Art is Bustin' Out All Over

From a gloomy Monday start, with early sunshine vanishing behind cloud, and my own mood not quite up for another day in the saltmines, this turned into a festival of art and discovery and excitement and all around good stuff.

I was in the studio this afternoon, after several hours of nursing care and cooking and organizing for tomorrow's cleaners' visit, including setting up a Spring gift of hand decorated eggs I blew and painted for their whole family, working on a paper weaving that, if it works, will be in an exhibit in July.

And while I was up there, there was an excited ringing at the door two floors down...and there was my girl scout award seeker, all excited and wanting to fill me in on the progress of her first of four workshops.

The first one, on sand art, was evidently very well attended, which I was so glad about, since the only part we couldn't control was getting people to show up. Well, they did and she and her mom came running across the street to show me some of their works, which were actually great fun. Kids age 7 to about 14 showed up.

Tomorrow is the fiber art workshop, and her mom said even more were planning on coming, and she thought she might have to go shopping for materials again. So I said, no, no, no, I have a stash designed for this kind of situation.

So the daughter and I went off to search out a whole lot more interesting fibers, cotton, acrylic, wool, different textures, different contrasting colors, and she went home loaded down with useful stuff. She kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to give all this, and I explained that she is now part of the happy band of artists who are forever giving each other materials to work with! I was glad to part with a lot of yarns and strings, to a good home.

So that was great fun, because after all the work we all put in, it was great for her to have a successful start to her four workshops.

Luckily the work I was doing in the studio wasn't hurt by the interruption, so back I went and did the next stage of the paper weaving, and suddenly remembered another young artist. My own son, who did very exciting lovely stuff, miniature beautiful drawings and paintings and very funny commentary and collage, from found objects and movie tickets, all that, Schwitters style.

We have a current exhibit at the local Art Museum; which I have not yet seen, the exhibit, not the Museum, that is, of Schwitters (if you're not familiar with him, look him up, he's a Big Gun). That made me think of HS's work in his late teens. Much photography and uploading ensued, resulting in today's post in Art the Beautiful.

And I remembered that, in the course of doing that sale of bits of jewelry the other day, I had found some jewelry pieces I made myself from clay I pit fired, and wire, and thought I'd blog in Art the Beautiful Metaphor about it. But then realized that the current theme is Young Artists, so I've been bumped from my own blog, not qualifying as a Young Artist, except in the metaphorical sense that artists never grow up, and I figured, oh well, I'll just sit here alone in the dark and show my friends my bits of jewelry.



Click on the image, then click again to get an enlargement and read the explanatory tag.

These pieces, remaining from quite a few I sold years ago, will probably end up as components in a tapestry currently in progress. I have one kind of art in the studio on the third floor, my yarn supplies in a room on the second floor, and my tapestry work and blogging on the ground floor. House of Art, that's us!

All in all, a great day for everyone concerned.