Brrrr, it's COLD

Brrrr...it's COLD outside! Just went for a walk to the mailbox and my return was brisk. It's a whopping 32 right now, forecast for 24 tonight. I know, it doesn't sound cold to those in the east and mid-western states, but for rainy-moderate Portland, Oregon, this is really chilly.

My plan? Stay inside with my cats and fix a cup of hot tea. Stay warm!




All items featured in this post were discovered on Etsy using keyword: COLD. The images are live links--click for more info and to visit the shops.

Secret Stairs

I watch PBS--known here in Oregon as OPB. One of my favorites is Oregon Field Guide (Thursdays, 8:30 PM), which covers stories of all things outdoors in Oregon.



The latest episode took me into the Oregon forests, underground in the Oregon Caves, and right here in town to explore the public stairways of Portland.



I was delighted--but not too surprised--to learn that we have 180 public stairways in and around Portland! Back in the early days of our city--pre-automobiles, in the era of the streetcars--Portlander's that lived in our hills (and we have plenty), built the stairways and used them daily to commute to their jobs in the city below.



Today, the stairways are considered hidden gems of our town. Urban hikers love them for a workout. Local historian, Laura Foster, is researching the history of the stairs to write a book. I plan to check that out when it's published later this year.



You can view the stairways portion of the Oregon Field Guide episode at the OPB website.

Images - various photographers on Flickr (not all in Portland).

My Backyard: Portland State University

This is where I am today. My first day of Art 112 (Visual Design) at PSU. Just an fyi...my blogs will be updated less often for the next 11 weeks due to school. I'm planning on two articles per week pending my homework load. We'll see how that goes and I hope you continue to enjoy the musings herein. Look for more photos of PSU and Portland in the future--but from my camera lens!

Portland State University (PSU) is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in the state that is located in a major metropolitan city. The university is ranked among the "Best in the West" and as a "College With a Conscience" by the Princeton Review. Portland State differs from the other universities in Oregon partially because as an urban institution it attracts a student body older than other rural universities. In the 2006-2007 school year, it was reported that the average age of an attending student was 25 years. A significant percentage of Portland State's classes are offered at night and Saturdays, and some programs only offer classes at night.

Portland State is part of the Oregon University System. The current President is Wim Wiewel, who began his term in August 2008. Its athletic teams are known as the Portland State Vikings with school colors of green and white. Teams compete at the NCAA Division I Level, primarily in the Big Sky Conference. Schools at PSU include the School of Business Administration, Graduate School of Education, School of Fine and Performing Arts, School of Social Work, College of Urban and Public Affairs, Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. PSU's motto is, "Let Knowledge Serve the City".

Info via Wikipedia.org, images via Flickr.

Architecture: Kitchell House ~ Portland Oregon

Designed by Borra Architects, Portland, OR USA.

Architecture: The Twilight House aka Hoke House

Fans of the book and movie, Twilight, or just lovers of modern architecture should agree that the house used in the movie is quite the masterpiece. But did you know that this is an actual home here in my humble hometown of Portland, Oregon? It is the real life residence of the Hoke family. Skylab Architecture and architect Jeff Koval designed the home. Jeff talks about the house in an interview here.

Thanks to RianRae Interiors for the original posting here.

Good People: Growing Gardens

Growing Gardens gets at the root of hunger right here in Portland, Oregon. The Portland Home Garden Project began in 1996. The organization's original focus was installing home gardens for low income households in Portland. The organization expanded its mission to build gardens in partnership with other organizations with the involvement of hundreds of community volunteers. The organization was renamed Growing Gardens in 1998. 

In 1999, Growing Gardens began offering workshops on topics such as basic gardening, composting, cooking and food preservation. An education and service-learning program for youth, called Youth Grow, began in 2000.

Organizing hundreds of volunteers, Growing Gardens builds organic, raised bed vegetable gardens in backyards, front yards, side yards and even on balconies. Supporting low income households for three years with seeds, plants, classes, mentors and more.  They offer Youth Grow after school garden clubs growing the next generation of veggie eaters and growers.  Through Learn & Grow workshops and work parties, they are teaching gardeners about growing, preparing and preserving healthful food while respecting the health of the environment.

Growing Gardens plants seeds for good food and healthy people by making sure low income people have the resources  they need to grow organic vegetables at home.  Through this work, community members meet over the backyard garden, through volunteering, by attending classes, and through sharing extra produce.

Portland Chickens!

A group of volunteers who seek to promote the joy of chickens and freedom to design and build small structures without permit requirements. The passion about Urban Chickens is for many reasons, here are a few: They bring us closer to the chain of life, they make great pets, fresh eggs, fertilizer for the garden, and they are Voracious Insect Eaters.

The Urban Chickens group has found a perfect match with non-profit Growing Gardens. Sign up for the Growing Gardens newsletter to receive information on Upcoming Portland Chicken Events.

