Hairlock Painting™ & Other Stuff by Gale Bellew

2011-09-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

The Fryeburg Fair is almost here and the Fiber Center Schedule is full of great stuff this year!

Hope you will come by and visit.......

The Fiber Center Daily Schedule of Events

2011


Sunday, October 2nd

Exhibits and Educational Displays
Guest Artist Exhibit	9-9p	Weaving a Rainbow - Continuous Strand Weavings
Fiber & Fleece Sales	9-9p	Fleeces from Sheep, Alpaca, Angora Goats & Rabbits
Fiber Show	11am	with Fiber Judge Anne Gass
Fiber Wall	9-9p	Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit
Crochet Coral Reef	9-9p	Sample Display of the Maine Crochet Coral Reef Project
Mini Skeins	9-9p	Many Sample Skeins of various Natural hand spun Fibers
Natural Dyes	9-9p	Samples of Naturally Dyed Wool
Children's Weavings	9-9p	Children's Bicycle Wheel & Free Form Weavings
	9-9p	Woven Whirlygigs
Fiber Art Display	9-9p	Mixed Media & Felted Art

Demonstrations	9-5p	Dyeing for Rug Hooking
	9-5p	Felt on Soap - Just Ask
	9-9p	Drum Carding
	9-9p	Spinning
	9-9p	Tapestry Weaving
	9-9p	Needle Felting
	9-9p	Hyperbolic & Free Form Crochet for the Maine Reef
	9-9p	Continuous Strand Weaving on a triangle loom
	9-9p	Rug Making - Locker hooking & Braiding
	7pm	Learn about the Maine Crochet Reef Project!
	7:30-9p	Crochet or Learn to crochet for the Reef Project
Monday, October, 3rd

Exhibits and Educational Displays
Guest Artist Exhibit	9-9p	Weaving a Rainbow - Continuous Strand Weavings
Fiber & Fleece Sales	9-9p	Fleeces from Sheep, Alpaca, Angora Goats & Rabbits
Fiber Wall	9-9p	Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit
Crochet Coral Reef	9-9p	Sample Display of the Maine Crochet Coral Reef Project
Mini Skeins	9-9p	Many Sample Skeins of various Natural hand spun Fibers
Natural Dyes	9-9p	Samples of Naturally Dyed Wool
Children's Weavings	9-9p	Children's Bicycle Wheel & Free Form Weavings
	9-9p	Woven Whirlygigs
Fiber Art Display	9-9p	Mixed Media & Felted Art

Demonstrations	9-2p	Rug Making - Locker hooking & Braiding
	9-5p	Drop Spin
	9-5p	Playing with Color - Dyeing woolen fibers
	9-5p	Felt on Soap - Just Ask
	9-5pm	Working with long Staple Sheep Fibers
	9-9p	Drum Carding
	9-9p	Spinning
	9-9p	Tapestry Weaving
	9-9p	Needle Felting
	9-9p	Hyperbolic & Free Form Crochet for the Maine Reef
	9-9p	Weaving
	2-9p	Prepping a Fleece for Hand Spinning
	2-9p	Rug Hooking
	7pm	Learn about the MaineCrochet Reef Project!
	7:30-9p	Crochet or Learn to crochet for the Reef Project
Tuesday, October 4th


Exhibits and Educational Displays
Guest Artist Exhibit	9-9p	Weaving a Rainbow - Continuous Strand Weavings
Fiber & Fleece Sales	9-9p	Fleeces from Sheep, Alpaca, Angora Goats & Rabbits
Fiber Wall	9-9p	Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit
Crochet Coral Reef	9-9p	Sample Display of the Maine Crochet Coral Reef Project
Mini Skeins	9-9p	Many Sample Skeins of various Natural hand spun Fibers
Natural Dyes	9-9p	Samples of Naturally Dyed Wool
Children's Weavings	9-9p	Children's Bicycle Wheel & Free Form Weavings
	9-9p	Woven Whirlygigs
Fiber Art Display	9-9p	Mixed Media & Felted Art

Demonstrations	9-2p	Prepping a Fleece for Hand Spinning
	9-5p	Pygora Goats and Their Fiber
	9-5p	Dyeing Wool Fibers & Yarns
	9-5p	Felt on Soap - Just Ask
	9-5p	Drop Spindle Spinning
	9-5p	Fiber Blending
	9-5p	Tapestry Weaving
	9-9p	Drum Carding
	9-9p	Spinning
	9-9p	Needle Felting
	9-9p	Hyperbolic & Free Form Crochet for the Maine Reef
	9-9p	Weaving
	2-9p	Rug Hooking
	7pm	Learn about the Maine Crochet Reef Project!
	7:30-9p	Crochet or Learn to crochet for the Reef Project

Wednesday, October 5th

Exhibits and Educational Displays
Guest Artist Exhibit	9-9p	Weaving a Rainbow - Continuous Strand Weavings
Fiber & Fleece Sales	9-9p	Fleeces from Sheep, Alpaca, Angora Goats & Rabbits
Fiber Wall	9-9p	Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit
Crochet Coral Reef	9-9p	Sample Display of the Maine Crochet Coral Reef Project
Mini Skeins	9-9p	Many Sample Skeins of various Natural hand spun Fibers
Natural Dyes	9-9p	Samples of Naturally Dyed Wool
Children's Weavings	9-9p	Children's Bicycle Wheel & Free Form Weavings
	9-9p	Woven Whirlygigs
Fiber Art Display	9-9p	Mixed Media & Felted Art

Demonstrations	9-1p	Prepping a Fleece for Hand Spinning
	9-2p	Inkle Loom Weaving
	9-5p	Cashmere Goats & their Fiber
	9-5p	Kool - Aid Dyeing
	9-6p	Rug Hooking
	9-9p	Drum Carding
	9-9p	Spinning
	9-9p	Tapestry Weaving
	9-9p	Needle Felting
	9-9p	Hyperbolic & Free Form Crochet for the Maine Reef
	9-9p	Weaving
	1-5p	Drop Spindle Spinning
	2-9p	Fiber Blending
	7pm	Learn about the Maine Crochet Reef Project!
	7:30-9p	Crochet or Learn to crochet for the Reef Project
Thursday, October 6th

Exhibits and Educational Displays
Guest Artist Exhibit	9-9p	Weaving a Rainbow - Continuous Strand Weavings
Fiber & Fleece Sales	9-9p	Fleeces from Sheep, Alpaca, Angora Goats & Rabbits
Fiber Wall	9-9p	Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit
Crochet Coral Reef	9-9p	Sample Display of the Maine Crochet Coral Reef Project
Mini Skeins	9-9p	Many Sample Skeins of various Natural hand spun Fibers
Natural Dyes	9-9p	Samples of Naturally Dyed Wool
Children's Weavings	9-9p	Children's Bicycle Wheel & Free Form Weavings
	9-9p	Woven Whirlygigs
Fiber Art Display	9-9p	Mixed Media & Felted Art

Demonstrations	9-12p	Drop Spindle Spinning
	9-2p	Rug Braiding
	9-2p	Drop Spindle Spinning
	9-2p	Prepping a Fleece for Hand Spinning
	9-5p	Natural Dyeing
	9-5p	Pygora Goats and Their Fiber
	9-9p	Inkle Loom Weaving
	9-9p	Drum Carding
	9-9p	Spinning
	9-9p	Tapestry Weaving
	9-9p	Needle Felting
	9-9p	Hyperbolic & Free Form Crochet for the Maine Reef
	9-9p	Weaving
	9-9p	Rug Hooking
	2-9p	Locker Hooking
	7pm	Learn about the Maine Crochet Reef Project!
	7:30-9p	Crochet or Learn to crochet for the Reef Project
Friday, October 8th

Exhibits and Educational Displays
Guest Artist Exhibit	9-9p	Weaving a Rainbow - Continuous Strand Weavings
Fiber & Fleece Sales	9-9p	Fleeces from Sheep, Alpaca, Angora Goats & Rabbits
Fiber Wall	9-9p	Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit
Crochet Coral Reef	9-9p	Sample Display of the Maine Crochet Coral Reef Project
Mini Skeins	9-9p	Many Sample Skeins of various Natural hand spun Fibers
Natural Dyes	9-9p	Samples of Naturally Dyed Wool
Children's Weavings	9-9p	Children's Bicycle Wheel & Free Form Weavings
	9-9p	Woven Whirlygigs
Fiber Art Display	9-9p	Mixed Media & Felted Art

Demonstrations
	9-2p	Rug Braiding
	9-2p	Knit with Roving
	9-5p	Sheep and their Fiber
	9-5p	Natural Dyeing
	9-9p	Drum Carding
	9-9p	Spinning
	9-9p	Tapestry Weaving
	9-9p	Needle Felting
	9-9p	Hyperbolic & Free Form Crochet for the Maine Reef
	9-9p	Rug Hooking
	9-9p	Penny Rugs
	9-9p	Locker Hooking
	9-9p	Continuous Strand Weaving - Triangle Loom
	7pm	Learn about the Maine Crochet Reef Project!
	7:30-9p	Crochet or Learn to crochet for the Reef Project
Saturday, October 8th

Exhibits and Educational Displays
Guest Artist Exhibit	9-9p	Weaving a Rainbow - Continuous Strand Weavings
Fiber & Fleece Sales	9-9p	Fleeces from Sheep, Alpaca, Angora Goats & Rabbits
Fiber Wall	9-9p	Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit
Crochet Coral Reef	9-9p	Sample Display of the Maine Crochet Coral Reef Project
Mini Skeins	9-9p	Many Sample Skeins of various Natural hand spun Fibers
Natural Dyes	9-9p	Samples of Naturally Dyed Wool
Children's Weavings	9-9p	Children's Bicycle Wheel & Free Form Weavings
	9-9p	Woven Whirlygigs
Fiber Art Display	9-9p	Mixed Media & Felted Art

Demonstrations
	9-2p	Knit with Roving
	9-5p	Sheep and their Fiber
	9-5p	Natural Dyeing
	9-9p	Drum Carding
	9-9p	Spinning
	9-9p	Tapestry Weaving
	9-9p	Needle Felting
	9-9p	Hyperbolic & Free Form Crochet for the Maine Reef
	9-9p	Rug Hooking
	9-9p	Penny Rugs
	9-9p	Continuous Strand Weaving - Triangle Loom
	9-9p	Locker hooking
	7pm	Learn about the Maine Crochet Reef Project!
	7:30-9p	Crochet or Learn to crochet for the Reef Project
Sunday, Oct 9th

Exhibits and Educational Displays
Guest Artist Exhibit	9-9p	Weaving a Rainbow - Continuous Strand Weavings
Fiber & Fleece Sales	9-9p	Fleeces from Sheep, Alpaca, Angora Goats & Rabbits
Fiber Wall	9-9p	Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit
Crochet Coral Reef	9-9p	Sample Display of the Maine Crochet Coral Reef Project
Mini Skeins	9-9p	Many Sample Skeins of various Natural hand spun Fibers
Natural Dyes	9-9p	Samples of Naturally Dyed Wool
Children's Weavings	9-9p	Children's Bicycle Wheel & Free Form Weavings
	9-9p	Woven Whirlygigs
Fiber Art Display	9-9p	Mixed Media & Felted Art
Fleece Markdown Day!	9-6p	SALE - Fleece Markdown Day!

Demonstrations
	9-2p	Knit with Roving
	9-6p	Sheep and their Fiber
	9-6p	Natural Dyeing
	9-6p	Drum Carding
	9-6p	Spinning
	9-6p	Tapestry Weaving
	9-6p	Needle Felting
	9-6p	Hyperbolic & Free Form Crochet for the Maine Reef
	9-6p	Rug Hooking
	9-6p	Penny Rugs
	9-6p	Continuous Strand Weaving - Triangle Loom
	9-6p	Locker hooking

Please note that our program is presented by volunteers. Last minute changes and omissions are sometimes unpreventable.

2011-08-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

Please note that while the Maine Reef Project is in process, I will be posting only to that Blog until further notice. Please visit me there to learn about this amazing project and how you can participate, see photos of works in progress, and get patterns to begin creating.

Hope you visit me soon!

Crochet Reef

2011-05-21T03:50:00.000-07:00

Since being back in the states I have taken on a new and exciting project!

Turns out crochet is hyperbolic in nature and one can easily create free form shapes that represent corals and other sea creatures. Here is my version of the Christmas tree worm along with one that can be seen on google images. Aren't they amazing creatures?

I learned about the Institute For Figuring and it's crochet coral reef project and have been crocheting hyperbolic free forms that mimic the shapes of corals found in our worlds oceans. I have begun organizing Maine's effort to create it's own crochet reef, a satellite of the worldwide Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef project created by Margaret and Christine Wertheim of the Institute For Figuring in Los Angeles.

The Maine Reef project in simple terms is a Fiber Art installation that will be made up of hundreds, maybe thousands of coral forms and other reef related elements created by crocheting or other fiber art forms such as felting or knitting. The installation will be exhibited at the Fiber Center at Fryeburg Fair during fair week 2012.

Visit The Maine Reef blog to learn more about it and how you can become a part of this fabulous community, statewide project!

Here are a few pieces that I have had a blast making!

Here is a Giant Clam! I never knew these existed before!

Until next time.........

Creating Fish using Yarn - A Children's Project

2010-12-14T09:55:00.001-08:00

As promised, I am sharing another piece of the under sea world made of fibre that we created in the Fiber Art Camp at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation during their fall vacation break.

Children can create more than just fish with this simple technique. All they need is a bit of encouragement! I used the Huichol people from western cental Mexico and their sacred artifacts called nieli'ka as inspiration. I was first introduced to this lovely art form from long time art teacher and fiber artist friend, Janet Conner.

Traditionally, Nieli'ka are either round or square tablets which are covered with colorful pieces of yarn pressed into beeswax and pine resin to create incredibly detailed and colorful images like the one pictured here.

For more information about these people and their beautiful work click here.

To study the undersea world through fiber with 5 - 12 year olds, I needed to use my friend Janet's method of gluing yarn to the background. For classrooms and working with children at home, I like simple methods that use safe, and easy to get materials.

I chose to use cookie cutters as templates for my shapes. If you want children to use the most of their creativity, they can draw their own shapes. Lightweight cardboard like cereal boxes work well. Any worsted weight yarn will do, though anything that is shiny or of poor quality will not give the best result. They often don't stick as well and the plies often separate. I happened to have some wool, rug hooking bundles that worked great. I have found my favorite glue for fiber projects is Tacky Glue. It is just what it says it is - tacky! It is easier and less frustrating for children when they don't have to hold the yarn in place for but one second to have it stay in place. Since you have to use less, it is less messy. Amazing stuff! I tell my students "a drop is a lot" and "A fine bead is all you need". Elmer's is a great paper glue but not so much for fabric and yarns. Compare the two and you will see what I mean.

The goal is to completely cover the cardboard with yarn. You should not be able to see any of the cardboard between the yarns. Having said that, I will tell you right now from my experience that children under 8 have a hard time with the concept of covering all of the cardboard, so be prepared that their pieces will not look like my sample and will have gaps in coverage. The other idea that they have trouble with is cutting the yarns so that they don't over hang their templates. That is easy to fix by cutting the stray ends after they are done.
Having said all of that, I'm going to stand on the soap box for a moment :-)

It's only been in more recent years that I began to understand the notion of 'age appropriate' and 'experience appropriate' art. In my classroom it is always apparent who has done creative artwork before, and I don't mean coloring in the lines in a coloring book. Coloring in the lines only makes them neat, it doesn't foster creativity. As with any discipline, it takes practice for people to become adept at any skill they attempt to master. Be kind and and don't be so quick to judge the results of a child's project. Everyone needs practice to be better at something. Understand where they are starting from. At the same time, when you know a child's capabilities and experience, that's not to say that you should accept work from them that you know to be inferior to their capabilities. Then again, we all have bad days :-) Find the balance.

So, when your child or student has never done a project or technique before, accept where each is in their learning and repeat the technique at another time and you will see how quickly they learn and improve over their last efforts.

Encourage the children with this project to create the details using color and cut pieces of yarn accordingly. One way you might achieve this is to have them do a drawing and ask them to color in the details. They then can use their drawing as a pattern that they can repeat on the cardboard.

TIP: only apply glue where the next piece of yarn will go. This helps keep their hands and their workspaces cleaner along the way. Allow them to wash hands as necessary to avoid them getting frustrated because yarn is sticking to their fingers. They are using glue after all :-)

Until next time.........

Batik Dyeing with Children Using a Flour Paste Resist Method

2010-12-06T05:51:00.000-08:00

During this year's Bermuda schools fall vacation brought with it a terific Fiber vacation camp! Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation offered an exploration of the Sea through fiber! It was fantastic! The children worked hard and created some amazing results considering their age range and time restraints.

Our program began as children created the foundation for their piece. The backing for a wall hanging diorama was a piece of batik that the children painted to depict the water. I wanted the children to be able to do the batik work themselves. Some of the children were as young as 5, so using hot melted wax seemed inappropriate. Hot wax can be dangerous to work with and is also a messy process. I always enjoy looking for an alternative way for children to achieve the same results that they would get using a more traditional or labor intensive method. In this case, the hot wax method was not an option. After doing a bit of research I found references on line to using a flour paste resist. Brilliant! I experimented with this completely safe option and it worked beautifully.
Teaching at a non-profit with lots of "stuff" hanging around is a good fit for my resourcefulness. I needed a frame for each child's fabric to be stretched on for painting. I found a variety of old picture frames that had been used in the gallery at one time as well as some wooden weaving frames we had made for a class project a few years ago. Perfect!
We also had some yardage of cotton muslin for fabric. After deciding on a dimension, I tore the fabric to size. Tearing works better than cutting cotton. You get a straight line and it's very fast. I mounted the fabric to the frames using masking tape. This worked well but I recommend you not do this too far in advance. In a damp environment the tape won't hold for too many days and might have to be done over.
Once the fabric is stretched on the frame, it is Batik ready!

I made a flour and water paste the consistency of thick pancake batter; thick enough to create a dam that the dye could not pass over and not so thick that it was hard to paint onto the fabric. Brush choice for putting the paste on might affect the results depending on how wide or stiff it is. I liked using a 1/2" - 3/4" flat brush. This is what the flour paste looked like after painting it on my sample. I chose to make a design that made me think of waves or movement in the water. After the flour paste was dry, it is ready to be dyed. Drying time can vary from a few hours to overnight depending on the weather and temperature.

There are several dyes that will work well with cotton. Dylon dyes can be purchased at Joanne Fabrics so is very convenient. Procion dyes are also a good choice and can be purchased on line at Dahrma Trading Company. It may also be available at other shops that sell fiber related supplies. We happened to have some Dylon dyes in our stash so we used that. The mixing directions are easy to follow. Since you should be careful about inhaling dye powders, I prepared them in advance of our class.

I used two colors and randomly painted them on my piece with a sponge brush. I kept it flat to dry so there was no chance of dyes running and this is what I got.
The hard part of this project was washing out the resist. Once the dye was completely dry, the best results came from using a scrubby sponge after soaking the piece for a 15 -30 minutes in room temp water. Although it took a bit of time, you don't have to scrub much and this serves to rince any excess dye from your piece at the same time.

I was very pleased with my result. I knew the children would find success! See my next post for the next piece of this project!

Until next time........................................

Fryeburg Fair Fiber Center 2010

2010-11-28T05:39:00.000-08:00

Well I am finally officially living in the US again. Talk about culture shock! After driving on the narrow curvy Bermuda roads at a max speed of 35 mph, returning to the highways of Florida for part of the winter where most roads have a minimun speed of 50mph and two lanes or more; I've got some catching up to do!

Add to that the shock of going into stores and seeing the endless shelves of goods. Seeing the selection of any item you could want is astounding! I marveled at the view in Bed Bath and Beyond the other day. I don't need anytthing, I just wantted to look and the lookin' was gooood:-)

Why is it that we are always wishing our life away.... I can't wait to get settled into our own home again and have to shop for the things we will need to set it up. In the mean while, I will get back to reality, the here and now, and bring you up to date with postings. I begin today with some pictures from this year's Fiber Center exhibit.

Fiber Center 2010

Until next time.........................

Exploring the Sea through Fiber

2010-11-04T05:56:00.000-07:00

Fall always brings me the busiest time of the year. This year, I have the mother load!

