Monrovia Canyon Writing Retreat

Sharon Rizk and Justin Kibbe lead a wonderful poetry retreat in Monrovia Canyon. This is a beautiful nature sanctuary not far from the city. The theme for the retreat was: “Connecting with Nature, Self, and Community.” It was interesting to see how the surroundings became a part of my poems from Oak branches to waterfalls.

I lead a mail art collage project that was a quiet meditation of texture, color, and shape as the participants decorated envelopes. My fabric scraps came from many nations such as: Australia, Africa and Japan. I enjoyed watching the process as each person uncovered hidden treasures within the pile of scraps.

After the envelopes were decorated, a poem of encouragement was written and placed inside. These envelopes were made to be a gift, not knowing who would be the recepient. A blind selection from a basket lead to a wondrous surprise. Poems were read and the images shared. Each one told what their gift meant to them.

My gift now has a special place in my home to remind me of a great weekend with Sharon, Justin, Judi, Phil, Karen, Kathabela and Rick. A time away to explore poetry and art in community.

A Connecting Act of Kindness

Beautiful mountain breezes and pine trees with a rushing stream began my weekend at a Yoga Retreat put on by Lisa Harris. I taught a craft class at Camp de Benneville Pines near Jenks Lake, CA.

The participants each created a mail art piece. They collaged magazine images, text and fabric scraps onto the back of their #10 envelope. Students also wrote an encouraging thought to place inside the envelope.

The idea was to gather images and words that spoke to you that day. Much care was put into each creation. When completed, the students gave up their own mail art as a gift to someone else in the class. Each person received a wonderful message and a beautiful mail art piece. This picture shows two of the gifts. A day to share joy.

A Day of Friends, Poetry and Art

My first stop on my Pasadena, CA adventure was the Pacific Asia Museum. It is their 40th Anniversary. Poets on Site (I am a member) has been asked to write poems in response to pieces in the exhibit, “40 Years of Building the Pacific Asia Museum Collection” for an audio tour. It was great to see other Poets on Site members there to write their stories. (Pictured – Joan Stern, Cindy Rinne, Tara Scott, and Kathabela Wilson.)

Selecting pieces to write about was difficult. Each one was a wonderful discovery. I decided to write poems about pieces from New Guinea. I liked the textures of reeds, feathers and carved woods. All of the pieces show the cultures’ connection to the land and their desire to honor the generations.

I took photographs, made sketches and wrote down information. I have found that writing poems about ancient artwork also becomes part of my story. I will write poems later after thinking about the pieces.

Next stop was the Offramp Gallery to drop off artwork as a donation for the “Benefit Art Sale supporting Jade Bemiller’s Fight to Beat Leukemia.” Jade is four years old. The art community is joining in to help bring support to the Bemiller family.

As always, Offramp is a hospitable place. Nice people, good conversations and wonderful art being donated. My piece is called, “Transparent Holiness.” The show is July 17-31, 2011, 1702 Lincoln Ave. Receptions: Sunday, July 17, 2-5pm and Sunday, July 31, 2-5pm.

A friend also brought beautiful fabric scraps for me to use in future textile creations! The best surprise was to see the Bemiller family with hugs all around. Jade is a brave little girl with a big smile and hot pink shoes.

Please stop by and see the shows at the Pacific Asia Museum and at Offramp Gallery.

“EARTH VOICES” Poetry Reading

I was the featured poet for The Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga on Sunday, May 22, 2011.

“Seed pods crack open drumming the sidewalk
floating on air. Seeds land on blue and white
stripes. I select just the right walking stick.”
(excerpt from my poem, “Seeds, Streams and Diamonds)

I asked the audience to select just the right walking stick and join me on a poetic journey. I read my poems and shared my art quilts that go with the poems. This art quilt is called, “Peace.” This is a popular artwork inspired by a personal retreat to Oak Glen, CA. I shared several poems about nature experiences and nature as metaphor.

Several poems followed about relationships and the meaning of home. People enjoyed my apron collage of fabrics from around the world and the doll dress with a poem on the apron of childhood memories. I shared some of the stories behind the poetry and the artwork. I ended by reading some new poems. People commented that the presentation was peaceful and inspirational.

