Update

Well, June has been a whirlwind of a month! We arrived home from the wedding, went to a Boston Pops concert (which was great), helped with the decorating for our church's 200th anniversary (First Baptist Church of Plymouth, MA), hosted friends from Sweden for 6 days, and hosted my weaver's guild picnic in the back yard. Whew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm tired writing about it! But it was fun!!!!!

However we had a slight disaster in the middle of it all. My bookshelves in my office fell off the wall! Yes that's right. They fell off the wall! We had been out to the church's anniversary celebration (thank goodness I wasn't home or at my computer) and when I came home and went into my studio, the books and cases where everywhere except where they should be!!!!!!!! What a mess! Books were all over the floor and the bookcases were precariously sitting on top of my flattened monitor and desk! My monitor was damaged along with several other office items. Fortunately the computer itself was safe. Of course the only book that was damaged was the most expensive one, "Memory on Cloth" by Yoshiko Wada, which she had signed!

(At this point we had dismantled the bookcases and picked up some of the books. Believe me it looked much worse!)

Set backs are hard to rise above! It has been a struggle to get the business going again since moving to New England. This year has been difficult. The loss of a whole box of my inventory along with the loss of sales due to a bad economy have been hard enough. Now the damage to the studio which home owner's insurance will not pay is sometimes more than I can deal with at one time.

It does make me question what to do next. It does make me question if I am doing the right thing. It does make me question the work that I produce. I know this is my artist insecurity speaking and I sometimes feel like Scarlet O'Hara when she said, "I'll think about that tomorrow!". But, since this work is so much a part of me, I must also like Scarlet build again and "never be artless again no matter what"! (I took a little free license with Scarlet's words but the meaning is the same)

So the beginning and building process starts all over again. Stay tuned for the rising!!!!!!

Wedding

I just got back 2 days ago from Florida where my son was married. What a beautiful wedding! My husband and I had a great time meeting our new in-laws, entertaining the wedding party and guests at the rehearsal dinner and of course at the wedding and reception. We danced the night away. It was a great celebration!!!!!!

The wedding was held in beautiful Siesta Key Chapel. Our family has many connections with this church as it was the place where my husband's parents became members after moving to Florida. Their remains are buried in the cremation garden at the chapel. Their spirit was very present and I'm sure they were looking on.

I also, several years ago, was commissioned to weave the alter cloth for the chapel. It is a simple white linen and cotton fabric woven in a bird's eye twill. The pattern repeats the window and cross at the front of the chapel.

Ben and Erin have since joined that church, so the family connection will continue.

Dancing with my husband, Jeff.

Dancing with my son, Chris, the best man.

Dancing with my son, Ben, the groom.

Yes I had tears in my eyes but not for long as it was so obvious that these two were so much in love. They were both beaming through the ceremony! They experienced some hard times when Ben's fiance had a very bad car accident. She miraculously did not suffer serious injury but did need surgery on her knee ligaments which required a long recovery period and a lot of help. It was a true test of their caring and patience with each other. When the minister said the words, through sickness and health, she commented on their journey through the rough times and their love through it all.

We feel so blessed to have added a daughter to our family. She is a beautiful smart young woman and I am happy to finally have a girl to talk to!!!!!!!!!

So, here's to you Erin and Ben. And "may your days be good and long upon the earth!” (quote from a Navajo wedding blessing)

Mr and Mrs Benjamin William Jones

Getting Ready to Fly

The baby birds are getting ready to fly the nest! Two of the birds flew away when I opened the door. Here are the other two waiting for their turn.







This morning when I gingerly opened the front door a crack, I was able to get a picture of one of the birds getting ready to fly. I took the picture quickly so as not to scare it away.



I don't know if they come back to the nest or they are gone for good. I also have not seen the 5th bird.
It has been interesting and fun to keep track of this one family's progress.
It reminds me of how my own family has grown, from birth of my 2 sons, the growing up years and all the nurturing, and the leaving the nest to build their own lives.
My youngest son is getting married the end of this month. We are so excited to be expanding our family. I know I will be tearful at the service as I think about all the joys, love, heartaches, laughter, and new adventures my son and new daughter-in- law have in store for them. The cycle does go on! It's a GOOD thing!

They have feathers!

The baby birds now have feathers developing. It won't be long before they leave the nest.

