My part time job this summer is teaching art to first graders who are in summer school. It's a hook to try to keep them interested in coming day after day. Some of these kids probably aren't getting half of what we talk about, but they seem to be enjoying themselves, and in the long run, I'd rather be a positive art experience than the person that ruined it for them. Today we played with tempra paint and mixed colors together. Some kids had some pretty impressive colors mixed together, some went along kicking and screaming until they folded their papers in half, wailing that they had "made a mistake" and wanted a new paper and I unfolded their page and showed them the mirror images they created... and they were hooked. We painted pictures of bananas, oranges and eggplant - not something you would think of a 1st grader painting, but considering that circles closer to the size of grapes are currently beyond their motor skill level, we went for eggplant, fine examples of aubergine. Now I'm drooling - I had eggplant in garlic sauce for lunch and it was amazing.
I'm listening to Pandora on my iPod right now, and there are bits and pieces of music playing, then silence, then a phrase, then silence. I feel like I'm listening for music. There will be moments of clarity, when I can hear it and I think, you know, this sounds beautiful/moving/etc and I think in that moment that I : get it, can see the bigger picture, etc : and then the [proverbial] music stops and I'm left in the silence, wondering. Waiting. Looking around and thinking why did it go away? Why have I lost it? Is it going to come back? I think to myself, what if I had heard more of the phrase earlier in my life, would I have taken the path I did, made the decisions I did? There are some things I simply couldn't have known were coming, and other things I should have seen coming, and made preparations for.
I'm where I am now. The only thing I can change is the direction I am going, and not think of it as back tracking or correcting mistakes. What about the things I did? Would I have not done them? Visit Europe? Taken that internship? Signed up for Wood Furniture? Taken the job that made me move away from home? Section hiked the Appalachian Trail? No, I'm glad I did these things. But sometimes I can't help thinking I could have been a lot more organized about life. But I was not thinking forward. I was not looking at the road ahead, and the bend coming, but at the rock formation to the left, the clouds sailing above, the pasture, the forest, the things on the side of the road, not necessarily distractions, but things that certainly had me completely captivated.
I'm like the kid that was sent to summer school. That got held back in Kindergarten because I needed time to "get the play out" - mature emotionally. Gain life experience. But I pray to God that when it comes time to retire, I have the ability to do so, because I've ... not wasted time, none of this time was wastecd in trying to find a stable career, but it sure feels like that sometimes.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Purple is charming
I've said nothing about the purple charm quilt. Good heavens.Now, I realize this isn't the best picture because it doesn't completely fill the frame, but it's the best I've got at the moment, and there's no where for me to lay it out and get a better picture at the moment...
So the story behind this is as follows. One fine day in May [I'm guessing, though it could have been April] 2007 I got a letter in the mail with fabric. What could be better than that? Free fabric in the mail. It just showed up, and I didn't ask for it or buy it, fabulous! Accompanying it was a letter indicating that it was a chain letter, send so may letters out with fabric squares thus and such a size, blah, you know the rest. So I obligingly went and bought the most unusual material I could find [try finding unusual fabric in purple. I dare you.] But I succeeded, and you can see several of the fabrics I bought in these close ups... The purple with the cranes was imported from Australia. I also supplied the purple leopard print, and the '30's reproduction purple-and-yellow flowers. In the third picture, is the Celtic knot fabric and very obvious quilt square and scissors motif. I bought enough to send the 7 people, and to put some in my own quilt.
Strafford, Missouri... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Roy, Utah
Part of the charm of this kind of project is that you don't know what you are going to get. Life is like that sometimes. No, all the time. You don't know what will show up, and sometimes what comes isn't the nicest, the prettest, the finest. The decision to make then is what to do with the time, materials and resources given to us. Someone I sent fabric to returned my squares, along with two fat quarters, apologizing that she was doing so, and hoping that her offering would be enough. I personally never would have picked purple for this project but tha'ts what was specified, so that there would be some color harmony. And I never would have thought of picking out some of the fabric I got, especially that flaming yellow from Missouri.