Having finished up with the Fiber Center during Fryeburg Fair week, which was a great success by the way, I returned to Bermuda for three weeks of intense teaching. Top that off with these weeks comprising my final weeks on the island of Bermuda, and that constitutes "the mother load"!
Yes, sad but true, my husband's work contract has ended here after 4 years and we return to the states to re-patriate and get back into the US mainstream.
The grass isn't growing under my feet as my days in Bermuda come to a close! Last week was busy, intense and very rewarding, though stressful at times. Twenty -two children participated in this Fiber Art Camp.
Their project? A Diorama using Batik for a water background, Wet Felting to create Octopus, Clams and Coral, Nuno Felting to make Seaweed and Jelly Fish, Huichol for colorful Fish, and finally for the older children, Needle Felting to create a Mermaid or Merman. Additionally, there were some extra projects to fill in with including, hand dyed beaded necklaces, Shibori Dyed Scarves, Designs on Fabric using fabric Crayons, halloween masks, and last but not least Halloween Ghosts! Phew!
Photos of their work will have to come later since I do not have access to my own computer right now.

Currently, we have a variety of classes in the works for one off Fiber Art opportunities including Mondrian inspired fabric applique paintings, Fun Crazy Hair Self Portraits, Surface Design on Burlap and more!

Once I get settled back in the states with my own computer in hand, I will post photos and give an update on the classes and goings on.
Until then.....

PAINTING WITH WOOL: The Hooked Rugs of Janet Conner

2010-09-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

I sit at my computer as hurricane Igor approaches. We are hunkered down in a tropical storm wave awaiting Igor's arrival around 10 pm tonight. In the mean time, I have power and some time so thought I would share the information with you about our exciting guest artist at the Fryeburg Fair Fiber Center this year.

FIBER ARTIST JANET CONNER GUEST ARTIST FOR 2010 FRYEBURG FAIR FIBER CENTER EXHIBITION

PAINTING WITH WOOL: The Hooked Rugs of Janet Conner

Maine Fiber Artist Janet Conner known for her original hand hooked rugs and mats, is Guest Artist showing her work at this year’s Fryeburg Fair. The Fiber Center Exhibition opens on Sunday October 3rd to Saturday October 10th from 9am to 9pm daily and ends on Sunday October 10th from 9am – 6pm.

Ms. Conner’s work is considered primitive or country Victorian in style. All designs are original; the wool strips are cut by hand from recycled and heirloom fabrics and many of the colors are the result of natural dyes. The family tools she uses were inherited through three generations and her greatest influences have been the study of antique textiles and folk art, as well as the landscapes, museums and cultural experiences from her international travel.

Because of Ms. Conner’s 30 year career as an elementary art teacher, she continues to enjoy her enthusiasm for teaching by providing various classes for beginning and experienced rug hookers in pattern design, dyeing for special color effects, and Folk Art style rug hooking. She also offers advanced workshops in Van Gogh Inspired Rug Hooking, and couture hooked bags.

Ms. Conner in 2004 was selected for her exceptional work as one of the 200 Best Traditional American Craftsmen by Early American Life Magazine’s jury of Curators from Historic Williamsburg, Sturbridge Village, and Shelburne Museum. Additionally, in 2004 her work was been exhibited at the Moore College of Art Alumnae juried Exhibition in Philadelphia. In Maine, her work has been seen at, the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk, the Public Library, and the Whimsical World Art Gallery in Portland, and the Maine Fiber Arts Center in Topsham, Maine.

Fryeburg Fair has supported fiber education for over 15 years and built a permanent fiber exhibition hall in 2004. The Fiber Center serves to educate the public about Fiber Arts featuring fiber art demonstrations throughout fair week. The Fiber Center features alternative gallery space to show fiber art like Ms Conner each year during fair week. This unique environment allows new eyes to see and understand the progression of natural fibers from function and craft to fiber art in a way that has never been possible in any other venue that we know of.

For more information about the Fryeburg Fiber Center and Ms. Conner’s Art please visit:

http://www.jconnerhookedrugs.com/
http://www.fryeburgfair.com/ and go to Exhibition Halls.
http://picasaweb.google.com/hairlockpaintings/FiberCenterSlideShow02 for a slide show of past events

The Fiber Center at fryeburg fair

2010-09-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

By this time next month the 2010 Fyreburg fair will be gone by! Time sure flies when you;re having fun!

Here is our schedule of events. Lots to see so hope to see some of you there!

2010 SCHEDULE

Sunday, October 3rd

Fiber Animal of the Day 9-5p Angora Goats Front Porch Sue Bradbury

Dye Demo of the Day 9-5p Playing with Color Front Porch Betsey Leslie

Guest Artist Exhibit 9-9p Traditional Rug Hooking Exhibit upr & lower Gallery Janet Conner

9-5p Rug Braiding Inside Janet Goodwin

9-9p Fleece & Fiber Sales Inside

9-9p Fiber Wall / Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit Outside Wall

9-9p Sample Mini Skeins Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Natural Dye Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Hairlock Painting ™ Exhibit Upper Rear Gallery Gale Bellew

9-9p Mixed Media & Felted Art Upper Rear Gallery J. Yarborough, E. Hedglin

9-9p Drum Carding Inside Karen Cornell

9-9p Spinning inside exhibitors

9-9p Tapestry Weaving Inside Linda Whiting

9-9p Hackle Blending & Spinning Inside Michelle Day

9-9p Needle Felting Inside J. Yarborough & R. McLellan

11-4p Fleece & Fiber Show Inside

10-12p Punch Hooking Inside Kim Kaslow

2-4pm Weaving on a floor loom Inside Kim Kaslow

Monday, October, 4th

Fiber Animal of the day 9-5p TBA Front Porch TBA

Dye Demo of the Day 9-5p Dyeing for fun & Color! Front Porch Betsey Lesllie

Guest Artist Exhibit 9-9p Traditional Rug Hooking Exhibit upr & lower Gallery Janet Conner

9-5p Rug Braiding Inside Janet Goodwin

9-9p Fleece & Fiber Sales Inside

9-9p Fiber Wall / Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit Outside Wall

9-9p Sample Mini Skeins Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Natural Dye Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Hairlock Painting ™ Exhibit Upper Rear Gallery Gale Bellew

9-9p Mixed Media & Felted Art Upper Rear Gallery J. Yarborough, E. Hedglin

9-9p Carding with Karen Cornell Inside

9-9p Spinning Inside

9-9p Tapestry Weaving Inside Linda Whiting

9-9p Needle Felting inside J. Yarborough & R. McLellan

9-9p Hackle Blending & Spinning Inside Michelle Day

Tuesday, October 5th

Fiber Animal of the Day 9-5p Pygora Goats Front Porch Jen Smith

Dye Demo of the Day 9-5p Dyeing Wool Fibers & Yarns Porch Betsey Lesllie

Guest Artist Exhibit 9-9p Traditional Rug Hooking Exhibit upr & lower Gallery Janet Conner

9-12p Drop Spindle Spinning Inside Joan Janness

9-5p Rug Braiding Inside Janet Goodwin

9-9p Fleece & Fiber Sales Inside

9-9p Fiber Wall / Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit Outside Wall

9-9p Sample Mini Skeins Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Natural Dye Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Hairlock Painting ™ Exhibit Upper Rear Gallery Gale Bellew

9-9p Mixed Media & Felted Art Upper Rear Gallery J. Yarborough, E. Hedglin

9-9p Carding with Karen Cornell Inside

9-9p Spinning Inside

9-9p Tapestry Weaving Inside Linda Whiting

9-9p Needle Felting inside J. Yarborough & R. McLellan

9-9p Hackle Blending & Spinning Inside Michelle Day

Wednesday, October 6th

Fiber Animal of the Day 9-5p Cashmere Goats Front Porch Jodie Richards

Dye Demo of the Day 9-6p Kool - Aid Dyeing Front Porch Kathy Cooper & Cecilia Vasquez

Guest Artist Exhibit 9-9p Traditional Rug Hooking Exhibit upr & lower Gallery Janet Conner

9-5p Rug Braiding Inside Janet Goodwin

9-9p Fleece & Fiber Sales Inside

9-9p Fiber Wall / Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit Outside Wall

9-9p Sample Mini Skeins Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Natural Dye Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Hairlock Painting ™ Exhibit Upper Rear Gallery Gale Bellew

9-9p Mixed Media & Felted Art Upper Rear Gallery J. Yarborough, E. Hedglin

9-9p Carding with Karen Cornell Inside

9-9p Spinning Inside

9-9p Tapestry Weaving Inside Linda Whiting

9-9p Needle Felting inside J. Yarborough & R. McLellan

9-9p Hackle Blending & Drum Blending Inside Michelle Day & Sue Connolly

2-9p Rug Hooking with Scrap Woolens Inside Janet Conner

Thursday, October 7th

Fiber Animal of the Day 9-5p Pygora Goats Front Porch Jenni Smith

Dye Demo of the Day 9-5p Wool & The world of Color Front Porch Linda Whiting

Guest Artist Exhibit 9-9p Traditional Rug Hooking Exhibit upr & lower Gallery Janet Conner

9-12p Drop Spindle Spinning Inside Joan Janness

9-2p Rug Braiding Inside Janet Goodwin

9-5p Fly Tyeing with Natural Fibers Inside Bill Thompson

9-5p Weaving on a Floor Loom Inside Mike Kozel

9-5p Blending on drum carder Inside Sue Connolly

9-9p Fleece & Fiber Sales Inside

9-9p Fiber Wall / Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit Outside Wall

9-9p Sample Mini Skeins Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Natural Dye Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Hairlock Painting ™ Exhibit Upper Rear Gallery Gale Bellew

9-9p Mixed Media & Felted Art Upper Rear Gallery J. Yarborough, E. Hedglin

9-9p Spinning inside exhibitors

9-9p Needle Felting inside J. Yarborough & R. McLellan

9-9p Carding Inside Karen Cornell

9-9p Rug Hooking Inside Janet Conner

2-9p Locker Hooking Inside Karen Thompson

5-9p Tapestry Weaving Inside Linda Whiting

Friday, October 8th

Fiber Animal of the Day 9-5p Finn Sheep Front Porch Mary Anne

Dye Demo of the Day 9-5p Natural Dyeing Front Porch Marty Elkin

Guest Artist Exhibit 9-9p Traditional Rug Hooking Exhibit upr & lower Gallery Janet Conner

9-5p Rug Braiding Inside Janet Goodwin

9-9p Fleece & Fiber Sales Inside

9-9p Fiber Wall / Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit Outside Wall

9-9p Sample Mini Skeins Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Natural Dye Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Hairlock Painting ™ Exhibit Upper Rear Gallery Gale Bellew

9-9p Mixed Media & Felted Art Upper Rear Gallery J. Yarborough, E. Hedglin

9-9p Spinning inside exhibitors

9-9p Needle Felting inside Julie Yarborough

9-9p Carding Inside Karen Cornell

9-9p Rug Hooking Inside Janet Conner

9-9p Off Loom Weaving Inside Val Sullivan

9-9p Penny Rugs Inside Jerry Wax

9-9p Tapestry Weaving Inside Linda Whiting

Saturday, October 9th

Fiber Animal of the Day 9-5p Finn Sheep Porch Mary Anne

Dye Demo of the Day 9-5p Natural Dyeing Front Porch Marty Elkin

Guest Artist Exhibit 9-9p Traditional Rug Hooking Exhibit upr & lower Gallery Janet Conner

9-5p Locker hooking Inside karen Thompson

9-5p Rug Braiding Inside Janet Goodwin

9-9p Fleece & Fiber Sales Inside

9-9p Fiber Wall / Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit Outside Wall

9-9p Sample Mini Skeins Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Natural Dye Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Hairlock Painting ™ Exhibit Upper Rear Gallery Gale Bellew

9-9p Mixed Media & Felted Art Upper Rear Gallery J. Yarborough, E. Hedglin

9-9p Tapestry Inside Linda Whiting

9-9p Off Loom Weaving Inside Val Sullivan

9-9p Needle Felting inside Julie Yarborough

9-9p Penny Rugs Inside Jerry Wax

9-9p Rug Hooking Inside Janet Connor

9-9p Drum Carding Inside Karen Cornell

9-9p Spinning inside exhibitors

Sunday, Oct 10th

Fiber Animal of the Day 9-5p Finn Sheep Porch Mary Anne Mary Anne

Dye Demo of the Day 9-5p Natural Dyeing Front Porch Marty Elkin Marty Elkin

Guest Artist 9-9p Traditional Rug Hooking Exhibit upr & lower Gallery Janet Conner Janet Conner

Fleece Markdown Day! 9-6p SALE - Fleece Markdown Day! Inside

9-12p Drop Spindle Spinning Inside Joan Janness

9-6p Fleece & Fiber Sales Inside

9-9p Fiber Wall / Fiber Animal Educational Exhibit Outside Wall

9-6p Sample Mini Skeins Exhibit Fiber Area

9-9p Natural Dye Exhibit Fiber Area

9-6p Hairlock Painting ™ Exhibit Upper Rear Gallery Gale Bellew

9-6p Mixed Media & Felted Art Upper Rear Gallery J. Yarborough, E. Hedglin

9-6p Tapestry Inside Linda Whiting

9-6p Off Loom Weaving Inside Val Sullivan

9-6p Needle Felting inside Julie Yarborough

9-6p Rug Braiding Inside Janet Goodwin

9-6p Penny Rugs Inside Jerry Wax

9-6p Rug Hooking Inside Janet Connor

9-6p Drum Carding Inside Karen Cornell

9-6p Spinning inside exhibitors

9-6p Locker hooking Inside Karen Thompson

Bad News & Good News..............

2010-08-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

Well life as we all know has a way of showing us that we are not in control.... all of the time :-)

The Bad News:
On July 27th at 8:35am a fire broke out in our apartment and burned fast and fruiously. By 9:30am we had lost almost all of our possesions that we have in Bermuda.

The Good News:
Although we escaped with only the night clothes on our backs, my husband had time to pull his most precious race bicycles from the building because they were near the door. We did manage to salvage some clothes, tools and a file box with important personal papers. The best news for me? The hard drive from my computer was not harmed inspite of it all. This means that all of my years of fiber projects, education and photos as well as, the documentary photos that I have taken for the childrens fiber art project book are safe and the notes and directions for each project that were in a plastic file folder were protected enough so that only the edges were singed!

As devastating a loss as this kind of tragedy can be, we feel infinitely grateful that we are safe, unharmed and that the most precious pieces of our lives were saved.

There is an additional upside. We are repatriating to the US at the end of October. It is customary that when you leave a rental here that you completely paint the inside for the next tenant. This was weighing heavily on my mind and I now do not have to paint! Additionally, our plan had been to sell all of our household furnishings and only bring personal itmes back with us to the states which I no longer have to do!
So as devastating as the loss has been, we have found some positive aspects that keep us smiling. We have not lost anything that can't be easily replaced.

There is always a bright spot to be found if we will only look for it. Yes the road can be bumpy along the way but the choice as to how we look at things is our own. That is the miracle of life for each of us to seek an find. May we always manage to find some good in our bad.

SO..... given the unsettled reality of life for now, I will post when I can.

Until next time..................................

Summer Weaving Project for Children

2010-07-08T06:35:00.000-07:00

Now that the school term is over and I've had a vacation with family to decompress, I'm trying to get into a new groove! Summer always brings a variety of new routines for everyone, especially those with children.

Rag Weaving is a fun project that children can do on rainy days during their summer vacation that doesn't require much in the way of special pricey materials.

What they will need:

A loom: This can be a simple wooden frame of most any manageable size. Even an old sturdy picture frame will do. A piece of sturdy cardboard cut about 3" larger than you want the finished piece to be on each side with slits cut into two ends about 1/4" apart so that the warp threads will stay in place will also work. Old pizza boxes work well. Or maybe you already have a basic store bought frame loom.

Weaving material: Old sheeting can be torn or cut into strips or old T-shirts, spiral cut into one continuos strip about 1" wide as the weft or weaving source.

Warp thread: A cotton crochet yarn like "sugar & cream" that can be found in most discount stores works well and is available in lots of colors.

Beater: This is used to compress the rows of weaving to make it sturdier and more durable. I use a hair pick comb but a fork will work just as well.

Other supplies: Fabric scissors, a large eyed weaving needle. A popsicle stick with a hole drilled into one end works well too. If you are making a cardboard loom you will also need a razor knife to cut the slits and a ruler and pencil to mark them.

To warp the loom, tie or tape one end of the warp thread to the loom and wrap it leaving a 1/4" space between wraps. Keep wrapping until the threads are as wide as you wnat the project to be. Once your loom is warped and the fabric cut, begin weaving three or four rows using the warp thread remembering to always use an over and under pattern on each row as well as when moving on to the next row in one continuos

pattern. Beginning and ending with the warp thread will create a finished edge for the work. Once that has been done begin weaving with the fabric.

Whenever you change from one end of thread or cloth to another overlap them as shown in the photo. This will ensure a good joint and prevent your woven cloth from having any weak spots.

After every two or three rows of weaving, beat the work to compress it as much as you want to make a firmer piece of cloth. The more you compact it, the less of the warp thread you will see and the harder the cloth will become. Weaving that is not beaten or compressed will not hold up well to heavy use or laundering. Have the children

experiment with beating so that they can see what they like and what works best for their end project. A piece that they create to act as a doily for a bureau may not have to be as sturdy as a piece that they will make to use as a coaster or a place mat.

Part of the learning curve in weaving is to not pull the fabric too tightly when weaving it across the warp to the other end which will create a "waist" in the work. Having the edges even is part of the challenge without making it so tight that the waist is created. A little bit of ease on the edges is OK; eveness at the edges is more important.

Keep weaving until your piece is about a half inch shorter than you want it to be and weave a few final rows using the warp thread as you did at the beginning. The weaving part is now complete. Turn your weaving so that the back side is up and cut the warp threads in the center as shown in the photo. Be mindful to keep the threads in order to make it easier for tieing them off.

Finish off the piece by tieing double knots in the cut ends as closely to the work as possible without making it curl up from too much tension and cut the ends evenly to whatever length you prefer for fringe. (The cut threads can be saved to use in thread painting projects later.) Children can experiment here with knotting patterns. One option is to tie a knot near the work using two threads on each side and then tieng a second row further down by taking one thread from each knot end to create a macrame look.

See how many different end products the children can come up with using this easy weaving method. By using cardboard as a loom various shapes can be woven that can be stitched into small purses and amulets to make necklaces, or a gift set of coasters.

Children gain a mountain of self esteem when they can create something on their own. It is especially important for them to be sure that whatever the outcome of their project is, that their efforts are recognized. In praising their efforts you are fostering their creativity and helping them to develop into independent and confident adults. For children, the end reuslt is not as important as the process :-)

Until next time............

Spool Knitting, Tie Dyed Halter Tops, Braided Bracelets & Felt on Soap with Children

2010-06-17T06:24:00.000-07:00

Teaching in Bermuda has been a fabulous time and experience for me and the class evaluations have been terrific! I have probably learned more than the children and, I feel they've learned alot!
So here is my last official Term Class report... But no worries, I have other plans for future reports for you to enjoy! I will be continuing to work on children's projects for the foreseeable future.

First of all there are some projects that we finished up that I want to tell you about, beginning with the Button Picture Frames that the 5 yr & 6 yr old class children stitched. I held their button work back so that I could prepare a parting gift for them. KAF had some wooden picture frames that I used to hot glue their button stitchery onto. I have taken lots of photos of the children during my classes so found photos of each student and matched it up to their work as a parting gift for them. They came out great and the children were very proud and anxious to show their mom's their work and their photos! I so loved this project....

The next items to finish up included the 10 yr olds tie dyed halter tops. One student had a simpler embelishment design and finished hers last time but wore it to class for me to see and pohotograph. The others finished theirs this week and anxiously tried them on and gave the KAF office a mini fashion show! What fun! I was so proud of their accomplishments. For new stitchers they did a terrific job! They named this project their favorite because they had liscense to create the embellishing designs on their own and loved that they could wear their very own creations. I remember wearing the first piece of clothing that I ever made for myself and the self esteem and confidence that comes with that is priceless. I hope they enjoy wearing their pieces all summer long and remember them forever!

