Northshore Adventures

On the snowiest week of the season, I had the fabulous adventure of teaching and presenting at this lively guild based in the Northbrook, IL area. All the snow from the season decided to fall on those couple of days, or so it seems. My poor husband does snow plowing and it was a pretty long shift, so he didn't have much time to miss me being away. Funny how things work out! Everyday we woke up to more snow, until I felt like I was watching the movie "Groundhog Day" play out before my eyes. 

That didn't stop us from having a great time! I presented a brand new program to the guild, one that I titled "Inside the Mind of the Artist". I was thrilled they enjoyed as much as I do, the stories behind the art pieces and the inspiration that brought them to life. It was like a walk down memory lane for me! Ahhh, the attachment an artist has to their work is a bittersweet one- you love making and basking in your creations but you need to make room for new pieces and new inspiration by letting them go. Though I'm not a mother, there is a bit of that concept I think we experience in every piece of art we make. 

The guild hosted a mask class, which they invited me to join in on. I admit masks are not my thing but I LOVED this! It was so fun to just let go and create and let the materials take me away. I called my mask "Spring in Disguise" which is ironic because here it is, April, and sweet spring is definitely surprising us with snow showers and plummeting temperatures. It's certainly in disguise. 

I took off and explored the downtown Winnetka area, where I discovered some unique artisan galleries and shops. Vivid Gallery had a fabulous fiber art exhibit and I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with the owner and gallery curator. We talked art, fiber, business, image, marketing and a thousand other threads. It's terrific connecting with other business owners as passionate about their work as I am! The exhibit of Marianne Burr was breathtakingly stunning. Her bold shapes and colors were terrific, and I loved talking with Cynthia about the stories behind each one. 

My vest workshop was off to a great start with that perfect amount of creative fuel, and Tuesday we started on two days of design, felting and construction. I was very excited to bring the concept of making a nuno felted piece of fabric and then using draping techniques to craft it into a low or no-sew vest. The vests require bit of specific shaping, so we work right on student's bodies to custom create a vest as unique as them. No two are the same. 

We started out laying out layers of silk fabric, then two of wool. By the end of Tuesday, everyone had designed and wet down the surface. That was a big job! There was a lot of water but everyone was a good sport and we put those towels to good use. We were creating 2.5 yards of felt fabric, so my students were like felting warriors training for battle... this was boot camp for sure! Watch the surface transform through the day! 

The second day was where we had to use our imaginations and make this fabric into a garment! It was through vision, cutting, hot water, selective agitation and faith that these vests were born. Here are some pictures of the progress: 

I hope this workshop inspired, as did the presentation. I love bringing the concept of wool as wearable art into the world, and sharing my skills and inspiration with others. I find it invigorating! I did end up getting home in between snow storms that Thursday and spent some quality time with hubby... riding in the plow truck and being his little sidewalk shovel-er...Fun times! 

A New Year, A New Nest... Part Three of Three

Last but certainly not least in my series is our brand new classroom remodeling! For years I have looked longingly through the pages of the Where Women Create magazine. How I have yearned to have a space that was organized, chic, beautiful, light and practical in which to create. Not just for myself but for others. I wanted a place I could be proud of! 

Well my wish came true this January. I took a week off work to tackle this project, and to get my wisdom teeth out. The way I figured it, I would not think about the impending doom if I had a good project to keep my mind off it! (Don't you just love my logic!?!) I was counting on spending my swollen-like-a-chipmunk-healing-time sorting, organizing and creating the SUPER CLASSROOM! So in preparation, I began to disassemble,. and some friends came to help paint the base coat. 

Thankfully, my surgery went well and I wasn't in enough pain to keep me away from the project. I was a little loopy from Advil but that probably helped dull the pain of unpacking ten years of fiber art UFO's (unfinished objects), collections of fiber and fabric, class supplies and more. It was like a bomb went off in here. By the time I surfaced from beneath the piles, we were finally making progress in creating bins of labeled supplies. It was actually happening. 

Enter my creative husband and his dreamy storage unit, and this room was finally starting to shape up! He designed several nice features: put our door on sliders to save a ton of room, gave me a slim closet for table storage and easy access, and ample shelves just the size I needed them. Now I had a real workable unit where both students and I could access supplies quickly and easily. It's saved so much time and effort and looks very classy. I feel like I finally have the art studio I've always dreamt of. 

