Alison, Lesta, Jan and I had the best time setting up for today’s art show. Here’s your special sneak preview – I took some photos with my phone as we were finishing up and made this little video. My three fellow artists are just amazing in their versatility and creative talent – please come see for yourself – 10-5 today at the Studio, and here’s a map for you so you won’t lose your way!
I was working in clay last night and suddenly “saw” an earthenware face with holes at the top for a wire hanger and holes at the bottom for tying sari-silk ribbon and milagro charms. I could see it hanging on my porch beside the front door to welcome guests with a wish for an everyday miracle to come their way. Here’s a prototype (put together this afternoon) from a face I’d made from an earlier firing.
There are a dozen more like this in the kiln right now that will be wired and be-ribboned for the Spring Fling art sale next Saturday. 
I call these mixed-media hangings “milagritos,” which means small miracles. And if you are a SHARDS subscriber before midnight on Sunday, you will win one if you name is randomly drawn.
If you do not happen to win this one, you can see more of them at the Spring Fling show and sale this coming Saturday, May 3rd, at the Studio. Prices for these charming hangings will range from $12 to $20 – such a deal. Even better, you’ll get to see work done by my pals Alison Schockner, Lesta Frank and Jan Longfellow when you drop by the Studio on Saturday.
So save the date, encourage your friends to come (and to subscribe to this blog – just click the link on the top right) and maybe a milagrito will come your way! Here is the invitation to Saturday’s fun event. Hope to see you there, and happy spring!
Howdy, and happy All Saints Day. I always think of old San Fernando Cemetery on Nov 1. Lots of families will be there this weekend having picnics on the graves of loved ones and generally hanging out with them, which I think is pretty cool. Most of my earthenware faces come from San Fernando, so today’s Friday Freebie is a Shard Adornment Kit with everything you need to create a magnetic art-to-wear pin like this one:
For the kit, I’ve put together a small shard face, some feathers and mat board, beads and cord, interesting paper pieces, and a strong bar magnet for you to use to create an adornment for yourself or a friend. You can see lots more examples at this YouTube link, and I’ll have some new Shard Adornments at the stupendous Studio Art Sale next Saturday, NOV 9. Please come!
To be eligible win this kit, be a SHARDS subscriber by Sunday at midnight – yay for shameless self-promotion! A random drawing will take place Monday morning. Oh, yeah – I’ll even include directions! And if you’d like to come to a workshop and make them with me and several other creative people, sign up here for the Nov. 24th workshop at the Studio. It’s your Place of Creative Belonging – mine, too :). OK, go forth and doing something small and saintly for someone to celebrate All Saints Day.
Last Sunday I visited with the Threads of Blessing people at Cathedral House and am sharing one of the wonderful embroidered tapestries with a SHARDS subscriber (thanks to all of you guys). Subscribe by this Sunday evening to be in the drawing. If you don’t know about Threads of Blessing, it was founded a group of Episcopalian women from the West Texas Diocese who organize workshops in Honduras, Mexico, and Uganda that encourage the local women to share their creative skills. Pretty cool. Here’s a photo of a workshop on the grass in Uganda.
Today’s Friday Freebie is a fanciful embroidered tapestry by Ugandan artisan Esther Byaruhanga depicting a group of people planting a garden. The little seeds are tiny white stitches – maybe corn? The colors are vibrant and the people are happily working – it’s a labor of love, for sure.
After receiving her gift of payment, one of the Ugandan women on the Threads of Blessing site wrote, “With the second gift I was able to get the school results for my second child and buy land for them. How to build a house was a problem. With this third gift I can now continue with building our house.” So the Friday Freebie will be a gift to you! Thanks for supporting artists everywhere, including me :). I’ll announce the winner of Esther’s tapestry on Monday morning.
My next door neighbor, Elizabeth, just came to the door with these lovely fresh eggs from her chickens – she said she hoped the chicken scratching and cackling didn’t bother me, and I said, no, that it reminded me of the farm in Louisiana where I grew up. What a thoughtful gift, even visually. It called for a photo.
