Big-Time Creativity!

This past week I had the exciting privilege of designing and coordinating a HUGE project at Central Elementary School in Riverside, IL. I was approached by the PTO in the fall, and asked to come up with a proposal to involve all the kids participating in an fiber arts enrichment. As always, I had to put on my thinking cap and come up with a custom design. 

"Beside the River", a 3' x 9' nuno felted mural was perfect. I broke down the design into three grade levels: first, second and third. Each grade would design a component of the piece. In this case, the first graders did the background colors, second grade did the trees and third grade did flowers, ripples in the stream and grasses. 

This part I worked with the kids on. We had classes about 50 minutes long, and after an intro, split the time into two stations, where they swapped half way through the class. You should have seen their eye light up when, to their surprise, they came into the art room and discovered this special project! 

Now one of the challenges was the fact that we had to do this one class at a time, over the course of four days. Typically, in nuno felting, one designs, wets and rolls to fuse the fibers right away. When I do projects like this, I might do a span of two days and we work back to front, just like a painting. 

My solution was that we work from one side to the other, essentially creating four panels that fused seamlessly into each other as we worked each day. And it worked! Now I know this is a solution and option for future projects. I just love how challenges can help us to grow and discover new bits of wisdom! 

The other component was for the kids to make wet felted balls and then with adult's help, to glue them into a real acorn top. This project went beautifully for all grades and we got a great teaching system down for this! I might have to do a video tutorial for it in the future because it is an amazingly successful, cheap and fun mess-minimal project! Woot! Woot! 

I loved the comments I heard from kids... one little boy who was having an especially hard week said this was the best day ever, and left with a huge smile from ear to ear. His teacher noticed a difference right away! I had another girl show me the piece of wool she stretched out to place on the sky and she said, "Isn't this wool lovely?" How precious is that! 

The older kids got a real treat.... 4th graders made needle felted owls and fifth grade made foxes, keeping with the woodland theme. To make it easier (and to keep Mrs. V's art room our wet-felting headquarters), we traveled to their classrooms and taught there. I had prepared a PowerPoint with step-by-step pictures which helped me a LOT, saving my voice from repeating the same thing 10,000 times over! They kids did an awesome job staying on task and getting their creatures made, having fun the whole time. 

Loved this little exchange in the 5th grade...

Mrs.Natasha: "Check out our video tutorials if you want to learn more about this art"

Boy 1: "Do you have a YouTube channel?" 

Mrs. Natasha: "Why yes I do!" (Pat myself on the back mentally for being "hip") 

{Small gasp of excitement fills room}

Boy 2: "How many subs do you have?"

{I look at teacher and mouth: WHAT ARE SUBS? to which she answers "SUBSCRIBERS" and light bulb lights above my head mentally}

Mrs. Natasha: "Over 400"

{Murmurs now ripple across room. Seeing this, I decide to add this bit of info}

Mrs. Natasha: "I have over 14,000 views on one of my videos."

Everyone: "Whoa! You're famous!"

{Totally awesome in the fifth graders' eyes now. My coolness status just went waaaay up}

One especially rewarding story was how one of the girls went home and discovered she had a felting kit laying around and went to work right away making things. She was so excited to show me, I had to take pictures of course, of her Kermit finger puppet and baby fox. Another classroom spent all their free lunch time adding to their foxes and embellishing them. It captured the hearts and creativity of everyone it touched. 

Central Elementary's staff was so kind, so close-knit, that it really felt like a family. I appreciated my time there with them, and even got a chance to explore the area a little. I went to Brookfield Zoo one afternoon and enjoyed some great dining in downtown La Grange, IL. 

Their piece will be hanging in the school and I know the kids are going to be so proud of it, because they each have a little bit of themselves in it. These sorts of projects are the kind I get really passionate about, because there are challenges to meet, building on the skills and creativity I already have and stretching me just a little beyond myself. When I come back from these artist-in-residencies, I am energized and exhausted and glowing with the feeling of joy. Joy in their little hands and huge hearts, and how we can all make the world more beautiful together. That's big-time creativity my friends!!!

Getting creative...

I had this conversation with a customer and it made me reflect. Yes, it is hard to find the time to create. Especially for me, Spring, Summer and Fall are times of creating life on the farm. It means early mornings, long days and late nights. My hands get rough and my back aches. In-spite of this,  it offers moments of beauty in so many ways. Dewy plants. Mothers nuzzling newborn lambs. Rich colors getting plucked from dark soil. 

