Is there snow in the forecast?

It’s always hard to know when the last snow of the season falls, except in my art studio.  I decided to celebrate the last snows of the year by completing a piece I’m calling Glistening Snow.  This is another composition sparked by my trip to the Museum of Modern Art in Chicago where I passed through a dense curtain of cascading pearls to enter an exhibit.  I was thinking about the pearls and how striking they look accented with black and red.  I wanted to create a weaving where the snow is gently falling on barren tree branches that look strikingly black against a pale winter sky.  

Adding a pop of red is something I like to do—it just brings some joy and life to a winter landscape.  A bright red cardinal fit perfectly over my snow-pearl background amid the stark black oak branches, and Glistening Snow is complete. 

Of course I rarely focus on just one piece, and I certainly need more color in my life.  I have spring on my mind as it wanders to thinking about spring planting in the garden.  Last year Jim tried very hard to establish a patch of Mexican sunflowers, but the darned deer kept mowing down the tops of the plants when they began to bud.  Optimistically we would think that it would just make a bushier plant, especially if we sprayed with deer repellent.  

In the end, though, the deer won and we just ended up with plant stumps in the ground and very happy deer.  To fill the void I’ve been working on a weaving that will feature Mexican sunflowers and monarchs feeding on them.  I’ve been slowly making the individual flower petals and I finally accumulated enough to assemble the flower heads.  I did the background weaving a couple of months ago, and I’ve even created the leaves with detailed veins.  Hopefully by the end of the week I’ll be able to assemble all the pieces.  Watch this space. 

The other big news is that I finished and shipped my commissioned felted tiles to their forever home, and the owner seems very happy with them.  

I really enjoyed the process of working on the small scale format, and I think that once I have all of the pieces finished for my next two exhibits I will create some individual tiles for the summer fairs.  Those exhibits will be good places to see my recent collections.  One show is local (Migrations:  where have you been and what have you seen) at the Bloomington Playwright’s Project (BPP) going up on March 26^th.  I’ll also be at the Ridgeland Mississippi Fine Arts Festival on April 6 and 7.  I’m hoping there will be some spring flowers on display by then.

I can honestly say I don’t have any pie right now.  I did have a slice of a delightful tart cherry pie for breakfast each day this week, which was wonderful.  This morning I had *sigh* toast.  It was homemade bread that made really nice toast (thanks Jim), but it wasn’t pie.  Between the time I launched this blog and now, a tart lemon pie has appeared, but I think it’s intended for the Second Saturday Soup event tonight rather than just for me.  Maybe there will be some left over and I can have a slice for breakfast tomorrow morning?

Until next week,

Martina Celerin

Back to the studio…

I spent a feverishly productive month in January costuming for the fall production of Hello Dolly put on by Sounds of South.  I’ll share some images later, but I want to begin with my February efforts in the art studio.  The reality of all my commitments is settling in with a couple of deadlines looming.  One big project is to assemble pieces for an exhibit called “Feast your Eyes” at the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  I will be shipping several pieces, including a collection of six felted tiles featuring southern fruits.  I have some citrus pieces that I made before, but I challenged myself to create a peach.  The flesh and skin of the peach is much like that of an apple, but the colors are very different.  I blended deep yellows with almost maroon fleece to develop the mottled streaky texture of a peach skin.  The real challenge, though, was making the pit. 

The texture is so obviously distinctive and interesting.  I used fleece that I dyed intensely with onion skins where the color came out so dark that seemed perfect for a peach pit.  Different fleeces take up different amounts of the dye, and I find that the lighter materials are actually perfect for creating felted onion skins.  The pit features concavities in the surface, but I then forced the shadowing by using a natural very dark brown, almost black fleece.  I’m really pleased with how it all came out! 

After the peach construction, I still needed one final traditional fruit for South Carolina.  I chose figs because my cousin in Mississippi, Martha, always talked about making fig preserves.  Several years ago I finally had a chance to try some real southern preserves when she brought some to Michigan and they were amazing.  Of course we needed our own.  We were inspired to plant a Midwest-hardy fig tree and each year we get a few more figs but still not enough for a preserves.  Clearly figs are a more southern thing and are plentiful there, although evidently they are becoming harder to find, even in the south.  The commercial jams that we can buy here are OK, but they are nothing like the preserves that Martha brought.  Anyway, my experiences led me to felt some figs for the project.  I will also ship “My Roots” to fill out the exhibit, which opens June 10 and runs until September 17th. 

