This scary individual is actually a copy of just one of da Vinci’s scuba suits. In 2003, some chick named Jacquie Cozens actually attempted a dive in a similar suit. Apparently, she had “limited success,” whatever that means.
The last two weeks of June tend to be the hottest of the summer here in Albuquerque, so Tom and I headed off to the very much air conditioned Museum of Natural History here in town. It was more of a targeted visit; a Leonardo DaVinci show has been ensconced there since February. It’ll be gone by next month, so we saddled up the Accord and headed into Old Town. Thought I’d share a few pics with you, then you won’t have to go yourselves. While it was a nice exhibit and contained a fair bit of info on Leonardo, it wasn’t worth the $22 per person ($20 for seniors!). Maybe if there had been his actual paintings and such rather than digital copies, etc. Still, inspiration and stories were everywhere!
“La Bella Principessa” was a nice, little portrait. It appears that this baby was holed up in someone’s cellar or collection for centuries before anyone thought that it might’ve been painted by da Vinci. They thought it was by some German dude.Okay, this is cool. They had copies of some of da Vinci’s notebooks. This recorded his ideas on a GIANT horse statue that he spent years planning for some patron. In the end, he never built it. But the drawing is wild.
Who knew the dude was so into theater? Not only did create sets and such, but he created costumes too. Yes, he took up thread and needle and sewed! Not an interactive exhibit, so I was not able to entice Tom to try on the scarlet cape and tights.
I just liked this one. It’s “Cartone di sant’Anna” OR “[Cartoon] of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist.” Sure it’s unfinished (never made into a painting), but I’d still recommend going to the National Gallery in London to really see it, the real painting, I mean. Not that I have…Have issues with your neighbors whether they be next door, in the next town, Mexico or Canada??? This giant crossbow wasn’t available for purchase, but I bet it could do the job for you. Da Vinci was BIG into weaponry.
Perhaps you prefer a tankfor your military needs? Those tubes sticking out of the bottom, which round the whole machine, are the guns.
Because our tickets included it, after perusing the da Vinci exhibit, we thought we’d hang in the planetarium for awhile. One piece of advice in case you happen to catch a show: Bring a parka! Don’t care that it was 98 degrees outside. In the planetarium it was January in Minnesota!
The reality is that this week’s going to be even warmer than last week. Hooh, boy. Guess that means I’ll stay in and hook. What a hardship. Oh, well, there are shows to apply to. And I’ll be loading up the Etsy shop with more goodies too, especially as…I finally sold my first rug there! Woohoo!
How are you keeping cool this summer? Movies like the new Jurassic Park? Museum visits? Lucky enough to live near a beach (like I used to)? Or just holing up in the AC with friends? Share your plans here!
A new mug rug set: “Meanderings.” And it’s all wool! Not a t-shirt or bedsheet loop in sight. It “debuted” at Albuquerque’s Rail Yards Market Sunday.
So last week’s post was all about making changes; not necessarily BIG life changes, but the small ones that you hope really take hold. This week is about the progress I’ve made in the last week. Or not made.
The good news:
I did not turn on my laptop two whole days last week.
I managed to make one journal entry. And one is better than zero.
I did NOT freak when I decided not to pass on various blog and Facebook posts.
After such a busy two months, I finally got to clean up some of the dirt and clutter piles that had grown in my house. I have more to go vis à vis “life clutter,” but more on that later.
I’ve realized that looking at Pinterest just before I go to bed results in brain-racing and too many ideas all at once which in turn results in no sleep. Knowledge is power…when I choose to use it.
Today I took a whole day to make a field trip with friends. Cathy, Melinda, and I headed up to Española Valley Fiber Arts Center to drop off some guild donations. After that we investigated a thrift store (where they were selling four – 4 – iced tea spoons for $600!) and had a leisurely lunch in Santa Fe. No one looked at her phone during the meal. (I think.)
The bad news:
I spent more time on my phone and tablet on the days that the laptop was off. At least I can’t play Scrabble on my phone. Thank goodness; the game is a HUGE time-suck.
While I’m glad about being off the laptop and doing other non-electronic activities, certain things haven’t gotten done that need to be done, particularly, updating my Etsy shop. That’s a definite negative especially as I’ve sold a couple of listed items at shows.
Since I can’t seem to come up with another negative, it appears that there’s been progress. We’ll see what happens this week and beyond.
How about you? How do you manage the whole balance thing when it comes to electronics, real life, and what you really want out of that real life?
Tynan brings you “What’s on the frame” this week. It’s long and narrow. Hang it horizontally over a door or vertically down a wall.
After a super busy two months of fiber art shows and vending, spending a slow three days at Casa San Ysidro last weekend demonstrating and attempting to sell gave me some down time, a chance to think, to come to a few epiphanies.
This was the kick-ass set-up that Cathy and I had at last week’s Heritage Days and New Mexican Fiber Crawl, both happening at Casa San Ysidro in Coralles. They were very generous in providing us space; what a change for us! Though we both made sales, we hope that next year there will be more vendors and better publicizing of our location in the Crawl.
Hooking and husbands Cathy Kelly and I would have a wicked hard time (yes, there’s still some New England twang left in this now Southwestern girl) vending without our husbands Bill and Tom. (Sorry, never got any pics of them Sunday evening.) Between my recent RA flare-up and Cathy’s emergency appendicitis (the same night as our last vending gig!), those display grids were not going up or down by themselves. Thank you, Bill! Tom, unfortunately, has been suffering his own autoimmune failure – gout – for the last two or three weeks, but he gamely showed up with iced tea and helped with break-down. Hooking – it’s best when it involves a village, but it’s nothing without a helpful spouse.
