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Art as Solace

 

The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possible can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”
― Kurt Vonnegut Jr., A Man Without a Country

The murders in Las Vegas last week…

The lives, homes, and livelihoods lost to the fires in California… A guild-mate’s son and his wife evacuated from their home…

Puerto Rico and Mexico City and other areas that are still drowning without the basic necessities of life today…

Friends living day-to-day with health issues… And threatening insurance issues…

The anxieties of what seems to be a whole generation of children… Including mine..

Last week we were trying to wrap our minds around what would make one man angry enough to kill as many people as he possibly could. This week: still no answer. Meanwhile the political climate in the country drops farther into the toilet, and a President smugly tells reporters that he has a North Korean secret, Na-a-na-na-na! Americans are a nervous bunch these days.

Art as consolation
Image from http://www.punediary.com/quotes/2016/10/art-life-heartbreak-vicent-van-gogh-quotes/.

Everyone’s worn out from disasters, the natural ones and the man-made. Weekends, I’ve taken to not bothering with the news other than what I read in the paper and see on my home page. I’ve got to take a breather from the barrage of awfulness coming in. I’d much prefer to head off to the mountains – and we’ve got plenty of those to choose from here in New Mexico – to hike and hide in a cabin for a few months days. Not happening. For one thing, my rheumatoid arthritis has been acting up, screwing with my lower back. Time to try a new medication. I’m lucky; I have a good health plan we can afford and a good rheumatologist. But she can’t help with the other problem. Tom and I lost our empty-nester status last week. The kid’s back…

Maybe you read the post on August 16, “Studio under construction.”  Then again, maybe you didn’t. Long story short. Kid stormed/moved out in March. Tom and I left the room for months, assuming she’d be back before long. Finally, in August, we (meaning Tom; I told you my RA was getting uppity) patched the holes in the walls and painted. Because I’ve outgrown my kick-ass walk-in closet and laundry room as far as hooking materials storage goes, I ordered the big IKEA shelves with cubbies. I was getting me a studio!

Art as consolation.
There’s certainly nothing better than God’s art, nature. Is this not a most beautiful rose? It was the only one in the garden at Casa Rodeña in Albuquerque last Friday evening. A little miracle of color and design.

 

You know, somewhere just after that the hurricanes started. Why, why did I think that it would all go down the way we planned? Even before the shelves were delivered (a few days late, I might add), the stories of roommate and other issues started in earnest. Texts appeared on my phone after 10 p.m. Like a phone call in the early morning, those are never good. And…suddenly she and her minivan were back.

I’ll give her, she’s neater this time. So far. And there’s less yelling. So far. It appears that she learned that Mom and Dad don’t necessarily make the worst roommates. The devil you don’t know can be…the devil! So, no studio. Tom and I are off to Lowe’s tonight to check out shelving for the laundry room. That’ll help with my explosion of t-shirts, wool, ribbon, frames, and other hooking paraphernalia.

In the meantime, I hook. And not just because I have three more selling dates before the end of the year and an inventory is soon due into the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center. Nope. I hook because I can control whether or not I hook and what I hook. Color, design, materials:  those are all up to me. I hook to distract myself from the things I cannot control:  natural disasters; US politics and all they affect; gun violence; illness – my own or others’; my child’s anxieties and her struggle to become an adult. I hook to create something NOT BAD. More than that, I hook to ensure that there’s just a little more beauty in my world today than there was yesterday.

Art becomes diary-like, following and documenting the shifts in popular and not so popular culture, art encourages us to not just look at the past but to look forward to the future and to exist in a moment.

–Erin Veness

Art as solace.
Tynan doesn’t make art. He presents it for me. But that’s okay; he and all dogs are their own special form of consolation for human beings.

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“Hatch Chile” rug

Another busy, busy week. There are acceptance letters to get out for the Fiber Arts Fiesta happening here in Albuquerque – GASP! – next month. Yesterday was a demo day at the BioPark. The second part of the class I’m teaching up at Española Valley Fiber Arts Center meets Saturday. We’ll be finishing up the little rugs we started last weekend. And I really need to whip the larger, blue rug I’ve entered in Fiesta. Not a small job. Sewing through t-shirt is definitely harder on the hands than sewing through soft-as-butter wool. The RA doesn’t exactly help.

