Art Is You 2013

The Art Is You team, Sallianne and Ellen, are gearing up for next year's retreats.  The dates and places are set and information is starting to come online at the website.  If you have attended a retreat of this type then you know how fun and inspirational it is and if you haven't then it's time you found out.

This year when you go visit the website and choose which event you'd like to attend there is an intention button.   This gives  you the option to say you want to attend so when the classes come online you have first dibs!  I like that.  So go hit the intention button and I hope to see you in Petaluma where I'll be teaching and vending.

Click here to go to the website!

Studio Progress

I have spent the last few days working on my studio addition.  Thursday I primed and painted the walls,  yesterday I primed the cement floor, and today I will put the first coat of paint on the floor.

We had a winter storm come in which means lots of rain for us in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  It also means it will take the paint longer to dry so I will probably have to wait until tomorrow to add the second coat on the floor.

Michael will be putting the trim around window, door frame and along the wall/floor.  Next he will hook up the electrical in that room and remove the garage door.  After that I can move in.  Yahoo!

Of course moving and rearranging all my stuff will not be an easy task but one I will delight in tackling!  The construction clean up not so much. :-)  Sometime in the future the addition will get stucco and paint to match the existing part.

Donating for Hurricane Sandy Relief

I may be going out on a limb here but these are my thoughts on donating for the hurricane relief funds.  Over the many years that disasters have occurred the forefront organization to collect funds has been the Red Cross.  Millions upon millions of dollars have been donated but I have heard first hand from victims of two disasters (Loma Prieta Earthquake & Katrina) that the Red Cross was no where to be seen and not helpful on getting funds to those in need.  Here is one of the many articles about the mismanagement of this organization.  I'm not saying that the people involved don't help at all and I do believe many of the workers have their heart in the right place but the organization is so huge and widespread that the management begins to break down and the funds don't necessarily go where to the area that the donators think it is going.  So consider this before donating.  My two cents.

So where to donate?  I just read an article this morning about how Doctors Without Borders has set up station in New York to get medications and treatment to people who have been without heat. lights, and have no access to help.  Perhaps donating would help them.

Or  "Join Art is ......You, Adorn Me, An Artful Journey, The Artful Gathering and Vivi Magoo Presents as we raise much needed funds for essential personal and household items for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Donations go directly to Family-to-Family.  Go here to the Art Is You site for more information and links to donating and for an art raffle.

One more website for information and donating is New York mixed media artist Seth Apter's.  He has organized artists to donate items as an auction where the donations will go to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City.

I hope you can donate whatever you can to help and have a good feeling that the people in need are being helped.

Missouri in the Fall

I know I'm a little late in posting these pictures of how beautiful autumn is in Missouri as the wind and rain have come and blown most of the leaves away, but I have just found time to load my photos onto the computer and the time to write.  I feel a little awkward posting lovely trees with sunlight glinting through them while the East Coast is looking at the massive amount of damage done and figuring out how to clean it all up.  Such a huge ordeal.

When I first arrived in St. Louis I went to stay at my friend Janet's and we went to meet an old friend, Joe, at his sisters for dinner.  Such a nice time reminiscing about high school days.  The next day I drove to Poplar Bluff to visit my folks.  My brother came from Texas with his wife and dog and it was a great time to see them all. We missed that my sister wasn't able to join us.

Drove to Big Springs at Van Buren and it was the perfect weather to walk around and marvel at the beauty.  With an average daily flow of 276 million gallons of water, Big Springs has been described as both the largest single-outlet spring in the United States and in the world.

We do not have the deciduous trees in California that are in Missouri so we don't get to see the colors of the leaves like this.

After the week in Poplar Bluff I drove back to St. Louis and participated in the Weavers' Guild of St. Louis annual show.  It was a great show and I got to see a lot of friends I have met over the years.

I am in Ashland now and will give my workshops this weekend and fly home early next week.  This is me on the road to St. Louis.

Take care everyone and especially all those on the East Coast my thoughts are with you.

Studio Progress

My husband and son Tony have been making great progress on my studio addition.  I am so excited to get extra space to work in!

There will be an overhang off the front with pea gravel around, a nice place to dye outside when the weather permits.

From the inside looking out.

When all is done I may plan to have an open studio, would you like to take a drive to the mountains to visit me?

Last Flourish of Summer

This morning the waning moon hung distant in the sky. The days are noticeably shorter.  Darkness comes at 7:30 but summer is still hanging on and sending temperatures soaring.  100 degrees yesterday.  Ninety degrees in San Francisco, unheard of!

Michael and I went to Capitola at the beach for dinner to sit outside where it was much cooler than here on our hill.  Cool enough the outdoor heaters were lit.

The garden still pushes it's produce but shows signs of winding down.

In my studio I've been dyeing and gathering items, making piles of like things to create with.  But not now, not today, it's a bit too warm and we don't have AC so I just putter around and sit in front of the fan stitching these scarves.

And I'll weave these crochet runners together with silk ribbons, both of which I've dyed using natural dyes.

Time Between Petaluma and St. Louis

I'm home from Petaluma and Art Is You.  I did not take one picture while I was there so I have none to post.  I am working on items to take to the St. Louis Weavers' Guild show in Oct. and also preparing supplies for the two workshops I'll be giving in Ashland, Mo. the first weekend of Nov.  Please see my events page for more info.

I just listed a few more natural dye printed fabrics pieces and ribbons in my etsy shop but have an appt. to get to and will post more later this afternoon.