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!!!

A New Year, a New Nest: Part One of Three

Home Is Where Your Heart Sings

A self portrait of a little artist bird in her artist studio, this has many reflections of my life in it. We all have that place where our heart sings. Our home can be the place where love flourishes and creativity grows. Many of us have home studios. The chaos of life collides with the clutter of our surroundings and in the midst of it all, we still strive to create.

In my dreams, I would have a little studio like this. Rooms where art can be born. Rooms that are sunny and cheery and look out on the beautiful countryside. Rooms that house a vast expanse of materials ready for my beckoning, right at my fingertips. Rooms that provide a quiet escape of solitude and sanctuary. Rooms that allow our minds to fly into the vast realm of the imagination and bring those dreams to fruition. Rooms that recognize no limits.

I will still hold on to the hope of carving this out, in the midst of my surroundings. It might not be perfect, it might not look like my visions, but I will persist still. The Creator has put this desire into our hearts, to be creative like He is. I will find my drive and passion in the places I create. Even if this place is “just home”. Home is where my heart sings….. and the place where my dreams come to life.

---

This is the artist statement from the 2016 Women's Journeys in Fiber Birds piece that I created. I was ecstatic about the theme when we met in January a year ago. Right away I had an idea. With all the great brainstorming about birds, birdhouses, boxes, pets, animals and treasures that floated about that day, I offered this suggestion. Why not call it birds of our imagination and the places they dwell? It encompasses habitat and home, creatures both mythical and realistic, and as many trinkets as our hearts desired. Everyone was thrilled and so began our journey.

The group is about twenty-four women from the greater Chicago-land who love fiber arts and the creative process of working together. We have about six months to create, then our collection goes on out tour. This year, it debuted at the Chicago Botanic Garden's Fine Art of Fiber in November, it is heading off to the Anderson Arts Center in Kenosha, WI January 29th -March 3rd 2017, taking flight to Chevy Chase, MD March 1-12th and then back here for the Chicago Flower and Garden Show March 18-26th. These birds are traveling some distance!

It's so inspiring to see the works of art in person and read the stories on each one. Some make you reflect, some make you laugh, some make you wistful, and all make you think. I'm honored to be a part of this group. 

My idea consisted on a self portrait of myself in my art studio. We all want that space where we can create. So  I created it in the form of minatures! I had a quite the time looking for just the right pieces to fit to scale for my rooms, and when I couldn't find what I was looking for, I just made it! I spun tiny skeins of yarn, and folded tiny bundles of my own dyed and felted fabrics. I tried to make as much true to life as possible, like the discarded threads and fabric bits on the floor while you create, or the vegetables that pile up on my kitchen table after a long day of picking in the gardens. But other things are purely imagined, like having my very own room for sewing and a whole another room for preparation. Then somethings are meaningful, like the star and moon mobile,  made in memory of Gale, a member who passed away last year. It came together and was quite fun and playful. 

This time of the year I get the urge to nest... January gives me time to breathe, organize, create and rest. We all need a pretty place to create. A place where we can feel at peace, where we can let our thoughts fly. It's such a great feeling when we are able to get to that point and savor it. 

So good luck to our nests! Whether we are reorganizing, or creating it from scratch, cheers to carving out your special place. May your January be productive! 

Up North

It's been a fun month traveling to different places spreading our love of fiber arts. I got to enjoy a wonderful time with my husband at the Wisconsin Art Educators Conference in Lacrosse, WI. I had never been to Lacrosse, which is on the Mississippi River, so I enjoyed the beautiful fall drive there. I think that Wisconsin always picks the most perfect time of the year for their conference, when the leaves are at their peak of color. It was spectacular. We saw bluffs and rolling fields and forests ablaze. Such a feast for the eyes. 

When we were there, we discovered Grandad's Bluff, which was pretty unique. A natural limestone bluff that had been preserved since its' limestone was quarried in the early 1900's, it's a stunning 600 feet above Lacrosse. Equally stunning was the fact that I had a donut burger there the first night. Yes. It was delicious. 

The town was cute, with lots of bars and eateries. The little ice cream and candy store was adorable and the ice cream was homemade and wonderful. A fun place to explore during the conference! 

We had a fabulous time making candy corn at the demo table at our booth. We had some darn creative folks who even added faces to their candy corn! Jonathan was a delight, reminding me just how much I enjoy working with him. He's a pretty great felter and a superb fiber sales man. In fact, he's even got a sense of humor. When someone was adoring a blended sparkly batt in soft pastel colors, they commented that it looked like unicorns. To this he answered that it was unicorn fiber indeed, as we curry comb our flock and then make the batts from that fiber. Gotta love it! 

I had two back to back filled classes in which we made little "leapfrogs" with needle felting and wet felted flowers. Everyone had a fabulous time. We actually for the first time sold out of fibers! I felt like Macy's on Black Friday... I had people waiting, arms weighed down with fiber in our checkout lines! What a great feeling. 