For more info on Growing Gardens visit HERE.

Images copyright Growing Gardens & Jim Golden, 2009.

Etsy: New in shop 4.22.09

It's a new series of images in my Etsy shop--just posted tonight! The Monticello Antique Mall is hands-down one of my favorite places to visit here in Portland. These new photos, like all of our items, are available as prints (variety of sizes) *OR* blank note cards.

Prefer a larger size? Need it framed? Shipped as a gift? Want it mailed to someone outside the states? Just ask!

These feminine images look glorious in the black mats we include with our prints, and they would be fantastic as a set of cards. You know...to keep in touch with your girlfriends, mail to your mom {Mother's Day is May 10th} or just keep 'em for yourself to enjoy!


layers of time


ladies room


creamy antiques

garden maiden

oregon reports

All images copyright Pfeiffer Photos 2009 - all rights reserved.

Etsy PDX: Daogreer Earth Works

Tell me a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations, personal stuff.
My business name is Daogreer Earth Works - Works of art made exclusively on this planet. Yep, that's right. I don't make 'em anywhere else. Buy domestic. Shop on Earth. I guess you can include Earth among my affiliations. My specific location on Earth is latitude 45.523875, longitude -122.670399 - or Portland, Oregon. I love Portland. By many standards, it is the "greenest" city in the U.S. (go ahead, google "greenest city in US"). Having lived several other places, I'm pretty sure Portland is the place I will always come back to. Besides its greenitude, I love that it's big enough to have all of the amenities of a big city, but small enough to know people you pass on the street. In a couple of hours, I can be at the coast, in the mountains, in the desert, rafting down a river, exploring a cave, climbing a volcano or playing in the snow.


all the lonely purple - screenprint ACEO $5

Apart from creating art, what do you do?
I spend much of my time in the temperate rain forests in the area, teaching middle school students about their natural world, right there where the natural world exists. They learn how all things are connected, develop a sense of community and a sense of place, and get some authentic science practice in, to boot. Part of what makes Portland a green city might be that every 6th grader in Portland has been participating in this program for 40+ years. Otherwise, "creating art" seems to encapsulate nearly everything else that I do.


strung out - fine art photograph, 8x10 $25

What first made you want to become an artist?
I never wanted to "become an artist," nor would I describe myself as an artist first when introducing myself to people. All of my siblings and I have a pretty finely honed aesthetic sense, and we all apply it in different ways. My brother, Colin, is whom I always think of when I think "artist." He is a professional illustrator and has always wanted to be an artist. Check out his stuff here. Almost everything on that site was commissioned for something specific, like the cover of SF Weekly. So, my friends always tell me how artistic/creative I am, but in my head I'll never consider myself the "artist" in the family.


secrets from the past - hollow book $18

Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
My art is completely random - I'm like a gnat in my creative process. I'll do something for a while and then I'll get distracted by the next shiny object and suddenly I'm into a new type of art. My materials include nearly anything that catches my interest. One type of art I consistently come back to is photography. I really like macro photography and unusual angles of familiar objects.


emperor's raw - fine art photograph, 4x6 $3

What artists have influenced you and inspire you to create?
I don't know if I would consider these my influences, but some artist whose stuff I like include Leonardo DaVinci, Bev Doolittle, Andy Goldsworthy, Jan Vermeer, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Frédéric Bartholdi, and many more.


sparkle id wallets (solo in apple) $5 each

Where else can people find your work?
Daogreerearthworks on Etsy,at 1000 markets, artcardswanted.com, my Facebook page, and I'm on Twitter.


tiny ceramic bowls - set of 3 $36

This is my first post in the ETSY PDX series to featuring Etsy artists and crafters local to my area--Portland, Oregon, and the Pacific Northwest.

All images are by and copyright of Daogreer Earth Works 2009.

Flickr Buddy Photo: Don Pyle aka pdxpixs

Grumpy, originally uploaded by Don Pyle / pdxpixs.

This lovely gem is from a local photographer who shares his work via Flickr, Don Pyle also known as pdxpixs (PDX is the abbreviation for the Portland airport). I am often in awe of the clarity and brillance of Don's photos and this one is no exception! His series of Portland bridges and Oregon floral and fauna are outstanding--visit his stream to behold some truly beautiful photo work!

Image by and copyright of Don Pyle aka pdxpixs.

Flickr Buddy Photo: The Imperial Honey Bucket

The Imperial Honey Bucket, originally uploaded by Ar'alani.

From the very talented eye of Ar'alani--how funny is this?!  Pay her a visit and check out the entire Star Wars set on her stream, I promise, you'll be laughing in no time.  The captions and comments are almost funnier than the images!  Her nature photography is equally as wonderful...click, visit, view and enjoy!

Image by and copyright of Ar'alani - contact her via Flickr for more info or to purchase prints of her work.