Bringing art to life!

My grand-niece Emma with her Emma doll

I listen to a wonderful podcast on my way to school in the mornings. Abby Glassenberg, "While She Naps," is a softie and doll designer. Lately her interest runs more to the business end of creative careers as she takes us along on her journey of turning her creative skills into a marketable business. What I love the most, though, are her conversations with other creative artists and sewists. Her interviews are so full of useful tips and recommendations that I could spend a good half hour on the computer looking at all the links in her podcast notes and wanting to know more about the art of people she interviews. She has a sweet voice, asks all the right questions, and makes my trip into school a pleasure.

I wear many creative hats. I am a painter, an illustrator, a writer, a graphic designer, an art teacher, and a quilter. I am not doll maker in any way, shape or form. But that does not stop me from enjoying her interviews with doll designers and hearing their stories. On Pinterest, I saw a number of pins related to people making dolls out of kids' artwork. I was inspired to try this out after hearing the stories behind the many doll makers on Abby's show.

I teach art to 3 year olds through 5th grade at my school and something that is very common with my youngest students is how they draw people. Can you picture the well known M&M cartoon character with his arms and legs coming out of the head of the round candy? You might see this same characterization in any child's drawing. As young artists perceive people around them, the face is the most important element of anyone they meet, and everything (such as arms and legs) are simply extensions of the face. There might be a body between the head and the legs, but in their eyes, it is not as important to recognize or represent in their artwork.

We expect children to depict reality on paper, yet how can we get them to notice what is not important to them? If they get to design their own softies, they would need to make decisions that travel beyond where the eyes and mouth go on the face. For example, what color would they choose for the shirt or the dress? Beginner artists in my class drew a self-portrait making many color decisions for each part of their portrait. Then, using fabric samples donated to the art room, I turned each of these wonderful depictions into a softie and brought their drawings to life!

These dolls (11 in all) became the highlight of my art show this fall. And, because I am a tech nerd and always look for fun ways to integrate technology into my art room, I also used the Aurasma app on the school iPad, and took a video of each student holding their doll. When parents aim the iPad over each doll, the App triggers the screen to show the video of the student. Amazing!

After that exercise in creative fun, I went ahead and ordered one of Abby Glassenberg's PDF doll patterns. I don't know that I will ever become a doll maker... (as if I need yet another hobby!)... but once I created these adorable dolls for my class, I realized I should learn how to do it the right way, from Abby. I selected and ordered her Emma doll pattern for my grandniece Emma. I was so excited to start this doll and actually managed to finish it just in time for Hanukkah.

I think I will stick to what I do best... painting and quilting... of course until the next new project sparks my interest. I do hope, though, that my sweet Emma enjoys her handmade doll as much as I did my momentary obsession into the world of softie makers!

Making someone happy!

Norman is a tennis player. Even seeing out of just one eye, he is a tennis player. If he did not enjoy watching the game, playing the game, beating his opponent, or simply hitting the ball for the fun of hitting the ball, he would not be a tennis player. And as a true player, he collects all things tennis, like this multi-colored collection of tennis sneakers and the antique racquets that fill up our garage. In his retirement, a small thing like colorful sneakers makes him happy. Why not?

Being creative is what makes me happy. Happiness starts with a new idea, the prospect of turning an inspiration into my own creation. I've got a whole stash of happy thoughts just waiting to be painted, drawn, built or sewn at any time. It's amazing how I can remember anything at all with all those happy little dreams taking up residence in my head. There is pure joy in the development and decision making process. There is pure joy in setting up a composition on a canvas, selecting fabric, arranging my work area and starting a project.

Then there is the process. How could I not enjoy the process? I get into this weird zone with my work. It almost becomes a form of meditation with the strokes of my paintbrush flowing out of my hand without any effort at all. Music can be playing in the background, a podcast can be really interesting to listen to, but I hear nothing at all. It is really something to experience.... that zone of perfect creative harmony.

Completing a project can often be the most painful experience of all and the most thrilling at the same time. When is something done? I could re-work a section of a painting for months before I get it right. I am still re-working the border of a two year old quilt because I was not happy with the look and I knew a little hand stitching would be just the thing to make it perfect. I will put a project away and look at it on another day. I will take a picture of it on my iPad or phone just to see it in a different size or perspective. When something is right, I get it. And while no one else in my family will notice what I think is not finished, I will keep at it until the thrill of it being completed meets my artistic eye. I am my worst critic, but if I ever lower my standards, then why bother doing it to begin with? And it is always worth it. Always.

This is the season of giving. There is pure joy in gifting something I made to someone else. I almost always think that it comes down to making someone else happy. When something is done, the thrill is over and I am on to the next dream of another project. Only by making someone else happy can I keep that thrill alive. I love gifting my work. I love creating things with my hands. I love making people happy. It is my way to show them that I appreciate all that they do for me. It can be as simple as a handmade greeting card for Norman or a quilt that I worked on all year as a gift for Katie.

