a soft, slight green.
The field has a wildness about it despite having been altered by man.   It is something hard to explain.
Once I smelled the Salish sea there.

Some places have that wild energy yet live so close to home: all along the edges of Fir Island, the slough through Edison, the rotten dock at the north end of town.

Later I'll walk up to Cranberry Lake nestled in the midst of the Anacortes Forest Lands nestled in the midst of town.

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest

It is Christmas.  The year is winding down and I've been thinking about all that has happened in twelve short months.  One thing this last year was not and that was milque toast.   It has been a challenge, a real roller coaster ride but I've managed to come through it and I'm grateful.  

I am especially grateful to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth.  

I feel safe here.  I was born here.  My daughter is here. My parents were laid to rest here.  I spend my adult life painting here and I will probably die here.  There are worse fates. 

     

The view from the top of Mt. Erie, Anacortes, WA; Kathleen Faulkner

The view from my studio, Anacortes, WA;  Kathleen Faulkner

Forest Lands, Anacortes, WA;  Kathleen Faulkner

Eagle Convention, Edison, WA;  Kathleen Faulkner

Geese, Skagit Flats;  Kathleen Faulkner

Skagit Flats;  Kathleen Faulkner

Cormorants, Guemes Channel, Anacortes, WA;
Kathleen Faulkner

Guemes Ferry Dock, Anacortes, WA;  Kathleen Faulkner

Heading back to Anacortes from Sinclair
Island;  Kathleen Faulkner

http://kathleenfaulkner.blogspot.com/2010/02/magic-skagit.html

Why I wear a hat

'Owl' 5x1.5", sterling and fine silver, glass, plastic, snakeskin,
fossilized walrus ivory, printer's ink; Kathleen Faulkner

Anacortes is home to the amazing Forest Lands Area.  Many miles and many assets: a lake, beaver, hundreds of birds, deer, coyotes, raccoons, porcupine, owl and every other small creature one could imagine.  Trees, moss, mushrooms, you name it, the Forest Lands has it.

I love to walk there:  it's in the middle of town yet a world unto itself and a good place to decompress.

There is a particular owl that lives there who has made a name for itself.  This owl may be a tad bit 'off'.  It thinks hair is potential food and has been known to attack walker's heads.  I've seen this owl because it doesn't try to hide and makes no bones about being seen.  It sits and watches, ready to strike when the moment is right.

This is why I always wear a hat in the Forest Lands.

'Anacortes Forest Lands' digital photo; Kathleen Faulkner

The crows get it

'Pod' Brooch, sterling silver, pods, pigment; Kathleen Faulkner
photo: David Scherrer

I live in the middle of town:  Police station, hospital, elementary, middle and high school, pool, national guard all within two blocks.

The walk to old town is twenty minutes or so.  I go almost daily to check my 'good' mail at the Post Office.  I only receive art related mail there, hence the 'good'.

I enjoy the walk and usually find interesting things along the way that, sometimes, are incorporated into my work.
The journey is not as beautiful or peaceful as in the Anacortes Forest Lands but it can be just as interesting and sometimes more useful.

The 'pods' are dogwood fruit found over by the hospital and the 'sticks' were found within a  block from my house.

I guess that potential and opportunity are everywhere if one just looks.

'Stick Pins" various woods, manzanita berry, sterling silver; Kathleen Faulkner
photo: David Scherrer

The Pod brooch and other Stick Pins from this series will be on view at the Whatcom Museum's "Art and All that Jazz' show.