In other fun news, I received an unexpected call from the editor of Bloom Magazine.  It seems that the editor, Malcolm Abrams, found my exhibit (Nature to Nurture) at the Bloomington Bagel Company on the east side of town.  He offered to write a story about my art and the exhibit for the April/May issue of Bloom.  I stopped in to the Bloom offices for a photo shoot the next day and I anticipate that it will turn it into a nice story—I’ll let you know when it’s out!  

With the teasingly warm weather I’m of course starting to think of the glorious days of summer and hanging out by the water.  That inspired me to complete a couple of water pieces that I started late last year.  I’m channeling the inner birches of my childhood, and I have woven some grasses for the background and should be attaching birches later this week.  For now, I’ve hung the unfinished piece at a prominent spot in my studio so I can stare at the water and enjoy the calming waves as I collect my thoughts for future pieces. 

Just to tease you with an update and a few pictures from the Hello Dolly costuming, I have all of the current member girls Sunday best costumes designed.  Many moms have spent lots of time attaching all of the bits and pieces that I have pinned together on the mannequins to create each costume.  I usually have about five mannequins in progress and I just move from one to the next while my sewing and gluing faeries capably bring the costumes to life. 

In family news we are screaming up to the boy’s second degree black belt test.  It will take place on March 4 at 2:30 pm at Monroe County Martial Arts.  If you’re in the area, please stop by to cheer them on!  We’ll have a reception afterwards catered by the Owlery.  I’m expecting lots of whooping and hollering and hugs all around when the kicking stops and the sweat settles into the carpet.  Also looking forward, tonight Jacob and I have tickets to Georgia McBride, put on by the Cardinal stage company.  I’m told it’s the story of an Elvis impersonator that reinvents himself as a drag queen.  And I’m told that the costumes are amazing!  I can’t wait.  

 I think we’ll combine the show with a fancy schmancy dinner and call it a night on the town. 
On the pie front I am barely surviving.  I can’t even remember the last pie.  I’ll have to check my phone for the last pie pictures to see how long the drought has been!  Oh wait, I guess I did have a very nice tart cherry pie the last time I was in a pie drought.  Oh, and I guess there was a very nice peach pie a couple less than two weeks later.  It just feels like its been months!  That’s good enough for me—I need another pie!  We haven’t had blueberry or apple yet this year.  Just sayin’.    

Until next week

Martina Celerin

Looking back at a crazy fall…

Last week I dropped off several of my latest art pieces at By Hand Gallery, closing the door on my frenetic efforts to build an inventory for fall shows and holiday events.  Two weeks ago I was still preparing for the Artisan’s Guild show at the Convention Center while I was organizing my exhibit in the Roger’s Room titled ‘Nature to Nurture.’  The events were a lot of fun, as usual.  It gives me the opportunity to chat with people that I don’t normally connect with during the year.  My newest tiles were well received by the passers by, and I think that people were happy to see the smaller format.  We chatted about the concept behind them, which is valuing the smaller things in life.  

 In the end, they’re what really matters.  The Rogers Room lies across the hall from my booth, so I very much enjoyed participating in the opening reception for my exhibit.  A special thanks to Patty Russo for all she did to make it successful and her ongoing support.  The exhibit’s title, 'Nature to Nature,' really tells the story of the exhibit.  The layout begins with sky and water themes and moves to pieces that feature landscapes and trees.  It transitions into compositions that imagine how we interact with agriculture and gardening, ending with a bounty of fruits and vegetables. 

 I added a tiled display of individual vegetables that I’m thinking of as visual recipes, but focusing on the individual vegetable on its own highlights how each plant is important and contributes to greater things.  It speaks to the bounty that we really have in this community. 

Closing the door on my shows brought me back to the reality of my last workshop for the year.  I spend months organizing and collecting materials for each workshop, but there’s always a last minute push to be sure I have enough looms and unique materials for each exploration of weaving techniques.   