Our new project of the week for both the 5 yr olds and 6 yr olds was spool knitting. This age old art encourages hand eye coordination and repetition which I feel helps give a sense of achievement and accomplishment. When the tails of their work began to show form the bottom of their spools they squeeled with delight and were motivated by measuring their progress in inches. Even the younger chidren who often get bored or tired kept at it to simply be able to see their progress! They were so proud of themselves :-)

Such concentration and pride show up in the photos at left :-)

The spools were made from toilet paper rolls and lollipop sticks that you can buy in a candy section of your local craft store. I chose a chenile yarn that we had a bunch of becasue of it's soft texture and appearance of bulk. It created a nice fat and soft tube. Of course they asked what they would do with this tube so I put it right back at them and gave a few suggestions after which they were coming up with ideas of their own.
It was interesting to see how even the littlest ones caught on to the idea of turning their work round and round, repeating the same process over and over again. It seemed to give them a great sense of accomplisment since it seemed so complicated to them at first. When they got it, it was a big deal and it didn't take too long. I did purposely spend a few minutes with each child demonstrating and tutoring them as they completed the first stitches and went back to each child as they needed assistance.
I pre- assembled the knitters for the 5 yr olds but the 6 yr olds were able to make them themselves. I like to be able to show them that they don't need anything fancy for their tools; that often we can make them ourselves by recycling.
Each of the children left with their knitters in hand and very proud of the tails they had created :-)

The 10 yr olds melted my heart with their completed Tie Dyed Halter tops. The one student who had finished last time wore it to class and it looked so cute on her I couldn't believe it! Her mom looked just as proud as she did :-) And the backs are just as cute as the fronts!
This class was a modge podge of things allowing time for finishing remaining projects. One student had missed two classes during the Nuno purse classes and finished her bag with the exception of stitching the straps on. Her mom will help her finish it up at home. Halter tops were completed and we then moved on to a simple felt on soap project; one that this group had never done and wanted to before term was up. This basic felting project is a good way to teach basic felting and allowing them to go home with a nice gift or shower soap for themselves.

We had an additional half hour or so of class time after their fashion show and photo shoot so they migrated to the standing loom and decided to braid friendship bracelets for their final project. What a pleasure to see them enjoy practicing skills that I teach and helping them to learn how to tie off their work to create bracelets.
In the end a good time has been had by all and we will miss each other and our time together. I will hope to see them all in my classes during fall camps and Fiber Fest for one more chance for them to enrich MY life!

The content of my reports will change of course but I hope to keep you informed of my creative journey, especially with children.

So, until next time.................

Children's Button Projects & Tie Dyed Halter Tops

2010-06-10T05:46:00.000-07:00

It is a sad time for me at KAF :-(
Only one more week of classes with my precious students.....
I will sorely miss the children and the classroom. I have so many more things I want to share with them!

This week KAF received an order of supplies from Blick and in that order was a fabulous assortment of buttons! One of the things that I have found with all of my students in the two years of teaching fiber arts is the lack of their ability to tie knots. With the invention of velcro and it's convenience, many children do not need to learn to tie their shoes. It is seriously affecting some of their fine motor skill development! I have struggled with any project that requires the tieing of knots which is a basic skill for many applications of fiber and traditional arts.

For all age levels, this weeks classes included the use of stitching and knotting. My students ages range from 5 to 10 years old and the age of the students ability to tie knots used in projects for their age level doesn't seem to matter in their ability or inability to get the concept of and executing knot tieing. Although the older group with a bit of practice gets it, it doesn't always come easy :-) They just don't have the need to tie knots in their young lives so lack practice.

The 5 & 7 yr old groups this week stitched buttons onto burlap to create picture frame decorations. They used pearl cotton and colorful buttons which I asked them to select keeping the color wheel in mind. Young children will often choose an item for a project based solely on the one item and how much it attracts them. They have not yet learned how to consider how each choice affects the whole. In this lesson, we not only learned to stitch on buttons and tie knots to fasten them but we practiced what I call informed choice.
These groups did a terrific job! I actually had the youngest ones stitch and knot each button on individually. I felt that this way they would have less to think about; no worries of stringing along several buttons in a row and getting tension right , not to mention the possibility of tangling the thread up in the work. And there would always be a good stopping point at the end of class. This seemed to work very well. It also meant that they got to experience using scissors for something other than cutting paper. I asked them to stitch on a button and knot it on the back side but one inovative student chose to knot on the front, being very careful to cut the threads all the same length so that the threads were part of her design concept. I'm not sure she realised this, but she knew instinctively that this is what looked best. That child has a good eye! I am always happy when a student shows such insight. Good Job Amy!
The only disappointment for these children is that I didn't let them take their projects home this week. I held them to complete a special farewell gift for them that you can see in next week's posting :-)

So, the 5 yr olds did remarkably well with this project! I never can predict what things they will have trouble with. They all have varying degrees of ability and concentration. Some stitched more buttons on than others and some made knots that looked like they were tied by an adult! They basically all got it.... In fact the littlest one was one of the best performers! Well done Sam! And one other child in this group finished early enough to move on and finish a bookmark. So Sam, Amy and Aishling got the gold stars this week! Having said that, they are all stars and I try to tell each of them what a good job they do each time we meet. I'm sure I don't do it often enough! We all know that praise is always welcome and just the fact that they come to class and make any effort at all to accomplish their task is a big deal for young children. Life is too busy to early these days!

The 7 yr old children enjoyed this project as well. I pushed this group to think about the overall design when selecting their buttons and threads. Each one is different and they all did a great job. They too were disappointed to not be able to take it home but are looking forward to their surprise next week. This group has a longer class so they were able to also go on and make button braclets using elastic thread as a fastener.

I love the way these projects turned out! To see the various designs that came from each student using the same materials is inspiring! This group has gotten better at their knot making over time and I found I had to direct them very little in this task. Mission accomplished!

The older girls this week are nearly all finished their tie dyed halter tops. These are adorable! Last week they dyed the cloth and began stitching the straps on. What a challenge stitching is or can be! Not only are they practicing fine motor skills and precision in their stitching but they have to think about spacial relationships between stitches and practice consistency in stitch length all while making sure their needles don't come unthreaded. And of course they have to try to conceal their stitches in some places or keeping their work neat while anchoring and embellishment and then there is the task of knotting the threads so their work doesn't come apart. Let's not forget to be careful not to get unwanted fabric caught in the stitches too! Phew!!! So this was all about practice and I am always telling my students, practice makes better because no one is perfect; not even the teacher :-)
Only one student finished her piece since she chose a simple design embellishment that didn't require alot of stitching, but the others are very close and will complete theirs in our last class of the term. There's that sad ending again :-(

So until next time.......

Tie Dye Projects with Children ages 5-10

2010-06-03T05:06:00.000-07:00

What a fun week we've had! This was tie Dye week at KAF. All ages participated, found success and had a great time!

The children in my classes are always so excited about their work that they want to take it home right away! As a result I researched using the Dylon dyes on line and found a reference that they can be heat set in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Though the colors are not as intense as if they are left on overnight or simmered in a pot which would allow only one color way, the children were more happy to take their proud posessions home, than have to leave them until next week to get a brighter color.

I had spent some time as always doing prototypes before the class to better assess the need for any adjustments to the procedure to

accomodate the childrens ages and limitations if any. I want them to find success and it always surprises me to learn that something that I take for granted is difficult for them to accomplish.

With this project, the 7 yr olds went first. Some of them had difficulty figuring out how to twist the rubber bands to bind them to the cloth. Though they were successful with a little guidance, I immediately knew that the 5 yr olds would never be able to get through it without great frustration to them and chaos for me:-) As a result, I ammended their procedure and used the time tested Shibori binding method with thread which they simply had to wind around the fabric. I took that even further and prepared a BBQ skewer with a large bead attached which the students used to drape their 18" square of cotton over. I told them they were making an umbrella which they all understood. Once they had their umbrella, the stick gave the fabric some stability and something for the children to hold onto as they wrapped the thread around. The only possible glitch I found with this method is that once they get half way down they sometimes get the thread caught on the end of the stick and tangle it up. To further address this issue, the children can work in teams; one holding the stick horizontally and turning while the other keeps tension on the thread. This made a quick job of it and was an easy task for them to accomplish.

The older children chose to mix it up. Some used rubber bands while others used the thread depending on how complicated they wanted to make their designs. The beauty of doing the same project with all ages is to allow the older children to take their projects further either with design concepts or simply because they have better motor skills and can be more creative especially with the binding of the cloth.

In the end, the 5 yr olds were the most impressed with themselves and the transformation on the fabric from bright white to multicolored dyed designs. Those boys were so proud of their bandanas it was a joy to see!
The 7 yr olds were proud as well and were glad to take home two projects this week since they were able to complete their paintings on silk as well as their tie dye projects.
The older class is all girls and I always like to push them further when I can. I decided that their tie dyed bandanas would be turned into fun summer halter tops that they will embelish with beads, some of which they are dyeing themselves! They completed their tie dyes, worked out their designs and began stitching the straps on during this class. Next week they will complete them so be sure to check next week's post for pictures of their wonderful creations!
Until next time........

Children's Fiber Art Projects: Patchwork Clocks & Painting with Wool

2010-05-29T04:04:00.000-07:00

It was a short week here in Bermuda. Monday was a holiday for us so my Monday class was off.

This week's class news......

The little 5 yr olds had a wonderful time creating a patchwork clock this week.This project was educational in several way. Not only did they get to practice the concept of patchwork and using their motor skills, but they ended up with a functional tool to help them learn to tell time! Using pre-cut pie shaped fabric, they glued the sections in place and arranged the clock face numbers which they also glued down. We used foam numbers which I learned needed a full strength tacky type of glue. Hot glue would have been ideal but the children would not have been able to

do this by themselves so a good fabric glue like tacky would be a good one to use. After they glued the numbers on they added a fat yarn around the edge to frame it up. The hands were made up of a tongue depressor and popsicle stick with holes drilled in one end and fastened with a brass fastener that has a head on it. They were all pretty proud of their accomplishments this week!

The older girls finished off their paintings with wool. After they finished needling on the wool to complete their scenes they wet felted them creating durable pictures that they can turn into pillows, bags or wall hangings. This project was about them designing their own holiday scene to be submitted for possible selection by local businesses as a holiday greeting card image. I was very pleased with their accomplishment. Each has a different style that reflects a holiday sentiment without words. I'll let the photo of their work speak for itself. Great work for 10 year olds with very little assistance!

The term is winding down now with only three weeks left before school is out for the summer. So much to do! So little time! I'm beginning to miss my students already :-( This is my last term of teaching here in Bermuda as my husband and I return to the states in the fall. I will get a last blast during mid term break next fall teaching fiber arts during camp as well as the Annual Bermuda Fiber Festival but will then be re-adjusting to life in the states and looking for another teaching opportunity where I can share my passion for fiber with interested children! If you know of any events seeking somone to teach children fiber arts, let me know!

Fiber Art Projects for Children: Painting on Silk, Painting with Wool and Mixed Media Wind Socks

2010-05-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

This week two of my groups finished up incomplete projects.....
The monday class of 5-7 yr olds finished up their Solar System Mobiles and began the planning and staging process of painting Silk Suncatchers which will be done using Kool Aid and food coloring for their paints. I love these non toxic dyeing options for children! The only draw back is the lack of color intensity that you get with chemical dyes. At this stage, children can learn all of the techniques which they can experiment with at home later, using easy to get supplies! A win/win situation......

They began the class by doing simple drawings. I had asked them to think about their subject as they left class last week. I offered simple creature shapes I have in the classroom for those who needed some inspiration and soon they were quickly putting them on paper. Of course some children have more aptitude for drawing than others but this is the norm. By the end of class, each child had done a drawing. They then traced them on the blank silk circles with washable gel glue which will act as a resist or dam. This resist will allow them to color in various parts of their creatures using different colors and prevent the colors from running into one another. Blank silk circles are available from Dharma Trading Co. on line.

Next week they will paint the dyes onto their silk. I can't wait to see the end results!

The five year olds also finished up this week. The Wind Sock projects needed to have their fabric glued on and hangers attached. A few still had to complete the "cow hitch knots" of yarn around the bottoms. Since I was busy with the hot glue gun, those who had finished first, helped the others by guiding them through the knotting process. I think they may have done some of the work for them but they loved being the helpers and the benefactors were appreciative:-)
This is my roudy group as I have mentioned before. I had an epiphany last week regarding this group though. One child indicated that he has a hard time focusing since it gets so noisy. He becomes distracted. I had no idea he was having an issue and thought it awesome that he would know this about himself at such a young age and tell me about it. I felt the need to address this in the classroom so I rearranged our seating so that they are seated in small groups and purposely assigned seats to specific groups of children. It seemed to work well! I will know better as we move to a project that they don't need me to participate in so much but I'm thankful to have learned this now while I can at least attempt to address it and have impact. I am told by this child's mom that she has noticed improvement in his focus since coming to my class. So, even if he is slow to complete a project, apparently the experience of working in a noisy and sometimes chaotic space has helped him to learn to deal with it better and what he does do, he does well! Bravo! I may have never known this and I'm so glad to know it now..... My mentor and education director at KAF has also given me some things to try to help rein in the mustangs when necessary. Hopefully a combination of things will bring greater sucess for us all!
They were all pleased with their work! They always are easy to please anyway. When they get to take something home that they made, regardless of how big or small or how well it is accomplished, it is an accomplishment and they beam because of it.... so do I :-)...............

My older group of girls is coming along so well! They love everything we do in class and this week one of them asked if the class could be extended from 2 to 3 hours! If all teachers could have this problem!

This weeks challenge was to come up with a Christmas season image for a drawing. This drawing is being Painted on wool pre felt with the needle felting technique and, using wool as the paints. KAF was looking for holiday artwork that can be photographed and used as holiday greeting cards by corporations who make a donation into the Holiday greeting card program. Our children produce the artwork, the corporation makes a donation and gets exclusive use of a photograph of children's Holiday art that they will use for their corporate greeting cards. The children of course keep their artwork but might have the honor of having one of their pieces selected by a KAF donor to be used as their holiday greeting card and sent to their many clients and business associates! How fun!
Drawings were completed and the paintings begun.... They are looking great and I can't wait to see the final products!

So, progress at KAF continues in the Fiber Arts!

Until next time..........

Yarn Windsocks and other Fiber Projects for Children

2010-05-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

We are half way through the term already! WOW! When did that happen :-)

This week, the only new project that I began was with the 5 yr olds. The other two age groups are finishing up their projects from the weeks before and all is going well!

The Monday class of 5-7 yr olds is at the final stage of their Solar system mobiles. Only one child who started the term after we began this project, has not completed his planets. He has however made great strides and will spend our next class getting most of them done and strung. Good work! The rest of the students will also finish up and begin designing for the next assignment which will be Suncatchers painted on silk!

The Five yr olds did some great work this week! Their new project is to create a wind sock made from yarns that they have to attach to holes punched into the bottom edge of the milk cartons with a "Cow" hitch knot. Using a crochet hook to pass the hanks of yarn through the punched holes in the carton, students found it challenging but managed to get he hang of it. Each found success. Though not everyone's work is even or tidy, they got the job done :-) Yeah!

These will be very fun when done! As usual, students worked at varying paces but I foresee that we will finish this project in next class. At that time they will finsih up their knotting and then add pre cut fabrics with glue to cover and decorate the cartons. These little guys needs lots of attention so I find it hard to get action shots. I'll see if I can get some for next time :-) As well as the finished projects....

Above is an example of me doing the Cow hitch knot.

And then there are my 10 yr old girls... This week they finished up their Nuno fetled purses. Each did a bit more fulling to finish up and then they worked on their stitching skills to attach the straps. These purses are great and completely functional. I have hopes that this little item will remain with them for years to come!
Next week we will begin working on designs for a christmas card project that will be "painted" with wool on wool, using the dry needle felting technique. I know it's early for Christmas cards but this is a joint effort as a fundraiser for our school, Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation. A group of local corporations are each making a donation for the use of a holiday themed design created by Kaleidoscope students in various mediums. Selections will be chosen and photographed, and turned into holiday greeting cards exclusive to each individual corporation. A grand idea!
We have no idea if any of our pieces will be included but we will make a grand effort to bring them our best work for this project! At the same time, my class will be learning a new fiber art technique in the process! Wish us luck!
Maybe you know of a company who would like to have their very own exclusive piece of holiday themed art to be used for their holiday greeting card. If so, contact Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation at 441-542-9000 or email director@kaf.bm
Until next time................

Weaving, Felting & Nuno with Children!

2010-05-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

This week has been a mixed bag. A little bit of everything! I often like to have children doing related projects but it hasn't been going that way lately....

The 5-7 yr old children are still working on their Solar System mobiles. Although I am feeling a little anxious about how long it has taken to complete them, they don't seem to mind and are having a good time. They especially are concious of the proportional relationship of size for their planets and worry about it much more than I do! I keep reminding them that it's ok if they aren't exactly correct :-)
We did make great progress this week and the only child who has not completed all planets just began class with us this week. He made great strides though and completed three planets. Great job for a first time felter! He may get most of them done while the others are stringing theirs together in the next class. I am including a picture of the class sample for you to see. It is not perfect... but it is perfection :-)

My 5 yr old group continues to be a very active bunch. 5 boys and 2 girls make this a roudy group! I sometimes feel like I have a group of wild mustangs that I am trying to rein in! I'm sure our class can sometimes be heard throughout the building :-) The good news is that we are having fun!

This week I prepared some burlap strips that they turned into bookmarks. Last weeks' class was a practice for the stitching/weaving used in this little project. I was unsure how successful they would be since the stitching was completed with mixed results. I worried that the small strips of burlap would be difficult for them to handle. But, they did a GREAT job! I was so pleased. Their only task was to weave their chosen yarn through the cloth from top to bottom so that the ends could be tied in a knot to hold them in place.

It was interesting how each child worked the piece. Several chose to use very small, evenly spaced stitches. This of course allowed them to only weave in one or two threads BUT, their work was very good; straight, even and very good quality as a result. It looked more like adult stitching! I'm sorry I missed a photo op for a sample of one of these but the child was still working on it when I took the pics.

The remaining children were at pretty much the same level. They completed three to four threads duirng our class time with varying degrees of eveness. I really was not worrying about how even it was or straight, I was more interested in them getting the concept of weaving in and out and having them complete the work. I believe that last weeks' practice had impact on this weeks results.
You will note from the photos that the shiny threads were of most interest and chosen most often over a large selection of various colors. They loved the bling! Don't we all.....

The older group continued to work on their nuno bags. No complaints about the labor intensive process, and they are getting the feel of the wool and how it changes at various stages of the felting process. They are noticing that it gets stronger by how it feels; that it gets thicker as it

shrinks and that it feels less fragile. They are beginning to sess out on their own, how much pressure they can exert without damaging the piece. This was a very nice revelation to experience with them! Though their bags are not quite there yet, they have enough integrity to not have to worry about damaging them between classes. They are well under way in the fulling process and will be able to finish fulling and stitch them together next time. I anticipate being very proud of their work when they are done as I am already! This is a very mature project for them and I hope a piece that they will proudly use...............................................

Until Next Time............

Adult Felted Flower Workshop........

2010-05-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Oh what a fun morning I had!

My "Fiber Play Date" group with a few additional students met this morning for a Felted Flower workshop. I began the class with instructions on how to felt a rose, complete with leaves and stem. The roses were made with multiple components; bud, leaves and stems fetled seperately. They are then either needle felted or glued together. It was quite fun to see the colors that everyone chose and that even though each one came out a bit different, each was equally lovely!

Once the roses were completed we worked on a Hibiscus flower. This one added some challenges since we felted in the stamens on one side as well as a stem on the back side. Students learned how to add components using a dry brush end and resist technique.
I am always amazed at how there are no mistakes to be made with felting. Perhaps your piece doesn't turn out as you envisioned, but that does not mean that it isn't lovely just the same!

A good time was had by all and each went home with not only lovely flowers of their own creation, but a bit of new knowledge that they can apply to other fiber arts that they practice..... Here are a few more images of our class bouquet!

Enjoy!

Until next time...........................

Felt Planets & Purses!

2010-04-30T06:52:00.000-07:00

Week three of the term has children settling in from the Easter break and a little more focused than they had been. Progress was made by all!

