It’s been a full couple of weeks at the Celerin/Drummond
household! Holiday season is now
officially in full gear. My last
art fair of the season is now behind us—the Unitarian Universalist Holiday Art
Fair. It was a wonderful show for
me. As usual, I had walls
displaying my weavings, but my sales were overwhelmingly my Re-Shirts and Sweater
Petals. I showed my new Re-Shirt
design, which includes a flap that delicately covers one’s bottom. It reminds me of a conductor’s tuxedo
in that respect. Basically they’re
artsy tank shirts that I create out of fabric that has had a previous
life. I’ve pirated everything from
my husband’s old dress shirts to tablecloths to gently, and not-so-gently used
clothing I pick up at Opportunity House and the Recycle Center.
I designed the pattern myself and I use
a block stamp that I created last year for a focal point on the front. I like the design from the front
because it lacks a horizontal line where the shirt ends. From the rear, the upside down ‘U’ over
the back is more flattering. I
made a dozen of these shirts for the ‘UU’ show and they all sold! With an eye to the next show, which is
the Bloom magazine’s Local Artists Showcase in February at the Convention
Center, I set out to cut some more materials for the next round of shirts. I had to turn the dining room into a
design studio to cut all the pieces, but now it’s back to being a dining
room.
That came just in time for
this year’s cookie baking party.
This was an annual event at our house until the boys came along. Not that they wouldn’t like the
cookies, but it was just too much to manage. This year we brought the tradition back. That translated into 18 kids running
around in the yard when they weren’t swiping cookies from the table. The 12 or so adults sat around in the
kitchen, drinking wine, talking and laying out the next round of cookies onto
sheets covered with parchment paper. For the kids, the rule was that they had to stay in
the yard and they couldn’t use electronic devices. Everyone seemed to have a good time; just what a cool, grey
December day needed!
In between all the rest of my activities, I’ve been making
more peppers for my pepper commission.
I’m up to 29 and I still have a ways to go, but I feel good about the
piece at this stage. I’m still
selling a lot of Sweater Petals at Bloomingfoods, so I end up visiting there
each week to re-stock. We all went
out to see Tommie’s holiday choir performance at Jackson Creek, which turned
out beautifully. Mr. Upchurch is a
great teacher and really does a lot for the kids. Speaking of Tommie, he has to do a monthly science
project. This time around he took
one of his passions, fishing at Lake Monroe, and designed a science experiment
around it.
He and his dad compared
live bait to artificial worms. I
don’t know exactly how it turned out, except that we had a fine fish fry at the
end! I also managed to snag
another apple pie after Thanksgiving
(and before the Christmas peach pie!), so
life is pretty good for me right now.
The very best part, though was hearing the news that I got into the DesMoines art fair this year! It’s a
prestigious show and it’s my first time applying, so I’m excited to go in June
2013. Look out Iowa, here we
come!
Until next week,
Martina Celerin
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