WHAT’S NEW • Left Brain Musings

• New Year. Hallelujah!
New Work to Share

I can’t imagine I’m the only one who is not sad to bid goodbye to 2020. Not that there wasn’t anything to be joyful about. At the top of my list? We welcomed another lovely granddaughter to our family. That makes three of them! And it’s pretty clear that the world is profiting from the presence of more and more strong women. We’re just doing our part.

Working with The Society of Arts and Crafts as they mounted their first online CraftBoston Holiday show was also a highlight. Yes, sales were made, but equally important was expanding my circle of friends as I “met” and learned from other participating artists in ways I might not have had time for at the live shows of the past. Whatever format they choose to utilize, I will be grateful for any opportunity to work with these great people in the future.

And while there were times when I wanted only to retreat into “regular” knitting in order to self soothe, I continued to find inspiration in materials and diverse visual imagery. I’ve added images of some new pieces to the One-of-a-Kind Necklace Gallery so please click on over and have a look. One of my favorites appears below.

Lastly, if you are in the Philadelphia area, I urge you to stop in at The Gravers Lane Gallery in Chestnut Hill. I’m always grateful to have  my work shown there alongside so many gifted and inspiring artists.

I feel positive changes brewing for this coming year. I choose hope. I hope you will too.



• Good grief! What a year!
Looking Back. Looking Forward.

Artist Photo - Square

LOOKING BACK:

Personally:    Every day in this past year of so much challenge, I have tried to be grateful for what I have while remaining mindful of the losses endured by so many. Reaching out when I’m able to offer sympathy and support. But somehow it never seems enough. But we do what we can and encourage others to do the same. What else can we do? If you can think of it, try to do it.

Professionally:   So many “Thank you!”‘s owed…

…To everyone who found their way to this site in the last year and especially in the last two months. Many as a result of my participation in CraftBoston Holiday Online 2020 and others who found their way, regardless of how you got here. More visitors than I’ve ever had. So many pieces going to forever homes. May they bring you as much joy in the wearing as they have to me in the creating. So grateful!

…To everyone at The Society of Arts & Crafts, sponsors of the CraftBoston shows and so much more. As I saw them pivoting from live shows to virtual ones, I was blown away by the amount and quality of work done by such a relatively small staff of individuals devoted to the advancement of fine American Craft. So many opportunities for artists to share both our product and our process. I’ve learned so much. I’ve “met” and connected with other artists in ways that a live show doesn’t always afford. I am in their debt.

… To the staff at Gravers Lane Gallery in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bruce, Barbara, Boin. Not sure you will ever know the extent to which your ongoing support is invaluable to me. I will never take it for granted.

LOOKING FORWARD:

What to say? Hope is a word I can now use and really believe in what appears possible. There IS real light at the end of this pandemic and politically corrosive tunnel. But there are still weeks and months (and years?) of continued strength required. Let’s not give up when we are so close. Let’s do what is asked of us. Wear a damn mask. If at all possible, stay home. Respect the fact that the health of one can affect the health of many. We can do this. Please do this. So we can be together again. It is my fondest wish.

Happy New Year everyone. This year, let’s work to make it more than a hackneyed expression. Thank you.



• Reflections on the Craft Boston ’20 Weekend That Isn’t
I Choose Hope

Craft Boston '20 postcard  

 

So many situations these days offer us reasons to be happy or sad, hopeful or fearful, grateful or resentful. You might even experience all of these feelings in a single day.

Today was to be the opening of Craft Boston Spring 2020. I was so looking forward to a wonderful weekend back in the Cyclorama with my sister/best helper Dulcie Flaharty by my side, connecting with friends old and new and being inspired by the creativity of artists from all over the country.

So today I am both happy for my memories of years past and sad not to be there now. But also grateful and hopeful. Grateful to my friends at The Society of Arts and Crafts for choosing the image of one of my necklaces for the show’s promotional postcard. (You can see a full image of the necklace, Meander II, if you scroll down on my One of a Kind Necklace Gallery page HERE.) The postcard never made it to the printers because, well, you know. But we live in a digital age. So there’s that. And I choose to be grateful.

And last but certainly not least… There are heroes out there in the world. Every day kind of heroes. Never more than today. More to be grateful for. And we will make it through this together. So I choose hope. Always hope. Please stay safe.



• NO-SHOW-TIME
Perspective in the time of a Global Pandemic

These are challenging days. My heart breaks for such loss of life and financial hardship for so many and I send out heartfelt sympathies to those who are struggling. By comparison, as the gallery opening and two juried shows I was looking forward to have been either canceled or postponed, losing the opportunity to share my work in person feels like just a temporary inconvenience. It is absolutely the responsible thing to do. I am, however, an eternal optimist. So I choose to believe that, mindful of the extraordinary personal loss for so many, the world will eventually return to some semblance of normal. And when that time comes, I hope to be back sharing my work in a manner more personal than on this website or on Instagram.

