As 2020 draws to a close, Portland is saying goodbye to a hard year of Covid, hazardous smoke, struggling businesses and protests. But despite the turmoil, the heart of our city has not wavered and many Portlanders continue to look at their home with a focus on its friendly eccentricities. One such group of people has fostered kindness and encouraged exploration of the small wonders of Portland for over ten years. Hidden Portland for the Curious, a Facebook group with over 50,000 members, is a place for Portlanders to discover all of the city’s little-seen oddities or reconnect with the more well-known sites that make Portland unique. Members from all walks of life post photos of everything from the old metal horse cart rings popularized by the Portland Horse Project to small bronze statues on Division Street, tiny fairy homes discovered in a yard or a simple handwritten sign proclaiming “Slow Down! Fast kids, slow dogs, lazy cats”. To this group, Portland is like an immense museum to be delved into, admired, and shared. When people post their intriguing finds in the group, others don’t merely comment their appreciation. They share their own knowledge and perspective until a history emerges and suddenly a Facebook post becomes a treasure trove of information. Started in 2010 by local artist and author, Carye Bye, the group was originally intended to be a page supporting the publication of her book, Hidden Portland. When she discovered that someone already had a page named Hidden Portland, Bye changed course and created a group instead. Initially, being a group, members could post anything they wanted, but it soon became apparent that the group would not be enjoyable unless there was a clear direction for the content and interactions. It was decided that posts should be “rooted in delightful discovery of the Portland Metro region” with a “zero-tolerance policy for rudeness and derailing.” Bye, who was prominent in the Portland area as a woodblock print artist of Portland bridges and animals on bicycles, was also known as the “Museum Lady” who started a Bathtub Museum and dressed as a rabbit to organize and lead the Bunny on a Bike Easter bike rides. With the vision for her Hidden Portland group more defined, Bye set the tone by posting about what she was most interested and curious. Eventually, however, Bye moved from Portland and turned the group over to fellow artist and current administrator, Gretchin Lair. Lair was a member of the group for three years before being asked to become the administrator, and she was initially anxious about taking on the job. There was a year of overlap before Bye left, so they used that time to fine-tune the workings of the group. “I loved her vision for Hidden Portland,” Lair said of Bye. “Her encouragement and enthusiasm for our fair city was infectious. I was really nervous about being an admin at first, but I also knew Hidden Portland was so special that it was worth it.” Lair spends a significant amount of time keeping the Hidden Portland group a safe and positive place to share and learn. She enforces an “If you don’t like it, please ignore it” guideline and believes that a thick skin should not be a requirement to share. Lair knows that the more time she spends on Hidden Portland, the more smoothly it runs. “I try to react to all the posts I approve. I wish I could do more exploration and posting! That was one of Carye’s strengths,” Lair explains. “My work and travel schedule didn’t allow for that as much as I wanted, and now I’m not exploring much due to COVID.” Despite Lair’s feelings of wanting to do more, she has successfully led the group, along with fellow admin Michelle David, and moderator Trey Witteried. “I feel lucky to have their support, and I am grateful for so many members who contribute to our unique culture with positive interactions and by reporting inappropriate comments. But sometimes we all need to sleep!” Currently the group has 51,000 members with around 1,000 new members joining each month. When the group was around 11,000 members, Bye arranged for a Hidden Portland brick to be added to Pioneer Courthouse Square before she left. “For our next milestone,” says Lair, “I wish I had a brick from the Hidden Brick Company in Vancouver!” Being a part of the Hidden Portland for the Curious group is a refreshingly wonderful way to stay connected with Portland and it’s community. Seeking out and sharing the intriguing little details of a city rich with art and personality is a joy that even 2020 couldn’t stop for Portlanders. “Hidden Portland is truly a special group,” Lair says with pride. “It’s such a joy to find things and have people to share them with. Even things that have already been found — the joy is in the discovery, and seeing the familiar through fresh eyes and new perspectives.”
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Cassie Kogut started Shower Tree Soaps in 2014 with an Etsy store and a booth at holiday craft fairs. She creates vegan soap, bath and body products using essential oils and skin-loving ingredients like organic olive and coconut, sweet almond oil, shea butter and avocado oil. She does not use animal products and selects high quality ingredients to make high quality soaps.
