Some New Work

Just finished 100 Drawings II with (the great) Jane Davies.  Here are two pieces from my final posting:

Of course I learned a tremendous amount, not the least of which is that you have to make lots of work.  Lots and lots of work.  And then if you do you may get some nice surprises!

New I Pad Case

I like to put my I Pad in a quilted case when I travel:  another layer of protection and a place to keep the cords.  I just finished a new one, using some favorite fabrics and colors!

Convergence

I have been a Unitarian Universalist for 25 years.   I would have been one earlier, but I didn't know about them yet!  The UUA principals have always guided my public service, both as a volunteer and as a career.  My local  congregation has always been very supportive of me, and very helpful with my various campaigns.  Some of my favorite local politicians are also UUs.

However, my political life and my UU life were largely separate--until today when I learned that the UU's theological seminary, Meadville Lombard, has awarded an honorary doctorate to my favorite politician anywhere-- Toni Preckwinkle President of the Cook County Board.  Here's what they had to say about her:   

On May 17th at First Unitarian Church of Chicago, Tony Preckwinkle will receive an Honorary Degree for the Doctorate of Humane Letters from Meadville Lombard Theological School. By bestowing this award, this Seminary wants to recognize Toni Preckwinkle's dedication to serve the community of Chicago and lead innovatively through the changing times.

By recognizing social leaders such as Toni Preckwinkle, Meadville Lombard highlights the contribution of a leader who takes the Unitarian Universalist values of justice, equity, and compassion to the Chicago community. According to Lee Barker, President of Meadville Lombard Theological School, "As a civic and community leader, President Preckwinkle has sought to make the world a more just and equitable place. Her service has been the very embodiment of Meadville Lombard's values."

Toni Preckwinkle says "the Unitarian Universalist faith community has a strong emphasis on social justice and advocacy for humanitarian causes, a tradition in which I feel very comfortable." Talking about the award, she added, "I'm honored to be selected for an honorary degree at the Meadville Lombard Theological Seminary's 170th commencement. I greatly respect the long history of this institution and wholeheartedly support its historic mission and current day application of its good works."


My connection to Toni --in additional to my total admiration of her--is that she made the big trip down here to present me with an award for integrity in public service last August.  So this is wonderful convergence of my political and Unitarian lives.  Of course, they were always my life, but so nice to see this bigger connection.   Congratulations to Toni and congratulations to the Meadville Lombard for deciding to bestow this honor!

 

At the Library

Or Out of the Basement, part 2.  Some years ago when I was doing more fiber work than I am now, I made a Christmas present for my friend Bil.  About 36" square, it was based on traditional blocks but with my own twist.  Bil really liked it and put it up in his family room.  Then this year I gave him a needlepoint pillow (that I made from an Ehrman Kit), which he also really liked.

Fast forward to this week, when he let me know that he was putting both pieces into the front display case at the library, along with another piece I loaned him for the month.   So that's super fun!

And here is the loaned piece.  It is a mostly fiber collage on felt, using old dictionary pages, cottons and silk organza with mystery writing.  The piece hangs freely on a painted stretched canvas.

I may have to go visit the case again this weekend:  its a shock to have something up!

Some New Work

I have been continuing in the same vein with series I started in Jane Davies' class Theme and Variations.  Here are a couple of pieces from the most recent work that I am happy with:

These are essentially formal pieces, exploring mark making and layering while trying to keep clear designs.  Both give me interesting clues for further work.

Two (Simple) Books

Here are two recent books both in process.  Above is a simple Cinch binding sketchbook using  the "paint pick up" papers used in Jane Davies classes, using scrap cardboard for the covers.  Front has a recent sketch attached;  book is 9 x 12 x 1/2". 

 

 

 

 The second book is a color idea sketchbook, and is double recycled!  The paper was originally computer output paper, headed for the recycling bin.  I grabbed it and first used it as scratch paper for working (MANY) problems at Khan Academy.  Then these pages went into a Cinch bound notebook to hold collage for color ideas.  I thought of this as a way to declutter my stacks of magazines, keeping only favorite images and attempting to make interesting color combinations.  Still in progress, but really enjoying this:

 

 

 

 

Seeing these pictures, I realize I chose very similar colors for these pictures.  They aren't all like this but these are obviously favorite combinations.
Dimensions of this book are 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" x 1/2".

Suggested Reading

So, here are two things I am sort of late to the party on:  One, electronic books.  I have been totally resisting, but was finally convinced of their sometimes usefulness one Sunday night --cold, dark, 12" of snow outside.  I wasn't going out even if the library was open--which it wasn't--but wanted a new murder mystery to read.  SO lovely to fire up the library software and browse under my nice quilt.