Austintown, Ohio.
Austintown, Ohio.
Represented in this quilt are about 20 fabrics from Western Pennsylvania, and material from lovely people in Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado and Utah... and probably someplace else, which I am forgetting. At some point, I would like to take a road trip with the quilt, and visit all the places fabric came from. And who knows, maybe someone who participated in this chain letter will see me holding this thing as my picture is being taken and stop and say, "Oh! I recognise that!" And we'll have a lovely chat about quilting and sewing. That would be lovely.
eggs
And now for the real reason I keep this blog...
Let's start with Lent. Which is a far bigger deal in the Anglican church than the Methodist. At least the one I was going to.
I was a pysanke making fool this year, thanks in part to the generosity of space at church, where I would hang out between work and choir practice and make eggs. Also the generosity of a farmer in the town I grew up in, who handed me about 4 dozen fresh eggs over the course of 40 days for free because I was making art out of them, and they thought that was pretty cool [I gave them some decorated eggs as a thank you]. I actually had a few that I was able to sell. Maybe next year I'll have a better marketing campaign or something... right. Anyway, here's a small sampling of some of the eggs that I did this year, drying after being varnished. I used Krylon, one of their clear glossy coats with UV protection. It isn't sitting in front of me, so I'm not completely sure what it is. But there you have it. I'll have to retake pictures of the eggs I still have, since most of them were too close, and my camera doesn't have a zoom feature, alas.
I would like to do more exploring the Pacific Northwest style, since it seemed to translate well into the wax resist medium. I have some traditional Ukranian designs(there, in the top corner is one with acorns, and the stars are pretty traditional as well), but with out more practice, I know I'll never truly get the hang of it. Very popular were the eggs I did showing scenes from "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe". There was a young fellow being baptised on Easter, and I made an egg for him of Peter fighting Fenris Ulf. He has two younger sisters... so I thought, oh, let's have a little fun with this, so they are on there as well, as Lucy and Susan...
442 days
well, this is what you get when you forget your password. Lets see if I can bring things up to speed in 500 words or less...
-Was hired by an acting company as an actor to do social issues drama in schools this time last year. My contract has long since expired, thanks to the lagging economy. But they were an awesome company to work for, and I got to combine three loves: working with kids, acting and traveling. And I got paid. Not a bad first real job.
-Started - hah, I say started as if it was last week, when I've been going there since the day I moved - attending Church of the Ascension, with a large community of active artists, both professional and ametuer in attendance. My only gripe is we get together once a year to celebrate this.
okay, so I think that sums things up. Oh, and I want to go back to school for my teacher's certificate in music. Rather than try to cram 9,739 things into one post, I'm going ot break this massive update into several smaller ones.
-Was hired by an acting company as an actor to do social issues drama in schools this time last year. My contract has long since expired, thanks to the lagging economy. But they were an awesome company to work for, and I got to combine three loves: working with kids, acting and traveling. And I got paid. Not a bad first real job.
-Started - hah, I say started as if it was last week, when I've been going there since the day I moved - attending Church of the Ascension, with a large community of active artists, both professional and ametuer in attendance. My only gripe is we get together once a year to celebrate this.
okay, so I think that sums things up. Oh, and I want to go back to school for my teacher's certificate in music. Rather than try to cram 9,739 things into one post, I'm going ot break this massive update into several smaller ones.
Friday, March 13, 2009
forty days
It is that time of year again. The days are getting noticeably longer, clocks get set forward an hour, dizzying displays of everything concievable in a nauseating array of pastel colors screaming at you everytime you walk in the grocery store for some milk, yes it's... LENT!
Being protestant, I generally don't mark the passing of Lent with much thought, though I do realize the forty days leading up to Easter are symbolic of Jesus' time in the wilderness when He was being tested by Satan. An Anglican friend was visiting a few weeks ago and commented on the fact that we were having a worship arts festival at the beginning of Lent. The atmosphere in the sanctuary was highly charged, the singing shaking long idle dust from the rafters. Aparently, Anglicans don't say Allelujah during Lent. It's not a time for praising God [that comes Easter Sunday]. Forty days out of the year, that leaves 325 days... but I digress.
