You know you wanna....

Mystic Mermaid on Etsy

It's Phat Fiber time again!

If you're visiting from the Phat Fiber blog, welcome!

I've not posted pics of what I am doing for a while now, because I am working on two freeform pieces-and one of them will be submitted to the next International Freeform Guild Exhibit. I participated in 2007, but not 2008 and very much regretted it.

Sooo... not this year. Part of the rules of participating is that we not share what we're doing online, thus my silence. *Sigh* that's just not easy for me.

It also means that much of what I have spun in the last few months has gone to my stash, er.. collection, and not my Etsy store. Good thing I stocked up in a bit in December-and I take special orders, lol!

Sooo.. I'll sign off now and go take some pictures of the box and post them. I know you came here to see the yarn goods. Until I return, here's one from Etsy.

Another Dear John Letter

Dear John xxxxxxx,
I just saw your report on the protest of the stimulus bill and it is clear that you do not have all the information you need to represent some the issues involved. I heard you name the NEA, not once, but twice as "pork" on behalf of yourself and energy officials. I am more than dismayed.

On behalf of the many artists that I know, I want to ask why our mortgages, our well being, is any less important to the health of this country, this state than anyone else? I am weary of this notion that artists are just playing in the sandbox, twiddling our thumbs. Not only do I produce art objects and supplies, but I teach Art History and Art Appreciation at the local college. Historically, civilizations are measured by the quality of life and their cultural production.

In my small town of Monte Vista, population 5000, I have a list of 60 artists, most of which have sales tax licenses. Are these people not worthy of economic consideration?

Additionally, did you know that people who visit Colorado for arts and culture spend 37% more money than those who patronize the sports industry? Are you aware of the study released last week that names Arts and Culture as the fifth largest employer in Colorado? Another study by the Colorado Council on the Arts showed "a correlation between arts and learning, revealing schools with more art programs had higher proficiency in writing, reading and science."

Last week, in arguing for the $50 million in arts money on the House floor on Friday, Congressman David Obey shared similar points. Arts workers, he said, have 12.5 percent unemployment: “Are you suggesting that somehow if you work in that field, it isn’t real when you lose your job, your mortgage or your health insurance? We’re trying to treat people who work in the arts the same way as anybody else.”

$50 million works out to be .005% of the stimulus bill. It is disingenuous to say that this money is wasted.

I realize you were covering the opposition position. I simply wish you had gone with information needed to ask truly interesting, investigative questions. By not doing so, you perpetuate the myth that arts and culture is a frivolous pursuit. In this letter, I have included several URLS that direct one to the information that I have presented. I hope you find them interesting.

Sincerely,
Laura Murphy
Monte Vista, CO


http://www.thedenverchannel.com/7newsteam/215873/detail.html

http://www.cbca.org/econbiennial.asp

http://www.coloarts.org/programs/education/study/index.htm

http://www.artsusa.org/information_services/research/services/economic_impact/default.asp

Tres Cosas

OK... So I've been playing on FaceBook and not here. Which is silly, 'cause if I post here, it publishes there too. I'm a dork.

Here's the latest FB meme :)

Tres Cosas
Share
You know what to do....List three things to each question. Read on . . . . 3's About Me

Three Names I go by
1. Murph (Dan and Frank called me this first. I've always loved it.)
2. Lowa (Di pegged me Lowa)
3. LoLo (My nephew, Kyle, gave me this one)

Three Jobs I've had
1. Hairdresser
2. Chemical Dependency Tech/counselor
3. Teacher

Three Places I have lived
1. San Diego, CA
2. Champagne, IL
3. Denver, CO

Three cars I've had
1. '72 Ford LTD (Remember this, Curtis?)
2. '88 Yugo
3. '94 Honda Del Sol (My present car--LOVE this car. 48MPG, bebbe!)

Three TV Shows that I watch
1. Dexter
2. House
3. The Rachel Maddow Show

Three places I have been
1. Piedras Negras, Mexico
2. Graceland (that was odd)
3. Destin, FL (That was a great week. I learned to sail!)