Anybody want to name them? Two are pictured here. I saw one more peaking out but didn't want to stay too long as the momma was getting nervous.

Baby Bird Watch Update!

They are getting bigger! I was able to count 4 beaks. There were 5 eggs so I'm hoping the other one is there too.

Eggs Have Hatched!

The eggs have hatched! There is a lot of fluff in the nest! They are so cute!

New Design

Well, after years of saying I want to design a jacket, I have finally done it! It still needs a few tweaks but I thought I would lead you through the design process.

It begins with an idea! It then is put into a crude drawing and from there a simple pattern is made and the jacket is first made out of muslin. All design corrections and tweaks are made to the muslin. The first designs are always done in a size that fits me. I adjust for other sizes later.




















After making adjustments to the pattern, I transfer all makings to my handwoven fabric and cut the pieces out.


They are then sewn together, another fitting is done, and additional changes and adjustments are made. Many times this involves taking stitches out, re-cutting, and then sewing back together. It's a long process of getting things to fit correctly.

Adjustments are made to the pattern and a lining pattern is made. The lining is sewn and added to the jacket. I chose to just line the body of the jacket and leave the sleeves lining free. I found a really silky polyester fabric for the lining. It is a beautiful weight, drapes nicely, and will not wrinkle.




















More tweaking is done! The closure design is worked out. My signature covered buttons are added. And a jacket is born!


The jacket can be worn one of three ways. One way is as pictured above with one lapel showing and the other fastened. The other two ways are pictured below.




















An interchangeable snap with my other signature, the butterfly, hides the snap on the front. The butterfly is my signature of hope and new life. I usually put it on my handwoven purses and sometimes the knitted ones.

I'd love to hear what you think of this new design. Send me comments. Happy Creating!!!!

Jack Lenor Larson

A few blogs ago I wrote about the human treasures in our lives. We all have them. They are the ones who "set the bar", who know the history, who have worked hard in their area of expertise, and who have succeeded in their endeavors. They are the ones we look to for inspiration, for knowledge, for guidance. We admire and respect them. They keep us grounded and connected to our roots. In the field of weaving there are a few of these treasure around. Some are no longer with us like Annie Albers, Lenore Tawny (who just recently died at the age of 100), and Mary Meigs Atwater to name a few.


Yesterday I had an opportunity to meet and hear another of our weaving and textile treasures. Jack Lenor Larson spoke at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA. Although he did not speak of his own work, he did share stories about the artists whose work he has collected through the years. People like Dale Chihuly and Lenore Tawny. What a wealth of craft history and experiences he has to share. I think we only heard a "smidgen"!

Jack was at the Fuller in connection with the current exhibit, "Craft in America". This exhibit is in connection with the PBS series of the same name. Many of the pieces talked about in the series are on display at the museum. Of course there is a lot more exhibited and well worth the trip to see the work that our nation's craft artists are producing.

If you get to the Boston area, don't miss this exhibit. You can get more information on the Fuller Craft Museum website, http://www.fullermuseum.org/. It's a wonderful museum and the exhibit is excellent.




Scarf by Judy Connor Jones, Tencel, 8S Point Twill Variation (all work is copywrited )

Surprise on Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day and what better day to discover that a bird has made its home in the Christmas wreath that is still hanging on my door! It's been a long cold wet winter in New England and along with my procrastination the wreath still hangs on the door! Today was warmer and I was going to take the wreath off the door when I discovered that a little finch had made a nest nestled in the wreath. This had become its home and it had laid 5 eggs in the basket. So how could I take the wreath down? I guess it will have to stay up a little longer until the little birds fly away! This could get interesting! Fortunately we do not use that door. Occasionally someone comes and rings the door bell for that door but usually its pretty untouched and quiet.

Here are a few pictures:

I'll post pictures as things progress.

Perils of Selling

This blog entry is a sad one for me to write. In the almost 20 years that I have been selling my work I have never had such a loss of inventory as recently. My work was sent to a show in Monmouth County, NJ. I will not mention the name as I wish to protect the show hosts. My work was received and inventoried and at some point before the show one whole box of items was missing. That box contained chenille tops and painted warp scarves to the total retail value of $1800. It's all gone! Someone must know what happened to it. The show hosts have searched diligently for it and are as upset about it as I am. They were entrusted with the items and feel very responsible even though they took precautions to make sure they were in a secure place. They know that someone got the key and was in the closet without permission. Other than that they do not know anymore.

