my latest projects

Here are a couple of embellished/appliqued items I have made for friends.... got two done in one night! That always feels productive.

Also, I have started a class at a local school. The students range in age from 10 to 15 I think. They are studying the Medieval period. Since that usually entails only European history, I wanted to give them a broader scope of the world, to talk about peoples in other cultures. So we are making 3-D figures, focusing on Asia, Africa or LatinAmerica. The example I started is of a Mayan nobility. Fun to make jade jewelry out of painted cardboard and stones. Feather headdress out of painted corn husks, etc. I want the students to learn a little about the culture in general, and also about what materials were of value (ex: for the Mayans it was jade, gold, quetzal feathers, jaguar skins, etc as well as cacao, shells), what adornment was like and who adorned themselves.

I also want them to push their creativity thinking about what recycled materials to use. Plastic bottle caps for Mayan ear plugs? Corn husks as feathers?

We'll see how it turns out! I am excited about it and I hope I can transmit that same enthusiasm.

Hora de Cuentos

HORA DE CUENTOS
Story Time

SLO Library, Today!! September 14 at 4:15
Vengan a disfrutar cuentos y canciones y celebrar el Bicentario de Mexico...
Viva Mexico!!

an amazing creative husband have i

Que vivan los esposos creativos!!

This is my hats off blog entry to my amazing husband who stayed up late at night all week and got up early to go work. Why? Because he had a vision for this amazing new costume for stilts (which we presented today at the SLO Symphony POPS concert!). He can sew, he can build, and the more colorful the better!

Our friend Jesus had the idea of basing a costume on the Danza de la Pluma, from Oaxaca. So we made it! And felicidades to Jesus for managing the weight of that penacho, headdress!

"La Danza de la Pluma originated from Mixtec and Zapotec dances in Oaxaca under the influence of the Spanish colonizers. It incorporates the struggle between Moctezuma and Cortez, paganism and Christianity." (www.newmexico.org). It is still performed in Oaxaca and dancers take the commitment to learning the dance very seriously, committing for 3 years

CHAOS, que viva!

C

so, i am trying not to think too much about the other blogs i see about Super Crafting Moms with artfully, magazine-photo-shoot worthy work spaces who also homeschool and grow all their own produce. those moms are inspiring.

but my reality is different. nothing to complain about. my life is FABULOUS! i love my family, my jobs, my friends.... my only struggle is with CLUTTER!!! are there more of you out there? i suppose it is better to have a cluttered, artistic house than a boring one. yes. i just secretly wish i would win an oprah magazine contest and have a professional over to magically transform every room into zen like spaces.

so here's a photo for every crafty person out there with come artful CHAOS going on! Que viva el caos!