slowly she turned

Living the Slow life in North Carolina

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  • Saturday morning coffee pot post

    For a short week, there sure was a lot of stuff packed into it.

    I hope that the email in the last post about Elements Gallery means that it is moving forward despite not getting the number of artists that they hoped for at the beginning. I believe that once the gallery opens again and other artists hear about it that it will draw more artists in. I know at least a few of us said that it is such a good deal we are willing to pay more per month to get it off the ground, so maybe that will be enough. A shelf of space is not a display space – it is a unit of space to measure how much you can put out into the gallery. You can pack it, stack it, fill it up. Then your work goes out into the gallery space to mingle with the other art. I could probably get all of my work into one shelf space. But I am willing to buy into five shelf spaces because I’m motivated to get this baby rolling.

    I went to physical therapy twice this week and after yesterday I do actually feel better. I go twice next week and then see the doctor. Fortunately, I found out that I can use my husband’s health savings account card to pay for my medical care, since he dumped a lot of the money into it that we received from the supplemental critical illness insurance after his heart attack. Boy, that was the best investment I ever made.

    The physical therapist that I saw yesterday told me that if I want to keep doing what I am doing that I am going to have to figure out adjustments. No surprise there, really. It’s a bummer because I can’t figure out an adjustment for needle weaving on my tapestry loom. But I think that will be okay because I switch hands so often and take breaks.

    I lugged that Morse sewing machine to JoAnn’s for their sewing machine tune-up/repair day only to discover that I had the date wrong. I left it in the car and will take it back this Thursday. Hopefully he will be able to fix it and then I can roll forward on the fabric journals and some of my quilting ideas. In the meantime I am putting together combinations so that they are ready to stitch when the time comes. The gallery will probably open on March 1.

    The soy wax batik is so easy that I wonder why I waited so long to play with it. I just leave the wax to harden in the deep fryer until the next time I want to play with it, then turn it on and melt it. I can’t say that I was terribly happy with my results this time, but I learned a lot and had fun. The cloths will make good backgrounds for further stitching and weaving strips.

    The tapestry that I have started based on this beautiful sunrise over the Puget Sound in October 2009 is going to be stunning. I am so psyched over it. I have a lot of beautiful shades of silk that I hand-dyed and some that I bought years ago at a weaving conference.

    I am deep into Twelve By Twelve by William Powers and dreaming of a future in a tiny house. Sandy and I were talking about our future last night and after we pay off this house we will probably sell it and his mother’s condo (if anyone would buy it by then) and move into a small place. I will probably have to give up any kind of real gardening and yard work anyway. I love the idea of a tiny house on a trailer and traveling around the country, maybe doing the guest host thing in the national parks. Having an acre of land with some fruit trees and bushes and perennials – somewhere to land for a few months from time to time.

    Here’s a photo of the finished bird tapestry still on the loom, and the beginning of the sunrise tapestry. I’m not working from a cartoon with the sunrise tapestry, just referring to the photograph from time to time.


  • Last call for co-op

    Just received this email from the coordinator for Elements Gallery, the new 3-D artists’ co-op downtown. If you’re interested and still on the fence, now’s the time to make a decision. It is a really, really, really good deal. Leave me a comment and I’ll send you the contact info.

    Hello Artists,

    So far we have 21 artists committed to the co op.

    And I believe that Brett Mc Donough will be our resident artist and have his studio in the back of the gallery. He has graciously offered the area to other artists to use while they are sitting the gallery. It will be great to have a place to work while in the gallery. (he still has to work out the details with Jackson).

    What I need now, is a final and definite commitment from all who are interested, along with the type of membership you would like. Here are the options.

    Shelve space is approximately 3 feet long by 1 foot deep. One shelf is $25 a month, 3 shelves are $50 a month, and Five shelves are $75 a month. All require one work shift per cycle (cycles will be dependent on how many members we have) And each artist will keep 90% of their sales. You will be required to pay 3 months in advance and commit to one year.

    Please send me an e mail letting me know which option you want and what your medium is (i.e. clay, glass, wood, etc…..)