If you read this blog and live within that area, please be on the look out for handwoven chenille tops and scarves that seem like they are in the wrong place and please notify me immediately. Even though the show will reimburse me for the loss, I would rather have the items back and sell them to someone who really appreciates them.

I now have a big job of working twice as hard to replace what was lost. Some items were one of a kind. My painted warp scarves are always limited production as I usually only produce about 12 per year.

It is such a sad commentary that this should happen. Maybe they were misplaced and they will be found, but hopes of that dwindle as time goes on.

The items lost are similar to these only in different colors. There were both Crop Tops and Tunic Tops in the box in size Small, Medium, and Large.

A hint of Spring!

I received my Daffodils! The local Stop and Shop Grocery Store had them. They opened up and were beautiful. One of my sons sent me Tulips for my B-day. The house felt like Spring! It was wonderful.

Here's hoping Spring is on it's way! I'm ready to leave Winter behind!

Where are the Daffodils?

OK, it's my birthday! Not that that's a big deal but usually on my birthday I look forward to daffodils. Since we moved to New England there is nary a daffodil to be found on March 2! Even the florist shops do not carry them. Having lived in PA and NJ, you could always find daffodils beginning to peek their heads up out of the ground and the florist shops always sold them as a reminder of the warm weather and spring colors to come. It always was a refreshing respite from the cold grey winter. Daffodils represent to me the coming of Spring, a change in the weather, and new life that is breathed into everything on earth including me! I loved that they were always available around my birthday. It meant Spring was just around the corner.

Well it won't happen this year! We had a snow storm last night that left at least 4-6 inches of snow and freezing rain on our doorstep. March is being true to form and coming "in like a Lion". I only hope it goes out like a Lamb sooner than later!

So as I begin another year of my life and am thankful for that and all the friends and family that surround me, I will continue to look for the daffodils and wait for their emergence. SPRING WILL COME!

Community Projects

The fiber community is vast and far reaching. It extends around the world. It includes all forms of fiber art both of the every day functional type and the thought provoking statement making type. It is exciting to be a part of a community that has roots which go back thousands of years. (check out Elizabeth Wayland Barber's book Women's Work) It is also exciting when this community comes together to do a collective project. Such is the case with The International Fiber Collaborative. It was started by one woman, Jennifer Marsh, who wanted to bring this international community together by doing large scale public art projects. The projects were to express social and environmental concerns. Her first project was to wrap an abandon gas station in fiber panels. The panels were submitted by fiber enthusiasts all over the world, no age limit or ability turned away. There is a wonderful article about this in Fiber Arts magazine, Nov/Dec 2008 issue.

Once that proved to be an overwhelming success, Jennifer sent out a call to all fiber artists to participate in a new project. This art installation is called "Interdependence". Participants will create a full sized tree made out of fiber leaves. Participants from around the world are to create fiber leaves and send them to Huntsville, Alabama where the tree will be displayed April 2009 at Big Springs International Park. The target number of leaves is 30,000!

Check out the website at http://www.internationalfibercollaborative.com/.

If your interest has been peaked, send in a few leaves and be a part of this project. You have until March 15 to submit your leaves.

I mailed my leaves yesterday. It was fun doing something totally out of my normal genre and so exciting to be part of a large scale international project.

Thank you Jennifer for extending this invitation. I can't wait to see the tree when it is done.

Crayons and Creativity!

I am reading a book by Madeleine L'Engle called Walking on Water, Reflections on Faith and Art. In it she quotes Finley Eversole who wrote The Politics of Creativity. He states that by "the age of 5, 90% of the population measures high creativity. By the age of 7, the figure has dropped to 10%" and by adulthood "high creativity is only 2 %!"

I find that staggering and sad that at the age of entering school creativity drops by 80% in 2 short years! Madeleine's point is that most of us as children have an innate ability for creativity but we are often discouraged from using it and developing it. It is only the few who survive. No wonder so many adults say, I'm not creative. I hear it all the time.

