stitched stones for sale

A collection of stitched stones has gone to The Crossing Arts Alliance online shop. As you may know, TCAA is a lovely little nonprofit arts group that does good work in greater MN, for which I happen to work.

If you are interested, please have a look at their shop. There is some great work from fellow MN artists there that is surely worth an ogle.

Thank you!

tutorials, openings, and general busy-ness

Regular busy-ness at work with grant writing, meetings, and the like, coupled with the opening of our children's art exhibit and a basket weaving class the next day, a segment on the local radio station, and two appearances on our public television station is enough to wear ya right out.

In the midst of that I taught two rabbit workshops to some truly lovely people, and began work on writing my "how to stitch stones" tutorial, which I hope will help people manage some of the basics and gain some confidence in creating them.

A glance at my week...

Over 400 people came to the opening of our 'Young at Art' exhibit celebrating children's art work.

You have to have fancy finger food at gallery openings. We made sure the kids would enjoy it. These are nilla wafers with a mint cookie sandwiched in between with red and yellow icing to look like little hamburgers. The "fries" are shoestring potatoes.

We had a whole group of kids and grown ups come to our Second Saturday to learn to weave baskets. We provided two projects, one involving reeds, and one where kids wove yarn into plastic berry baskets. They all turned out just great. 

25 people, over two days, learned to needle-felt bunnies. My favorite part is how they all turn out differently. These two were made by young twin girls who hung in there for the long 4-hour class. They did so well!

The lovely Zoma traveled up for the class and made such a sweet little bun.

I also made some prototypes for my next needle-felting workshop - cacti. I think this one will be fun. I'm also working on a couple of wet-felting workshops but am trying to find just the right space to hold them in.

All good stuff, but I'm ready for a little nap and a curl up on the couch with a cuppa.

For those that celebrate, have a wonderful Easter.

felted heart brooch workshop Feb 11 and 12 2017

Local friends, come out and join me for a needle-felting class at the Franklin Arts Center. I'll be teaching for The Crossing Arts Alliance, a swell little non-profit (that I happen to work for) located there.

We'll be making a puffy little heart brooch and embellishing it with stitches. We'll be working through some of the challenges of sewing on this type of surface, and maybe adding some beads too.

If you're interested, visit Crossingarts.org for more information.

Last weekend I taught a pincushion class and had a great time. There are a few images from that class on my facebook page. We had a lovely group of ladies and they all did a wonderful, creative job.

It feels good to be back in the creative saddle (so to speak). And as I commented to someone on Facebook, being around these wonderful women, creating, is a special kind of salve.

I really enjoy teaching, and I'm hoping to do more of it.

 I'm working on that now, reaching out to groups locally and regionally.

Someday, I hope to have my own special space where creative souls can gather, share, learn, and where I can surround myself with wool and happiness, and make a living. It's my dream, and I've plan to say it out loud from time to time so the universe can hear me and I can be reminded towards what I'm working.

xo Lisa

upcoming workshop at The Crossing Arts Alliance in Brainerd

I'll be teaching a bird class in Brainerd on April 9th.

Details can be found HERE

a new stone

A late work start today gave me time to stitch a stone. Inspired no doubt by the number of bug egg casings I've been looking at lately. Is that weird? Maybe. But mantid oothecas are pretty cool looking.

I brought the stone to work with me and it is now residing in the TCAA online shop. 30% of the sale (if it sells) will go to support TCAA's mission of promoting and enhancing the arts in our area.

You'll also find a number of pieces from talented Minnesota artists there with new things added weekly. If you'd check it out and keep it in mind for your gift-giving needs, I and the other artists it supports, would be so grateful.

TCAA ONLINE SHOP

Altar - How I Pray

A sneaky peek at a piece I made for the 'Hank of Hair, Piece of Bone' exhibit, opening this Friday at The Crossing Arts Gallery.

This piece is called 'Altar - How I Pray' and is made entirely of wool.

Some of the elements have been wet-felted but then needle-felted into the scene. A stitched stone lays at the base of the form as an offering.

I have two other pieces in this show. If you're local, stop out and see us Friday night and enjoy a glass of wine and chat.

You can find details about the show HERE, and I'll try to post more photos of my pieces after the show opens.

so much good stuff

Here's something different. Last week my youngest boy and I took a cigar box guitar workshop being offered by my work (The Crossing Arts Alliance)

Neither of us play the guitar, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to learn the art of low-brow luthiership from maker and talented tattoo artist Tony Powers and co-teacher Brent Shepard.

These two have made CBG's from everything from cigar boxes to oars and cookie tins. In the hands of Tony and Brent these things sound great.

We were given the basic pieces of the guitar to assemble, decorate, and string.

My boy with his new geetar.

Everyone added their own flavor to their instruments.

Mary from LPTV was there to film and you can see the clip here

You're surprised to see mushrooms on mine, right?

This class was so much fun. The teachers made it very accessible and were able to handle any missteps we students made, and it was so cool to have one of them playing throughout the class, giving us hope that we might make something that sounded half as good. And, it's always fun to learn something new, right?