"Play it again, Sam"
Acrylic on canvas 24x30"

Sam recently dented the side of his ukelele and asked me to paint it. A couple of years ago, I painted a canvas for him with his fingers posed on the Steinway. It took me months to complete it. I was really proud of the result and thrilled for him to own one of my paintings. But I think he was just as excited to see his tiny painted ukelele and play me a song on the instrument once he re-strung it. Sam being his creative self on a Hawaiian painted uke...a gift that keeps on giving!

Sam's painted ukelele

Below is a video of Sam playing on his painted uke. Happiness hits us all in such different ways. May we all find our "Happy" in the New Year!

Returning to my roots

Falling in love with fabric, thread, and the quiet motion of hand stitching has become somewhat of an obsession for me, again. It is what I loved to do when I was young. There was something magical about touching the fibers and the process of creating something beautiful with them. My father built a huge frame in our basement for me to do my rug hooking, as he would do with anything that I might have showed an interest in. He was my biggest supporter in all things creative. And during the 60's and 70's, in the days of folk music and folk art, it was working with thread and yarn.

Then life got in the way. I majored in fine arts in college and transitioned to graphic arts immediately after graduation as a route to making money. With the birth of my children, I worked out of the house for many years using a very early Apple computer that Daddy bought me....way before anybody had a computer or even knew what email, Facebook, or the www. thing might be. I made a successful go with Adobe Illustrator, writing and illustrating instruction sheets for craft and science kits. I never minded working through the night when my children were asleep and I certainly did not mind working in my PJ'S! I also learned that I loved writing as much as I did drawing each detailed illustration. My least favorite thing to do was anything business related, especially submitting bills and figuring out estimated taxes. When the kids were older, I eventually moved into teaching and gladly accepted a regular paycheck every 2 weeks. I regret nothing that I did along the way, except perhaps having a better business sense when I worked for myself. These days, social media provides a much easier access to advertising who you are.  But regardless, I know I would not be as good a teacher as I am without my 15 years of writing instruction sheets. I would not be as good an artist without growing up in a creative home, taking art in college when we all knew that it would not lead to a job, and having the confidence to be an artist whether you use a pencil, a paintbrush, a stylus, or a needle and thread.

 Life does take funny twists and turns and we all seem to go around in circles. Katie recently bought herself a present on Etsy of embroidered flowers on fabric, stretched on a canvas frame. It looks just like the embroidery my mom used to do back in the early 70's. My dad would draw an outline of a scene on fabric and she would lovingly embroider it. Her work would proudly hang in the living room, right next to my dad's paintings and photographs, and my brother's stained glass. Yet, she never considered herself to be an artist. The embroidery that Katie bought looked so similar to my mom's and when I asked if it was a new piece, she told me that it was, in fact, made in the 1970's!

Well Mom, your work was just as beautiful, if not more so. If she only knew about Etsy, Pinterest, Instagram, or the Food Network!!! There's a lot of things that happened in the world during last 30 years that she missed, including the love of grandchildren and a great granddaughter. Oh, the creativity she could have shown us all.

The One Block Wonder that wasn't!

How can you be creative if you haven't the energy to feel excited about much of anything? This was a long winter filled with too many snow days, too many sick days, and a lack of enthusiasm on my part. To welcome the spring, I had parathyroid surgery and I spent the last two weeks (my spring break from school) recovering from the surgery. With just enough energy to stare at HGTV with Katie, I was grateful for the quilting project I started months ago. Happily resting under one completed quilt, I had my new quilt stretched in a large wooden hoop on my lap with my book light, my needles, my thread, my scissors, and my vanishing purple pen all within reach.

This quilt started with a class that taught a technique for making "One Block Wonders". My local quilt shop had one on display with Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night" as the fabric and I loved the look of it. The colors and brushstrokes of the painting were very recognizable, but the quilt was so much more interesting looking with a modern geometric spin to the design. I could not wait to create the same thing for myself. Of course, as luck would have it, they did not have the van Gogh fabric in stock and I spent a good hour or more trying to select another fabric for my design. Not experienced in this technique, I took the girls' advice in the shop to just go with colors I liked and not worry about the actual print. By the time you cut the triangles and arrange them in a repeat pattern within a hexagon design, you lose all definition of the original fabric design.

The class was fun, as it always is to spend a few hours with other quilters. I learned how to cut perfect repeats of fabric, bought some new, fun quilting tools, and went home with the start of my own "One Block Wonder." My fabric did not do what the Starry Night fabric did... or what the other quilters' fabrics did for that matter! My fabric choice had a lovely arrangement of small green leaves that ran through the entire pattern and this made all my blocks too similar. I did not end up with sections of dramatically different colors to arrange in a creative way.

