Bits and Pieces

Last Friday Mo and I took a brief trip to Mellwood Arts and Entertainment Center...I keep debating an outside studio and since I discovered they are the cheapest game in town versus the most expensive which I had thought, moving into a space there is so tempting.   I've given myself to the end of January to make a final decision one way or the other.  Its indecisiveness that adds to the frustration.  At 132 per month it would mean that my budget for supplies would diminish...but what good are the supplies if I can't spread out and use them???????? 

The space I was shown a few weeks ago has already been taken.  Also the other part of the dilemna is knowing that the space I can afford will not allow me to do both wet work/surface design AND quilt design and construction,..it has to be one or the other.  I'm leaning toward sewing moving my fabrics and machine and cutting table into a space and continue to use MACA a few times a year for the wet work/and surface design exploration.  While I was at Mellwood, I spoke with an embroidery artist who is interested in sharing space.  I spoke with another artist earlier in the week who is looking for a group of 10 to rent out another space that is fairly large with a full basement and also on the trolley art hops route.  Both conversations felt like affirmations to take the leap...what is that philosophy about jumping and the net will appear or jump and I'll grown wings on the way down????   

There was a lot of activity there at Mellwood...people were setting of for the Good Folk Festival, which highlights "raw, outsider, folk art, etc" which I truly love.  I saw several pieces that I wanted...One of them was a wooden painted door that had a woman and a story on it about "grandmother's buttons"...the woman's dress was formed by buttons.  The artist had a 2 other doors with different themes and I could envision all 3 of them in a  house against one wall. I had intentions of returning Sunday morning but that didn't happen. 

Last Thursday I shared 2 pieces at LAFTA (Louisville Area Fiber and Textile Artists) during show and tell for the first time after 6 months or so of being a member and attending almost every meeting since I joined.  I really love this group...it is very comfortable and laid back.  A few weeks ago one of the members sponsored a surface design play date at her house and in addition to stamp carving, I fell head over heels in love with the thermofax.  Here is a screen of my brother ...I used a charcoal pencil to make the image to run through the machine. 

Also, a couple of Saturdays ago, Deb, Jackie, and Ron, my siblings, made our first "together" road trip to Indianapolis to see the Gee's Bends Quilts at the Indianapolis Musuem of Art.  FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!  The graphic quality and the emotional connotations that vibrate off the work was deeply moving and we spent a great part of the day in that section.  There was also an exhibit of wedding fashions from around the world that was very interesting and their African Art Gallery that mixes contemporary and tradional was very impressive.  The Contemporary exhibit stirred quite a bit of conversation among us which was fun. 

We also attended a family birthday celebration for a cousin who turned 50.  Mo quipped how young she looked to which I replied...she only was married once and it was short lived and she doesn't have children...well I thought it was funny inspite of Mo's 17 year old smirk.

Mo and I along with my mama, 2 sisters, 2 of my nieces, and a niece-in-law, made a trek to Nashville to see the Lion King.  It was very enjoyable and Deb was in tears within the first 5 minutes to the curtain going up.  She also caught the resemblance between one of the costumes and one of the African wedding attire that we saw at the Indy Museum.  It was pretty moving and a blessing to have enjoyed seeing the play with them.  This was also the weekend that kinda did me in physically but I tell ya, every bit of it was worth it.  I made a conscious decision a few years ago to enjoy myself as much as possible, at every opportunity I can...besides it kept my mind off of not sewing although I've been playing with paint as inspired by Melody at Fibermania.  However, since I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing, this is what the canvas has morphed into ...this is about it's 5th and close to final incarnation.  I should have taken pictures of each of the short lived lives this canvas has had, one would have to see it to believe it.  I finally decided that a solid black was the best improvement I could make then I started looking at the books on collage and blogs on mixed media and thus this is where I'm heading with it.  Here are some beginnings of altered books...this is my first time with this also and in my mind I can see Memphis Pam, who I shared an art retreat last year at MACA, working on her book that she did while there.

Winter has never been my season and I'm not big on celebrating the holidays, preferring to focus on time with family around the dinner table, recounting family myths and making new myths for the younger ones coming up, and of course the Scrabble marathons and talking smack.  This is what holidays mean to me. 

Tomorrow will be at my mother's and I'm looking forward to seeing all the babies.  We've had an influx this year, I have a new great niece, Zaria, and new great nephew, Chase, and of course my grandson Adrian II, and my adorable 4 year old nephew, Issac who now lives in North Carolina and I miss him so much!  He is a really old soul and says some of the funniest things for his age.   

I've decided to fill this season with reading and since I've been reading at a steady pace, I've rejuvenated a book blog to track my reading and my response to what I read. (See my side bar near the top for the link to the book blog if interested). Plus it helps to keep the gray matter from feeling so muddled and foggy.   Afterall, blogging allows me to keep all the bits and pieces together. :)