    I’d also like to know how many of you would still be interested if we don’t get enough members and had to pay a higher monthly fee.

    Remember that those who come in at the beginning will get the best deal. Monthly fees and or commissions may be higher later on.

    Remember we can make this gallery anything we want: an artist meeting and sharing space, a place to have classes and workshops, and mostly a place to get your art out there to the public. I believe this is a great opportunity to show Greensboro the wonderful talent we have here and that we are getting in on this at just the right time, There are many people working very hard to make this section of South Elm street the Arts and Antique District of Greensboro. Going into the Spring we can plan some great events for upcoming First Fridays.

    Think of the opportunity you have, for a reasonable monthly fee (less than most shows charge for one day of booth space) to get Free publicity for your art, to have a place to send people to see your art, and to have ownership in what will be the best Gallery in Greensboro.

    The deadline for this is Monday, January 24th, so get those e mails back to me. Please include your names, addresses, contact numbers and medium of your art.

    If you know anyone who would be interested in joining the co op but can’t gallery sit, or would like to do it on commission alone and not join, send me their names, this may be something we consider doing if we don’t get enough members.

    Our target re-opening date is March 1st.

  • Gas leak

    So, if you were ordered to evacuate and had only five minutes to grab what you could, other than your family and pets, what would you take the precious time to take?

    My niece recently had to make that decision and didn’t even have five minutes. She awoke to pounding on her door and her apartment building burning down around her. She grabbed her phone and her dog.

    Last night I had an eerie dream. An oil truck pulled up on the street to fill up our tank (in reality, we have natural gas). I walked with the guy to the back of the house and noticed that the neighbor’s tree had fallen down in the back yard. Then I noticed that a huge oak tree had been pulled out of the ground and was hovering, caught in the tops of other trees. At that moment, I thought that I’d better run but before I could, the tree came down on my house, just brushing me with a few branches. Sandy and the cats came struggling out of the wreckage alive and well, somehow. End of dream.

    This morning I walked outside to enjoy some non-freezing weather in the Back Forty and was greeted by a very noxious natural gas smell. I called out to a jogger with his dogs running by and he said that the construction company (a.k.a. Edwards Development Company subcontractors) had hit a gas line a block away and that police and firemen were there with masks on.

    I didn’t know what to do so I called the gas leak line – it was backed up. I called 911 and asked if I should evacuate. They said that it was under control.

    I would have to make a choice with the cats. I have one cat carrier. I would have to put one of the cats in the carrier and carry one. It would probably come down to Miss Jazz and Theo, since they are the easiest ones to catch, but I guess I’d go with whoever I grabbed first for the carrier and carry Miss Jazz. By the time the others caught whiff of my anxiety they would be under the bed and dodging me.

    So, I hate to say this, but if I could only grab one item it would probably be this laptop. It contains so many of my photo and writing files. If that wasn’t an option? I really don’t know. Sometimes I’d like to scrap everything and start over in a tiny house with only the essentials.

    What one item would you grab as you run out the door?

  • Sunday morning coffee pot post

    Buon giorno!

    I am very happy in the midst of this three-day weekend. The past week was so busy and frustrating at work. I was easily irritated about nearly everything. Almost all of it had to do with communication. Either somebody not communicating or twisting facts or somebody not paying attention. Next week should be better.

    I feel good today because I am letting go of the things that I don’t have to do that are annoying, and I am giving my time and energy to the things that bring me joy. I like my paying job a whole lot, but I’m really diggin’ my identity as an artist these days. I feel like I am fulfilled, like I am finally living my life authentically, which includes all the bumps and obstacles of life’s journey. It’s a path that I have chosen, instead of following the different directions in which other people nudged me. Some of those alternate paths taught me things that I needed to know, and when I reached the ends of them, I backtracked to my own path instead of getting out the machete or the bulldozer or simply sitting, stuck, waiting for somebody to open it up. I imagine that there are still many of those sidetracks ahead. I hope so – they make the journey more interesting.

