THE ZEN OF CREATIVITY

I am reading a wonderful book called the Zen of Creativity.  The author is a Buddhist monk who writes about the origins of the faith/belief.  In this particular book he specifically writes about how human spirituality manifests itself in the form of art and it is through art that the human spirit expresses and translates reality.  The thought is provoking isn't it?

When I am in my studio creating I am certainly in a reality that feels grounded to me.  It is interesting that as my hands create my mind appears to be open and silent.  My hands seem to translate a thought process that I am not always aware of.  Then all of a sudden it is there..........a creative meditation.

WHAT IS CREATIVE MEDITATION

I spent  quite a bit of time today thinking about my creative process.  I chose the name Creative Meditations because the process for me is a meditation.  My time in the studio is focused and "in the moment".  My thoughts are centered around the project I am working on.  Sometimes the process is slow and deliberate and sometimes it is fast and furious.  It is much like a walking meditation but instead of walking and practicing mindfulness I am sewing or knitting or beading and am completely mindful of the art that flows through my hands.   Every creation begins with a meditation and every meditation begins with a quiet mind.

CUTTING UP IN THE STUDIO

I just spent the day cutting out slippers and mittens for the Art Council Boutique.  This is the hardest part for me whenever I design anything.  Once the cutting is done then I can get on to the more fun stuff......sewing and embellishing!  I love ribbons and beads and old lace.  I think they finish off a piece in the most elegant way.

I do need to rearrange my space a bit because I am feeling a bit cramped in here.  There is material everywhere even though I try to clean up before I leave every night.  There is one wall that could be used that would make a huge difference in clearing up floor space but for the moment there is a table against that wall with a huge TV sitting on top of it.  Scraps of material are piled high in beautiful baskets but take up so much floor and I am getting tired of walking around them.

Ongoing projects are piled high on part of my cutting table leaving me little room to negotiate my current project.  Yup, I am definitely feeling cramped up here.  If anyone has creative ways they have used to gain organization in their studio I would love to hear about it.  For now, I will just clear off a little space so I can do some beading.

EMMA ROSE'S SLIPPERS

 

My niece came to visit last month during our town festival.  It was a fun event and considering the town was just recovering from all the flood damage, it was just short of a miracle that we could have the festival at all.  Despite the towns best efforts though, there were still some tell tale signs that something major had happened.

Emma saw some things that she especially liked.  One of them was a dogs scarf that a vendor was selling but Emma didn't like any of the ones she saw so I opened my mouth and told her we could go home and make one.  Then she saw these slipper like shoes but they didn't have her size, so you guessed it!  I told her we could go home and make a pair just her size.  I had never made slippers before but I figured that it couldn't be hard so we went home and I traced her feet.  Then I let her go through my studio for some material and she picked out some black and white minky.  Now for anyone who has never felt minky it is wonderful and soft and it is the perfect choice for slippers.  I made up a pattern and chose some leather that I had for the bottoms.  In order to add extra cushion I used batting in between the leather and the inside material (which was also minky).  It took longer than I thought (of course), and Emma had to go home before they were finished but I was determined to finish them and mailed them to her.  Having a few more days to finish them allowed me to embellish them with beads and antique buttons.  They looked great and as soon as I was done I mailed them off.

A few days later my sister called to tell me that the package had arrived and that Emma was so thrilled that she put them on right away and walked around the house.  When Emma got on the phone it was wonderful to hear the excitement in her voice as she told me how soft they felt on her feet.  Then my sister got back on the phone and started to tell me what a great job I did and that I should consider marketing them.  Not a bad idea actually.  I will have to look into it.

On a side note.....my sister called me back a few days later and told me that she had to reprimand Emma for something and so she sent her to her room.  When my sister went in to check on her she saw that Emma was laying on her bed cuddling her new slippers.  That must have been a really sweet picture.

TIME FLIES

Well, I am suppose to be cleaning my office because I have a trip to NH to prepare for.  But, I just came back from a weekend of quilter's bliss, err, retreat and as you can tell by Betty's photo we had a great time.  The quilts that were shown during show and tell on Sunday were just beautiful.  I don't know how judges do it because I would have given all of them a blue ribbon.

What a weekend it was!  For the first time ever, my Viking failed me and I had to go home and get my sister Pam's Kenmore.  It ran like a charm so I able to get the quilt I was working on almost done.  I have two more rows to do and then I put it up on the long arm.  I will post pictures when I do.

Until then.......happy sewing.

