Why Art Matters: LHOTR Barn Quilt

Two Why Art Matters in a row? It's an artsy winter here! 

Getting acquainted with the community at the little house, we were enthralled with the sheer number of quilt squares adorning barns, houses, and businesses in Osceola County. Apparently, quilts are quite the thing: 

Osceola County Quilt Trail

So of course, I wanted to contribute to the public art movement and create one for us. The inspiration came from the wildlife in our woods and river, and my project became Four Friends. 

The blank canvas. This is a 4' x 4' square for the side of the shed. Barn art squares are 8' x 8'.

Mapping out the squares and the appropriate colors. This organizational method helped, at first. 

Border down.

Most patterns feature geometric designs, but since the next door neighbor's quilt window is an owl, I wanted to complement their theme. I looked for patterns on Pinterest and found the four that worked just right - a deer, a fish, a cardinal, and a fox. I bought the patterns on Etsy - shout out to Ellis and Higgs, Sew Fresh Quilts, and MaGalina for their designs. Always pay your artists. 

Now I had to copy them onto a big sheet of plywood!

I hooked a fish. 

My biggest challenge was working on a new medium, that being a porous sheet of plywood with an uneven surface. Taping helped create a guide, but I was frustrated by bleeding under the tape, no matter how hard I pressed to create a sharp edge. I ended up scratching the burrs away with an Exacto knife, and filling holes with a ruler and a marker. 

Work on the cardinal and fox was a two-for-one job. 

I technically started the cardinal first, taping out the design. Since it had more angles and colors than the fox, I would paint a section of the bird, then fill in a little bit of the fox. Back and forth, then suddenly, I had the two panels completed. 

Will's reaction? "Whoa - I love the fox!" 

Next, I had to tackle the deer head. Man, I could have chosen something easier... 

Those antlers were a pain in the neck. 

The initial design is complete, but it's missing something...

The deer head needed a lot of love and a lot of angles. I started by using tape, but it became more of a hindrance than a help, so I freehanded it, using paint, paint markers, markers, and straight edges. I filled it in with a couple of layers of paint, but the panel still didn't look finished to me. It needed some green to tie it to the other three.

I incorporated some light gray birch tree trunks and some leaves into the background. I'm not crazy about it, but everyone loves it. I kind of wish I had done a frog in its place, but leave it alone or else I'll tweak it to death. The spray sealant only works at 55 degrees or warmer, so it's currently chilling in the basement until spring. I may add more green as a halo around the deer's head as if he was peaking through a bush. Plans are to mount it to the shed, so we will see it as a welcome every time we drive up. 

Why Art Matters: Audition (Fools Who Dream)

I cherish the vulnerable beauty of this scene. 

I watched La La Land on a plane back from Texas in November. I was taken by the performance of Emma Stone as Mia, particularly her performance of the song Audition (Fools Who Dream). We watched the movie on Christmas day, Dave for the first time, and agreed that Emma was magnetic in the role. 

As a creative, the message of the song resonated with me.  As a kid, I happily worked on my little projects: replicating Laura Ingalls sewing projects based on the descriptions in the book (my apron was awful as I had no idea how to do gathers); creating word game puzzles similar to the Mini Pages from the Saturday paper; and writing short stories based on the real and imagined adventures my friends and I would have, each kid in my class given an alias character. I remember for a time selling to friends, for a quarter apiece, tissue packs where I drew flowers on the tissues that I lightly scented with a spritz of Avon perfume, wrapped in Saran Wrap, and sealed with a Hello Kitty sticker. 

But kids also suck and hate anything outside the norm. Far too often, I was desperate to fit in and not be "so weird!" But then the creative urge would strike and I was off on a tangent, getting obsessed with wealthy philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and spending a day working on getting just the right shade to his eyebrow in a drawing to include in a report for school. This was not cool behavior. 

