Bigger Bugs! Really!

I look at this blog as cheap therapy. This week, I have a lot to unload. The Pandemic certainly impacts us all. Worrying about an invasion of tiny viral bugs has us all on edge. My studio has become both a refuge and a place of work. As work, I make masks. Making masks is repetitive and not quite what I had in mind for a part time job BUT it almost pays the rent. However, while I’ve been madly sewing masks, clothing moths have been silently chomping on a small portion of my fleece and yarn. It wasn’t until a moth fluttered by my nose that I started to pay attention to my art supplies. Those tiny little boogers! They were multiplying in select fleece. They especially loved the brown undyed fleece. So did I. It’s now in the dumpster with three other giant full trash bags.

When I first discovered the moths, I researched the Internet for ideas of what to do. My stash is quite large as I quilt, sew, spin and weave in the studio at the mill. Unwinding and rewinding, washing and drying all forms of fiber was not realistic. I decided to battle using a homemade solution of equal parts white vinegar and water with 12 drops of lavender essential oil. I used a spray bottle to clean as I vacuumed and swept my way through the studio. I bagged all my fleece and yarn in gallon, quart and extremely large ziplock bags. To make it last through the next few months, I ordered fresh lavender and cedar and filled mesh bags to throw into the large bags and hand throughout the studio on the shelves with stacks of material and on the racks of completed art. My studio smells lovely, at least to me.

This process took a few weeks of heartache for the loss of lots of hard work carding, spinning and dyeing and a renewal of my commitment to my art. I now alternate my mask making with days to just create. Like the blog, I rarely have guests and shows these days. Sometimes I wonder what drives me. Then an idea of a new piece surfaces and start to pull together an assortment of materials to bring it to life. Maybe someday I will commit to advertising and marketing when I find the time. Until then, I will battle the heat, hard work and pure joy to bring to life new ideas.

And then the Pandemic arrived ...

This is my last year teaching. It started out to be a hard one in that I questioned my readiness, felt nervous for the future, and was greeted by one of the toughest classes in years. That’s saying a lot since I had spent 20 of my 26 years teaching in a classroom designed to accommodate an “at risk” students. I handled retirement jitters by balancing my work life between my art studio and my teaching, seriously considering what the next step was going to be. I hit a nice stride around January when my retirement paperwork was complete and submitted. Retirement was then mere months away. My husband and I planned a holiday to celebrate the end of one chapter and the beginning of another oblivious to what lay ahead. Not only was our world but that of the entire globe in store for a change that would rock all our futures- the Pandemic. “Man plans and God laughs.” Only this time, I’m not sure God is laughing. At least not the God I imagine.

So instead of racing forward to put my plans in action, I came to a standstill. My world shrunk to an extraordinary degree. My circle of people that I could hug and hold was limited to those that shared my home. Everything and everyone outside of my home were reachable only through the Internet. My fears grew and my anxiety spiraled. I took comfort in the fact that I shared a home with those that I love and that love me in return.

I saw my art as a way to negotiate the unknown. At first, I continued to put effort into finishing my new face, oddly titled “The Sentinel” and a new piece that reflected my safe place growing up. It was long before I tired of this self indulgence in the middle of a crisis. I decided to fight back instead. I began a plan to make masks.

At first , the masks were for family, community and friends but evolved into efforts to include local businesses. Before I knew it, I had donated over 150 masks. Mask demands kept coming. A local company put in an order for 100. My machine ate through spools of thread, sewing needles and yards of cotton fabric from floral patterns to Minecraft flannel. I donated money earned to a local food coop and requested recipients to “pay it forward”.

As time marched forward, I realized that I need to start charging a fee for large orders. I need to replenish my stock. I also needed help. That’s when my husband became my “Cutter”. Today, we laugh and work together as my husband, Andy, shares my studio staying sane in a world spinning out of control. When our work day comes to a close, we drive home to join the rest of our family - my daughter, Sarah, her children, Amari, William and Caleb, and of course, Bannor, our cherished rescue dog that is all too familiar with the randomness of chaotic events.

What this journey has taught me is to appreciate the simple things and to focus on the moment at hand for tomorrow is yet to be defined and may not be anything that is expected.

Who would have thought I would be wearing a mask made in Studio #347 as part of my everyday wear?

Trying new things

Blogging for me is thinking and not worried if anyone listens. Feel free. You’ll either get it or not. Sometimes I don’t until later, when it all comes together. I can wait a long time. I am patient in that way. I love the “getting there”. That’s what I’m doing now. Finding new ways to do things - both in my art and in my behavior.

In art, I’ve wanted to make works that are 3 dimensional. I’m getting there. I think, Maybe not. Who knows. It sure is a hell of a lot of fun. (I try to stay away from anything that has a tendency to burn the mill down.) Might have to redefine the art I do to multi-media. Whatever happens, it will always include fiber.

In life? Well, I’m working on it. Art helps.

What's nuno felting?

Recently, I started to felt wool. My initial experience felting took place in my friend, Deborah’s, kitchen several years ago. We happily soaped and splashed away making some rather colorful, misshaped blobs of felt. We had a blast! At that time, my focus was weaving and the night of felting was just a fun arts and crafts activity. I stored the pieces of felt I made in my mill studio.

