On to the Ubiquitous Street Event!

So, on to the Washington Square Art Festival.
Looks like a lot of other street events in NYC, with the
exception of the Holiday Markets.
The Holiday Markets have more high-end stuff and
IT'S COOLER!


So, we're ambling along...we're ambling...
we're ambling...I pause to absorb this beautiful site:

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I glance to my left and, the BFF has disappeared!,


Often, this means she has been walking briskly rather than strolling or,
Heaven forbid, ambling.
But, no, not ahead (her blond head can generally be
spotted above the throng)...she is behind!


She has been CAPTURED by a very tall attractive Asian man!
He is massaging her shoulders and murmuring something
as he guides her to...aha! A booth with those kneel-on massage
chairs is ahead.  Hmmm...how will she extricate herself
 from this situation, I wonder?


Quelle surprise!
She has fallen into his trap and is nodding!
 I have paused in amazement when a short, motherly
co-worker takes my hand and urges me to join the BFF.
It takes little coaxing (but, did you notice the difference in personnel?),
as I leap over bystanders to find a chair.
All is going to plan when my new friend, after drumming on my back,
shows me a paper towel and says,
"You hot! You wet!"
Yes, yes I am.
She dries my neck with the previously presented
paper towel.  The rest is but a pleasant memory.
Ahhh! 
Now, on to find refreshment...

First on the List

We have a plan; first was to take the R train to
Washington Square, where there was an outdoor
art thingy. 

No, this isn't the art thingy, but it is art!

And it looks as if this was, or will be
music.  As an aside, how trusting must
this musician be to just leave his instrument
all alone? 

New York, New York!

I was in New York City recently visitingmy BFF Jo.  First, we visit our blog-friend, Buster.  His blog is My Life by Buster, http://ewix2.blogspot.com/.  While we were walking in Chelsea, we met one of his friends, Biggie.  Buster is surprised that we knew Biggie just from his blog.

THE Guilty Pleasure of the Day

Yes, I am proud to admit that I am a romantic.  I am in my studio and it's 4:20 am.  I have coffee and my sketchbook watching a crowd of well-dressed people in London awaiting the wedding of Catherine and William.

The "fascinators", hats similar to what we would call cocktail hats.  If I were there, I have chosen one of these to wear:

                      

Happily Target-Marketed

                             So, I was in my local discount shoe store,
                              looking for cute, comfortable, colorful,
                               spring shoes. After trying many on, I
                                          choose the $11 pair:

                                     

                                I go to the cashier to pay.  I stand in
                               line.  A manager, not wanting to miss
                                a sale because I am impatient (am I
                             that easy to read?), says to me, "Ma'am,
                                  I'll take you over at that register"
                                As he's carefully entering the vast
                                information needed to process my
                                 huge purchase, I am compelled to
                            browse the sock display (as we all know,
                           marketing is a conspiracy to add full-price
                               extras to your carefully-chosen items).      
                                     I need socks. I choose a package
                                that had been hiding behind flowery
                                                    neon socks.

                                           

                               

                            Really, there were MUCH more vivid options.

                                  So, here's where I get to my point.

                            I get in my car and, beacause I chose not to

                                have a bag, my colorful purchases are

                                                  making me smile. 

                           Then, I notice what you, Observant Reader,

                                            have already noticed:

                                          

                                                       THEY MATCH!

                                           Yes, it is the small surprises

                                                  that make us want to

                                                       share our glee.

                                                     And now I have.

  

Surreal Entertainment

I created my own surreal world recently by accident (how else?).  You can do the same, and I hope you do.  You need to be able to switch back and forth between two recordings or have the serendipitous luck to have one recorded, as I did, and catch the other on TV.

The programs are:
     1. A Mighty Wind and
     2. PBS'  John Sebastian Presents Folk Rewind

Because it always seems to be Pledge Week at PBS, you should be able to find it (please note I am NOT getting on my they-only-show-things-I-want-to-watch-dusing-pledge-week soap box, but it's a challenge) and Christopher Guest's movie seems to be on fairly frequently).

