Exploring Monashka Beach

Boat Wreckage on Monashka Beach 

Rusted-Out Hulls and Beach Glass blanket the beach. What treasures!

http://www.kodiak.org/things-to-do/driving-tour.html

The beaches here in Kodiak are all over. The sand is a dark gray color that ranges from fine sand to rocky beaches. Part of what you can also find on the beaches are left-over hulls from ship wrecks and other man-made, marine debris. On Monashka Beach, Tom and I found one particular wreckage that looked more like art....huge art.

The debris included ropes that the sailors use on their ships. After getting bashed around in the ocean currents and washed up on shore, the colored rope can take on a more organic, less orderly form...

The day we went to the beach it was sunny and beautiful. We saw two people kayaking in the cove and also got a chance to watch a few fireworks being set off from across the bay. In the Kodiak Borough (everything that is not in Kodiak City limits) fireworks are allowed year-round. It sounded like we were in the middle of a war-zone right around the 4th of July!

It's a beautiful beach to go visit, and holds a great deal of interest for anyone who is interested in the outdoors. For my artistic eye...there was a lot to photograph and plenty of interesting shapes to explore!









Quilting in Vivid Color in Kodiak

Quilting in Kodiak

One of the fun things about Kodiak is all the artistic and creative things available to participate in, including Quilting!

So, on one of the Yoga Mountain hikes (see previous blog entry) that Tom and I went on we met Alexis. She is one of the teachers at the High School in Kodiak. She is also a quilter. Her quilts usually end up as gifts to family, but the quilts that she does have she brought out to show us when we went over for dinner.

Her first quilt was done when Alexis' first daughter was born. Alexis had hoped that her daughter would want the quilt for her bed and was pleasantly surprised when later, as the eldest child grew up, asked if she could indeed use the quilt on her bed.

She began with simple designs that were made more complex by the color choices Alexis made.

One of the really amazing things about Alexis' quilts are the hand-made styles on the fabrics Alexis uses to make her quilts. According to Alexis' husband, "She's got connections". These connections make for some beautiful finished products that really add richness and depth to the quilts.

Another favorite of mine used the rich colors of maroon, blue, purple and rust to accentuate the design chosen. The stitch that covers the quilt creates diamond patterns on part of the quilt and is also covered with circular stitches on another part. The designs from the cut out fabrics have the sharp edges that make for a unique and colorful fans.

She is currently working on a piece that has more browns and greens incorporated in the star-shaped design. It is nearly done and again highlights the beautiful hand-made fabric designs she is drawn to.

I want to thank Alexis for opening up her home to us and sharing her amazing art work! It's clear that she loves what she is doing, and it's also clear that those around her who are fortunate enough to receive one of her quilts really appreciate her too!

Alexis has also been passing on her love of quilting by teaching her friends. In this photo, Marie Achemah created a quilt made out of fabric from Uganda! Such beautiful work! 

Quilters in Kodiak, Alaska

Kodiak is full of quilters, it turns out. There are Quilting Organizations such as the Kodiak Bear Paw Quilters (http://kodiakbearpawquilters.org/). They have groups, showings, exhibits, and competitions that keep quilters in Kodiak engaged in what they do.

My Aunt Karen's Quilting

With my Aunt Karen so actively involved in quilting (http://www.antiquequiltdating.com/Karen_B._Alexander.html) it has become something near and dear to my heart! Love you, Aunt Karen!

A Good Friend and Colleague's Quilting

It wasn't long ago that I was fortunate enough to make a silent auction bid on a quilt that was created by an Art Therapy colleague of mine (Whitney Nobis). This quilt features squares that were created by different art therapy master's students and the instructors/professors at Emporia State University, my alma mater.

Now that I have this beautiful quilt in my collection I make sure that it goes up in my office where ever I am working. When I am doing art therapy with a client I refer to that quilt as an example of all the different ways there are to do art. "Art does not have to look a specific way, but instead can be at any level and in any way imaginable." I tell them. "Being creative is what it is all about!" There are three pieces on this quilt that were specific quilt squares and they are beautiful.

 Thank you to all you quilters out there! You make such beautiful work!

Some additional links that Aunt Karen forwarded on to me...good stuff!!!

http://healingquilts.org/

http://quilt-art-therapy.com/index.html

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/4084-quiltingandmentalhealth.php 

 http://healingquiltsinmedicine.org/

 http://nativehealingquilts.wordpress.com/

Kodiak's Farmer's Market

Fun at Kodiak’s Farmer’s Market

Every Saturday starting at 11:00am Kodiak’s Farmer’s Market opens up. It’s full of goodies, greens, and people! A lot of fun…

When Tom and I went this last Saturday, it was our first time there. Back in Kansas the Farmer's Markets are full of local growers, craft-makers, and baked goods, flowers and music. This Farmer's Market had it's own flair...