When Cassie crafts her soaps, she can make nine bars from one loaf. One loaf of soap takes her “three hours, tons of dishes and four to six weeks to cure” but the gorgeous soaps that result from her work are worth the wait. “I’m inspired by fragrance to choose color and names,” Cassie explains. “I do a variety of techniques to make the patterns, but each soap is unique. You never know until the cut!” Cassie loves living in Oregon where it is so beautiful and green and she enjoys visiting waterfalls and Lincoln City. You can see those colors of Oregon reflected in the lovely soaps that she creates with such expertise. Sure, you know if you're an introvert or an extrovert but have you ever stopped to consider what kind of a handcrafted gift you are? Now is your chance to find out!
The artist behind Quirky Gnome, Joan Steiner, has always loved art. After retiring from her career as a public school educator, she was able to pursue her artistic interests. Living in rural McMinnville, OR, Joan buys wool for her art from the farmers she meets. With this local wool, Joan uses a needle felting process to create bears, hedgehogs, Santas, Yetis, gnomes and more. Her art started with her love of magical creatures, especially gnomes. She is also intrigued by Sasquatch and Yeti and you can find a variety of these figures in her shop. “Each creature I make speaks to me as I’m creating it and helps me define the colors, shapes and personality necessary for each individual,” Joan explains. “Many of them come with stories that I write; stories inspired by each creature as I’m needle felting.” Leopold the Love Gnome, Stick it to Cancer Gnome and Voodoo Gnome all come with these special stories. Joan’s artistry doesn’t end with needle felting! She is also interested in using found and recycled objects to create collages. Whatever the medium, it is clear that Joan has a gift for bringing life and joy to the pieces she creates. Each creature I make speaks to me as I’m creating…” Today, December 21, is the Winter Solstice! This means that one of the Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt away from the sun creating a day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. Today is considered the first day of winter and the days will slowly start getting longer again until summer begins next year on June 20.
But today isn’t just the winter solstice. It’s also the Great Conjunction! The great conjunction occurs when Jupiter and Saturn align in the night sky which hasn’t happened for almost 800 years. True, the planets regularly pass each other and line up every 20 years. But it’s been 400 years since they have been as close as they will be today and 800 years since they cozied up so close during the night for everyone to see. If you can find an unhindered view of the sky, you should be able to see this great moment, even in a city. In Portland, you will want to start looking toward the southwest around sunset at 4:30 PM, before the planets dip below the horizon. Jupiter will look like the brightest star in the sky and should be easy to find. Saturn will be fainter and appear slightly above and to the left of Jupiter. Jupiter will then overtake Saturn and just like that you will have a brilliant Christmas Star! Of course, the weather isn’t looking so great for Portlanders. We might have to use our imagination a little while we look up at the clouds. But it’s still there even if we can’t see it, so let’s just go out and stare in the rain. We can always google awesome pictures of it later! I grew up in Oregon and am the mother of three amazing adult children and four beautiful grandchildren who call me G-Ma. There are many other little ones that also call me G-Ma, because I believe that a child can never have too many grandparents. I am a special education assistant and sometimes do administrative work at the local schools. I love working with the little ones. I am also on the board of directors at our local live theatre, a place I call my second home. I consider myself an accidental artist. I got started by gluing rocks in the shape of flowers onto an old piece of wood. I made them to put in my backyard garden for a whimsical touch. The next thing I knew friends were asking me to make them something. So I started collecting old pallets to cut up for wood. I hand sanded and treated the wood pieces with either paint or polyurethane. I mostly created flowers and dragonflies in the beginning. I soon found that my art made people smile, and that is exactly what keeps me wanting to create more. Over the past few years I have honed my skills, and my art has become much more detailed depicting people, animals, sea life, and much more. I use natural and recycled materials as much as possible. I get ideas from everywhere! Sometimes friends suggest things, other times I see a scene and then try to recreate it. Every piece of art is unique and one-of-a-kind. Many people ask me where I get the materials I use. About 12 years ago our family had taken a trip to Montana and we went to the Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine. We