Adventures

The gallery opening at the Silk Weaving Studio last evening was very nice. We were a leetle too warmish by the time we walked down there in the hot sun though. It’s a pretty tiny studio with lots of people schmoozing and even though it’s right next to the water and both doors were wide open, it was warmish inside as well. The weaving was worth it anyway. I was joking that it was a test to see if we could tell which pieces were Chisako’s and which were Kate’s! They blended together very well. Chisako tends to use mainly very fine silks with a few other yarns such as bamboo and wool/stainless steel (really!). Kate’s yarns are a little heavier but she gets amazing deep textures with bubbles and shirring. Some wool yarns help to create the textures when they full and shrink and the silks don’t. Kate also makes more clothing items where Chisako tends to let the cloth be itself as scarves and wraps.

After we’d had our fill of chatting, drinking wine, smelling the silks, ogling the lovely textiles and admiring the baby silk worms, we were still hungry so we headed to a little Granville Island café. We shared a half-litre of organic wine and ate yummy crab and avocado sandwiches outside in the quite shade of Railspur Alley as the sun lowered. Very romantic! I guess T-Man and I finally got our 36th anniversary dinner only 2 days late. We were too busy on Tuesday to celebrate.



Switching topics, I received a box of books that I ordered so look forward to some book reviews in the near future. As a matter of fact, I’ll start with one that I’ve managed to pretty much read through already: Art Doll Adventures by Lisa Li Hertzi. Li has a style of work that I totally love, not cute at all but kind of funky and not all the creatures are human-like. The book is subtitled “Exploring Projects and Processes through Cultural Traditions” which doesn’t really give you more of a handle on what to expect. Think African mask, petroglyphs and ancient goddesses. Or see her website which isn’t very extensive because it’s currently under construction. The author is also a graphic designer and it shows in her book which has more than just her dolls in it. She includes ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) and journals as well as other artists’ interpretations of her patterns. There are hints and tips on creating your own personal doll that doesn’t resemble hers at all and also “adventurer’s” options for each which may include PaperClay or modeling compound and paint. She even lists creative exercises on how to make art out of the patterns themselves! Instructions range from very detailed to vague suggestions so you can choose your comfort level. As icing on the cake, Li is also a very talented writer and she gives some interesting background on the cultures, ancient and more modern, that she presents. It also helps make her instructions fun to read as well as hopefully easy to follow. As you can probably tell, I enjoyed this book quite a lot. Whether I actually make something out of it anytime soon is another question. But then that's true of any of my books and magazines.

I’ll be heading out in a short while to have lunch with Darling Daughter. I finally get to give her the fibre prezzies that I got her at the conference as a thank-you for looking after cats, house and garden while we were away. There’s a bag of camel/wool called Caramel Swirl and some yummy bamboo that I almost kept for myself, even though I bought two 150g bags of it so I’d have one for me and one for her. I finally came to my senses and realized that I don’t really need both of them! (Besides, if necessary I can contact the vendor and order more. Heh.) I also came across her old Christmas stocking which I have to admit is pretty darned ugly but I’ll ask her if she wants it back. I quickly made it out of cheap felt when she was only a few months old so just use your imagination. To give you a better hint, my son’s equally ugly stocking was rejected by his dear wife as terminally tacky. It’s ok. I’m not heartbroken about it. Much. I’m sure DIL has plenty of time with 2 small children to make a better one. Oh wait…that’s the same reason why mine were so quick-and-dirty! Mothers of small children don’t have any spare time. Snort!

I shouldn't be so snarky, should I, when I have a whole sinkful of dishes left from yesterday and dinner the day before to do. I don't have any excuses except that I was concentrating on getting my studio back and then we went out and didn't get back until after our usual bedtime last night. Off to do them before the dirt becomes permanent.