Self Discovery

As I mentioned in September, I've been reading a couple of books written by Barbara Sher. One of them is titled Refuse to Choose! A Revolutionary Program for doing Everything that You Love. One of the challenges I've always dealt with in my life was finding one thing to focus on for a career. In college, for the first three years, I consistently took one science class, one English class, one art class, and one music class, because those were my four main areas of interest and I just couldn't narrow them down. After finally selecting English as a major (I do love reading!), graduating and working for a while, I decided to become an elementary school teacher because it seemed like the perfect job for combining all of my talents and interests. Although I no longer teach, I still find myself not wanting to give up any of my many varied interests.

Barbara Sher explains in this book that there are many people out there like me who want to do everything and she calls them Scanners (Leonardo da Vinci, Aristotle, and Ben Franklin were Scanners). In the book, Barbara Sher shares stories of other people who are Scanners and how they frequently have trouble staying in any chosen field. She identifies different types of Scanners and offers techniques to help Scanners use their many varied talents and interests to have a successful and happy life.

This book was worthwhile reading for me for a few reasons. One reason is that while many Scanners quoted in the book thought there was something wrong with them for not being able to choose and focus on one area, I've been more egocentric about it. I always wondered what was wrong with everyone else because they weren't interested in constantly challenging themselves! To me, there is so much to see and do and learn about in the world, and we only go around once. I don't want to spend my time in front of the TV or doing something I've already done. But now I realize not everyone is like me (the majority are not) and I need to be more accepting of those who don't need to be constantly challenged.

The book offers ways of combining interests in your life, and after reading it, I realize I've already kind of worked that out on my own. My past life as an elementary teacher allowed me to enjoy a variety of subjects, and my life now is just as busy and varied. Working part-time at the library, I still enjoy connecting with and teaching children. I also have the opportunity to educate their parents on Early Literacy skills and how they can better prepare their children to be good readers. I sing and play the guitar in my classes and help come up with crafts for the four- and five-year-olds, so I get to be creative. And of course, I still get to marvel at the many talented authors and illustrators and enjoy the best of children's literature. Since I only work part-time, I still have time to be with my own children, challenge myself with more personal creative projects from art quilting to bathroom remodeling, and enjoy the outdoors by gardening in my own backyard.

So, in summary, after reading Barbara Sher's book, I understand myself better, I understand my family better, and I appreciate my varied life more. I still have goals I'd like to achieve and I can use some of the tips and tricks she suggests to attain them. I don't think I'll ever be good at flower arranging (see photo above!) but I'm happy to have what I've got!

Conceptual Art Challenge

I just got back from the October FANE meeting, the rain is drumming on the roof, and I am ready to put on my PJs and put on "Project Runway" while I blog about the meeting and show you my latest creation. Above is the entire piece which is roughly 18"x18". I'm not sure that it actually qualifies as Conceptual Art, since it really is a piece of art, but I like the way it looks. Since the concept we were trying to get across was art quilting, I ended up making an art quilt! (What else?) We had to make a statement about our pieces (I don't really like explaining what I've made - if you don't get it by looking at it, then it's not a successful piece!), so I'll give you a synopsis of what I said. To me, an art quilt essentially has texture, color, and layering. It is a form of self expression by the artist, and somehow expresses a sense of joy or fun in the creative process. I basically went through my fabric stash and picked out swatches of some of my favorite colors and textures. I ended up using close to 50 different fabrics ranging in texture from burlap to silk. I de-emphasized shape by sticking to squares and rectangles, so the textures and colors were the focus.

Embellishments are some of the most fun elements of art quilts, so I had to include some. I used buttons, rick-rack, safety pins, beads, copper foil, copper mesh, and various natural found objects. Even though the piece is very abstract, some of the colors and textures reminded me of elements of nature, like water, sky, trees, and seasons.

The meeting tonight was really great - it was a struggle for all of us to grasp Conceptual art and try to come up with something of our own, but all the pieces were meaningful, fun, interesting, and exciting. Visit the FANE blog in the next few weeks to see what everyone else did and read their statements.

Now, who's going to Bryant Park on Project Runway?!?!

(I predict Mondo, Michael, and Andy).

Homework

We enjoyed a beautiful and mild fall weekend here in the northeast. I took a break from all my home work to shoot the late afternoon sun lighting up these deep red mums. Don't you just love that color?