Three places I want to go
1. Ethiopia
2. Findhorn, Scotland
3. Egypt

People that e-mail me regularly
1. Di
2. Bob
3. Students

Three of my favorite foods
1. Ethiopian
2. Indian
3. Mexican

Three things I can cook
1. Chocolate Mocha Cake
2. Vegetarian Stroganoff
3. Stuff I throw together, usually involving copious amounts of vegetables

Three favorite cocktails
1. I have been sober for over 22 years :)
2. n/a
3. n/a

Three favorite movies
1. Brazil
2. Kinky Boots
3. Mama Mia ( I was charmed all over again by Meryl Streep )

Three favorite colors
1. Dioxizine Purple
2. Yellow Ochre
3. Olive

Three Favorite musical performers/CD's
1. Ella Fitzgerald sings Cole Porter
2. Crash Test Dummies, God Shuffled His Feet
3. Annie Lennox, any, all...

Three favorite songs (at the moment)
1. Whatever Lola Wants
2. Take a Chance on Me
3. Cry Me a River

Things I am looking forward to
1. Gardening. (I am sick to death of the cold this year)
2. Opening my next business
3. SLV Folk Arts and Fiber Festival

Vote now!

http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/content/senpoll2/

Dear Governor Ritter,
When I first heard Barack Obama speak at the '04 Dems convention, I wasn't looking at the TV screen, I was in another room, listening as an afterthought. After a few minutes, I went to look at the TV because I thought... "Is that Mike Miles????".

I was disappointed that it wasn't Mike. I didn't know this guy, but he said so many of the same things, that I sat to listen to him (Obama) and was inspired all over again--but... I kept thinking, "That should be Mike".

That was the year I returned to political activism--because Mike made me--and so many others--feel like we had a voice again. He lost, but we stayed-- empowered by his inspiration.

Governor Ritter, we met during your campaign at MudPuppy's coffeehouse in Monte Vista. We don't agree on several issues, but I felt safe that your heart was in the right place. I'm asking you now to appoint Mike Miles to Salazar's senate seat. I'll remind you Miles won the state convention vote the year he ran. He has tremendous support amongst the grassroots community. He simply needs you to give him the opportunity to share his personal greatness. We need more voices like him, like you and like Obama for the challenges that lay ahead.

Sincerely,
Laura Murphy
Monte Vista, CO

Great Gift Ideas

Not for me, I have everything I need :)

But, again, in an effort to get back into the habit of blogging, I thought I might feature a great Etsy Gift idea... for the Holiday Season or for however long it takes me to get distracted and forget to blog again.

Here is my current great idea. Well, not my idea, but I certainly thought it was a good one!



This one comes from purposedesign(click here) at Etsy. This artisan produces spice kits for specific holidays and types of food or drink. My favorites are the Chai mixes for the chai drinkers in my life. Check it out!(click here)

Some of them magnetic spice racks that hang like beautiful, textured art on your wall, others are are series of tins with coordinated spices. It's a sensual and sleek gift either way.

Yes We Can

I'm listening to this video for about the tenth time and realizing that it is my artist self, the depths of my humanity that is moved by the words, the people, the music. If you haven't yet, I hope you will join me on Tuesday in saying, nay.. in the singing...

Yes We Can, by Will.I.Am

Coming and Going in Style: Obama’s Policy on the Arts

by Micheal Fox, Smirking Chimp

Inevitably, some issues go completely unmentioned in political campaigns. One such story, which ought to have gotten more attention, is Barack Obama’s program to restore long-dormant federal Arts programs and introduce new ones. Sen. Obama has assembled an impressive committee to design and (hopefully) oversee the project, which borrows some from Franklin Roosevelt’s WPA Arts projects, Lyndon Johnson’s NEA, and adding timely new features.