My point is until recently, I didn't pay much attention to the whole Lent thing. That is until art suddenly got involved. Years ago when my mother was single and my grandmother still alive and not crippled by arthritis, they stumbled on pysanke. My family is not Ukranian. Or Russian, for that matter, or any of the other ethnicities from whom pysanke came from. We're Welsh and Scottish and Sicilian [my mother and I are]. My mother was an art education major, and learned pysanke from a fellow student's mother, who was Ukranian. A few years later, my brother and I were born and she quit doing eggs because we'd get into the dye and smash the egg shells. When I was in college, mom pulled out her materials, ordered some new dye and taught me how to decorate eggs. And I'm not talking about hardboiled eggs and food coloring.
This year we tracked down some farm eggs, which had harder shells and are generally prettier than any brown, free range or organic egg you could find at a grocer. 7 dozen eggs later, we left the farm with duck eggs, Easter eggs [a lerger than jumbo size with a pale bluish color], Banty eggs, and button quail eggs [a dark speckled mocha color, no bigger than the end of your pinky - and too cute for words]. We lost a dozen, which had been stored on our back porch when the temperature plunged to the low teens one night. Ukranian eggs can be decorated raw, but traditionally, they have two holes pierced through the shell - one at both of the elipse ends - and the contents of the egg are blown out either mechanically with a tinsy bellows or by one's own breath. We will not be blowing out the quail eggs, of which there are a dozen, and we lost a dozen to the frost, so there's five dozen eggs that need to be blown out. What do we do with all the egg? You guess is as good as mine, but I saw a custard recipe that called for a dozen eggs, so that might be a good place to start.
Being protestant, I generally don't mark the passing of Lent with much thought, though I do realize the forty days leading up to Easter are symbolic of Jesus' time in the wilderness when He was being tested by Satan. An Anglican friend was visiting a few weeks ago and commented on the fact that we were having a worship arts festival at the beginning of Lent. The atmosphere in the sanctuary was highly charged, the singing shaking long idle dust from the rafters. Aparently, Anglicans don't say Allelujah during Lent. It's not a time for praising God [that comes Easter Sunday]. Forty days out of the year, that leaves 325 days... but I digress.
My point is until recently, I didn't pay much attention to the whole Lent thing. That is until art suddenly got involved. Years ago when my mother was single and my grandmother still alive and not crippled by arthritis, they stumbled on pysanke. My family is not Ukranian. Or Russian, for that matter, or any of the other ethnicities from whom pysanke came from. We're Welsh and Scottish and Sicilian [my mother and I are]. My mother was an art education major, and learned pysanke from a fellow student's mother, who was Ukranian. A few years later, my brother and I were born and she quit doing eggs because we'd get into the dye and smash the egg shells. When I was in college, mom pulled out her materials, ordered some new dye and taught me how to decorate eggs. And I'm not talking about hardboiled eggs and food coloring.
This year we tracked down some farm eggs, which had harder shells and are generally prettier than any brown, free range or organic egg you could find at a grocer. 7 dozen eggs later, we left the farm with duck eggs, Easter eggs [a lerger than jumbo size with a pale bluish color], Banty eggs, and button quail eggs [a dark speckled mocha color, no bigger than the end of your pinky - and too cute for words]. We lost a dozen, which had been stored on our back porch when the temperature plunged to the low teens one night. Ukranian eggs can be decorated raw, but traditionally, they have two holes pierced through the shell - one at both of the elipse ends - and the contents of the egg are blown out either mechanically with a tinsy bellows or by one's own breath. We will not be blowing out the quail eggs, of which there are a dozen, and we lost a dozen to the frost, so there's five dozen eggs that need to be blown out. What do we do with all the egg? You guess is as good as mine, but I saw a custard recipe that called for a dozen eggs, so that might be a good place to start.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
funk
I have this quilt I've been working on for time immemorial. It's the first one I ever attempted, and I'm down to quilting the last 4 corners. The agony! What to put there?!
