Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Insperations

 I am getting ready to make my next quilt.   I was inspired again by the Monterey Bay.  The colors,  the sounds, the foggy mist, the flowers, the smells and the history.  I walked for a mile taking this all in. This week in Sisters I started collecting my fabrics.  This is how I start the process.  Art is in the process.
 The reflections
 It's not in the finished piece but every detail of the process. I tell my students to feel.  
So I also prepare to be surrounded by the feelings of that moment.  That "ah ha!" moment when you are moved to create.
Flowers I found in a secret garden.

Dinghies all lined up

Beach jewels.
 As I walked the beach I would see treasures under my feet. These sandy jewels feel so cool in my hand. 
Hair cuts of the 1709-1800's 
 Inspiration can come with the rich history of the region; in the Spaniards funny hair cuts. What where they thinking?
 I love the way the sailors dock their sail boats.  The tide changes their direction through out the day.
Nothing but Trouble!

   In Monterey there are secret gardens around every fenced gate. All are open to the public and filled with local  plants and flowers.
Wherever you look, there is inspirations to be found. Take it all in and then create.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

4th of July



 It has been a busy 2 weeks and it still not over yet.  I spent 5 days in New Mexico teaching in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Then got home on Wednesday and drove down to Monterey to watch our son graduate from the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio and be promoted to Corporal in the United States Marines.  
So the week before the 4th of July I have been immersed in great pride for our country.  Where else in the world could you live in peace with all the diverse ethnic blood pulsating through this country’s veins?  No place but America.  We aren’t perfect, God only knows, but we are free. Free to choose our path in life.  Free to vote.  Free to worship our God and free to Love. 

I was talking to a woman recently about how my son’s generation is different than mine. It’s like no other before it with the possible exception of that of WWII.  There has been a very strong feeling within this younger generation of pride in country and the desire to serve it. She said Sure, it’s because they have infiltrated the schools with military recruiters!   WOW that hurt!  

 You mean I had nothing to do with the raising of my child?   God knows I didn’t want this path for my only child.  I was hoping for, maybe, a dentist.
 But every day he watch Joe and I stand up for our rights. Events such as the Yellow House incident and the Asbestos Fraud, not to mention the yelling at the pastor over children being hurt.   The idea that he could be easily swayed or recruited to give up his life for his country by one guy on campus or be influenced by the dreaded video game and not years of seeing and hearing his parents and grandparents live their lives standing up for what was right, made me sick.
My flight home from New Mexico was through San Diego, another great and beautiful city.  Not just because of is beaches and great weather, but because of its diversity. I had the pleasure of sitting next to a young man of 12 and his mother. We started up a conversation right away.  You could tell he was bright and very polite.  He was visiting family in San Diego.  I could see the pride on her face she as he talked to me. He told me he was Irish, English, Scottish and Samoan. I told him Young man, you are a true American!  I am English, Dutch, German and Cherokee.  He gave me a nod of his head and a high five and then we all laughed.  This young man did not get this way because of the influence of school but because of the influence of his parents.


So as my son graduated we had the opportunity to meet his instructors who originally lived in several countries in the Middle East.  They, too, came to America just like your family and mine, seeking the freedom to raise their children, worship God and be free to choose their own path.   As proud as I am of my son, it was obvious that his instructors shared that same feeling for each of their students. 

I hope you and your family celebrate a safe and happy Independence Day.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Art of Teaching


Tulips starting to die. I thought they where still so pretty just in a different way!
As I prepare to leave in a few days for 3 teaching engagements, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Sister's Quilt Festival in Oregon,   I am overwhelmed each time I start to prepare my supplies by how unprepared I always feel.  And I hate that.  Even though I spend days beforehand preparing.  I have taught and lectured now for the last 8 years nonstop and each time it feels like the first time for me.  I feel insecure and not fully prepared or worthy.  Do I have anything new I can add to the student's education?   Today, as I get ready it hits me again.  Maybe it’s because I had some really bad teachers in my life and I watched them and hated them for not seeing I needed help.  I don’t want to be like that. Sorry Mr. Cope, but you SUCKED!  Then there are the superb teachers that saw something special in me and pushed me in the right direction. Thank you Miss Thaure. I want to be like her. Besides, she was hot!

A few months ago, while teaching a 2 day workshop,  I noticed 3 different women in my class.  They all had the look of fear and concern but each responded differently to their fear.  Part of being a good teacher, in my eyes, is picking up on the signals that students are sending so I can meet their needs and guide them into thinking creatively.  Fear often blocks our path.  So the first thing I do is try to get rid of their fear.  For some of them that fear has been there a long time
.
One student sat in the back and was very quiet…. one cringed at ever word I said... and the other looked like she didn’t care as she worked on another project while I lectured, which is OK with me but she was giving off the signal that she already knew it all or didn’t care.
But as I made my way to each student in the room I could see they really needed what I was offering and hopefully I could fit the lesson to them personally.  At least I could try.
  
The quiet one in the back was very receptive to the attention I gave her. I figured she had been ignored like me before.  The woman that cringed at everything was just fearful and once I got her on her way and she saw the beautiful flower blooming, she wore a big smile.

I love my Coneflower Class.
But the one that was looking aloof was hard to crack.  She wasn’t going to like anything she or I did.  I think she was very hard on herself.  Her fear was the greatest of the three.  Such fear always blocks learning a new technique.   At first I thought, why would she take a class if she didn’t want to learn?  But she did want to learn, she just needed more time and we didn’t have it.  
I still think about her and wish we could have had a 5 day retreat together.


So I am folding patterns, making lists and cutting the Steam-A-Seam 2 for my classes, trying to figure out how to fit everything into the suitcases allowed by the all so accommodating airlines.   The way things are progressing, soon I will have to pay extra for using the bathroom. Won’t that be lovely?  


