for the love of lavender

A look into the life of a lavender farming family.

Saturday, October 07, 2006

harvesting art


It's time for harvesting art in Yamhill County! Each October artists in Yamhill County, Oregon open their studios for two weekends. The Art Harvest is organized by the Arts Alliance of Yamhill County and the participating artists. Many different mediums are represented and it can be so inspirational to visit the artists in their studios.

Since I'm a non practicing artist at the moment it can be both inspirational and frustrating. Most would never guess that I was an art major in college and that I have created and sold a lot of art over the years. I always think about and plan for the time when I'll be able to create again. When I retire or when the kids are grown or.... the fact is I just need to set aside time to do it now.

My solace is that I'm surrounded by art and all it's beauty both in nature and in our store. Providing a place for local artists to show their work is very gratifying to me. Wayward Winds Mercantile, Gallery & Gifts is just a very comfortable, fun and interesting place to be. We always have something new, fun and exciting. Maybe one of these days we'll have another artists work to show, mine perhaps?

My good friend Susan Day painted the lovely pastel you see at the top of the page. She also planned and executed the "Paint Out" we had before and during the Yamhill Valley Lavender Festival. Artists came from all over to paint in the lavender fields during the week prior to the festival. They then showed and sold their work during the festival. Ten lavender fields in the area were open for the artists and some of them visited every one of them. The show was successful with most of the artists selling work, some of them multiple pieces. My 14 year old son Riley sold several of his abstracts. The one shown in the middle is his most popular. For information about the Paint Out you can email me info@waywardwindslavender.com

Truth is that Yamhill County and in fact, all of Oregon is so filled with artistic opportunity. Each and every day I see something that makes me say to myself - I wish I could get out there and paint or at the very least, I wish I had my camera. Luckily I did have my camera when I took this picture of one of the artists in a nearby lavender field during the paint out. Next year I want that artist to be me! For the love of lavender.....