This should not be as hard as it is. Ugh.
This should not be as hard as it is. Ugh.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
baby brigade
mailed the baby blankets out. they probably won't make it for christmas, but that really wasn't the point. they got mailed. finally. and i forgot to take a picture of one of them. but meh.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
stormy seas
This past weekend when I was with my grandparents, I had quilts out that I had been working on. I'm sure I mentioned this in the last post, but at present I'm having a major ADD moment.
I need to remeasure it, but I think the Ocean Waves finished out at 108"x115"... somewhere in that neighborhood. (what was I ever thinking?!) I need to put a back on this sucker, but I kind of don't have any money to invest in fabric right now, as it stands, I'm going to have to take out a loan from the bank of mom to get binding for the three baby blankets (I might have enough flannel from a previous project to cover the back of the cherry blossom.) Initially I thought it might be really nice to try to get some extra wide fabric, but I'm having a hard time finding anything I like. I'm thinking that cotton or wool batting might be nice to try. It took me two summers to piece that sucker together, it spent this summer out of mind hanging out in a suitcase while I digested other things. A few days ago I went on a mad search for it, thinking I had lost it, and truthfully, wondering if my parents had read my mind and sent it off to be quilted for me. Not so much with the last part, but now that I've had it out, I've been easing back into the murky green waters of this project. I'm going to quilt the triangle sashes in a wave pattern, and put mariner's compasses in the squares. I'm still not sure what to do about the outside sashing, but that comes last anyway, so I'm sure I'll have something figured out by the time I get that far. And as much as I didn't want to quilt the whole thing by myself, I'm thinking that's my only option. It isn't going to get done any other way. I have to finish the other projects at hand first, but it needs to be next in the queue.
I need to remeasure it, but I think the Ocean Waves finished out at 108"x115"... somewhere in that neighborhood. (what was I ever thinking?!) I need to put a back on this sucker, but I kind of don't have any money to invest in fabric right now, as it stands, I'm going to have to take out a loan from the bank of mom to get binding for the three baby blankets (I might have enough flannel from a previous project to cover the back of the cherry blossom.) Initially I thought it might be really nice to try to get some extra wide fabric, but I'm having a hard time finding anything I like. I'm thinking that cotton or wool batting might be nice to try. It took me two summers to piece that sucker together, it spent this summer out of mind hanging out in a suitcase while I digested other things. A few days ago I went on a mad search for it, thinking I had lost it, and truthfully, wondering if my parents had read my mind and sent it off to be quilted for me. Not so much with the last part, but now that I've had it out, I've been easing back into the murky green waters of this project. I'm going to quilt the triangle sashes in a wave pattern, and put mariner's compasses in the squares. I'm still not sure what to do about the outside sashing, but that comes last anyway, so I'm sure I'll have something figured out by the time I get that far. And as much as I didn't want to quilt the whole thing by myself, I'm thinking that's my only option. It isn't going to get done any other way. I have to finish the other projects at hand first, but it needs to be next in the queue.
Monday, August 25, 2008
hearts and gizzards
spent the weekend with my grandparents and parents at the Crook Farm Country Fair. We had excellent weather, thank God. I was gifted with a bag full of fabric to add to my stash, which included two half completed quilts. One is a double irish chain in mauvy pinks, the other is a hand pieced hearts and gizzards with a white packground and a wide variety of pre 1970's calicos. Some look to be from the 1930/40's. There's five rows of completed blocks that, when stitched together, will be in the neighborhood of 45" wide. I think the pattern says the quilt should be 70"x90"... 98"... I was never very good with numbers.
The weaving shop was set up for the weekend, and the Bradford area spinners and weavers were set up. I think the name of their guild is Enchanted Mountain. I wasn't there last year, but aparently the Bradford area quilters had been set up and they decided not to this year, my best guess is for reasons of foul weather last year. At least the weavers had a permanent structure around them, the quilters were probably in a tent on the lawn.