    A different path is the Local Food movement. I would compare it to one of those old two-lane highways that often criss-cross the big Interstates. Sandy and I frequently will take these parallel roads when we travel because we love to see the small towns and real countryside more than we care for speed most of the time. In my life, the old highway “food that is good, clean, and fair” will always be present or nearby – not the main highway anymore, but sometimes running concurrently with it. It is a part of my life, but not my major focus now.

    I am proud to be a part of the movement, and I am so happy that it has become more mainstream and most of all that young people are moving toward it. Our farmers are aging out, and somebody needs to pick up the reins. Restaurants are now advertising local food and naming their direct sources. It’s becoming good business to bolster the local economy. And there are SO many journalists and bloggers covering Slow Food and local small businesses that I am grateful to be able to step away from writing about it other than how it continues to connect with my personal whole-life journey.

    I finished the Blackbird tapestry yesterday! It will be a while before I can post a photo of the entire thing because of its position on the loom. I’m starting a new tapestry based on that stunning sunrise I saw a little over a year ago at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, Washington. This one will glow with silk, many strands of color that I have hand-dyed over the years supplemented with rich hues that I bought. It will be very different from the Blackbird tapestry, which only had two colors.

    Susanne and her student came over yesterday, and I lent her my 8-harness Schacht table loom and stand. It feels good to pass on this equipment to a beginning weaver. If she likes it, I’m going to sell it to her cheap on an interest-free payment plan.

    I was juried in to Elements Gallery, but they still need local artists to join the co-op to make it work. However, they have sweetened the deal with a more flexible plan. Here is the email that Lorrie sent me to share. If you would like her email address to respond, please leave a comment with your email ONLY in the email field and I will email you with it privately so that your email addresses won’t get on a spambot’s list.

    Elements Gallery (North Carolina Pottery and Fine Craft) is going Co-Op. We have done well in the 8 months we were open, building a good reputation and customer base. But, it takes 3 years to establish a business and there is no one of us that can carry it for that long alone. We are looking for local 3 D artists of Hand made art (pottery, metal, wood, fiber, glass, jewelry, etc) The deal basics are that each artist will pay for shelf space and a 10% commission on all art sold and commit to working at the Gallery one day a month. In comparison with many co-ops, this is a great deal. There will be no up front buy in, and the monthly pay in and commission is fairly low. Plus we already have almost a year of business under our belts and have some good momentum going. Customers are very pleased with what they see when they come to our gallery and constantly comment on what a need we fill.

    We offer a place for local artists to show and sell their work. As a co-op there are many exciting ideas that we can work on and implement for the local art community. We are offering 3 different space options $25 for one shelf, $50 for 3 shelves and $75 for 5 shelves. Shelf sizes are approximately 3 feet long by a foot deep. Each artist will also have an opportunity to offer workshops, classes and do demos.

    I will add that they are looking for a year commitment and three months in advance, then the payment would be monthly. This makes a lot of sense from a stability and budgeting standpoint. And it will be juried by three people to keep the standard high.

    Also, I will probably offer some book and fiber art workshops and maybe a small tapestry/weaving group if this thing pans out. I feel very optimistic that it will.

    Okay, coffee’s out. Ciao.

  • Prayer flag, works in progress

    I have another 40 minutes to kill before going to work, so I decided that it is time to put up or shut up about the stuff I keep repeating that I’m doing here.

    Here’s the prayer flag. I went in an entirely different direction than my original plan after I found a piece of fabric that I painted a couple of years ago in a workshop. I’ve been thinking a lot about how real change only comes from within each of us. I painted the universe around it and wrote the words, and I’m done. I wanted to bead or sew French knots, but I am going to mail it today just the way it is to stop myself from stitching!

    I started playing with the woven fabric strips, inspired by Jude Hill’s work. My soy wax batiks from Melly’s class provided a lot of inspiration yesterday. I started fusing together book covers from them, but photos will be later when they are a little more complete. Here is the beginning of the woven piece, with which I may take completely apart and experiment more. I love, love, love this idea and can’t wait to be able to stitch on it. I have some lovely worn hole-ridden nuggets of shells that are just aching for a background to show off.