This year, I used a portion of my long ago felted pieces for the hair on my piece titled “Stood Up”. As i worked with the felt, I considered felting a background for my next piece. I called Deborah and we made a date to once again take a stab at felting. This experiment grew to include a foray into needle felting three dimensional features on one of my next pieces yet to be finished. Needless to say, I was hooked on a new dimension of fiber. Summer beckoned and I began to envision days of dyeing and carding to felt in new ways. I searched the Internet to discover ideas and rediscovered the art of nuno felting. Nuno felting is the art of felting with a lightweight fabric and thin layers of wool and embellishments.

After an adventure to purchase fleece at a local sheep shearing with Deborah and the grandchildren, I had new fleece to wash, dye and card. I studied how to begin to nuno felt and created a plethera of materials for a summer workshop for friends.

To insure that we were ready to share what we knew, Deborah and I had a dry run last week. What fun! We learned a lot; particularly what to do and not do. For instance, during the “thwaking” stage (our technical term for throwing the piece on a hard surface), do not have glass anywhere nearby. Breakage will occur. Thwaking can get seriously out of control when women find how deeply satisfying it is to violently slap around a hunk of soaked wool and silk.

Prefelted Neck Warmer

Caleb may be only four years old but he is a fiber artist at heart.

Finding New Directions

I have struggled to find new ways to be sustainable in my art, as well as producing art that is unique and affordable. My neighbor at the mill suggested I make canvas prints of my recent collection of fabric manipulated faces of women. He is an excellent photographer and offered to support this by photographing the last three pieces. I now can offer them in canvas prints and note cards. I hope to showcase the results at the Indian Orchard Spring Show.

In addition, I am working in two different directions. One is to continue work on my latest face, “Mother Earth” and the other is to begin a new slant in mending for sustainability and renewal. Times are getting tougher and the clothing market is impacted. Although clothing can be cheap, it is most often exactly what you pay for - not very durable and often poorly sized. There are fine clothes that can be purchased at a higher cost. I think that they may the real bargain if we know how to repair and maintain them in artistic ways. This is not an original thought. There is a movement to use fiberarts to sustain a lovely and unique wardrobe. I hope to offer and teach new ways to look at mending and adapting a wardrobe for the individual. Mmmm…

Spring Show? So soon!

I have been enjoying going to the studio and dabbling in a variety of directions so much so that I totally lost track of time. Time is so relative. It is so slow at school. Summer vacation seems to taunt me with its closeness and year end events that are all consuming. At the mill, time sails by. I arrive with hours to work and glance at the clock and see closing time has come. Really?! Already time to leave.

Sometimes I am productive. Other times I spend hours learning how to use a new thread or design a new hanging. The show date crept up on me without making itself a huge presence until I received the email about having my artwork at the gallery on Monday. Tomorrow! How did that happen?

I finished an order and discovered I no longer have bags. That's right. When we decided to close up shop in the winter, we sold a lot of our things at a very good price. Now I need to purchase more at a much higher rate. A business woman, I'm not.

So come see the studio. It's a work in progress. Products are at an all time low but that's okay. There's no bags to put them in.

Oh no, we sold all the display racks ... And so it goes.

Reinventing Valley Vogue

The past two years have been hard ones. I experienced and learned how to survive different kinds of loss. My partner in Valley Vogue, Fran, found her life consumed by caring for her elderly mother and rehab for a severe injury to her wrist. We agreed that the cost and expectations of our business too much to maintain and decided to close up shop. I was devastated as I began to sell looms and supplies. At the same time, the middle school I had taught in for 23 years closed and was absorbed by the town's high school. I packed up my classroom and condensed my classroom materials and supplies to teach at the high school via a cart.

Close to the end of the process of terminating my lease at the mill, the owner offered me an opportunity to move to a smaller studio instead of leaving. My family encouraged me to consider the move. Their encouragement changed from a nudge to insistence that I reconsider. I think they shuddered to imagine me without a creative outlet. Whatever it was, I am thrilled to say it worked. I now am rebuilding and reinventing Valley Vogue. I am happy to add that Fran still stops in and hope she will collaborate on future projects.

New Look

Fran and I are polishing up our old website and giving it a new look. We are featuring only new products on this site. We are in the process of of setting up shop online to broaden our market. Lately, our time is limited and we both want to spend what time we devout to Valley Vogue in the artistic end. In order to do this, we are pulling back on our attendance in local fairs and limiting it to our favorites. We are available by appointment and hope to increase our presence online. Please help us by commenting on our changes to the website and our new product lines. Right now we are excited to offer changes in our offerings from the triloom in new fibers and colors. We are working with new dyes to make kettle dyed yarns and with our spinning to make handspun and art yarns. We hope to add images soon. As always, thanks for your support.

The Next Step

After years working together in the classroom, beginning a business, producing wearable art and entering the age of retirement, Fran and I are ready for another adventure. We are beginning to explore the possibility of marketing online. Our product line is limited. We are the owners, operators and designers. Sometimes we work like the dickens (whatever that is) and sometimes we talk family and laugh like the dickens (that word again). We are trying new things as always. Now it is spinning art yarn and incorporating it into our shawls and more. Fran is trying out zentangles in her pins and jewelry. We are replenishing our stock with more triloom shawls and a new design in a mobius twist. We are carding, dyeing and and drafting away the winter. For those of you that don't like wool, we are creating options in bamboo and alpaca. Then there is the necessary evil - revamping our website. Let us know what works and what doesn't. Thank you to our family, friends and customers. You all help to make this fun and something we want to persevere.