3rd Annual Oxford Fibert Arts Festival

The 3rd Annual Oxford Fiber Arts Festival is coming!  The first two festivals were so successful, the third annual will be even bigger and better!  (Seriously, can we top ourselves, again?!)  Everyone loved the first and second festivals -- vendors, attendees, teachers, kids, even the animals had a good time!

The Third Annual Fiber Festival will be held  January 25-27, 2013 at the Powerhouse Community Art Center on University Avenue in Oxford, Mississippi.

I'll be doing a kids craft again at the next festival.  This time we'll be teaching kids how to do Kumihimo Braiding.  It's a very simple technique (it can be complicated, but not at the beginner level!), and we'll make key chains or zipper pulls.  I think there is going to be a nominal charge this year, probably $1, and it will incude all the materials.  You even get to take home your Kumihimo disk and a set of instructions to make more braids.

Click on the boxes on the right to 1) see more photos of Kumihimo braiding and 2) link to Knit 1 Oxford for more informaiton about the Fiber Festicval.  To see more kumihimo photos, click here.

This necklace was made using several techniques.  Beading was added around a reproduction glass button, a bail was created with beaded square stitch, the cording was braided using a Kumihimo disk, and a spring from the hardware store was cut in half and used for the end caps.  My braid was not quite long enough, so I extended the length with extra beading.  A magnetic clasp closes the necklace.

Delightful, Delectable Brattleboro!

Carolyn and I spent several days in delightful Brattleboro in July.  We stayed in the roomy (which we promptly proceeded to fill with clutter) 'purple room' at the historic Latchis Hotel.  From our large front windows we could view the Connecticut River, bridges, New Hampshire mountains, and old train station (now a very good art musueum; closed, unfortunately, during our visit).  The art deco hotel, whose website motto is "It's Artful; It's Downtown," has a beautiful old theatre where movies and live performances are held.  The rates are very reasonable, a nice continental breakfast is available in the corner lobby.  The staff were wonderful!

Brattleboro is a thriving small city in Southern Vermont and provides a lot of nice walking through various parks and neighborhoods, plus lovely window shopping on Main Street.  One of the first shops I always head for is Delectable Mountain (display windows below), a shop like no other in the world!  The shop, which caters to fiber artists, designers, dollmakers and more, has been around for decades.  The owner is a trip!, and really knowledgable about textiles, jewelry, buttons, and everything she carries in the shop.  The way that items are displayed is very clever; for example, using stemware to create small glass shelves on which jewelry is displayed.  Buttons (antique and new) are everywhere in small glass plates and bowls.  I usually spend at least an hour perusing the button and antique trim offerings!  Then it's on to the gorgeous collection of fabrics.  Do not try to hurry your way through this shop!

A display in one of the Delectable Mountain windows, these enchanting porcelain dolls:

Delectable Mountain business card:

Our parents, Lulu and Arthur, were married in Brattleboro in July, 1941, at the 'House of Flowers Tourist Home.'  I don't remember why they went to Brattleboro, as they lived and worked in Hartford.  Probably there were a lot of elopements during World War II.  Even though their wedding predates the war, people knew a war was coming.  When Arthur graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Lulu remembered the speaker telling the graduates they would all be in uniform within a year. 

Lulu told me the evening they eloped she was waiting for Arthur in front of her office building.  A friend stopped by and asked if she wanted to go out for a drink, to which she replied she couldn't as she had a date with Arthur.  So secretive!  After they returned to Hartford Lulu continued to live with her sisters until an apartment could be found.  Her sister, Marie, saw the wedding announcement in the newspaper!

This amazing 'House of Flowers' is still on Main Street in Brattleboro!  Though the building looks in great condition, sadly, store fronts have been added and extend the front of the building to the sidewalk.  Eeek, I think one of them is a sub shop!  Carolyn and I wanted to find out more about the house, so we went across the street to the public library (old library photo below; the current library is newer).  In the local history section we looked through a couple of notebooks and found several pages relating to the house.  It was built by George Dowley in the late 1880's.  Mr. Dowley was president of the Vermont National Bank. 

The building, over the years, had many owners and tenants (Mr. and Mrs. Dowley had no children), including, naturally, a florist shop, Western Union offices, New Method Dry Cleaning, law offices, etc., and from 1937 to 1947, the 'House of Flowers Tourist Home.'  Presumably the hosts of the tourist home, Carl and Mary Hopkins, were also JP's and married many couples during the war years.  Lulu said that after she and Art were married their wedding dinner consisted of hamburgers at a local bar in town!

Brattleboro has several antique shops, and new and used book shops!  Carolyn and I sometimes race each other to the knitting and needlwork sections of used book stores!  Here is a charming book I found at one of the shops:

The Tasha Tudor Museum is in West Brattleboro, just a few miles from downtown.  There was a wonderful exhibit there of several dresses that were collected and / or made by Tasha Tudor.  They were beautiful examples of the mid 19th century style of dress that she loved to wear.  The museum is small, and the curator was on hand to give us a personal tour of the museum and costume exhibit.  Membership in the museum includes a lovely, color newsletter published two times a year.

