hello! so, i had an especially good weekend and thought i'd share. having a fun weekend with no thoughts of work at all is so refreshing for when monday rolls around.

on friday, i made my way to the Portland Art Museum for the free admission (last friday of the month) and to meet up with visiting Caroline, Valerie, and Anders. the museum is quiet large and i really enjoyed the third + second floors and the Northwestern Art rooms/exhibits. i've really been digging texture (encaustics, oils, etc.) and interpreting normal forms via geometrics. so, forms that focus more on character or pieces to make a whole. i especially like blocks and rectangles, pretty much the rough brush stroke - and have been thinking about doing a series on rocks for awhile, in a similar style.

after the museum, we went to McMenaminsKennedy School. McMenamins is a local brewery in Portland and all their breweries/restaurants/hotels are in these old buildings that were never restaurants. so, as you might guess, Kennedy School use to be a school. their happy hour food is great! i had a veggie burger and we all shared hummus and fries. i also drank the edgefield wheat, which i liked as it was a wheat beer.

yup.

so saturday, i knitted. i finished one half of the tank top! it's been an easy project, save for i sorta made up the pattern and won't know until i've tried it on if it's how i wanted. i'm onto the second half now and already wanting to start a sweater and wrist warmers (plus, that hat I owe my grandpa).

sunday, Ryan and i went to Research Club Brunch at galleryHomeland. it was pretty awesome and i'm glad i finally got it together to attend. the gallery is a great space and the vegan brunch, delicious! we drank way too much coffee, but learned about the Personal Libraries Library, The Opulent Project, Portland Hearing Voices, and a curator lead tour of the current gallery exhibit. all of the projects were really cool and inspiring. i was impressed that PLL's librarian is actually a trained printmaker and she did a great presentation combining history and tradition and inspiration. the opulent project talk started with a good story about a grandfather raising a bear cub and then photos of the jewelry. PHV reminded me of The Icarus Project and gave a great perspective on how often we don't question our own constructs of identity and what influences shaped our 'normal'. i'm excited to get involved with the gallery and go to more RC classes and events.

after RC, we checked out a house off 12th + SE Powell. it's like a 15 min walk from where i work. pretty excited that it had a nice yard, a raised bed, and a rotating compost-er! we'd be living with 3 other housemates and 2 dogs. maybe, maybe i can get chickens, but i think more likely i'll adopt a hedgehog. i was debating a rabbit, but they live a long time and i worry i might be allergic to their food or them. hedgies are small and seem like they need less maintenance and would be easy to move with. so, i'll let you know if i ever find one to adopt.