I realized how truly surreal the experience when I did not know which I was watching.  At first I was afraid I'd lost another part of my mind, but then?  WAHOO! What fun!  I sure hope you try it.  If you like it, you might try Best in Show and one of the National Dog Shows.  I'm not sure I could handle it. 
           

How to Steal Like an Artist

Someone shared this link today and I am paying it forward by sharing it with you.  It is simple wisdom that can be used immediately by anyone (shhh!  It's not really just about art).  I really wish someone had done the same for me then I was in college.  Sister Mary Remy Revor (look her up; it will be worth it) told me at a 3-day workshop when I was a month away from graduation.  College would have been so much easier and I more constructively productive. Seriously, what is the point in all the mystery?  Help others, help yourself.  Keeping everything you have learned to yourself does not make you powerful;  it ensures you will be truly lonely and demonstrates you are selfish.  STOP IT!
http://www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/

How I Work

It seems as if I had a million deadlines March 15th including producing and submitting new work. I thought I would add to my plate by documenting my creative process. I made a conscious decision to show the process in chronological order, beginning to end; I couldn’t post at each step, or, unless someone stopped by every day, they would see the end before the beginning. I enjoy many of the tutorials of other artists, but I usually come late to the party so I have to find the first post and work forward, which I do not like. All this is to say, this is going to be one long post. We’ll start with the view out my studio window

Cool, huh? BTW, some of the text has been taken from pieces I’ve written for the March 15 submissions, so, if any of this sounds familiar, PICK ME PICK ME PICK ME!

I see my process in three stages:


     Concept and Design
     Preparation and gathering of Materials
     Actual production

A piece can start with almost anything; a thought, a feeling, a smell, a sight. Often for me it is one of these that leads to another. Most often, I stand on my deck in the dark when most of the world around me sleeps. I close my eyes, turn my face to the sky and breathe. A peace always fills me if I am willing to surrender to it (not so easy in a cold rain). I spread my arms wide and let thoughts drift in and out. I see a beginning.

   I take that beginning (be it a word or image) to my design wall.  I pin an appropriately-sized piece of black or white paper to the wall, step back, and visualize what I can. 

   I then add to it; perhaps I write the word(s) on another piece of paper and add that.  I may add fabric in the general shapes and colors I see when I close my eyes.  I step back again.

  I move, add, remove and change the image for as long as it takes to make a grin spread across my face and my feet start a happy dance.  It may take quite a while (hours-days-weeks-months!) for that grin/dance to erupt, but when it does, I know it’s time to think about actualizing the concept. 

    I then enter hunter-gatherer mode.  I open my cabinet of many colors and textures and pull one possibility at a time.  I don’t put any away until I’ve found as many pieces of the puzzle as I can. 

As I’m doing this, I see how each piece fits with the others. The color may be right, but the texture wrong. I visualize embellishment. I don’t start until I have most of what I need.


    I take each part from the wall, one at a time, use it as a pattern to cut the puzzle part it represents, and replace it on the wall with the fabric I have chosen.  It is a fluid process, some things work, some don’t.  It’s never done until it’s done, and then the wonderful thing about fiber is it can be undone!  It’s tedious to undo, but if it’s not right, it’s wrong.
  

I appliqué most of my work, and utilizing a variety of other methods including, but not limited to, fusing, basting, trapunto, beading, embroidering and quilting.  This is my thimble:

Yes, it's painters' tape.  I cannot work with a regular thimble.  Once in a while I can use a "rubber finger" we all used to page thru paper to file (ugh; the VERY BEST THING about computers is, if you can stand to allow it, the computer will file for you!!!).  The first workshop I attended as an "adult" was at Arrowmont in Tennessee.  I thought I was so creative to use the blue tape, but nooooooo; three other attendees had the handy stuff in their stash!