    Finally, here’s the latest progress on the bird tapestry. There is only a couple of inches to go. The rest of the tapestry has been pulled around to the back of the loom, so I’ll have plenty of warp to do another tapestry on here when this is done.

  • Snow Day Coffee Pot Post

    I signed up to join Elements Gallery, and so did Susanne. I feel very good about it. The price is certainly right and all that remains is that they get enough artists committed to sign the lease by today and that I get juried in. So, hooray! Maybe this is that opportunity that I have been waiting for. I didn’t know what it would be. When we went to the meeting, the artists that were already showing in the gallery were picking up their work so that the space can be renovated this month. It was mostly ceramic and the kind of art that I like – rich with color and texture, not cutesy.

    So this has inspired me to spend the rest of the day working on a couple of fabric journal covers and finishing the prayer flag that I started. My right hand is pretty good so if I can fuse fabrics together for stitching later, I don’t have to use my wonky left hand to hold anything much. I have some beautiful handmade papers of my own and that Susanne gave to me for Christmas (along with those quail eggs that I posted a photo of a couple of weeks ago).

    I might even finish the bird tapestry today if I take plenty of breaks, and I’ll have room left on the warp for another mini-tapestry or two. I realize that this is NOT helping my left hand at all. I am obsessed. But I’m wearing my hard brace on that hand so it is a little better, and at least it reminds me that lifting heavy things with it is a no-no. Hopefully I’ll be able to go to PT later this week.

    Also journaled by hand in my “Year of Turning 50″ journal. I did some 5 minute sketches this week of Theo and Guido, under the Sketchbook Challenge prompt “Highly Prized.” It ain’t perfect, but it’s not supposed to be. Now I need to add Miss Lucy and Miss Jazz to the spread. Here are a few pages:

  • Saturday morning coffee pot post

    It’s been a frustrating week. I tried to make an appointment for physical therapy on Tuesday, hoping to get in this week before the semester starts on Monday. They told me that I had to have a prescription. Now, this is the same place where I’ve had PT before. It’s not like I’m a new patient. I wasn’t able to get a “prescription” called in until Friday morning, and they let me know on my home phone, so I didn’t get the message until it was too late to go. I imagine that it had something to do with insurance. Your oligarchy at work.

    The good thing is that I found a bottle of hydrocodone from when I had all those dental problems a year and a half ago, so finally I was able to get a couple of good nights of sleep. The naproxen sodium is not doing the job any more. I should probably go to a neurologist, I guess, since the hand specialist couldn’t find any problems with my nerves. Clearly there is a nerve problem when my hands go to sleep. Mama thinks that it is arthritis. Doc says that it is Dequervain’s tendinitis. I think that it is a stew of several different problems, and so does the physical therapist. Where is House when I need him?

    I need to get this resolved or at least in a workable status before I go to An Artful Journey on February 16. Please don’t send me links or photos of people painting with their mouths or feet, or some such thing. It only ticks me off. I’m just venting here.

    So I’m looking for alternatives to scratch my creative itch. Typing isn’t too bad, as long as it is not data entry where I am using the tab and control keys over and over. Stitching is not good. Holding a pen, pencil, or brush, NO. Dyeing is okay, but lifting heavy pots and tightly wrapping bundles, uh-uh. I’m stubbornly weaving my tapestry, but taking lots of breaks. Chopping veggies and hand washing dishes, okay in small quantities. Photography, good. I’ve been snapping lots of shots of pure texture or color ideas.

    Printing altered photos on fabric – great! Now I need a working sewing machine to stitch some art quilting. I’m pretty sure that I can work with Jude Hill’s method of weaving a fabric base for further stitchery later. I have some wonderful dyed fabrics from studying India Flint’s book, Eco Colour.

    After I finish here, I’m going to work on my journal and time myself writing for five minutes. I’m going to work on a five minute sketch for the Sketchbook Challenge. I’m going to put together a prayer flag to send to An Artful Journey. Five minutes. I think that I can do most anything for five minutes at a time.