When we pulled up we saw all of the cars parked right around this building.

After we got closer, we saw that under the awning were several picnic tables and booths with goods...

The building was packed full of people. It was hard to maneuver around everyone, but we eventually found our way to several of the tables.

The first booth we came to was filled with home-made soaps (something my step-mother, Claudia, makes a great deal of and blesses the rest of the family with her amazing creations)...

I kept the woman's card so I could get more home-made body scrubs from her when I ran out. She had a beautiful card of the blue mountains.

The table with vegetables was too good to pass up. We bought lettuce and kale. The woman selling the veggies gave me a fantastic recipe for "Kale Chips" (cut up the Kale leave in to small pieces, sprinkle with olive oil and parmesian cheese, and bake for 2 minutes in the microwave...crunchy and salty...yummy!).

Next, we saw a picnic table covered with frames that had been decorated and embellished beautifully.

It was hard to pass up the multiple tables with yummy home-made pies, jams, cookies and more....OMG...diet's out the window! We ended up buying a very small rhubarb pie that had two bites of yumminess (one for Tom and one for me). Mmmm...

We found out that the jams were the first of the season made from "Salmon berries" that cover the landscape in the summer. There were jams filled with spruce berries, sage, fresh mint, and several other unbelievably tempting creations. If we had had more cash, I would have splurged!

The people were so friendly...

Ear-rings came in several shapes and sizes...and colors...

Baby hats hade been knitted and crocheted...

Baby chicks were for sale...

Finally, fresh bread was ready to be bought...

This all took place at the Fair Grounds, just South of the Coast Guard Base. Tom and I are ready to go back next week!!! What fun...

Salmon Fishing and a Buffalo Stampede!

Salmon Fishing and a Buffalo Stampede!

Tom and I went camping at Pasagshak, a location that is the Southern most part of where the road takes you on the island. There we hung out with some friends, Tom went salmon fishing, and, yes, there was actually a buffalo stampede!

When we got to Pasagshak that night, the sun was out and it was gorgeous! I could not have asked for a more beautiful day.

Some of the locals were fishing for salmon by putting nets out in the bay (which you cannot do until you are a resident). The husbands would catch the fish and the wives would fillet them on the beach. The birds (including several eagles) would swarm around to get the leftovers.

This is the view from our SCAMP camper (that we took out courtesy of the Coast Guard - one of the perks of working for them). This is where Tom would be fishing the next morning (getting up at 4:00am...ugh). This is where the salmon spawn and go up that stream you see on the right.

The next morning it was cloudy, rainy, and miserable. Nothing was going to stop the men from going fishing, though. Around 11:00am they headed back to camp. Joe caught a "red" salmon and Tom had caught a smaller fish, but decided to let it go.

(The three pictures above, and some of the buffalo, were taken and provided by Joe's wife and Tom's co-worker in the Work Life Department, Debbie. Thank you, Debbie! They turned out great!)

Right after the men got back in to camp, I heard Joe yelling, "The buffalo! The buffalo are coming!" I thought he was making some reference to a name-brand boat or something. Little did I know he meant ACTUAL buffalo! They were coming right down the road and then decided to cross the river right where all the fly-fishermen were fishing. It was thrilling...to say the least!

We were shocked and then amazed at seeing a herd of about 50 buffalo go rumbling by, clippity-clop, clippity-clop.

Later, after Joe and Debbie had to leave to go to a wedding, Tom and I decided to go exploring some more. We had heard that Kodiak had a launch site that was being considered for launching space craft. We wanted to see if we could get a look.

The road went by the launch site (which you can see behind me in the next picture) and down to another beach. We decided to go beach combing and found some goodies...

The waves were rolling in and we noticed that although there were campers on the beach that had their surfboards, they weren't yet out in the water. It was really COLD! I had three layers on, including two down-filled jackets and a raincoat. I was just barely warmed by this! Brrrrr...

On the way back we saw a deer. He was much smaller than what I'm used to seeing in Kansas and he didn't seem to be too concerned with us.

Tom went back to fishing while I holed up in the SCAMP, and after too long he finally came back with his red salmon. He wanted to catch two of them, but was happy he caught what he did.

We stayed one more night at Pasagshak before we headed back home on Sunday. I told Tom that next time it was that cold and rainy I would be staying home...I needed the comforts of home more than I thought!

But, when the sun is out...it is simply gorgeous (and warm!).

Fun friends, fun times, and fun weekend...all-in-all.