Journalfest Trades

I had read on the Journalfest Yahoo page that people often bring items to trade at these events.  Apparently it started at Artfest (which is a similar event organized by Teesha and Tracy and held at Fort Worden in the spring, only it's a lot more people).  Bringing trades is not a requirement, it's just something fun to do.  So the week or two before heading down to Port Townsend, I put together 90 little packages with a bunch of collage items.  I included a bunch of paper items for collaging, cut in various shapes.

Here's a picture of the page in my journal showing all of my trade items:

For Canadian content, I cut tag shapes out of security envelopes with Canada Post stamps on them and included a stamped piece of cardstock with a maple leaf (to which I added my contact info and blog address on the reverse). I also cut up a piece of Hallowe'en fabric I had bought in France, added a playing card and an antique milk coupon (I love to imagine how people used to put these coupons out on their stoop in an empty milk bottle to place their order with the milkman!), punched tag shapes out of orange construction paper and stamped them with Hallowe'en designs, copied some of the fabulous old black and white photos I had picked up at the vide greniers in France and cut up a little book of French train schedules and stamped those pieces with a fleur-de-lis.  As a final little treat, I added confetti shaped as skulls and ravens and a few sequins for good measure.

As it turns out, not everyone had things to trade.  I took 90 packages and came home with 22, having traded some and otherwise just given mine away to anyone who wanted one.  I did receive several really cool items in exchange, including other collage packages similar to mine as well as several unique items, such as this magnet that a woman named Sue made as a ghoulish self-portrait for Halloween:

and a little package of Hallowe'en paper, candy and stickers:

and some lovely artist trading cards, like this one with an Alice in Wonderland theme made by a woman named Kate:

I have put many of the trades I received in various parts of my journal.  One of my favourites is a cardboard flag that one woman made that has colourful ribbons and strings hanging from it.  I've positioned it so they dangle out of the bottom of my journal and I really like the bit of colour and pizzazz it adds to the book.

I love having the various bits and pieces I received as trades placed here and there in my journal to remind me of the talent and generosity of the people who gave them to me - thanks, everyone!

A Walk on the Beach

I had a chance to take a walk on one of the beaches at Fort Worden while I was there for Journalfest. This one overlooks Admiralty Inlet and is such a pretty spot. It was late afternoon, just before 6 p.m., with the sun already down low enough to be blocked by the ridge above me.  As you can see from this shot of the cliffs:

the beach is quite a bit lower down than where the buildings were located. In fact, here's a picture of the stairs I climbed to get back up to where I needed to be, I counted about 98 steps.

Initially, there were other people (and their dogs) on the beach with me.  I like this picture of a couple walking towards the wharf, it seems rather romantic to me, especially in sepia tones.

Ultimately, I was alone on the beach, which was pleasant and slightly worrisome at the same time - especially after I saw this sign as I began my walk:

But I lived to tell the tale and I'm really pleased with some of the photos I took, especially this one of a couple of trees on the ridge above me.

There were lots of jellyfish washed up in the surf, they were a beautiful aubergine colour. Having been raised inland on the shores of freshwater lakes, I don't know much about jellyfish except that you don't want to get stung by one and they are to be avoided, so I gave them a wide berth.

Of course, I was beachcombing as I went, filling my pockets with shells and rocks as I always do. I found these 2 heart-shaped stones, which I've heard people collect (most recently, my friend Dawn from the France trip) but I had never seen any on my travels before. I gave one to Heather and kept one for myself.

Masquerade

One week ago tonight, I was spending my Saturday night at the Masquerade party at Journalfest.  We were all supposed to make a mask and wear it to the festivities but several people took that a step further and came in full costume.  I bought a mask, which turned out to be impossible to put on over top of my glasses, but everyone loved my Hallowe'en themed t-shirt, which I accessorized with a black and orange feather boa.  You can see my shirt and a little bit of that boa in this photo of Heather, Irene and myself:

Here is a collage of some of the amazing masks people had made:

Everyone brought their journals to the party and we sat around at tables working on our pages while listening to the music of the Seattle band Surrealized (here's their website).  They were awesome!  I would describe their music as techno-funk but they call it "electro-space rock" on their Facebook page, so what do I know? :)

Here's a picture of Robert and Kimo looking totally normal, doing their sound check:

and then later, they performed in costume:

(It's not every man that can wear a tutu and look good doing it, but Kimo was able to carry it off without a problem, while playing a trumpet, a banjo and various other miscellaneous musical instruments.)