But the other reason for e books (sometimes, only sometimes) is the quality of the pictures.  I discovered an e book full of fabulous pictures--and then also discovered that I was REALLY late to this party. (The second thing.)    Humans of New York  Published over a year ago, and based on a very successful blog of the same name (HONY Blog), it is simply stunning.  The blog is about stories of all kinds of people in all kinds of places throughout New York, while the book is more about the photos.  And the photos are really magical electronically--total eye candy.   Humans in all their diverse, messy, surprising and inspiring glory--and some really fab clothes!  Dip into it when you are losing faith in humankind.  Its definitely on my "to buy" list.



“I invented a country called Manizao. It’s between India and China. The president is a girl named Mahava and she lives in a little red house that looks like The White House but it’s little and it’s red. And there are lots of beaches. My friend lives on one of the beaches. He’s a bird but he’s also a builder. He lives in a house that he built that is half beach house and half real house. I don’t know how he did it, but I think he glued them together. And kinda everywhere you look there is a restaurant. The most popular restaurant is called Savory Hello. Everyone in Manizao loves Savory Hello because they only serve savory things.”   From Humans of New York blog, April 1, 2015 entry.

And not quite so late to the party, I am a big Pope Francis fan.  Here is what he has to say on leadership, as interpreted through the Harvard Business Review:  The 15 Diseases of Leadership

Scrap Bag #8

As part of my spring decluttering, I am rotating what is on display in my house.  This is as good a time as any to show this square collage quilt, done in 2011.  Here is the full view:

And here is a detail

The piece is in two parts:  the inner collage quilt is 12" square, made from scraps, finished with a facing.  It includes free machine quilting.  It hangs in front of a larger piece that is 22 3/4" x 25" which includes both hand and machine quilting. 

This was part of a series made from scraps that involved lots of different experiments in hand sewing and how to hang these small pieces.  I think that this is the most successful one on both counts, and am enjoying having it up.  Maybe this will inspire me to resume some of these ideas.  (I sort of stopped doing fiber things as I've gotten deeper and deeper into paint/collage in my work with Jane Davies.)

First Signs of Spring

After a long hard winter--although nothing compared to upstate NY and New England!--we are having some lovely warm sunny days.  Yesterday I saw my first flower:

But mostly now its the beautiful beautiful light:

So nice to be home to enjoy it!

And in what I promise is NOT an April Fool's joke--but I have no pictures to prove it--a giant wild turkey walked past my window!  In the city!  Clearly enjoying the spring day!

Hope you are seeing some signs of spring wherever you are!

New Keytamers

A couple of years ago, I solved the never being able to find my keys problem (at least partially) by sewing a little fabric collage piece to attach to my keys.  It was also a nice way to have color and design with me all the time!  Clearly, I have worn it out:

This was a single little fabric collage, with backing in a pillowcase.  Worn to bits --loved the colors and the composition. 

This time, I took a larger piece of fabric collage which has both machine and hand stiching, and covered it with tulle to keep all the bits together.  I cut three rectangles (finished size ~7.5"x ~2.5"), again attached via bright pink pillowcase backing and voila!

Now I am ready for Spring!  Hope that you are having at least some signs of spring!

Three 2014 Books

 

 

Here are three of the books I made last year.  The first is a weekly journal from January through June.

 

I started the first at the beginning of the year as a weekly journal to capture my intentions to create new habits.  All part of the getting ready for retirement!  It is 5" x 8" using commercial papers, photos and handmade papers, and bound with rings.

 

 

The second book was done July-October.  I was gone for over two weeks this summer to attend art classes (at Omega and at Quilting by the Lake), and when I got back there was the usual enormous pile of junk mail to deal with. I used that pile to make a small book bound as Dorothy Caldwell  had just taught us in the Human Marks class:

 

 

 In addition to junk mail, I used only scraps and collage materials from my (extensive) stash, and treated it as a bit of a journal.  I mostly documented my feelings leading up to the big retirement day (9/5/14).  Just as we had done in class, using a variety of papers --including papers which had already been painted or used to pick up excess paint--was a great start.  Pages are 4" x 5". 

 

 

 

The third book was done in October, and was an attempt to picture my life right now, at the beginning of the retirement journey.  Commercial papers and photographs, with a hand painted cover.  8 3/4" x 6, Cinch binding.

Handmade is Always Better

Rather than selecting an off the shelf lighting fixture for my snazzy new kitchen, I came up with a rough concept for a handmade fixture.  My electrician friend ran with it, and produced this amazing piece which hangs over the sink but lights all the appliances.

A copper frame (with color added), to which industrial work lights are permanently affixed.  Nifty low key industrial chic!