Best news: Tom and I haven’t been able to get away from home alone in almost 9 years when we vacationed on Jamaica’s quieter southwest coast (skip Montego Bay; it’s far more interesting down south.) We’ve recently – and rather suddenly – become empty-nesters. Not being sure how long it’ll last, next week we’re trying to take a few days down in Silver City (New Mexico) south of here. There’s food, artsy-fartsy stuff, and mountains to hike. Yes, Tynan is insisting on coming. He’ll appreciate the hiking most of all. (We keep having to tell him “No green chilies for dogs! Not even on burgers.”) Now I have hotels and such to research. No worries; I’ll have plenty of pics and southwestern inspiration to share when we get back. Hopefully, we’ll get a full week to vacation…somewhere TBD after Fiesta.

In the meantime, “Hatch Chile” is still the current rug on the frame. (Though I did start another small mat last weekend during my class. More on that later.)

Dog on hand-hooked rug "Hatch Chile" rug
Tynan resting on “Hatch Chile.” No, he’s not relaxing. It was much too close to the magical dinner hour last evening. “Hatch Chile” is being hooked in up-cycled t-shirts and bed-sheets.

So, other than Jean Ottosen over at JLT Studios who heads off on a South Korean adventure soon and my fellow guild member Nancy Huntington who’ll soon be in Indonesia diving with the fishes, where have you been and/or where are you going to find new inspirations for your artwork? Share with us!

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“Resting” in December and looking to hooking in 2017

Mug and rug.
A mug and its rug to welcome the cold winter months of 2017.

 

The calendar tells me that there are 15 or so days left to December and 2016. The 15 prior to today – and many more before them – seem to have just come and gone in a rush of mug rugs and holiday fairs and fall visitors and holiday preparations and meetings for this and that. Add in a dollup of family issues and arthritis crap, and I’ve realized that something’s gotta give or I will.

Fortunately, I’ve actually managed to get most presents bought and my cards and packages posted. (We were hoping to get back to New England this Christmas, but the kid has to work, so no dice. We will DEFINITELY be there next year!) Now I need to take some time, not really to rest per se, but to recharge and start thinking about 2017. That means sitting down by myself and playing and planning. The “by myself” part is the BIGGIE. Social media’s been a constant bug in my ear lately – the blog, Facebook posts for myself, H on H, and my guild. Hell, it takes so much time just to delete all the holiday offers I’m getting in my two mailboxes every minute of every hour of the last two months! And then there’s the stuff I actually want or have to read! It’s time to get off of the merry-go-round for a couple of weeks. Oh, I know it won’t be a complete black-out; I’m not that good. (Plus I’m nosy.) Still, I need to remember what it’s like to enjoy sharing something rather than feeling as if life on earth depends on my posting it.

What exactly will I play and plan, you ask? Don’t worry; I’ve got plenty to keep me busy for a LOT LONGER than I have.

  • First and foremost, I have to get my class proposal to the Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center. Should’ve had it done last week, but that’s the holidays for you.
  • Since I’ve been going on about Albuquerque’s Fiber Arts Fiesta coming up in May, I really have to get on that stick and get my own project started. I’ve been running things through my mind for months, and I think I know what I want to create. Well, I almost did; it changed some last night in bed. Different lightbulb went on keeping me up. It’s time to run with all the ideas, mock them up, whatever. The thing is due for jurying come March 1. That’s like two months away! Gotta get to work.
  • Website and other business stuff. Jean Ottosen‘s been so good talking about her
    Picture of FIfth Wednesday Journal's current edition.
    Newest issue of Fifth Wednesday Journal.

    business changes and challenges, that she’s inspired me. It’s time for a more formal approach. Jean, be warned! You may get a call.

  • Reading and reading and reading. I love to read, but this time of year, I don’t get a lot of pleasure reading done because it has to wait till I get in bed and you all know what happens then. Make no mistake, I’m reading plenty – at least two short stories each evening. I read the slush pile for a great lit journal, Fifth Wednesday, from October through January (and again in the spring). It’s a labor of love, particularly this year as we’re reading  for the twentieth anniversary issue. LOTS of authors are sending stories in hoping to be included. Some are good, some aren’t. But it’s a great chance to switch up that creativity thing.

 

Mary Ramsey hooking a rug in December, 2016.
AWAG President Mary Ramsey working on her mug rug doo-dahs (see last week’s blog post). Notice how the glass she’s holding matches the wool so perfectly.

In between all those “workish” things, there’s always time for some fun. Yesterday the Adobe Wool Arts Guild celebrated the holidays and another happy year hooking together. Dagmar Beinenz-Byrd of ZiaWoolz hosted marvelously. There was food and a fiber-themed Yankee Swap And food. And hooking. And fun. Always fun. I got so lucky when I moved here and joined AWAG. I love my guild.