So thank you fabulous Wisconsin Art teachers! Do keep felting, and share your creations with us. It's so inspiring! We look forward to seeing you next year in Fort Atkinson, WI! 

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! 

Happily Ever After

As a friend, you can't help but feel overjoyed when they find that special someone! All our childhood dreams of forever after and Prince Charming come true on our wedding day. It's the day that etches so many memories in our hearts and is the door that opens to a whole new world. You have someone to walk beside you through all that life brings, you have a hand to hold and shoulder to cry on. They are the half that makes you whole. 

With so many exciting new emotions to experience, this life milestone is to be treasured in a very special way. When it came time to my friend's wedding, I knew I had to make something she would cherish. This sweet friend, a year and a half ago, stood by me in our own wedding and now it was my turn to stand up in hers. Nicolina surprised me with a beautiful handmade quilt as a wedding gift. Every time I see that, I know the love that went into every stitch. It warms my heart and I knew I wanted to do the same for her. Time honored tradition models women gifting their friends with handmade treasures for their marriages, and I wanted to carry that on. 

This engagement photo caught my eye and soon became the concept for their wedding gift. I decided to make it about 6"x6" and then frame it in a shadow box. I started out with laying out wisps of fiber on a prefelt background. Actually a lilac prefelt, as that was one of her wedding colors and also a favorite color of mine too. 

After wet felting this layer, I added needle felted leaves using fiber and yarns. These then got wet felted as well. Then to the sewing machine! I am so inspired by the work of Scottish felt artist Moy Mackay who uses thread painting to add depth and dimension to her work. Different stitch sizes and thread colors and free motion movement allows one to draw with the stitches. I do this on my Janome machine and just a regular foot and a lot of back-stitching! It's pretty fun actually and adds so much to the piece. 

Then came the last and most challenging part.... needle felting them into the picture, including fun little details like her boot kicked up and curly hair. It was great to be able to capture a moment and transform it into the fiber medium.  I then mounted it on a linen background and framed in a 10"x10" barn wood shadow box frame from a local craft store. 

They loved it! So the next time you have a gift to give, stop and really consider blessing that person with your art. You will grow in your understanding and creativity. They will have something that with every stitch, thread and fiber, your love, prayers and blessings are being sent their way. Keep this tradition alive so someday our daughters and granddaughters will know the value in handcrafted. It's far more costly....the giving of ourselves, our talents and our time but it makes a priceless memory! 

Skylines and Smiles

Having a shop and being an artist can be challenging at times. But there are other moments that just blow your mind at the impact you have in the world and the lives you touch. I had a moment like this just recently that was amazing! 

Chris is a very talented artist who does needle and wet felting, making all kinds of things with a focus on felted mittens.  She came in a few months ago and told me about a project she was going to do with her staff. I suggested she nuno felt the project, a larger landscape wall hanging. She picked out a navy/gray prefelt and some pretty, vibrantly dyed merino top and she was on her way. 

Well she came in with show and tell and let me tell you, I was blown away! Her team of about 6 or 7 was skeptical at first at her creative team building activity. Several people confessed a lack of skill and creativity. She made it very approachable for them, laying out the background for them. They then designed the colors and created the sky and the river. The prefelt was cut into the buildings of the skyline and laid on top. This was then wet felted and everyone got involved in the rolling process. Laughs and smiles were shared as they bonded in this creative process. When it was unrolled for the last time and unveiled, the feeling of pride and amazement was shared by all. Chris added the stitching and dozens and dozens of hot-fix crystals to the piece. It really makes the little details pop and gives those Chicago architectural highlights definition. 

What makes this piece even more intricately involved is the fact that Chris works for a department of the USDA, in Chicago, and Esther's Place was born out of a USDA Rural Development grant back in 2016. Ten years ago we dreamed of merging the worlds of art, agriculture and education. Ten years later, fiber art has found its way into the lives and hearts of so many, and now, the staff of the USDA itself! Local wool will be decorating the walls of the USDA office in Chicago, and they are even talking about doing another project. This next project would have a more agricultural bend to it. 

How inspirational is that? There is nothing that drives a point home like being able to actually experience something for yourself. Here I got to observe it in action, and see a full circle come around. It's been ten years of hard work and dedication to the cause, but I am so thrilled be a part in change. It all begins with a sheep, some skylines and ends with smiles. 

Summer of the Sunflowers

I think sunflowers have to be the best happiness booster there is. Can you even look at one and try to not to smile? Impossible. They are the essence of carefree joy. Sunshine soaking into your outstretched arms. Endless skies and puffy blue clouds. Adventures and discoveries. There are a thousand good thoughts in each of their seeds and they show us to always keep our faces lifted to the sun. 