And I’d also like to share a note with you from a person who had bought my shard faces before on Etsy and was reordering some. I always try to add a little personal touch to the package when I send it, and I don’t think much about it, but this brought tears and a smile – you never know, do you, how little things make a difference?
Dear Lyn, Time to order more of your lovelies for a workshop I’m hosting in October. I received my last order on January 7th, 2013 and have to tell you how special the timing was…the package arrived as I was getting ready to attend my husband’s wake…I felt I was surrounded by loving spirits and the sprig of rosemary that you enclosed went into his buttonhole for remembrance…thank you…that lifted a heaviness from my soul.
Wow. . . . I hope *your* Sunday is touched with small graces.
Dunno why I don’t make more of these cool little magnetic collage pins – they are really fun to put together, they come together quickly, make unique gifts,and you get to try different embellishment techniques. For example, on these I used a non-fire ceramic finish from Duncan glazes called Red Granite that I found at my earthenware supplier, Clay World. You can brush it on heavy watercolor paper and it looks all granite-y. Nice!
Anybody interested in a pin-making workshop when I get back from Boston? We could do it some weekday evening at the Studio. Email me if you’re up for it. Speaking of Boston, the link is up for the Beacon Hill Art Walk’s participating artists, including me – betcha I’m the only one from Texas. I sorta fudged and said I had a “summer home” there so I could get in. Gulp. But I guess it counts if I visit the kids in Boston in the summer. OK, go forth, Y’all, and be creative.
It’s not *really* a wrap-up – the whole weekend was so rich with experience and creativity that it will resonate in a lot of ways for a long time to come. There were eleven participants in our Hildegard: Art and Soul Journey and we got to know each other pretty darn well as we worked with Michelle Belto, our amazing artist-guide. There was a lot of soul-searching and laughing and eating and playing and writing during the two days. There was also a lot of sharing – what a generous group! I’m working on a short video of the weekend’s process which I’ll post here later in the week, but in the meantime, I’ve uploaded a few photos and I send a heartfelt thanks to Michelle and the other creative women who came and made amazing art – wow. You transformed the Studio into an honest-to-goodness place of creative belonging for two whole days. Group Hug!!
I’ve been working so much on large paintings that I’ve missed doing the smaller works that I love, like journals and mixed-media collages. Fortunately, the wonderful Nueva Street Gallery owners sent out a call to me for more of both. I just complete six journals for them in a format that was developed especially for their lovely gallery in historic La Villita. Part of that format includes incorporating face shards in the design. Here are some photos. These will be available at Nueva Street Gallery as soon as I get down there tomorrow or Tuesday. I put a new little label on the library card that goes inside the journals – it says La Vida es Buena – Life is Good. Yep!
PS If you’ve read this far, the Overdue Friday Freebie will be a journal like one of these – all subscribers to Shards are in the pot! You can choose your favorite and I’ll make one for you that is similar.
I saw the most amazing redbud tree yesterday on my way to Trinity, and all of the ornamental pears are loaded with white blossoms – spring is definitely coming out all over. Here are some little cards to tie on baskets or bouquets. You can print them out, cut and fold them, and attach them to Something Nice for Someone.
I’m having my first workshop on Creating Spirit Dolls this Sunday. That one is full, but there is another one on Sunday, March 24th, that has spaces if you’d like to sign up. There is also a very eclectic workshop on Creating Mala Meditation Bracelets and Prayer Flags on March 17th. Celebrate spring and refresh your spirit!
Today’s freebie is a booklet for everyone about Spirit Dolls – I put it together last Sunday when I was working by myself in the Studio making my own Spirit Doll. It was an odd experience – she really seemed to become “real” as I worked with the fabric, twigs and clay. Here’s a link to the booklet. I’d love it if you came to the workshop at the Studio and worked with the group, but you can try it on your own as well with these instructions.
PS – I’ve also done an update on my webpage that,hopefully, will make it easier to find out about events at the Studio.