Pajaro Valley Arts

After my writing class today I met my friend Nancy and some of her friends and we took the drive down highway 1 to Watsonville to visit the Pajaro Valley Art Gallery and see a fantastically interesting exhibit. I'll copy from the the postcard: "This exhibit takes the lovely Victorian Pajaro Valley Gallery back to being a house, through artists' interpretations of the meaning and experience of "home". Rooms are transformed through assemblage, mixed media and installation to express ideas and memories about family, life, and humanity issue."

It was so interesting. I especially liked the bed of roses, an actual bed frame of rose vines, thorns and all, artistically woven and intertwined. The mattress and pillow were of a stiff but sheer fabric stuffed with rosebuds and petals, a literal bed of roses. There was a small house constructed in the middle of the gallery with panels on which children (or adults) could color their dream home with crayons provided and black and white pictures of historic neighboring homes taken by Penny Waller posted around the perimeter of the little house. I can't begin to describe everything. There was a room where you could choose a headpiece or an assemblage jewelry piece to wear during your tour of the exhibit, very interactive and fun. We found ourselves walking around and around seeing something new each time. If you live in the area it's worth the trip down the coast to see this!

Art Unraveled Schedule Now Online!

Art Unraveled is an Art Retreat in Phoenix, AZ., hosting many fabulous teachers, events, and vendor day. The event is held in August. I know that sounds awful, Phoenix in Aug. but really we’re in air conditioned meeting rooms all day, engrossed in art work so who cares if it’s 116 degrees outside? No one notices. And the happy hour lounge area at the end of classes is a great gathering place to meet! Comfy couches and chairs to plop down in, have a drink, and talk about the days events.

I will be teaching a shibori ribbon dyeing class and also teaching a workshop “Outside Hats to Dye For” with Jennifer Whitmer. I’m very excited about this and hope that many students will join us to learn about dyeing fabrics to create hat adornments in the form of flowers and hatbands and to learn easy techniques for sewing parisisal straw hat forms into wearable hat shapes.

Vendor day promises to be a delightful opportunity to buy unique items from artists themselves or to satisfy your inner muse by finding items to create your own special works of art.

Check out the website for all the info and do consider taking a class or two! Even mine!

WORKSHOP WITH SHARON KILFOYLE

I met Sharon several years ago through an annual show we do with the St. Louis Weavers' Guild. Sharon is very talented and I am excited that she is coming here to stay with me so I have arranged for her to do a two day workshop on Nuno felting. Some of the info is below but if you're interested in taking the workshop email me and I'll send you the particulars and an application.

FRIDAY, MARCH 27 & SATURDAY, MARCH 28
From 10:00 – 4:00 @ Skyland Church’s Whitaker Hall, Los Gatos, CA.(in the mountains)

DESIGNING WITH SILK AND WOOL:
NUNO FELT BASICS AND BEYOND

Nuno felting is basically applying wool or other natural fibers to a sheer or fine fabric. The wool is worked into the cloth by applying water and manipulating the wool fibers into the fabric.

In this workshop you will learn how to create a delicate nuno felt fabric to use in your design work. If you have never done nuno felting before, you will discover how easy it is to create unique and original fabrics with silk and wool that drape well and satisfy the requirements of your design work. If you're familiar with nuno felting techniques, you'll have the opportunity to explore the myriad possibilities this technique provides the designer.

Basic materials will be provided, so you need not bring fabric, wool, or other preparation. If, however, you have some ideas or projects in mind, please contact me so we can prepare in advance to work on your concept.

My goal is to spend two glorious days of exploration with this medium that is so user friendly and produces such sophisticated results. Please come join us in this celebration of expression.

Here are some images of Sharon's work.