These moments feed my soul in a different way. They go in a reservoir where inspiration draws from for the colors that get painted across my art. Moments get tucked away and become stories such as these I tell to you.  

Yet the need to create is always there. So I must find the time. 

Many times, I can only find the time when I instill upon myself a deadline. These make me push aside all other priorities and put my art first. It's really hard to do! Really, really hard to do. So many things vie for attention. However strong the pull, I know that unless I put art first, it will not get done. 

As I started to create, something wonderful happened. I felt a calmness and yet a surge of energy pass through my system. I found myself thinking less about everything else and focusing on how the fibers felt in my hands. How the colors blended. How rhythmic the rolling was. 

Creating

swept

me

away.

It took me out of the moment, out of the stresses and transformed me. 

I was expecting to be stressed by the anticipation of having to create for an upcoming deadline, and instead I found just the opposite effect. We so often cannot find creativity on our own. We need a little nudge. For me it was a deadline. For someone else, it might be coming to a class here at Esther's Place. Others, it might be a knitting group, like our lovely Friday ladies that come to work on projects. In any shape or form, motivation to seek after creativity sometimes comes from outside yourself. 

So in reflection, I am learning more about myself and my art. But one thing I do know and have always known. Creativity was something planted in me by the Creator of every good and perfect thing. It makes me feel like I'm fulfilling a little purpose in my life, which in turns, brightens my corner of world just a little bit more. 

The Creation of.... Autumn Cowl

This cowl is a favorite of mine. Nuno felted and made with habotai silk, it has a touch-me-kind-of texture. I love the way the heavier fabric creates so much more surface dimension. It does take more effort to felt it, but every time I look back, I feel it is worth it. 

This was a seamless piece, meaning I used a resist that the silk was wrapped around. The seams are covered with wool so no sewing is required! You might recall that I originally got into nuno felting because of the no-sew-allure. But alas, it led me to sewing, so the joke's on me I suppose. 

I love trapping sequins in the surface of the nuno felt. Laid on top of the silk and trapped by my top layer of wool, this was a technique I first devised as a method to - gasp! avoid sewing! I first did this on a beautiful holiday poinsettia shawl with tiny red sequins. The sequins are more to decorate the back rather than the front, as they rarely show through the wool. However, with a flip of the scarf, you see the delightful back of it and the surprise of sparkle rewards. I like to have the back look just as appealing, especially on a scarf, because I know that despite all efforts, scarves will flip flop as you wear them, and with a little added effort in the design stage, the back can be beautiful too. You can even wear it reversed for a subtle color with texture and sparkle. It's a nice option to wear it with a print or something busier, when the occasion calls. 

My surface design is full of wonderful autumnal colors, sparkle thread (I love that thread with baby sequins on the thread!), curly Lincoln wool locks, and Angelina sparkles. All those fun additions were trapped by gossamer layers of wool on top, and the result is little bits peeking through. It reminds me of glorious fall days where the sun is warm but bright and makes the morning dew sparkle on every fresh turned leaf. One of my favorite seasons! 

The felting process totally transforms it, breathing life into and merging my fibers together so now these two very different materials are made one. It's truly miraculous, and yet so very simple. Soap. Water. Rhythmic rolling. It's then that I am alone with my thoughts and my art. It's very relaxing and rejuvenating.  When I am done with this process, something beautiful is born, something transformed. 

I will be honest. When I finished this, I did like it but something was not quite right. It didn't lay right on your neck and I didn't want to do what I knew I had to. So like all things, we put it away. For months. All projects do not end in artistic brilliance. I love it when they do! I feel like the heavens open and a host of angels sing the hallelujah chorus and a beam of sunlight shining down. But for the rest of those times that are slightly less glorious, I put on my thinking cap. Truly, not much of my work is done the minute I finish felting. Sometimes there are alterations and more felting to follow. Sometimes there are embellishments, like beads added, or thread painting done to add interest. Sometimes things just sit until I can think up the next path.

So I did what I had to do. I cut it. Nooooooooooo you say, as a scream of anguish is let out. Cut!?! What!?! Isn't there some other way? Some other option?

Sooner or later, we all attack things with scissors. and ack, it wasn't that bad after all. Move slow and deliberate. Remember every flaw and mistake is just a design opportunity! (She says shakily with scissors in hand!) I cut that cowl and added a twist and sewed it back together. An expert surgeon making wrong right again. It worked and that cowl was more beautiful than ever. I added a really fun pin made with... guess it.... leather from Shibori Soiree.  I even used some felt to make a "feather" which I really loved, along of course with real feathers. Some dangling charms and crystals and it was complete. The pin is removable for washing, a feature very important to me. I loved that pin and definitely want to play with more of that style and fabric combination.

