Karl Blossfeldt. Why had I not heard of him before?!?

I just found some photogravures of his on e-Bay (if you’re reading this DO NOT bid on them). My breath is taken away. Literally. I am gasping and wheezing and getting dizzy with the utter amazement…

They’re seedpods. SEEDPODS do you hear? I’m obsessed with drawing and collecting these things, and here they are REAL ART– and etchings none the less. I will be dreaming of them… for a long time. I will have some on my walls. You mark my words. They speak to me…

UPDATE: Barry bid and won a couple of prints the other night. They are photogravures printed from copper plates, the flower bud one in 1942 and the stem in 1929. I’ve still got my eye on some more. My first real art investments!

So, not only did I get to go to a workshop with Denyse Schmidt, I got to go to Manhattan to look at museums!

After wandering to find a parking spot at the train station for like 20 minutes, I finally figured out where to park, bought my ticket and boarded the train. People in big crowds like that are interesting– keeping to themselves for the most part, almost pretending they are alone. But, one “bless you” when someone sneezes, or a chuckle at a jabbering toddler can really break the ice and then there’s a warmth and friednliness– realization of “Oh yeah, we’re all people here huh?”

I braved a block in Harlem where I was OBVIOUSLY out of place, made it to the subway station, got off at Lexington and 51st, walked a few blocks to 53rd, and went into the Museum of Modern Art. I had a very expensive sandwich and water, then walked around for 4 or 5 hours.

Here are my feet while I rested on a bench and looked at the sculpture garden. Boy did I get tired– my bag was too heavey…

HIGHLIGHTS:
I just loved seeing REAL paintings and not just pictures in a books.

I never had really got it that Jasper John’s paintings were encaustic (melted wax) over newspaper collage. They were such a cool texture and really neat to see in real life.

I fell in love with Mondrian. His paintings always seemed so flat and too mechanical, but in real life they were paint on canvas. There were subtleties that were just beautiful and they had a calming affect. Never got that from a book.

The architecture and design room was fun. They had the first Apple SE and a new Imac, a Necchi sewing machine, cool pottery, a Vespa motor scooter.

I’ve never been big on Impressionism, but Monet’s Water Lilies was so big (like 50 feet long) and so beautifully textured it was overwhelming.

I’ve always loved Abstract Expressionism. I still love Mark Rothko’s color field paintings, but was VERY disappointed that there was only one Helen Frankenthaler.

This is Jacob’s Ladder. She did her paintings on unprimed canvas with really thin oil paint calling her technique “soak stain painting.” The colors and layers and soft edges are the perfect feminine anthithesis to Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings.

BUMMERS:
The Print and Illustrated Books gallery was closed for the installation of an exhibit of etchings. (I was a Printmaker in college, so this made me want to cry.) I could see some on the far wall that looked like they were on hand dyed paper… oh the delicate lines and texture of prints. Sad, sad, sad, I didn’t get to see any.

There weren’t enough women artists!

By the time I was done at the MoMA my body hurt ALL OVER. I was SOOO tired, but went next door to the American Folk Art Museum anyway. I was really excited about the comparison of art as defined by the art world (at the MoMA) with the self taught, annonymous everyday things people create to make their lives beautiful. I think I was just too tired to enjoy it, because I was a little disappointed in the Folk Art Museum. I was hoping for it to be more domestic and feminine, I guess– with more textiles and quilts. The special “Obsessive Drawing” exhibit was pretty cool.

Anyway, I somehow moved my aching, tired, body back to the subway, back on the train, got something to eat, got back to my hotel, and fell asleep at about 7:30. I was beat!

Before I went I was expecting that I would have this feeling of longing, of missing out and really wanting to be part of this “art world,” but suprisingly I felt just the opposite. I have made some deliberate decisions and have chosen that this time in my life, right now, I need to be a wife and mother. I need to serve at church. I left feeling so peaceful and satisfied that I am doing the perfect thing for me. Even if I won’t ever have a painting hanging in the MoMA. That made the trip worth it. I think every mom needs a weekend ALL to herself once in a while. I think I’ll suggest once a year…

I don’t write much here about what I do in service to my church– partly because I don’t want to be all, “Look how nice I am,” because a lot of what I do should be kept confidential, and also because I’m not in this position because I campaigned or earned it, but because I was asked to and feel like that’s what Heavenly Father needs me to do. But, the load is getting heavy and today has been a crappy day.

