A Week of Inspiration, Frustration and Letting Things Go

I don't have any formal training when it comes to felting. It's been good ol' hard work, experimentation, lots of books and the internet. There are times when I lament not having a past with wool....not having years and years of technique down. But when I think about how I actually feel when i'm felting, that it's never boring and there's always sometime new around the corner I've yet to find, I realize that I don't need this background. BUT i've always wanted a teacher. Someone to inspire me, give me honest feedback and to expand my horizons. And that's where Claudy showed up! I took a felting workshop in Italy with Dutch artist Claudy Jongstra back in June and it was just heavenly.

The olive oil farm where I stayed.

From the location (I stayed on an olive oil farm in the hills of Umbria), the class itself (Claudy was so awesome!) to the FOOD.....it was such an experience. And speaking of food. Ohhhhh, the food! Rita, who owns the place where I stayed and grows/makes her own olive oil, cooked for us every night and man were we spoiled! Handmade ravioli, rabbit one night, quiches and homemade desserts. I could go on, but I can see that you're drooling.

The workshop was held amongst the trees of a peaceful retreat in the Umbrian hills. We were given a huge amount of beautiful wool to work with - from hand dyed wensleydale to a whole fleece from one of Claudy's sheep in the Netherlands called Drenth Heath. I had never worked with a raw fleece before and this alone set the whole tone of the class - to work with the wool, allowing for experimentation and to not pay so much attention to technique. This was definitely a challenge for me! I do like to experiment but I'm one that can stick too much to the rules at times, reading and re-reading all about felting techniques. It was funny because Claudy came by me more than once to say "Let it go now" and "You're done! Stop felting!" Thankfully she was such a kind person so her admonishments came with a grin and a laugh. It was inspiring and frustrating all at the same time. By the end of the week I focused a little more on the wool spinning and weaving (which we learned in the class) and less on the felting and didn't let myself feel too guilty about it. 

Overall, the class was more than just a class for me. There were several "firsts". My first time traveling by myself and the first time taking an intensive workshop on felting. It's been well over a month since I've been back and my brain is starting to process everything that I took in. I'm ready to dive in!

In case you don't follow me on Facebook (which you can! Go there now and "like me"!), click here to see more photos of the class.

Indigo Inspiration

Lately my lust for all things indigo has been off the charts and I was so thrilled to have discovered these pieces by textile artist Frank Connet. He uses natural dyes and fabrics and the Japanese Shibori process throughout his work. He's also known nationally for his abilities in textile restoration.....which of course intrigues me even more as my day job is restoring antique rugs.

Hand woven wool, Shibori resist, dyed with natural indigo and walnut.

Shibori resist on wool and linen dyed with indigo and walnut. Shaped 3-dimensionally with thread.

I'm most struck by how visually simplistic his pieces are while at the same time knowing how much knowledge, craftsmanship and untold hours went into making each one.

Just one more?

I received a trial issue to the travel magazine Afar last week which is funny because I was just talking to a friend the other day about what kind of travel magazines are out there. I sent away the offer with a "yes" sticker so I check it out. Anything to feed my travel addiction.



Other magazines I subscribe to:

Selvedge - love love LOVE
Hand/Eye
American Craft
Sunset
Ready Made
Dwell
Fiberarts (didn't renew as it was too hit n' miss for me)

Considering it can stress me out to keep up with my magazines (I like to go through every. single. page) I can't resist just one more. I even gave up National Geographic a while ago which I'm sorely regretting.

Maybe if I swap one out? Ween myself off like I did with my blog addiction? Should I even ask what everyone out there is subscribing to and loving? Argh! (ok...really....tell me)

Loving....

This beautiful rope necklace by designer Tanya Aguiniga. It's so delicately dyed and just simplistically gorgeous.

It's one of my "going out" pieces that I wear all the time.

Check out her online store here.

Oh Marimekko...How I Love Thee

A sampling of Marimekko that I've been drooling over lately...from Fall/Winter 09 and Spring/Summer 10.

I worked for Crate & Barrel for many years - from floor stocker, to sales to store merchandiser and I had never heard of Marimekko until I started working there. They have an exclusive thing going with Marimekko and we would hang yards and yards of banners of their fabric around the store, changing with the seasons (I don't miss climbing those ladders). I fell instantly in love and couldn't wait for the next shipments of the new fabrics to arrive. Over the years I would *ahem* "borrow" some remnants here and there and made a skirt one time, pillows another. Luckily you can buy older Marimekko fabric by the yard at the Crate & Barrel Outlet on 4th Street in Berkeley. Especially now that I can't "borrow" anymore.