There were open mic readings before and after my presentation. I enjoyed listening to the many poetic voices. A big THANK YOU to The Village Poets for inviting me. This is a great community of poets. The picture taken at the end of the evening shows the joy of this group. I love how they are “dressed” in my artwork!

Photos by Heather Rinne, Julie Shaffer and Maja Trochimczyk

THE INTERVIEW

Why scarves and when did you start making them?
One year ago I was preparing for an outdoor show. A friend suggested that I have something practical to sell. I got the idea of making scarves because wearing them is practical to me! I like the idea that one size fits all. It’s fun to create wearable art.

What makes your scarves unique?
They have a narrow collar so it doesn’t bunch up at the neck. They are my collage style with the two sides different from one another. I use unique fabrics. Many of the fabrics are re-purposed. Sometimes I create my own fabrics with my original artwork and text. There may be hand embroidery or beading.

What’s new?
I write a poem in response to the imagery on the scarf. The poem comes with the scarf! A new shape is a long and narrow scarf.

Why “Green Leaf Enwrapped” as the branding?
Green leaf represents newness. The scarf wraps the body and says the wearer is special.

Note: All photos from a presentation at COLORS91711 in Claremont, CA. Thank you to models Helle and Heather!

THE ARTIST LIFE – modern & ancient

A very special time in Santa Monica to celebrate my friend, Kesa Kivel, receiving a 2011 YWCA Focus Award for her work in the community. Before and after the event I explored art exhibits.

BERGAMOT STATION IN THE WIND
A visit to Santa Monica just about blew me away literally as I visited several art galleries. As a fiber artist, I noticed many art works that used the stitch in some ways. I saw a lot of photography, figurative painting, and cut paper.

Steven Hull has a creative installation at Rosamund Felsen Gallery. I found out that Steven also publishes collaborative books combining art, literature, and design. He works with Tami Demaree, Annie Buckley, and Jon Sueda. I purchased a book of short stories.

A few shows I also enjoyed: “we’re not here to waste time!” nena amstor, miyoshi barosh, and nava lubelski at Luis De Jesus Los Angeles. “Year of the Dog” featuring Judy Pfaff at Greenfield Sacks Gallery. “Available Light” with Suki Kuss at tag Gallery. “Plexagraphs” by Michael Eastman at dnj Gallery.

A visit to see several art exhibits offers a good opportunity to notice how the art work is hung both technically and in the space. Seeing art sparks my own creativity. A small notebook gives me a place to capture my own ideas to think about later. For example, in thinking about how to include my own poetry in my art work:
1. As label
2. As border
3. Blended in
I can decide what I like or don’t like.

THE GETTY VILLA IN MALIBU
From contemporary art to ancient art in one day! I found a book where photographs of sacred places were on one page and collages of dried flowers on the facing page. I was fascinated with the combination of image with tangible elements of the earth. I have a studio filled with dried plants, moss, and branches. Possibilities!

I always enjoy seeing the ancient glass that looks so new. Today I seemed captivated by fragments. I saw a face painted on the linen that was used for mummy wrappings, a wood fragment with an image, and a fresco.

A VISIT TO MY ARTIST ROOTS

I just read in a newspaper that it makes a difference to take children ages 5 through 9 to an art museum. This comment certainly rings true for me. I grew up in the midwest. I’ve been away for many years. Last month I returned to a place I consider where my interest in art, specifically Asian Art began.

I wanted to see the contemporary art wing that had been added to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. A journey through the snow brought me to this place of memories. I enjoyed this new contemporary art building. A good collection of paintings and sculpture.

I also wanted to visit the Asian Art rooms. I felt emotional as I approached the displays. This room with a life-size presentation of a temple has stayed in my memory. I lingered here for a while.

The other rooms were changed. I found out that instead of putting all the paintings together, the rooms were arranged by period. This made a beautiful presentation with paintings, ceramics and furniture combined. I was alone in these rooms and enjoyed the quiet. I was young when I took art classes here. The building itself is amazing. I got to hang my paintings on the wall.