One big task I got done at home this weekend was putting my youngest daughter's bedroom back together, now that her older sister officially resides in her own room on the lower level. There used to be bunk beds against the far wall and she took the one large dresser with her, so we commandeered the TV armoire from our family room and moved it up into the corner. We've been repurposing a lot of stuff around the house lately. It's cheaper and easier than trying to sell used pieces and find good quality yet not too expensive new ones. It just requires imagination, time, and muscles for moving everything around! (It also helps if you have a cooperative hardworking husband with a sense of humor!) Her new room looks clean, neat, and spacious! I hope it lasts!

This afternoon, I also took on the task of crushing up cardboard boxes for recycling. We had accumulated quite a collection, with all the new purchases for the hall bathroom. I still can't get the car in the garage, but at least now I can walk from one side to the other without climbing over a mess of boxes!

Here is Cassie "helping" me with the cardboard. Little stinker.

Pictured above is one of our cats, Tigger, also known as "the tumbleweed." She has fur that just seems to attract and trap all kinds of debris, from stick-tight seeds, to leaves and twigs (last year I even found a slug stuck in her fur! Ew!). This weekend I've been combing through her fur and removed about 18 ticks! Between her, the other cat, and Cassie, I've probably killed 25 ticks this weekend. I also dosed her and her sister with Frontline to help in the tick battle. They seem to be in exceptionally high numbers this year.

All my weekend homework wasn't unpleasant, though. This afternoon I baked some yummy double chocolate oatmeal cookies! These should get us through a good portion of the week. I'll try not to eat too many!

A parting chuckle: Here is a photo of the new commode in our updated hall bathroom. While we were in our local home improvement store checking out the different models available, we noticed a numerical flush rating given to each toilet. Most were an 8 or 10. Curious about what criteria the manufacturers use to rate the toilets, we questioned a clerk. It turns out the number stands for how many golf balls a toilet can handle in one flush! One model claimed it could swallow an entire bucket of balls! This one was rated an 8. (So far so good). But it seems like a more appropriate testing instrument would be yams or baked potatoes, no?

Colors of the season

It's hard to believe autumn has arrived and it's already October! You can probably guess by my less frequent posting that the preschool programs at the library have started up again, school is in full swing, and I'm back to spinning many plates in the air. As early as I get up and as careful as I am with my time, there just never seems to be enough for everything I want to do. But I did manage to create this autumn necklace for a co-worker whose birthday is today (same as my youngest daughter). Most of the components I already had on hand, but I picked up the large copper ring and the hanging ribbon at the local craft store, and created the main yellow leaf by stamping on polymer clay. I got the idea for this style from a book called Custom Cool Jewelry by Melinda Barta. It's fun playing with different combinations of metals, colored glass beads and other components; it's like a charm bracelet, only even easier!

So what else have I been up to? Here's a quick rundown:

• At work, I do seven children's programs a week, including one for caregivers and infants, three for children 13-23 months, two for preschoolers age 3-5, and one for second graders. I see almost 100 kids a week!
• Also at the library, I started a monthly "Creative Playgroup" for women! We meet for about an hour one evening a month to relax, talk, share dessert, and do a simple creative project. Last month we played with polymer clay; next month we're making leaf prints on cloth napkins as a seasonal decoration. I've been thinking about doing something like this for about a year now, and our first meeting was lots of fun!
• We finally had our hall bathroom made over! The new porcelain floor tile, maple vanity cabinet, and vanity top with two recessed sinks all look fantastic! We still need to give the walls a fresh coat of paint, install the new vanity light, and choose accessories. When it's all completed, I'll post a picture.
• Birthday parties! Two weeks ago, we hosted a sleepover for five 12-year-olds (I'm glad that's over!) and tomorrow we're taking a few 10-year-olds out to the movies and then back to the house for pizza and cake.
• We've started finalizing my middle daughter's move from the bedroom she shares with her little sister to her new downstairs place (which used to be my husband's office). All the papers and books are gone, there's a fresh coat of jamaican blue paint on the walls and a fluffy white area rug; now all we need to do is move the bed and dresser - probably tomorrow!
• I started another conceptual art piece for my FANE group. We're scheduled to show them at our next meeting on the 14th of this month. The challenge is to create a piece of conceptual art no larger than 18" on a side that illustrates the topic "art quilt." We are also supposed to make a statement about the piece. I am actually enjoying this one; I'm treating it very playfully and enjoying going through my fabric stash and grabbing swatches here and there in various colors and textures. I'll post the results when it's done.

