Sumingagashi—Floating Ink Paper Marbling & Accordion Book in a Box Workshop

Doing Sumingagashi (sue-me-NAH-gah-she)—Floating Ink Paper Marbling in a workshop with Jill Krase at the Winona Arts Center on April 11, 2015 was an incredibly fascinating and inspiring afternoon.  After we played with floating ink and created very interesting marbled papers, we created a little box with a lid and put an accordion book inside.  Here are a few photos.

Jill Krase with a birthday cake that she brought for one of her workshop participants and shared with all of us!

Table filled with supplies including mulberry papers.

Dirk and Carol, participants in the workshop.

See more of what is happening at Winona Arts Center on their facebook page.

To find more workshops with Jill Krase, see her at Ovenbird Bindery.

Open House for EASEL exhibit including "Fly Away with a Book"

The SELCO traveling exhibit, "Experience Art in Southeastern Libraries" is currently in Rushford/Peterson High School Library through April 8, 2015.  An open house to celebrate the exhibit is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, 6:30-7:30pm.

The art that I created for the exhibit, Fly Away with a Book will be on display.  I'm excited to see the other pieces in the exhibit.  I've seen the images of the art in the EASEL book but seeing the actual work up close is very exciting.

Fly Away with a Book
12" x 12"

See the process of creating Fly Away with a Book

The exhibit will be traveling through June 2015.  To learn more and see the full exhibit schedule.

Hope you get a chance to view the art.

Art Club

We started an Art Club last year, Spring 2014, with all age levels, Kindergarten through Grade 5 and created goggles of enhanced perception and  huge painted murals on paper of earth environments at Ridgeway Community School.  It was so popular that I had over 45 students enrolled.

This year, I've created a smaller club incorporating different projects for each session.  This fall, the 3rd - 5th Grade students stitched puppets with felt, embroidery floss, and buttons.

This little bear puppet asked, "Do you want to join us?"  The children had the option to create a bear, bunny or owl puppet from patterns that I provided. Or students could develop their own design.  We used patterns from Lisa Griffith's, Woodland Puppets. 

Fourteen students worked on bears, owls, or bunnies.  Three students created their own puppets.  Some students had never sewn before, and we all learned to be patient with threading a needle, making knots, and creating stitches.  Two parent volunteers helped with the fun.

First, students cut out or created their patterns, laid them on the felt, and cut out the pieces.

When the pieces were cut, students decided on what color of embroidery floss to use to stitch the parts together.

We began the puppets in November; we had a week off for Thanksgiving and then came back to complete them the first week of December.

Here are some of cool results.  Some students stitched on buttons for eyes and others stitched felt.

Lucas added a belly button to his bear.

Students could use a running stitch that moved the thread in and out or a whipped stitch that brought the stitch over and around the two pieces.  Either stitch worked well.

Jack created an owl and a watch.

Happy and proud results from all of that stitching.

Architects in 1st Grade

The 1st  Graders learned about Architecture in Art Class.  We talked about designing buildings and what was needed.  A floor has another name a foundation, columns  support the walls, doors allow people to come and go, and windows bring in light and allow a view of outside.  We made three dimensional gingerbread houses with lunch sacks and candy cane paper for columns.

Some children added window panes; others added people looking out the windows.  Some created two floors and even patios.  Quite a variety of designs.

Adding crumpled newspaper to create the inside of the gingerbread house was fun.

Folding the green roof and gluing it on top was the last step.  All the steps took lots of concentration, and paying attention to getting the foundation on the bottom and the roof on top.

A happy result when complete!

Gathering, Sharing, and Getting a Tree

We went to Bronk's to get our Christmas tree.  They're in our neighborhood--we picked a little Fraser tree and it fit in the corner quite well.

A few lights and looked at all the ornaments--new and old.  Some that Amaliya made, lots that we collected.   I gave her some to take home for her collection.  Bob and Dan we good sports with the decorating.    We threw out some lights that didn't work.  Oh, it was fun!

I put together the Angel Candles and brought out the Peace Snow Friend.  The flowers were from my birthday earlier this week.  Oh, so fun to be together and make cheer.

Stop Existing, Start Living; A Blog Post by Scott Grossberg

 This blog from Scott Grossberg, Thinking Magically  The Art of Actively Living  came across my desk and it resonates with me in the light of Quen Hummerhee, my daughter's father passing on October 31, 2014.  Life is so precious; death a gift in life.  Challenging for me to wrap my brain around--but yes, a gift.