We have a welfare system which is amazing a very inspired, and so as Relief Society President it is part of my job to assess the needs of people in our ward and help order the food and stuff they need. A truck comes from the Bishop’s Storehouse in Columbus every other Tuesday. Anyway, I sent one of my counselors to the truck devlivery today because I wasn’t feeling up to lifting and loading, and 8 families’ orders weren’t on the truck! I started writing this in frustration and bewilderment, not knowing what to do, but now we’ve figured out that there wasn’t enough postage on the order forms, that they didn’t get there in time, but that copies of them have been found, people can head up to Columbus to get the missing food and it will all be okay.

As I was sitting here near tears because 8 families were going to have to be without food and it was probably somehow my fault, my e-mail inbox dinged and I had a message from Denyse to make me smile.

I wasn’t sure it was okay to post pictures of her new fabirc line, but she said it was just fine to start the buzz. The fabrics she designed are so fun– with her great color sense and vintage charm. Here’s the picture I took at her studio:

But even better is the picture she just sent me of “Flea Market Fantasy”

I sure can’t wait to get my hands on those browns and blues, how ’bout you guys?! Okay, the orangey yellows and greens are great too… Keep your eyes peeled in the quilt stores this spring/ summer

I’m back from my trip. I had an amazing time. It was a real confidence booster for me to go all by myself and successfully navigate the roads, trains, and subways on my own. Being by myself is not something I get to be very often, but I’m such a sit-and-thinker that I really need it every now and then. I imagined that I would be really productive and draw a lot, knit up a storm, do some serious reading, but I decided to just do what I felt like and ended up watching a lot of HGTV (we don’t have cable at home, so it was a novelty) and going to bed early.

Now, about the highlight of my trip– the whole reason Barry sent me on this adventure– the workshop with Denyse Schmidt. (I’ll post about my trip into Manhattan another day.)

I got there super early because I wanted to make sure I could find it. It was a little tricky. Bridgeport is an old industrial town, and the place where Denyse’s studio is located is just one old red brick industrial building after another. The workshop started at 11:00. I left my hotel at 9:30 and even after circling the block several times and calling Barry to have him re-read me the directions off of my e-mail, I was sitting in my rental car outside of Denyse’s building a little before 10:00.

I sat staring at the gray door, listening to Car Talk on the radio, and doodling in my sketchbook. Then a Honda Accord pulled up, a woman with dark hair, a camel colored jacket, big bags and jugs of water got out– and unlocked the gray door to building 4. *Gasp!* That’s Denyse. It’s just after 10. I’m so early, what do I do? I sat and listened to Car Talk for quite a while longer, but before 10:30 I got out and climbed the 4 flights of stairs to her studio and went on in. By then a couple of other people had arrived and were staking claims for table space, so I put down my stuff, introduced my self to Denyse, and offered to help carry water etc. up the 4 flights of stairs. We chatted. She remembered e-mailing me about finding fabric, she thought my blog was beautiful, she was so happy I was there. *Breathe, Jess!* I asked about her recent trip to Guatemala and I don’t know what else. At the risk of sounding really silly and sappy I just have to say that I felt an instant connection with her…

Her assistant Richard pulled out some quilts, so I got to see “Tulip Tree”, the orange “Drunk Love Two-Tone” used in her book, and “What A Dish” in real life. Way cool, so cool, in fact, that I forgot to take pictures. (And I am kicking myself right now as I write.) Richard talked about making the quilts, about the Amish ladies who quilt the corture quilts, the Indian business that does “What a Dish” (and others, for places like Maine Cottage and Crate and Barrel), and stuff like that.

Once everyone got there we got down to business. She told us the rules of the game. She had 3 bags full of fabric scraps, small, medium, and large. Grab a small, eyes closed, grab another, no peeking, and sew them together. That’s the start. She demonstrated our assignment, pulling out random pieces and piecing them together. No cheating. Even if you HATE the fabric you draw, use it anyway. So, it forced us to create color combinations we never would have picked ourselves, to see how prints and solids play off of each other, to see how the size of the pieces made a difference in the block as a whole. We worked quickly, freely, intuitively and it was a lot of fun. Toward the end of the day we were allowed to incorporate bits of our own fabric that we brought, but still had to go back to the bags most of the time. I learned a lot about what I like– the shapes of pieces that appeal to me, color combinations, that a little print goes a long way– and about what I don’t like at all (3 of the 6 blocks I made were blech!). We put the blocks up on the flannel wall and talked about them.

