Art Play Day

I was invited recently to join a group of women artists who have a play date once a month. The woman who hosts the day has devoted a small, ugly little 2-bedroom house, totally to art. This is probably the original house on the property; she has (or someone has) built another house for her residence.

One bedroom is used for the "paint room," a place where silk-screening, fabric stamping, etc. is done. Shelves with silk screens, jars of paint, all sorts of supplies line one wall. The closet, sans doors, is completely filled with, well, S-T-U-F-F. Tissue papers, old jewelry, gadgets, gizmos, things you should never throw away. I mean stuff is everywhere. In the center of the room are two long utility tables butted together for work space.

The other bedroom is the fabric room. This closet, also sans doors, is filled with stacks of fabric stacks, and then there's more fabric on shelves across the room. This fabric is "hands-off" -- this is her stash -- but the bins at the end of the room are fair game. Big bins with such luscious cast-offs as pieces of "bad" stamping or silk-screening, remnants of velvet and lace and sequins, some ugly, some cute, some you just want to frame and hang. Tons of things to fight your way through. Plus, there's an ironing board set up, all ready to go.

The "living/dining room" is filled with a huge quilting machine--I bet it's at least 12 feet long. A bookcase jam-packed with art books; two long utility tables butted together to make a square which is used for projects, lunch, chatter, etc. Add the clutter of a real artist, pieces hanging on the wall, some tossed casually on the machines, a wall of large spools of threads, and it was truly a visual feast. Almost sensory overload for me. I didn't know where to start.

Everyone that attends pays $10 for supplies and brings a lunch. There is usually a focus but if you want to try something else, have at it. The focus this time was what they call "skins." Essentially, this is collaged paper, fabric, strings, etc., that you assemble onto a plastic bag with glue that has been watered down; let it dry and then pull it off. The piece has enough substance that you can sew through it, cut it up and use another way, etc. I was going to make a book cover with one piece but ended up using it on the bottom of a glass bowl today.



Definitely the best $10 I've spent this month.

Summer Celebrations

Some people will find this hard to understand, but today I am driving 2+ hours to help celebrate my ex-husband's 30th wedding anniversary, among other things. I feel very lucky to have been able to maintain an amicable relationship with both him and his wife, even to the point of calling them friends. For the most part, I think we're in the minority.

Today, we will celebrate three wedding anniversaries, two birthdays, and a graduation. Forget that it's 102 degrees and that many of the celebration activities will be outside, I'm anticipating a festive day. Kids, dogs, music, good food and laughter.

Expect a full report.

The Doll House

Several months ago I bought a big box of doll house pieces at an estate sale. It was a real bargain. No picture of what the doll house should look like. No instructions. Just a big box of wooden pieces in plastic bags with the promise that it would become a doll house. It was too good to pass up. Today Lucy was coming to visit so we had great incentive to tackle this project. What a great work out for the brain. A gem of a puzzle! I'll spare you the details of getting it put together and jump to the finished product. It's about the cutest thing you've ever seen. I especially love the playground equipment.

Collectors

What is it with collectors? My sister recently sent some photographs of a house she visited in Germany where the man collected coffee pots and the woman collected dolls. They lived amidst 8,000 coffee pots and 3,000 dolls. Why? There were so many they couldn't possibly display them in a visual or educational manner. They were just there. Everywhere.

















Freud might say that the traumatic loss of something going down the toilet was what caused the collector to try to gain back "possessions" that had been lost. I don't really buy into that. I think these two fall into the category of hobbyist collector. They probably have no special attachment to the items. How can you be attached to 8,000 coffee pots, especially when many of them are alike? I think he just likes the idea of collecting something. I'd be interested to know how he started collecting this particular item. How on earth do you amass 8,000 coffee pots? Where do they come from? Does he search for them? Maybe he used to own a coffee pot store? Dolls, I can see how a woman might collect them. She had some; her gramma left her some; she has her daughter's, she has her mom's. But 3,000? Visually, they have more interest, but 3,000? Where do they come from?

My sister has to go back to the house to pick up a "schrank" (the apartments in Germany don't have closets; you have to buy a wardrobe or furniture for that purpose). I think I'll suggest that she interview these two people and get the low-down. I'd love to know the "rest of the story."

Today's Quote

This quote is one that I cut out of a letter I received in 1980. It was a solicitation letter for a magazine subscription. I don't remember the magazine, and I don't know who was quoted, but I have carried this little piece of paper around with me for nearing thirty years. I believe in this quote just as much today as I did then.

"I require little of my own life; it need not deliver money or fame or even happiness. But it must suggest to me enough significance that I remain interested in it, as much as if it were a play."

Going Into the Closet

I'm taking the quote “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” (William Morris) and changing it to "Have nothing in your closet that does not make you feel beautiful." Today I am tackling my closet. I'm trying very hard to stay focused and part with things that I used to love, but are now either tired or somehow have "shrunk" or just don't fit my life. There's a beautiful dress that I bought, have never worn, and if I'm honest with myself, I know I will never wear it. It's a dress that would have looked great on me 15 years ago. It will never look great on me now. It needs that thin frame and flat belly that have recently disappeared to make it work. So far, it's not in the pile. It needs to go in the pile.

All of the t-shirts from my 5K races are in the pile. That was a tough one. I don't wear any of them; they just hold memories of a past identity that's hard to let go of. I think it's time to let go.

For organizing my summer things, I'm trying something that I read on another blog. I'm hanging all my hangars like this:










Then as I wear something, I'll hang it back like I normally would. At the end of the season, I'll know which items did not get worn.











If what they say is true, that your environment mirrors other situations in your life, I wonder what my closet says about my life? By the end of the day, I'm hoping my closet says something fabulous!

Sweet Dreams

This little piece was my test experiment for painting a quilt. I actually love the way this looks even though the lettering stinks and the border is sloppy. The letters were drawn in glue and painted around with textile paint then colored in with fabric markers. I love the idea of this piece and would like to do one "for real." For now, Lucy will tuck her baby dolls in with this one which hopefully will result in sweet dreams for all.

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Next?

I love completing a project and looking back at the process and seeing what I'd do differently next time. My favorite row on the quilt is the top row -- it's the sun, then a green, then a landscape. The colors all flow together just right. If I was doing it over, I'd design the entire quilt around those colors and that "scape." It's peaceful and cheerful at the same time.

My next project is a guest book for a friend's wedding. I've been trying to come up with a way to make it different than a regular guest book but don't want to over complicate it or mess it up. Her invitation is very simple, very elegant so the colors and style will be great to use. My thinking cap is on. This weekend I'll do a test book.