Living or reading about living?
During last weekend’s New Mexico Fiber Crawl, we were at Casa San Ysidro from about 9:15 to 5:00. Those were three long days, and we didn’t see the traffic we expected. But what a great place to hang and hook! By the time I made it home each evening, though, my laptop was the last place I wanted to be. So, I wasn’t. Lo and behold, the world didn’t cave in because I didn’t share as much on the three Facebook pages I manage (my own two and the guild’s). Don’t get me wrong. I managed to do most of my daily computer and email “toilettte” on my phone as I sat enjoying the weather and the ambiance of the old casa’s courtyard. But I didn’t worry much about passing anything further down the information highway. Sure, if a blog or Facebook post came along that had an easy share button, I’d click it away to others. If not, oh, well…
Here’s how “Zinnias” looked finished. Now to get them up on the Etsy shop.
This got me to thinking about how tethered I am to seeing info and, more importantly, passing it on. Which I generally think is a nice thing to do for everyone. But it takes time, time I want back. Summer is perfect for letting go of the self-imposed idea of me as the town crier. After this weekend’s Rail Yards Market, I’ll have a couple of months with only one gig each before fall festivals and such heat up again. I have products to make, a BIG rug on the Anderson frame, a friendship rug to finish, and a whole slew of new ideas running through my brain after I turn off my light each night. And…I think it’s finally time to try some weaving. Starting with a triangular loom, but it’s a start.
So…actually working, playing, and experimenting more are on tap this summer, less so reading and passing on other folks’ work, play, and experiments, much as I like to do all that. Don’t take it personally, anyone. And thank goodness that Instagramonly requires pressing that little ♥ button. We won’t even mention my late night Pinteresthabit right now.
Change happens
Awhile back I mentioned how I really wanted to get back to writing short fiction. I spent years writing and even had some bits published. It was creative and incredibly challenging. But emotional family issues got in the way making it difficult to access the place in my head where
Not about writing or even hooking. Just about freeing your time up to do the things you want to do, making a change. I was getting pretty testy; with everything going on, Tom and I hadn’t managed to plant anything this spring. We live in New Mexico; it all could’ve gone into the ground or pots over a month ago! Finally did some today like this mini-succulent garden. We managed it without the usual domestic squabbles that crop up when we do this kind of thing. Even after another very prickly cactus kept biting us.
stories came from. Hooking showed up too, gradually taking up more and more of my available time. Frankly, making rugs, visual art, is easier for me, and it’s been quite healing. Still, every few months I’d beat myself up and drag out the pen and paper. It’s part of who I am I’d tell myself. After countless false re-starts, though, sometimes we have to grasp that CHANGE REALLY HAPPENS, and I think I’ve finally gotten to a point in my life where I can admit that writing short stories is more about who I was. It’s a hard thing to admit, but it’s where I am NOW. And it’s rather freeing. Fiber art’s it for me right now. I’m happily looking into things to become better at and new techniques to try. Maybe I’ll even pick up my journal again now that I can ignore the guilt monster. Even better, it gives me more time to read. There are so many great books out there just waiting for me!
Like I said , ramblings… Nothing earth-shattering; in fact, most is stuff I already knew, but so often we need a good reminder about just those very everyday things in our lives. Three quiet days can give you that, can remind you of the life you really want to live.
Happy Memorial Day, all! Remember those who should be remembered. And enjoy this first summer weekend.
Tynan’s back with this week’s “What’s on the frame.” It’s three mug rugs destined for Sunday’s Rail Yards Market here in Albuquerque. After that, I’ll have a bit of a break and finally be able to clean up all the clutter-piles that have collected around the house these past two months. Tom’s been very patient, but don’t tell him I said that. Usually, I’m the clean one.
For now, though, enjoy the aforementioned eye-candy from the Water shows.
Where you can find fiber arts eye-candy till June 3. Go now!“The Gorge/Water Cycle” by Judith Roderick. Hand-painted silk art quilt. The picture can never do this justice, but note how the bird is also part of the gorge.Close up of “Blue Water of the North/Feng Shui Series” by Donna Loraine Contractor. Wool on cotton tapestry.Oops! How did my own piece slip in there? 🙂 “Memory of Water” is hooked with plastic bags on monks’ cloth.
“Leaves and X’s in the Ice” by Nancy Wohlenberg was made using a discontinuous tapestry technique; four selvedge technique. Love this!Heidi Anderson felted alpaca and merino wool to create: “”Water is Life Seed Pot” on the right and “Olla” on the left. so cute!Part of “Germinating” by Linda Rael. Dyed fabric, stitching.
A close-up of Linda Rael’s “Water is Life.” Dyed, painted, stitched, and found objects.
“The Day Begins” by Linda Rael. Hand-dyed and recycled fabrics, found objects. This crane really “stood out.”
“Mayordomo” by Linda Rael. Mixed media. “Mayordomo” is the guardian of the acequias or the water ditch master.
A close-up of “Rain Dance” by Linda Rael. Stitched, beaded doll.“Mountain Snow,” a handmade felted coat created by Vicki Anne Evans. Lovely, but I put that on, ketchup will drop from the sky right onto my boob.
“Novena for Rain” by Catherine Kelly (and my friend and Adobe Wool Arts guild mate. Multi/fractured piece of traditional rug hooking, felted wool, yarn, and beads.
And lastly, though not the best shot, Cathy and myself in front of her piece. Perhaps we’re really the fiber arts eye-candy… Regardless, I still think that they should’ve had wine at the opening reception. Your thoughts concerning beverages at art receptions: wine versus ice water with stupid lemon slices. Let me know in the comments.