     So, this is really getting long and I'm almost out of words, so I'll let my pictures say thos thousands of words they're supposed to:

Yes, it's a different piece; I told you I had a lot to do!  It is, however, my sewing area.  Don't you just love the chair upholstery?u just love the chair upholstery?

And the OFFICIAL photograph of the finished piece:

And, for fun, some oth my other new work:

The last piece is a version of one of my first pieces; I have always felt the need to re-visit it with more practices skills.  Same silk screen, tho.  I'm afraid the screen is done for good because I didn't clean it well enough 2 years ago.

So, that's it.  I hope you enjoyed my first attempt at documentation.  It, like my textile skills, will get better with practice, right?  If it were warmer, this is how I'd celebrate:

And, leave my studio as it was March 16:

The Pitter-Pat of Little Feet -or- THE BATTLE OF THE SQUIRREL

My studio had a cathedral ceiling. Last year, a squirrel began keeping me company by scurrying in the eaves. It was worrisome at first, and not little scary as my BFF had recently fought her one battle with (gasp!) roof rats. Luckily, my neighbor spotted the squirrel entertaining friends (possibly a cocktail reception in celebration of his new digs?)

It didn’t happen often, and I really didn’t want to hurt the little fellow. Spring came and the squirrel left. Yea! I didn’t have to make any decisions about my former tenant.

Fall came. So did the squirrel. Okay, now I did have to take action; who knew what kind of devilment he could get into? Damage was certain to follow, if had not already occurred. I called he-who-for-a-fee-will-humanely-remove-your-furry-infestations. He came, he placed a big trap, noted that as long as “that hole is there” the squirrel would have no incentive to hop into the trap. I would insert a photo of the “hole” at this point but it is “hole” no longer.

Months pass. The pitter-patter of squirrelly toes continue over my studio. The trap remains vacant. One morning I hear the aforementioned pitter-patter above my head as I wake. In my bedroom. ARRRRGH. He’s expanding his territory. A few days later when I was watching Private Practice (don’t you just love to see Taye Diggs smile?) in the living room, you guessed it, pitter-patter.

Meanwhile, we receive a tax refund. “Wa-hoo “ says my DH, “can we get an estimate on enclosing the deck?” To maintain a peaceful life, I call a recommended contractor. He came, we shared our differing thoughts about the deck and I asked, innocently, “Do you have a minute to look at another little problem we have?” I pointed to a juncture of several rooflines in the bedroom that has been damp in the past. DH had been in the attic seeking the reason last rainy season, finding no obvious reason.

Up into the little opening in my closet (Really? My closet? He was lucky to find a place to set the ladder!)

Mr Contracter says, “Uh, there are a few problems up here…come on up an look…you can see daylight” First, I looked at DH who reckoned it was dark when he was investigating. Then I said, “that’s okay, we believe you; can you fix it?”

Well, of course he can. To his credit, he did a very thorough job of finding all the problems and offering to fix them. No, now don’t be jumping to conclusions; my furry tenant had nothing to do with the shoddy roofing job my house had. Hey, it was built long before we moved in, so I don’t even have a builder to fuss at or about. However, the gutters did have a problem that Mr Squirrel had exacerbated by leaving nesting material in them. Remember “the hole?” – part of the problem, of course.

Cut to today; I visit with “the guys” for a moment. Ronnie, who is the most chatty, proudly asks, “Did they tell you I caught that squirrel?” He demonstrated, from high atop a ladder, how he accomplished the task. His nameless helper added, “Yup! That squirrel ran down that way and jumped off the roof! Plop! Landed flat on his stomach, didn’t even use a tree! Plop! Got up, and high-tailed-it” (literally, I assumed) “up between those houses”

And so, the BATTLE OF THE SQUIRREL was waged and won.

What about the deck, you ask? Hahahahahaha. One of the joys of homeownership is putting the needs of the house before your wants.