One of the wall panels on our floor at the Latchis Hotel.  Please note the shiny spots, presumably made by a juvenile male staying at the hotel! 

Want more information about Brattleboro?  Click here. 

Bryant Park and Japanese Book Store!

We LOVE Bryant Park, behind the New York Public Library.  Many years ago the park had become a little derelict, and a group of concerned citizens decided that it needed a restoration and redesign, one that would bring lots of people into the park.  And it worked!  A private  not-for-profit company was formed to manage the restoration and maintenance.  Bryant Park has been a huge success, and it is one of our favorite places to visit in NYC.  Tree shaded avenues find people reading, chatting with friends, eating, exercising, playing games.  There are even book carts and a kind of open air library.

The day we visited a "small" yoga class was being held in the open space used for movies, performances, etc.  The girl in pink was a perfect yoga devotee.  (You can enlarge a photo by right clicking and choosing "Open in new window.")

The guys playing ping pong looked like they were having more fun.  I told Kathy she should take up the sport -- good exercise and meet men at the same time.  But does she take my advice?  Nooo.

Best public rest rooms in New York City.  Seriously nice!  Don't forget to tip the attendant.



We enjoyed our shared gourmet sandwich (from one of the park food kiosks) while watching the ping pong players, then headed across the street to our actual destination:  JAPANESE BOOK STORE!  I love Japanese design!  When I lived in Arlington I used to take the 77 bus down Mass Avenue to Porter Square in Cambridge.  There was a sweet tea room, the Paper Source, and a small but wonderful Japanese mall in the old Sears building.  The bakery, mmmmmmm, sweet bean & cream filled, light-as-a-feather donuts; food court with tampopo and miso offerings; a grocery store with the cutest snack section for kids this side of Japan; and a gift shop that carried beautiful hand printed papers for crafting, or just hanging on the wall.

Helloooo Kitty.  The Japanese are genius at design and marketing.

Every so often I would run across a Japanese craft book in a bead, quilt, or needlework store, like these below.  It never mattered that the books were not translated into English -- the design and craftsmanship were enough to study and be amazed at, and the instructions so well illustrated that an experienced crafter could figure them out.

Here is a doll I made from one of my old Ondori doll books.  I remember that I used a coat hanger inside and it was really hard to bend it.  But the doll came out so cute.

My daughter told me about a fabulous Japanese book store, Kinokuniya, she had discovered in NYC that I had to experience.  Omg, when she brought me to the basement craft section, I was in book heaven!  I couldn't believe the number and variety of books, covering all the fiber arts including some that are increasing in popularity and interest.

I had to get this precious book which looks a lot like stumpwork embroidery -- lots of detached buttonhole stitching of little animals, butterflies, beetles, & fish to make into a brooch, cover a purse, or simply decorate your home in hidden, whimsical ways.

The designs are amazing, and so is the photography:

Back cover of "Small World by Felt," a needle felting book:

"Irish Crochet Lace."  The designs are charted, and Japanese charts are very nearly like American crochet charts, but even so this book might be too difficult for me.  I'll start with a small motif.  Why do they have to make it even cuter with the little bird placed delicately on the cover crochet?

Here is the address of the bookstore in New York City.  But if you are near San Franciso, or Los Angeles, or even Dubai, they have branches there.  I did not find their website user friendly, even the USA page is in Japanese.  You just have to go there, and browse, and buy, and wish your wallet would call and say "Get as many books as you want, dear!"

I did not find this Japanese book at Kinokuniya, but at Lacis in Berkeley earlier this year.  It is absolutely gorgeous to look at.

Eye candy from, where else, Japan!  (I think; Charlie brought them home from a trip several years ago.  I took a photo before they disappeared.)

Inspired by Native American Artisans

On my trip Up North this summer, I was lucky enough to see three museum exhibits featuring the art and craft of Native American artists. The pictures that can be made with tiny beads, porcupine quills, and moosehair is amazing. I’ve done a lot of beadwork, using Indian techniques, but I would love to try my hand at things like moosehair embroidery. (I wonder if all the saved cat whiskers might work in this technique. I've saved a LOT of them over the years!)



Carolyn and I went to a really good exhibit at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, called “Rethink! – American Indian Art.”    The exhibit is up until January 6, 2013, and includes the work of well known contemporary artists such as Teri Greeves, click here and here; Jeremy Frey; Marcus Amerman, and many others.  

Note: You can click on any text that is in dark red, to follow a link to another website.

I love Teri Greeves’ Beaded High Top Sneakers. What a hoot! Teri is teaching a Beaded Baby Moccasins workshop at the museum on November 4. Wish I could take it!
 

There were several wall hangings by Teri Greeves that were really interesting. This bead technique looks similar to working with number 11 seed beads, but she used BIG beads and on a large scale.

I have been seeing Marcus Amerman’s beaded portraits for many years (see Chief Joseph portrait here), but I did not know about his high fashion pieces and glass work.  I love the beadwork lapels on this 'Indian Tux' (my description, I do not know the title of this piece).  The jacket in the background was also fascinating, all done in a beadwork version of ledger drawings. 

