Things I Love Thursday

I love my fairy godmother.  Whoever she is...

I made a silent wish for the new year.  I wished to get more involved in projects working with children... more community based projects.  Within days I had three opportunities land on my doorstep.  I kid you not.  THREE.  It feels spooky and perfectly beautiful all at the same time.

my brown eyed daughter with the brown eyed susans

Two opportunities involve doing creative sewing with children.  I LOVE working with children.  They are masters at non-conformity / pure creativity.  I'll tell you more when and if these do become a reality.  Here's hoping the program funding comes through!

simple fibre art projects with a 7 yr old - Postcards !

The third that came my way is the opportunity to teach hand stitching at The Mothers' Centre on 20th Street in Saskatoon.  ISN'T THAT COOL!?  Remember my friend Michelle?  She helped me hang my very first solo show four years ago.  She is my Aussie friend - a mom, artist and energy healer who I met through a parenting group here.  She just received a grant to put together an art program for the people who use the Mothers' Centre.  She is approaching specific artists to teach a variety of techniques and crafts that can be utilized by the women as they have conversations on mothering, womanhood, and other soul-searching topics for the purpose of healing and self realization.  HAND STITCHING is one of the skills she asked me to introduce in an afternoon workshop.  !!  : )

OH WOW.

wow!

Valentine Postcards in a Kindergarten class.  xo  How can you not love this!?

I love the potential of all this.  I am so buzzed about it.  The social worker in me is jumping up and down with joy.

You bet I said yes.  

One of my favorite moments was last year when I introduced art to the sewing classes and sewing to the art classes at my old highschool.  The Special Needs teacher had me spend an afternoon with her students doing fibre art as well.  THAT was an amazing few days: rooms full of teenagers - boys and girls of all abilities - all doing hand embroidery and busy and smiling.  Yeah!  Bring it back!  : )

the new supply box I added to a highschool art classroom...

* THANK YOU UNIVERSE *

Sometimes, you just have to wish - and then let it happen.  I believe that if you have to force something to happen, then it is not meant to be at that time.

(There you go - for all my friends on Facebook, now you know my big announcement.  NO I am not pregnant!  lol)

Happy Thursday!

Sewing Art in School

Last week I was invited to return to my highschool for a couple of days to introduce art into the home-ec room, and sewing into the art room.  HOW COOL IS THAT!?  It was entirely cool for me.  My biggest regret with highschool art was that fibre was in no way part of that classroom.  Well, it is now!  ; )  I gave presentations to grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 on how I came to discovering this world I'm in now.  It was really fun - with the exception of giving the SAME 50 minute talk over and over EIGHT times.  After three presentations, I was so bored with hearing myself retell that story.  Still, I was a trooper.  On the second day, I had the same grade 11 & 12 kids back again.  So Mr. Fullerton (the art teacher) and I put together a little experimental fibre art project for that class.  It was cooool : )

he handed out some thick chunky watercolor paper

The students were asked to to a watercolor wash on them.

I provided thread, yarn, floss, metallics, and some inspirational books

Then the students were asked to stitch into the paintings, however they wanted and with whatever colors they liked.  I showed them a bit about selecting needles and how to audition threads.  Away they went!

sewing with silver

sewing with gold

some were stitching on a landscape

some embellished eye-catching abstracts

some gave up before they even began stitching (view into the class garbage can)

some were deeply thankful for the opportunity and went on to create masterpieces : )

That is whole point to why I got involved in this particular venture.  Not everyone is expected to enjoy every kind of art.  But everyone in a school art class should have an opportunity to explore many forms of art.

The art world includes FIBRE.  

And look!  Now theirs does too!  : )

The box I left behind.  It's now part of their classroom.

: )

linking to the Needle and Thread Network : )