This summer, I had some sunflowers surprise me in the garden! They came up, presumably from seeds drop last year, and very early in Spring, I could see them pushing upward, each day gaining inches. They are now well over 7 feet tall and have given some glorious blooms. 

Our homeschool co-op planted a little plot of sunflowers that is growing nicely and that has started to bloom as well. I hope the kids will get to come out and see the miracle of growth and the fact that the little seed indeed has a giant plant inside! And to get to experience the same joy I have when I see those perky yellow blooms start to open up. 

I am working on an order of sunflowers for an interior designer. I played around with three designs and we settled on the ones with a long cording as the stem, which gives one the ability to use it as a tie-back for drapes, to tie on a purse, or more! They are all colors and shaped with a little fabric stiffener. 

We taught this as a class to the ladies in our felting group at the Elburn Library and they loved it. Planning on scheduling a class here at Esther's Place  in the next few weeks! And I got an order to make a wreath with sunflowers, too. 

So I'd say that this is the summer of sunflowers. What else can perk up your spirit and bring joy to the down trodden? An everlasting sunflower can! 

Memories Come Alive

This summer, I've been quite busy working on some really touching projects. I'd like to share these with you over the next few blog posts, so you can catch a glimpse of how my creativity works! 

I was approached by a customer, who also happens to be a local art teacher, about a commissioned piece for her mom. We started talking about what she was dreaming up, and I asked her to describe what she had in mind. She told me about a place that was nestled in the hills of northeastern Iowa, a place pure and wild and serene. A place where the honeysuckle grew on fence lines and sheep grazed the grassy hills. Where a bubbling creek ran alongside a gravel road, where the happy peals of laughter of children running barefoot through the woods rang out against the clear blue skies. A place where home was good cooking, served around a table of love, in a farmhouse built from the ground up. 

She gave me a batt of wool raised from that very farm, undoubtedly housed in an attic for a good many years, waiting for the right project to come along. It was tied in twine, and wrapped in brown craft paper. As I opened it up, and unrolled the lofty vanilla colored wool, I pondered what stories that fleece held. It was now up to me to let the wool tell its story. 

I asked if she had any pictures of the farmstead. She did not; however, she had a watercolor she did based only on her mother's recollections, as there were no known photographs. 

I had an idea of what I wanted to create, so I started in on the background. This was not hard- a few hills, a clear blue skies, a road. I used her wool as the base, and then started adding merino wool on the surface. I used silk hankies as clouds, which turned out to be a stunning choice. Yarns, Lincoln wool locks and wool neps were used in the road and grasses at the base of the piece. I designed and wet felted it in one evening. 

The next thing, which intimidated me, was the house. I chose to needle felt it on so I could get the detail of every little window pane, nook and cranny. Feeling quite jubilant so far, I took it to the sewing machine to thread paint some depth into the landscape. 

So there it sat for a few weeks while I mulled over the honeysuckle. I wanted to truly make one feel as though they were walking along a road, when all of a sudden the scent of honeysuckles struck them and took their memories back to another place, and another time. 

Then it came to me! I needed to make it dimensional and all of a sudden, in a flurry, it started to come together. Flowers and leaves were felted using prefelts and some thread painting and the fence posts were wet felted. I sewed them on after meticulous placement, then sewed in a spacer to the back to give depth. Yes! This was precisely what my mind had imagined. What a joyous moment when concept gives way to conception that leads to creativity and completion. 

The last finishing touch was the wire for the fence. I rooted through my stash for a antique looking fine gauge wire, and plyed it on my spindle to achieve the  correct scale. That got wrapped and added, and now my fence line had some worn wire fences for the honeysuckle to trail along. 

As I work on projects, I get many curious customers who get a sneak peak of the process. This leads to great idea cultivation, many good suggestions and sometimes, downright brilliance. Such was my conversation with Jodi, who stopped in for some fibers and stayed to hear about my piece. She was drawn to the honeysuckles right away and exclaimed that her company, Natural Refinery,  makes a honeysuckle perfume that smells just like passing by wild honeysuckles on a warm Spring day. She said how much it reminds people of their scents of childhood and takes their memories back. All this was without even telling her about how my customer had earlier mentioned scenting the piece with honeysuckle! She kindly offered to bring some out so I could include it with the piece as a gift. 

I remember listening to John Denver's "Country Roads" while working on the piece and thinking how important it is that we take time to send out roots deep into the place we call home. Everyone deserves a place that makes them flourish while surrounded by love, joy and security. In the harsh world we live in, sometimes we have to search and wander until we find that home. Sometimes its just a place in our hearts, or in our dreams. It might even be our heavenly home in the skies of glory. 

I'm so happy to be able to transform memories into art. It's a delicate and precious calling that I feel blessed to be a part of. As the stories are told to new generations, I hope this special place will captivate their hearts as well. 

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!