The Berkshire Museum will also host workshops this fall with Jeremy Frey (an amazing Passamaquoddy basket maker), October 7, and Niio Perkins, ‘Iroquois Beaded Whimsey’ on December 4.

http://berkshiremuseum.org/event/rethink-hands-on-workshops/

The exhibit at the Berkshire Museum also features artifacts the Museum has collected over the years.  I love this sweet European China doll beautifully dressed in Crow costume:

Visiting Kathy in New York City, I discovered TWO museum exhibits featuring Native American art! Of course I always go to the National Museum of the American Indian in New York, now located in the Wall Street area, but I used to go to it when it was up in Harlem and was called the Heye Foundation Museum of the American Indian. The NMAI has some amazing, amazing pieces in their collections, and there are always new exhibits up when I visit. This time it was DOLLS!

There were some beautiful, and charming, dolls in the exhibit. The lighting was low, and no flash, so the photos aren’t great, but you can see the NMAI doll collection online by doing a search (and you can see the BACK of the dolls too, which I couldn’t in the exhibit).   Click here. 

One of several ‘dolls’ by Joyce Growing Thunder:



I like the face painting on these dolls:



These dolls were from Alaska, are made of grasses, and I think they are a kind of basketry:



The exhibit is now closed, but there is a catalog, sort of. It doesn’t feature the dolls in the exhibit, but it is an excellent book about Native American dolls.

Order it from the museum store:

https://nmaistore.si.edu/shop/product/174/

Anishinaabe Birch & Quill House:

Cool!  A Choctaw coat (circa 1900) from Mississsippi!  This was part of another exhibit, "Infinity of Nations," at NMAI, and in additional to the actual exhibit, there is a fabulous online exhibit of Native art of the Americas, from earliest history to contemporary.

 



More Inspiration Pieces!

After visiting the NMAI, and a bite to eat from a cute little Farmer’s Market in front of the Custom House,

we head up to the Metropolitan Museum for yet another exhibit of Native American art & craft.  These items are from the The Coe Collection of American Indian Art, and are on exhibit through October 14. 

 

(Photography allowed, no flash.)  Here is Joyce Growing Thunder again!. This ‘doll’ was incredible, the design and workmanship are so exquisite. And this time I got to see the figure in the round, as well as the inspiration pieces that inspired the work!

Here is the inspiration piece that inspired Joyce Growing Thunder's figure, front and back.  It is a Girl's Cape, Assiniboin, from 1890-1905.

You can search the Metropolitan online data base for photos and information about museum objects and collections, including Joyce Growing Thunder: 

 

I love the internet!  It is wonderful for people like me who live hundreds (and thousands) of miles from the large museums.  To search the Museum's online data base, click here.  Try looking up 'dolls' and see what comes up, it's amazing.  There are so many objects in a museum's collection that are not currently on display which you can see online.

 

I did a search “beadwork in the coe collection” and found lots of beautiful pieces to study, including this Iroquois Glenngary style cap.  I want to make one of these.

Lastly, I love this figure in the Museum.  I’m afraid I do not know what it is, but I call it “Curmudgeon Baby,” because that is what it looks like to me!  Cute Curmudgeon Baby.



Tip for visiting the Metropolitan Museum.  The recommended fee for admission for adults is $25 (seniors $17).  When my daughter and I visited we arrived later in the afternoon.  I asked if I could pay less, as we would only be there less than two hours, and they said we could pay an amount of our choosing, so I paid less than the suggested amount.  But if I had been able to spend all day at the museum, $25 is a bargain for what you get at this BEST art museum in the U.S.!

Shake a Leg! (Silly...)

Well, after much delay here is the next step in my little dog!  I thought I would try and show detailed steps of the process I took to attach her second leg.  Yes, she's a girl.  Her name is Sadie.

For the leg I used about this much roving:

Which I then folded in half...

And used the Green 5-needle tool until it looked something like this...

I found it helpful to keep rolling and folding the fiber to get it to compress into a leggish shape!  Afterwards, I used the Pink 3-needle tool to shorten the length by inserting the needle at an angle into the leg, like so:

Here is a snap showing the size of the leg just before I attached it, as compared to the finished other leg:

It made sense to leave the leg just a little bigger, since you compress it more when attaching and shaping it.

So, I positioned the leg...

And used the Pink 3-needle tool to attach it at the back end:

Once I had the leg stuck on at the back, I decided that just one needle would give me the detailed control to shape the leg (I still think it's amazing that you really can stick on a single piece of wool at a time!), so I decided to remove a couple of needles.  You do this by unscrewing the white collar from the back of the pen to reveal the needle compartment:

Then you can just slide the extra needles out one at a time -

...and get to work shaping up the leg!

So, now she has two legs!  She is all finished actually, and I will put up the rest of the process is another post (hopefully later today).

A Happy Mother's Day to all Moms out there - and especially to my mom, and aunt.  The women I share this blog with constantly set an example for me of the way I should try to live my life - be happy, be encouraging, work for the things you believe in, do what you love and CREATE!  Sounds like a marvelous plan!  xoxo