And Then...

After the Arboretum, we ventured into downtown Dallas to see the Neiman Marcus tree and holiday windows. I had read about this year's special feature -- tunnels for kids to crawl through that go right through the windows! How fun!
I thought it would be a mad-house and I was prepared to wait in line... not so. No line at all.

Here is the entrance.
The theme is "innovations in energy." The window designers invited elementary school kids to predict how we will generate energy in the future. Then they chose some of the particularly creative ideas and designed windows around them. Highlights included flying elephants, grape-stomping monkeys and a dance room...
There are cameras inside the tubes so you can watch your kids coming and going. Here you can see Benjamin in the tube at the top and then two different views of him on the two monitors.
The actual Christmas tree is made from hundreds and hundreds of children's books.
After Christmas, the tree will be dismantled and the books will be distributed to needy kids. All around awesome.

Another Outing

We made this holiday weekend a regular Dallas "staycation!" On Friday, we avoided the malls and ventured to the Dallas Arboretum. They have an exhibit of playhouses designed by various architecture firms inspired by children's books. My camera battery died shortly after we arrived, so I didn't get too many pix.

We love the Lorax... so this was a favorite.
There was even a "whisper-ma-phone."
I noticed lots of pink, but I'm still lacking motivation to start my next 12x12.
This crepe myrtle alley is a stunner in every season.
Lovely sun and...
...moon stone sculptures.
A good day.

Make and Take

We had a super DAFA (Dallas Area Fiber Artists) meeting last week. It was our second annual "mixed media mania." We have projects set up at four stations and everyone rotates through each station during our regular meeting time. It's really nice to mixed it up, chat with other members and bring home a bunch of little treasures.

We made felted rocks. (See other inspiring felted rocks in this etsy shop.)We did some embossing on copper. Suzanne did a great job leading us!
We created faux marble with chalk! Connie taught this project.
We even made gift bows from recycled magazine pages ala this excellent tutorial. Diana organized this project.
If you're in the area, please consider joining DAFA. It's really an excellent group!

Giving Thanks

We're having such a lovely relaxing, thankful day. I hope you're doing the same.
I'm feeling so thankful for my family, those here with me and those away. I'm thankful that Claire and Benjamin are growing, learning, changing and fully becoming themselves.
I'm thankful for the true, deep love I share with Jeff.

I'm thankful for sage, butter, onions, celery and bread.
And so many many other things... this day and always.

Outing

We went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Dallas Theater Center earlier this month. It was so so so fantastic. All of Shakespeare's witty text was mixed with very contemporary, urban costumes, tone, design and music.

And chalk! The theater opens to a stark black set. As the actors kick off Act I, they begin decorating with chalk eventually filling every space available. Claire and Benjamin added some of their own work during intermission. How fun is that?!
This is the first production in the new theater designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Rem Koolhaas. (It really is a "cool house." He he he.)

The Pritzker Prize is an annual award given to "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture." It's all very contemporary, including the light fixtures in the lobby.The amazing practical aspects of the building are as significant as the design. The entire theater space including the seats, balconies and stage are all completely movable. The space will be configured differently for every production. Pretty amazing.

I'm interested in all this architectural discussion and theory. In fact, I recently discovered that Dallas has five buildings designed by Pritzker Prize winners. (Are there any in your city?)

I'm not sure I loved the building (though I did love the production). I was particularly turned-off by the odd placement of the restrooms. They are practically the first thing you see when you come into the lobby. They have odd contemporary male and female symbols on the doors. And the entry hallways to the restrooms are totally green -- floors, walls, ceiling.
I like green, but... I don't know, it was a bit much.

We didn't let it bother us.I am so thankful to live in a city with such great cultural opportunities -- and to share them with my family.
The show ended with a big dance party and the audience spilled out into the back stage area filled with balloons, bubbles and music. So fun!

Big News!

The Twelve by Twelve artists are excited twelve times over to announce that:

(drum roll, please.... )

Sterling Publications/Lark Books will soon be publishing a book on our Twelve by Twelve Collaborative Art Quilt project!