This piece was shown at the Fine Art of Fiber Fashion Show at the Chicago Botanic Gardens this fall and is in the boutique at Esther's Place. 

So my lesson to you is to do what is best for your art. You might scream a little inside, or It might scream a little at you, but it's not as scary as it seems. The true test of an artist is their ability to take things to edge even when it pushes them. That's when we grow and expand and our world broadens. 

Autumn Cowl with Feathered Brooch
Nuno Felted Accessory

Habotai silk is used in this richly textured nuno felted cowl that makes a lovely accessory for brisk fall days. Dress it up with a chic leather jacket and boots or wear it with your favorite colorful jacket. It's easy to wear and beautiful with dazzling fall colors and sparkle. The feathered brooch accents delightfully and is removable for easy care. What a great seasonal piece for your accessory wardrobe! 
 

Sisters, Sisters....

Little lambs are often born as twins. Triplets are not uncommon, though, in the sixteen years we've had sheep, we've never had triplets. (I'm still waiting for that day!) So watching little lambs grow up with their siblings is a pretty common pastime. 

Having twins is preferred over just one, because it means for smaller lambs at the time of delivery, so the ewe has an easier time. Plus it's just doubles the cuteness! Siblings will chew on each other, walk over each other, fight each other for the teat, cuddle with each other and best of all, fall asleep on each other. It's quite priceless to watch their interactions! 

I've watched many lambs cuddle in close to their twin and rest their head on their back while dozing to sleep. There is nothing quite like that in the world! You know they are content and safe and love the little one they have been brought into the world to be with. You know it is a special bond, and even as they grow up, they will still stick by their siblings' side. 

I hope if you have a special sibling, you will take the time to show them some love today. Time and distance makes it harder today to stay close to those we love. It seems like so much gets in the way. We remember those times when we were close, when we chewed on each other, walked over each other, fought each other, cuddled with the other and even feel asleep on them. Take a moment to share a memory with them today. Even if it is just the picture of these two little lambs dozing on each other, share with them how much they mean to you. Life passes too quickly for us not to share those precious thoughts! 

Giving Back

I taught a brand new class this last fall at the Illinois Art Educator's Conference titled "Think Big- Fiber Art Installations". Turns out it was a big hit! We had about 20 teachers in the class and what a team-building experience it was! 

I divided the group into three. Each group had a station. They were given about 10 minutes at each station, then rotated. One station was creating the background, laying wisps of merino wool on the silk gauze background. Another station made prefelts- merino wool that is wet felted only enough to hold up as a fabric, but still fuzzy enough to attach to the base. These were to be made into circles. The last station created a large sphere of colors with fun bits of sparkles, bamboo and yarn incorporated in. 

When we got all the components made, we arranged it together on the background. The entire design, along with colors and shapes, was decided by the group on the spot. I provided expertise and supplies, the rest was them! 

Then it got messy. In a fun kind of way. Water. Soap. Bubble wrap. You can guess what happened next. Laughter ensued. Sleeves got rolled up. We rubba-dubbed and splish-splashed our way through the wet felting process of fusing the fibers to the silk fabric base. Nuno felting as it is called, it makes a splendid fabric that is lightweight yet solid. It is the technique I use for all my art wearables. This time, we were using it to make a large 4' x 7' wall hanging. 

We were so giddy from the fun and creativity, that the rolling process went by quickly. Before long, the fibers were fused and we has a wonderful piece of art. Oooos and ahhhhs were exchanged among the group. We decided such a fabulous piece could only have one purpose: to become a donation back to the organization. 

Well, as happenstance would have it, I saw the President and Vice President of IAEA a few weeks before the National Conference, and I casually mentioned that we wanted to give the piece to them. They were ecstatic, as they were looking for something really eye catching for their display and raffle at the National Art Educator's Conference. 

So how about that for the right time and place? Our art got to not only touch the 20 teachers who created it, but thousands of teachers who saw it at the NAEA conference.  A noble cause I'd say! Giving back always results in something more in return. Generosity has a way of sowing sparingly the seeds to reap a bountiful harvest! 

Acorns, acorns and more acorns!

At every show we do, we try to offer a make-and-take so people can try out felting. I have the fun challenge of coming up with easy, quick ideas... and lots of them! I strive to have a different project each year, so folks can collect the "souvenir" button of the year. It's a fun way to spread the love of felting, and everyone enjoys it. 