Our Solar System group of 5-7yo made great strides this week and are nearly finished felting their planets! It has been fun to see the way the various planets look. Using a bit of research from the net, I designated colors to be used to represent each planet and we are creating them in proportion to one another as best we can. The children are having a good time making comparisons in size from the littlest Pluto (yes I know this planet is under discussion) to the size of the sun. Of course it isn't possible for us to make a realistic proportion of the sun to the other planets; for our purposes it is simply the biggest of our felt balls.The

children are anxious to see their planets strung on their mobiles and I need to find a way that I can suspend them in the classroom so that they can easily tie them up. That will be a challenge.... we'll see if I can make that work! If not, we will have to string them on the tables and live with that.... Not a bad lesson for them to learn - you can't always get what you want, so you make do with what you have!

The photos are of the materials and lay out for a felt ball and our version of Saturn created by using heavy colored paper with a center hole cut in it, and friction fitting it over the felt ball!

The 5 yr old group did some stitching this week. I created some animal shaped sewing cards with punched holes in them from crafting foam. They stitched to their ability; some better than others.But, they had a chance to try it out and help develop their fine motor skills and dexterity. Two of the children finished their sewing cards and moved on to the cardboard basket project (the second photo). I wasn't very concerned about how well they finished their work. I was most interested in them understanding the concept of stitching and how two objects are bound together with yarn or thread. The cardboard bowls were patterned from colorful and bright holiday gift boxes as seen in the first photo of my class sample and materials.

All were pleased with their accomplishments. I find myself saying this alot, but I know I always get a great sense of pleasure when I make something and I think they do too even if it isn't perfectly executed. They are still proud of their work! I often hear that they have taken their projects from my class to school for show and tell :-)

My older group began working on Nuno Felted purses this week. We are using habotai silk scarves which I cut up to create a flap top purse and straps. I am anxious to see how they turn out! My class sample looks really fun and I think they will be happy with their finished project. So far, we have laid out the fiber, wet it out, and began rolling it. I am glad that we have a break in the rolling between classes since the Habotai needs more rolling than the chiffon to help the fibers migrate through the fabric. I was very impressed with their energy and enthusiasm for the rolling part. I was expecting some whining but I heard not a word! They are a very focused little group who seem to enjoy anything I throw at them!

Until next time.......

Children's Fiber Art Classes at KAF

2010-04-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

Week two of the spring term is behind us already and we've had some nice work come out of the classroom!

The Monday 5-7 yr old class began creating a felted Solar System Mobile which is a multiple week project. Keeping this group on task is a challenge :-) I was expecting this to be a two week endeavor but have re-assessed it to be a three week project based on our progress so far. Look for pictures of this project in next week's posting.....

The 5 yr old group did some braiding this week. This was a good class project for them. We had enough time to complete it with one on one attention and they all got the concept. Their challenge was in coordinating the three strands so I sat with each of them as they completed their key rings and all found success! One student was able to coordinate the three strands all by herself with the exception of making the final knot. Well done Amy!!

The 8 & up group this week finished their Silk Name Banners. I was very proud of their efforts. After painting the silk with dye and practicing their names in Japanese calligraphy with ink on paper, they were ready to paint their names in Japanese on their banners. Everyone found success and they look terrific!

The nature of using ink as a final layer on their piece allowed them only one shot at painting. There was no option for do-overs! As a result I believe they understood the need to focus and practice in the allowed time so that they could do the best job they could do and they all did a really great job!
The final step was to glue the banner to a dowel or piece of bamboo and attach a piece of cording for hanging. I was very pleased with their efforts :-) Here are some photos of their work.....

Until Next Time...............

New Term for Children's Fiber Classes Has Begun...

2010-04-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

The Spring term at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation has begun after a nice long break from classes. Getting back in the swing after a long time away hasn't been too bad even with a change in my classroom location. I returned from vacation to find bright and spacious second floor space has become my new classroom. Since I was away during the break, I was not able to help with the move so am working on organizing the space to suit the students and my needs. It will take a few weeks to get everything where I want it but am grateful that I didn't have to make the laborious move :-)

Students seem to not have missed a beat and though there are a few changes in attendance, all classes have a good group of enthusiastic children to "play" with.

The week began with the 5-7 yr olds. The 5 yr olds had created yarn bugs last term which were a big hit. I decided the 5-7 yr olds would enjoy them as well and that they would be able to take on more of the process than the 5 yr olds were able to. So, we began the term with a fun activity of making large pompoms that we turned into six legged creatures. I forgot my camera at home on that day - part of the getting back into the routine process so don't have any photos to show of their work :-(
The photo I am showing is from the 5 yr old group so that you can see what the project looks like.

My 5 yr old group revisited felting this week and made felt on soap. A few of them had experienced this at Fiber Festival but all seemed to enjoy creating their tub scrubbie and all found success! I got a report back from a mom the next day that the soap was well used in the bath and very much enjoyed. Yeah! It's always fun for me to help the children create things that have some function and that they can enjoy!

The 8 & up group shrunk this term. This age group has so many commitments to deal with at such a young age! Swimming programs have begun which many children are involved in, putting a strain on the schedules and making it difficult for families to fit everything in.
Last term this group was plagued with flu bugs and broken bones which didn't allow for us to finish our major multiple week project of creating a crewel embroidered vest on wool felt. Several students took their work home during vacation and made a bit of progress but we will resume this project in class. I had new faces so decided that I needed to begin the term with a new project and assess how I would re-introduce the vest into this term.

Our opening project is making an Asian Banner. Students began their work by space dyeing on silk to form the base. They also took up Sumi-e brushes and practiced writing their names in japanese calligraphy which they will add to their banners as part of the design. Ultimately, their pieces will be glued to bamboo sticks and strung for hanging. Watch next weeks posting for the results of their work.

For now, I have added a few pictures of the vest progress....

Until next time......

Patchwork Rain Stick Project for children

2010-03-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Wow this has been a busy week but now that the opening of my show is over with, I will have lots more breathing room! One week of classes left on the term and vaction in the states for three weeks will make the next month pass very quickly!
I am late posting the weekly update because of the opening but here it is now!

This week my 5 yr old class and the 5-7 yr old class created patchwork rain sticks. This was a messy job but they had fun and worked on some good motor skills and spacial relationships.
The monday 5-7 group is a longer class in addition to them being older and a little more developed. As a result, their completed projects were more refined than the 5 yr olds and they were able to do more of the work!

I prepared the tubes and blocked one end for them before class. I prepared the foil that goes inside the tube which makes the sound of rain when the grain that is added runs along it. I let this group put the foil inside, add the grain themselves and put the end caps on with tape. Once this was accomplished I gave them scissors and a pile of upholstery fabric samples to cut up and glue

onto their stick. Their goal was to not leave any cardboard showing and to be sure all edges of the fabric were glued down. I highly recommend covering the working surface with blank newspint on the ends of rolls which is usually given away at your local newspaper. We have gallon jugs of glue which I poured into small cups and provided paint brushes for them to paint the glue on with.

The end results were quite nice. Their challenge though was getting the ends of fabric glued down. I had to keep reminding them to be sure to paint the edges of the fabric so that it would stay down. There must be a learning curve to installing the foil for best effect though. Our rain sticks make a nice sound but you had to giggle the sticks a bit to keep it going.

When the 5 yr olds do the same project on tuesday that the 5-7 yr old class does on monday, I have the advantage of tailoring the project to fit their skill and attention level. I made sure first of all to cover the tables this time :-) I also knew that they would not be able to insert the foil and cap the ends themselves. I had them work on cutting various fabric scraps that they could share while I filled the tubes with foil. I then went to each child to let them pour in their own grain and capped the ends for them. By the time that was done, they had cut enough fabric pieces for the class to use to glue onto their pieces. Their rain sticks weren't very tidy but they still enjoyed them and were happy to take them home!

The stick to the left is my class sample. I'm sorry to report that I did not get proper photos of the children's finsihed sticks!

I've run into a glitch with the 8 & up class project! I had planned that this would be a four week project but the class schedule was incorrect and we now have only one class left of term, when I was planning on two. YIKES! The children had not yet begun to stitch their surface designs on so I was able to have them simplify their designs a bit and hope that we will be able to get them done in the last two hour class. I will email their moms and ask if they can come early next week so that they can have a bit more time to work on them and finish them up. I had tried to plan the project so that they would not end up with the piece incomplete and not ever be able to wear it. I hope we succeed!

One of my students will not get to finish and in fact never got to design or stitch on hers at all as she broke her arm badly last week! We all wish her a quick recovery and look forward to her return to class next term.

Until next week.................

Successful Opening at the Elliot Gallery!

2010-03-13T04:40:00.000-08:00

Last night was amazing!
The reward for all of my many hours of working in the studio to create this new body of work was all about last night's event. And an event it was! I am very lucky to have somehow formed a relationship with two Bermudian artists whose work blends well with mine. For the second year in a row we have had one of, if not THE most well attended art show at the Elliot Gallery at Kaleidoscope Art Foundation.

Here are some photos of the show.

Artist Ronnie Chameau is most known in Bermuda for her Banana Doll Ornaments and in 2009 was rewarded for those efforts by being featured on a holiday postage stamp collection. What few people knew was that her true love is water color painting! Her ink and water colors paintings of Bermuda cottages is a delight with some of them resembling photographs until you look at them more closely! This year she featured more than 20 paintings from her collection.

Ronnie Lopes is a Bermudian of Portuguese descent and a multi talent as well. Ronnie owns a pet shop in Devonshire, raises prize winning chickens, is a talented musician who performs here and abroad AND began creating rustic furniture from Bermudas blow downs, removals and recycled lumber. His following is ever increasing and he somehow finds time in his busy work life to create some pretty wonderful things! He has ventured out into some more artful pieces for the garden shown at this event. His oversized tricycle and garden wheel barrow were a big hit.

My work this year was about new things for me as well. I did not show one hairlock painting! Since the Bermuda fiber festival I have discovered the beauty and intrigue of Nuno Felting. As a result, I created a clothing collection made from silk using that technique. Additionally I have been playing with dyes and incorporated some Shibori dyeing techiniques into several pieces for the show.

In the end, this show for me was about trying new things, setting a goal, and finding my confidence by believing in my gut. I had no idea when I began working on this show what would evolve beyond a few sketches but I knew I would not likely show any paintings. It wasn't until January that I had a firm grasp of where my work was taking me and all along the way and up until a few weeks ago, I was unsure that it would finds it's way to the finish.
What I learned along the way is.... Do what you love with passion and it WILL come together. Seeing the final collection on display including the clothing on live models, and being able to stand back and be satisfied and proud of the results of my work was one of the most rewarding things I have ever accomplished!
Artists all create with the hope of selling some of their work. Having been in the clothing industry in my early career, I know what a challenge that can be. The fact that I did indeed sell some work with several possible commissions was more than I could have imagined!

But I digress form the big picture....

Ronnie Lopes invited some friends and felow musicians to jam with him at the opening. What a treat for
anyone who attended! A gathering of a half dozen of Bermuda's top musicians who don't necessarily ever play together, gathered and entertained us in a rare performance.

But that's still not all! Bermudians like to party and eat! Ronnie Lopes Portuguese family provided home made Kale and Red Bean soups and Ronnie Chameau had a friend make a "gurt pot" of Bermudian spicy fish chowder. Radio personality, in our pre show publicity, clarified to his audience that " a gurt defines the pot, not the soup!".
Make food and they will come they said.
And come they did......

Bermuda Papers Feature Upcoming Show!

2010-03-06T05:58:00.000-08:00

The count down has begun as the show opening fast approaches!

It's satruday morning and my goal is to have all pieces completed by tomorrow night with the exception of pressing out the wrinkles in the garments that need it. I see no reason not to be with the two pieces remaining that still need some work. YEAH! It's been a long but very rewarding two months of creating new and exciting things!
My compatriots and I have enjoyed some very nice publicity in the last few days with feature coverage in the two major newspapers on the island and we are scheduled to be interviwed on the David Lopes show on ZBM radio (am 1340) Bermuda on monday morning at 7:30am. Tune in to hear all about our show!

Helen Jardine of the Bermuda Sun ran an article last wednesday and the Royal Gazette's Jesse Moniz ran one in yesterday's paper with a front page teaser which was an awesome extra! Photos in the Gazette and the one I have posted here were taken by Mark Tatem who is one of the local favorite news photographers.

I hope that if you are on the "rock" that you will find a way to pop in to our event, and an event it is indeed! Ronnie Lopes is a musician and a few of his talented friends will be playing live keyboards and classical guitar in the background. Coming from a Portuguese heritage, Ronnie's family will be making and serving several Portuguese soups and Bermuda native Ronnie Chameau is providing a Bermuda fish chowder. Let's not forget our purpose though :-) On exhibit and all available for purchase will be Ronnie Chameau's rarely seen water color collections, Ronnie Lopes' rustic furniture with some fun yard art pieces and lots of new work from me will be seen on live models, so don't miss this event! A fun time will be had by all who come!

March 11th, 6 - 8 pm at the Elliot Gallery, Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation in Devonshire on the corner of Jubilee & Parsons Road.

See you there!

Fun with Children & Fiber Projects!

2010-03-05T05:41:00.000-08:00

It seems I just posted but more than a week has passed. WOW!

Each week brings me new surprises and learning potential. I make notes in my teaching journal for future reference and hope that I will find opportunities to continue teaching children fiber arts once I leave the island next fall.

This week the 5-7 yr old group continued to work on their needlepoint on plastic canvas. They are doing a great job considering this skill is a tough one for their little hands and minds to grasp. Not only are they using motor skills to maneuver the needle in and out of holes, they have to choose the right one to give them the proper pattern! Most know when they have erred and call me to the rescue but unless they have a knot or have made an egregious error that will give them gaps in their work, I allow the stitches to remain. Age doesn't necessarily dictate their progress. One of my youngest students is a diligent and focused child. As a result, she has completed more of her project than any other in class. I have no doubt that this project would be done by now if they could keep their attention on their work instead of what happened at school..... BUT, they are still little children after all :-)

I will give this project a rest for next week. I do not want them to become discouraged or bored with their progress. Another time I would use a smaller piece to learn this technique. They are always anxious to finish a piece so that they can take it home and show it off to their parents. I fear that this is one that they will not complete.

The five year olds had fun this week creating Yarn Bugs! I called them Love Bugs since we used little heart shapes for their mouths. This project gave them motor skill practice as they wrapped yarn around a block of wood to create the huge pompom that would become their bug! I asked them to count 100 wraps; no easy task for five year olds! I gave them a scrap of paper and pencil and asked them to wrap ten and make a mark, and do that ten times. Several accomplished that task, though not without error, Still, it was a good lesson in concentration, something they all need help with at this age. Although they are all five, I can pick out the youngest of the group by their attention and class behaviour. Keeping on task with a job has to be about something fun. To encourage wrapping from this child, he was reeling in a fish from way out at sea on the line of yarn. It worked!

After their pompoms were made with help from them to tie the center knot, the poms were placed over a styrofoam ball and glued in place. I had to help get get pipe cleaner legs into the foam. I hadn't anticipated this to be a problem but finding your way to the foam through the yarn was a bit challenging and once hte pipe cleaner ends have been bent, they will never pierce the foam. They then chose pom eyes and a heart for the mouth which we glued on with hot glue.

They were quite pleased with their projects when they left the classroom!

Onto the bigger kids....

This group is finishing up their woven stash bags woven on a cardboard loom. While they were working on those, I had a wonderful Montissouri teacher helping with the class as I began working on our next project. We are making a felt vest from commercial cloth which they are going to do crewel embroidery designs on. I have asked them to use simple symbols inspired from native american work. Wednesday I took two children at a time and taught them how to take proper measurements. We are not using a pattern since we are creating a very simple design using a rectangle of cloth that will have a slit for the front and a slit for the neck (in a T shape). The sides will be stitched up with yarn as in shoe lacing style and they will embelish the back of the vest with stitchery. While most of the class was weaving, I worked with two at a time so that by the time class was over, each had calculated the necessary dimension of their cloth, marked it and cut it out. We spent the last 15 minutes of class working on design. The most difficult part of that process is to have them understand what it means to have a simple design. I have found this time, as in the past, that they tend to get carried away with details in their drawings. I will have to help them edit to be sure they have not created a design that they will never be able to accomplish in our class time. I have suggested that they work out their basic design to begin with and adding steps of detail in small increments; stages if you will, that they can work on with good stopping points. This way as time allows, they can add a stage of development. My concern and what I am trying to avoid is a project that they can never possibly finish in our class time and their attention spans. It is important that they not bite off more than they can chew. It is important to me as well as them that they be successful and be able to wear this out of the last class of the term!

Until next time..................

Show Invitation

2010-02-26T05:25:00.000-08:00

Well the time is growing near for my annual Elliot Gallery show and this year I have gone way off the map! I have been hard at work on some silk clothing designs using Nuno felting techniques that I was inspired to do after our Bermuda Fiber Festival this year. I have no pictures yet but hope you will be able to join me at the opening on March 11th. There will be live models, traditional local food and live keyboard and classical guitar being played.

Join us for a fun evening!

Fiber Art Classes at Kaleidoscope with Adults & Children

2010-02-25T06:40:00.000-08:00

This week brought a variety of projects, some just begun and others finished up!

On the adult circuit, one of my new adult students who has been attending a class for Parent and Child has completed her first felting project and it turned out great! She quickly realized what goes into creating something by hand and has found a new appreciation for all things hand made. Well done!
She was very pleased with her beaded necklace which she is proudly wearing and enjoying. It is always rewarding when a student creates something that they are happy with and can be proud of.

Each children's class this week has been working on different projects. The monday class has begun a lesson in needlepoint on plastic canvas. I gave them each a small 3" square with their initial on it to create a monogramed mat. I was quite impressed that they mostly have gotten the concept though as always, some are more adept and quicker than others. In this class my tiniest student of 5 yrs old grasped this concept first and will be the first to complete her project! Although they often aren't working their rows of stitches in the same direction, I give them leeway on this since they are working hard to get the idea of working in the diagonal. If they end up with a chevron pattern here or there, I am calling it part of the design! I am most interested in them completing the project and at least doing the basic stitches. I should have photos of the finished projects next week.

The 5 yr old class this week did felted snakes. This was a very good one hour project and they loved their end project! They all completed their snakes successfully without having to rush. The challenge for this group is to keep them on task while working the felt for a fairly long period of time. I am convinced that part of my role in their young lives is to be teaching them patience and perserverence :-)

Not bad lessons to learn early in life!

My 8 & ups this week continued to work on their cardboard loom weaving projects. Their challenge continues to be learning to work while they socialize. Many children in my classes seem to need their hands to talk and get a point accross :-) Their lesson is to learn to "walk and talk" as they finsish their projects. They should be finished next week with the exception of a few students who were absent for a week.

The next project for the older children will be an ambitious surface design project using basic crewel embroidery skills on a commercial wool felt to make a wearable vest. It may take us the balance of the term to complete them but they seem keen on the idea of completing a piece that they can wear. I'll keep you poested on our progress.

Until next time.......

Braiding & Weaving with 5 - 7 yr olds

2010-02-19T04:30:00.000-08:00

Week five of term has past and six more to go til the end of the term. So much to do, so little time!

This week the 5-7 yr old class worked on braiding. This was as much a lesson to me as it was to them, though in a different way. The children learned that braiding is simply, right to the middle, left to the middle over and over again. The hard part is controlling the three strands, maintaining even tension and snugging up the work so that the braid is consistant and even. Well, maybe not so simple after all :-)

I learned that using strips of cloth for young new braiders is not the best option. Though their braid quality was pretty much as expected, I had intended for them to lace their finished braids into coasters. I felt this was a task they could accomplish. What I found was that the cloth combined with inconsistent braiding made it difficult for the children to find the gaps among the fabric folds so that they could lace them together. They did not have the skill to fold the fabrics neatly within their braid. In another braiding class, I would use either chunky yarns or we also have some other rope like mediums that I don't know the name of. They look like rafia covered ropes and come in different thicknesses. We happen to have a thin one in stock that would have allowed for the children to find greater success in their project. It would have been easier for them to braid and they would have been able to easily see where they should insert their needles to lace them together without their needles getting stuck in the folds of fabric.

In the end, they each went home with a length of braid. Many had them wrapped around their heads as a decorative head band. They seemed pleased with their projects but next time :-)............

