a new garden fairy

Here's a new garden fairy, named Tumbo. He's a native of Peru sent to protect the tender tropical plants. You can hear more about him in the Camp Cactus etsy shop.  Ask him to come and protect your garden! 

being a grownup is highly overrated, if you ask me...

I spent practically the entire day scanning artwork and uploading it to my new online portfolio site, when I coulda been thinking up cool April Fool's Day pranks. What has become of me? Dang. I think I may finally be growing up or something.

I love to paint!

Seems like I've been doing nothing but paint, paint, paint lately. I dream about brushstrokes and have nightmares that I've left the top off the paint cans, or forgot to clean my best brushes (that is, when I'm not keeping Dave awake with my ridiculously loud snoring.) Maybe the fumes have gone to my head...Zzzzzzz!

new designs!

You'll find these pet placemats now at Green Dog Pet Supply and later this week, at the Camp Cactus etsy shop.

a february reprieve from winter

Look who Dave found in the garden today, singing away in the sunshine with a chorus of her crocus friends. Pretty soon she'll be joined in the studio by Flora, a magnolia fairy and her friends Gus and Weed...keep checking in here and at the Camp Cactus Etsy shop.

Happy Spring!

spring cleaning

Sheesh! Camp Cactus is a mess! Bits and pieces of stuff and junk on all the work surfaces, left over from the mad rush to complete a bunch of new pocket shrines ("Russell's reliquaries") for the "Say it with Heart" valentine's show at Jude's. 

I have to say, I was actually a bit shocked when most of them sold. I guess I wasn't too sure how they would be received, but all in all, it was a great show. All the artists pitched in with a surplus of good energy and got the word out. As always, working with Jude was fun and relaxing, and for me, an exercise in letting myself go with the flow, instead of having to be the flow! Thanks, Jude!

So, today is studio cleanup day...gotta get ready for some new fairies to visit!

happy new year to all

The weather outside is frightful, although the sun is finally shining. I know I shouldn't be such a baby, but baby, it's COLD outside! I've got the fireplace cranked up in the studio, but I can still see my breath out there, and it's making it hard to work with miniscule scraps of paper and bits of stuff. I'm working on some tiny little "love shrines" for a show coming up in a couple of weeks. (see the blurb in the right hand column.)
I called my sister Kathy a week or so ago, to get some ideas for what to call these little things...pocket shrines? mixed media assemblages?
She came up with: "Russell's Reliquaries - Diminutive Deposits of Hope"...I kinda like it!

more new stuff...

You can also find our christmas stockings for pets at Green Dog Pet Supply. They're made from 100% all new wool material...mostly left over scraps from Pendleton products. Waste not, want not!

Cactus Pete & Company in the Oregonian!

Thanks to our friends at Green Dog Pet Supply, our placemats were featured in this morning's Oregonian. I can't thank Christine and Mike enough for offering such a great variety of locally made and sustainably produced products for our animal friends. Green Dog is a fantastic resource for healthy foods and treats...We can't ever walk by the shop without Abbie and Cooper dragging us in for some love and treats!
So hike on up to NE Fremont and check out the cool stuff at Green Dog!

think globally...shop locally

Wow! Camp Cactus has never looked so good! With the help of some fantastic friends and relatives, the gigantic mess was sorted out, arranged, tidied, fluffed and fussed over until it was transformed into a magical and cozy shop full of cool handmade stuff. Come on over and check it out!