At the National Art Educator's Conference, we made acorns. Since it was St. Patty's Day, we made green ones the first day, using my hand blended Cheviot batts, which are full of color and sparkles. As I sat at the demo table in the first few minutes of the show opening, people began to wander over. Before long, there was a table of teachers laughing, felting and comparing notes on how stress-relieving this was. People strolling by peeked through masses to try and see what they were doing. 

What I love about art teachers is that they are always eager to try something new. They don't hold back! At other shows, lookie loo's might gaze in at the felting. I'll lure them in and ask if they want to make a cute acorn too, and there's a 50/50 chance they'll say no thank you. But here? I barely got the words "do you want to make" out of my mouth and they were nodding enthusiastically. Didn't matter what we were making, they were in. They'd elbow in to find a little space on the table and the rest would gladly scoot a little closer so they'd fit. I'd turn to help get another person started and at the other end of the table, new recruits were getting taught by "veteran" felters almost done making their first acorn. 

It's a giving spirit, and so refreshing to see. People helping people! Strangers connected by community; connected by this drive to create, to learn, to make art. What I get to see, as I am at that demo table, warms my heart and sends joy to my spirit. We laugh together, we share our stresses and the candid conversation that flows as we create together is priceless. My face hurts from all the smiling, but it's a great feeling. 

That is art; in it's truest sense,  art imparts beauty to the viewer. But when we participate in art, it beautifies us from the inside out. It brings out a smile that lights up our face. It lifts burdened shoulders and we radiate with strength. It refines our character and lets our joy shine through. 

It might be just an acorn, but I believe it is a whole lot more than that. A person leaves with more than just an acorn. They carry that transforming beauty into the world, as they paint the canvas of their life. 

The Umbrella

This is my 2015 project for the Women's Journeys in Fiber, and our exhibit just finished up at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show, where this photo was taken. What a fitting theme umbrellas were for 2015, with all the rain we had! Here is my story behind it, and a palette of inspiration.... 

What is Your Umbrella?

Natasha Lewis

Wet is my adjective for the summer of 2015. This season we have encountered a lot of rain! Small drops, big drops, it is all the same. Morning sprinkles or midnight thunderstorms, we have seen all that this wet precipitation has to offer.  Squalls that come out of nowhere or storms that build on the horizon that we watch rolling in, they pour down the rain never the less.

 Interrupting our progress, interrupting our plans; it comes and we can do nothing about it. As the wet drops come plummeting down from heaven, one tiny bead at a time, they nourish the parched. But too much, too quickly and it causes difficulties; makes simple things challenging and shapes our world with its force and power.

 What can we do but run for cover in a rainstorm? When we have not a shield, we become drenched and are left gasping for breath as we feel the rain soak us through and through. Yet under protection, we can be sheltered from what goes on around us. The rain can pour and yet our shelter, though small, can provide a sanctuary from the storm as it passes.

 How many times have we stood beneath an umbrella hearing the plunking of rain drops, watching them roll down and drip off its’ edge? In that moment, we feel uttermost gratitude for that refuge, the only thing that stands between our own comfort and the world’s harshness.  

The rain in our lives can come at any time- it can soak us, chill us, flood us out, unless we have our shelter.  What is that shelter for us? Does it look radiant, filled with a wellspring of joy, hope and faith? Or is it a community that embraces and upholds us until the rain passes? Do talents deep within us blossom and flourish with the rain and build for us a refuge we run to? We can find so many places to seek quiet while the storm rolls on.  We don’t have to stay alone in the rain, getting drenched. 

 Today, whether you are experiencing sunshine or in the middle of severe storms, we know rain is to come. When you start to feel those first few drops fall, what is the umbrella you want to be holding? 

Sweet Inspiration

Everyone needs a little sweet inspiration from time to time. More than the Ben and Jerry's flavor of the day... my favorite hands-down being Chocolate Brownie.... is this cute story. 

I have had the privilege of knowing a very wonderful homeschool family. Their kids are imaginative, playful, kind and generous, talented and knowledgeable. It is a joy to have them in a class, or just coming to hang out at the shop. Their two oldest daughters are 11 and 9 and I've watched them flourish into very talented hand-crafters. They've tackled socks and mittens and hats and all sorts of fun and inventive projects. 

Their mom came to me and asked if I would spin some special yarn up for her to knit them something just from her. She shared that her one daughter loved warm colors, the other cool colors. So we picked out a hand painted variegated purple and then added color blends for each girl. My color blends were artfully designed on the drum carder; luscious batts of merino, bamboo, angelina and silk threads. I spun singles of the purple and colors intermingled, and plyed them with some fun sparkling sequin thread. 