Another Memorial Service

Last Sat. I attended a memorial service for a friend who passed away. It was cancer again. She was my age, left behind two children same age as mine, 17 and 20. She won’t get to see her daughter graduate high school. I first met Ginger in 1994 when our two youngest were in preschool together. Ginger had just moved here from LA and discovered she had breast cancer. I watched her go through the treatment and become whole again. But all these years later cancer came back. She tried treatments but they failed and she is now gone. The service was so sweet with a slide show of pictures of her life, people told stories, and friends of hers sang and played a beautiful song. I am so tired of hearing about and knowing people with cancer. I swear I am going to buy everyone one of these shirts as if that will keep it away.

Simply Red entry

Several people asked me what my entry for the "Simply Red" exhibit at the Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center was so here are some photos. My friend Jennifer, who I speak of often, and I are partnering to create "wayward threads and frocks" to sell at vendor nights. We're taking vintage garments and dyeing and altering them to become fabulous frocks! I don't want to go into it a lot right now as we are in the developmental stages and I don't want to give too much away. We are planning to send some to Belle Armoire soon and hope they will be accepted.


"Simply Frocky"

Vintage Ephemera

It was cold and rainy all day. The kind of rain that drizzles and the dampness gets in your bones so that you want to stay indoors where it's warm and cozy. I spent most of the day in my studio dyeing fabrics and cutting ribbon lengths. I took images of vintage items I've collected, fabrics and ribbons I've dyed, old bits of lace, old vintage garments, and bits of just plain "this and that". I played with Photoshop and put together these collages. I hope you enjoy viewing these as much as I had creating them. It was like I played with colors all day.

Simply Red

I delivered my piece for the exhibit at the Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center yesterday. If you live in the area please go by and see the exhibit! It's really a hoot and worth viewing.

Grateful Things

January 2, I was grateful to get to help my friend buy a new sewing machine. I hope she'll be happy with.

Today, January 3, I'm grateful no one in my family has cancer. I have too many friends falling victim to this disease and hear everyday of new friends and acquaintances finding they have some form of cancer. It's an insidious disease that calls for horrendous treatments that are not guaranteed to work. I wish peace to all those people.

Happy New Year

I wrote a lot in my journal today about New Year resolutions, keeping them, not keeping them, and why. Just thinking about what it means and writing stuff down was insightful. I mostly want to focus on what I'm grateful for . My family is most important. Here I am with my boys on Christmas day. I will write down everyday what I am grateful for whether large or small. Today it's my family.

I wish you all the best and remember to be grateful for good things in your life.

Birthday Surprise

December 22, three days before my birthday, the greatest husband in the world (mine) arranged for me and four of my girlfriends to spend a whole afternoon at a posh spa in Santana Row. We each had a massage which my friends swear they were chanting "we love Mike, we love Mike.. during or perhaps murmuring was more like it as our sore muscles melted away and aches and pains dissolved , leaving us rather like jelly. We all walked away from the massage table as if in a trance back to the steam room, the sauna, whirlpool, or "quiet room" which consists of lounge chairs with heavy drapes separating them and an overhead reading light if wish to have it on to read by. After our fabulously relaxing afternoon we were to return to my house where Michael was going to have or'devours and cocktails for us. When we all arrived I immediately noticed there were extra cars parked in th drive and a sign announcing "Happy birthday Lorri" was taped in the window. All the husbands of my friends were there plus a few extra friends and there was a lot more than just appetizers! Crab legs were boiling, filets were on the grill, asparagus was roasting in the oven and hollandaise sauce was cooking on the stove top. Yum! It was delicious, but wait there's more! Before my favorite German chocolate cake (from icing on the cake) was served my husband and dear friend and songstress extraordinaire Pipa (who was at the spa with us) sang a song Michael had written for me. It was an upbeat catchy song and I sat there crying, it was so sweet!

The evening ended with the husbands cursing Michael for setting the bar so high that their wives will expect this same treatment and the wives swooning over my husband. LOL!

Michael isn't the type to put a lot of hoopla into birthday celebrations so this was a complete surprise to me and I'm probably good for at least 5 more years before something like this could happen again. I'm grateful for having such a loving husband!