Been Meaning to Post These...

My boyfriend's incredibly generous parents invited me up to their place in Vermont MONTHS ago.  I've been meaning to post these fantastic photos for awhile and kept getting distracted by other things (look- 

something shiny!).  In my defense, I make jewelry, so there's always something shiny around here.

This barn looks sooooo "Vermonty" that I bet, if you licked it, it would taste like Maple Syrup

The "Yoked" Parrish Summer Home.  It has no heat, so they only use it in warmer months.

inside the yoked parrish- can't even describe to you the fantastic ambiance of the place.

The Upper Room

This bike has apparently made a local resident a local celebrity!

So pretty that I forget where we were

In the "Land of the Little People"

one of the "Little People" 

This view was my reward for going on what seemed like an incredibly long hike.  Welcome to dating an Eagle Scout.  "Cup of Soup" heated with the little camping burner for lunch tasted AMAZING up here! I also picked up a bunch of teeny pinecones that I'm figuring out how to work into jewelry.  Fun in the Forest! It was quite the fantastic four days and I was so grateful for the time away with beautiful nature and beautiful people.  Chuck and I went on a Yarn Adventure one day- many exciting yarns came home to be made into my bead-knit bracelets and necklaces (plus Chuck's Christmas hat).

Commissions and Commitments

I have fallen away from blogging and will now remedy that.  New Year's Resolution: blog more often and more effectively!
I've had many blessings in my personal and work life recently.
Back in September-October I was getting pretty down-hearted about my career prospects.  With the close of the Outdoor Craft Fair Season I decided to redouble my efforts to find legitimate (i.e. working for somebody else) employment.  The lure of a steady paycheck and health insurance seems pretty darn shiny.
I did manage to get hired, but the office environment was a completely wrong fit for me and I was only there for two weeks.  That was also pretty discouraging.  Add in a nasty rear-ending car accident (their fault, not mine) and getting used to our new 1/2 day public preschool schedule was some difficult stuff to deal with.

However, though continuing to look for a job, I've been getting more commission work lately.  Much of it was related to the Holidays, but not all.  This has strengthened my resolve to continue making strides toward true small business ownership.  For example, a good friend blessed me with the opportunity to create an engagement necklace for his girlfriend (yes, a necklace, not a ring- very cool!).  I've worked in silver and copper a lot, but hadn't gotten the funds to work in gold for quite awhile (especially since it's price is up so dreadfully high).  But, being a fantastic guy and soon-to-be fantastic hubby to his gal, he insisted on GOLD.  Wise decision.  I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  It's about and inch in diameter, so as you can see from the photo, it's quite finely detailed, especially for the dainty size.

It's made of 14K white and rose gold with 3mm amethyst cabochons.  I feel so honored to be a part of their special proposal moment as well as their continued happiness.  I really hope to continue getting engagement and bridal commissions. Gold and I seem to have a special affinity for each other- I feel really comfortable working with it.  I can also work in silver, beads, crystals, peals and pretty much any combination of these that we can dream up!

I also created a special presentation/keepsake box for the big moment.  Their wedding theme is going to be "Alice in Wonderland," which I think is just spectacular.  So, that inspired me to gift them with this whimsical original painted box.

So, New Year's Eve, right after the ball dropped, this is what he dropped on her!

I am also excited to report that I have made it to the in-person interview round for a program in my county that provides small business classes and guidance to women and minorities.  These classes, if I am awarded the opportunity to take them, will really help determine my success in years to come.  I really didn't get much training in Art School on the business side of things (but I didn't even know back then that I needed such information) and so have made quite a few blunders along the way.  It may take me some time to sort through all the information I need to know, but I know that it will be worth my investment, and will make me into a better investment .  God has a plan for my life and I know now that he has called me to live a life with dignity and stewardship- making a respectable living at work I enjoy sure would be a wonderful plan for this life I've been given!

Last Saturday morning, this really cute handyman (aka Chuck, "Chizzle" and/or best boyfriend ever), shows up at my front door with a big drill and a dream: we will get my weaving loom put back together.  Now, this loom has been "looming" over me for years- it's a big project that I have been hoping/dreading/wishing/praying about for a long time.  It was accidentally, but lovingly taken apart during one of the multiple transitions of stuff forced upon me during my divorce.  It never occurred to me to specify that the loom not be taken apart because, well, nobody takes these looms apart.  The reason being that looms like this are nearly impossible to put back together and there is NO instruction manual ever made!