Sisters. Sharing a common bond, but each unique and different. Working together but fiercely different. Cut from the same cloth, with the same values, same upbringing, same perspectives. Each with their own goals, dreams, aspirations. And a mom that recognizes that and cherishes and encourages it. If you ask me, that's pretty sweet inspiration!    

Hit the Road!

I had an exciting discovery in the mailbox today! Flipping through the usual stack of bills, junk and business paperwork, I saw two envelopes from  Mancuso Quilt Festival  ! I had applied to the Wearable Art Competition, entering my dress, Silver Lining, and vest, Twilight Haze. 

With bated breath, I ripped open the first envelope. Dear Ms. Lehrer Lewis.... your piece has been accepted! Breathlessly, I opened the second one. 

Both were accepted and will be heading to Hampton, Virginia within the week. This will be my fourth year entering this show. My dress L' Amore di Vini and vest November Skies last year swept the show! I am even more excited about this year, as I feel my two pieces feature a lot more detail and technique from last year. 

Wish I could be going with them to see the show! It runs Feb. 25-28th, 2016. I'll keep you posted on how they do! 

Nothin' Wrong with Yesteryear....

A good woolen mill is at the heart of what I create. If I don't have access to the high quality milling that transforms wool from the sheep's backs into beautiful roving as I know it, I wouldn't be able to create the exquisite fabrics, wearables and wall art I do. It's important that there are local mills transforming local fibers into a product that we can work with. It takes many steps to be able to get the roving I work with; a mill helps to complete this circle. 

Our main mill is Zeilinger Mill  in Frankenmuth, MI and they too are over a century old. I haven't made it up to see the folks there that transform our sheep's wool into beautiful roving, so stumbling upon this wool mill was the closest to seeing some antique milling equipment that I've been. 

The wool has to be washed (scoured) and then dried. It then goes through a picker, a machine that fluffs it up in preparation to be carded. The video above shows picked wool getting run through the carder, and then being made into a large quilt batt. They can also run it through a drafter at the end to thin that batt into the strips of roving we use called roving. Once back from the mill, I do the dyeing and blending for my art and for customers at Esther's Place . 

The thing that astonished me the most was how beautifully this beastly machine ran. Though it looks like a hundred tiny parts cobbled together and all running in chaotic rhythm, it has a smooth peacefulness to it, at the same time. Slow and steady, it runs on the same principles that have kept it running for over a hundred-fifty years. The outside world has changed around it; cars got faster and more fuel efficient; telecommunications got clearer and more sophisticated; computers can now reside on our wrists and run our lives, more or less. While the pandemonium of technological advancement gained momentum around it, this machine kept making; kept doing what it was invented to do. 

Sometimes there was nothin' wrong with yesteryear. While our world demands things instantly, can we find a beauty in the slower, steady pace of times long forgotten? Watching the rhythm of monotony, it can lull us into a place 150 years old, a place that is productive in a simple yet complex manner. How I love the machines of yesteryear! Their nostalgia never ceases to charm me. 

A Custom Blend...

While researching Cedarburg, I really thought I remembered running across something about a working 19th century wool mill. Yet in this wonderful, techno-age we live in, things poof in and out of cyber connection like a dandelion seed drifting on the wind..... they are here one moment and gone the next. We click, click, click and suddenly we are light-years away from where we started, and in a galaxy far, far away. 

So upon arriving in Cedarburg, I began asking around for this "wool mill". I got blank stares, and people suggested a gallery that had a lady who spun yarn on a spinning wheel, or the Cedar Creek Settlement,  a shopping complex housed in a old yarn mill. Both were intriguing but not quite what I had in mind. Was I crazy? Was this mill a fabrication of my imagination? Wishful thinking? Now I was beginning to wonder (and my husband as well, though he did know I was a bit crazy and married me anyways...) 

Before leaving town, we stopped in one last gallery, The Pink Llama,  and while browsing, came upon a little alcove with a sign hanging, that read "Cedarburg Woolen Mill and Textile Museum". The little open sign slung on the banister of some very steep, old stairs, beckoned with a mysterious allure.  The gallery volunteer indicated that we were lucky, there was someone working the mill today and that we could go check it out. 

Descending the stairs, I felt like I was being transported to another time, and another place. I certainly traveled 150 years in that flight of steps, and in the short ceilings and dim lights of a basement work room, I could make out a glorious beast of a machine; the woolen mill I was in search of!