A DAY OF INSPIRATION IN GREAT BARRINGTON, MA

Everyone by now know that things have been a little overwhelming for those of us in the northeast.  Jay and I decided to take a break and come down from the mountain and go for a ride.  The day was beautiful and sunny and the only time you got a glimpse of the havoc that the storm created was when we would pass by evidence of destruction.  It is always an awesome ride to go through the Berkshires and stopping to walk around Great Barrington is a must whenever I have the time.  We had the time.

If you haven't been to Great Barrington you should go.  The shops are great, the food is marvelous and the art is everything inspirational.  To me it is almost as good as Woodstock, NY. (I love the vibes there).  Anyway, one of the shops I always go in is Karen Allen's Fiber Arts.  Her sweaters, hats and scarves are beautiful and someday I hope to own one.  Jay and I were looking at some of the items in the shop when Karen came in.  I couldn't believe it.  Most would know her as Indiana Jone's girlfriend in the movie.  She looks exactly like she does in films.  We had a wonderful conversation about fiber arts and she was very encouraging.  I came away with a feeling of encouragement.  She was so kind and gentle.  It was such a wonderful day away from the mud and mess.

AFTER THE STORM

I am ok.  I have to remind myself of that fact whenever i am feeling anxious.  Most of you know that the area I live in, Windham, NY, was hit by Hurricane Irene.  It is quite amazing that our house was not taken by the water but it wasn't.  That doesn't mean I wasn't ready to leave my home because I was.  I packed with all the necessary things:  birth certificates, financial information, computer, work files, personal files and of course, underware.  Jay asked me where we were going to go.  Good question.  I looked across the road to higher ground..  "Well, I think that is where we will go.".  It was higher ground and that was all we needed.  The creek next to the house was raging.  I was afraid.  Scared to death.  I know that Jay was afraid too.  But he tried to maintain a strong front.

Then I thought of my machines.  My beautiful machines......I would take one......well maybe two.  No one.  Having to choose what to take was agonizing.....but Jay was sitting drinking his coffee watching the stream next to the house rage while getting higher and higher.  Every few moments he would call out to me letting me know what the status was. Oh God.  I don't know what else to pack.

Down town Windham is a mess.  Actually, a disaster.  Everyone seems to be dazed, trying to figure out what to do next.  The utilities crews are working around the clock.  It occurs to me that I don't care about my sewing machines as much as I care about the women I sew and knit with.  I love them all and can't wait to see them again.

Tonight we would have gotten together to share jokes, and compliment each other on whatever we were working on.  Instead, we all sit in our own homes, those of us who still have homes, and pray that each of us are safe.  Everyone is accounted for except for Emily.  The entire town that she lives in is gone.  We love you Emily and hope you are safe.

A DAY WITH MY FRIEND JOANN

Yesterday my friend Joann and I spent the day  traveling from yarn shop to yarn shop.  We had a great time but had a few eye openers as well. I almost bought the most wonderful yarn at one store but when I found out it was $43.00 dollars a skein I quickly put it back.  The store was great and had very different yarns from most stores and the woman there was very kind.  She told us that the store was mainly an internet store and that they did about 40 orders a day.  Holy Yarnshop!!!!!  I told Joann that we need to open up a shop and buy wholesale so we can play with yarn like that.  So much for a bad economy.  The yarn I chose was wonderful but not $43 dollars worth of wonderful.  We had high hopes though because our journey was taking us to other shops where we knew we might find other, less expensive treasures. So we ventured down to Rhinebeck where we did indeed find some very nice yarn for a more reasonable price.  Overall, we had a great trip and am looking forward to the next  Joann adventure.

For those of you who are familiar with Greenville, NY, you need to venture out to "Witts End" a wonderful antique and second hand barn on Rt 411 which is right off Rt 405.  Or beading class was given a heads up on this place during our week at the Greenville Arms  Fiber Arts beading class with Nancy Erhn.  Check out Kim's blog while you are on my page.  Catch everyone later.

WHAT A GLORIOUS DAY

Jay and I went for a walk this morning and it was really invigorating.  The sky is blue and the air smells clean and fresh.  The creek next to the house is bubbling and I am absolutely loving it.

Later this afternoon I will go to my knitting group.  These women are absolutely the best bunch of wild women I know.  The quilting group is a bit tamer I think.  Everyone is working on something different and all of us under the guidance of one Ruthie Martin.  This woman goes for walks with me in the afternoon while she is knitting something.  I am not kidding.  I love her....she is really cool.