  • hmmmmm

    I have an opportunity to join an art co-op that might be much more affordable and doable. Since I don’t have a gallery right now and I’m not crazy about selling on Etsy and shipping my work, I’m going to an information meeting in a few minutes. This is one of those goals that has always been in the back of my mind. I miss Two Art Chicks, even though I think that I had more stuff stolen than I sold.

  • Happy 2011 and Your Questions Answered

    I don’t really care about stats and links anymore, but I love to check Sitemeter to see where people are visiting from and where they are referred from and what search terms they use to get to my blog. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time and might make this a regular feature:

    YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!

    What to do with lettuce turned to seed:
    Put a paper bag over the seed head and shake off the seed. Separate the seeds from the flowers or don’t, but do keep them dry. Plant in the next season and hope that the ants don’t carry them all off. Sprinkling corn meal might take care of the ants. Do it before you plant the seeds.

    directions to abandond town of mortimer:
    Here’s a good source of information. It’s been a long time since I have camped at Mortimer Campground. It looks like it has been much improved since then. Showers and flush toilets! Maybe we’ll have to go back for a weekend this summer.

    can you get to tubbs inlet at sunset beach:
    Yes. Turn left at the pier and keep going until you can’t drive any farther.

    where can I find raw milk in Greensboro:
    Good luck. It’s illegal for human consumption in North Carolina. My source (with my cowshare in Virginia) disappeared. Snow Creek Family Farm might be able to provide you with raw milk for pet use only. They are usually at the Greensboro Farmers’ Curb Market on Saturdays but may not be there this winter.

    handsome talented no girlfriend:
    I refer you to my nephew Seth.

    end stage CRF; feline chronic renal failure:
    I’m so sorry. I get so many searches for this – nearly one or two per day and it breaks my heart. See your vet. Subcu fluids and food supplements will help. There is no cure. Give your kitty lots of love and care and he or she might have good quality of life for a while yet. Don’t ignore the early symptoms if you can help it. We hope to keep 17 year old Miss Jazz with us for another year or two, and she is doing well. I lost Squirt early because I was too depressed to acknowledge his illness until he was well into the end stages of the disease.

    slowly i turned script:
    A standard vaudeville routine. People have seen it by Abbott and Costello, the Three Stooges, and I Love Lucy. Here’s the Abbott and Costello script from http://www.clown-ministry.com/

    “Bud, Lou and derelict in cell:

    Derelict: I haven’t always been a derelict … (looks at Lou) … like you.

    Lou Costello: Don’t call me those kind of bad names!

    Derelict: Would you like to hear my story?

    Lou Costello: No

    Derelict: Very well, then I’ll tell it to you

    Bud Abbott: Go ahead

    Derelict: (to Bud) Thank you … many years ago my father gave me the benefit of a very good education (sad music playing) … then .. I met her. She was beautiful … glorious. We were married. two years later – a baby boy. I haven’t seen that boy till this very day.

    Lou Costello: Did you say a little baby boy?

    Derelict: Yes!

    Lou Costello: Did he have brown eyes?

    Derelict: Yes he did!

    Lou Costello: And two little teeth in the front?

    Derelict: (Excitedly) Yes, yes!

    Lou Costello: And black hair?

    Derelict: Yes!

    Lou Costello: Daddy!

    (derelict pushes Lou away)

    Bud Abbott: Oh what’s the matter with you? Sit still! Keep quiet. Stop interupting the man!

    Lou Costello: Well, I thought I found my father!

    Bud Abbott: Quiet! (turns to derelict) – go ahead.