My five year olds finished up their weaving projects this week. In a previous class they had dyed some yarns using Kool - Aid which they used in their weaving. Each successfully created a weaving done on a small frame loom. I especially like this project because it can be finished at any time. It doesn't really matter that one child has a long weaving or that another's is short. In the end, they all go home with an amulet pendant or an ornament/wall hanging, depending on their preference. In this class, two children had enough length so that we were able to fold the weaving in half and stitch the edges to make a little pouch or medicine/treasure bag. It's the one in the center of the photo.

The older group began a weaving project this week as well. They are in process of weaving a small stash bag on a small cardboard loom designed by a friend who volunteers at the Fryeburg Fair for me. They have made pretty good progress though one of the challenges I am trying to help them over come in my class is the ability to "walk and talk"! It becomes very easy for them to flow into conversation and sway from the task at hand. This project is especially easy for them to practice this with since they have the hang of the weaving and only need to give special attention to the changing of yarns and their color choices. I hope that they will finish their bags next week, but, we'll see!
Until then..................

Crochet with 8 - 10 yr olds

2010-02-04T05:56:00.000-08:00

Who would have ever thougth this would be so difficult! These are students who learned drop spindle in just a few hours and though they did very well with the basic chain stitch, as soon as I started to get dimensional, they looked at me with that outer space vagueness that I so comprehend :-) This was a big surprise to me. I personally find crochet to be easy compared to drop spindle. Fewer things to have to think about. BUT, we all process differently and I do not remember the actual learning of crochet. I remember my grandmother teaching me, but I don't remember how challenging I found it at the time.
We began with learning how to hold the yarn and the hook; a little challenging, but after a bit, and me adjusting to a simpler method of holding, they did a pretty good job of catching on to create a long chain with greater stitch consistency as they progressed. Once each seemed to have the hang of it, I felt it was time to make a simple flower done in the round using chain stitches and fastening to the center loop with a single crochet. The challenge seemed to be with spacial relationship and realizing that they are working an art in 3D instead of flat work. It was easy for them to get turned around especially when they put their work down and were not able to recognize which way was up when they picked it up again. I responded by marking their center with a bit of contrasting yarn which helped. In the end, they were all successful at creating at least a part of a flower if not a completed one during our class time, but they are not anxious to revisit this fiber art too soon. All but one found it quite challenging!
I've not decided yet whether I will let them pass on this yet. I believe crochet is one of those things that once you get the hang of a few simple stitches your world of creative options opens up and it's something you rarely forget once you learn it. We'll see:-)..........
So a week off from classes next week which means I will put my nose to the grindstone and work on show pieces. Time is creeping away and diligence will be improtant for me.

Until next time............

Weaving with Children 5 - 7 yrs old

2010-02-02T15:23:00.000-08:00

We are now in week 4 of classes and everyone seems to be settling in. It always takes a few classes for us to get to know each other so that children can focus on their work.
Last week we dyed yarns with Kool -Aid which they began weaving with this week. The 5-7 yr old group was given a cardboard circle loom which they warped on their own pretty well. I asked them to follow my step by step instructions and found that their biggest challenge was making sure that their first warp thread cut the circle in half which makes sure the center of their weaving is in the center of the circle.
Usually if left to their own choices I find that instead of students choosing complementary colors to weave with, that they choose colors that they like with no regard for how they look when put together. I like to give hte children choices but I am often heart sick when they do a great job with the technical part of their projects but end up with a caucophny of color that is more distracting than atracting. I of course always complement their work as wonderful in spite of their color choices! Since the yarns they were weaving with were dyed with a limited number of colors, I put out a variety of warp thread colors that would go well with all of the yarns that they had. It worked! They got to make a choice that I too would enjoy :-)
The tricky part of circle weaving is the center but once they got that taken care of, they all managed to finish their pieces enough so that with a few extra minutes in class with patient parents, we were able to get all but one tied off and ready to be taken home! Yeah!
I quite enjoy the 5 yr old class falling on the day after the 5-7's. I like to have them do the same projects if possible and I am able to assess that easily after the 5-7 yr old class does their project. It was obvious to me that the 5's would not be able to deal with the fussy center of the circle weaving as a first weaving project. We also have only one hour in class and whenever possible, I like to have them complete a project in one session. I knew that the circle weaving would be too agressive for the little ones so I chose to do a simple weaving on a frame loom. No need to warp it. I did that for them ahead of time. I simply wanted them to begin to understand the concept of over and under to create a cohesive piece using the yarns they had dyed in a previous class. This groups attention span is short. Not having the older children in class as role models for focus, attention and discipline, seems to make a difference. They feed off of each other's energy which isn't always directed at their work. In spite of that, they do great work when they do focus so I k now they are gretting it. Getting them to work at it is sometimes another story. We did not get our weavings finished in one session but they all get it and are doing nice work!
Next week is a school vacation week so there will be no regular KAF classes. 1/2 term csmp will be in session and I will have a week off to spend extra time working on my own artwork for my upcomming show at the Elliot gallery in March.
Until next time.........

Shibori Dyeing on Silk with Children

2010-01-28T05:33:00.000-08:00

Good Morning!

I have been gifted a teacher's dream! A group of 8-10 yr olds that are focused, interested and enthused about what we do in my classroom!
I had planned to follow the lesson plan for the younger children with this group but their maturity, interest level and focus made it feel like they needed to do more. I ended up adjusting my lesson plan to a lesson in Shibori dyeing on silk and used the real deal acid dyes and they did a stellar job. No spills, no messes, clean hands and clothes, and beautiful scarves to take home!
I began with safety issues and the differences between acid dyes and fiber reactive dyes. I only recently have gotten involved in more dyeing so have been learning along the way as well. They were asked to consider their color choices and how it might affect the patterns they would be creating as they experimented with color and unwrapped their surprises in the end. We were able to use the newly donated microwave to set the dyes which worked out perfectly! There were no disappointments on this day............
I have found that dissappointments come with expectations. Unless one is a master at what he does, expectations can often lead to unhappiness. That doesn't mean that we can not aspire to better things, but as we are learning, experimenting and challenging ourselves with new tasks, we can not possibly know outcome. Instead, attempting to know outcome is what we strive for. It is often said that there are no mistakes in art. I believe that to be true. However, I do believe there are mistakes in technique.
The classes and lessons that I pass on in my classes are primarily about technique; learning how to use the tools of an art so that one if interested, might practice it. It is with practice and experimentation that we progress to become masters who might be able to successfully predict outcome. But, any artist will tell you that some of their finest moments have come with "'mistakes" for incredible outcome.
Shibori dyeing to achieve a certain pattern or outcome is all about practice. It's about learning how the dye bleeds into the voids when using different application methods, it's about learning to understand how colors react to one another. It's also about learning that sometimes less is more in the final design.
These students had a terrific time experimenting! They watched and exclaimed as they combined colors to create new ones. Several chose to create specific patterns with fewer colors while others were taken by trying as much colors as possible and you can see their affects in the photos.
A good time was had by all and their hope is to repeat this process again another day.
OH, so many lessons........ so little time :-)
Once our dye projects were completed, we returned to drop spindle spin practice and I have at least one student who has figured out this challenging skill. Dexterity is paramount. The ability to multi task by coordinating several things at once is not always easy. But, she is already with just a few hours of time, spinning a fine yarn and managing the feed without getting it tangled and has also learned to add to the roving without assistance. Brilliant! The others are coming along as well and I expect that within the next few classes will be in a similar place with it. The spindles will be available for practicing during luls in class or with extra time before class begins. I never had any expectation of teaching anyone to successfully spin on a drop spindle while here. I imagined no one would have interest enough to take it on. Glad to know I was wrong!

Until next time!

Kool - Aid Dyeing with Children

2010-01-27T05:10:00.000-08:00

This week brings us one of the children's favorite things to do! Kool - Aid Dyeing..............
Not only is the smell of the Kool - Aid a delight to the nostrils, but children seem to love the idea that they can have so much impact on something; They can alter the appearance of a piece of yarn with a brush and bit of Kool - Aid. How great is that!

Instructions for Kool - Aid dyeing are all over the net and understandibly so. It is an effective, NON TOXIC way to change the color of protein fibers and readily available. In fact, it's the only non toxic one that I know of, but I also have not researched it. If there's another I would like to know of it!

I included this project in all of my classes for ages 5 through 7. The youngest, a group of 5 year olds kept focused for the whole hour with few interuptions. I know this means they were enjoying their project! As usual, it took some children longer to complete their dyeing than others but this comes from several observations. Some are particular. Though their skills may not necessarily match their ability, they take their time and are following directions carefully. They are not into quantity but are looking for quality in their work. Others are inspired to complete as much work as possible in the given time. They are competitive and want to show the others that they are fast and have produced more. Sometimes they are messy, but some find a way to be fast and neat at the same time. One child did this by dyeing three out of four yarns one solid color. The first one was rainbow dyed, changing colors every few inches. This takes more time. I will never know for sure if this child chose to paint one color instead of multi colors for speed but the competitive behavior and comments that were made after, leads me to believe that they were interested in being first and found a way to do that. Fascinating to me!
One little one commented that they thought it was going to be boring but that in fact it wasn't at all and that they were enjoying the process! Pretty big idea for a 5 yr old! The 5 - 7 yr olds were diligent and productive with lots of yarns painted. Of course this age group seems to always be looking to take their projects home. To their dismay, this wasn't allowed because next week we will do circle weaving and the children will use their dyed yarns in that project. Once the item leaves the classroom, it never comes back! So no matter how tempted I am to please them by letting them bring them home with a promise to return them, I know better :-)

One of our adult fiber enthusiasts was renovating her kitchen and donated her old microwave to our classroom to be used for both dyeing and wet felting. I use the microwave to re-heat my felting projects since water in Bermuda is a precious commodity. No need to pour the cold water down the drain when I can effectively re-heat it, project and all! Not too much though. Just enough to warm it up again.

I was able to experiment with setting the dye in a microwave right in the classroom this time and the children were quite impressed with that idea. I used to have to hold these calsses in the HUB, our kitchen space at the school, so that I could set up a steam bath on the stove. Of course there's no concern for toxicity with these dyes but I have labeled the oven that it can no longer be used for food because I intend to use it for chemical dyes as well. I try to always be passing on tid bits of info to the children. I know that their attention spans and capacity to absorb is sometimes limited, but you never know what might stick so I explained that we could never use our classroom microwave for food again because some dyes are toxic and would make the microwave unsafe for food anymore. I told them that Kool - Aid dyes could be set in the home microwave because that is safe for us to drink, so is also safe to put in the microwave, even at home.

So, the older group will be dyeing in today's class. More to come on that one later..........

Shibori for Me & Shibori workshop for Children 8 & up!

2010-01-23T07:25:00.000-08:00

I have begun playing with Shibori dyeing and I'm not quite sure how I got into it at this moment! But into it I am, and enjoying the surprises!

I am preparing for a show with Ronnie Chameau, noted Bermuda water colorist, banana doll maker and basket maker, and Ronnie Lopes, rustic furniture maker. I decided that it was time to take this opportunity to explore the many fiber arts that interest me so Hairlock Paintings will take a back seat this time around and represent only a small portion of the show.

I have been working on some pillows using various Shibori techniques. The one I am sharing today is a "wrap & cap" technique where small dried beans are bound into the silk with thread, dyed, then wrapped with plastic wrap, bound again and the balance of the piece is then space died. I actually painted the dyes on. Sound labor intensive? It is! Unbinding the beans took forever but I did get more proficient after the first one. Thank goodness! But, it has given me my favorite results! Doesn't that figure.... Anyway, I'm including some photos of the process and results.

Though Shibori can be intensive, I thought that it would be a great little project for my older fiber students so I will be offering a special Valentine workshop on February 12th from 4 - 6:30pm.

Students will enter the wonderful world of Shibori Dyeing to create a heart surface design and create a pillow! The "Stitching and wrapping" technique and basic sewing skills and resist dyeing, will be used by students to create a heart design on silk. No experience is necessary and children should wear old clothes!

I'm looking forward to adding Shibori to my regular class curriculum and know that the children will have a great time doing it! I will use Kool -Aid dyes in my classroom since they are non toxic so can safely be used by any age and be heat set in a microwave for quick results. We have been lucky enough to be gifted a used microwave that I will use for both dyeing and wet felting. A microwave is a nice tool to re-heat a felt piece in progress to quicken the felting process; an important factor in keeping children encouraged that their work is progressing more quickly.

These are some photos of the prototype. They haven't been stuffed properly and are only pinned closed for now. I have to go intown to buy filling and I procrastinate driving into Hamilton whenever possible! The backer is some lovely donated fabric that is a nice sueded flannel so very soft and cozy and a nice color match to the red dyed silk.

All for now! Time to go and create!

Until next time.........

The Wooley Story Hour with 5 yr olds......

2010-01-22T05:54:00.000-08:00

This is the first time I have had a group of children who are all five years old! After last week I quickly realized that I can not do all of the projects with them that I do in my 5-7 yr old class. It was interesting to conclude that when a few five year olds are mixed into a group who are up to seven years old, their behavior rises to the level of the older children in class; they take their cue from them. On the other hand, when put together with others of the same age, they have no role models; no one to emulate. Result? A VERY different atmosphere in the class room!
As a result of learning this, I shifted gears and have begun bringing their project levels down a notch or two. Additionally, the 5 yr old class is only one hour long which also is a limiter on the projects we can complete.

Now that I have experienced this learning curve, I am back on track and now know how to proceed with this group! We began with a lovely story book written by Elsa Maartman Beskow called Pelle's New Suit which tells the story of a little boy, his lamb and how he uses his lamb to get himself a new suit. After the story I did a brief drop spindle demonstration which always amazes.

The project of the day was for the children to do some wet felting in a baggie. This is an easy project for them to find success with which they all did! I had prepared the usual three layers of fibers in a baggie ahead of classtime and added a bit of soapy warm water to each. I had them work them until they were firm enough to remove from the bag and finish up by rolling them in bumpy shelf gripper.

Next week? Kool - Aid Dyeing. I will have them paint yarns which they will then use in a circle weaving project.

Hand Spinning with Children at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation.....

2010-01-21T05:06:00.000-08:00

This was spinning week with two of my classes.....

I use an unconventional method with a clamp to teach them the basic concept of what's happening when a yarn is being spun. We used a coarse, short narrow piece of wool roving; A breed that might be good for needle felting so that it is less slick. The smaller narrower piece makes it easier for them to draft from and will spin less than a yard of yarn. I begin by demonstrating how to draft which each of them has encountered in my felting classes. I then show them how to twist the tip and clamp it to the table. Once they have done that They begin drafting and twisting in a clockwise manner until they reach the end. There was very little difficulty with over drafting to the breaking point and though there was not a consistent twist in their yarns, each was successful at creating a length of plied yarn! Next week we will add their yarns to some factory spun to do some kool - aid dyeing.
Once they completed their yarns, I demonstrated the drop spindle and each of them got a chance to try with my assistance. Spinning continues to amaze everyone who sees it being done. It's like magic!

The 5 - 7 yr old group worked with me as I had them draft....slide...
and pinch while I held the work and spun the spindle. Unfortunately I couldn't take photos while doing this but maybe next time I can try to get one of my student to be acting photographer!

I did the same with the 8 and up group but after they had a turn at the spindle with me, I gave them each a spindle to use. I was impressed that although it was challenging for them, they managed to spin without too many breaks. The hardest things for them to grasp are to add another length of roving to their work and which way to spin the spindle. Their insecurities kept me hopping so I never got a shot of them spinning on their own. I plan to have them work on their yarns during class down times so will make a point of getting a photo of them in action another time!

In the end, I asked how much they enjoyed learning to spin in spite of it's challenges and they all were enthused and glad to be doing it! Another successfule class!

Felting with 8 - 10 Year Olds.......

2010-01-14T05:49:00.000-08:00

I've now met all of my new students for the term at KAF and it's a great group of kids! The newest ones are the 8-10 yr olds and they are so enthused! Two of them are returning students glad to be back, and the others seem genuinely glad to be in class. All are looking forward to our next time together. What more can a teacher ask for?

In this class students learned to make a multi colored felt roll that was cut into slices and strung onto elastic thread to make a bracelet. The two hour class time didn't allow for us to string the remaining beads for necklaces but we'll finish that up next week.

Students did such a good job of felting that it was a bit difficult to thread the beads! We had to use pliers to pull the needle through their work. Well done! This means the beads will hold up and not easily fall apart. It helped that we used Merino this time!

One of the lessons they learned is that felting is a labor intensive job. Children in my classes are always asking if they are done felting; is it enough.... I always try to get them to keep going but give them the option to make an informed decision by telling them they can be done, but that if they continue, their efforts will pay off with a stronger felt that will stand the test of time. Most respond by continuing to work but ultimately, it's their choice.

These students kept at it and have created some great beads! They can be proud of their work!

Next week, we spin a yarn! Stay tuned..........

Children's Fiber Art Classes have begun!

2010-01-13T11:03:00.000-08:00

The ball is rolling now! The first week of children's classes has begun and I'm so excited about the success of registration this term!

Children's options began on Sunday with a mom & child fiber class. Children range in age from 6 to 11 and our first project was to felt a vessel. All of the children and some of the moms' already had some felting experience. I think the mom's who had never felted before may have found a new respect for their children's efforts:-) It's hard work to felt!

My monday class is for 5-7 yr olds and I have a large class for this type of work. I usually have a cut of of 8 children so that I can give them the attention they need but somehow a ninth one got under my radar. I have boys this term! Three of the nine in this group are boys. That's great but will keep me challenged for two reasons. Fiber arts projects tend to lend themselves to girlie things and boys have a lot of energy! They keep me hopping! In the end, we managed to get some beads felted that were made from a roll of felt and sliced into discs. I had some Harrisville batts that I used so they could avoid laying out fibers for a first project but it took a bit longer to felt so would not use it again in this situation. Good old Merino felts so fast and the children have a hard time concentrating when they have to work the fiber for too long to get it to felt. Everything is relative of course but it's important to make it as quick and painless for them as possible.

Tuesdays I have a group of 6, 5 yr olds and 4 of them are boys!!! I am so surprised! Most of them had participated in workshops at the Bermuda fiber festival and wanted to return! The atmosphere in my classrooms this year is definitely different with all of that energy from the boys. We'll see how it goes and if I can keep their interest. It was slow going but all students managed to felt one small ball that either got strung as a necklace or on a loop for a key ring. Success was had by all:-)

Today, Wednesday, I have a smaller group with only one boy. WE will do roll beads in this class but this time I will use my reliable merino. I'll let you know how we do!

Teaching Fiber Arts at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation

2010-01-12T05:01:00.001-08:00

The new Winter term of classes has begun at KAF and I am one busy teacher! Now that classes have begun I will bring you updates on my sutdents progress as the term unfolds....

Fiber is really catching on in Bermuda after three years of success with the annual Bermuda Fibre Festival event. Enthusiasts are developing in both children and adults. My class schedule is proof enough that our efforts are paying off and we are creating interest in this wonderful artform! I am teaching five classes this term!

The term began with an adult "play date" which is scheduled for twice a month over the three month term. The classroom is busting to capacity with women who had never done any fiber arts until they attended one of our festivals. Two are the exception, a handspinner whose schedule has each year prevented her from participating and another who missed our events but loves any artform and was looking for a class to fit her schedule.

These sessions are intended to allow us to gather, create, share and mentor each other in a supportive environment. We all lead busy lives and often find it difficult to make time for ourselves to do what WE like to do, and this seems to be providing that space. There was a mix of projects going on that included wet felting placemats, a three dimensional fish which had been learned at fiber fest, and two newbies followed my instructions as I created a prototype of a bowl for a future class. The newbies were thrilled! They could not get over how successful they were and how pleased they were with their creations. They can't wait to return! The phot above is a vessel made by a first time felter. Nice work!

There was some tough love learning going on as well. One woman is working on felt samples of various fibers to help her decide what fiber she wants to use to ultimately create a felted quilt. She is a new felter and purchased samples of various wool fibers to experiment with. She learned some hard lessons that day.

Lesson # 1. Smaller samples are best - By the time I noticed what she was up to, she had layed out a two foot square; agressive for any sample and a new felter. It turned out in the end, that the fiber would not felt! I regret to say I don't remember what breed it was but it was a coarser fleece and though in the beginning it looked like it was doing ok, the surface had formed a skin but once she began the fulling process the layers just wouldn't bond.

