Quiz Time!

Who knew I would be proud to post a urinal fountain on my blog!

Which Art Movement Are You? (pictures)

You're Dadaism! Do you know what the "dada" stand for in dadaism? Nothing - it's gibberish nonsense meant to imitate something a baby might say, but it describes perfectly the meaning of dadaism. Dadaists, who worked mainly in the early 1900's, protested the traditional way of thinking and thought that people are absolutely incapable of saying anything meaningful to one another, which is why all kind of art is basically as stupid of meaningless as anything else. To demonstrate this, they made confusing works of art which seemed to mock people's idea of art using the the so-called "ready-made" technique, which means taking one or two random objects (like a spatula and a toilet seat. Usually they used things they'd just found somewhere), wrote their signatures in them and voila - a new fantastic piece of art was finished. Dadaists aimed to provoke - it was said that dadaist playwrights considered their plays a success if the audience bursted out furiously before the show was over. Go figure. Famous Dadaists: Jean Arp, Marcel Duchamp Picture: The Urinal-Fountain by Marcel Duchamp - Marcel Duchamp painted some fantastic paintings, too, but he is more known of his delibarately confusing and very humorous ready-made "sculptures" which celebrate the mockery dadaism was all about. Duchamp took everyday items, such as this glorious urinal here, finished them with his own signature, and then gave them names which nothing to do with the objects' original functions. Slightly confusing, yet absolutely brilliant.
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Busy Saturday

We started out the day with belt testing. The boys and I were at the dojo at 8:00 AM and I was the first one of the day to test! I tested for my green/black belt; JB tested for his green belt; Kyle tested for his green/white belt. Then it was time for the Little Ninja testing. They are so cute!! Little Ninja's are 4 and 5 years old, and they do kind of a pre-martial arts program. They learn about balance, control, fitness and other things that are appropriate for their age and this prepares them to move into the regular kids class when they are old enough. There were 8 adults testing two groups of 12-14 kids -- just a little bit hectic, but fun!

After the belt testing, we went to Marcie's house to meet up with Lori so that the three of us could finally make our bracelets! We each bought a bracelet making kit last Fall, and have been trying to get together to make them. But every time we got a date set, something else would come up. So Saturday was the big day. Here is Lori working on her bracelet...



And here is Marcie working on her bracelet...



But the bracelet making was just an excuse for Lori's surprise birthday party! Doesn't she look surprised? She loved her headband and jewelry!



We ate great chinese food, that Marcie's husband Kevin kindly went out and picked up for us. And then we dug into the wonderful almond cake!



I think a good time was had by all.

St. Patty's Day

Because everyone is a little bit Irish today! Be sure to check out The Cluck of the Irish. And I couldn't resist this little blogthing!

You Are Mint Green

Balanced and calm, you have mastered the philosophy of living well. Your friends seek you out for support, and you are able to bring stability to chaotic situations. You're very open and cheerful - and you feel like you have a lot of freedom in life. Your future may hold any number of exciting things, and you're ready for all of them!

What Color Green Are You?

Therapy

We have had a very sad couple of days at our house this week. Ana had to go back home to Brazil, for a family emergency, and it doesn't look like she will be allowed to come back. It was very difficult to have to deal with the fact that there was an emergency at home, that she would be leaving after only a few weeks with us, and that there was only a few hours to say goodbye to everyone, pack everything up, and get ready for a long plane ride. Ana handled it with the same grace and maturity that we have seen in her over the past few weeks. She is truly a very special young lady.

So, when life gives you issues to deal with, what is the best therapy? Starting a new project of course! This is a modular felted bag, kit with Noro Kureyon which I love love love! This will be my first felted project, and I love these Iris Schreirer patterns. My only concern is that I may be knitting it too tight, although I keep checking gauge and I am on.



And here we have an example of the second best therapy known to me -- shopping! And even better, book store shopping! Here we have two new books which look to be thoughtful without being depressing (important when therapy is involved), two highway maps, and a package of handmade paper.



Is anyone else out there as fascinated as I am with handmade paper? I just love the textures and the colors, and how you can see the fibers in the paper. And of course the maps are highway maps of New York and Pennsylvania, feeding the obsession I have talked about in previous posts. I will be studying them and marking my route over the next few days!