Adieu, friend squirrel. Adieu, hole. Adieu, tax refund. Hello lovely soffit and fascia and chimney cap, and…

UPDATE!  I found a piece of "the hole" and, either the first squirrel is back or one of the party attendees just woke up.  The battle goes on.  I hope my friend, Buster, has better luck! Check out his progress: http://ewix2.blogspot.com/

The New Direction

Good Morning! As I write this, it is truly morning; 4:44 am Eastern Standard Time. In a few weeks some of the clocks in my house, at this time of day, will indicate an hour later because the magical “spring forward” time change will have occurred, but it will still be, by my personal standards, VERY early. I digress. (Yesterday, at work, I spoke with someone who had been declared, for the day, Random Thought Girl. I wonder if that’s the tattoo I will finally get?)
This particular Random Thought has, as they often do, brought us back to the beginning. Today I begin a new journey and inviting you to join me if you’d like. My intention is journal about my work.

First I want to define “work” because It is a word I use in several significantly different ways:

I have a day job. I am blessed to be paid to help people. I am a Benefits Counselor for a state retirement system. I refer to the day job with phrases like, “going to work” “being at work” and “getting ready for work”.
                                              This is "where I go to work":

                                       And a close-up of my "at work" friend:

                                                                      

I am an artist (and I have 2 official degrees to prove it!). I refer to the pieces I make as “my work” and their production as “working”. My non-artist BFF has explained to me, after a few confused conversations, that these definitions are not intuitive, as I had assumed.
                                                      This is a my "work":

                                                        This is me "working"     

                                                                                                                         
                      And so it begins. But first, I need to get ready to "go to work"

GO STEELERS!

                       LET US IN!  It's time for the SuperBowl!  GO STEELERS!

Look, Ma, I'm Working!

I am so very pleased to be able to show you

this piece.  I solved so many problems and

learned so many things while making it.

It's a silkscreen print that was the reverse

of what I'd planned and the edges, after

 "thread painting" the blossoms,

were wonky, but I love it so much!

  It's what I see at night as

I find peace at the end of a summer

day in my hammock.

I am so very blessed to be able to close

my eyes and not only "see" this, but to hear

and smell the night. 

The First Rule of Blogging

I believe the first rule of blogging is, only blog if you have something to say that would interest someone.  Yes, I have violated that rule, but am going to request a do-over. Truly, I have had little to say since my last post and less energy to say it. 

I am not sure what direction I need to head, but I am working on it.  I remember a "city-hike" I took as a Girl Scout.  At every corner we would flip a coin to decide which direction to go; I wish this were that easy.  My current direction is "forward" now, if I can find a coin...

Ah! New England

Welcome to Wentworth by the Sea, a lovely Marriott

in New Castle, New Hampshire.  We stumbled upon it

last year and returned on purpose this year.  

We used the lovely hotel as a base to discover the road less travelled in

Odiorne State Park.

                  And the road more travelled from Freeport, Maine, where LL Bean Home is open 24 hours a day (and the primary store has a very big boot outside)...



 To St Ann's Episcopal Church with amazing windows

And to, what one of my favorite people on Earth (and world-class concierge),

Mary Carey Foley described as "a very Massachusetts seaport"

Newburyport:

She was, as always in my experience, correct!

More about the FABULOUS Mary Carey can be found at

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090121-NEWS-901210381 and

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080616/NEWS/806160328

Momisms

Hello! Maggie here.  Eddie (you remember Eddie, my greyhound brother) says I should write about the things Mama says all...the...time.  She and Dad are going traveling for a while, so if you're in Asheville, NC or New England (is there an Old England?) and you hear a very pretty woman saying any of these things, you'll know it's her.  Okay, here we go:
   1.  How can you possibly spend that much at the grocery when you only went for dinner?
   2.  Setting the thermostat at 70 does not make it get cooler faster.
   2a. Setting the upstairs thermostat lower than the downstairs will not work...warm air rises!
   3.  Does anybody need to go OUT?  (Eddie and I always do!)
   4.  Sit, Maggie.  (Eddie NEVER has to sit)
   5.  Plastic goes in the recycle bucket!  (She says this when she starts to throw something in the trash and finds that Daddy has mistaken the trash can with the BUCKET) 
     I think that's enough for now.  Here's a dragonfly I showed to Mama:

Now We're Talkin!