We are thrilled beyond words to have this wonderful opportunity, and so happy that our art endeavors and friendships are turning us into authors, too. We know that Lark was impressed by the loyal folks who follow our blogs and website, so thanks to all of you friends-of-Twelves for your encouraging words through our explorations!

We'll keep you posted as we know publication dates.

We are lifting a virtual glass of champagne to each other and to all of you for your support!

More Zine News

My new little zine "Shape" is back in my Etsy shop. I am having so much fun doing this one-of-a-kind covers.Plus, there is a great article in the new issue of Somerset Studio about Alma's Zine Swap. Alma did a lovely job of writing the article and extolling the wonders of creating, reading and sharing zines. I am thrilled that she included some words about my "Personal Symbols" zine!

Goodies

When I was in the Maine, the Frayed Edges spent lots of time creating little things including this felt pomander.
Isn't it pretty? We used Betz White's tutorial. So easy! Hannah has an amazing stash of upcycled felted wool sweaters, so we had lots of materials and colors to work with.

I was the lucky recipient of a few magazines and a book that were happily passed on by others who had finished reading them. I love the eye candy and thoughtful words in Artful Blogging. Selvedge is stunning! And Creative Time and Space by Rice Freeman-Zachery was totally on my wish list! My wish came true!

There's the pomander again. Plus a lovely bit of batik and a beautiful tree-of-life charm from Sarah. We also wove magazine page coasters using How About Orange's tutorial. That's the brown thing above the pomander.

Hannah and I stopped a lovely little shop in Wiscasset with several lovely items imported from Thailand. It was called Intarawut. I bought a yard of this amazing batik -- it's on a burlap-like base and I love it. Also a decorative bowl made from a coconut and a sweet little embroidery ornament with a tiny bell.Good stuff.

Zines

I've just finished the first run of a new little zine called "Shape." It explores images, ideas and creative living.
Maybe you've noticed lots of silhouettes and negative shapes in my work lately. I love these shapes and the techniques I use to create them because it's such a fun way to incorporate a recognizable design element, but also because shapes automatically convey messages. These messages can be clues to what the art is about or they can be prompts to think about new ideas.
Ten copies of the zine are on their way to Alma for her annual zine swap. It was such a great swap last year and I can hardly wait to see what arrives in my mail box in return. Last year, I created a zine called "Personal Symbols." Here is a blog post about the zines I received last year.

This year, I created an original painting for the cover of each zine. Each cover incorporates one of the shapes from the zine. I used freezer paper stencils. In fact, there is a brief tutorial for freezer paper stencils in the zine.

I was able to use those stencils four times before they were just too fragile. Isn't that amazing?!Japanese stab binding worked great and I loved adding another dash of color with embroidery floss in the binding.
A few copies are available in my Etsy shop. More coming soon.

The shape of things to come....

*** The zines are sold out for the moment. Please email me if you'd like a special early notification when I restock. (Email link is on the upper left under my profile picture and info.) Thank you so much for your enthusiasm!

Open

Striving to be open.
Content in the possibility of empty palms.Receiving.
Using my hands to create all things good.Ready.
Thankful for the hands of my friends.

More Pumpkin News

Of course you remember Claire's amazing pumpkin. Guess what?! It's the grand prize winner in Leisure Arts pumpkin contest. This comes with a nice bit of prize money. More than a 10-year-old's bank account generally holds. How fun is that?!

Today

Enjoying the first cuppa.

Remembering this amazing little shrine in Wiscassett, Maine.Reaching ever upward.

Halloween Goodness

We had a great Halloween.Claire agonized over what she wanted to be for Halloween. (A lot of her friends chose cute, frilly, bumble bee or other girly-type costumes. She was not interested in that.) Most kids wear store-bought costumes, so there is some unspoken preference for that. Sadly. Eventually, she embraced the idea of doing something totally unique and we had a great time working together to create this costume.

Benjamin was set on the "grim reaper" concept for weeks. I could have made a robe, I suppose. But the one from the costume store was pretty cool and I have many other things I'd rather be sewing, so I was happy to make a purchase for him.
Grim Reaper sharpening the pencil...