Chuck screwing feet to the center castle

(Photo of best boyfriend giving up his Saturday morning to work on my crazy dreams) This loom is a Macomber Ad-a-Harness Loom which I purchased at a shockingly low price from my alma-mater, The University of the Arts, right before I got pregnant with my daughter.  So it moved from my living room in East Falls, to my parents garage, to a storage locker (I think this was the move when it got taken apart), then moved in pieces to my incredibly dank, moldy basement after I bought my house over two years ago- and there it has sat molding, and rusting in pieces.  

The longer it sat like that, the more overwhelming the idea of getting it back together felt, the rustier and moldier it became, more feelings of despair about it, more mold and rust- you get the idea: not a good cycle.  Plus, when I was working full-time all last year, I simply didn't have the energy to gear myself up for the project (no longer an issue).  

So, the first weekend that Rory was away after loosing my job, I finally bit the bullet and dragged all those moldy loom parts out into the sunlight in my backyard to take stock of just how bad the damage really was.  After washing it with the hose and then letting it dry in the sunshine for a few hours, the wood turned out to be far less damaged than I had been thinking.  Light sanding and rubbing with wood oil brought it back to life in a few hours.  The biggest problem is the rust.  I've been slowly working away at the rust on the obscenely many metal parts- most of which either move, will have threads going through them, or both- with rust remover and a steel brush.  Would anyone like to come over for a rust-scrubbing party? It's dreadfully dull alone, but I think that with pizza, beer and friends, it could actually be fun!  BYO scrub brush and latex gloves.

placing the treadles was a real mind-mess

While Rory was away on vacation with her father seemed like the perfect time for a big loom project day.  I don't think that I expected to get the whole thing put together in one day; but with Chuck's logical, process-oriented mind and my weaving knowledge and memories, we managed to get the whole body of the loom put together by lunch-time!  I still have to get the front and back apron canvas attached as well as clean lots more rust and replace a few parts (I'm really serious about that rust-scrubbing party- you really are invited!) but the loom itself is actually together now!  I was so happy and relieved that it was finally together that I cried a little.  My loom is almost a reality, my sewing machines are all out of storage and in working order (also a long process over the last couple of years), I am making art again and learning to promote my work.  Whoa- is this what it really feels like to be myself?!?! If it is, it feels really good and I want it to continue and keep growing.  I just need to figure-out a few more sources of revenue and I may actually be able to live like this!

As of this past Monday, Sully is legally our cat.  He seems not to mind.  Rory was over-joyed with her new pet when she came home from vacation, declaring him exactly the cat that she had always wanted! (huh? 4-yr-olds).  I think that she must be the little girl that he has always wanted too because  they have pretty much teamed-up together against me these days.  Seriously- whose bed is this anyway!?!?!  I woke up the other day on about 1/4 of my queen-sized bed- somehow these two snuck into my bed in the wee morning hours and managed to shove me all the way to the far edge.  Geez.

An Adventure at Least 10 Years in the Making

Wednesday, I had a classically great adventure with my friend Bill.  We have a history of taking little romps into the strange and unknown; but, then again, Bill can make finding a place for brunch into an adventure.  This adventure was actually planned- made reservations and everything!  It was to a place that, you could argue is like some strange alternate-dimension where you are allowed incredibly close access to an astonishingly composed and eclectic art collection.  I am writing of the Barnes Foundation Museum.

With their move into the "real" city imminent, Bill decided to lead one last, heroic pilgrimage to his beloved temple of  Impressionist  Paintings (including multiple works by Van Gogh, his favorite painter). Though I am glad that the Barnes is moving into Philly proper, on the Parkway, it did create the final motivation to make sure we got there before they shut-down the original building and move all the art.  We had only been saying that we wanted to go there for over ten years!  Since you have to make reservations and can't just go there on a whim (the way that I tend to do just about everything) I had been thwarted a few times in various half-planned efforts to get there in the past.  It will be so nice when they move onto the Parkway to commune with the other Art Museums; but I am glad to have gotten to see it in the originally odd "Barnes arrangement." http://www.barnesfoundation.org/

I still haven't gotten any calls or emails about my various postings for the "Found Cat." Well, I have gotten a few emails from my craigslist posting, but they have all said things like "that cat looks pretty happy where he is" and such like.  My neighbors have pretty much just said "well, enjoy your new cat!"  If he does belong to someone who wants him back, I hope that they get word to me before Rory comes home on Sunday afternoon.  I will feel pretty badly if she starts to like him and then the owners are found.  poo.  what to do?

