Mona had birthday while the retreat was going on: we managed to get her a birthday cake. Some of the kitchen stuff was just amazingly kind to us

By the middle of the week most people were working and the tables started to be piled up with treats – both works and tools

We love to see and experience things with Jeanne. I think the best part of traveling together is that actually her car seems to have brakes too. Let me explain: there are people who just drive by something interesting and say “oh well, you did not get pictures, nevermind, its gone”. When ever we found something truly tempting her car  miraculously could turn around to get back to see it better. Wonderful travel companion!

We decided to go to nearest Michaels and also see what is around Sheperdstown. Just some roadtrip pictures:

And some funnities too: Mythbusters craft kits and tool to add mentos to Coke.

And some more signs. Nahkeeta is clammy (wet, bit moist) in Finnish.

The general store in Sheperdstown. I just loved this place. It had plenty of this and that and more.

“No dead white guys allowed here; instead a  few tantalizing glimpses of artists, from Artemisia Gentileschi to Judy Chicago, that will provide us with a hint of the wealth they didn’t tell us about in that other art history class!”

I love Meta for both her art and her personality. She is a good teacher – I think all her students were really happy and energized after her workshops – so if you have an opportunity to take workshop from her I would highly recomend it.

I was expecting to have good three hours but I did not expect to get so much energized – and I certainly did not think this workshop being a “papers and information” kind of workshop would push me to do ANYTHING really. But it did. Surprisingly since that morning I have been painting. I am still in thick rust and some of the techniques I have been playing with are complately new, but I love this! It was the push I needed, and it was very inspiring to actually get a glimse how much more opportunities women as artists nowadays have – and still they are not seen and heard.  Partly it also was seeing Metas work of art – her style is quite different than anyone else I have seen in real life.

Jeanne was on the workshop with me. Women in art is something we have been discussing a lot during the years. Her quild is having a movie night of Who does she think she is at next Saturday. The film has intrigued me since I saw the trailer, and I have read so many people feeling that film changed some of their perspective on woman in art. I would love to see the film. Combining family with art is not easy for anyone but especially for women it is even harder. Women seldomly are fitting neither of the stereotypical roles: womanly or artistical – and that can be really difficult if one wants to please their relatives, friends and neighbors.

First days tour on campus.

Funny sign combinations are everywhere.

Wood, steel, yarn, sand.

This is a wedding gift for my handsome brother and his beautiful wife. Their wedding was today.

I wish all the best to you. Remember that love is seeing, hearing, caring. Take care of each other.

It was almost lunch time but naturally the first stop was to get me a cup of Coffee from Lost Dog coffee. I will tell about that later.

I love Shpeperdstown. In the first 15 minutes there we saw both Little house and some peculiar cars and things.

This museum car was just driving by. To me this is just what I expect from Sheperdstown. This is the place where things like this happen all the time.

Study on red:

And then we finally went to the river. Notice the fake smile I have on me. It was so darn hot that this 15 minutes on bridge was almost as long as I could take.

Some of these are funny just because my native is not English and literal meaning of the signs can be somewhat different than what the sign says.

First some roadwork with shoulder work and gas exits

Grocery store finds:

Some religion on the road.

Rankin homes = in Finnish Rankin = the hardest (like Chuk Norris!) and Home = mildew.

And few more

Some shop names are better than others. Surprisingly this one sells fruit smoothies

Business lessons that I did not quite understand: You could not buy more than two packets of envelopes because “otherwise the customers would buy too many of them”.

Apparently this was only funny to me as I think Wawa sounds (to me) like euphemism of private parts.

They were selling future at JoAnns: Hope was suffering, faith still going strong.

I find the community planning in USA to be so different than in Europe that it is worth taking picures – even when driving by.

I love travelling with Jeanne for many reasons. The best thing is that she is open to hear what I see, is curious and does not assume knowing my thoughts. We have had some really good discussions on the road because our friendship is based on both honest discussion and curiousness about different viewpoints on common things.

So when I saw this tower-like building (maybe some firedepartment thingy?) I saw a future art gallery craftshop kind of artsy place in many levels.

In this deserted building I saw beauty. The colours, textures, all of it. (Click to see the picture in better quality on Flickr). It just was stunning!

Just a sign until you add religious context to the words.

This is lonely Hattifattener from Moomin-characters.

Dance studio? Painters atelier? Haute coture studio? Disco? This building has the possibilities to become anything!