6th Annual Artist Retreat - Thursday

Thursday in Oz began much the same way Friday is - rainy. And that's just fine because there's the most wondrous studio downstairs to spend the day in.

I decided to keep things fairly simple yesterday because there was this pesky little coptic stitch that needed to be worked out (fingers crossed - think I finally got!). The pages are some sort of rice paper that came on a roll from the local art supply store at home. 

While I jeopardized the sewing machine, not George, Pam started to print

on paper

and cloth.

She experimented with combining cloth and paper. Can you tell which is which?

And then the real magic began. I can't adequately describe just how much fun it is to watch 

when Pam puts ink on paper

 and begins to play.

We ventured out for lunch. If you're ever in the area, you've got to stop by 715. Get the cauliflower soup.

A quick stop in Sweet had me laughing 

over the messages on the tea towels.

This one nearly had me on the floor in fits. I will admit that there have been a few instances when my little urchins' antics had me speaking in tongues in response...only to think "OMG! That's just what my mother would say" seconds after the words left my mouth. As tempting as it was to take this little gem, I opted not to...yet.

Back in the studio, we worked away. Pam finished the 4th in the series that she's been working on this week while I began working in another sample book.

Thursday ended with a real treat - a skype session with our friend Fiona Dempster of Paper Ponderings. From Oz to Oz, the interpixies behaved well enough for us to chat and laugh, exchange stories and just visit in person/cyberspace for a bit.

Stay tuned...

5

Five years ago today - yesterday actually by date, but today being as we've arrived at the second Sunday of the new year - I was sitting in Starbucks, venti chai at the ready, laptop open, fingers poised over the keyboard, trying desperately to write the first post of what was to be my art blog...this blog.

Those first words just wouldn't come. It seemed years...decades even...before the first coherent sentence flowed onto the screen. And then the post was written. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

Being an ex-accountant, I thought it would be fun to take a peek at a few stats while reflecting on the past 5 years. My most viewed post is

Cleveland - India Flint workshop day 1. While my bundle photo from that day is very popular on Pinterest,

it's this shot of India's hands that I prefer.

And that got me thinking about my favorite posts. Two quickly come to mind. The first was one of the most difficult to write and share because of the strong emotions associated with it. Tactile Notebooks and the Written Word - After not only offers insight into one of the exercises Sandra asked of the class, but is a treasured example of how my world opened and expanded because of beginning this blog.

Another favored post is Santa Fe - Sunday. Pam and I arrived in Santa Fe the evening before, tired and excited about the week ahead. Our first full day, Sunday, was an all round magical day and won't be forgotten any time soon. We both fell in love with Santa Fe and are planning our return later this year.

The writing of this blog has brought about so many connections with kindred spirits, new friendships formed, opportunities to travel, exhibit my work and even write a magazine column. All would have been unthinkable 5 years ago.

From me to you, a most heart felt Thank You! for sharing the years. Here's to another 5 more.

Tis the season

To be jolly. Fa la la la la, la la la la.

I'm working on the jolly part - far too much to do in far too little time since my return to Connecticut. I am, however, very joyful and thankful for so having so many good things and good people in my life.

There's my new favorite word - benign. It's really being all jumbled up with an extra n thrown into the mix, but it's also the sweetest of words to hear...especially when said in regards to one's mother.

Then there are friends like Pam

who saves tea bags for me and sends them along - 

all nicely emptied even though I keep telling her to just stick them in a box.

And who included a good bit of indigo from her own stash with the tea bags.

photo by Barry Smith

Then there's Fiona. Part of my whirlwind week back home has included being able to visit with Fiona and Barry in New York on Sunday. It still boggles my mind that they choose to visit during our winter. Think about it...it's summer in Australia just now. They've traded sun and warmth for snow/rain/sleet + wind + cold temps.

I'm so glad we had the chance to get together again. This time around we took in some bad art at MOMA. Really, really bad art at MOMA. The kind that leaves you wondering how on earth this stuff got to be shown there. Really? Just what were we missing? The kind that also leaves one thinking that their 1st graders made better collages back in pre-school. Yep. That kind of bad.