    Derelict: Thank you. We were very happy, my little family. One morning we were seated around the breakfast table and a knock came at the door. There stood a man. He was broken in health and spirit. I bade him enter, I welcomed him into my home. I said ‘make my home your home’…and he did! One day I returned from work to find that home was no longer a home. My wife … the baby… and the stranger had fled. Then one day … at the banks of the Poko Moko I found them. Suddenly my brain snapped. All the years of pent up emotion of years suffering welled up within me. I knew I would never be satisfied until I had my bony fingers wrapped around his throat. So with murder in my heart … slooooooowly I turned (acting this out as he speaks, focusing on Lou), step by step, step by step I crept upon him (creeping towards Lou) and when I saw the stare in his face … I struck and I grabbed him (Grabs Lou and starts pushing him against the wall and shouting at him)

    Bud Abbott: What’s the matter? Why are you interupting the man for?

    Derelict: My poor friend, I’m sorry. But everytime I hear the word Poko Moko, I just want to kill!

    Lou Costello: Take it easy pal, take it easy!

    Bud Abbott: See, everytime he hears that word: ‘Poko Moko’

    Derelict: Poko Moko!!!! OOhh, I knew I’d never be satisfied until I had his blood running between my fingers…so slowly I turned (does action) step by step, step by step I crept upon him – and when I saw the streak on his countenance I grabbed him and I couldn’t help myself (throws Lou against the wall and begins beating him up) and I was going out my mind (calms down, breathless)

    Lou Costello: (takes an exaggerated boxing stance)

    Bud Abbott: Stand still! What’s the matter with you? The man’s telling you his life’s history. It’s interesting.

    Derelict: My poor friend! I did it again didn’t I?

    Bud Abbott: It’s alright, it’s alright

    Derelict: What’s happening to me?

    Lou Costello: It’s not happening to you brother, it’s all happening over here!

    Bud Abbott: Just … don’t use that word ….

    Lou Costello: Don’t … don’t … don’t … don’t. He means “Pocahontas!”

    Derelict: (reacts for a second)

    Lou Costello: (stopping him) Pocahontas!!

    Bud Abbott: Yes, it’s alright

    Lou Costello: Sounds like Coko Moko or something

    Bud Abbott: Shhh!

    Derelict: Poko Moko! BBBRRRRRR…So slowly I turned! Step by step, step by step (Lou calls out for Bud in a quiet voice) … and when I crept upon him … I grabbed him and (again beats Lou and repeatedly slams him into the wall, then throws him across the cell to the other wall knocking his hat off)

    Bud Abbott: (angrily to derelect) Just a minute … just a minute! Now you’ve been getting away with murder. Enough is enough. You understand that? I’ve stood by and watched all this! And I’ve let you get away with it … but no more! (bends down and picks up Lou’s hat) – These things cost money. Be careful how you handle them!”

    Happy 2011!

  • A Year of Artistic Inspiration – Link Love

    2010 has been such a brain-busting, heart-opening, imaginative adventure for me, despite the fact that I spent a lot of it bemoaning my tendinitis and thinking more than doing. I decided to do a post about all the teachers that I have been inspired by this past year (and during a little of 2009).

    Susanne Martin has been an amazing friend and teacher. She has gone way above and beyond the normal mentoring with me, supplying me with equipment and expertise and labor in beating paper pulp for me. She has even (with husband John’s help) delivered me the goods! I am so grateful for her kindness and help. And we’re planning to go to the Focus on Book Arts conference in June. She and Judy Strom and I are going to have a blast!

    Right now, I am deep into the book Eco Colour by India Flint. I love getting interesting colors from nature, and the surprises from resist dyeing delight me. Back in the 80s-90s I spent a lot of time with dyepots. Now I remember why I was so fascinated by them.

    A new influence on me is Jude Hill. Looking at her “spirit cloth” makes my heart beat faster and I forget to breathe for a moment. Guess that means that I’ll be weaving some of these onionskin dyed fabrics together very soon. And rooting through my old clothes for more scraps. I do have some old rag balls from when I was locker hooking rag rugs, so that will probably be the saving grace for my hands. Scissors aren’t really my friends right now.

    Future and past teacher: Albie Smith. I am wriggling with anticipation for February 17, 2011, the day that I turn 50 years old and will begin a three-day class with Albie at An Artful Journey in Los Gatos, California. I took a daylong class with Albie at Art and Soul in Hampton, Virginia in May, and it whetted my appetite for more from this gentle but firmly-pushing teacher whose color-drenched work is marvelous eye candy. I hope that one day I’ll get to take a papermaking class with her as well. I love her pulp-painted work.

