The Rose

The stem that's growing is from a rose stem. And that it's just growing in water. It's going to be planted outside and roses are going to grow on it! Well if we plant it out here where the goats are, they'll probably eat it. How about if we plant out here next to the garlic? In between the garlic and the goats.
Roses are pretty, they smell nice, and they make your house smell fragrant.

Tina Cousin

The Story of My Life: A poem by Forrest Hellum

Nice day out
Be the spirit within you
Always be truefull
And feel the love of happiness
Soul of eyes
And beauty of the one you know
I am the one you seek
that
A true meaning of life
If you dare
Go
Pass my life
to you,
and you
Soul mate.

Dear Shimizu Takashi (Director of Grudge)

I want to make the Grudge 1, Grudge 2, Ju-On 2 in New York City. With me, Teresita, Jessica, and Emily. I want to come out of my aunt Holly's stomach. All gray and Bloody. I want to scare my uncle. My uncle Michael. In a hospital in New York City. I am everybody's in the whole wide world worst nightmare. Thank you so much. It will be perfect.
Love,
Chanel Conklin

Preparing for OPEN

On Thursday 12.2.10, the Project Grow family pulled together to run some errands for Open. One group went to Sunlan on Mississippi Avenue in North Portland to purchase gallery appropriate bulbs. To celebrate our successful mission, we dropped by Blue Gardenia to sip on some hot chocolate and chat. Team Together!

A found poem

Organizing the studio this weekend, one of Forrest's poem scribbled on a scrap piece of paper was found.
The sun
And the trees
Blooming in the wind
:/God is sweet and so are you:/
O happy Day
The beautiful soul.

Thank you for being a friend, Betty White.

Dear Betty White,

Why don't you come to Portland?
Come to Portland. Come to Project Grow. Come meet my best friends. They're perfect. And they're beautiful.

We love you. You are pretty.


-Chanel Conklin

A Video of our Visit to Fairview: by Black Dog Art Ensemble

The magnetic birthday hug

Try it next time! Approach someone who has a birthday and the next thing you know, others are drawn closer and closer and closer until the full effect of the magnetic birthday hug is felt and there is a whole group of people appreciating and loving each other. Happy Birthday, Zach. We love you.

Dear Sir- Patsy Blasier

Dear Sir

College growth

Up and Down

Open and out

It will be open all day

Can open out weekdays, 24 hours a day,

I can see so many wonderful things here

Dresses, shirts, paintings, poetry, flowers

You can also see the goats, the farm, the sculptures

Things like that. Pretty stuff.

...and yarn.

They have to go through me.

Up and out

Poetry Grove.

ORAn't You Glad We Were at the ORA Conference

"It was like inspiring. Well it just, it just, it just, what I said makes sense. I mean, you know, it's true. Cause people like me weren't even there. To be honest, we may be disabled but we are good people too. Sometimes we gotta stand up for our rights, you know what I'm saying?"
Larry Supnet, who spoke at the ORA conference so eloquently about his experiences as an identified adult

the HAUNTED STUDIO

THE HAUNTED STUDIO
OCTOBER 30th
SATURDAY
5:30 pm to 9 pm
at ProjectGrow

Some poetry from Sonya...

I like you.
I like going out.
I don't know.
Friday,
What do you think?
I hope to get more money
I like my friends
This weekend.
I don't know.



I like this meeting.
I want to do it again.
I like going out,
Thursday night.
I like Halloween.
No more going outside,
this year.
I like that
You get more money.
I like painting.

You're not going to believe this....

As Caitlin, the hard working farmer pictured says, "You're not going to believe this.." but it was another beautiful day in North Portland. Much work to be done. And so many great farmers who jumped at this opportunity. (Note Chanel and Tim, 'supporting' Caitlin.)

This is a great poem. You should put it on the computer for everyone to see.

The creativity inside the studio is lured outside by the October sun

John and Zach work with bright ink to complement the beautiful day.

The brilliant William studied Jeff, Buckaroo, and Abby and painted them.

Dillon shared his love of Annie with the goats and sang to them.

Babs found utter joy. Working on a soft expression of her passions near her beloved goats.

Welcome, Larry!

The gent in the middle of the group hug, is Larry. He is a comedian. An artist. A writer. And a genuine fun guy, with lots of spice. We are so glad he is at Project Grow.

Happy knits, you made us happy.

We received a beautiful, soft truck full of donations from Happy Knits. And then we had a yarn party. And we are going to continue to party for a long time working with quality wool. Thank you, Happy Knits.

Calm in the Chaos: The Poetry of Forrest Hellum-Willits

Love is, Love is good,
Pumping through veins to my heart,
The hallways of gold

A Tribute

Taj Majal

Taj Majal is a palace in India.
I want to go to India and ride an elephant.
Me and Charlie and Dasha make Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in India. Disney Land and Walt Disney World. (Will you send this to Scott?) I won't eat snakes or leeches. Ewwwww. [laughs] Like me and Charlie are taken hostage. By the bad guys. Dasha in a cage. In a lava.
I want to write something.
"nononono Wake up Dr Jones! Wake up Charlie you are my best friend!
no she says I am all right sisters miss pink fairy.
Charlie let's get out of here.
Me, Dasha walk on the bridge.
Dasha says, oh my god, is he nuts.
He's not nuts he's crazy!"
Chanel Conklin
With a prop for her next movie, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Watch for its release soon!
(Also pictured, Tina Cousin and Charlie Foster)

Questions for people who work with other people with disabilities...

...and for the people who are disabled.


Mark "Joe" Depner, 2010

Scoooooped them up...

Actually I was just checking out the eggs. And I seen the eggs and I scooooped them up. I got most of the eggs out of one square. I only got two out of the other. And the eggs are from our own chickens.
Tina Cousin

The waffles were good

Jamond: Waffles were good.
Maurice: I had chocolate in it.
Poppa Hot Sauce, that's my nickname!
Jamond: I got nuts... Waffles were good.
Maurice: Loved the waffles. The waffles we ate.
We'd love to go there again. We liked that!
Charlie is a nice driver. He joined us on the bus.

Sweet Bridge

I like the St. John's Bridge. This is the Poppa Hot Sauce Blog. It was a nice bridge to draw. Sweet bridge. Nike hike. I like our friends, from Major Panda. They came too. Let's go again! - Maurice

Like a fallen snow - Patsy Blasier

There is more life in things inside than out

Patsy Blasier
The Pointing of An Arrow - 2009



It reminds me of a sea shell
And everything
It tells/shows me
That there is more life in things inside than out

I'd like to see someone like these things
And everything

I was thinking "Sea Boat"
I was thinking "The Water Lilly"
It's just like you're floating in the water
And you feel like you are swimming in a glass of water

It also reminds me of Emese
Someone that went out in the water and saved her life
She was drowning
It just popped into my head
Then it led to happy things
And she's had a handful, a bow, of red roses
("I wonder what she will say to reading this")

And the story is

To Be loved In The Sea

And there is more fish in the water than there is out

The Poet of Portland: The Photography and Poetry of Forrest Hellum-Willits

The hole in the wall.

It's like the chips are going into the hole in the floor.

All the way to the floor and come right back out.

It's like eating chips off the floor.

This Saturday: A fundraiser at Port City

Thanks, Stock!

Awww. Thanks, Stock and friends! We are so excited to start this project. We will start working on publishing bike and wheel chair maps to urban fruit finds, fliers, and gathering supplies. Look for invites soon!