Thinking Magically™ | The Art of Actively Living

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
– Steve Jobs

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We all come to grips with death
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Like everyone, I have had to deal with the death of loved ones. And interfacing with some of the hospice workers involved in those passages has been remarkable. In one instance, a hospice worker said to me: “He’s on a remarkable journey and will be learning lots of things.” I discovered that the journey was really that of everyone involved in the process. And we all learn lots.
Hospice workers have a checklist to determine whether someone moves into the actively dying stage. Relax. It’s not morbid or offensive. It’s a way of tracking the changes that take place as someone moves closer to dying and it is a natural way for them to help ensure that the person in their charge has comfort and dignity.
The dying process begins well before death actually happens. That got me to thinking. How many of us actually think about the process of living? Dale Carnegie once said: “One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.”
It’s time to stop wishing. And start having.
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We do not all come to grips with living
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I’m going to borrow now from the hospice checklist. And I know that hospice usually refers to the care of the terminally ill. And the term hospice also means a lodging for travelers.
Aren’t we all just travelers at any given time? So that seems appropriate to me.
Borrowing from the hospice checklist then, there are two aspects to living — the Preactive Living Phase and the Actively Living Phase.
Preactive Living is that phase of your life where you take action and make an effort to actually participate in your own life, success, and dreams. This is not about living a life of reacting to things. Quite the contrary, this phase of your life is all about predicting your own future and then creating a life in accord with that anticipation, desire, and belief. This is the time when you consciously plan the changes in your life that will take you from a living a life of loss and reaction to living a life of fulfillment and power. Think of this as the design part of your life.
Actively Living is that phase of your life where you change, adopt, and manifest what you have predicted for yourself. It’s as much about actually producing your Now and Then as it is about actively controlling those things within your control. It is about living a life that might have some obstacles and yet you know that these can all be targeted and vanquished. Think of this as the implementation part of your life.
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Signs that you’re ready to finally enter the Preactive Living phase
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You will begin to notice some or all of the following when you are ready to start predicting and taking control of your life:
1.   You are increasing restless, confused, aroused, impatient, unable to stay gratified about things, and feel the need to take a firm stand about something (even if you don’t know what it is, yet)
2.  The social activities that used to interest you don’t excite you anymore
3.  You have less alertness, feel groggy, and feel like you’re walking through mud or water as you make your way thought Life
4.  You lose interest in those things that used to excite you
5.  You start daydreaming and fantasizing about what another life would look like for you
6.  You don’t just feel like you’re ready for a change — you are starting to say that out loud to others
7.  You find yourself getting sick more often than usual
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Signs that you’re ready to finally enter the Actively Living phase
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Once you enter the Preactive Phase, you will sit down and actually chart out the life you want to have instead of the just getting by with the one you’re living now. I’ve outlined in prior articles how to create the life of your dreams in complete detail. You might want to take a look through my blog for various ideas. Here’s one good place to start:
http://scottgrossberg.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/thinking-magically-dont-like-your-life-change-it/
The Actively Living phase is all about doing. As such, you will begin to notice some or all of the following when you are ready to start LIVING:
1.  An inability for others to negatively influence you or deflect you away from your personal success goal and dreams that will fulfill you
2.  You become a crusader for your own dreams, a maverick of your own thoughts, and somewhat of a nonconformist to others
3.  You find that you are actually breathing easier and have an increased confidence in your ability to handle anything that comes your way
4.  You start taking better care of your health, heart, and habits
5. You have little tolerance for stupid people and those who waste your time with their own little dramas
6.  You are so busy with your own life that you begin to notice an “out of sight, out of mind” situation with those things and people you don’t see or encounter frequently
7.  You stop complaining without also having a solution
8.  You stop complaining and simply take charge
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Stop existing. And start living.
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Actively Living is not easy. Everyone would be doing it if it was easy. But it is a simple concept. And it’s simple to put into practice. Just stop wishing. And start living as if you already have what you want.
If you enjoyed any of these articles, I’d be grateful if you click below to share this with others. That’s right, go ahead and help spread this information by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. Thank you!
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© 2014 by Scott Grossberg. All Rights Reserved. thinkingmagically.com

Fancy Bags

The Bluff Country Artist Gallery located at 111 West Main Street, Spring Grove, Minnesota is open Wednesday through Sunday. "Bluff Country Artists Gallery was established for the benefit and enjoyment of the arts for people of all ages."

I took some of my fiber works down to the gallery last Saturday.  What a delicious day to have a drive in Southeast Minnesota.

 Interesting linings make a fun surprise each time the bag is opened! 

These medium "fancy bags" will fit a cell phone, lipstick, and cash or cards for a fun accessory.  The bags retail for $35.00.