Portrait of a Fiber Artist

This is not actually a portait of me as a fiber artist. I mean, that's my picture, but it's to show you the work of another fiber artist, thespunmonkey
(www.thespunmonkey.etsy.com). She made that tangled nuno felt scarf I'm wearing. She used to live in Vermont which is where I first saw her work. Rachel and I went into a fiber store in Brattleboro (Knit or Dye) and saw a basket of art batts full of sparkles. They only had one blue one or we probably would have bought more.

The next place I saw her was on Jacey Bogg's art yarn video "Sit and Spin" and I thought, "Hey, I `know' her!" I can't remember if I found her blog or her Etsy shop first but I visit both frequently. It's funny . . . when you find someone you identify with on some level you feel like you "know" them, even when you don't "know" them. I guess that's how people feel when they read my books, because they say the same thing; that they feel like we're already friends.

Anyway, I decided to treat myself for Christmas and I went to thespunmonkey's shop and chose a tangled nuno felt scarf. I LOVE it!!! I wear it with all kinds of stuff and can't wait for spring/summer/fall when I can wear it with tank tops and T-shirts. I dunno, just wearing it makes me feel like a fiber artist. I find that in general scarves, more than any other item, have that effect. Maybe it's their wildness, their color, their what-the-hey abandon, but scarves are totally creative. (I guess it could just be my French showing . . . ) And even skinny scarves add a bit of warmth indoors when you wear them as an accessory. What I wanna know is why did it take me so long to figure this out???

Anyway, I love being part of the fiber creating crowd. I love wearing stuff I've created and I love wearing stuff other people have created. It makes me feel like I'm part of some universal, ongoing creativeness. And the colors . . . well, the belated discovery of color is a whole other post. I mean, I'm all for Shabby Chic, cottagey whites, but by the time I discovered fiber art I was like a starving man. Give . . . me . . . color . . . or I perish. It's amazing too how much the excessive use of color spurs you on to even more abandon in your creativity. And for us perfectionists that's revoluntionary.

Citizens of the world unite! Create art! Wear art! And be colorful! You are so commanded. :^)

Waiting

I am waiting. None too patiently, I might add. I'm waiting for my new bunny to arrive. Lucas was supposed to pick up all the bunnies because he had to go to Burlington anyway. (We had planned to go up on Sunday.) This is great for two reasons. First, I don't have to drive all the way up there and lose a Sunday when I should be getting ready for Christmas and second, I get to have my bunny sooner. It's a win-win situation. Except for poor Lucas, but he volunteered.

In the meantime I'm pondering the cold. And has it been exceptionally cold. When I woke up (not on purpose) at 3:30 this morning it was 3 below zero. Too cold. When I brought the kids to school it had warmed up to 0. Woohoo. I think it may have gotten as high as 18 (at least according to my car, which is sometimes a bit off.) You know it's too cold when you dash outside to do something like check and see if there are any new eggs and before you make it to the chicken coop door you're starting to get numb. And I always wonder . . . how do they manage in really cold places like Alaska? There must be a trick to living in and with the cold. Like maybe you can't fight it. Maybe you have to learn to be one with the cold. I read once (because I like reading books about living in Alaska) that you'll always be a cheechako (a greenhorn) until you learn to really like the cold, rather than just tolerate it.