Charity Project Nets 72 Journal Pages

One of my favorite spots in the US is Saluda, NC, and my most favorite spot in Saluda is Random Arts, the great shop of Jane Powell. I met Jane a couple years ago when I happened into her store, and she was kind enough to feature me on her blog. Then, I blogged about Saluda and Jane for a travel article on Vintage Indie (no original idea; she'd already been featured in Cloth Paper Scissors magazine). We've managed to keep in touch and have run into each other at Art & Soul.

So I had to join in when Jane announced a journal page project. Unlike other projects and swaps, Jane was even sending the supplies! All I had to do was make a 5 x 7 journal page out of them. All of the pages from the 70+ participants are being featured on the Random Arts blog, and the book is being auctioned for charity. Jane, of course, hopes to buy it back.

I don't usually (ever?) do angry art; I'm just stuck on chirpy, happy images and colors. But I thought I'd work outside the box just to see what I could do. Since I'm always grousing about getting old, never having enough time, time going too fast, etc., that was my theme as you can see on my page here. We all added to the items Jane sent, of course, so I added clock parts, a watch face and other metal bits. Not sure I even like my page, but hey, it worked. The back is at top, above

Random Arts- The Love Continues

Imagine my surprise when I check in on my new favorite place- Random Arts in Saluda, NC (blogged about below) - to find that owner Jane Powell has mentioned me on her blog at http://randomartnotes.blogspot.com/. "Mentioned" is the key word here, as Jane splashed my art in big beautiful photos and kind words all over the front of her blog! Thanks, Jane. Love, love, love that little town! And store! And e-commerce at http://www.randomartsnow.com/- go there. Now.

More Pics from Saluda and Random Arts

A Little Side Trip to Saluda

Although I am back home in Indiana from South Carolina, if it were up to me, I'd still be in Saluda, NC. What a wonderful town! Made the stop off I-26 per an article I read in Cloth, Paper, Scissors about a wonderful shop called Random Arts. Wonderful it was! The entire town is an artists' colony, similar to Nashville, IN for those who can picture that equally hilly town.

I could have spent hours in Random Arts. Owner Jane Powell was so nice! We swapped ATCs, took pictures of each other's art and she showed me the latest and greatest. I came home with so many goodies...and left so many behind! She was packed with "stuff." Even all her ribbons were each on vintage bobbins. A bin held tiny pieces of vintage wooden rulers.

And the art! Oh, glorious samples. Incredible drawings and paintings by Jane. Beautiful altered books. Examples of past classes by well-known, published artists. Just a fabulous store!

We had lunch at the Purple Onion. Just missed jazz night by one day. Hit a few other shops and Wildflour Bakery. The hardware in town was something right out of 1950. There were bed and breakfasts all around, and the hills, mountains and foilage were gorgeous. They kept whispering, "stay, stay." All I could say was, "I'll be back."