This is my weaving loom.  or what will hopefully, someday, maybe BECOME my weaving loom.  It's been moved around from my house in East Falls to my parents garage, to a storage locker, to my disgusting, moldy basement.  Somewhere in there it was taken apart, lovingly, mind you- and with the best of intentions.  However, Macomber looms aren't actually meant to be taken apart and it turns out that there is no instruction manual available for putting them together (they are pretty guarded about such things).  I've been slowly cleaning and working on the wood, but untill this week had been really anxious about doing the restoration of the incredibly rusty metal on all the many, many moving parts of the loom.  I asked my boyfriend, Chuck for assistance this weekend in helping me with the metal restoration.  Well, now he's determined to get the whole thing completely put together this Saturday.  Wow- ask a former Eagle Scout for help and things really will get done! I'm really excited that it looks like I should be weaving by the end of this month (it's still going to take time to get things cleaned and oiled for use even after it gets put together). 

I'll be out at First Friday in Haddonfield, NJ tonight with my sales table set up on the sidewalk.  I hope it's a good night for sales- the weather is gorgeous right now.  I do need to go clean out my car before I can load my stuff (I have a new mystery smell, and that is unpleasant).

"Sully The Monster Cat"

I am hosting an unexpected house guest.  Now, as Benjamin Franklin wrote: "House guests, like fish, begin to stink after three days" I am being a bit wary- especially since this house guest really seems to like fish! But, as this is still really just Day #1, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Curious yet? It's a cat!  not just ANY cat: the biggest cat I may have ever seen.  This cat is at least 15 pounds, extremely friendly and extremely lazy.  I had gone on a very nice day trip with Chuck to Fort Mott, part of the New Jersey Park Service www.stateparks.com/fort_mott.html  and when I returned home I got a cat surprise.  The cat must have been scared either by the quickie thunderstorm we had or by the teenagers being boisterous on my street, but he was huddled under the bush in my front yard.   When he heard me shuffling around with my keys and stuff on my front porch, he started crying (not a smart survival tactic I would think, but I guess it worked).  I figured, being summertime and still kitten season, that maybe some mother cat had dropped-off a kitten under my porch for shelter.  So, I looked under expecting a kitten, and lo and behold- one of the biggest cats I have ever met!  He came right out to me with the whole head-butting, rubbing, purring works- he really was desperate for a friend.  Well, I figured that, now that he was out and calmed down, he would probably just head off on home. Not so.

Since my Direct TV was still turned off (decided it was more important to pay the electric bill than the tv bill- priorites.) I made myself some dinner and then sat down to finally watch The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which I have owned for over a year and NEVER gotten to see the whole thing because something weird has come up every time  I put that movie in (hmm).

Giant cat comes up on my front porch, stands on my porch table, and starts to loudly meow at me through the window screen.  He meowed for over an hour. It kinda sounded like "Hellwoooa, heeeeellllowwwoooooa"  he was one determined kitty.

I went outside to pet him and see if, if I walked down the street in either direction, if something would jar his little memory.  He said he preferred my house, thank you very much.  While petting him I discovered that he was declawed- not so good in this woodsy neighborhood with racoons, skunks and rambunctious dogs. I told him very matter-of-factly that, if he were to come inside, he would have to submit to a flea shampooing.  He said he didn't mind.  So, I locked Snowy, the guinea pig away in Rory's bedroom for the night (she is away on vacation with her father for the week), and opened the front door to see what the cat would do.  He walked right in- no hesitation, so I picked him up and took him straight to the bathroom for the flea shampoo.  he seems to have forgiven me already, especially since I fed him.  I have posted him as found with a description on craigslist and at the area animal shelters and vet offices.  So far no one has called-in about loosing a cat of his description.  Now he thinks that he owns my bed- I have mixed feelings about this since I also love my bed, and having recently finished paying it off, I love it even more.  To give you a sense of scale, the pillow behind the cat is one of those gigantic European shams, not your average little wussy pillow sham.