What's Going On

So many works in progress, so many ideas, so little time! See my new thing on the sidebar? That's it, right over there. This is my list of what I am currently working on. Of course, this is not exactly a complete list...only the main things that are really on my mind at the moment. I just took off the Women in Art Challenge piece (see Grandmother's Flowers) and added the three or four small pieces I want to get done to submit for a little quilt show. And they really mean small -- the longest side is to be less than 17 inches!

Not included are some of the works in progress that I am not really inspired to work on at the moment -- like my fish quilt. But I did just order some beads and fibers so that I can start working on it again in a few weeks, maybe after I get back from New York. And my butterfly quilt, and the piece(s) I have designed to use my Guatemalen fabric. And the sweater I am planning to cast on to work during my New York trip. Ok, that one doesn't count because I have yarn and pattern, but haven't begun yet.

My Missing Piece quilt is so ready for me to work on it again. It just needs quilting. My hesitation has been that I want to use invisible thread for the quilting, and it is such a pain to get the tension correct. But this is a piece that really wants to get finished. Reflections II is on the design board and is not as eager to be worked on. But I am happy with the design at this point although I am sure it will get tweaked as I go along. And these knitting projects seem to never end. I am not sure why I thought that knitting a cardigan with sock yarn was a good idea, especially considering how quickly I get bored with projects. Oh well, when it's done it will be really pretty!

Obsession

In early April, I am going to upstate New York for a week, here, to take a class from Melody Johnson. I have to admit that I have become completely obsessed by this trip.

Now, I travel a fair amount by airplane and by car. I don't typically worry about it -- I throw some stuff in a bag, and go. This trip is somehow different. I am not just obsessed with going on the trip, but also with how I will get there and what I will take. I have even been shopping in preparation, and not for fabric!! And we are talking major shopping, like a portable DVD player. Not that I will be able to watch TV and drive at the same time -- I just want to be able to watch movies and listen to CD's while I am there.

What should I be thinking about? Things like whether to take my sewing machine or not (yes) since we will be working with fusing techniques; how much Wonder Under to buy and take with me (a bolt); should I take some of my fabric or just by some from Melody (both). Well, those questions seem settled. Now I am off to study a map of Pennsylvania!

Grandmother's Flowers

I spent most of yesterday and this morning finishing up my quilt for the Women in Art Challenge for the Art Quilt Alliance. Quilts need to be turned in at today's meeting -- hey I got it done three hours before I have to leave for the meeting!

Quilts were to be inspired by a woman artist in any medium. We were restricted to a 2:3 ratio for the finished quilt and we also had to select a segment of the inspiration peice that was a 2:3 ration. It was an interesting challenge and most of our group participated. I had trouble finding a woman artist that inspired me -- the Newark library did not have a lot of resources for me to work with. So I used a painting done by my grandmother that hangs in my living room.

The painting is very dark, with a basket of orange and yellow flowers. I tend to use a lot of bright fabrics in my work, and I also don't do much of anything that is representational. So my quilt doesn't look very much like the painting! It is a basket of flowers, but I painted fabric in a bright orange to use as a background. And the flowers are all kinds of odd shapes etc. I think that someone looking at both pieces could see the similarity, but my quilt is definately my own piece!

The quilts from this challenge will be on view from April 1 - 30 in the Groveport OH Town Hall. So if you are in the area, stop in and see them!

Phoenix & Back

I took a quick trip to Phoneix this week...flew out on Monday morning and back on Tuesday night. It was so nice to go someplace warm and sunny! After all, it was snowing here when I left!

This was a working trip, but we managed to squeeze in a little fun between work sessions. We had a really nice dinner at T. Cooks at the Royal Palms. I have never before heard a waiter describe menu items with such enthusiasm and a great use of adjectives! He was also very knowledgable about which wine to drink with different dishes. The Royal Palms is a beautiful resort and spa, with lots of outdoor fireplaces burning mesquite wood and fountains, and outdoor seating areas. There are some regular hotel rooms, but there are also a lot of casitas, which are like small guest houses, with fireplaces and a small kitchen area. There are also a couple of places where they have allowed palm trees to grow through the ceiling!

We also took a quick trip to Cave Creek and Carefree, just north of Phoenix. This is a charming upscale touristy area with lots of galleries and coffee shops and upscale boutique type shopping. I took this picture at the Buffalo Chip Tavern.



This is the buffalo on the roof of the building! There is also a "corral" out back with lots of western stuff like wagons and a mini western town that I imagine is used for dancing or cook out events -- very charming. I really enjoyed seeing a little bit of the area...I even managed to find a yarn shop!