June 2011...what's happening

Hello, all. Life is putting along.

My mom died at the end of January. She is very much missed by family, friends and neighbors, but I think her death went well. She was at home, comfortable with wonderful care.

We held a memorial party on May 21. We waited for several reasons, one of which was to have warmer weather. Well, as you may know Seattle has had the coldest spring ever. I think we've had warmer winters! The house was crowded, as we had expected, and people just shivered on the porch. Not only that, but her pink dogwood had a total of about 10 blossoms on it! And if you know that dogwood, you know what that means.

I won't be posting to this blog but I thought an update was called for. Besides, the link is still on my website so traffic is still stopping by.

There are loose ends still to tie up from 2010 (2009?). It was quite a year. But I hope to resolve those and have a new workspace, small though it may be, set up somewhere this summer. I am overflowing with ideas that I want to work on.

Remember, art is good for you.

What's going on here?

Not much, obviously.


I hadn't realized (remembered?) that I never put up an explanatory post here, so that anyone who might want to would know that I'm not keeping this blog up, at least for now. We have had multiple family crises in the last several month, beginning with my mother's cancer diagnosis in April last year. The prognosis was 3-6 months... and that was 18 months ago. She thought she wouldn't live to see her first great-grandson and now he's so big she can barely hold him on her lap! She needs a lot of care and time these days, but she is pretty comfortable, still at home (a high priority for our family) and benefiting greatly from Providence Hospice. So we go on a day at a time.


Meanwhile, I am moving my studio, partly into storage and partly Somewhere Else. Somewhere Else may turn out to be home for a while. With my mom needing so much care and attention, the less time I spend driving around between places the better. But that's not the only reason...

Sadly, Room 206, the place, is going away; the Shoreline Museum has been evicted from the Ronald School building, a very, very sad thing that never should have happened and didn't need to happen. Lesson learned:  never sign an "Agreement in Principle" with unprincipled people.

But, back to blogging. I do have a "new" blog here.

Make art, it's good for you.

3rd Friday this week

Yes, the studio will be open. It's been a while, hasn't it? I have an idea for the Art of the Evening...something fun and as silly or serious as you want to make it. It involves paper and more paper, maybe some found objects, maybe some ribbons or other trimmings. And you wouldn't say no to a little glitter, would you?  You can definitely finish one, maybe more. You can keep them or give them away. They are somewhat timely. Now aren't you curious?

This one will be a glue eater, so a donation of $1 to the Studio Kitty would be appreciated.

See you soon.

What's up with the building, anyway?

I am happy to report that the Shoreline School District has decided that the Shoreline Historical Museum will be allowed to remain in the Ronald Elementary School! But the building will not remain where it now stands, the school board has decided to have it moved to an adjacent piece of property which the Museum will buy for that purpose. This is going to be a huge undertaking and will take time, so the museum will be moved for the duration to the vacant Sunset Elementary School, about a mile from where it is now.

It looks pretty certain that I will be able to move the studio along with the museum to the interim location, less certain that I will be able to move back when the museum reopens in (we hope) 2012. I've always known that the long-range plan was for the museum exhibits and activities to expand into the second floor rental spaces; I've been in my studio a lot longer than I originally expected. I will be sorry to leave the Ronald School but this is a good time for the museum to make some change, and it may be a good time for me to make some changes of my own. Meanwhile, I plan to continue the twice-monthly Art Parties wherever I am.

The precise schedule for all this hasn't been set, but the move could happen as soon as this summer. It probably isn't too early for me to start packing -- I have a lot of stuff. But you already knew that didn't you?

I'll share details as they are they are available. It's going to be interesting.

Hey, there. It's (Prince) Tuesday the First and Groundhog Day as well.

I will not be in the studio tonight -- I'm reporting for jury duty tomorrow (again!) and have some things to get out of the way just in case I get chosen and my time is not my own for a while. PLUS I have to be there at 8AM and those of you who know me at all know how interesting that's going to be.

I need to get back here and give you an update on the Shoreline Museum situation. It looks as if we will be able to stay in the Ronald School (Yay!) but will be moving out temporarily while...some stuff happens. SO, I don't know if I will be able to have open studio evenings for a while -- a short while. I'll keep you posted, and those of you whom I am in touch with (you know who you are) maybe we can plan some Art Days on our own. For a while.

See you...

December 18...

...is the Third Friday of the month, but it is also my brother's birthday so I will be off celebrating. And I think we allhave more than enough to do this week before Christmas.

January 5th will be here soon enough. Hope to see you then.

Two words: First Tuesday

Two more words: Jury Duty.

So - no studio tomorrow. Stay home and make stuff.

Hello, I must be going...

Yes, it is 3rd Friday. Yes, I left you wondering if it was on or off. Sorry 'bout that, Chief.

Turns out I haven't had Internet access today -- we are installing a wireless network at home and I guess today is the day that the work was being done on the Qwest end. So, no connection for me. Until I got to the studio and found someone else's unsecured network. Thanks, Someone Else.

If you were really looking forward to au arming over tonight, and you don't mind a mess, you are welcome. There have been a couple of "No Thanks, Not Tonight"s already, so I am going to leave the door locked. Call first or holler when you get here.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

1st Tuesday in Novembrrrrrr...