Darlene Nelson holding up hooked rug in December, 2016.
Isn’t Darlene Nelson’s wood man exquisite?

 

Linda Towle hooking a rug in December, 2016.
Linda Towle was working on her owl doodahs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wish you all a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and here’s to 2017! See you in a couple of weeks!

 

Pic of snowman mug rug in December.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from High on Hooking!
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Taking stock

The rug I was working on as I moved last summer. "Welcome to New Mexico."
The rug I was working on during last summer’s exodus: “Welcome to New Mexico.” Since then I’ve been taking stock of our first year here.

 

Taking stock – that’s what I did with some of the time I took off from the blog these past couple of weeks (which passed by REALLY QUICKLY). July 30 held particular significance and not just because it was the day before my kid’s 19th birthday. This year it marked exactly one year since we rolled into the state of New Mexico to stay.

Wow! We can’t believe it either. At times it’s been tumultuous, there’s no denying that. The holidays, they were tough without family and friends. The kid crashing her car – no injuries other than to pride! – means that just like in high school, Tom’s stuck driving her back and forth to work till she saves for a new vehicle.

Big picture, though, the move’s been most everything we wanted.

 

Where Tynan and I walk in the Bosque along the Rio Grande.
Where Tynan and I walk in the Bosque along the west side of the Rio Grande. This is city living Albuquerque style.

CLIMATE:
Certainly, the weather’s wonderful: lots of sun, lots less winter (compared to New England). One day last January, we hiked in the snow on the east side of the Sandia Mountains then drove the 45 minutes to home where it was 55 degrees. No need for a stinkin’ snowblower here!

 

RUG HOOKING (this is a hooking blog):

You'll find many of AWAG ladies demonstrating rug hooking at Albuquerque's Biopark the first Tuesday of most every month.
You’ll find several of us AWAG’s ladies demonstrating rug hooking at Albuquerque’s Biopark the first Tuesday of most every month.

Who would’ve guessed that there’s such an active guild of hookers out here in Albuquerque? I’ve made some great friends this past year, even one, Melinda, who moved from New Hampshire about the same time I moved from Massachusetts. Now the two of us try to get a hooking afternoon in each week. Better yet, she and her husband are New England Patriots fans just like us. Tom and I are no longer alone in a sea of blue and orange Bronco fans.

 

"Desert Gone Wild" went to a good home just last week.
“Desert Gone Wild,” a table runner or wall hanging, went to a good home just last week.

As High on Hooking, I’ve managed to start selling pieces and been involved in not one, but two shows. The Adobe Wool Arts (ATHA) guild volunteered me as our representative to Albuquerque’s Fiber Arts Council which is currently planning next May’s Fiber Arts Fiesta. Then back in January, three of us headed down to Tuscon in Arizona for a hook-in with the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers. It was 80 degrees there! In January! I even managed a little sunburn!

 

You can't get much closer to a balloon without being in the basket. This one landed behind the house last fall.
You can’t get much closer to a balloon without being in the basket. This one landed right behind the house last fall.

 

 

 

 

HOUSING:
While we didn’t down-size like we planned (hey, with no cellar or attic, we realized we needed an extra room for the treadmill and bike), we found a great house close to the Rio Grande. That means the dog and I can head out to walk the scenic trails of the Bosque (the forest) whenever we wish. In summer this is best done in the early morning hours.) So far we’ve come across a snake, hawks and hummingbirds, lots of bunnies and geckos, two coyotes, and, just last week, a porcupine.

 

Tynan running free in the Bosque. Like, Just like New England, autumn is the best time to be in New Mexico.
Tynan running free in the Bosque. Just like New England, autumn is the best season to be in New Mexico.

 

 

PERSONAL:
I turned 52 this summer. Moving here signaled the start of the next half of my life. (You think I’m optimistic, but one of my grandmothers died as an active 93-year-old, and the other is still very much alive.) One reason we moved here — besides the BIG sky, the art scene, and there being less people — was for the outdoor lifestyle. We like to hike. Unfortunately, a couple of months before we left the east coast, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I won’t lie, it’s been a pain in my ass, amongst other places, but especially for my knees. That’s limited our hiking some. But I’m on a new med; here’s hoping it works without too many side effects (the scary kinds they recite to us in all the TV ads). And that the damn hot flashes stop soon. (I am 52.)

