Studio Notes - February 2024
On the South Island of New Zealand, a beautiful country with equally beautiful people. This early spring image shows the abundance of mountains, lakes and vineyards seen in the central region. It is worth the (very) long trip in every way.
Have you ever found yourself avoiding a recurring task because you can’t fulfill the schedule you set for yourself? A workout every day. No time. Sketch in sketchbook every day. Huh-uh. Call Mom every Sunday. Too late for that one. Well, I might add “send newsletter each quarter to the good folks who have signed up for it” to the list of lapsed commitments.
At some point, one has to say that working out every other day, drawing when there is something to draw and calling someone else you love when you think of it might be just as good a way to go. So here I am with a bit of non-news in the winter quarter.
I never know how much personal stuff to throw in here but since it has an effect on the studio I will tell you that I am recovering (nicely) from hip replacement surgery four weeks ago. No big deal, as these things go, but there are limitations involved. Limitations in movement, in time taken for physical therapy and in energy.
However with several events coming up this year, plans are afoot and I can feel the return to normalcy. Off to the studio!
To read
Maine Crafts Association has an important program, the Maine Craft Apprentice Program, which matches an established artist with one who is starting out, changing gears or wanting to develop new skills. It will be my pleasure to work with Meghan Hall for the next seven months to devise a career change from landscaping to textiles. More information here and while you’re at it, take a look at the other pairs who were selected this year as well as those from the past.
To see
Have you ever seen a solar eclipse? It remains one of the most vivid memories of my childhood when one was visible in Indianapolis where I grew up. At that time, I thought that they would happen all the time. Not so. On Monday, April 8, a total solar eclipse will be visible in the US in a narrow swath cutting from Texas to Maine. This article lists some of the opportunities and also some warnings for seeing it in Maine. The fact that it is only possible because of an unfathomable bit of astronomical luck is, to me, a reminder of the power of chance in our lives.
To do
The Penobscot Nation Museum and the Hudson Museum at the University of Maine have received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to document and create an online lexicon with images of Wabanaki basketry. The history and belief system of the Wabanaki are closely linked to basket making and so this endeavor will go far in preserving a valuable way of life and will make it available to all of us. Watch for it.
Of the hundreds of images I took in New Zealand (one could take thousands and still miss some good ones), these two are particularly lovely to me. They might have been taken anywhere, I suppose, but they seem emblematic of a kind of calm reserve and respect that I now associate with the South Island.
Coming up
March through September: CAP Mentorship Program with Meghan Hall. Exhibition opens October 4 at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Edgecomb, Maine
May: Filming for online course offered by Fibre Arts Take Two here in the studio in Portland and at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine.
September 19 to December 9, exhibition as yet unnamed at Cove Street Arts, Portland, Maine.
Summer, winter. Winter, summer. Depends on your hemisphere. Wherever you are, be safe and have fun.
All best,
Lissa