Lost in the Summer Heat

On the heels of Artistic Figures in Cloth followed a whirl wind of activity, none of it included interviewing teachers, presenting art work or reviewing books for this blog. So I thought I would give you a picture trail of my late spring and summer activities. Then I will have you caught up with my 4 month hiatus from the blog.  I will not have to go through apologies for my lack there of and go right back reporting items of interest.

AFIC staff all volunteer all happy to help

 Artistic Figures in Cloth was over the staff went home. Someone needed to clean up and finalize everything.  Mike and I had the job of finishing everything off.  Paying the last of the bills, packing up the props and supplies that would be used for Artistic Figures in Cloth & Clay 2013 and preparing the CD with the pictures from the convention.  This took most of the month of May to complete all of that and then some. The next thing we knew May was over and then came June.



Cyndy relaxing at the tea



    June would prove to be here and gone before I knew it. Mainly because of a decision I had made back in the winter of 2010. I planned a party for mid June. It seemed logical at the time.   I would have a Mad Hatter Tea Party in my back yard.  This would get me out in the yard to plant, mulch, weed, mow and do all those task that were not attended to because of the preparation of AFIC.  Otherwise I will just want to rest and putting of the these chores. All the while my yard would grow wild and the neighbors would grow angry.  

     The rain was crazy this year.  I had to work in the yard between down pours. The heat came in and it seemed more like August then June. The party was planned for the second week in June.  Working between the rain and the in the miserable heat I managed to get everything in order.The yard looked great the flowers were beautiful and the garden gleamed but I have to tell you.  All the while I was working I was thinking....It seemed like a good idea at the time.  To properly decorate this crazy party table I stopped at Thrift stores on the way home from work every night picking up miss matched china, tiers, and Mad Hatter type items to decorate the table and yard. The Party was so much fun.  We had finger foods, tea and jam, fruit and honey, scones and cupcakes.  There was a Cheshire cat in the tree and Kraft of potions with tags that said "drink me" and little cakes that said "eat me".  The only thing missing was the Queen of Hearts and the Crockett set....maybe next year.

   June was practically over by this time.  Next on my agenda was Kids Camp. Grandview Museum of Arts and Crafts runs a 6 week Kids Camp.  This runs from the last week of June through the first week of August.  I committed to prepare and teach 4 classes this year.  I love working with children and teaching any art and crafts to them is as much fun for me as it is for the kids.

  We made Troll huts for the trolls the kids made earlier in the week.  I partnered the kids up and using Stiffy, fabric and hair driers we created miss shaped huts. We added tea lights in a bundle of raffy making what looked like a camp fire in the center of the hut.  The class was loads of fun and everyone helped their partner during the drying process. They loved watching fabric turn into a stiff hut.

   The second class were puppets made from socks and felt. My favorite class was the paper clay classes.  Baby birds and turtles were made and painted all the same day.  To speed up the process we used Styrofoam balls in the center with a light covering of paper clay and dried them in the dehydrators.  The lizard class is the kids all time favorite.  They wrap toy lizards in ribbons and threads then they glue beads and jewels onto the wrappings. 



Hidden Treasures
adorn with ribbon works.



 Now August has arrived and the summer is almost over but not quite.  I have a class to teach in my guild. It is a class technique on ribbon works.  Not embroidery ribbons but manipulation of ribbon to be used on costumes, and art works.  I wanted to teach 4 very specific types and variations of working ribbon and have a project that was completed at the end of the class.  How to make something that did not look over ribbonated! Yes you can have too much of a good thing. So the idea of creating more than a doll to put them on came to mind.  Using paper Mache boxes I was able to create a space inside and outside the boxes to apply the ribbon techniques to.  Along with the decoration of the bust.  These are two of the samples.  I also have two more in the works, a Goth and a Halloween theme. 

  My class is ready to teach on the 27th of August but before that happens I am taking a vacation.  New York, NY for a bit of shopping, sight seeing , taking in a play and dinner.  I am driving into PA to visit my sister and then taking a train into the city to have a darn good time.  When I get back I will be as right as rain and ready to post!