The Library

In the age of instant gratification, easy credit with your credit card, online ordering made simple, and the non stop bombardment from advertisers telling us what we need to buy, it is easy to overlook the simple things. I myself am a book-o-holic. I go to Chapters every couple of weeks, grab a latte at Starbucks, and head for the section with the art books or the craft book section. I cannot tell you how many knitting and sewing books I own. Some I never even make anything from. As you likely know yourself after awhile all of these purchases tend to add up, not to mention the fact your books are overtaking your home. I usually end up once a year dragging boxes full of items to the second hand stores to donate. So imagine my surprise one day when a friend asked me "Why don't you check the library for the books you want?". The Library? You mean that old place with the 50 year old books ? The place that never gets any new books in? The place where I checked out all 50 Nancy Drew books one by one when I was a little kid? Surely in this new and enlightened age of the internet the library had become obsolete and irrelevant.

Still, as I looked at my maxed out credit card balance I decided anything was worth a try, and boy, had I been wrong. There were books by my favourite mystery writer. There were current magazines. They even had season one of True Blood from HBO on DVD! I even realized that I could check out if they had the book I wanted online from the comfort of my own home! I blushed at my own ignorance. Best of all I could check something out for free.

As I write this I am getting ready to head down to the Library to check out three books from the "The Not So Big House" series. I was all set to fork out over $100 online to have them delivered straight to my door. I have decided to work with what I have in my house, even though it is over 100 years old and small. This will save me money and help the environment, but I'll save that for another blog. In the meantime, the library just saved me $100. While I'm there my six year old can rifle through the kids section, and I might read the latest Knitters Magazine. Happy Reading!

Great New Contest for Those who Love to Sew!

Check out Burdastyle for a brand new, and very top secret, contest. In today's newsletter I found out they are going to send out patterns to a variety of sewers to be altered, and those who do the best job will have their work featured! Sounds pretty exciting to me! I entered my name and now I will cross my fingers in the hopes that I get picked. The lucky entrants will also be sent the fabric they will use. Go to Burdastyle.com for more information, and good luck!

The best way to learn is to teach

Sometimes being a teacher teaches me. Right now I am teaching all of my students various forms of linear perspective, which can get pretty tricky indeed. My grade 11/12 class is learning how to draw in 3 point perspective, and sometimes I get confused as well. Today I realized that I had given out some misinformation when one student asked me to explain a certain angle that she had draw following my instructions. It didn't take long to realize I had lead the whole class astray. I managed to figure out my mistake by working through the problem in front of the class. Now I will be sure to remember it next time, and I think I have cemented my learning in that area from the experience. I am a firm believer that in order to really learn something you need to roll up your sleeves and work through a problem via trial and error. Experience is the best teacher.

Cake as Art

I just made my first attempt at decorating a cake with Fondant. Luckily I had already backed the cake the night before, because the process took me 3 and a half hours last night. I was exhausted when I was done. I wanted to be creative, and I think I achieved that. keep in mind this cake was for a boys 19th birthday, so it needed to be fun but not feminine. No flowers. After this experience I have decided that I will never try to become a cake decorator for a living. Strangely working with the fondant was like working with clay. You had to make a fondant and water mix to "glue" pieces onto the cake much like you would do with clay slip. You had to handbuild everything and let it dry to a point where it would hold it shape, not unlike you might do with clay to make a mug handle, for example. I decided to buy the fondant colors already made instead of trying to color them myself. I am actually thinking of taking the picture I took of the cake and making an art quilt, as I love the colors and the feeling of fun I get when looking at it.

On a side note, I bought all the supplies for the cake, including the checkerboard cake pan and fondant, at Michael's Crafts. I should also warn you they are not cheap! This cake is going to be eaten tonight by my son, his friends and my family as we have a little surprise dinner for him at The Keg. I can't wait.

Green Challenge

With Earth day upon us tomorrow I thought a good topic to discuss would be options for those creative types who want to be Green. You might want to check out knittingdaily.com where they have a green challenge and also feature a new knitting book called Knitting Green. While I haven't personally gone through it yet it's gotten some good reviews and contains several neat projects. Another book that I have recommended in this blog is the Alabama Stitch Book which is all about using old t-shirts (or organic cotton ones) to make something new. I have made 2 projects from this book and LOVE it.

Unfortunately in the world of fine art many of the materials we use are toxic, such as paints that contain cadmium, turpentine, bleach, etc... I for one have been bad for sanding pieces of pottery or mixing glaze without a mask on. Very bad idea! Breathing that dust can cause lung disease. Alternatives are becomming more available however, such as low odor turpentine, natural plant dyes, organic cotton, and the list goes on. I recently saw a new art book that gave recipes for making your own paint and other concoctions. It's called Green Guide for Artists. It sells on Amazon and is also carried by Chapters. I have seen sculptures made from recycled materials, and multi-media pieces which also have recycled elements.

If you know any other great Green art resources I'd love to hear about it.

Latest Creations

As I mentionned yesterday I have done a few things creative, such as use up the last of a block of porcelain clay (I use Tucker's MCS Cone 6) and threw 2 bowls and a small vase. They came out of the kiln this afternoon and I was glad to see the glazes turned out OK, especially the ultra clear (cone 6) on the white bowl. I've had a few issues lately with areas turning white. The other bowl was Pam's Blue (coyote glaze) and the vase was a combination of Blue Rutile and True Celadon around the upper lip ( I think Laguna).  Although I have tons of chemicals to make my own glazes I am using the commercial glazes now because I simply don't have the time to weigh and measure and then cross my fingers for my own concoctions. My favourite glaze is called lavender filagree from Laguna ( crystalline cone 6) and when fired correctly produces amazing small gold crystals. The only drawback is that it's not food safe, so it is purely decorative. One final note. For the sides of the Pam's Blue bowl I used shaped cardboard that something had come packed in and pressed it into the sides. Enjoy!

Correction!

Recently I wrote a post about one of my new favourite books "Chic and Simple Sewing" where I stated that size large in the book was an 8-10. The author, Christine Haynes, who was kind enough to read my blog, pointed out that a large was actually a 10-12. My apologies! While I am on the topic of that book, I have been working away at grading the pattern for the wrap dress up to a size 16, so I am hopeful that my second try will be much more successful than my first. I just like the pattern so much that I decided it was worth the extra time and effort. I hope to cut it out in the next couple of days. Happy sewing!