It was a great party, lots of laughter and chit chat, dancing, candy, fun and frivolity, as you can see from this photo of Jenna, Sharon and Heather.

Of course, there were some spooky moments as well, such as when I took this photo of the lights reflected in the window - doesn't it look like a pair of scary eyes peeking in at us??

Wendy Lee was the "journal prompt bunny", carrying a jar full of writing ideas for us to choose from:

The one I got read, "what is one small step you could take for your emotional health today? Are you willing to do it?"  I figured I had already taken a big step for my mental well-being by attending Journalfest and treating myself to such a fun learning experience!!

Acts of Kindness

Of all the wonderful memories of my experiences last week at Journalfest, some of those that really stand out are associated with the amazing people I met and the very kind things they did for us.

For example:

Doug, the shuttle bus driver who picked us up when we first arrived in Seattle, had just started to leave the airport when he heard there was one more person who had just arrived, so he turned the bus around to pick her up, saving her the aggravation of trying to make arrangements to get to Port Townsend, a two hour drive away.  On the drive, John entertained us with tidbits of information about what we were seeing as we drove, telling us about the local history and geography of the area. When we got to the town of Port Townsend, Kim asked if he could do a quick tour down the main street since most of us might not make it back into town given that we didn't have cars to make the 10 minute drive, and John quite willingly granted this request without hesitation.

Tony, Matt and Dave drove the shuttle cars, taking people back and forth between locations at Fort Worden as needed.  They were also on hand to help up carry our suitcases up and down stairs as required, without being asked - we just walked out of class at the end of the day and there they were, at the top of the stairs, waiting to give a hand.  Here's a picture of Tony carrying my wheelie bag, filled with all my art supplies, and another lady's bag up the stairs of the Schoolhouse to our second floor classroom:

Then there were the people that made and served the food we ate while we were there.  My friend Heather has an allergy to wheat.  Once the food staff found this out, they made sure they always had a gluten-free english muffin toasted and waiting for her.  Heather said it was the best gluten free bread product she had ever tasted and they saved the wrapper for her so she can look for the product at home.  Here's a picture of the always smiling Tammy bringing a muffin to Heather:

When we realized that those people leaving on the shuttle bus at 8 a.m. for the ride back to the Seattle airport on Sunday morning would miss out on the regular breakfast service, the kitchen staff arranged for a continental breakfast to be ready for us at 7 a.m.  We were so glad not to have to make that 2 hour trip on an empty stomach!

These days, customer service seems to have gone out the window along with politeness and manners.  But it's the little things like this that really make the difference between a good experience and a great experience.  To all of these wonderful people, I say thank you so much for all that you did for us, it is appreciated and remembered.

Teesha and Tracy

No discussion of Journalfest is complete without mentioning the two people who are responsible for bringing us all together.  Journalfest is organized by the husband and wife team of Teesha and Tracy Moore.

I had been following Teesha's blog (Teesha) and loving her artwork for a while now (more on that subject in a later post), and although she mentions Tracy quite often in her blog posts, I didn't quite realize the extent to which Tracy is also a journaler and blogger (Tracy) in his own right.  Nor did I know that he makes the most amazing journals with covers made out of metal and repurposed items.  I hope he doesn't mind me showing a couple of photos here of some of his books, they are so fantastic:

The funny thing about this book - notice the word "Electra" at the top? A couple of weeks ago, when I was at the Flamboro outdoor antique market, one of the vendors had a whole box of car name plates just like the one Tracy used for this book.  I wish I had that box now!!

This one was my absolute favourite:

Check out the phone dial, which actually turns, and the scuba diver in the centre of it.  Incredible attention to detail.  Tracy told me he is going to be teaching a class on making these journals in Cleveland sometime next year, probably June, and I so want to be there!

But back to the point of this blog:  Teesha and Tracy did an AMAZING job of organizing this retreat.  Everything was so well thought out and put together.  Not to mention the fact that they are just the cutest couple.

From the first afternoon when we arrived to check in to the last morning when they waved us off on the shuttle bus to the airport, they were just so friendly and welcoming and helpful.  I would like to say a big thank you to them both for providing me and my fellow Journalfest attendees with such an amazing opportunity to make art and new friends, learn and play.  It truly was an exceptional experience and I loved every minute of it, and it was all the more special because of their presence and involvement and attention to detail.  For that, I am most grateful.