Meanwhile, at the Art Show ...

Dallas, Oregon may not be ready for the likes of me, or my art ...!

Reality #1 is that I'm set up in an event center that's not in the thick of the vendor-traffic ... Reality #2 is that most of the vendors are advertising local businesses, and VBS's coming up ... along with the notoriously greasy fair food. Very few artists ... most of those will be in the art show on Sunday. I'll have a tent in the park for that, and there should be a significant crowd ... today was Oregon's 'biggest small-town parade" (though seriously, some of the floats are unadorned *tractors*!) ... 20,000 people show up in addition to the town's 15,000 inhabitants.

Mark (main squeeze) and Zach (son #3) got shang-hai'd into being the king and jester, respectively ... they got to pump up the crowd before the parade, singing show tunes. It was a RIOT! They were dripping wet in their regal costumes ... Mark came over to me and "dubbed" me his wife (I got a drippy-beard kiss, LOL!).

I was hoping for more traffic ... but we're just too far off the beaten track.

I did sell a lamp yesterday ... and I'm purchasing two of the big mirrors (they speak to me, so I have to keep them).

This art is not what this town is used to ... they seem to like it, they ooh and ahh, but can't imagine it in their homes (these are very practical people ... farm-stock from Mennonite backgrounds, and former loggers). Frivolous furniture seems to strike them as being akin to gold toothpicks ... as in "what's the point?" Perhaps some of them think I went and desecrated perfectly good wood, LOL! I do get the occasional soul who loves it ... a few have asked if they can commission me to paint something they already own.

I figure they have to be exposed repeatedly ... in the same way in which we don't usually like a song the first time we hear it, and have to hear it a few times before our brain recognizes and remembers it. So, I'm inoculating folks to my art..!

I have, however, had some wonderful conversations with folks ... the owner of the event center is a mama to 7 kids - former YWAM missionaries ... she wanted to hear my "whole story" ... she'll get Part II tomorrow. Her daughter in law is quite open to hearing things beyond the pale of orthodoxy, and wants to read "The Shack" ... another woman was a self-professed pagan, who's unschooling ... another, the wife of the city commissioner, wanted to discuss a book she's reading, The Infidel, which led me to discuss "A Deadly Misunderstanding" ... which led to me saying, "I see all people as beloved of God," and she said, "well they are - they're all His children!" (not your typical church-going sentiment!). Another woman, the one who bought the lamp, wants to get our girls together (she's the one who won the auction of my other lamp, last month) ... when I said, "I had to leave Christianity in order to find Christ," she looked deep into my eyes, and said, "Oh, we *must* talk ...! We have much in common!"

The Chamber of Commerce wants to get me hooked up with the rest of them ... (which means I have to get all official, and get licensed, and start paying taxes, UGH!). I did get a couple of leads on some stores that may want my things ... and just interest in general. Perhaps I'll get more interaction-schmooze time tomorrow...!

I plan to have a BLAST, regardless...!

And, honestly, I love my own things ... it's ok if I hang on to them. I shall find my niche!

Shalom, Dena

Three-Day Hiatus ...

Just so y'all know, I'll be involved in an art show for the next 3 days, and will likely not have the opportunity to post ...

However, if you like, you can read an article written about my artwork ... it was in our local newspaper, the Itemizer-Observer, this week. Here's the link, and I'll copy the text here below ... in case the link stops working: http://www.itemizerobserver.com/DIONews9.shtml

Artist unlocks hidden treasures
DALLAS, OREGON -- Nine years ago local artist Dena Brehm was recovering from a 21-year battle with bulimia when she had a creative impulse.

Nine years ago local artist Dena Brehm was recovering from a 21-year battle with bulimia when she had a creative impulse.
She had been looking at an antique milking stool she had in her house and noticed the painting on it. It was a Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign portraying a two-headed bird, one half of the bird representing life, the other, death.

To her, the image symbolized the struggle with illness she was trying to leave behind.
Not wanting the reminder, she painted over it -- and with that began an artistic career that helped her heal.
Brehm, 47, still has the stool in the front hall of her Dallas home. Now, like all her art, the antique stool is a mix of bright colors and patterns.
Brehm calls her art "Serendipties by Dena" -- a name she says reflects her process of finding hidden treasures within everyday objects. Brehm takes unwanted pieces of household furniture and gives them a new look and, in turn, a new life with someone who views them as more than clutter or trash.
She finds material at flea markets, garage sales, and even digs through dumpsters.
"I like the idea of rescuing and reusing," she said.
Brehm's work became a hit in the Washington, D.C. area, where she lived before moving to the Northwest, though about four years ago she put her paint brush down.
She was recently given a reason to pick up where she left off.
Brehm was asked to donate some of her work for a local fundraiser in June. The request had her with paint brush in hand, wondering if she still could paint. When she found she could, Brehm decided to branch out, starting with Art in the Park Sunday and a show at the Majestic this weekend during Summerfest.
She had missed the entry deadline for Art in the Park, but Dallas Art Association President Sally Clark said organizers reconfigured the booth layout to accommodate everybody on the waiting list, including Brehm.
"Her (work) is so colorful and unique," Clark said. "I've never seen furniture painted like that."
Brehm said she is grateful for the opportunity, but scrambling to paint more than 30 pieces in a few weeks has taken over her house and life.
Brehm's work crowds the front room and kitchen of the house she shares with her husband and eight children. She says she feels as scattered as her surroundings look and high on her own adrenaline.
"I have sacrificed sleep, eating, time with my family," she said.
The whirl of artistic activity has been a test and a revelation of what she can accomplish under a strict deadline, but is not her typical pace.
She says sometimes she knows right away what she will do with a piece. Other times, inspiration is a process that develops as she works on a table, desk, foot stool, mirror, lamp or whatever piece of furniture she is transforming.
Brehm's creations seem a ray of sunshine -- with lively patterns, checkerboards and whimsical scenes -- but they still can be used for their original purpose. A table still is a table, a lamp still a lamp, when she puts the paint brush down. She just adds more character, and, she hopes, brings more joy than when she found them.
"I'm out to change the world one piece of furniture at a time," she said.

Shalom, Dena