The Air in Me is surrounded by Inspiration from an Artists
Colony
I have lived many places in my life; Los Angeles, Chicago,
Ketchikan, Alaska to name just a few and I have met people that inspired me to
write about their lives either in prose or poetry, but the one place I have never
lived until now is an honest to goodness artist’s colony in Southeast Portland.
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| A view from the rose garden |
When I first moved in to this 300 unit senior affordable
apartment complex I did not realize that I would be rubbing elbows with such a
diverse community of accomplished and talented individuals.
In our community we have musicians, singers, writers, photographer’s
painters, quilters and artists in many disciplines. Each and every one brings
inspiration to the others.
For this blog I want to introduce you to a few of my
friends, most of whom are retired and now have time to follow their passions,
as well as display a little bit of their work.
Sharon
Sites Adams:
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| Sharon aboard her boat |
The day I moved into Westmorland’s Union Manor in
beautiful southeast Portland, I heard about Sharon Sites Adams.
Sharon was the first woman to sail a boat by herself from
Yokohama, Japan to the shores of California. She wrote a book titled “Pacific
Lady” which describes in great detail about her exciting journey. I’ve had the
pleasure of interviewing Sharon on KBOO-FM and she’s been interviewed on major
radio and TV stations across the country.
Even though her journey took place a number of years ago,
Sharon still makes appearances throughout the state. In January of this year
Sharon spoke at a function in Lincoln City.
Becky
Bent
Becky Bent tells me that as a student at Grant High
School here in Portland, she studied Calligraphy and after graduation she made
her way to San Francisco where she worked professionally as a Calligrapher.
Becky returned to the Portland area in 1986 where she earned a BFA from
Marylhurst College at the same time her passion of working with fabric was
born.
After retirement, Becky started taking on commissions and
projects as a quilter. One of her proudest projects remains on display on the
first floor of our building.
Jim Davis and David Huskey:
David Huskey is the award winning keeper and protector of
our rose garden. When he and his wife Jan return from their annual trip to the
desert, he begins work on the next season of roses. We are fortunate to have
such a gifted artist who takes so much pride in his work.
All of the photos you see were taken by Jim Davis, an
avid photographer shown below at his birthday party. Jim not only handles
taking photos at special events all year long, he also catches the countless
numbers of birds and animals that make their way over the seven acres of
property that Westmorland's Union Manor sits on.
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| A freeloader just waiting for his dinner |
These are just a few of the many artists that live on our
little colony; most do it for the love of their medium, many have had acclaim,
but at the end of the day we are collectively artists under one roof, which
makes this place a pleasure to live in.
I’ll come back soon to talk about some of the other
artists that I share space with.
A
short selection from The Air In Me:
Connections
Reaching
to yonder
Sky smiling
down on simple
Me holding
my breath
To order a copy of The Air In Me go to www.amazon.com or www.createspace.com.
Thanks for reading The Air In Me
Dan