had purchased several bags of dirt that we had to clean to find the sapphires in it. Well, it all sat in the garage for several years until I decided that maybe I could find sapphires to use in my art. After cleaning it all I did find a couple dozen sapphires, which aren’t worth much raw, but I also discovered hundreds of rock and agate pieces that could be used as arms, legs, shoes, shirts, skirts, dresses and so much more. I also make trips to the Oregon Coast to search for the perfect pebbles, agates, seashells, etc. It’s a great excuse to go to the beach. The grandkids know to always be looking for things I can use in my art. I have also been lucky enough to have some lovely seashells given to me by some generous friends. The wood I use is reclaimed wood from different places. Sometimes I use old pallets, old fence boards,or whatever I can find. I have created over 200 unique pieces of art and sold over 100 of them to friends, online, and by participating in holiday bazaars. I have even created a piece of Covid Art. Some of my most popular pieces have been The Reading Room and The Hairdresser, which folks like to give as a gift to their favorite beautician. I have done several versions of each of these, but they are all unique one-of-a-kind pieces of rustic art. I want my art to make people smile, and I feel I have succeeded. I hope it puts a smile on your face too. I’m Belle Raponi, creator of all things magical! My mission is to keep life fun, bring smiles to faces, walls and hands! I’ve always done some sort of craft since I was little, and it’s just evolved over the years. I need a creative outlet. In 1991 I was in a serious car accident and was home bound for about 12 years. Amidst many therapies and re-learning to do many basic human functions, I started doing different types of crafts. The shadowboxes emerged from my wanting to make a good friend a birthday gift and one of the only things he enjoyed was beer, so I made a beer shadowbox. Another friend saw that and wanted one and it took off from there. I made those under the name Shadowboxables for several years, then branched out to other things as I was gifted a silhouette machine. It’s allowed me to do more creative things both in my shadowboxes and with things like wood signs. I had a craft booth at a local store for about 8 years and would often switch up my decor in there. I’d done an extensive Christmas project with a magic theme and had started making magic wands. On a whim I decided to bring some into the shop and they sold out. Twice! So, I put on my thinking cap and figured it was a good time to switch to all things magical! The store did a Saturday market that I attended that year, and found that I loved doing vendor events, so I left the store atmosphere and opted for the vendor events for the next couple years under the name “Magic & More”. When the pandemic hit and all the vendor events were cancelled, I realized the necessity of a web page and settle on “Enchantinglymagical.com” as the domain name was not taken and I loved everything about the sound of it. It takes me about a week, sometimes two to make the magic wands. Some of that time is finding the parts and pieces and stones then creating each piece, some of it is drying time, painting, wiring, last minute touch ups and then the naming and pricing process. Lots of care and love goes into each one of a kind item. The magic wands are each given special properties, or names, if you will. I sit with each one and get the feel of the energy of the piece and then gift it a name. Whoever the wielder of the wand is gets to unlock it’s full potential. I figure it’s less like the wand chooses the wizard and more like they choose each other in a symbiotic relationship. 🙂 My wands are made for mature young people (not young kids) and the young at heart as many of them are breakable. I know lots of people who collect them (including me!) They are heat sensitive so don’t leave them in direct sunlight or in a car in the summertime. The dragon eggs also take a week or so based on how many colors are in them. Once I have all the pieces painted (they are made with thumbtacks, so they are not for young people), it takes me about 4 hours for a large one. They are then sealed for an extra layer of protection! The baskets are also hand made by a friend of mine who uses the scraps from making wool blankets and rugs. They are made specifically for each size and color. I’m a lover of learning, a believer in self development, meditation and quieting the mind. I’m all about having fun in life, no matter the circumstance, especially now. I’m a believer that we get to choose how we perceive things, and our choices equal the kind of life we have. The more we look for the good stuff, the more we find it, and I like the good stuff! |
Quirk HunterQuirk Hunter searches for the interesting and strange in Portland, history and beyond. Portland ArtistsMeet local Portland artists and learn about their crafts. Categories
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