A child creates all the time with imaginary play but is soon discouraged in order to grow up and learn the facts. How sad to loose this ability! Think back to your childhood. Remember the smell of that new box of crayons? Remember how it felt to try all the colors? So, what blocks were put in your way from developing your creative ability? Mine was a Jr. High School Art teacher! Of all people she should have known better and been more encouraging! It took me to adulthood to realize that I did have some creative ability that needed to be developed. My wonderful artistic mother-in-law said, "You can do it!" and encouraged me.

As a person of Faith, I've come to believe that a Creator who made beings in his/her image would also give them the ability to create. We just have to use it!

Let me know how you explore your innate creative ability. I'd love to hear.

"All Artists Begin with a Box of Crayons"
(Detail of multi-media wall hanging done by me to honor the 100th birthday of Crayola Crayons. Images were scanned and printed from my computer printer onto cotton fabric. They were sewn together in "crazy quilt" fashion with my handwoven fabric and then embellished with stitching and buttons.)

Art In Our Lives

I often look at the Obituary page of our newspaper and read about the lives of the people listed there. Many of them I wish I had known. One caught my eye this morning. Her name was Dina Vierny and she was a model for French Sculptor, Aristide Maillol. She also modeled for artists Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard. Her life was interesting but the thing that really impressed me was what her sons said about her. They said, "she spent a lifetime passionately attached to art". Wow, what a statement - "Passionately attached to art"! They didn't say, devoted or interested. They said "passionately attached"! To me that means that art was so much a part of her being that she couldn't help but be passionate and she would never be separated from it.

What a wonderful thing for sons to say about their mother who not only was a model for artists but also a collector of art and a gallery owner. They understood how much art was a part of who she was as a person. And even more, they honored that with the wonderful descriptive phrase, "passionately attached to art".

As an artist I can understand that phrase completely. I've learned that I have always looked at things with an artist's eyes. I have not always known that about myself. Others who saw that in me made me take notice. There is a passion inside me for art that invades all I do and I cannot let go of it.

So I can relate to Dina Vierny even though I never met her. What a beautiful lady you were.

Inauguration Day

We now have a new President! Along with that we have new hopes and dreams and possibilities. It was a beautiful day and we celebrated. A group of friends came over for an inaugural luncheon, average style. You know cold cuts, potato chips, salad. And we watched together the swearing in of our 44th President of the United States. It was not without tears as we all realized the enormity of this day and what a great country we live in. Where else do you have this coming together every 4 years in peace to celebrate the wishes of the people. Sometimes we make mistakes but we can always correct them by electing someone else next time around. The key here is it is always in "Peace". As Americans we always come together whether we voted for the person or not.


Today we began the process of righting the awful history of prejudice. We still have a way to go but we have made a big step. In 2017 I hope it will be a woman! And I hope I am alive to see it! But for now, Barack Obama is the right person and he has brought the people of this nation together once again.


I am so proud of my country today. Now is the time for new direction, for change, and for renewing the way the world looks at us. We are truly an amazing nation! Let's show our better side with leadership, humility, and grace. Best wishes President Obama and Mrs Obama. May your time in the White House be the best years this country has seen.


Waiting with anticipation for the moment we can say, "President Obama"!





And what would a celebration be without food!

Thanks everyone for celebrating with me. It was a fun day! And we were inside and warm!

Snowy Day

Today was a beautiful day! The snow that fell last night was a heavy snow which hangs on the trees. As I was driving around doing errands today I was surrounded by a winter wonderland, the kind you see in Christmas Cards or on movie sets. The sky was a soft blue/pink grey and the white on the trees was a bright clean white. It was spectacular. Of course along with that kind of snow comes power outages! We have dealt with them on and off all day. You know the kind, you just get the clocks all set and then the power goes out and you have to start all over again! What fun! It is amazing how many appliances have to be reset!

When we lived in Rochester, NY, it snowed just about every day and I discovered that having white surround your environment influenced choices of color that you wore. I sold more white mohair scarves there then any place else! White with pastel blue and white with pastel pink were very popular. When we moved to the southern part of NJ where snow doesn't happen so often, I could not sell one white scarf! Interesting, huh?

I'm heading into a period of designing and producing new items. This will involve not only new designs in garments, I hope, but also new color choices and yarn. I haven't figured out whether that white/pastel combination works here or not. Do you think mohair will come back in style? I have a lot of it! I just might give it a shot.