Last week I was photographing artwork for someone in a gallery and when I was finished I could not resist making a few images of the flowers growing on the windowsill. The gallery owner had planted bulbs once a week so she could have fresh new flowers every week early in the spring. What a good idea! On a gray day with ice still piled around Twisp, it was lovely fresh scene that brightened the day.
You can see what I was working on here
We returned to town to visit the Confluence Gallery and to see what else we could photograph before we got too cold. A bowl of soup from the Cinnamon Twisp tasted pretty good after we were done.
You can see more photos of Kayla here at my Reflected Light Images blog.
Today was the last day of the Methow Valley Farmers’ Market in Twisp. It’s always a bittersweet time even though I like the changing seasons and fall is so lovely. We welcome the rains and changing colors and the opportunity to enjoy a campfire after the long, difficult summer.
Vendors had lots of wonderful local handmade items – some decorative and some useful too; and produce to fill a root cellar or pantry. I took home a bag of yellow potatoes (my potato plants died from the fire’s radiant heat), a nice big bag of beets, some pears and some winter squash. Good food to go with the meat and fish that Ken is bringing home. All of us, including the dogs, will eat well again this winter.
Twisp has the best parade! Every Fourth of July folks are encouraged to dress up, bring a float of some kind or a horse or a wagon or whatever strikes their fancy and join the parade. There are no marching bands or fancy flower-covered floats – just home grown and mostly locally designed parade entries. A few horses, fire engines, sports cars and local organizations and lots of kids. Dogs too. Folks seem to want to bring their dogs to the parade. It’s better than leaving them in hot cars in the summer but most dogs don’t seem all that entertained by the show unless they are part of it.
Immediately following the parade, The Methow Arts Fest happened in the Twisp Park at the confluence of the Twisp and Methow Rivers. You can see my photos of that other fun Fourth of July event here.
When I first thought about where I’d like to live, the Methow Valley was high on my list for two things – the terrific outdoor recreation possibilities (hiking, skiing, etc) and the arts. This area has a large number of creative people and it also supports the arts pretty remarkably for such a rural location. Last night we had the good fortune to experience a wonderful musical act – Cahalen and Eli in the Spartan Art Project which is currently located at TwispWorks. How can I begin to describe all of this? Let’s see – TwispWorks is housed in a former US Forest Service complex that was surplused by the federal government and put out for auction. A group of civic minded folks decided it could be a great incubator to support arts and small businesses in our valley and they raised enough money ($1 million dollars!) to buy it and then they had to start refurbishing the old buildings. Now it is home to art studios, classrooms, a natural history center, teen center and more! The Spartan Art Project is a 1951 travel trailer transformed into a gallery space supporting artists both local and from far away. It is the brainchild of three local artists. Last night Donna Keyser’s studio on the TwispWorks campus hosted a reception for the musicians and the audience.
Cahalen and Eli are two fine acoustic musicians based in Seattle. In the last week they have been featured on NPR and Folk Alley and probably other media outlets as well. They write many of their own songs and play mandolins, banjo and guitar and their harmonies are wonderful We were lucky to have such a talented duo in our tiny town of Twisp. One of the ways that the Spartan Art Project supports artists is with their ‘Intimate Performances’. This is the third one. As you might imagine, an old travel trailer does not seat too many people. However, the acoustics are wonderful and the chance to see these men performing up close was particularly entertaining. We reserved two seats so we could be up close and personal with the show.
My Everyday Photos 