Getting ready for teaching and travel is an art form in itself.

Anyway, I realized today that perhaps still feeling  unprepared is a good thing.  It keeps me on my toes and I have so much to share. When I stop worrying and I think I have it all down, that is when I need to stop teaching.  The insecurity I feel keeps me sharp because I care about the audience, so I always say a little prayer before each class that I will see and be able to meet their needs and guide each student in the right direction.  


So here we go again.

Friday, June 17, 2011

 Dyed the silk chiffon and the wool roving in the same pot.
 Pictures of the silk nuno felting scarfs I made.  




I sold 3 at the Winters Outdoor quilt festival last weekend.  Next I am going to try a top!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Nuno Felting?


Who knew that a ball of colored wool roving and silk chiffon would thrill me? Well, it happened and it's Peggy's fault.  I like to pass the blame whenever I can.  
Hand-dyed silk chiffon.

It all happened on a foggy and rainy Sacramento day, which we have been having for the last 8 months.  My friend, Peggy, a knitter and yarn devotee took a class and when she called with excitement in her voice I knew it was something fun!  She is always finding the newest and most artistic craft/sewing/wearable ideas.  I love it. She said she had just taken a class on felting silk scarves and that I was going to love it. She was right!

She came to my house and walked in with a beautiful felted silk scarf. I knew she was experimenting with felting but I had no idea you could make anything but cute little animals with the felt (which I have made and stabbed my finger numerous times with the needle. Not fun).  But a wearable, that’s another thing. I love wearable art.  This technique is called nuno felting, which is felting with water and friction.  No needles, so no blood.  Hooray!!!!
Peggy and Susan agitating the silk.

 That night I made my first creation.  Of course, it was also when I was making Joe dinner as Peggy gave the directions over the phone again.

I started out with silk chiffon scarves.  14” x 2 yards.  Then I  hand-dyed it. The silk sucks up the dye pretty fast.  I had bought a bag of beautiful pastel color roving a while ago, never really sure what to do with it. It was just so pretty and soft.  So the game was on.

Peggy said I needed a long strip of bubble pool cover plastic. Don’t have, but do have bubble wrap. You need a PVC pipe. Don’t have, but do have strong cardboard tubing. You need nylon netting. Don’t have, but do have bridal tool. Game on!  This is called being creative with what you have. I am the queen of that.

I laid out the scarf on the bubble wrap and added the roving, trying to make a flower design, of course. Laid the netting over my creation, wet it with hot soapy water and rolled it up on the tube, tying it with string, and began the wet felting process. You roll it back and forth with you arms, from your elbows to your hands back and forth, back and forth.  About 25 times for 4 repetitions, then 50, then up to 400-600 rolls, checking the piece and making sure the netting is not felting to the wool.

Peggy had a girl in her class that wore a pedometer which measures your movement and how many calories you are burning while felting.  It determined that you can burn up to 600 calories when making one scarf.  Now that’s my kind of exercise.

I asked Peggy if she would demo the technique at Flowers On the Lake.  The demo was a hit as the girls loved it.  I couldn't wait to get home and try more ideas.

Hey, how about dyeing your own fabric and roving to match?  Stay tuned!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

It Snowed AGAIN!

View from our class room. Its snowing on the other side of the lake.

I have spent the last 2 days in my pink flannel (Christmas sock monkey) jammies.  No, I don’t have a cold.  It’s just the coziest outfit I have and it’s pink.  I am just resting up after a fun and busy week at my Flowers on the Lake retreat on beautiful Lake Tahoe.   

The water is so clear.

Pearl taking a break.

Helen and her vibrant clematis.
You know you must have had a good time even though your feet still hurt and you have slept 12 hours straight for 2 days but there is still a smile on your face.  At one point I did question if I had bit off more than I could chew as I tried to meet the needs of a room full of 20 panicky women on that first day. The first day of all classes you have a room full of big eyes with questioning looks.

Kathy's sunflower.

Gale's roses.

We had some exciting moments and I learned that I can’t do it all.  But I can’t wait to try it again next year.

Starting to snow on the lake.

We did have some exciting moment when one of the students got sick and we had to call the fire department for help. Nothing perks up a group of woman quicker than cute young firemen walking through the room. Makes you forget you where just in a panic.

The weather was crazy. But it seems to be crazy this year all over the country. Is God trying to say something?  So, of course it did snow the second day and the girls from Arizona got all excited.  
It's only June 1.  Why not snow?

Pat and Cathy in the snow.

The student that traveled the farthest to the retreat was Donna. She and her husband came all the way from Massachusetts where it was 95 degrees and humid. Thank God she brought a sweater at the last minute.
Thread Play on a coneflower.

Claire's hibiscus.


Jan's zinnia 

Linda working hard!

Joe and I talked and I am going to try it again next May.  I like the end of May because we have the whole place to ourselves.  It’s quiet and peaceful.  
View from above!


On the last night I stood up on the second floor and looked down at the class as they worked so intensely. I was pooped, but the room was filled with beautiful colors and you could feel the spark of creativity.  Some sat contently, admiring their finished flower. 

Donna's inspiration photo.
She's got it!

Kim's zinnia.

Dede working on a fabulous quilt she started in a Janet Fogg class.

Cheri's clematis from her own hand dyed fabrics.

Leila and her flowers.

Ruby's hibiscus from her husband's photo.
I felt like a proud mother watching the group.  I thought to myself, who would have predicted that the little dyslexic girl, who felt so retarded at one point in her life, would have a group of talented, dynamic women drive 100s of miles to take a class from her?  God is so good!  


Hope to see you next year! If not at Tahoe maybe in New York in December at the Hudson River Valley Art Rhttp://www.artworkshops.com/