And If this seems to you a minor piece of his agenda, well, someone begs to differ. On October 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave an address at Amherst college that included the following:

The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure. He has, as Frost said, a lover's quarrel with the world. In pursuing his perceptions of reality, he must often sail against the currents of his time. This is not a popular role. If Robert Frost was much honored in his lifetime, it was because a good many preferred to ignore his darker truths. Yet in retrospect, we see how the artist's fidelity has strengthened the fiber of our national life.

If sometimes our great artists have been the most critical of our society, it is because their sensitivity and their concern for justice, which must motivate any true artist, makes him aware that our nation falls short of its highest potential. I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist.

Tragically, this was his exit line on the subject.

Now, enter Barack Obama, who has made clear his intention to refocus the national dialogue on culture and fine arts. Novelist Michael Chabon, writing on behalf of the committee, eloquently says:

Every grand American accomplishment, every innovation that has bene_ted and enriched our lives, every lasting social transformation, every moment of profound insight any American visionary ever had into a way out of despair, loneliness, fear and violence—everything that has from the start made America the world capital of hope, has been the fruit of the creative imagination, of the ability to reach beyond received ideas and ready-made answers to some new place, some new way of seeing or hearing or moving through the world. Breathtaking solutions, revolutionary inventions, the road through to freedom, reform and change: never in the history of this country have these emerged as pat answers given to us by our institutions, by our government, by our leaders. We have been obliged—to employ Dr. King’s powerful verb—to dream them up for ourselves.

America’s artists are the guardians of the spirit of questioning, of innovation, of reaching across the barriers that fence us from our neighbors, from our allies and adversaries, from the six billion other people with whom we share this dark and dazzling world. Art increases the sense of our common humanity. Imagination of the artist is, therefore, a profoundly moral imagination: the easier it is for you to imagine walking in someone else’s shoes, the more difficult it then becomes to do that person harm. If you want to make a torturer, first kill his imagination. If you want to create a nation that will stand by and allow torture to be practiced in its name, then go ahead and kill its imagination, too. You could start by cutting school funding for art, music, creative writing and the performing arts.


Read the rest by clicking HERE.

Download/read Obama's entire arts program by clicking HERE.

I Voted!

I get this.

"She (Michelle Obama) said neither of Obama's two young daughters is overly excited by the campaign.

Ten-year-old Malia's reaction to her father's plans to air a 30-minute paid advertisement on national TV Wednesday night?

"'You're going to be on all the TV? Are you going to interrupt my TV?'" her mother said Malia asked.

She said Barack Obama reassured his daughter that he hadn't bought time on the Disney Channel."

I'll be voting for this whole family on Wed.

It's everywhere

... and it really should be.

The election that is. I, and so many people I know, are consumed by it. I have had my heart broken over and over by the ignorance and bigotry of some of the behavior displayed by my fellow Americans. And, yes... most of them were/are Republican.

It always brings me back to the same questions: Why are we so willing to believe the worst of each other and why are we so afraid of our perceived differences?

I think when it is all over, I'll be going back to my studio to "paint it out".

In the meantime, I am spinning and reading like mad--usually at the same time. I sit, spin and read from my laptop. If you look at the photo in the last entry--from September!-I have spun a great deal of the fiber in that photo. What is left fits in the truck. Happily, it's been selling too!

Fiber keeps me sane. Is it November 5th yet? Not that I truly expect we'll know anything then, but at least it is my birthday that day!

errata

Busy days... and mostly happy days.

I had a bit of a cold last week and used the time to reorganize my fiber stash. It was a BIG job, but makes dyeing new fibers and spinning up the existing fiber so easy. I used over 60-70 gallon zip lock bags to reorganize it all. It's an even bigger pleasure now than ever!

I have been putting together a new venture with the--you'll never guess this one--The Colorado Gator Farm. They have begun growing a vast amount of papyrus, bamboo and other plants that are great for paper making. They called me and asked and so.. out I went to see what it is all about. Looks like I will make paper for them in exchange for materials as well as teaching some papermaking classes on site. Should be interesting, fun.