Lunar Architecture by Fiona

The good art came via a little bag that Fiona handed me containing gifts from her and Barry, Noela and Susan.

I've felt a kinship with Fiona from the beginning of our exchanges via the inter-pixies. And our work shows it, don't you think?

Imagine Peace by Fiona

Some time last year, I rusted a piece of cotton that printed beautifully...except that it had measles. Seriously. There were little dots all over it that I just could not get past. Noela thought she could do something with a bit of it so, not being able to see beyond the measles, I sent the whole thing to her.

She sent part of it back in the form of the most wonderful book,

all wabi sabi style

and playing off the measley parts 

in ways that left me speechless with surprise and joy

Peace by Noela Mills

and feeling very peaceful. 

 Susan's textured prints have me wanting to hold them

 
and examine them,

 to learn their language,

to listen to their tales

and secrets...for surely they are maps to another world, another time...

when feathers were magical and the most precious of possessions.

Barry's gift is one of reflection, stillness and meditation.

Encouraging me to smile, dream, shine, have hope, be at peace, to love and have joy. 

Tis the season for hearts to swell with amazement and awe, in my case at having such wonderful and generous friends. Thank you doesn't seem quite enough, but thank you all so very much for the gifts, but especially for being in my life. 

Tactile Notebooks and the Written Word - After

Each day of Sandra Brownlee's Tactile Notebooks and the Written Word workshop was comprised of one or two exercises - usually mark making followed by writing about the experience. On Wednesday, Sandra asked us to bring out our objects of inspiration.

When packing for the trip, I'd considered 2 things that are very dear to me and finally decided on three wrapped stones that were a gift from Fiona of Paper Ponderings.

Per Sandra's instructions, we were to examine the object carefully, record it, describe it in detail, tell its history/story and tell the personal significance it holds. I did just that using antique Japanese receipt book paper, sumi ink and marker.

When all were done, we gathered upstairs to share our objects and their stories. Soon enough, it was my turn. And oh! What a turn it was.

 
As I told the story of discovering a kindred spirit in Fiona and of being gifted the stones, the enormity of what they represent for me swept in. Sitting there, midst 12 incredible women, with Christine Mauersberger and Sandra to my right, Mary across the table to my left and India Flint directly in front of me on the couch...sitting in Big Cat Textiles...in Newburgh, Scotland, I choked up.

Unsuccessfully fighting back tears and struggling to speak, all the while wanting desperately to disappear, with tissues in hand, I finally managed to squeak out my thoughts.

This little blog of mine was started as a way to get myself back in the studio after an extended time away from it. An art blog needs art, right? That was my thought. What I hadn't even considered were the connections that would be made as a result or how my world would be opened and expanded. 

Fiona's stones = the world, quite literally, opening up to me. I was sitting midst the best possible example of it.

Once we'd all shared our stories, I was desperate to escape outside for a bit of fresh air, to feel the sun and compose myself. Couldn't be crying all afternoon, could I? A few steps had been taken when Pauline - who'd seemed the quietest of our group - walked up to me and said that she reads my blog and was happy when she read that I'd be in the workshop. (cue more tears)

That short exchange with Pauline meant everything to me. Even now, I still get all weepy eyed remembering. We've a love of tea bags and rust in common. What more is needed to begin a friendship? Before leaving on Friday, I gave Pauline a piece of my tea rusted cotton.

She mentioned that she'd send along one of her books and not long after the workshop, residue arrived.

Decaying flowers that I see as dancers - leaping and twirling through space with total abandon, 

trusting that they will be caught, will alight safely, however briefly before stepping into the air again.

residue's other side is the ethereal world of the dancers' dreams. A world filled with creativity and artistry, music and dance, landscapes/seascapes/airscapes, kinship and understanding.

While this edition of residue now belongs to me and the photos above are mine, I ask that they not be pinned, tumblr-ed or shared without Pauline's permission. Thank you for honoring my request.

The name of Sandra's workshop may be Tactile Notebooks and the Written Word, but it is far more than that. It is about connections, journeys, discoveries and possibilities. By the way, I hear that she'll will be teaching the workshop next June at Committed to Cloth in Betchworth, UK in case you're interested.