FEELING GUILTY

I am not sure what is going on today but I am here in my studio feeling guilty for being up here doing wonderful things like beading on a new hat that I made.  There is so much to do in order to get ready for the quilt show this weekend and I am feeling side tracked by all of the things I need to do around the house.  It takes up so much energy and I find that it stifles my creativity.  This is a female thing for sure and one that stops many of us from doing great creative art.  Gosh, I wish I had a maid.  Speaking of which, I think I will get a lottery ticket while I am out picking up some things for the quilt show today.

I would love to hear how others get over there guilty feelings when they are working on their art.  If you don't feel guilty then tell me why?  I really would love to know.

2011-07-21

THE STUDIO IS HOT!!!!

No......really..... I don't mean hot as in "baby your hot!".......it is hot as heck up here.  But, with two fans going I can create for a short while.  Last year I almost had AC but there was a bit of a fiasco putting it in and so I decided that for the short time we get ac weather I could tough it out.  And sew........here I am toughing it out.

The table has some beading that I am doing on a quilt and the long arm has a quilt that I am about to put on.  The Patchworkers are forging ahead with our quilt show and it promises to be a really good one.  It will be held in August on the 13th and the 14th and will be at the Catholic Church in Windham, NY.  There will be many beautiful award winning quilts as well as free refreshments.  Drop by if you get a chance.

WHAT AN EXCITING WEEKEND

What a show we had.  There were 17 entrants in the fashion show and each outfit was more beautiful than the next.  Here I am in my outfit that I made out of recycled denim.  The cap was also appliqued with beads added.  The rim was embroidered.  The cape has a collar that I did some crazy quilting on and is bound in green velvet.

The show itself was amazing.  There were so many quilts it took up the entire gymnasium at the school where the show took place.  What was even more amazing is that one of my quilts was given a ribbon for 3rd place.  I didn't even know until I walked by my quilt and saw a ribbon pinned to it.  There were so many beautiful quilts I don't know how the judges were able to decide.  The art quilts were amazing and so were the quilts involved in the paint chip challenge.

But my favorite part of all was the antique quilt and machine showroom.  I actually got to use the crank sewing machine and fell in love with it.  Now I am on the hunt for one.  Wow.......what a weekend.  This show has inspired me so much that I can't wait for the local one where I am also a guild member.

TWO QUILT SHOWS ON THE SAME WEEKEND

It is hard for me to imagine having one quilt in a show but having three in two different shows, well.....that is really something for me. The show in Providence Rhode Island is a national show and is suppose to be a big one but the one in Albany is going to keep me from getting to Rhode Island. Next year I will make sure I get to go.

The outfit I am making for the Albany fashion show is coming along although I have ripped it apart several times. At this point I am not even sure what it is going to look like. Be sure to check back because I will be posting pictures.

CRAZY QUILTING MAKES ME CRAZY!!!!!

Yeah, well some would say I was crazy long before now. I have been spending lots of time in the studio working on the outfit that I am putting in the fashion show. Boy is the time going by quickly but I always work best under pressure. There is still lots to do getting the ideas from my head to the sewing machine. Maybe I should enter a contest with myself to make me finish projects sooner.

I sent one of my quilts off to Providence Rhode Island where they are going to have a national quilt show in April. I want to go but I can't because the fashion show is during the same weekend. I am excited about all of it but the pressure is on and boy and I feeling it. Jay is really proud of me and his support really spurs me on.

I love it!

EXCITING TIMES IN THE STUDIO

It is the middle of March and there has been so much happening in the studio. The weather has been up and down...sunny one minute and snowing the next. I am happy to say that one of my quilts has been accepted in a national quilt show and I am so excited. In April, one of my creations will be will be in a fashion show. Stay tuned as more will be coming.

MY FIRST QUILT DONE ON THE LONGARM

I have been busy in the studio working on all sorts of things. And I am happy to say that I finished quilting my first quilt done on the long arm. It is for my grand niece Anaya. I hope she likes it. The machine is great but it is like learning to machine quilt all over again. I had a time with the tension on the machine but I know that this is part of the learning curve. The only thing to do to get it right is just to practice practice practice which is what I plan to do.

The next couple of months are going to be busy in the studio. I am working on some wearable art that I am going to submit and I am waiting to see if one of my quilts was accepted in one of the national shows. It hasn't been rejected yet so I am still hopeful.

I will keep you posted.