I ventured into an exhibit called, “Cultivating Nature: Printmaking for Painting in 17th Century China.” I like how Asian Art expresses so much using a few strokes. In High School I used to copy famous Asian paintings using watercolor and ink. I like how the scrolls often include poetry. I studied the poetry too. All of this is a part of who I am today as an artist.

VISUAL POETRY WORKSHOP

I led my first visual poetry workshop at First Presbyterian Church in San Bernardino as part of a Worship Renewal grant. The participants ranged from age 3 on up! This was a new experience for most of the people. They did great. It was a rich day of honoring one another.

The first exercise was a collaboration. Using my art quilts as inspiration each person wrote on a 3×5″ card a part of the poem. Each table was a group. The cards were randomly put together and read as a poem. Some were serious and others were humorous.

Now they were to imagine interviewing something from nature using my photographs as inspiration. The day was beautiful so some decided to go outside to write.

Back inside people shared at each table what they wrote.

Time to collage selecting images and text that were meaningful for each person.

After creating a collage, each person wrote a walking poem. They were to pretend they were taking a walk through their images. One person from each table shared their collage and poem!

A wonderful day expressing words of life for a new year!

TAKIN’ POETRY TO DA STREETS

I have had the best time reading poetry and sharing my art in several venues in the last month!

I began with a “Bohemian Salon” in the studio of Quinton Bemiller in LA Chinatown. The building was an old ice house with the original wood floors. I presented a program called, “Assembled Stories” which included my poetry, art work and music by world music artist Roberto Catalano. Roberto and I selected instruments to go with the tone of the poetry. I enjoyed performing for friends and making new friends. The evening also included Myron Kaufman and Jackie Tchakalian reading Myron’s children’s book, “Jack and Kate.”
Next up was an art reception at Shear Perfections hair salon in Redlands, CA. I was happy to be in a show with my good friends Aeron Brown, Jean Hall and Shannon Heinrich. Here I am in the shampoo bowl room!

Aeron planned to play music outside on the main street downtown. He read about my performing in Chinatown and asked me if I would read some poems at our art reception. I had never read my poetry randomly on the street before. I thought, “Why not?” It turned out to be a wonderful experience. Aeron played guitar as I read. People stopped to listen to my poetry. One young girl was beaming as she listened to the poems. Others began to dance! A great experience for me.

The last event was a poetry reading and art work performance at COLORS 91711 in Claremont, CA. This is a wonderful, creative space for fiber artists. People are welcome to come and work on projects. It was a rich experience to read poetry while people were creating their own art work and while people were shopping. This is a warm and welcoming place.

I shared some of the stories behind the poetry. It was exciting to have people share their stories too as they connected to what I was describing. They enjoyed the art work too.

Diana and Cathy are the owners of COLORS 91711. I have known them for years. They are wonderful friends, supporters of the arts and supporters of the community. Here they are modeling my “Green Leaf Enwrapped” scarves.

FALLING TOWARDS THE EARTH WORKSHOP

This workshop began with the questions: “How would you feel if you were falling towards the earth? What would you see? How would you move? Students had fun sharing their answers. These questions also helped them approach this class with a fresh perspective. This is the Surface Art Association of Southern California. A very willing group of students who enjoyed experimenting with different materials to create a fiber collage.

Students experimented creating the collage elements using a variety of tools and surfaces including: drawing with a stick or feather, using acrylic inks, Setacolor, Lutrador, dryer sheets, rice paper and silk. It’s fun for me to watch them experiment and make new discoveries.

The created collage elements are combined with other fabrics and fused onto bamboo batting. No sewing machine needed! Each student made the work their own voice. Here’s a few of the voices!

I decided to change mine to a winter landscape after returning to my studio. My starting point of snow and stars did give me inspiration. I used some of my photographs for the water and tree shapes. This art quilt brings back memories of spending some winter vacation time at Big Bear Lake when the kids were little. Also of growing up in the midwest. The title is, “The Trees are Sleeping.” Size, 10×14″.