The light in her studio was beautiful, especially as the sun got lower in the sky as afternoon began to turn into evening. We got to see her new fabric line with Free Spirit(which will probably be out in stores by summer) and shop her paper goods from Chronicle books. (I got a set of journals so I could get her autograph. Silly, I know, but I forgot my DSQuilts book to have her sign.) Best of all we were in a room full of creative people making stuff– like art school again– and I have really been longing for that lately.

This was the first time I’ve ever met someone I’ve really admired and watched for a long time. I still have the Martha Stewart article I found about Denyse back in 1998 (I think) and was immediately taken in by her style and sense of humor and tie to tradition. She was an artist with a vision and she fought and worked hard for the opportunity to share it. I want to find my spot someday too.

And the coolest thing about it was that, not only did I learn a little bit about how she works and gets inspiration and struggles sometimes, but I left feeling like I made a friend.

Thanks Denyse! I love you!

My Little Mochi has organized her second post card swap, and I got in on it this time. I’ve had ideas swimming around in my head about making art experimenting with transparency and layers and sewing and torn edges, but I have a hard time getting myslef to do it unless I have an assignment.

So, the assignment is:
10 postcards
saying Happy New Year
with a dog somewhere (for the Chinese year of the dog)

I get to send them to Sweden, Ireland, Australia, Hawaii, to name a few.

I’ve got a few more to finish, which I’ll do in my hotel room in peace and quiet as I travel to Denyse’s workshop this weekend.

See ya when I get back!

Here’s “One Tote Fits All” from Denyse Schmidt Quilts. I made it for my mom for Christmas, and finished it just in time for the mail man to deliver it to Idaho on Christmas Eve. I had other bags in the works for other recipients, but this is the only one that got finished… and is still the only one finished.

Last time my mom came to visit she had a big nylon tote bag from some computer conference my dad went to. It was good sized, fit her purse, had a pocket for a water bottle and the various other things she needed to carry on the plane. I decided she needed something much cooler, though. So, here it is. I altered the pattern a bit and made a separate lining so that I could put in some pockets. Now she can carry all her stuff, water bottle and all, in style.

Maybe I’ll get the other one I started done so I can carry it on the plane to Denyse’s workshop this Saturday.

Probably not, though–because that would mean I would have to wade through and tidy up my craft room. Hmmm…

I forgot to say: The lighting in the picture is bad. The bottom fabric is a dark brown, not black. And the blue–it was my first try at hand dying fabric, and I like how it turned out. I couldn’t find the color I wanted, so I made it with Rit and it worked.

I REALLY REALLY REALLY miss my friend April. She helped me stay sane, sharing homeschool woes and triumphs, getting together at least weekly for our kids to play. We learned about spinning together, quilted, went on bike rides and adopted each other’s obsessions.

Then she moved to Seattle and I have felt like a fish out of water here without her and her kids to keep my kids company.

But now she’s got a blog, so at least I don’t just have to hear her description of her quilts over the phone and use my imagination, but I can actually see them (albeit small enough to fit on a computer monitor).

Here’s a quilt for her about to be born baby. She is amazningly talented. She’s an awesome knitter and made her own pattern for a rabbit, teddy bear, and clothes to dress them in.

Check out By Small Means regularly and you will be as happy to know April as I am.

Because I cannot for the life of me find the camera cable (which must be with Barry’s laptop in Reno) I needed some picture to post. So, here are my new boots, newly arrived from Zappos.com several days earlier than I had expected them. I have been searching for the right black shoes for years. My poor Simples (which they don’t make the same anymore, unfortunately) were purchased way back in the day Barry and I lived in our first basement apartment, just freshly married. I have tried to find something to replace them because they are in a sorry state, and quite uncomfortable to wear these days with the holes in the insoles and all, but I am very picky about shoes. They have to be the right shape, and the toe shape is the most important of all. They can’t be too skinny and make my small feet look silly at the bottom of a pair of properly shaped pants. Anyway, I guess people in Dayton just don’t have good shoe taste because there is ONE store in this entire metropolitan area that carries shoes I like. They did have a sale on Saturday, I went to look for something to spend my Christmas money on (thanks Mom) and almost settled for a pair of Dansko oxfords, but they were so tall and just not me. I have a favorite pair of shoes that I found at the Sierra Trading Post outlet in Cheyenne Wyoming (which is the ONLY thing that makes driving across Wyoming worth it) for $13. They’re Earth shoes and I wear them almost everyday. So I ventured to find another pair, balked at the price (especially after paying $13 for my first pair), but bit the bullet and typed my card number into Zappos.com. Great selection, free shipping, and I just order them on Saturday. They were well worth what I paid. New shoes always add a little twinkle to my eye. I remember sleeping all snuggled with my new Cabbage Patch Kid velcro sneakers, taking in that new shoe smell, for several nights as a little girl.