Alrighty!  Mom is going to let me blog for a while because I have so much to say.  She has given me rules.  Ha!  Like I could follow a rule
if it didn't include food, and apparently these rules don't.



So, yesterday, before I was discovered, I mentioned Mom's fabric wall; here's a picture:

Darn; I do not have the hang of this adding pictures and then writing

about them.  I am just 3, you know.

Actually, I'm 3.5 and my brother is 3.  He turned 3

this month and he has told everybody that it's his

birthday just so he can get treats.  Yes, food

is a theme 'cause nobody ever feeds us EVER!

Mama says she feeds us twice every day (at 7 and 7), but Eddie

(the 3-year-old BABY) says he forgets.  I think it's an

angle I can work with.

Here's Eddie:

                               Yes, that is his tongue licking off birthday cake or ice cream or something I didn't get any of, I'm sure.
                               I think I'll complain to the management!

                                Wet kisses and waggin' tails to you!
                                                                Maggie

Hello World, it 's Maggie...shhhh!

Hey!  Maggie here...who are you?  I like everyone and everyone likes me because my tail wags all the time.
We have to be quiet because it's very early for a Sunday morning; I am awake because I am EVER VIGILANT.  My official title is Home Security Czar and I take my position very serioiusly, so don't try sneeking up on us, 'cause I'll tell.
Yesterday Mama's BFF Jo pointed out that Mama hadn't blogged in two months!  I was shocked; I mean, she's in her studio (which is a room with one really big table, lots of pieces of cloth pinned to a wall, a comfy chair near her computer and music in the air) a lot, what is so important that she can't take a few minutes to...uh oh! Somebody's coming!

I Can't Sleep!

There was a time that, if I was awake at 1:29 a.m., I would be having a good time or, at the very least, pretending to.  Not so much now.  My dogs and husband are sound asleep and taking up all the be but about 18" which not enough for me to relax enough to sleep.  After an hour of prayer, reflection and counting backwards (hey, sometimes it works!) I am awake and drinking bourbon and diet pepsi.  And typing this to prove I am alive.

Proof noted, here's a picture that I'm using to guide my next piece:
Crap! As usual, I can't get in the right place; it's up top :-)

I want to sleep!

Some Things Never Change

Wahoo!  A wedding shower. 

The lovely Theresa (a recent high school graduate - Congratulations, Theresa!) is

modeling my group's (Group 3) spectacular, cutting-edge one-shoulder

grecian-goddess mini. Unfortunately, another group (Group 4) won the chocolate.

  The winner is on the right; at least one person in that group had done this toilet-paper wedding dress thing before because it had really amazing details including a ruffled neckline.  Really, it took us half of our five minutes to figure out it was easier for the "bride" to turn than for us to wrap her.  Since I go to one wedding shower every seven or eight years, I will probably never develop the skill needed to win.

Besides, I used all the time leading up to the shower (and a little more) making my gift.

 

Modeling this is the bride-to-be, my niece Whitney.  I used my extrordinary texting skills to communicate with her, having her describe her wedding bouquet; Calla lilies with Tiffany blue wrap.  It's the first apron I've made in 30 years and I am not an

excellent renderer, but I'm happy with ther result. I tried thread painting without batting.

I'm considering marketing an apron, but it will be much less labor-intensive I promise.  I had been considering making mini-quilts for the pockets. 

BY THE WAY, IT'S HOT AND SO AM I!!!!!