As what usually happens with my projects, I veered off on another creative idea midstream and made another trip to the shop to spend more money. This time, I bought a cream colored fabric with a subtle leaf design. I cut triangles out of that fabric and separated my hexagons with the cream fabric. I loved the look. It was a lot more traditional than the more inventive "One Block Wonders" designs, but I am new to quilting and traditional designs still get me excited. On yet another trip, I picked out fabric for my border and backing and I happily stitched it all together.

Piecing together a quilt top is one thing, but what I admire about most quilts is the intricate design sewn into the layers of the quilt. Yes, these can be done on a machine and my quilt shop even has a long arm for machine stitching perfect little repeat designs. But after sewing the binding of my first quilt by hand, I realized that hand sewing is my favorite part of my new obsession with quilts. I want my projects to look handmade, down to the needlework of the quilted design, and this leaf quilt that did not quite become a "one block wonder" was the perfect project to experiment on.

So, with vanishing pen in hand, I drew leaf patterns on the cream triangles and hand stitched them with a neutral colored thread. I was in love with the result! As I get more courageous with my stitched designs, I will try to use contrasting colors. But this cream on cream design was perfect for me.

I added hand stitched designs to the border and around each hexagon. This quilt was a pleasure to create, a perfect project for these last two weeks of my recovery, and a perfect way to make me feel creative again.

And now Murray and I have two quilts to cuddle under!

Taking a Creative Vacation

What did you do on your time off? This winter break for me was all about resting up, going to see a few Christmas movies, napping, cooking, sleeping late, playing with my dogs, napping, spending time with my family, and napping. See a pattern there? How I will wake up tomorrow morning at 5:15 for school is beyond my vacation brain to imagine! I never did get to write those art report cards I was hoping to get a head start on for January, but I did add a few rows of stitches to my hand quilted throw blanket (it is so pretty!) and I finally did sit down at my easel to complete a few canvases.

"Cinque Terra"
24" x 30" Acrylic on Canvas

This painting is my interpretation of a scene from a photo Ricky and Barbara took on their trip to Cinque Terra in Italy. I started this painting back in February and it took me the better part of this year to complete it.

"I like painting big," I told Barbara. "If you want a canvas for your kitchen, I'll paint a large bottle of ketchup!" Instead, I was given this photo of a beautiful fishing town from their trip to Italy with hundreds of little tiny houses, windows and balconies. I grudgingly started it and then took a break from painting to learn a new hobby (as if I need another new hobby!). I always wanted to learn how to quilt and my family bought me an introduction to a quilting class for my birthday. The painting sadly sat on my easel with just a sky, a mountain and few cute houses painted in while I was learning how to measure, cut and piece together blocks of fabric with a new sewing machine.

Each month or so this past year, I sat down and worked on more sections of the scene. I was painting with a brush that literally had one hair. Did you know you could buy a 20/0 brush? Each window had shutters, or a balcony, or laundry hanging off the ledge. It was fun adding all the details but after a while, it began to resemble a cartoon more than one of my paintings. I aim for realism all the time with my work, but it is my interpretation of realism. I do not start outlining things like I was doing with these buildings. I finally made my way down the canvas to the cliffs and rocks and once again changed my painting style, blending colors and shapes to indicate a realistic scene. I loved this area of the painting because it was all me. Once the rocks were blocked in with color and shadows, I went back up to the houses and repainted them all. I was happy with the color choices, but simplified the scene, leaving just the windows and roof tops. It was finally coming together as a unified scene and I was once again painting regularly at my easel. This final scene had more adjustments made to the sky and the mountain as well as the rocks. The only fussy detail left is a tiny little person in a boat painted just for Ricky.

I knew it was finally complete when I realized that I loved it and felt bad that it was actually leaving my house for another. I wanted to make this painting so that when I went upstate to Yorktown Heights to visit my family, I would see one of my canvases on their wall. When is the next holiday? It is time for a visit yet?

Gluten Free Challah Bread... a work of art!

I was born in 1957. If, like me, you are a child of the 20th century, Norman Rockwell's painting of Thanksgiving often comes to mind when you picture a holiday dinner. This painting, created in 1942 for a cover of the Saturday Evening Post, is one of four paintings, "The Four Freedoms," inspired by the State of the Union Address given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This scene depicts "Freedom from Want" and shows Rockwell's friends and family seated around a beautiful holiday table. Not only am I surprised, time after time, with Rockwell's uncanny ability to capture realism, I love how he breathes life into his subjects and invites us into the scene. I can almost smell the aroma of the freshly roasted turkey on the platter and I find the interaction between the diners so engaging. This is a boisterous family, talking over each other and enjoying a wonderful meal together. Just like my family. Just like yours?