On the home front, I am surviving single motherhood so far. We’ve had good school 2 days in a row, made a visit to the library, took the dog and all 3 kids for a walk/ scooter/ bike ride quite successfully, listened to 4 CDs of Harry Potter 5, kept the house picked up, sorted, washed, dried, folded and put away laundry, and got everyone to bed on time without ANYONE crying or yelling. Oh, and today it rained, but I let everyone play outside anyway. The kids did a good job of keeping their muddiness outside, but Ellie was COVERED. She was so dejected by her filthiness and my attempts to wipe her off in the garage, that when I decided she just needed a bath I had to carry her upstairs because she wouldn’t budge. The dog bath went as smoothly as a dog bath could go, and no dinner got burnt. I will be very excited to get to run away to New York when Barry gets home though. This is exhausting. I would NEVER EVER want to be a single mom on a permanent basis EVER EVER EVER.

Barry is in Reno this week doing academic engineery things. (Oh, and skiing. A nearby mountain is giving free lift tickets to active duty military members.) Miracle of all miracles is that I got to 9 o’clock church, with 3 children dressed in clean clothes, on time! Though I tried to get the boys’ hairs into acceptable postition, it was in vain. But– not one of them had dried milk or snot anywhere on their faces!! Logan only ran up the aisle of the chapel once during Sacrament meeting, and though he is not officially 18 months until next Sunday, I got to leave him in the nursery while I sat through all of Sunday school. Ahhh… it was nice to sit and breathe.

Conducting Relief Society was like herding honking geese. The room was packed. The women were chatty. What do I do, shhhhhush them? 99.9% of them are 10 years older than me!! It was nice to feel the fellowship and friendship, but our poor teacher had a hard time keeping everyone’s attention. It was all very nice in the end. Church was good. Testimonies were shared, Sunday school was very inspiring and thought provoking, I left feeling good.

And all was well until bedtime. Barry does bedtime (except on Wednesdays). But he’s fresh and not quite as tired as I am by that time. He’s fun, but authoritative. Me– I just get bugged and mad because I am tired and I want everyone to go away already! In family prayer I even pleaded, “Heavenly Father, please help the kids to be nice and obey and help me to be patient and not cry or yell while we are getting ready for bed.” Well, I didn’t cry or yell. Nothing of note really happened or went wrong. But for some reason bed time just stresses me out with the undressing and the dressing and the teeth brushing and the VERY HYPER BABY and the one-last-drink of water and the going potty and the VERY HYPER BABY and the stories and the picking of stuffed animals to sleep with and making sure we have me-me’s (blankets) and the VERY HYPER BABY climbing on me while I’m reading the next story…

But Logan’s cute. He gets very hyper when he’s tired. Silly hyper, laughing and running and pulling the dog’s tail and climbing on siblings and on Mom’s head and pulling all toys out of their proper places hyper. He makes me tired. But when I put him to bed he tries to sing along as I rock him and “bap up” (wrap up). He lays his head on my left shoulder and sings in my ear.

So, I like that part.

I’m tired. I’ve been quite a slacker in posting here–and in lots of other areas. I’ve been really bad about doing school every day, because I’m just not quite sure what to do. We’ve been doing first grade Saxon Math, which has worked pretty well so far because it is so gradual in adding concepts. Brenna is perfectly capable of every bit of it–and a little more. But, now we’ve reached a point where she has a worksheet of facts and the regular worksheet everyday, and it is just out of her 5 year old attention span to be able to enjoy. So, I’ve completely backed off on the math and structure and let her just read. But she has plenty of attention span for books. She’s been reading about 2 novels a week. This week she read Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz and Queen Zixxie of Ix, both by L. Frank Baum. Last week she read Ozma of Oz and one of the American Girl books. I guess I just feel guilty because it doesn’t take any effort on my part to plop her on a chair with a book and let her disappear into Oz for the rest of the the day. She’s got to be learning something, right? I shouldn’t be feeling bad that my 5 year old is reading at an 7th or 8th grade level, but just isn’t interested in 1st grade math.

So, I guess I’m just writing this to try to convince myself I’m doing okay, even though I’m not doing much. I have been spending a lot of time with church responsibilities. There have been lots of sugeries and babies born. There is one sister who has a 3 year old boy, a 2 year old boy, 16 month old twin girls, she’s pregnant due in April, and in the process of a divorce. I have no room to complain about being tired.

But I sure want too