The king of the garden surveys his domain.

There are a few things I love more than letterboxing. Which is why, when we recently went to Central Oregon for a letterboxing event, I spent some time touring the local outsider art.

Rasmus Petersen immigrated from Denmark, and built the Garden in the last 17 years of his life, from 1935 to 1952. It was his tribute to his new homeland. He collected local rocks from the mineral-rich, volcanic landscape surrounding his home. Obsidian for a shiny facing, shells for an accent, and the occasional delight of a thunder egg.

Peacocks, cats, and chickens roam the grounds. We wished we’d brought along the grapes from our hotel room. Peacocks love them some grapes. The day was bright, and two other families roamed the garden with their children. I had hoped to visit the museum, and though it was scheduled to be open, the doors were locked. I hear there is a display of fluorescent rocks inside. Ah well, maybe next trip.

I was charmed by every bit of the place, even the decay, that allowed us to see the metal barrels supporting the masses of glued and cemented rocks that made up a tiny building. We plan on going back to the area next year, and I’d like to visit when the museum is open, and perhaps get some better pictures.

Unlike past years where we bought many small things, our strategy this year was to just get a few larger pieces. We are tickled as heck with what we brought home, though there was a small pang at not picking up something from all our old favorites. We’ll probably go back to nibbling next year.

We did actually end up with a couple of small things. I got some dazzling roving from the Handweavers Guild show, and a couple of lovely beads from the Bead show.

I originally spotted the bowl on the right, but as we were checking out, the Spousal Unit decided it simply must be paired with the bowl on the left. He was right, of course. If you turn them around and hold them to the light, they are translucent. Gorgeous work.

We also couldn’t resist adding to our collection of Michael Fromme critters. This mousie will join a rabbit and a fox.

Our method as we browse the OPA show is to bring a map, and mark the artists we want to come back and consider buying from. But sometimes we are thwarted by potlust. This wonderful Ginger Steele cried out to come home with us. We have a smaller piece by her, and it was high time we had something a bit larger. Speaking of Ginger…

This was our great prize this year. Note: we named him, not the artists. We had just come from Ginger’s booth, happily toting her pot in our basket, when we found an old favorite, James DeRosso. I have a collection of his tiny monsters. This is not tiny–it’s about 10″ high. I spotted it on the back shelf and said “Hey, that looks like James collaborated with Ginger Steele!” James just happened to be lurking behind us, and filled us in. He’d left this piece in Ginger’s studio for her, and when it got leather hard “she just went nuts”.  They then used her glazes on it. The result is one of my favorite pieces ever. The Spousal Unit is also completely smitten. And not only is it a delightful piece of art, that second fin comes off to reveal a slot–it’s also a coin bank!

Good show, everyone! We really enjoyed the addition of the Handweavers Guild to the guild shows. We talked to lots of artists and saw many beautiful things. Can’t wait for next year.