In between, I try to keep up with the grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, and cleaning. Last fall, I was so strapped for time (that dog takes up more time than you'd guess, and greatly contributes to the mess!) I actually started paying someone to come in twice a month to give the house a good thorough cleaning. But over the summer, I let the girls help me do it and saved us some money to boot. I don't really like cleaning, but I do like having a clean house! When we all work together, we get it done in a few hours on Saturday morning. Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Cross Currents

Even though I had a long day, I felt like sitting down and playing with some of my materials tonight. I started with a piece of canvas I had painted with watered down acrylic paints in shades of aqua and turquoise. I laid three strips of an aqua ribbon with an interesting texture across the canvas and noticed the lines the textured ribbon created. I followed those with the sewing machine as I stitched the ribbons on, going back and forth diagonally across the canvas. Then I couched on some wavy yarn in a darker turquoise color. I think I'll call it "Cross Currents: wave theory." I like the way the various stitches and lines cut across each other in an undulating way. It reminds me of the caribbean! And now I have another interesting piece to add to the sketchbook...

Another sketch

Here is my latest fabric sketch. In this one, I experimented with an easy method for doing a batik using Elmer's Glue Gel. I drew a quick sketch, then traced over it onto fabric using the glue gel and a light box. I let the glue dry overnight, and then painted the colors in with watered-down ink. After heat-setting the colors with the iron (on the reverse side and using a parchment pressing sheet), I soaked the cloth to remove the dried glue. Wherever the glue had been was still white. It worked! I finished off the sketch with some free-motion stitching. Although I like the way this came out, if I do this technique again, I would use more glue - more lines and thicker lines. Maybe I'd try an abstract graphic design.

I am enjoying doing these quickie sketches! They don't take a lot of time, fabric, or other resources, yet they're fun, creative, and give me a chance to experiment and try new techniques I've been thinking about. That's probably the whole purpose of a sketchbook, so this is working for me! The fact that the pieces are not layered and quilted doesn't detract from the finished piece at all (I think) and actually makes the whole process easier and quicker. Maybe I've discovered something...

47 Things I'm Thankful For

Yesterday was my 47th birthday. As I was sitting in the sunshine weeding my garden this morning, I started to think about how fortunate I am and about the many, many blessings in my life. I decided to devote this blog entry to listing these out, roughly in order from early on in my life to the present.

1. My parents, who are still alive and well, and came to spend the day with me yesterday.

2. My public school education on Long Island.

3. Being an American.

4. Being a New Yorker.

5. My older sister Nancy, who is still one of my best friends

6. My younger sister Carolyn who is also still one of my best friends

7. My brother Charlie, always fun to be with

8. My brother Paul, likewise good for a laugh

9. My God-given talents including intelligence, a sense of humor, and abilities in writing, art, and music.

10. My health and physical well-being.

11. My red hair.

12. My exceptional liberal arts education at Vassar College.

13. My loving and devoted husband, who has stuck by me for the last 25 years or so (we've been married for 17 of those), who brings balance, humor, fun, affection, and joy to me every day.

14. My oldest daughter, who is blossoming into a mature and capable young lady.

15. My second daughter, who is also blooming in her own beautiful and unique way

16. My youngest daughter, who still allows me to hold her hand in public.

17. The modest home we have been able to afford and make our own for the last 14 years.

18. Good, clean water coming out of the faucet

19. Clean fresh air to breathe

20. Indoor plumbing, heating, and air conditioning (don't take anything for granted!)

21. A safe town and neighborhood to live and work in.

22. My fun part-time job at the library

23. Having such easy access to a wealth of books at my fingertips every day

24. My coworkers who make my job fun and easy

25. Old friends and the good memories we've shared

26. Neighbors that I can rely on for anything

27. The decent schools and teachers my daughters have had

28. The opportunities we've been able to give our daughters, like piano and horseback riding lessons, gymnastics, camp etc.

29. Vacations we've taken, especially the last one to St. John

30. The vacation home we share in the Poconos of PA

31. The beauty of the lake we live on and get to see every morning, every season

32. The climate and change of seasons here in the Northeast

33. The parish of St. John the Evangelist and my close relationship with God

34. My Mac laptop

35. The cameras I use to document the beauty of everyday life

36. Our dog, Cassie, who has been a blessing in disguise

37. The many cats I have known

38. The abundance of food available to us

39. My Bernina sewing machine

40. The space and materials I am able to use almost daily to fulfill my creative needs

41. The women in the Fiber Arts North East group, who provide comraderie, inspiration, and support

42. My many cousins and extended family

43. My in-laws, also still living, healthy and well

44. My two LI sisters-in-law, who are like sisters to me

45. Healthy teeth

46. My grandmothers, who I was fortunate to know most of my life

47. Mark's job, which allows us to afford this life and lifestyle