On Saturday I spent the day at a TEDx talk and have come away feeling really inspired and uplifted. I was also introduced to the music of Corey Medina, who moved from New Mexico to Minnesota (on purpose), and I am utterly entranced.

So much good stuff.

What's been inspiring you lately?

my bowls for Empty Bowls

Our second annual Empty Bowls fundraiser is coming up this Saturday, and I'm so proud to be a part of this event. Last year we raised $5000 for the local soup kitchen and we hope to raise more this year.

I am donating a couple of bowls this year, including this little mushroom-inspired one, which by the way, has sparked inspiration for me in a big way (more to come, hopefully).

If you are not familiar, Empty Bowls is a nationwide grass roots effort to raise awareness of, and combat, food insecurity in our communities. Next Saturday, Oct. 24th from 11am to 2pm, The Crossing Arts Alliance in Brainerd will be hosting the event at the Franklin Arts Center. For a $20 donation, guests are invited to a simple and delicious meal of soup and bread, and are invited to choose a handmade bowl to keep as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world.

If you are local, I'd love to see you. I'll be running around but will be adequately name-tagged so please stop me and say hi if you make it out.

I've had a big week and there are other things I'm excited to share with you.

'Til then.

my 8x8 piece

We're having a fundraiser where I work in which almost 50 of our artists have created artwork on 8"x8" canvases that will be sold starting Sat. Oct. 10th. We were to make a piece that was representative of our "style" and this is what I came up with.

The first thing I did was to take the canvas off and use just the frame. I needled my scene and, in wanting to keep the 8"x8" size, "framed" my piece with leather belt pieces.

It looks at home on the forest floor but it's actually meant to hang on the wall.

Those ants found their way into my piece, I'm sure, because of this encounter.

For those of you that are local, please join us on Oct. 10th from 10-2 in the Crossing Arts Gift Shop in the Franklin Arts Center for this fun sale, mingling, and snacks. Each of the pieces will be available for sale for $50 or you can take your chances and place a bid at $25. If no one outbids you by the end of the month, the piece is yours. There are some beauties to be had, and it's for a great cause.

Happy Sunday, all.

acorns from an Oak

A little bit of fun. Wool acorns in an...Oak.

A quarter a piece for the curious soul who encounters this gumball machine in The Crossing Arts Gift Shop. They would be pretty easy to overlook, assuming that they were regular gumballs, but I'm hoping some people will give it a closer look.

owl be having a class and it will be a hoot

(sorry for that title, that was terrible)

I spent some time yesterday working on some wee owls for the next class I'm teaching.

I've found a great group of women in my community that are excited about learning to needle-felt, and we add a few new ones to each class. We needle and chat and have snacks and it's great fun.

The next class will these little guys.

hoo!

A tree full of wee hoots.

This owl will not have any of your shenanigans. He will not have them.

This owl might not either.

Each is simple in shape, perfect for a beginner, but fun enough for someone who is more experienced.

The class will be Dec. 9 from 5:30 to 8:00

at the Franklin Arts Center in Brainerd, MN

More details to come.

upcoming workshop - needle felted gnomes Nov 18

Local friends, I'd love to see you there!

Nov 18 6-9pm

Franklin Arts Center

Brainerd, MN

$20 fee covers all materials needed to make an adorable gnome, Santa, or wizard.

Students get to keep their felting mats and needles after the class.

Come on out!

Empty Bowls in Brainerd MN Oct 18, 2014

One of the things I've been working on at my day job at The Crossing Arts Alliance has been putting together our very first Empty Bowls project.  For someone who is slightly obsessed with handmade pottery, I have pretty much been like a kid in a candy store this week while the bowls are rolling in.

For those that aren't familiar, Empty Bowls is a national project that works to raise awareness of food insecurity and provides a grass-roots way to earn money for those groups who are combatting said food insecurity.

So here's how it works.  Our potters, including some from two area high schools, have donated their time to make 500 bowls.  We've solicited donations of soup and bread from area restaurants and food vendors.  For a $20 donation at the door, attendees are treated to a simple meal of soup and bread and get to take home a handmade bowl of their choosing, as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world.

Coolest part...because of our generous supporters, we are able to donate ALL of the proceeds to our local soup kitchen, Sharing Bread.  If we sell all 500 bowls, we will raise $10,000!  That translates to 5,000 meals for hungry community members.  Our soup kitchen serves roughly 65-85 people daily so that will make a big difference. (have I mentioned that I love my job?)

bowls by Haddie Hadachek of Black Bear Pottery

detail of bowl by Midori Marcum

bowls by Midori Marcum

bowls by Cyrus Swann

bowls by Tim Nelson

platter by Haddie Hadachek

As a thank you to our generous potters we're also having a clay exhibit, The Language of Clay, featuring their work.  The show opens this Friday. I can hardly wait. Though I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a day (or two) of rest after all of this is over.

If you find yourself in the area, Empty Bowls is this Saturday from 11am to 2pm in the lower gym at the Franklin Arts Center, 1001 Kingwood St, Brainerd, MN 56401.

First come, first served.

$20 per person

Oh, and did I mention the soups?  Chicken Artichoke Brie, Garlic Basil Tomato, Chicken Dumpling... yes indeed, this will be a good day.

Hope to see my local friends there!