Lesson # 2. felt a ball from the fiber first - I recommend if you have a fiber that you would like to felt something out of and no experience or information about it's ability to felt, begin by felting a small ball. In just a few short minutes, you will see whether or not the fiber felts in the first place and move on from there.

Lesson # 3. A little research can save time and money. Refer to a micron count chart or fiber charts available in many felting books as a guide. Finer fibers tend to felt quicker and give a softer finished product. Felting books will tell you what fibers they are using in their projects and the list is not that long. Certaily there are many wools that can be used but the most popular ones and easiest to buy are most commonly used. Additionally, a search on the web for a specific breed of wool and felting (IE: dorset & felting) will give you a pretty good indication of the felting qualities of a breed. Often you might only find reference to needle felting. This is your clue that it may not be the best bet for wet felting.

I left my camera at school so have no pictures to show but will add one as soon as I can!

Watch for new posts on class projects with both children and adults coming soon!

Bermuda Fiber Festival - Nuno, Painting with Wool & Needle Felted Sculpture

2009-12-09T12:17:00.000-08:00

Bermuda Fibre Festival held at Kaleidsocope Arts Foundation in November this year was a wonderful success yet again!

Attendance went from 303 spots filled last year to a whopping 442! Almost 400 of those spots were children learning about fiber!

Our program offered more than 60 toddlers "the wooley story' and allowed them to felt in a baggie. While local school groups totaling 162 felted birds, felted on soap, and wove ornaments.

Adults took part with great enthusiasm and Bermuda can now boast having some fiber enthusiasts among its residents thanks in great part to this annual event.

The best part of this event for me besides its resounding success? I got to take some classes for a change. How great is that! I am always the one who organizes these kinds of things and runs around like a chicken without a head making sure everything is running smoothly but rarely get the chance to participate. This year was different!

My very favorite workshop was with Fiber Artist Marianne Dubois making a nuno felted scarf in her class called "hip to be square". This is a basic nuno class with a twist! A square of silk is used to felt on and then strategically cut in a spiral to make a lovely shawl. I love it and the possibilities for design are endless since nuno allows for interesting rushing effect and other fun textural design depending on your fiber layout. I was able to create a Peony Rose design inspired by Sumi-e which I studied with Sumi-e Master Susan Frame. Sumi-e influences alot of my artwork and I am excited at the possibilities this brings for me! My photography stinks but you get the idea.

Additionally, I was lucky enough to take two workshops with Sharon Costello most known for her Doll creations in needle felt. This was fun and I have been playing with it since taking the class! Last but not least, I took Sharon's painting with wool class as well. This, a more intense study for me, took me out of the box and left me with a pleasing result. More to work on with that one!
So off I go to work on my Charman Exhibition piece that I must complete by the 22nd!

R&D - felting for Children's Fiber Art Classes

2009-12-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

AHHHhhhhhh..... It's so nice to be creating again!

My time is my own, sort of, now that my events are complete for the year!

I did do some creating during the Bermuda Fibre Festival that I will share with you later but for now I wanted to share this fun hat!

The pattern comes from "Uniquely Felt" and though mine doesn't really look like the finsihed one in the book, I love it!

It's a great pattern in several ways. First it doesn't use much fiber. A mere two ounces of merino! And because it uses so little, it's a pretty quick project to felt. That's exactly what I need for my upcoming children's classes! They often don't have the patience or the stamina to do larger projects but this one will be a good one for them.

I'm also working on my entry for this year's Charman exhibit. It's a surprise for now and will share that with you when it's done as well. It is a collage of sculpture that is being needle felted. FUN!

I have a reprieve until the 11th of January when the winter term at Kaleidoscope begins where I teach. Between holiday travel and the usual admin that I accumulate I get to play and work on some things that I have been creating in my mind. So off I go!

See you again soon!

I'm Back!

2009-12-07T04:07:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe that I love this blog for my lack of attention to it these last few months!

Ok so where did I leave off? Oh yes, just before the Fryeburg Fair.... WOW!

Fiber Artist Ellen Hedglin was our guest artist this year and brought us advocacy for women in her art. The figure in this photo has a skin of wool felted over it for a very interesting effect! Her other work reflected influences from her experience with teaching in Bermuda last year. Ellen is always experimenting with new and innovative ideas! She was missed at the fair this year. She has been participating in this educational fiber event for about 15 years! We look forward to her return in 2010!

Fryeburg Fair seems to be resession proof! My assessment is that it has such a large following that when one sector does not come one year another fills in the gap. Attendance was wonderful as was the weather most of the week. Our building as always, did not lack for spectators to see all of the incredible work that is represented here.

Our building was indeed lacking this year however. Our friend and compatriot Marc Chabe, was battling cancer during the fair this year and lost that battle a few short weeks after. He was a fun endearing man who supported his wife in her fiber business, learned to spin because of her and loved it, and created a beautiful spinning wheel to leave behind. His smile and easy going manner during a stressful event will be sorely missed and we will remember him as a unique fiber friend!

I left for home shortly after the fair and Bermuda Fiber Festival came quickly after my return! A report on that event will come soon! I promise :-)

1 in 8: "Busting Out" in Bermuda!

2009-09-28T05:54:00.000-07:00

Well I'm almost out the door to catch a plane for Maine to attend my annual fiber event at the Fiber Center at the Fryeburg Fair. BUT, I could not leave without posting this update regarding the fundraising event for women's breast cancer in Bermuda. The show will be held at the Elliot Gallery at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation on Thursday October 15th.

I posted a picture in an earlier entry of the my first submission which I called "Delicate Subject". It is a teddy like top made from Silk with wool Nuno surface designs which was inspired by my interest in Sumi-e; Asian Ink Painting. If you scroll down you will see the image.

This piece is an altogehter different one! Silly and fun but with an undertone in it's title which I have gien it. "Laying of Hands".
So here it is!

Enjoy the humor but know that it has a double intendre; that I ask the universe for the healing power of the "Laying of Hands" for all women afflicted with the battle of this disease.

See you when I get back!

Bermuda Fibre Festival & Fryeburg Fair Fiber Center Exhibit

2009-09-25T05:17:00.000-07:00

I have been busy as a beaver trying to take care of all of the final details of Bermuda Fibre Festival so that the event website can be updated and registration for workshops to begin. It is done at last and you can now visit the event website for schedules, class descriptions and fees.

My Kaleidoscope teaching schedule is also included in the event website. Iwill be returning to the classroom in January to continue the "Fibre Frenzy" program for children 5-10 yrs and have added a "Wearable Fiber Art" program for 11 yrs & Up. I will also be offering four adult workshops that will be one and two day events between January and March. Visit the Bermuda Fibre Festival website for more details.

US Teachers have been contracted, Schedule has been set, materials have been purchased and registration has begun, just in time for me to leave for Maine to attend the Fryeburg Fair and manage the Fiber Center exhibit for the 18th year!

The Fibre Center planning is complete with a few minor details to take care of. As always, I think we have a terrific program with tons of educational fiber demonstrations going on all week. The Fiber Center Schedule is available now on this link.

I have created more Fibre & Wire earrings for The Fiber Center Exhibit this year. I debuted them last year and they were quite popular so I have built up my inventory for a better selection. I still have more to finish up but I think I will make the deadline :-) In addition to the earring collection, I will as always, be offering the Alpaca knitted goods and teddy bears from Peru.

Speaking of deadlines! It never ends!

I have committed to participating in an exhibition titled "1 in 8 - Busting Out". One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and this Bermuda event is to raise awareness and funds with an exhibition of bra inspired creations. The BDA Sun, one of the local papers did a story about one of my pieces. As is usual with most newspaper articles, not all of the details of my work or my piece is correct, but close enough. The piece shown in the article which I am calling "Delicate Subject", is a nuno felted piece: Merino wool on silk , that was inspired by my interest in Sumi-e, Asian Ink Painting and which inspires most of my artwork. I am working on an additional Needle Felted piece which I will be calling "Laying of Hands". I will post a photo of it before the exhibition but for now I MUST go as I have lots to do before I leave for the U.S. on monday!

Happy Fall!

Fiber & Wire Earrings

2009-08-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer.....

Mine is moving at light speed as usual! I am busy with planning the Fiber Center Exhibition during Fryeburg Fair week which begins on Oct 4th this year. The schedule is almost complete with just a few slots remaining to be filled. I will let you know as soon as it gets published on the web. This is a great educational event where folks can see demonstrations of a multitude of fiber arts and where supplies and fiber art materials are available for purchase as well as fine hand crafted natural fiber art and products.

On a personal note, I have been busy creating an inventory of Wire & Fiber earrings for the fair. I trialed them last year and was very pleased with the results. I had several styles that were most popular and so am focusing on those.

I have completed my stock of the Cages and Spools but am still working on the Squiggles and Ess curves. I have chosen to do a variety of colors for a nice display.

Some of my Hairlock Paintings will also be on display as part of the overall fiber show in the upper gallery of the Fiber Center.

In between planning the Fiber Center exhibition and my fiber and wire work, I am hard at work on the third annual Bermuda Fiber Festival. That event is coming along nicely and planning pretty much on schedule. There will be a big push soon on ordering materials for the event which is always an arduous task!

Additionally, I am working on some pieces for an "Artful Bra" exhibition to raise awareness and funds to help fight breast cancer. This event will take place in Bermuda at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation in the Elliot gallery beginning with an opening on October 15th. I will just make it back to the island on that day for the event. Watch for a sneak preview of some of that work soon!

Children's Fiber Art Camp......

2009-08-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

I just finished teaching a summer Fiber Art Camp for children at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation (KAF). What Fun!

Was it challenging? YES!
Did we accomplish lots? YES!
Did the Children like it? YES!
Did we all work hard? Definitely YES!

It was my first experience with teaching fiber art for a full day. I can honestly say that we all found success! Although there is always something that you might change a second time around, our week together worked out great.

The focus for this camp was felting, though I added some dyeing, weaving and knotting into the pot for a bit of diversion and added interest. The challenge was to keep the children interested and working hard while maintaining our goals and still having fun.

The KAF program required that multiple projects be completed with one major project finished before the week was up. Our week began with wet felting balls and geodes. The challenge here is for them to learn how much pressure they can apply to the wool to felt it as quickly as they can without creating folds or mis-shappen balls. As the spheres get firmer, they learn that they can apply more pressure without damage to the ball that they are creating.The children were very intrigued with the random geode designs that they created after we cut the balls open to reveal how the colors they mixed, formed a pattern. Enthused about the possibilities, they felted these little gems as long as I let them! Here are some student samples...

Next they were introduced to needle felting; a dry felting process that is done with coarser wool and special barbed needles. My children ranged from 7 - 14 year olds. As a children's art teacher, one of my biggest challenges is to teach the younger children that our tools are not toys. It is hardwired into their brain that if it exists, it is meant to be played with! Needle felting needles are not only very sharp but they are also fragile. Needle Felting is done on a foam pad so that the needles have a soft surface to go through protecting their ends from snapping should they hit a hard surface. It is also important that the needles move in an up and down motion without bending them in any way while they are pentrating the fibers or the foam. Well, let it serve to say that we went through many needles and that I constantly was finding myself reminding the children to store their needles in the foam for safety. Having said all of that though, there was no major blood loss and the children loved doing this!

We began with flat shapes using cookie cutters as a pattern. They later embellished them with eyes and other appropriate additions. Once they got the hang of the flat work, I moved them on to a 3D design of a fish. This project taught them how to add different body parts to achieve their desired design goals.

My plan was for them to take the sum of all the parts that they had created and turn them into something. I had made mobiles in my science class in high school and decided this was a perfect way to incorporate all of their creations into one. Not only did it make sense but this gave them a chance to think about design and balance. They each did a great job of creating a unique piece that I was quite proud of! As you can see from this photo, they were too! This child incorporated some braiding that he did in the after care program into his final piece.

Ok, so that brought us to mid week. Yes! All of that work in just a few days. The next days would be as productive but moved back to wet felting. Our major project was to make a felted puppet. Using a resist method and surface design, students each created very different creatures! Though they quickly learned that wet felting a larger piece takes a lot of "elbow grease", they managed to work it through to the end! Here are photos of some of their work.

And finally, a few other things that they created...

Kool - Aid Dyed Rovings Felted Bird Ornaments Felted Snakes

Now I am working in earnest on the Fiber Center Exhibition at Fryeburg Fair from OCtober 4 - 11th and the Bermuda Fibre Festival planning which will take place from November, 12th - 22nd.

Off to work!

Finally, after their puppets were done, students spent the last afternoon creating wet fetled snakes and Little bird ornaments. We also took the time to photograph their work and to let them know what a terrific job they did during camp week. I was rewarded with hugs from teh lot and even heard a remark from one that this was the best camp they had ever been too! A definite feather in my cap!

Here are a few more photos of the some things they created during their week with me :-)

The Madness of the Last Month!

2009-06-21T03:51:00.000-07:00

I seem to always be appologizing for the delay in posts, but this has been a very long one, so in spite of the craziness, I bring you news!

I'm not sure where to begin, so I just will ....

Kaleidoscope's Spring term has ended. I have completely enjoyed teaching Fiber Arts to these children. They did a terrific job with their projects and seemed to have a great time!

Our last class was a felting class and children created a small coin purse using a resist. They all accomplished the task though some of their felt was stronger than others. Their challenge in this class was learning that felt is labor intesive. I often heard them say "I'm done" after following my instructions to rub this way or that for for barely enough time for me to walk away :-) The good news is that they saw it through helping them to learn that I wasn't just trying to make them work, but that it really took some elbow grease to get the job done. Each was delighted with the end product. I am sad to say that at the end of class, while saying good bye for the summer, that I did not take photos! Shame on me! I did manage this shot while they were working though.
I will not return to teaching my Fibre Arts classes at KAF until the winter term. My fall commitments between the Fryeburg Fair and the Bermuda Fibre Festival keep me traveling and too busy to be available every week to teach class.

My next event is in Maine at the Saco Sidewalk Art Festival on Saturday June 27th. I have not done this event before. After doing the Audubon Show in Falmouth last year, I quickly realized that though it was an Art and Fine Craft Show, the audience was geared towards jewelry and pottery. No one was interested in wall art so I decided that I should attempt a show that brought an audience that was looking for paintings. Even though my work is non-traditional, it is in the "wall art" or paintings genre. I'll see how it goes! The economy may play a role in it's success but I felt it was worth trying it out. I'll let you know how it goes!
Today is moving day! We made a decision a short time ago to downsize for our last year and a half in Bermuda. We've found a very spacious one bedroom that we are looking forward to. Yes, we are on the down side of that slippery slope and expect to be stateside by the end of 2010. That sounds like a long way off but as time flies, we will be back before we know it.

I've been babysitting "Casper" for a woman who has returned to the UK. He could not leave when she did because his health requirements were not finished in time. It has been a nightmare trying to figure out what has to be done when. Add to that an uncertain return date due to an inability for the owner to find a safe home for him until she gets settled, and you get lots of stress and many phone calls and trips to various offices. He is scheduled to fly off on wednesday next week. He was a good guy to have around and I will miss him but it is time. Any longer and I will have grown too attached!

And finally, I leave for Maine on thursday not only for the Saco Sidewalk Art Festival but for a week's vacation on a Maine Lake with family. AHHhhhhhh...... We always have a great time. Good FOOD, good COMPANY, GAMES, MOVIES and lots of LAUGHS.

When I return, I will be focusing on a week long Fiber Art Camp for Children at KAF. This will be a first for me and I am thoroughly looking forward to having a great time teaching Fiber Arts with a focus on Felting with a group of children from 7-14 years old. Wish me luck!

I'll update when I return!

Felting Flowers with Children for Mother's Day

2009-05-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Children in my 7-9 year old Fiber Art classes at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation created Felted Hibiscus Flowers for their moms for Mother's Day. Some of the children had felted before but many hadn't. Although they still need more experience for a good quality harder felt, each was very successful at finishing a flower for their mom!

I get so involved with the classes that I often either forget to ask them to allow a group photo of their work or don't allow enough time for documenting their work in photos as parents are ready at the door for pic-up after class to go on with their busy lives. I need to do better at that! I remembered before the last two children left class to take a few pics. Unfortunately I do not have any that show the calyx end of the flower which they all did a great job with but you at least get the idea of what we were trying to accomplish.

I had a blast and the children seemed to as well!

Teaching Children Crewel Embroidery

2009-05-05T06:40:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!

T3 term is under way at Kaleidoscope and the children are doing great! I was a bit worried when we began that the little fingers wouldn't be nimble enough to accomplish the task and I worried that their attention span wouldn't be long enough to keep them interested in the detailed work of stitching. I had no need to

worry! They did a great job!

The project was a small pillow. We had some nice donated felt fabric and I created a basic design using the straight stitch, lazy daisy, french knot. After they completed this portion of the work, I stitched the pillows together with my machine and left them an opening for stuffing and they then used a running stitch around the edge. you will note that some were better at this concept than others :-) Keep in mind these children had never stitched before and they are 6 year olds. I feel they accomplished a great task and am as proud of their work as they are!

They always delight in being able to take a completed project home and were thrilled to be taking home such good work!

Stay tuned for more another day.......

The Bermuda Craft Market

2009-04-15T05:36:00.000-07:00

Good morning folks!

Well the "show" has come down, most work sold has been delivered and things move on....

The Bermuda Craft Market is a non profit business that caters to Bermuda artists by showing and selling their work. It is located in Dockyard which is a popular highlight for anyone visiting Bermuda. Dockyard is an old English Naval fort which has been transformed into a haven for local artists to show and demonstrate their work. Cruise ships dock there and tourists can see glass being blown, pottery being made as well as regular demonstrations of various arts and crafts at several art centers in the area which is all accessible on foot.

One never knows what will come of an art show! Audrey Brackstone, manager of the Bermuda Craft Market came to the show and saw my work. As a result, she has asked me to have my work represented there. In addition to some hairlock paintings, I will be offering a felt coin purse and felted soaps for now with ambitions to add a few more items as we get into the swing of cruise ship season. Additionally, I have been invited to be a part of their Arts & Craft demonstration program for the winter season beginning after the Bermuda Fiber Festival which will be held in November this year.

Serendipity came into play when I went to Dockyard last week to meet Audrey! They were preparing a group of merchandise that represents some of the artists who show their work at the Craft Market for the Bermuda Bureau of Tourism which is attending trade shows in Boston, Philadelphia and New York. I had brought some work to show Audrey and a piece was taken to tour with them at the shows! I couldn't have planned that to happen if I tried! Sometimes the universe throws us a curve ball and without effort throws us into a direction that we could have never anticipated.

So lots going on for me right now as I prepare for the new term at KAF. Children's Fiber Art classes have resumed so I prepare for those and will post new photos of the children's work as I have them along with some pics of my work that will be delivered to Dockyard next week.
Have a great day!

Artful Organics: A Montage Opening - A Great Success!

2009-03-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

After a very stressful few days of hanging the show, it all came together and the opening was a great success!

We had a terrific crowd with little space to get around the room at times. Ronnie Chameau's connection with the Bermuda community gave us nice publicity including an interview on a local radio station with David Lopes, a local personality. The response to our unusual show was extremely positive. We had tried to create a warm and inviting atmosphere which I think we achieved very well and has a different feel from most traditional art shows.

It was especially rewarding for me to hear positive comments about the uniqueness of my work and how fascinated and impressed they were with the process and the final results.

I was pleased to be able to show the murals that I had created for The Fiber Center again. Transporting them to Bermuda was not too difficult since they easily can be rolled and packaged to transport in a golf bag! I now only have to worry about getting them back :-)

Artist Ronnie Chameau had been very busy creating for this event. Her work is fabulous! She is most noted for her dolls made from Banana and Palm leaves but she creates some of the most interesting pieces! She creates paintings using Banana bark, vessels from calabashes (gourds), and weaves beautiful free form baskets from a wide variety of Bermuda plant materials.

The rustic "stick" furniture that you see was created by Ronnie Lopes. Another very creative Bermudian who has only realised his passion for creating his wonderful pieces recently.

Additionally, Bob Patterson showed his miniature furniture, all reproductions of actual antique pieces created using his cabinetmaking skills, and his necklaces made using various "Sea Beans" collected from the Bermuda shores.

Gail Graham rounded out our show with her incredible Bobbin Lace pieces and various other stitchery. Her skills are very diverse and precise as seen from the pieces that she showed. This woman has the most incredible patience!