Andy Warhol and Sarah Palin

Andy Warhol would have loved Sarah Palin. She really is the ultimate soup can.

Nevermind...

A few posts down, I wondered why I had not produced new works.

Rather than keep wondering, I've just gotten down to work :)

This the newest, all freeform knitting and crochet, containing over 70% hand dyed and hand spun yarns and over 7 feet long!

It's seen hanging in the Faculty Show at Adams State College. My plan is to keep adding to it while it is on display.

One of these things is just like the other....

OK, truth is.... one of these thing is all of these things. Years ago, my dear friend, Donna, wove the fabric you see in the first two photos. She then commissioned someone to turn it into a coat-- the result of which she was disappointed with. Years later, and still years ago from today, she gave the coat to me to "do something, make something with... "

This weekend, I started on that "something". I am cutting into strips and spinning it around a binder thread of carpet warp to make new yarn. Because it is such a stiff weave, it doesn't hold together well enough to cut into strips and knit-or spin. Several experiments were needed to determine this.

The resulting yarn is huge. I'm thinking I will need a size 19-35 needle to knit it-unless what I do is simply knot it. I'm using everything-lining, buttons too in either the
yarn or the finished product.

Stay tuned. Updates as conditions warrant.

and now... eight days AFTER the SLVFest...

I might finally start feeling rested again :) I had a bonafide... blast. This year's fest grew and exceeded my wildest expectations! At this time, I believe that all of our vendors (save one? We're confused on that one... ) want to come back next year. Not only is this a huge vote of confidence, but it gives us a more stable projected budget for next year.

I myself spent a minor fortune. Knowing who was coming, I had been saving for it, after all.

Check out the photo gallery for 2008 (click here.)

After everyone was gone, and I had slept a day or two, I told  a friend,  "I feel so much more connected, a part of a larger community." So... for those of you who wonder why I do it, that's why. I learned a very long time ago that working for some semblance of the Greater Good was far more satisfying than many of the things I did for myself. I still need those things I do for me, but the satisfaction is far more fleeting.

Oh--and I met CLAUDIA! It was rather hilarious, that moment when we were talking and we both realized that we had been following each other's work, lives on the web. We both pointed at each other and said "You're... " Definitely one of those "when two worlds collide moments, but in this moment, something seemed to be set right rather than upset.

I had been so busy the last year months I hadn't read blogs much at all (much less tended mine!) I lost track of the fact that she was moving to New Mexico, three hours from us. And.. although I knew that "Heal My Hands" sounded familiar, I was rushing about with an every increasing amount of last minute details to process much of anything. And then suddenly, there we were talking in her booth about freeform.

I'm going to write her-and I doubt I will wait until I have caught up on all my other correspondence. So.... please.. if you're waiting for me to write back, please bear with me.
Pretty please?

Eight days to SLV Fest!

Every day is full with last minute details now... Ordering the porta potties, tables, chairs, gathering last minute ad details for the program... waiting for posters that are late. Adding last minute vendors... making t-shirts and magnets, and pulp for workshops...

omg... its going to be sooooooooooo fun! Click here to check it out. And.. of course.. join us. Join us now!

Cutest sheep evah

Click Here to seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

What am I doing here? What's it all for?

Heh, heh...
Nothing like a few light thoughts with my spinning.

The thought, the question, that keeps running through my head these days is that I should be making serious art. Shouldn't I?

I turned out this very ambitious thesis in school and, since then, well... I dunno. I learned to spin and have been doing that. And loving it.

I've also thrown myself into community work and have been loving that as well.

But the art? Not so much.

It's true I have produced a few successful pieces and pulled together (not alone of course!) some wonderful projects. But there isn't the time or energy to do it all. What's that about?

Updates as conditions warrant.

Fingerless snake gloves

2582391988_4cffacd98c
Originally uploaded by cdaniele63

And I helped! Sort of... I dyed and spun the yarn, and Cindy made them into these slinky creations.