He's such a large cat that he has already inspired lots of silly nicknames, but it seems that I have settled on calling him "Sully" while he's here; named after the John Goodman character in Monsters, Inc.  He's big, furry, a little smelly, friendly and stripy, just like "Sully."

Oh yeah- I've also started a new series of sculptural works!  They are inspired by a sermon given by our senior pastor a few weeks ago about the prophet Amos.  In the biblical scene on Amos, he holds up a plumb line to the crowd of people he's railing against and uses it as a visual teaching tool for how the God is going to measure and judge them and for how they must also measure and judge their own actions.  This inspired some really great discussion in our Young Adults Group and is still resonating with me.  The discovery of some strange metal pulley part in my studio managed to somehow link all those ideas and images together in my mind into an inspiration for this series.  I sat down with a pencil and sketchpad and in less than five minutes, had the initial sketches for three pieces. 

Here is a photo of the work in progress (please feel honored- glimpses into my messy studio, processes and sketches have been rare in the past).  Starting with a metal wire armiture I use pillow batting and thread to build up the figurative forms in much the same way that other sculptors use clay or wax.  Next they will be covered-over in fabric and then positioned into the art work.  I suppose it's a little difficult to picture right now, but I'll keep you posted.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Congrats to Pastor Jes on her first HUMC sermon- that was fantastic (though I am still feeling a bit dehydrated)!
I'm really quite tired and want to go veg and watch a movie while working on a basket, but, since I just took a short blogging tutorial, i want to show-off what I've just learned.  So, I learned how to put in a link. This is a link to the FaceBook page created by Brent for the Harvest Festival of the Arts event that we will be putting on in the Fall.
 http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1121980240&v=app_2309869772&ref=notif#!/pages/Harvest-Festival-of-the-Arts/117951921585682

 I also learned how to insert a photo into my blog! (and you all thought I couldn't learn).  So, I finally changed my FaceBook profile photo tonight to this one that Chuck took back in early May- or was it late April.  Anyway, it was chilly and there were few people around.  I'm feeling better now just remembering how really cold the water was this day!

 So, that's my big news for today- worked on my brain and my blog. Added stuff to the Etsy store, bugged everybody on FaceBook.  Ya know, the usual. 

so hot it could cook pancakes in here

Last night was another great night out at the Haddon Heights Fourth Friday Event.  The fourth Friday of every month, the good people of Haddon Heights, New Jersey put on a community event on their main street, Station Avenue.  I really enjoy being a part of this event, and they make things extra interesting by coming up with a different theme every month.  Last month's theme was a Chili Cook-off (soooooo yummy. I got lucky and was set up near the chili table); Last night's theme was "Christmas in July."  It's also really cool that they involve the younger crowd by having a skateboarding exhibition in the nearby park area- an inspired idea. 

So, the foot traffic was kinda light- since it's so obscenely hot here, but we managed to make some sales and meet some great people.  I must admit that I was a little cranky, at least starting out (my apologies to my brother Ryan).  I had slept overnight at the Church with the Youth Group the night before and grossly misjudged my energy and personal "youth" level.  It took me a while to get my second wind- though I guess it was really more like my third or fourth wind by that time. 

This morning Chuck and I got up early to go make pancakes for the Youth as a nice end to the first week of "Blitz."  The kids had been eating cereal all week and we decided that kids, especially our awesome ones, deserve pancakes on a Saturday morning.  Then everybody did an amazing job of cleaning the kitchen.  Later we all met up again for a generous lunch hosted by a wonderful family in our congregation. I think I gained back 5 pounds this week: there are some really talented cooks at HUMC!

Have I ever mentioned that I live in a house with NO airconditioning?  Well, I do.  I've been leaving the fan on in the living room all the time- but I'm still feeling guilty about abandoning the guinea pig here in this sauna while I go take refuge in Chuck's air conditioned oasis.  Snowy the Guinea Pig is pretty bright though, he has figured out to lay under his water bottle and cool-off in the constant drip.  I think I will make my escape now before I melt!