Today is First Tuesday, and I will be in the studio. As always, you are welcome to come by, but I have to warn you that the boiler at the museum has been on the blink. It might well be fixed by now (they were working on it late last week) but I haven't been up there so I don't know for sure. I'll try to post an update later today, but you might want to call before you come on up. Or else just bundle on up! 206-853-2513.
See you any time after 6.

Third Friday...Halloween is a-coming.

Let there be no mistake, I did not take these picture, nor did I make these fabulously eerie Halloween angel/skeleton spooky personage figures. I found them here. Can you see what they're made of? Can you, can you? I'll give you a hint: underneath the paint is something from the Dollar Store. And I went and found some. And I will share. If you give me a dollar. Paint will be provided. Friday. That's tomorrow. Be there. It'll be fun.

P.S. I made a couple of these (and one with a pumpkin face that wasn't quite so successful) but I forgot to take the camera to the studio so couldn't take my own pictures. I just want to give credit where it is due, because I think these are so clever. Follow the link. See you.

First Tuesday

Sorry, I'm going to have to skip this one as I will be taking Steamboat to the airport, after which I'll be saying goodbye and thank you to my mom's last caregiver when her shift ends Tuesday afternoon. Those of you who have been with us through this long haul may be surprised by that but, yes, my mom says she's ready to be on her own and to take care of herself. And she feels good. This exceeds our expectations of a couple of months ago by quite a bit.

So Tuesday will be a big day in other ways. Maybe I'll schedule an odd Art Party sometime this month. Stay tuned.

Third Friday, September 18, 2009

What can we do with felting needles - besides actually make felt? I have materials for you to experiment with, but if you want to bring an old sweater (or piece of one), that would be a place to start. Also pieces of loose and/or sheer fabric, maybe lace, and "fuzzy" fibers. From 6 on, but I'll probably be there by 5.




This is a fun event coming up next weekend at the Sustainable Ballard Festival. Check it out here.

First Tuesday is on, but...

...something that was going to happen on Wednesday was suddenly switched to Tuesday and I can't do anything about it - which means that things that were to happen on Tuesday will now have to happen on Wednesday. This month/week only.

So...Wednesday, from 6 on. Hope to see you!

Third Friday tomorrow

The studio will be open after about 6pm. I may be there earlier and you'll be welcome, but I won't promise.

Last weekend I got rid of a bunch of clothes. They were things I kept because they were decent and functional and I need things to wear, but I didn't really like any of them. I've finally decided to start liberating stuff I don't like, no matter how much life it has left in it. Someone else might like it just fine, and whoever that is, is welcome to it.

What this has to do with the studio and Friday night is that I'm going to start on my fabric stash next. It could be your lucky day! Night...

See you.

Is today Art Day? How about tomorrow?

Hello, everyone.

Things have been pretty intense here. My mom was in the hospital for a week with a minor ailment...problem is when your immune system is so weakened by chemo, nothing is minor. But she's home now, with help and visiting nurses. I do see signs of improvement, but at 92 it's slow going. We hope that in a couple more weeks she'll be feeling fairly normal again.

So, it's more like Art Hours, not Days, these days. But I will be in the studio tomorrow, Tuesday, August 4...probably by five but let's play it safe and say 6. I've been enjoying working on some hand-sewn collaged birds. Weird and improvisational. Much like my life these days.

See you.

First Tuesday

I will be in the studio tonight, but probably not until after dinner - maybe about 7. The place is kind of crazy - I finally jumped in and rearranged furniture. Yes, really. I know I've been saying I was going to for a long time. I think this new arrangement is going to work well, the room already seems bigger to me.

So, if you want to stop by and say hi, or sit and work on something, or just see for yourself that I am not making this up, by all means come on over. After 7. I promise there will be a chair and a spot at the table and a cup of coffee for you. More than that we will make up as we go along. And you can tell me which way you like the work tables: side by side, end to end or separated. I can't make up my mind.

See you.
Liisa

Third Friday...

...won't be happening tonight. Sorry. See you soon.

Shoreline Museum eviction from Ronald School?

Public Meeting
Thursday, June 4, 2009
7PM
Shorewood Highschool

(the school adjacent to the museum, to the south)

This is the last public meeting on this issue, I'd like it to be a big one!
(The room will probably be air conditioned, too.)

I have been in touch with many of you about this. Some of you have written to the school board
expressing your displeasure with the proposed eviction of the Shoreline Historical Museum from the old Ronald School. There have been a lot of statements and rebuttals from both the school district and the museum. I certainly have my own strong opinion about the process or lack thereof with which this was carried out.

But at this moment the important thing is for the school board to see the community's support for the museum staying in the Ronald School. Warm (especially today!) bodies is a good way to get that message across. If you can come to tonight's meeting, even for a while, please do.

Check it out!

Cork Art

First Tuesday is on...

...yes, it is! Thank you for your support and patience while I've been through these troubling times.

Next Tuesday, June (how did that happen?) 2nd. Any time after 5pm, until...whenever. I'll be working on a 4x6 inch piece of art for this. You can, too. I'll even provide an envelope and a stamp. See you!