We all need to find some source of light in days that can feel so dark. Personally, pictures and videos of my children and grandchildren are the last things I look at before going to sleep and they give me the happiness and peace to rest. Professionally, I am spending lots of time in the studio. But for the first few weeks of self quarantine, I found that I needed to return to “mindless” knitting – a scarf, a baby sweater – the kind of soothing knitting I have done since I was a child. The urge to get back to my knitted jewelry is slowly returning. Ideas have once again begun to bubble up and it won’t be long before those creative voices will not be denied and I’ll return to “work” knitting.

But for now, I hope no one will take offense at my sharing what was a last bright, professional light for me as we entered into these times of concern and uncertainty. It was this necklace I made as a commission secured for me by my terrific gallery director Bruce Hoffman at Gravers Lane Gallery. A regular client had purchased a fabulous Sarah Nolan silk coat (pictured below, both front and back) and was interested in a necklace to wear with it. She admired my work in the gallery and asked if I’d be willing to design a piece for her to wear with the coat. She had fairly specific parameters but was fondest of another piece of mine that she asked I keep in mind when creating her necklace. I haven’t taken commissions in years because they too often resulted in work more to the client’s taste than mine. But the coat was so fabulous and the client turned out to be really open and excited about my preliminary proposal, so together we forged ahead. I was thrilled (and relieved!) to learn that the buyer is very happy with the result. So is the maker.

Please take good care everyone! We will make it through these times. All together.

Pink Coat Commission

Pink Coat Commission - Front

  

Pink Coat Commission - Back



• Wake Up Call
Boston’s Society of Arts and Crafts Closing Their Exhibit Space and Retail Gallery

Society of Arts + Crafts, Location: Boston MA,

SAC_MainLogo_1000jpg

Today, January 25, 2020, The Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston, the country’s oldest non-profit organization promoting and supporting fine craft and the artists who make it, will close both its gorgeous exhibition space and retail gallery. The organization, facing harsh economic realities, has made a brave decision to step back and reassess the best way to move forward with its mission. In the interim they will continue to mount their two signature shows, Craft Boston Spring and Craft Boston Holiday. Please continue to support them and read this as a wake up call. The arts, all of the arts, need our support, now more than ever. Let’s all do whatever we can. No amount of support is too small.

On a more personal note, in 2007, in the very early days of my adventures as a new fiber artist, Craft Boston was the first high end juried show that invited me to exhibit my work. An emeritus board member even purchased a necklace. Her daughter later told me, “My mom has seen more fine craft than you can imagine. She loves your work and bought a piece saying that she’d never seen anything like it. Be happy!” That affirmation alone has fueled my resolve on days of doubt along the way. After a long foray into publishing designs, writing a book and teaching all over the country, I made the decision to return to full time studio work to attempt to gain entry into juried shows once again. And don’t you know that Craft Boston was the first show to welcome me back last year. I’ll be returning this spring (more about that in upcoming posts) and will be forever grateful to all those at The Society of Arts and Crafts for all they have done and will no doubt continue to do for artists everywhere. Thank you. And Onward!



• “The Creative Landscape of Aging”
A Book I’d Love You to Read

As many of you know, especially if you are familiar with my book “Betsy Beads: Confessions of a Left-brained Knitter,” the issue of creativity has been a lifelong interest of mine. Sharing what I’ve learned about it, with a focus on those left-brained folks among us (like me!), was well worth the two years plus process of writing the book and I could not be more proud of the impact that sharing my personal creative journey has had on so many of you. I am so grateful that you continue to share your own stories with me and they bring me so much joy. There is now a new book about creativity, with a somewhat different focus, that I can recommend to you wholeheartedly.
 
A year and a half ago, I was interviewed by Judith Zausner for her award winning blog entitled Creativity Matters. The blog consists primarily of interviews with varied artists, with a focus on how their creativity has been influenced by their aging and vice versa, how aging has influenced their creativity. She has now assembled 16 of these interviews along with 21 insightful essays and a lovely photo gallery of the interviewed artists’ work. I am honored that my interview was one of those she selected to include in the book.

With her keen eye, quick mind, facile way with words and years of experience studying and passion for her subject matter, Judith has created a book that has much to teach us, whatever our age may be. I hope that many of you will buy it and read what she has to say. Your creative lives will be all the richer for it.

You can find her book for purchase here.



• Spotlight On New Work:   “Mud Cloth”
Around the World in One Necklace

I often talk about how unique materials inspire my work and this necklace is definitely a case in point. I found the ceramic beads that hang at the end of the knitted dangles at the Market at Stitches Midwest this past summer. I have to give a shout out to booth owner Jolanta Narejko of Elka Design (www.elka-designs.com) because she had some of the COOLEST beads, findings and fabulous finished jewelry pieces I’ve seen in quite some time. I fell in love with these two different patterns of black and white beads. I played with/swatched several different design ideas before settling on this one. I was told when I bought them that they are African beads, but later found out that they are specifically called “mud cloth” beads.

