Weird and Surprisingly Good: DAY 17

I checked out early from the North West Hostel in Portland, after two sleepless nights on foam mattress. Now I know to ask the hostel before booking if the beds have springs. I pride myself in being able to sleep just about anywhere (I've done it many times with lights on), but the hostel bed was really uncomfortable. It was also lined with plastic so it made lots of noise whenever I moved. My dorm mates were also inconsiderate because they didn't lay out their pj's and toothbrush before going out at night. Two of them would come back at 11pmish and unzip their suitcases making noise. Newbies! Thankfully Mary Anne and Deb let me stay with them.

Thanks to the sculptor that I work for in Oakland, Philip Krohn, he introduced me to his friend, Dana Lynn Louis, who's an artist in Portland. Today was the first of two days that I was her studio assistant. Dana is working on her web site. When it's up and running there will be a link on my "Must Visit" list.

(Pics from the net, since mine didn't turn out. This is a bronze tree in the Portland's central public library in the Beverly Cleary children's library. It was a collaborative project by Barbara Eiswerth and Dana Lynn Louis.)

What's really wild, is that I had seen this tree before meeting Dana. She asked if I'd been to the Central library. When I saw the tree, I recall wanting to ask the artist questions about the characters depicted on the tree. Dana told me that they are characters from kids' books, nature and history about Oregon. It was both her's and Barbara's first public art project. In the gift shop you can buy postcards. I bought two before even knowing she worked on it. It is amazing!

For Dana, I helped her package and shipped off tiles that she painted. It was very inspiring looking at her mobiles, which were hanging in the studio.

After the studio work, I headed over to Mary Anne's and Debs. Time for errands: Trader Joes, made vegan/gluten free brownies and bought an airline ticket to go home. (I've been putting it off because I am loving exploring the North West. I am not even sick of wearing the same 7 tops over and over again.)

That night I cheered on the kickball game. It was very entertaining watching adults drink beer and play kickball. Mary Anne, Deb, and the rest of the team had a BBQ at the park. Needless to say, the team lost the game, but I am pretty sure winning wasn't the goal. It's about laughing, doing silly chicken walks to first and having a good time.