The show will hang through Saturday the 28th of March. I am taking this week to catch my breath before I take it down and move onto the next adventure!

Children's Fiber Art Projects

2009-03-20T11:08:00.001-07:00

Aren't these the cutest things?

My Wednesday Fiber Arts students completed several great projects during the last class of our winter term. The one at left offered the students the use of a variety of skills as they created their Easter chick's nests.

The nests we created from a base of about two yards of yarn followed by short pieces of yarn that students dipped into liquid starch. Once a nest base was created the shorter yarns were layed in layers alternating with some natural twigs and dried grasses to form a small nest. Students were careful to leave an indentation in the middle to leave room the the eggs and chick which they felted using merino wool. Their chicks were then embellished with yellow feathers to create a tail and wings, and squiggly eyes and a bead were added for a beak. All components were secured to the nest with hot glue.

The children enjoyed the felting process which they had learned before and all remembered the basics for completing that task. They quickly figured out how to manipulate the felt to create an egg shape instead of the ball shape they had used for making their bracelets in our first class.

These lovely little yarn baskets were a delight and the children were happy to be taking them home. This too was a liquid starch project which were finally ready to take home after remaining in the classroom to dry. The yarns they used included some of their handspun as well as a thick and thin wool that they had kool-aid dyed in a prior class. Using a small bowl as a mold, students layered their starch soaked yarns making sure they cross each other to create a bond and allowed them to dry until next class. The only glitch with this one is you have to be sure that you cover the mold with plastic wrap so the starch does not adhere to the glass. These are fragile and needed to be sured up in a few places with a dab of elmers but they really were lovely little projects that represented several weeks of accomplishments into a final project.

I was proud for the children to be able to say that these pieces had some of their own hand spun, hand dyed yarns in them!

I am hoping that the children enjoyed my class well enough to sign up for the final school term. I am working on ideas for future projects to carry them forward with their fiber arts!

Grapes: "On It's Way to Wine"

2009-03-07T10:46:00.000-08:00

I've just completed this piece to show at the Elliot Gallery at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation which begins on March 19th. This is a group show featuring five artists who all use natural and organic materials to create their art.

I am pleased with the piece on which I chose to use my Japanese signature since it was inspired by the Sumi-e style that I so love. I spent a good long time trying to decide where the right placement was and finally decided based on the idea that it should be a part of the composition. I considered placing it in the lower right but felt that it became too large a part of the overall piece and deflected the focus. I didn't want the signature to take the eye away from the image and I feel I have accomplished that.

Let me explain my Japanese signature. I wanted to be able to occassionaly use a caligraphic signature on my Sumi-e and Hairlock Paintings. I ended up researching websites that offered name translations though I can't remember which one I used. My name, Gale is spelled so that it means a "strong wind" so the characters used mean just that!

大風 The symbols you see at left have not reproduced accurately in that the cross lines that look squiggly on the second character are meant to be horizontal but not uneven, however you get the idea.

I haven't decided how I will hang this piece for the show since I feel it is one that should be framed but framing this piece in Bermuda means that it is too large to easily transport back to Maine for my next show. So it will remain unframed for now.

I still have lots I want to do to prepare for the show but things are moving along well in spite of myself :-)

Getting Ready for the Show Opening March 19, 2009!

2009-03-05T07:25:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe that my group show is only a few weeks away! YIKES! Always so much to do and so little time.....
The good news is I am not fretting about it which is obvious since I still have paintings I want to complete and her I sit writing in my blog!
I try to remind myself of my belief that things will go exactly as they are supposed to, that there are no mistakes. It is I who invents the notion of a mistake when I am unhappy with the outcome caused by my own expectations, and so it is I who needs the attitude adjustment.
I so often have heard in life that we are what we think, we are what we do, we are what we say....
SO I say I will be ready and it will be the best that I am able to be at that time and I will be very good with that!

I'd post a copy of the invite but I am MAC illiterate and can not figure out how to present a PDF file to you from my PC. Technology will always be my nemesis. It's probably a simple thing but my ageing brain just isn't in that place right now and I have no one to tutor me on it!

So instead I will give you a synopsis.....

Artful Organics: A Montage to be shown at the Elliot Gallery, Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation, Bermuda opens with a reception on Thursday, March 19th from 6-8pm.
The show runs from March 17 - 28th and is open from 10am -2pm Tuesday through Saturday or by appt.

Artists Ronnie Chameau, Gail Graham, Ronnie Lopes and Bob Patterson, and me will feature our works. The Common thread to be seen is our use of organic materials from various sources. Utilizing parts of different plants and or animal fibers, these materials may give the illusion that each belong together or retain their original identity.

This will be a unique and interesting show! None like it has been done or if so, not often. The art represented from renown Bermuda artist Ronnie Chameau includes her Banana Dolls and Ornaments as well as her bark and leaf paintings, gourd vessels and various baskets. Bob Patterson who has been a fine cabinet maker for years will show his miniature doll furniture collection as well as necklaces that he creates using local seed pods and other seeds washed up on the Bermuda shores from far away places. Ronnie Lopes work reminds me of New England with his stick made outdoor furniture and arbors while Gail Graham brings a sense of elegance to the organics with her hand made Silk Lace.
I round out the mix with my Hairlock Paintings to include murals that I created for the Fiber Center at Fryeburg Fair when I was guest Artist in 2007.
I will post some pics of the show once it is hung for all to see.
In the mean time.... Spring IS coming :-)

Art with Social Intent

2009-02-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, so last year I entered one of my Hairlock Paintings in the Bermuda Charman prize competition and the deadline has come around for this year's event! When I received the notice for "calls" to enter, I noticed that this year's criteria had changed. The big change in content was that they were looking for pieces with "social intent".

I hadn't a clue as to what that meant! Thanks to the internet, a short search taught me that they were looking for a piece that would encourage social debate or discussion of a political or governmental nature. Hmmmm.....

More than a year ago, I had created a sketch of a fiber and wire sculpture that I called "The Woven Womb". It was based on a dream or a vision that I had... I can't really remember which. I only remember that I had seen this image in my mind and put it in my sketch book with the idea that some day I would create this sculpture; a hammock like wire armature woven with fiber, holding a fetus....

I had been thinking of this piece recently with the idea that I would create it for my upcoming show at Elliot Gallery in March but when I got the notice of the criteria for the Charman Competition, I immediately thought of my "Woven Womb" and how this could represent a very serious debate of both a political and governmental nature! My original idea for this sculpture though couldn't have been further from the act of abortion. I actually saw it as a representation of life in wire and fiber.

For the purpose of the Charman Competition, I titled the piece "The Woven Womb: Who Should Choose?". It just so happened that the universe had shown me an image that inspired a piece of art that fit the criteria needed for this particular competition! Serendipity!

It is important to note that I do not believe that I would have ever chosen abortion had I been faced with that option, however, I do believe in the right for the individual woman to choose. But, that's not what this piece is meant to say. It is simply meant to offer the idea for a debate as to "who should choose?" Who has the right to make such an important decision for both the mother and the unborn child. I believe that it is a subject that will never be at rest. It is too personal, too viceral, to emotional for any group to ever make a decision one way or the other that will rest into infinitum.

So here is a picture of my sculpture. It was hard for me to get a good image of the work since it is so dimensional, but you will get the idea.... IF you look carefully you will see an umbilical cord floating within the womb that is being threatened by the surgical scissors....

And that's the way it is......

My Most Recent Commission!

2009-02-04T07:17:00.000-08:00

"Skipper" is a Terrier mixed breed dog which I was asked to do a painting of during the Bermuda Fiber Festival at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation last December. I have just completed him and am quite pleased with the results!
He will be fitted for a frame today in preperation for hanging in my group show at Elliot Gallery at Kaleidoscope in March.
I have been enjoying the opportunities to create custom commissions of pets. I find the work challenging as well as rewarding and look forward to more work of this kind in the future!
See the side bar for other "pet paintings" that I have created.
Anyone having interest in having a portrait of their pet done in Hairlock Painting can send me an email with a photo of your pet and I will contact you with details of how to proceed.

Kool Aid Dyeing with 5 & 6 yr olds at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation in Bermuda

2009-02-03T13:24:00.000-08:00

My 5 & 6 yr old students had a great time yarn painting this week!

Using the handspun that they did last week and adding some lopi thick and thin, students had a hand at painting their yarns with Kool - Aid!

It was little Maxine who first discovered that the orange placed next to the blue turned a section of her yarn green!

The children were very excited with the transformation of their yarns from the drab white to rainbows of color using what they referred to as "yummy" smelling non toxic dyes.

They each took the strand of yarn in their hands home for show and tell but the remaining yarns are being kept at KAF for safe keeping to be used in a future weaving project! They can't wait!

Next week the children are on winter break but when we resume we begin our weaving segment of the term. Our first project will be fast and fun! We will weave "Mug Rugs" using a small frame loom, colored cotton warps and fabric strips for a quick study on weaving. This class will act as a tutorial for subsequent weaving projects; a woven yarn coil pot and a wire and fiber amulet which they will turn into either a pin or a pendant. It is this project that I plan for them to use their beautiful hand dyed, hand spun yarns!

Watch for more photos of their accomplishments!

Teaching Children to Spin Wool at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation in Bermuda!

2009-01-31T06:57:00.000-08:00

Success with Spinning!

Here are my 7 & 8 yr old Fiber students showing off some of their hand spun yarns.

I had a great time teaching this class. Not only did they learn the priciples involved with spinning fiber into yarn but I learned a thing or two about teaching it!

My goal with this class was for children to understand exactly what it means to spin yarn. I wanted them to realize how the twisting motion gives the fibers strength while bonding them together. The challenge was, how could I do this without them having to worry about keeping a spindle going and remembering everything that you have to, to learn to drop spindle. This class was more basic that that....

I had used clip clamps to teach them how to braid and decided this might be a good option for spinning as well. This allowed them to focus on the actual spinning concept without any other mental or dexterity challenges.

I had them begin with 4-6" pieces of coarse pencil roving which I taught them to draw out a bit before begining to spin/twist the fibers. After they had spun the full length, I showed them how to fold it in half and let it twist on itself to ply it. EVERY student found success!

After they had practiced a bit with the short coarse fibers I gave them each a longer piece to work and then moved them on to white merino which I intend for them to dye with Kool-Aid in our next class. I found that this clip method though great for teaching the concept and for shorter pieces, is difficult for them to do a long piece with since there is no method of winding the spun yarn. If they let their yarn go for any reason (loss of focus for example) their work untwisted and this was understandably frustrating for them since they had to do it over again. I was able to find a happy medium but learned that I will only use coarse wool and shorter lengths for this level since if you are a seasoned spinner you know that the coarser wool is stickier and stays spun more readily without too much effort.

Never the less, EVERY student completed three lengths of white merino which they will dye next week and then use in an upcoming weaving project.

Here is a look at their good work! They did a fine job and were very proud of their accomplishment!

One of the greatest joys and compliments that I have received from teaching this class has been that every week as the children leave my class, I hear at least one parent exclaim something like this. "Did you make that?" and when the children say yes, I hear them ask again "YOU made that?" with total surprise.

Pure honey to my ears :-)

I don't think it's that the parents don't think highly of their children's abilities necessarily. Instead I think this is because they perceive that this would be difficult for them to do, let alone their small children. This has made me realize how we as adults, put OUR OWN limitations on what a child can accomplish.

I hope that this is a lesson that I will remember!

Until next time!

Children's Fiber Art Projects

2009-01-27T10:25:00.000-08:00

As promised!

I have finally decided to at least show you photos of my samples for the children's Fiber Art Classes that I have taught so far to give you some idea of what we are doing.

The first one is a sample of the design for Felt Bead Jewelry. We in fact made the bracelet since our class time is limited and it is important to me that children do not have time to get bored or bogged down in details beyond their attention span.

Both classes, the 5 & 6 yo and 7 & 8 yo children created the bracelets by first felting the beads. They then braided two worsted weight strands of dyed cotton string together with a finer matching heavy weight thread for stringing the beads onto. I clamped the end of the braid to the tables using medium sized plastic clip clamps and when they had braided enough to add a bead at an appropriate spot, they strung it on and then continued with the braid until they added additional beads. One end has a loop knot and the other a tripple knot so that it is fat enough not to come out of the loop. This forms the fastener which I helped them with.

Both groups found success and went home with their finished piece after one class. The younger children is a class of four and spend one hour with me. The 7 & 8 yo class is also four students and stays with me for one and a half hours so they were able to complete three beads instead of two for their bracelets.

They were all very pleased with themselves. I especially enjoyed hearing parents comments.... "did you make that? YOU made that?" They were very pleasantly surprised at the quality and completion of a wearable peice of Fiber Art that their child had made.

This next project was a flat felted treasure pouch. Students were guided through the flat felting process; layering their fibers, felting and fulling. This project took two classes. What I found is that it takes them a while to figure out that once they get past the initial need to be gentle that they can add pressure and more agitation. Additionally, I had to be careful not to make the water too hot for their tender young hands and some of my students are still little and don't have the strength and dexterity to exert the kind of pressure necessary to make quick work of felting. Never the less, they got their soft felt completed with surface designs embedded into their piece during the first class. They were spent, but when they returned the following week, they were all eager to continue with their projects, fulling them to completion and adding the pull strings to form the pouch.

Though their patterns were round, most ended up with more rectangular shapes but each was thrilled with their completed pieces and couldn't wait to show their moms after class!

This week I have begun the bare basics of how wool is spun. I am again using my plastic clamps to hold a piece of pencil roving to the table which allows them to twist the fiber into a yarn. When they have done their short length of roving, I have them hold the two ends together and I help by holding tension on the center of the strand. Once I let go, if there is enough twist in it, it will automatically ply to itself. It is magical to them!

My one mistake was that once they prooved that they understood the concept (this did not take long) and were successful at making a very good yarn, I gave them too long a piece of roving to work with. This was the younger group and they seemed unable to go beyond a certain length of time without dropping their work. The result of course, was that it came untwisted and they had to do it over. I will use this learned lesson with my 7& 8 yo group tomorrow! I believe that when they are unsuccessful, that it is I who have failed to either present the concept in a way that they can understand or, that I have over estimated their ability in some way and that I must re-adjust to suit them better.

The plan is that the yarns they have created will be used in the following class to experiment with Kool-Aid dyes preparing the yarns they spun for use in a future weaving project.

Great Fun is had by all!

Teaching Children Fiber Arts

2009-01-25T08:10:00.000-08:00

Well the new year is underway and with it has come some exciting new challenges!

My most exciting new venture is taking on teaching children Fiber Arts at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation in Bermuda. The interest in fiber is growing very nicely here thanks to our efforts with the second annual Bermuda Fibre Festival that I organized which occurred in December. Our class enrolment was up by 10% with more than 300 spaces filled and more than two thirds attended by children from ages toddler through teens. This magnitude of interest encouraged the KAF director to add Fiber Art to her after school program for the winter term with me as teacher, and I am having a great time!

I teach a 5 & 6 year old class and a 7&8 year old class and both are going well. The children have had three classes so far and have performed their tasks very well. The curriculum began with felting since that is every one's favorite fiber art. It is easy to learn so students can have some immediate success; an important factor in our world of instant gratification. We have completed bracelets made from braided yarn which have been strung with felt beads as well as a treasure pouch which they created from flat felt work. I am sorry to say that I have left my camera at home and did not get photos of their work but will ask them to bring their finished pieces in for documentation before the end of the term.

We will now move on to hand spinning. YIKES! I have some ideas on how to help the children be successful with it and will let you know how that turns out. I fully expect that the yarn they produce using their fingers will be strong enough for them to dye them using Kool-Aid dyes and ultimately incorporating them into a woven project yet to come.

I find that I really am enjoying sharing fiber arts with them and that I am an effective teacher Their successful projects and enjoyment in creating have been boosters for my feeling of success, gratification and enjoyment!

I will add a photo of their work soon!

Hand Felted Slippers!

2009-01-09T05:38:00.000-08:00

Ok so I had to play!

The Bermuda Fibre Festival inspired me to "play" in felt which I have dabbled in here and there over time. I decided I wanted a new pair of slippers and so here they are! I love them.... I brought out some old creative tools that I hadn't used in years and did some crewel embroidery embelishments and crocheted a flower to add.

I have begun teaching children Fiber Art at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation and I am trying to instill in them the idea that I am giving them creative "tools" for them to have throughout life in their creative endeavors. Mine are serving me well and I am grateful for my paternal grandmother who taught me how to crochet many years ago and my mother who taught me how to stitch. These skills are a bit like the bicycle concept. Once you learn you always know how though you might be a little rusty.

I hope you all find ways to use your creative "tools" now and again and that you never stop accumulating them!

2009 Calendar Underway!

2009-01-07T06:58:00.000-08:00

It hasn't quite hit me that we have started the year 2009, yet, I seem to be doing a good job of filling my calendar of events and keeping myself very busy as usual!

The new year has brought me a new commission which I have begun work on; a portrait of "Skipper" a terrier mix. The drawing is near completion and once the client has approved it and decided on a size, work will begin creating the canvas and subsequent painting. Watch for images as they come available.

Soon I will be taking on some R & D with some wool jersey fabric that I received. It is fabric that was originally destined to be made into cycling jerseys, however with the synthetics on the market these days, popularity for wool in a cycling jersey has declined. I am really into the idea of making a new use for old things so I am going to play with creating paintings on a "cycling" theme and see where it leads me. It's always so much fun to try new things, but it also leaves me with a feeling of being spread a bit thin at times.

During the Bermuda Fibre Festival I happened to act as tour guide for our US teachers and visited the Crafts Center at Dockyard. While there I was inspired by some art that I saw which gave me a new idea for framing my paintings. First, for those who are not aware of it, my work was originally inspired by studying Sumi-e, Asian ink painting. Often Sumi-e is framed in the traditional scroll style so when I saw some work that was hung using bamboo rods, I was very excited about the prospect of trying this method for my work! There is a stand of bamboo near where I live so access to materials will be easy! Now I just have to squeeze the experimentation into my schedule. If this works out, it will be a wonderful solution to framing my work for showing in Bermuda. I have not been keen on framing work here not only because of the expense, but it then makes it impossible to transport work from here to the US. A fact I learned the hard way after having a bunch of work framed in the US and not able to bring it back to Bermuda for some upcoming shows!

Oh so much to report!

The success of the second Fibre Festival in Bermuda keeps me working! As I wind down the reporting and record keeping for this year's event, I have to get my sights on the 2009 planning and get that underway which brings me to the next adventure!

This week I began teaching Fibre Arts classes at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation to 5&6 year olds and 7&8 year olds. I am so excited about this! The Fiber Festival here has inspired me to share my passion for fibre arts with the children and this is a great opportunity. This week we are creating Felt beads and making bracelets that are braided with the beads strung to them. The younger class, though needing some assistance with the braiding and stringing, did a great job and I look forward to the older group later today! I will get some photos of the finished work and post them later. This is a ten week program so look for more details on the classes and their outcome!

Ok so I have digressed a bit from my original intention with passing on my 2009 schedule. Easy for me to do! So check the side bar for my 2009 schedule so far. And in case I forgot to say it, Happy New Year to you all!

WOW! It's Christmas!

2008-12-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

The lapse in my posting is a testament to how busy my days have been and how full my life can be! After returning from the Fryeburg Fair event in Maine (which seems like eons ago now), I dove head first into the final stages of the Bermuda Fibre Festival which I plan and organize. It began on December 2nd with the planned arrival of the US Fibre Artists who were coming to teach this year. A snafu at the Portland Maine airport on Jet Blue, something to do with a door that wouldn't close, sent the early risers back home for a day later departure since they would miss the one and only Jet Blue flight to Bermuda on that day!
They hit the ground running once they did arrive and before I knew it, nearly two weeks had passed and we were driving them back to the airport for their return to the deep freeze, snow and a horrific ice storm that left many Mainer's without power for days! Phew!
They have been gone for a week and my post event clean up and reporting is nearly complete. The event was a terrific success againt his year with attendance up by 10%. An increase that anyone would be happy with in this economic sink hole!
Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation, the host of the event saw a total of 312 class spots filled to include 246 school age children who participated in a large variety of felting and weaving workshops. Our adult number remained constant with a nice group of enthusiasts. Most adults had never been exposed to Fibre Arts until they attended last year and many of them have become avid creators with a special interest in all types of felting. We were able to offer wool roving for sale this year and many took advantage of the fabulous color spectrum that we were offering and are looking forward to using their new found and improved skills.
Children were especially impressed with the quick gratification that comes from felting and though there is less of that in weaving, they learned some pretty awesome weaving techniques.
Kaleidoscope's goal is to keep that enthusiasm burning by adding a children's after school fibre program and adults will have an opportunity to come to Kaleidoscope once a month to play with fibre and enjoy some peer support in a fun and open environment. We are already begining to plan the 2009 event!
I was looking forward to a calm first quarter after the insanity of the last six months but it seems that the universe has other plans for me :-)

I have begun work on a new Hairlock Painting commission of "Skipper" which I received during Fibre Fest. My preliminary sketch is complete but I still have lots of work to do on it as I like to visit with it a bit every day or so for a week or two so that I can observe the changes in how I see it each time, and make adjustments that I want to, until it feels complete.