The Pleasures of Simplification

So the kitchen reno project is (hopefully) coming to an end--this is the end of week 5 and the kitchen is functioning with little bits still to be done.  And all the art/decorating decisions to come!  Anyway, this week has been about the Reload.  It turns out, of course, that doing this requires a complete rethink about what goes in the kitchen--just like a move really--and that of course means finding places for things in other rooms and that of course means cleaning closets!  I have now cleaned ALL my closets, and it feels great!

In this process, I was really confronted (again) with how much I have been a hoarder/archivist, and even worse, how I have been keeping things "just in case" that have never been useful or beautiful and will likely never be either.  Kept because well, I ought to, or a family member gave them to me, or whatever.  I also realized that all these decades of working put me on the back burner, and having closets that were chaotic messes kept me stressed and always feeling that I wasn't doing enough. 

SO, rethinking everything.  Taking everything  out (as recommended by Marie Kondo in The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up), putting like with like, only keeping what I actually like/can use now.  Separating things in prime real estate from things in (reasonable) inventory--like big packs of paper towels now on the basement shelves.  It feels so awesome!  Like a whole new house!

This would be a good time to link to some favorite blogs and other resources on decluttering and simplification:

Becoming Minimalist

Zen Habits

Slow Your Home

Clutter Busting with Brooks Palmer

My bookshelf on decluttering, simplification and other good stuff

I've done a lot of reading, but I didn't really understand the amazing benefits and emotional clarity until I Did The Work!

 

A Nice Surprise this AM

I check Jane Davies blog Collage Journeys every day and when there is new content it is always a great start to the day!  Today was especially fun as she linked one of my pieces that I did in her 100 Drawings class.  This is definitely another step out of the basement!

100 Drawings Student Work

My piece is the third down from the top.  I posted the first four previously, here is the second set of four for the same lesson:

Some Recent Work

An exercise for Jane Davies' 100 Drawings class unexpectedly turned into finished work.  These are titled Construction Zone and were done in the last couple days.   9" x 12", acrylic and collage.

The basic assignment was to make a busy piece, and then quiet it down.  That's evidently a good way for me to work.  Still loving high bright clear colors (in the midst of a long cold winter!)

Philosophy of Life, Calvin and Hobbes Style

Going through old files, I found my cache of cartoons which had many nice surprises.  None better than these, however, in which Calvin and Hobbes sum up their philosophies and largely agree on the big picture:

On edit:  I have removed my scans of the original newspaper clippings, as I believe they violate copyright and I'd hate as a new blogger to do that!

Summarizing (which is way not as good as the original):

#1 Calvin lists all the ways that nature is indifferent to humans and how that is insulting to humans, while Hobbes ignores him.  Calvin notes that this is perhaps why "some people don't like cats."

#2  Calvin lists all the things that have happened to him that day including being covered with bug bites, hot, sweaty etc.  Hobbes says that the day may be considered seized.  Calvin (from the bathtub) says that "Tomorrow, we'll seize the day and throttle it!"

#3  Calvin notes that superheros never go after subtle, realistic bad guys.  Hobbes says that they could go to Council meetings and write letters to the editor.  Calvin:  "Hmmm....I think I see the problem."
Hobbes:  "Quick! To the Bat-Fax!"

So so good!  Calvin and Hobbes SO missed!!!!!

A Finished Project

I recently retired from 12 years of public service as a local elected official.  One of the first things I wanted to get done was to organize all the things I had brought home and saved over the years:  press clippings, press releases, cards, documents, some pictures.  (My usual practice would have been to throw them in several unorganized piles to save for "later.").  And I did it!  Of course, the original plan was for a month of work, and it actually took 5 but its done!

Two overstuffed volumes--if I do find more pictures, its going to morph into three!  Looseleaf format, including both 12 x 12, 8.5 x 11 and a bunch of sizes in between.  Happy and sad, funny and tragic, a nice collection.  And I am ready to put that chapter behind me and move on!

If You Want to Write

In the process of going through my collage/artist books, I found a little book with a very favorite quote.  It is from Brenda Ueland's If You Want to Write:

"And why should you do all these things?  Why should we all use our creative power and write or paint or play music, or whatever it tells us to do?

"Because there is nothing that makes people so generous, joyful, lively, bold and compassionate, so indifferent to fighting and the accumulation of objects and money.  Because the best way to know the Truth or Beauty is to try to express it.  And what is the purpose of existence Here or Yonder but to discover truth and beauty and express it, i.e. share it with others?"

As beautiful as the day she wrote it 1938 and a manifesto for our time as well.  Art Saves Lives.  Everyone Make Art.

Book note:  a small puzzle book, which I identified as a Flutter Book pattern from Shereen LaPlantz, 3" x 4.5".  Multiple copies--maybe 10. 