20160522_121931
On the trail again at Tent Rocks.

Luckily, though, while my fingers have swollen some, they’ve suffered little pain. Maybe all the hooking keeps everything lubed up. Thank goodness. I know that most of you feel like I do: hooking is therapy. Without it, life would, to put it bluntly, suck.

Life here in Albuquerque definitely does NOT suck. There are all kinds of new experiences:

 

Tom posing in Tent Rock's curves.
Tom posing in Tent Rocks’ curves.
Navajo rugs up for auction.
Navajo rugs up for auction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could go on, but I won’t right now. There’s too much to do. Rugs don’t hook themselves. Plus, we have company coming early September through mid-October. I can play Julie McCoy to the relatives.

 

How’s your summer been going?

 

Mass ascension at Balloon Fiesta 2015. Have you ever seen so many balloons in one place?
Mass Ascension at Balloon Fiesta 2015. Have you ever seen so many balloons in one place?

 

"Welcome to New Mexico", 29.5"x20", $225, Recycled t-shirts
High on Hooking says “Welcome to New Mexico.” Stay for a while and see why we love it here.
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Escaping the city

On Route 4, the Jemez Mountain Trail, somewhere around Jemez Pueblo.
Southern Route 4, the Jemez Mountain Trail, somewhere around Jemez Pueblo.

 

Escaping the city heat was only one of the things on our minds yesterday when Tom and I headed off for a day out. The kid’s been driving us crazy, my RA won’t stabilize, and once in a while I need back-to-nature.

 

Much as I like Albuquerque, I come from a succession of small towns in Connecticut then Kansas then Connecticut again and then Massachusetts. Albuquerque’s got a population of just over a half million. Sure, it’s spread out – much as most western cities – but that can make for a butt-load of cranky-pants people driving in 104 degree weather.

 

Soda Dam is a 300-foot long natural dam created by mineral deposits from a hot spring. Very cool.
Soda Dam is a 300-foot long natural dam created by mineral deposits from a hot spring. Very cool.

We’d promised the dog that he could get out too, so northward ho the three of us went. Mountains sounding coolish (compared to here), we headed up the Jemez Mountain Trail, a national scenic by-way, towards Los Alamos. Enjoy some pics!

 

Welcome to Battleship Rock; it marks the confluence of the Jemez River and San Antonio Creek. Yesterday it also marked the location of a nascent forest fire. Maybe you can see it to the right of the rock. Fortunately, the fire was contained by last night. Especially fortunate as I took the photo standing in the driveway of a YMCA camp, and I could hear all the kids int he mess hall.
Welcome to Battleship Rock; it marks the confluence of the Jemez River and San Antonio Creek. Yesterday it also marked the location of a nascent forest fire. Maybe you can see it to the right of the rock. Fortunately, the fire was contained by last night. Especially fortunate as I took the photo standing in the driveway of a YMCA camp, and I could actually hear the kids celebrating someone’s birthday in the mess hall.
Vibrantly green conifers all over the mountains.
Vibrantly green conifers all over the mountains.

 

New Mexico - it's not all brown and dry. We hiked about a half-mile down to the stream, but my knees opted not to continue on to the hot springs.
New Mexico – it’s not all dry desert. We hiked about a third of a mile down to the stream, but my knees opted not to continue on to the hot springs.
Really, the only clouds we saw all day.
Really, the only clouds we saw all day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To come around a curve and find...this amazed Tom and me. It's the Valles Caldera National Preserve. It's one of the largest volcanic calderas in the world, about 17 miles in diameter. You might have seen it on the news this week. A woman running a marathon stumbled upon a mama bear and her three cubs. Thank goodness she lived to tell the tale.
To come around a curve and find…this amazed Tom and me. It’s the Valles Caldera National Preserve. It’s one of the largest volcanic calderas in the world, about 17 miles in diameter. You might have seen it on the news this week. A woman running a marathon stumbled upon a mama bear and her three cubs. Thank goodness she lived to tell the tale.
I loved it up there so much that the next plan is to spend a couple of nights in Jemez Springs when we get a chance. Tynan's happy; there are a couple of little motels that allow polite dogs to stay.
I loved it up there so much that the next plan is to spend a couple of nights in Jemez Springs when we get a chance. Tynan’s happy; there are a couple of little motels that welcome polite dogs. He can be very polite. As long as we give him lots of snacks.

Will you be escaping the city this summer? Where will you go? What will you do?

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