There are potential shows both here and in Maine in 2009 that I need to decide on which will determine my next few months work load. We'll see how it all turns out and I will keep you posted with my 2009 calendar as it unfolds.

May you each have a terrific Holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Word to the Wise!

2008-11-03T06:30:00.000-08:00

Good Morning All!

I wanted to pass along some information that I have learned regarding internet scams and specifically about Bank Check scams that run rampant on the net.

My last post told you of my new membership to Fine Art America. Since joining I have been very pleased with the number of people who have viewed my work but my eyes have been opened to a new world as I was targeted by someone known to be a Bank Check Scam artist!

My initial enthusiasm with Fine Art America was boosted when I received an email from someone who claimed he wanted to purchase one of my pieces and asked for my name, address and phone so that he could mail me a Bank check for the sale amount. When something seems unlikely, as in me selling a piece of art within a few days of listing, one should beware.

I felt it odd that the potential buyer assumed there would be no shipping involved and that in fact there was no discussion of how the piece would be delivered. A red flag went up but was over shadowed by my excitement. I proceeded cautiously so in response, I asked for his location for delivery so that I might calculate shipping costs which would be added to the sale amount.
His reply was that I should not worry about shipping charges since his "collector" would pick up the piece.......

Alarm.... Alarm.... Alarm.....!

After relaying the story to my husband, he threated to disown me if I even replied to this inquiry again as this was indicative of a notorious style of fraud! It was a disappointment to realize this guy had no interest in my work and though I instinctively knew this situation made no sense, I decided to investigate using the discussion forum on the Fine Art America site.
Within moments I found my supposed buyer in the archives as a known offender who preys on new members. I quickly added my comments to inform the members that this person had morphed! He had signed his original message in one name but in the second email suddenly became someone else....

For those of you who are unaware, these frauds typically send you a fraudulent bank check for a greater amount than the purchase price and request a refund. Since they are often written from foreign countries or obscure non existant banks, by the time your bank discovers that the check is fraudulent and that funds are not available for the check to clear, you have refunded them the difference which you of course will never see again! Their interest never lies in the purchase but only in the possibility of getting you to send them money.

So I now stand christened into the world of attempted fraud and am glad that the circumstances led me to further investigation. I deleted the emails from my in box and have not heard from the predator since!

I hope that this story will help to put up a red flag for anyone who reads it, if ever put in this situation. And the old addage holds true. If something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't!

Take care and beware!

Another Great Opportunity for Artists!

2008-10-27T06:38:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!
As a new Artist and one who doesn't feel comfortable with the Gallery scene, I am always looking for new opportunities to promote my work and get it in front of the public. While in Maine and searching the net I found a wonderful website for Artists, Galleries and Collectors alike that offers a terrific opportunity for Artists to promote themselves and best of all, it's Free! The website is called Fine Art America and by clicking this link you will be brought to my personal file on the site but can also navigate away from it to check it out. You will find that it is very user friendly and the only difficulty I have had with it was while adding photos of my work to the site. It offers a number of "artist specialties" to classify your work in, and gives the impression that you can choose more than one and although I did that, I can not really see that all of the pieces ended up in all categories. This may be user error on my part or I just am not familiar enough yet with the site to be able to find them all. Regardless of this little frustration the site seems very worthwhile.

Each Artist has a profile page, can download as many as 50 photos of their work, can list events they will participate in which will show up on the website calendar, can list Galleries that you are associated with, and of special interest to the business part of me, the site gathers information about the photos that web visitors have viewed and sends you emails regarding any comments visitors might make about your work. In addition you can create a blog connected with this site. Since I already have one, I have instead created a link to this one. For anyone who sells prints of their work, the site offers a paid membership for prints on demand where buyers can purchase direct from the site. They do not at this time offer the purchase of original artwork but you can list your artwork for sale with prices and photos in your gallery and buyers can then contact you directly if they are interested in your work.

After being a member for just a few days I was totally amazed at how many hits I have had of the different pieces I have downloaded. I realize it has been less than a week since I joined and that they feature new artists that join each day. Perhaps my hits will go down after the initial push, but I still got more hits than I would have elsewhere and look forward to seeing how it all progresses.

I recommend Fine Art America to any artists looking for more exposure. It will only cost a bit of time and you never know where it will lead....

Fryeburg Fair Fiber Center 2008 - personal report

2008-10-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

Fryeburg Fair 2008 was very successful for me this year! I went into the fair with concern for the state of the economy. Not only has gasoline and fuel oil been running at an all time high, the real estate, stock market and financial industry have landed a blow that will take us all years to overcome!

The weather during the first two days of the fair created a pretty dismal fair opening with attendance being way down. It was unclear during those first days how the economy was affecting traffic and sales but by the end of monday, I was certain that fair week would not match those of the past years.
To my amazement, as the week progressed traffic flow picked up and days that historically were slow reached record and near record numbers. People were coming and people were spending! I can only speak for myself in this however from what I experienced during the week, it seemed that people were willing to spend money on practical purchases. Sales for wearable items and gift items as well as gloves, mittens, hats & scarves on the cold days sold very well and beyond my prediction given the economic situation.
I did experience a slow down in two of my most expensive items that I historically sell out of. Based on comments and body language, I believe that those sales were affected by their price. Though they are great values and less than they can be purchased for elsewhere, they are items that retail for over $100 and in spite of their popularity and people taking notice of them, I did not sell out as usual.
The other bright spot for me was Hairlock Painting sales! As the guest artist last year, I did not have the luxury of being with or near the work to experience peoples comments about it. This year I added a display that allowed me to show my work in my space allowing interaction with fairgoers and being able to hear and see their reactions to my work. That was very rewarding! I continually hear comments such as "I've never seen anything like it before.... This is beautiful work... How do you do this, it's amazing!" All music to an artists ears :-)
Rumor in the Fiber Center was that Art sales were not up to par this year. I believe that is because people are reigning in their expenditures and purchasing fewer luxuries and fringe items than they have in other years. Though I did not sell as many art pieces as I did last year, I was very happy with the sales I did have especially knowing that the people who bought them absolutely love them!
Additionally, I experimented with Wire & Fiber earrings that I have been creating. My space is very small for the amount of merchandies that I show there but I managed to find a hole and brought a small quantity to test the waters with. I was very please with the results. I had a number of different styles and was surprised that two of my favorites did not sell at all but I had a total of six styles and sold out of several of them. I priced them very modestly at $12US a pair for two reasons. First, this is all new for me and I really wanted to get some sales activity as a test for design purposes. Secondly, again because this is new for me, I did not want to invest in Sterling or fine metals at this stage. I had no idea if they would be well received and did not want to invest too much in materials that may never be used or be wasted while creating. It turns out that I wasted little. This is good because one of my pet peeves is waste and I am a great recycler, reuser, and thrift store shopper. I hate to waste anything! SoI learned alot and am encouraged by the results as well!

So in all and in the end, Fryeburg Fair has been another successful story for me! It is also a bittersweet event. I put in hours of work for my own preperation as well as many more for management of the building. Many 12-16 hour days are lived for days before, during and after to see it through. Additionally, I spend many hours thoughout the year organizing and working on the Fiber Center program. I love it and will not be ready to give it up for a while but as much as I love to see it come, I also love to see it go by. So now I take a breath and begin to make the journey for next year!

In the mean time, the Bermuda Fiber Festival which I organize has begun registration and I will be busy seeing that event through in early December!

More later!
Until then...
Thank you for reading :-)

Fryeburg Fiber Center 2008 Exhibition Review

2008-10-16T11:07:00.000-07:00

As I prepare to return to Bermuda for the winter, I find myself with a bit of time to create a post with a Fiber Center Fair report! Yeah! This can only mean that I have caught up for a moment.
No worries though, it will not last :-)

Fall of 2008 will go down in history as a challenging time for many people on many levels! Beginning with the state of our country's economy and the questionable weather in the first few days of the fair we began on shaky ground though ended with a good year for most. Good news, all things considered.....

I will focus this post on The Gallery portion of the Fiber center. Watch for subsequent posts regarding my own fair experience soon!

Julie Yarbrough was our Guest Artist for this year and Julie delivered an incredibly diverse body of work that explored a complete spectrum of emotions ranging from her usual whimsy to a more traditional side that I had never seen in the work that she has exhibited at Fryeburg before. Included were needle felted busts and wall hangings of interesting characters with a depth that brought their images to life as her pieces always do but she went beyond with needle felted fish inspired from her teaching Fiber Arts last year at the Bermuda Fiber Festival.

What I was most struck by were her acrylic paintings and the range of expression captured within them. This of course was a Fiber show and keeping true to the form, Julie incorporated fabrics and fibers into her paintings. Subjects were diverse here as well. Though it was evident that the same artist created all pieces, the pieces moved through expressions ranging from a beautiful country roadside scene to abstracts that provoked thought and deeper meaning than what was evident on the surface.

Hanging Julie's work this year prompted some evolution of the Fiber Center's Gallery Exhibit. The quality and breadth of her work along with the availability of works by Susan Mills, Linda Whiting, Janet Goodwin and my own Hairlock Paintings TM, allowed us to raise the bar and required that we re-think our usual display materials. What we had been using in between the good stuff repeatedly for a few years as visual depictions of what the Fiber Center represents and as fillers for the white spaces were no longer acceptable for hanging alongside a professional body of work but more importantly, they were unnecessary. They served their purposes as adequate fillers in the past but we have now managed to foster and see development of the artists who participate in this event to a point of having a selection of Professional Artwork to hang each year. As a result, and given the materials and artwork that we had at hand for this immediate progression, the entire upper Gallery space at the Fiber Center was filled with gallery quality artwork!

We were rewarded with acceptance from our audience as having noticeably improved our appearance. Of course with that always comes the challenge for next year; Who will our 2009 Guest Artist be, and who will provide work to fill the space? It was suggested by Susan Mills, and briefly discussed as to how to proceed, and though no definite policies have been set in place, we are contemplating a rotation allowing the guest artist to exhibit the following year on the rear upper Gallery wall as spontaneously occurred this year with my own work. As the Fiber Artists who have been participating in this most incredible Fiber Event for so many years continue to grow and build their talents, it is my hope that it will reach a point that instead of having a difficult time accumulating quality work to show, that we have reached a point of having to jury, pick and choose from lots of work to put together future shows!

Each year I am amazed at how far we travel together on this journey and though the road sometimes takes it's toll, I remind myself to take a breath and look to the higher good. I believe we are on that path and I ask you to journey with us at the Fiber Center towards the future....

Bermuda Fiber Festival Registration Begins!

2008-09-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

One of my major projects of the year is well under way as the registration for the 2nd annual Bermuda Fiber Festival (or Fibre if you are Bermudian or Brit :-) opens with the unveiling of our informational website! Wow, I never would have guessed a few years ago that I would be helping to bringing fiber education to Bermuda! But then again, there are many things that life has brought me that I never would have guessed about.... I am grateful as well as blessed...

After spending the last month in intensive work, the program is looking great! We have put together a nice mix of various felting and weaving classes being taught by three US teachers. In addition, it has been one of my goals for this event to bring out the local Fiber Artists so that they too would have a venue for sharing their passion for various Fiber Arts and we are succeeding at doing so with the addition of classes being taught by at least two locals and we continue to work at bringing two more into the harbor.

This years program will offer nearly 50 workshops for ages 2 through adult and includes special programs for school groups. Last year's event brought us more than 200 children and nearly 100 adults for fiber education workshops. We hope to bust that number this year with a terrific program and registration beginning well in advance of last year. I will keep you posted on it's progress....

Please take a moment to visit the Bermuda Fiber link and see what my excitement is all about. It is especially gratifying to me that we are unveiling this now, as I prepare to leave for the US for the Fiber Center event at Fryeburg Fair in Fryeburg Maine which begins on Sunday September 28th. This event was the inspiration that helped to create what the Bermuda Fiber Festival has become. This eight day event brings Maine the largest Fiber Exhibition Hall in New England devoted entirely to Fiber and Fiber Education. Each day from 9am - 9pm fair goers are able to experience a myriad of fiber, fiber art, and educational fiber demonstrations. A list of Fiber Center Events is posted on my website.

I will be away from the computer for about three weeks while I prepare for this event and then reconcile it afterwards. I will have some of my Hairlock Paintings on display and my newest fiber earring creation in addition to the usual Alpaca sweaters, and accessories that I always have there.

I hope that some of you will drop by the Fiber Center to say hello......

Commission Accomplished!

2008-09-15T04:45:00.000-07:00

First I need to appologize for my lack of postings over the last weeks! I appreciate those of you who continue to visit in spote of my short commings.... I will explain, but first things first...

I have completed the "Bingo" commission and have pleased the client as well as myself with the finished painting. The photo at left was the original that I used to create my rendering of him in preperation for the work. This black & white photo is about 2" x 2" in real life but was of good clarity so that detail showed up quite nicely on it.

This next photo is the drawing I did to use as a pattern or template of Bingo which helps me to plan the placement of fiber which ultimately gives the depth, texture and dimension that I am after in the final piece.

Please accept my appology in advance for the quality of the finished Bingo photo! If you read on you will learn why this is.

Next came the actual painting! I was challenged by this piece because the final size of this canvas is only 11" x 10". To give you prespective, the hair on his chin is only 1/4" long. How was I to manage fibers so short and keep them in line so that they give the appearance of life like hairs coming away from his lower lip, combed perfectly straight? It worked in the end and I am always amazed at how I seem to find a way to move through the challenges that present themselves while doing this work.

I really love this medium.... It offers so much flexibility, so many options, so much depth and a richness that I never tire of looking at it or creating with it. I sometimes feel the need to pinch myself to prove that it is real; that I created this artform, and that it has become a part of my life!

I'm glad to be able to finally share this with you but I am not happy about the quality of the final photo of Bingo. One of the reasons for not adding a post in the last weeks is that I have been having problems with my computer. In my constant need to improve things, I decided that I would like to download the upgrade to my Olympus camera program so that I could take advantage of creating slide shows. Easy to do right? Have you ever heard the phrase "if it ain't broke?" Well let me tell you that if I could turn the clock back I would never have attempted it! Something happened in the download process that has rendered my Quick Time program unreadable to the Olympus program even when I have removed the upgrade and re-installed the original program. Not only do I not have access to the hundreds of photos on my computer with a program that I know and love, I have lost a program that gave me incredibly professional looking photos that I could use on my site. I am currently using Picasa in it's place but it is a poor replacement. I find the cropped photos are grainy and the editing software gives me no where near the qaulity that I had. I am beside myself with grief over this loss. It is only because I have finally accepted that Picasa, for now, is my only choice and that I felt I had neglected this blog for long enough that I am now posting.

I promise to write more frequently now as long as you promise to not judge my photos too harshly until I can find resolution for this photo problem :-)

Until then......

The month of August took me to New England earlier than planned to celebrate a death in the family. Since I was due to travel a week later, it made no sense to return to Bermuda, only to find myself back on a plane in a weeks time.

I used the extra time wisely spending some quality time with the new babies in my family and had a blast! I got peed on, puked on, and even pooped on, and loved every minute of these precious moments with the boys; Henry, Jackson and Owen. I will return to Maine in a week for the big event of my year, Fryeburg Fair, and once it has passed will have a few days to reaquaint myself with them again. I will have to soak up as much of them as I can this trip since my travles will not take me near them again til I'm not sure when next year! They will have grown so much by then!

Audubon Show Report

2008-08-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

After months of anxiously awaiting the arrival of my participation in the Audubon Show, it has finally come and gone so quickly, it seems like it must certainly have been a dream! Susan Mills shared a booth with me for this event. Not only was it a blessing to be sharing the workload for set up and tear down for both of us, but she is a dear friend and you ALL know how important quality time is with the people who are important in your life!
Maine finally experienced a few days in a row of good weather and
though we had a shower late in the day on Saturday it was late
enough that it had no grave effect on the event. This Audubon event's presenters, Jim & Holly Gallante do a fine job. Not only is the setting for this show terrific, they run a class act! A few details make such a difference. Exhibitors were welcomed with a little goodie bag, and all attendees had access to coolers of FREE ice cold water, and very nice catered food. Doing shows is always tiring and getting good food and easy hydration is a big deal.

Our booth looked terrific! Susan and I spent hours designing our space in hopes of being able to create the best presentation possible for each of our work. I believe that the pictures I have included will convince you that we succeeded.
Traffic seemed light to me but considering this was the first sunny weekend in Maine for weeks, and summer coming to a close I was not surprised. Having never done this show before, it is impossible for me to judge how attendance compared to other years.

Most pleasing to me when showing my work is the reaction I get from the audience. It is very heartening for me, a new artist, and creator of a new art form to hear people say such things as:

" Your work is beautiful!"
"I have never seen anything like it before"
" How do you do this!"
"This is amazing work!"

These are the things that re-enforce that I am onto something, that I need to continue.... It is validation that the time I have spent in research and development and creating the bodies of work that I have has been worth it.

Now, the work as I go forward, is about sharing it with the public and finding the best venues in which to do that. I welcome all comments and suggestions that you have to share. Feel free to post comments to this posting or contact me with any advise or information that I might find useful. "It takes a village" as one famous woman has said. And whether you like the famous woman who said this or not, it is fact that we can not do it alone. In all parts of life it is the individual with our family, friends and supporters who make it happen for us!

In the end, I learned lots about the show circuit, met some fabulous people and had a great time. Susan's and my work seemed to represent the more Artful side of the show as compared to craft and because of that, I am not convinced that I will pursue this venue next year but in everything, we have the opportunity to seek, learn, and evolve! And so it was....
Until next time!

Owen Finally Arrives!

2008-08-11T05:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lapse in postings! I have had a busy past few weeks. My husband's mother passed after a long illness and brought me to New England unexpectedly sooner than originally planned. Though it was a hectic departure from Bermuda, it has given me an opportunity to spend some quality family time that I would not have otherwise had.....
Owen finally decided to come into the world on July 23 and weighed in at a whopping 6# 9 oz! Mom and baby are doing great! I had the good fortune of being able to alter my travel plans to Maine so that I could spend a few days with my niece, baby Owen and his proud dad in Massachusettes. What a treat! It had been a long time since I had spent time with a baby, never having had any of my own, not to mention some quality time with his mom who I don't get to see very often anymore.

This photo was taken of Owen in great grandma's arms wearing the first sweater that I knitted for him. It's a bit big on him but the weather here has been cool so he was glad to have it on this day. He's been an easy baby so far on a good schedule, sleeping and eating well, and packing on the groceries like a champ!

Of course I have since had time with the other two additions to the family, Henry and Jackson which has renewed my interest in knitting for them all! I had been anxiously awaiting my arrival to the US to find some new yarns to make a few more sweaters for them. I especially love to shop Marden's, a local discounter who always has fun yarns that are very well priced. It only takes a few skeins and a few days to make up one of these tiny gems, so since arriving I have found a new pattern for a hoodie and made one for Owen which Henry is modeling for us in this next photo, and I am just finishing up a red one for Henry.

Henry is a good model showing off Owen's new sweater! His will be finished today but in a larger size. In spite of the cool summer that Maine has been experiencing, we have hope that since it is still August, that Henry won't need his new hoodie for a few months so I have made his red one in a larger size.

Now that all of the babies have arrived, and I have had my baby fix, I need to get moving and prepare for the Audubon show this weekend! Hope to see you there!
I will be sure to take some photos to share and give a full show report next week. Stay tuned......