In my house, a holiday like Thanksgiving will always be a celebration that gathers everyone around the table for a home-cooked meal. It can never be buffet style, it has to be a set table with real plates and your best silverware. It can never be prepared food from a deli, but food that was planned and labored over for days in advance, However "new age" my side dishes become... gluten-free, healthy veggies, and nontraditional ingredients.... it has to include the big turkey that you get up at the crack of dawn to roast. It is meant to be the star of the meal, simply because Norman Rockwell depicted it as so. I found over the years, though, that it does not have to be the best roasted bird ever (a little chicken broth will fix even the driest white meat!), but the mood, the company, the wine and the always amazing amount of dessert will make up for all that could go wrong. A holiday dinner is a work of art and a flavorful memory to treasure from year to year.

My latest feast was created for Rosh Hashanna. My scene did not look much like Norman Rockwell's scene except that I actually did have a Norman at the head of my table! Not everyone in the family was able to join us this year, but we reached out globally to more people than the seven of us could ever have imagined because photos of the meal were quickly uploaded to Instagram and Facebook... Is that our modern way to engage friends and family even if they can't be at the table with you? Would Norman Rockwell have added a cell phone if he painted the same scene today? I'm not sure I like that idea, but that is what art does best... it is ultimately a reflection of the times. In my reality, Norman Rockwell would not only have included a cell phone, but my gluten free challah bread too!


Gluten Free Challah Bread

Here is my recipe for a challah bread that even I could eat, and it is definitely a work of art! As Sam said at my dinner, "this cannot be gluten free!" Everyone preferred mine and not the round challah that we said the blessing over just for this occasion. With all the eggs and the honey, it is so moist and sweet. Delicious plain, even better as french toast!

1. In a large bowl that you first warm up by rinsing in hot tap water, combine:
    1 cup of warm water
    1 3/4 oz. packet of active dry yeast
    1 Tablespoon of sugar

2. Let this sit for about 5 minutes to proof. If the yeast does not start to bubble or foam up, the yeast is not active and you should start over with fresh yeast.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together in a small bowl:
    3 cups of gluten free flour (I like King Arthur brand)
    2 tsp. Xantham gum
    2 tsp. kosher salt

4. In microwave safe bowl melt:
      4 Tablespoons of butter

5. To the butter, whisk in:
     1/4 cup honey
     4 beaten eggs

6. Add the egg mixture to the yeast and then add in the dry ingredients, blending well until it creates a smooth batter.

7. Grease a loaf pan with butter or non stick spray. Spoon batter into loaf pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let batter rise in a warm place (inside an oven that was not turned on is a good place) until doubled in size. This will take about 1 hour. Mine rose to the height of the pan but deflated slightly after the next step.

8. Run the tip of a knife along the top creating a braid-like design and gently dab the top with egg wash using a soft brush. (1 beaten egg and a splash of water)

9. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven until golden on top and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack (if you can resist cutting into it immediately like I did!).

Ranney School Faculty Art Exhibit

I always have to remind myself to step back every now and then and look at what I have been creating from a different perspective. It might simply be that I have to walk away from a painting and look at it with fresh eyes the next day. Sometimes I take a photo of the canvas with my phone or iPad and see how it looks on a small screen as opposed to real life. Does something need to be a different color? Do my eyes focus on what I want everyone else to notice?

I have created many canvases over the last few years and what I remember most when I look back at my work is how much of a challenge each painting was to create. I have learned something from each one that I not only bring as a skill to my next painting, but it becomes something I can share with my students at school. My art classes have never been taught out of a text book, but out of my own experience as an artist. I am inspired by my students, and hopefully I inspire them. It is vital to me to be a working artist and so important for them.

So, why does my latest painting sit abandoned on my easel for the better part of this year? Every excuse in the book, from exciting new hobbies like quilting to a beautiful day to be outside, crops up and keeps me from completing this canvas. I have to get back into the painting mode again! What do other artists do when they lose interest? It is a good thing that I have not relied on my ability to finish a painting as a source of income!

I am positive that all creative effort has to be inspired and inspiration can come from the most random things. I can see an image on a billboard or a magazine that might send me to the art store to buy supplies for a new painting. Visiting a museum will always get my creative juices flowing again. But this time I did not have to look further than my own school and my own artwork. The art department at school is putting together a faculty art exhibit this week. Installing my work on the carpeted walls of Panther Hall Gallery was just what I needed at this point. I was seeing my work through the wide eyes of my students who could not believe I painted the adorable beagle or the larger-than-life tennis ball. I was given an opportunity to see my work from a different perspective. Just like stepping away from the canvas and taking a look with fresh eyes on a new day. This exhibit reminded me about my experience as an artist, my growth as an artist, and I could not wait to go home and pick up my paintbrush again.