 

I had not planned on leaving the silk threads hanging. They are actually the tails of the individual bead knitted dangles. But they’ve grown on me. Definitely outside of my normal “box.”

 

 

So along with the African mud cloth beads, the thread used is from the USA (Kreinik Silk Serica), the small beads are Japanese (Size 8 Miyuki seed beads and Size 10 Miyuki Delica beads) and the three large beads are German (vintage resin with crystals set in the recessed equator of the beads – I’ve had them for years, just waiting for a fun place to use them.)

 

Four continents represented in one necklace! Pretty fab, no?



• Spotlight On New Work:   Unusual Inspirational Materials
Uni I and Uni II

  

I’m often asked about where the inspiration for my creations comes from. My feeling is that inspiration is everywhere and often where least expected. I have to confess, however, that my inspiration often comes from unusual materials like those seen in the two new one-of-a-kind necklaces seen here. The top photo is Uni I, the bottom photo is Uni II. The “spikey,” multicolor pieces are actually the calcified spines of sea urchins! I loved them so much that I had to use them in two different pieces. A few friends have told me that they both have a sort of tribal feel. I guess that’s true, but what you can’t tell from the pictures is that they also make a lovely sound effect when they move around – a sort of tinkling, almost musical sound that I find very soothing. Unexpected and delightful.

There are a few more new pieces in the Necklace Gallery that I haven’t turned the Gallery Spotlight on here in the What’s New section, so as time permits, please click on over and take a peek. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts about this new work.



• Making a Difference. Something We Can ALL Do.
In this season of giving and all year round…

It is the season of giving and I’m hoping some of you may have something left over after your holiday shopping to help support Halos of Hope, a truly deserving organization that was founded by cancer survivor Pam Haschke, who is doing amazing work with an all volunteer staff. These are people we can all admire.

You can read more about Halos HERE, but the short story is that they collect hand knitted and crocheted chemo hats and caps to send to cancer patients around the country. Folks continue to be truly generous in making and donating hats but the organization still must bear the not insignificant expense of shipping out the hats to over 180 centers around the country. So fundraising is CRUCIAL! They’re always happy to receive cash donations but also sell lots of wonderful hat patterns on their website for folks to use to make these much needed, much loved creations.
  

Here’s where I come in. :-) Several years ago Vogue Knitting sponsored a contest to help promote breast cancer awareness, asking knitters to design scarves towards that end. I submitted my first original bead knitted design, a cashmere scarf covered in pink beaded logo ribbons and was thrilled to win the grand prize in the Mixed Media category. For years I made the pattern available as a free download on my website. I have now decided to put the pattern to more productive use and have donated it to Halos of Hope, where 100% of the proceeds will go to support their work.

If you want to read a bit more about the story behind the scarf, my good friend Benjamin Levisay, who sits on Halos Board, kindly wrote a blog entry about it. You can read it HERE. If you would like to purchase a pattern to make the scarf or any of Halos’ wonderful hat designs, you can look at and buy them HERE.
 
 

I hope that some of you will consider supporting Halos of Hope in whatever way you can. Knitting a single hat makes a difference. Buying a pattern makes a difference. A donation of any amount makes a difference. Bottom line? We can all make a difference.

Thank you and happy holidays to all! <3      



• Creativity Matters… At Any Age!
Some Thoughts on Aging and A Blog Interview to Share

 

I was recently interviewed by a woman named Judith Zausner who writes a blog about creativity, explored within the context of aging. The subtitle of the blog is “Topics that address creativity in the landscape of our lives today and as we age.” This is a bit of a mouthful but an accurate reflection of her POV (as they say on every reality competition show – Point Of View) and I am enjoying reading what she is bringing to her audience. It also has me thinking about my own POV with regard to aging and how in truth I have never felt limited by my age in whatever I have chosen to pursue. Except maybe just a little when I shop for clothing… Thankfully, I have a VERY honest daughter who keeps me from embarrassing myself. But I digress. I have to say that most likely I owe my ability to not feel limited by age issues to familial role models. My maternal grandparents were married for 75 years. That’s not a typo. Married for 75 years! My grandmother was still painting and swimming at the YMCA well into her 90’s and my grandfather decided that 92 was a great age to start learning to speak Russian. My amazing mother is now 87 and still searching out additional places to volunteer, taking an 8-week mindfulness meditation workshop and is the star of her Silver Sneakers fitness class. So I guess that compared to them, at age 63 I’m a spring chicken and just getting started. Good to know, don’t you think?

Start reading the Creativity Matters blog by clicking here: Creativity Matters