Sunday, November 29, 2009

Felting Class






Yesterday's class was delightful. I especially loved having a couple of mother and daughter teams. I didn't get to make a pomegranate, too busy going around and helping folks but will make one another time. Everyone wanted to make flowers - so we did. Still, within the basic flower form there was so much variety in how people approached things. Some people went for layering and mixing colors, others were more interested in pattern than form. It was fascinating to watch and be a part of this process. The thing with needle-felting is that it is very forgiving - if you don't like something you can simply pull it off (if its not felted on too hard) or felt over the top of it. I showed the students some of the many things you can do with needle-felting. Unfortunately, I got so caught up in the moment I forgot to take finished pictures of most of the brooches. Oh well. At least this gives a glimpse. I'm going to be teaching a felted animals class in January and will get to show some of the pics from the PowerPoint I put together from when I was teaching at NIU. When I get a chance I'll post some of the pics from this slide show though am not sure about copyright issues. Hopefully its OK. Here are the pics from the workshop with permission from the lovely ladies. The first one shows the room set up (transforming my living room into a studio) and then the felting frenzy (actually it was both calming and stimulating) then a couple of individual pics of Elana and Kim modeling their brooches that still had wet glue on the back.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Needle-felting workshop and the Creative Process

Am teaching a needle felting workshop today. Very excited. My first in Sacramento. We're making needle felted jewelry for gifts. Will post the before and after pictures later. I love the magic of creativity where you start with blankness or raw material and see what evolves. In teaching, it's fascinating to see which approach people take. I see my job as a facilitator, to nurture and encourage, but also to show techniques and tricks to demystify the technical aspects so that students are empowered to explore and have fun. Often this means challenging the old critical voices. Let's see where today leads us. I'm thinking of making a beaded pomegranate. Pomegranates symbolize life (and fertility) in the Jewish tradition and are associated with the Jewish New Year. They are also a rich symbol in many cultural traditions - plus they are just very beautiful.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Part 1 - The long promised photos of the long trip to California





It's been an awfully long time. Two moves, an accident with a 1 night hospital stay and a $36,000 bill, looking for and applying for work, writing grants, making art, making websites, writing stories, and sorting through images, but here are some long ago promised pics from the trip across the country moving from Illinois to Sacramento. They show a variety of things - unhappy cats, nature and the great indoors, our truck (yes we have too much stuff - it's time for a big purge), Guy driving. Part 2 shows a stretch of the magnificent Salt Lake area - who knew?

Pictures from the cross country trip part 2





Here's part 2 of the cross country trip featuring photos of the Salt Lakes area. Looks like ocean, which it was once millions of years ago. I found it hard to believe that this area so far inland was once ocean. I found it very beautiful. I also enjoyed the signage.