Naples and The Amalfi Coast, come on, share the experience!

Pictures of the fountain and the coast by none other than Maggie Meister of her favorite place on earth, Naples and the Amalfi Coast.......we need a couple more takers to make this trip a reality!

Beadventures knows how to do it right and make any trip special but this one I have a special interest in....I want to see these Trulli houses, and record their finials...and soak in the mosaics and look at water that color, and meet Aldo and look at Mt. Vesuvius and the Pompeii Museum. How about you? I look forward to shopping for old stampings that Maggie has found available along with a treasure trove of found objects that we will turn into art. I want to see Southern Italy through Maggies' eyes, and develop some of my own, I look forward to my time with a group discovering treasure that has personal meaning and reconstructing the intended purpose to make us gaze upon the new juxtaposition with a fresh eye.

September is a great time of year to visit as temperatures are moderating and the tourist load gets lighter. Come join us.

I leave for Madison, WI in the morning, I am packed and looking forward to a weeks worth of felting and frivolities with the Midwest Felting Symposium, I will be vending to the public on Thursday night and teaching 4 classes. There are classes for all skill levels. Come on by if you are in the area.

So many factions of my life are calling for my attention, wish I could divide and conquer. 'Have to settle for one thing at a time, I guess.

chaos and calm....

As I prepare for yet another jury gathering (as the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen requires a re-jurying everytime you add a new material to your repertoire) I find myself resenting rules. This is nothing new for me, I like to think that every one will do their best and trust them to do that, probably naive of me. Instead, I need to travel 3 hours each way, present a body of work, and wait for the 'yay' or 'nay'.

I have used this as an opportunity to focus in and consider my motivations for my ever changing need to entertain different materials. This is the third time I have met with the jury; glass, fiber and today I present metal. I bore easily. I am always seeking to use a new material that offers a complementary surface or edge or texture or context that lets me incorporate these many tools to my working vocabulary. My need is to become proficient in any material that calls to me so that I can incorporate it when that particular facet of a design or idea requires it. It is not that I am presenting a new 'body of work', it is the same body of work, just hopefully using a larger 'vocabulary'.