Magic Carpet Ride

I saw these awesome over dyed carpets via Apartment Therapy a while ago and just loved them. I work part-time doing antique rug restoration so rugs are always on my radar, and I've never seen rugs quite as crazy-bright as the ones at ABC home!

So with rugs on the brain, it made me think of our trip last year to Eastern Europe. Charlie Bravo and I stopped in a ittybitty town called Blagaj whose claim to fame is a 16th century Dervish Monastery right next to a huge cliff AND where the Buna River starts, out from underneath said cliff. It was pretty breath taking.



We were able to walk down to the river and use a very ancient and beautifully etched metal bowl to scoop up the clear water to drink. At first I was thinking "Um...how many people have used that thing?" and Chris is all "Dammit woman this is one-time adventure!" So I drank and I didn't die.



Before being allowed up into the rickety monastery we had to remove our shoes and cover our heads. It was fun looking pretty ethnic for a while.



All the floors were covered with bright kilims and with the whiteness of the walls, the dark wood moldings and the white doilies everywhere, it was quite serene.



On the way out I had to ask the lone worker there if the kilim runners were for sale as I was so ready to leave there with three of them, but they were used exclusively by the Sufi followers who came here for retreats, praying and whirling. I asked him in disbelief, "You guys really whirl up there?" (it was so small) and indeed they do. The man was so sweet and informative, we ended up buying some incense from him and a head scarf.

Early Morning

Back and Feeling Groovy

It's amazing how travel can really give you a fresh perspective AND make you eat some humble pie all at the same time. My co-worker asked me if I felt "changed" at all and I had to think for a minute before I seriously said, "You know, I kinda do".

We just arrived home last week after a fun-filled, adventure-packed 3 weeks in Eastern Europe. Charlie Bravo and I are quick to correct anyone who has asked us how our vacation was because vacation it was not. It was a full time job but not in the horrible 9-5 sense. We packed our days full of seeing the sights, arranging travel connections, cafe breaks, timing it just right to catch a historic view at sunset and asking our hosts about local customs in their respective countries.

There were rental cars, buses, ferries, overnight trains, more stairs than I've ever climbed and times when I thought my calves would fall right off. Faux-pas were made (trying to pay with Polish money in the Czech Republic) and we had to learn to deal with a much more laid back attitude to ferry schedules and getting proper directions and just go with the flow (example - waiting for a ferry connection that never arrived, being told the other ferry was "not too far away" and then running 3 miles with our heavy backpacks to another part of the island. phew!)

It was so refreshing to visit somewhere so completely foreign to us as we had never been to that part of Europe before. We really felt far away from home in regards to language (no french or spanish!) and history than our past travels have taken us. It was the first time traveling to places that had, historically, the most horrific things happen. We saw these events here in the States on t.v but I remember not really grasping what was going on. One example would be visiting the beautiful city of Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina. They've rebuilt most of their city since the war in '93 but it's so amazing to still see bomb blasts and bullet holes everywhere, a reminder of what happened not long ago.

One of the best things about traveling is the people watching. I LOVED people watching, checking out their style and daily pace wherever we went, so different from my own. It would be so crazy to be visiting the oldest and dinkiest of towns and seeing that even the kids there wear skinny jeans! And speaking about pants, a big trend I saw everywhere were "harem" pants, like mc hammer pants but not as ugly. Not sure I would even consider those for my closet but I did see some young gals definitely pulling off the look.

*sigh* I could go on but I'll stop. It's back to reality and getting back to my routine of work BUT not without my new perspective:

Slow down a little, look around more, BREATHE and enjoy the moment.

That was one thing that I really did on this trip. I was really in the moment and I didn't think much of anything else. I don't want to forget this now that I'm back. But I have to admit I'm already thinking of where I'm going on my next trip....

Just Arrived

I picked up these beautiful books by Mina Perhonen a couple of weeks ago. There's a book on Textiles, Embroidery and Print.I can't stop looking at them!
You can order them through here.

Making My Day

How can one go wrong with Italy and colorful legos?

By Berlin artist Jan Vormann (found on Yatzer - Design to Share) using Legos!

"The sleepy little village of Bocchignano, where life revolves in fixed traditional patterns, by some seen as a dying relict of the past times, is now introduced into our present, the short-breathed and plastic-designed twentieth century."