Today is the first day of class. This time next year I won't be here.
I hope.
The weaving shop was set up for the weekend, and the Bradford area spinners and weavers were set up. I think the name of their guild is Enchanted Mountain. I wasn't there last year, but aparently the Bradford area quilters had been set up and they decided not to this year, my best guess is for reasons of foul weather last year. At least the weavers had a permanent structure around them, the quilters were probably in a tent on the lawn.
Today is the first day of class. This time next year I won't be here.
I hope.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Why it's Gabriel, Gabriel sayin!
wow it's been a while...
I got hired at the costume shop as assistant for the spring semester of 2008. It was awesome. Then (even better!) I got a summer internship at Kent State University with Porthouse Theatre in the costume shop. It was their 40th season, they presented Anything Goes, Alice... (and origional adaptation of both "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass") and The Music Man, a personal all time favorite. Delight of delights, I actually got to stay for the production of Music Man because the director needed band members, and I play tuba!
I learned a lot this summer. A plethora of new sewing skills. I had such a wonderful experience at Porthouse. The people were fantastic. There were two women in the shop from Cleveland Playhouse that were fonts of information (and patience, God bless Clare and Estelle). I wasn't sure initially whether or not I would even want to come back, but as the summer progressed, I started praying that they would hire me back. I used both my comp tickets for Anything Goes and went back three more times as an usher to see it again... and again. I loved watching everything come together. Okay... maybe not loved. This small part of me was dying that I wasn't up there singing. I was kicking myself that I hadn't auditioned after all, but let's face it, I'm pretty rusty in the dance department. I was much happier as an active participant in making the whole product come together, which I was so blessed to able to do at the end of the summer. Am I "good enough" for an MFA acting program? We'll see.
So when I get some things together... which means I have to find my camera again... I'll upload photos of some of the projects I worked on. My favorite costume, and by far the most intensive, was a red and black trumpet specifically for the song "Blow Gabriel" from Anything Goes. I also found this awesome King Arthur fabric that has Stone Henge on it, and I made matching baby quilts for a set of twins in the family. Just finished a red sashed blanket for a little girl due in December. Gotta find the camera and take some pictures. Also have to abandon the 'puter, there's a caller here I'm being rude to.
I got hired at the costume shop as assistant for the spring semester of 2008. It was awesome. Then (even better!) I got a summer internship at Kent State University with Porthouse Theatre in the costume shop. It was their 40th season, they presented Anything Goes, Alice... (and origional adaptation of both "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass") and The Music Man, a personal all time favorite. Delight of delights, I actually got to stay for the production of Music Man because the director needed band members, and I play tuba!
I learned a lot this summer. A plethora of new sewing skills. I had such a wonderful experience at Porthouse. The people were fantastic. There were two women in the shop from Cleveland Playhouse that were fonts of information (and patience, God bless Clare and Estelle). I wasn't sure initially whether or not I would even want to come back, but as the summer progressed, I started praying that they would hire me back. I used both my comp tickets for Anything Goes and went back three more times as an usher to see it again... and again. I loved watching everything come together. Okay... maybe not loved. This small part of me was dying that I wasn't up there singing. I was kicking myself that I hadn't auditioned after all, but let's face it, I'm pretty rusty in the dance department. I was much happier as an active participant in making the whole product come together, which I was so blessed to able to do at the end of the summer. Am I "good enough" for an MFA acting program? We'll see.
So when I get some things together... which means I have to find my camera again... I'll upload photos of some of the projects I worked on. My favorite costume, and by far the most intensive, was a red and black trumpet specifically for the song "Blow Gabriel" from Anything Goes. I also found this awesome King Arthur fabric that has Stone Henge on it, and I made matching baby quilts for a set of twins in the family. Just finished a red sashed blanket for a little girl due in December. Gotta find the camera and take some pictures. Also have to abandon the 'puter, there's a caller here I'm being rude to.
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