The second phase of this project was to paint the focal wall. A friend had offered to teach me the lazure painting technique. I wanted to have a wall that was full of soft, welcoming color and this was a perfect way to achieve that. The technique uses layers of color, giving you a watercolor effect. She and I used Golden Acrylic Medium mixed with an equal amount of water and a dab of acrylic paint added. This, being very much liquid, is brushed on quickly with one brush and brushed again with a dry brush. Layer after layer is added to give you depth and movement of the colors. We used about 8 layers I believe. It took a whole day to add the layers. There is some glitter added to the last layer. 

The effect is stunning, mesmerizing, dreamy and enchanting. I'm so glad we did this! It's such a magical room now, where creativity seeps into our souls and beauty is crafted from the heart. It's a room that is happy and cheery, bright and spacious. People want to come and sit and be. 

Thank you to all who helped make it possible! I feel like our nesting is almost complete for this year. What a better place the world can be if we just beautify the nest around us. If we make it warm and spacious and welcoming to others. I hope to leave you with that thought as we embark on the next chapter of 2017. 

Trekking East

To another place AND another time zone this weekend! Well it wasn't far from home, but our neighbors Indiana, for their art educator's conference. Held in a suburb of Indianapolis, at a high school (great idea by the way!), we had the treat of sharing fiber with a bunch of excited Hoosier folks. 

After a three and a half hour drive, it makes you feel pretty good when you start unloading your things and teachers walk by and literally start cheering that Esther's Place is here. I mean clapping, hootin' and hollerin', and everything! What a welcome wagon. 

The day started out with my class first thing, which I really liked. We made leapfrogs and trumpet flowers to demonstrate wet and needle felting techniques. What an awesome feeling when you keep watching people trickle in and you run out of seats. I had standing room only and I think almost 30 teachers in the class. I was very pleased to have three male teachers attend. I strive to minimize the genderization that sometimes subconsciously occurs with fiber art, and having confident male teachers helps that cause out! 

The class was great but my favorite part of class is when we do introductions. I really like to get a group of people to learn about each other and find common ground that gets them sharing. In this instance, they share their name, where they teach and what ages, and I ask them to share their passion. Art teachers are artists first, and their insatiable desire to create sometimes gets pushed aside for the practical. Hearing about their passion, whether it was blacksmithing, stained glass, mixed media, etc, was inspiring. We really needed a session or social media platform just to share pictures and ideas and interact about what we do, and learn from one another (hint, hint!).  

The booth was hopping, of course, and thanks to my dear friend Amber, lots of folks were making super cute candy corns! I know there will be lots of creativity going on, because lots of fibers went home with new felters. I did enjoy seeing one gal, Kendra, who shared with us the picture of her felt rooster she created. She won a grand champion for it at the fair! How exciting to see what can happen in a year. 

The show was a great success and I now have lots of things I want to offer for art educators- resources, lesson plans, video tutorials, that I will be working on in the weeks to come. In the meantime, check out how to make the leapfrog and flowers here! 

Well, a trip isn't complete without a little fun, so we did enjoy some local sushi and I visited my favorite Indy attraction, Saddleup Saloon and Dancehall,  where I enjoyed my pastime of line-dancing with some boot-scootin' fun. I love dancing, have danced my whole life in some form or another, and dance at Saddleup near us.  It's been a great trip! 

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! 

Warm Feet, Warm Hearts

This past week I enjoyed the honor of teaching a class at Esther's Place for felted slippers. I feel like there is nothing more luxurious, or indulgent, or feminine, than a pair of cozy slippers that are fun, colorful and you! They are needle and wet felted and shaped around your feet so they fit you perfectly. With dozens of colors to choose from, and hundreds of combinations, one could literally warm the feet of everyone in her world and not exhaust the possibilities! 

One of the joys of teaching is the ability to bring together perfect strangers and through the act of sharing art, an afternoon and a skill, meld the group together. Our conversations ranged from horses to homeschooling to tea tasting and beyond. We shared smiles, advice, laughs and hints. Old memories were shared, while new memories were being made.  We were all different, but at the same time, we were all the same. 

So at the end of the day, we all had a beautiful pair of slippers and some warm feet! But I think we also had warm hearts. That is the kind of warmth that is kindled from one person to another, in the simple act of sharing ourselves. We forget that in today's world that teaches us to be so very guarded and protective. So as we melt away the cold iciness with our warm hearts, we're changing things little by little. So remember....sometimes the tiniest of actions can really mean so much more!