Venturing Out of the Basement

One of my intentions for 2015 is to bring my art work out of the basement, and I took another big step in that direction yesterday.  My former neighbor and friend  Annette Russo invited me to speak to her 3D design class at Millkin about my artist books. 

 

That was super fun:  since I had just taken all my books out and piled them on the floor (as part of the kitchen reno project which apparently involves moving everything I own), I was able to make a selection which included both small editions and one of a kind collage books (which I think of as my main work in book arts). 

I have a number of Annette's ceramic pieces, and especially love her hilarious animal series.  A very  Wabi-sabi aesthetic!

Annette also invited me to be show some of the books I brought at a show in May!!!  Pretty great start to the year, and a whole new door opening up. 

Learning How to Learn

I have just finished a wonderful MOOC (on the Coursera platform) titled Learning How to Learn.  I wish I had known this decades earlier!  The course brings together current research on the biology of learning and brain function with practical actionable suggestions on how to improve acquisition of new knowledge.  Awesome! 

As a final project, we were asked to express what we learned in our own words in a way that we could explain it to others.  I am a lifelong couch potato who has recently (last couple of years) gotten serious about exercise and been working with a personal trainer.  She has taught me a lot, and I thought that other people's understanding of good exercise habits would be a way to express what I had learned in LHTL.  Here is my final project:

Physical Training	Studying
Set good daily habits	Set good daily habits
Move everyday	Practice Every Day
Break it down:  workout is series of tasks	Break it down:  study is series of tasks
Build it up:  when can do a weight, increase it	Build it up: when you have a concept, try a harder concept
Get stronger by repeating, repeating, repeating	Solidify learning by repeating, repeating, repeating
Space your practice:  muscles need time to recover	Space your practice:  chunks need time to form
Watch your form by review in mirror	Watch your form by frequent self testing
Sleep is part of your workout:  vital to recovery	Sleep is part of your studying: vital to making chunks permanent
Variety:  vary intensity and activity to work different muscles and prevent burn out	Variety:  vary concepts studied to prevent burnout and enable connections between different ideas
Add more challenging levels	Add more challenging levels
BREATHE	BREATHE
Learn by Doing	Learn by Doing problems, review, active recall
Make it your own:  customize your workout	Make it your own:  own examples, analogies
Progress not in a straight line	Progress not in a straight line
Focus on process/practice not result	Focus on process/practice not result
Celebrate each workout	Celebrate each study session—reward is part of the Pomadoro technique
Refresh, relax and renew	Refresh, relax and renew

The course is over but Coursera is planning to bring it back as On Demand.  This is a link to the archives:  https://www.coursera.org/course/learning

The best way to find all MOOC's is at Class Central:  https://www.class-central.com/

The Letters Project: So the Answer was here all along?

I continue to make progress with the Letters Project, and am finding it amazing and liberating rather than discouraging!  This is a big surprise. 

One of the first things I found was this card, and photo:

This was taken in our dorm room, 353 Austin Hall Ohio Wesleyan University, sometime in the fall of 1971-spring of 1972 by my roommate Carolyn. 

Everything about the picture is precious--this may be the only one, brings back so many memories.  How I would always fall asleep studying, that bedspread and the yellow walls, bell bottoms!, granny glasses!, and the poster.  Ansel Adams picture, quote by Thoreau   "In Wildness is the Preservation of the World."  (Plus of course my haircut done with manicure scissors.......)  This was such a happy time, I loved college and I loved my roommates Carolyn and Laurie.

Carolyn is gone now, died way too soon over a decade ago.  There are a small stack of letters from her, and I look forward to going through them and keeping them safe.  I'd love to talk to her now--a good lesson in not taking people for granted. 

But it is the note that is even more of a surprise.  Of course, if I had followed her directions the next decades would have been very different.  But I could not.  I doubt that it even registered--when I opened the card it felt like seeing it for the first time.  My pain and self loathing were so intense that I could not hear what a friend was offering.  I have a strong feeling that this will be a consistent theme about the letters project throughout:  that many hands were offering to help and that my pain prevented me from taking those hands. That my pain was preventing me from seeing the person offering the hand --really seeing their love and friendship.   I do look pretty happy in this picture though!

Everything I have read about decluttering is that things stuffed away continue to weight you down.  Just because they are in a box does not mean that they are not influencing your life.  It feels SO GOOD to be on this project:  I know that not all connections can be restored (nor would I want them to be) but I can reclaim big chunks of my past, appreciate them, honor them and move into the future.  I know that a big part of the discovery process is just how bad a friend I have been, but perhaps I can make (some) amends and lighten the load.    Feels very good!