Saturday, January 31, 2009

Pansies


I finished a stage of a project and normally I would be so excited to post it. But this project is a little different. It's for someone else and it can't be seen yet. So, I'll share my jubilation in having completed something. I've been in a funk lately. I think (and my friends have confirmed) that the job stress took a lot out of me and my muse is only just returning. I actually was on the verge of telling this person that I couldn't do this particular project for her when for whatever reason I was spurned on. Now, if I could just get some other non-sewing projects out of the way and clear my head for some good ole' creative flair.
Michele

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Stamp Carving Workshop


Today one of my small groups, the Gray Barn Girls, got together for a workshop presented by my good friend and fellow artist, Grace Howes. We had a great time and here are a few photos of what we did. The first photos shows our work area and you can see a lot of the stamps Grace has already carved on the table. We made an accordian book, which you can see a finished one on Grace's blog. I didn't take any photos of us constructing those but that's what we did first.

Here we are working away. From left to right: Alisan Royster, Cheryl Campbell and Cathy Johansen. Missing is Susan Dunne-Lederhaas.This is my first stamp. It is a portion of a clip art I found. I actually did this once before with Lyric Kinard and it is very addicting. This one is actually from a tracing that Alisan did. I liked hers so much that I brandished it on my eraser and carved it. The funny thing is that our two stamps look very different even though they are from the same tracing.

This is my work-in-progress. I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with it, so I have to think about it a little. I'm leaning toward more of a collage feel so stay tuned.

Michele

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The Search is Over

Thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers and support during this difficult time. I know we were only jobless for a short period of time and you're saying to yourself "she just posted he didn'thave a job" but I was holding back really, in denila. The turmoil during December's not-knowing was far more traumatic. I didn't really elaborate on that, but the short of it is, we've been afraid of the job situation since about Thanksgiving but no one at Petty's would tell them what was going on. So, we were like squirrels collecting nuts, just preparing for the worst.



So, on to the good news...Last night the crew chief at Penske called and offered Jason a job. We are happy with this decision. Penske is a stable team and Jason knows the driver. It is a bit of a paycut but that's really only in his opinion. The bad news...he's back on the road. It was nice while it lasted but really, it's okay. I never expected him to come off the road and something is better then nothing. Now I can get back to my Art...



Michele

Saturday, January 3, 2009

A New Year, at least






Welcome to a New Year! I hope this one goes better then it's starting out. I'll elaborate in a minute. The photos are of two more ornaments I made and forgot that I hadn't posted. I gave the Noel Candy to my Mom as part of her Christmas. I also made her and my MIL a set of towels and an ornament for my MIL that I forgot to take photos of. They are really cute if I may say so.


Anyway, we had a nice holiday. Jason's family came to town and we had our annual Christmas party. Putting a damper on the festivities and my reason for staying away from my blog (because I didn't have anything nice to say) was that Jason's job was in jeopardy. At the end of the NASCAR season a lot of teams were laying off and making changes which we accepted. But about two weeks before Christmas the investment firm that bought into Petty Enterprises about 6 months ago decided they were done with racing and wanted their money. The Friday before Christmas Jason and his co-workers were told to have a nice holiday because that might be it. Well, when they went back to work they were there Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday (New Year's Eve) they were told there was a meeting at 2 pm where they would turn in their keys and remove all personal property. So, welcome 2009, we don't have a job. He has been working on it and under normal circumstances this wouldn't be a problem, but these aren't normal.
So, I'm still here and surviving. I'm working on a knitted bag that is felted. Hopefully, my next post will have some happy news.
Michele