    Another huge bookbinding influence as well as photography inspiration is LK Ludwig. I took two of LK’s classes at Journalfest in October 2009, and an online class of hers in late 2009 because I couldn’t get enough of her insights and thought provoking prompts. She has helped me push the envelope in personal journaling with photographs.

    Dan Essig will always be special to me. He was my first bookbinding teacher and so was a life-changing instructor for me. I’ve taken two daylong classes from him at art retreats and spent a week in his Wooden Books class at John C. Campbell Folk School. I love his work and appreciation for the odd and ordinary found objects and funky illustrations.

    Melanie Testa tries to blog Every Single Day! I took her soy wax batik class at Art and Soul in Hampton in May and her friendly spirit has buoyed my spirits ever since. Every time I open my copy of Inspired to Quilt I find another page where she doodled a little star or heart or other encouragement. Batik is another resist technique that I’ll be exploring more in 2011.

    Diana Trout, author of Journal Spilling, has become my friend too. Her wry wit and totally authentic demeanor is a joy to be around. Her teaching has freed me of a lot of my self-imposed constraints, and that may be the most important thing that happened to me all year. Here’s the post I wrote about her class at Art and Soul in May.

    Traci Bunkers is just plain cool. Traci Bunkers would be who I want to be when I grow up, except that she is younger than me. Traci is probably me in an alternate universe where I am single and living in Kansas. I’ve taken three classes with Traci. The one in May was McGyver Roller Printing, and her book Print and Stamp Lab is a playground. She taught me how to carve stamps and is another artist who has stretched my brain. Her willingness to share her very honest personal journals online is much appreciated and admired.

    Carla Sonheim: Wow. What can I say about this beautiful woman? She is the Silly Queen. She doesn’t like glue so she uses packing tape. She helped me transform junk mail into amazing, unusual painted papers. My favorite quote of the year is from Carla: “It’s square enough.” Her book Drawing Lab will convince the most stubborn “non”-artist that s/he can draw and have fun doing it.

    “Outside artist” embroiderer extraordinaire Susan Sorrell. Took an online class from her at the beginning of last year that I am STILL working on! I became so obsessed with stitching that I stitched my way into serious numbness problems with my hands! I love her style. I love embroidery. I wish that I could do more of it. She is seriously funny on Facebook too.

    Roxanne Padgett’s class at Journalfest was so easy and fun that I actually almost had a panic attack from all the goodness of it. Really. Rarely, but sometimes that does happen to me. When I raid the remnant bins at JoAnn’s or root through my sample and scrap pile, Roxanne’s class fills my brain. Her motto is “Fear No Color.” She makes me want a sewing machine in the worst way. Too bad sewing machines hate me.

    Here’s the story about Leighanna Light, Thingmaker. I had a major migraine the morning I took her class. I managed to get dressed, get downstairs for coffee (otherwise I figured that I would never get over it) and popped into her class to ask for the class materials and to tell her why I wouldn’t be able to make it. I saw her samples and said, uh, I’ll go back upstairs, get my supplies, and try to get through the demos. I ended up having one of the most fun classes ever. My migraine passed after an hour, and at the end of the day I thought in wonder, “Damn, I came so close to missing this class!”

    Jody England Hansen: I took her class at Journalfest on making niches and boxes to hold really cool objects in books, including smaller journals. I really liked Jody. I would take another class from her in a heartbeat. I felt like I tried to do too much in her class and that was frustrating, but it was because she made me want to do more. She was another teacher who had a warm heart that showed.

    Last but not least, Orly Avineri. I will see her again and her class from the outside at An Artful Journey. I took her class “Mapping Me” at Journalfest 2010. I felt inexplicably weird that day, but I left her class with some really great artwork. I have a feeling that she would be a wonderful teacher in a smaller class where she didn’t have to spread out her attention so thinly. I’m looking forward to seeing her again in February.