Probably one of my biggest regrets was caving into that peer pressure in high school and not ever trying out for a part while in drama club. I resigned myself to the sidelines, working on costumes, set design, and signing up to join Carla on the makeup crew. Even then, I was too shy to participate in opening night festivities, sitting in the audience and pointing out to myself which panel I had worked on or what costume I had pulled together. 

Hey, if you never stick your neck out, then no one can cut you down to size!

I probably would have gone full bore as a theatre kid. I had a tendency to burst into song.  

As an adult, I've done ArtPrize, figure skating, this blog, and now guitar. My logo for AN09 is now enshrined in the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Another logo is embedded in ice in Holland, posters in Walker, and banners at Southside. I've won Best in Show for jewelry, received grants to create paintings, and been given free race entries for sharing my stories/inspiration to run. And then there was the cigar box purse craze of 2004.

So who knows where your madness will lead you. Thanks for the inspiration to keep dreaming, as foolish as it seems. 

How About That Other Resolution?

I love Alex Lifeson. I cannot play like him, probably never.

Oh, my fake gig! I copied the sheet music for my set to have up at the cottage to practice at my leisure. I managed to make it through the whole thing several times while on holiday break. 

While I’m working my way up to chords, I’m tackling flat and sharps, no longer ignoring all those # and b’s in front of notes.

Big difference. I’m getting the right tones instead of twangs and suddenly the song Something is flowing off my fingertips. 

I love having guitar picks and will use them but I’m finding I can control the tone better using my thumb. The music flows better and feels more organic. 

I still want to keep my “set list” at 10, so in order to add another Beatles song, one of the songs selected in December has to go. Or is this my encore…? 

As for other resolutions, my songwriting skills are somewhat lacking but as you can see, I have posted song number two! I like where I was going with it, but I’m thinking country bluegrass isn’t my thing. It’s awkward but I’m also trying to stick to the no self-editing commitment as well. 

2023: Secret Life of Objects

The theme of this book is simple: the author tells stories of her life based on how she obtained an object: a coffee mug, a pair of shoes, and a prayer book.

It was an engaging method of storytelling, by setting a timeline and tying seemingly unrelated objects together in a cohesive portrait. Dawn’s objects lean heavily towards dishes, which makes sense as food and meals create community. 

This is reminiscent of another book I loved, Life, Love, and What I Wore, the author telling stories through tunics, ties, evening gowns, and purses. 

As a theme for my own storytelling, I’m going to give this a try. I certainly have pieces with a story to tell. How about telling the story of obtaining this book?

New Year's Eve, 2022. A gray winter day up at our cottage, and the mission was a short road trip to explore some of the resort towns in northern Michigan. Our travels took us up to the town of Frankfort. We discovered charming shops, community art, and several little free libraries. I keep a bag of books in the car for exchange and found this one. Traveling east, we found more libraries in Empire, where we stopped for a glimpse of Lake Michigan. 

That’s a chilly landscape.

We also stopped at North Peak Brewing for a late lunch, the three of us splitting a huge bowl of mussels in a rich garlic broth. 

Coming home, I settled in and read it and three other books while the boys watched football.

For its next life, I will gift it to Cara, she who gave me Life, Love, and What I Wore many years ago. 

January's Song: Canning Jar

This is what summer looks like to me. 

Goal: write a song a month, with the resolve to not self-edit or worry if it’s crap. This one feels folky, a bluegrass country twang. 

Let me try, a rally cry

A challenge so unfamiliar. 

A task from the past made new,

In a quest to save the fruit. 

Baskets and quarts of produce,

Cherries the star! 

Peaches and cherries and blackberries too,

To fill my canning jars. 

Berry berry berry so bright,

Capturing the summer sun.

Berry berry berry so light, 

A task so right, so fun. 

Boil the water, stew the berry,

Taste test on a biscuit. 

Trying grandma's methods, 

passing it down. 

To save for winter's breakfast. 

Berry berry berry so bright,

Capturing the summer sun.

Berry berry berry so light, 

A task so right, so fun.