I had an enthusiastic group of weavers on Saturday that were energized and ready to create!  It’s funny because it is always a challenge when I have weavers as participants.  Asking them to break from the rules and move away from straight lines and strict edges brings out a saucer eyed look.  I ask them to trust me—we’ll all hold hands and jump off the bridge together.  You might scrape your knees, and the cold water is a shock, but it will be worth it!  I was delighted to see them experimenting by combining different weights of yarn, weaving structures and throwing the concept of straight lines to the wind. 

 I feel like I can offer them a bunch of new tools for their artistic toolboxes and I can’t wait to see what comes from their experience.  As always, however, the best part of my adventures is coming home.  Saturday night night was no exception.  My family delayed dinner to surprise me with a delightful feast of ginger glazed salmon, fresh salad, rice and a still warm apple pie made from local golden delicious apples that Jim bought at the farmer’s market. 

Now I can rest!  OK, maybe not.  I need to put the Pippin costumes to bed and begin organizing fabrics, trim, props and everything else for next year’s adventure.  One of the participants at the workshop asked me what I do in my spare time—what’s my hobby?  Creating art is my career and my hobby.  It just fills my life.  It’s what I love to do.  And I have such a wonderful family to support me in all my adventures! 

Until next week,

Martina Celerin

My Corner of the Sky…

What a week!  It has been a whirlwind of activity around our house.  Everyone in the family stepped up to make the house presentable for Grandma and Tim, Jim’s brother.  I must say it is awfully nice to have the entire house clean at one time, rather than attacking the neediest room each week.  The main focus of their visit was to see Pippin, but I’ll save those stories for later.

After the house started to shine, I did manage to squeeze in more needle felting.  I’m very excited about the felted tiles I’m creating featuring vegetables and fruit.  Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are healthy to eat, but mine are especially high in fiber.  Ha ha ha!  This week I focused on peas.  When I was sitting outside the room where the boys were having their voice lesson I was positioned underneath a large commissioned piece that featured pea vines on a trellis, which made for a wonderful creative connection.  I worked, listened to singing and looked up at my artistic history.  When I thought about the fancy wine we planned to drink with Tim, I got to thinking about grapes so I had to make a few of those to feature on tiles.  And of course you can never have enough tomatoes, so I made more thick slices that show off the delicate seeds and internal structure. 

Saturday night featured the opening performance of Pippin!  It was fabulous to share the event with my family around me in the center of the sixth row—best seats in the house!  I just got to take it all in.  The kids were amazing!  They sang and performed their hearts out and the audience loved it.  The costumes really pulled it all together—I must say I’m really proud of my designs, and I’m incredibly grateful to all the people who transformed them into costumes, especially Nancy Riggert.  It was fun to see some of the parents who contributed to the costuming after the show, and they got to see how their efforts fit into the big picture.  They were in awe of the entire performance.  I’m really proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish as a group.  I’m grateful to Gwen Witten and Chris Miller for giving me this opportunity.  It’s just the biggest canvas I’ve ever worked on, and it’s so much fun to see it all come together. 

Next, a little parental gloating is in order.  Tommie and Jacob were fabulous!  The transformation that Tommie undergoes when he is onstage is phenomenal, to the point that people don’t recognize him.  He does appear different visually underneath grey hair and behind a beard, but his body movements, gesturing and voice characteristics are completely fabricated and distinct from his day-to-day persona.   And, if you want to see them live - the next performance is this Saturday Oct 22, 7pm - and here is the link to the tickets!

I wish my grandfather, a bass in the Czech opera, could have seen him in action.  Jacob shone too—he was a glowing, performing ball of energy.  He embraces the stage, but his stage persona is a caricature of how we see him at home.  He was a confident magician, a dynamic circus performer, and always in command of his art.  My little pumpkins!

We had a wonderful visit with Grandma and Tim.  We shared lots of stories and laughs over meals and a trip to the Farmer’s market on Saturday morning.  We found hot chocolate and coffee for everyone—including me!  Marina made me a special, off the menu, decaffeinated coffee that made me very happy.  At the market we sampled a variety of dainties for breakfast and found enough vegetables for the week. The biggest news from the gastronomic adventures was that there was pie.  It was an amazing blueberry/strawberry creation using fruit from our trip to Andrews Produce on Topsail Island back in May.  It came after the almond encrusted walleyes the crew caught in July and a nice bottle of wine, so we had an excellent meal.  And I got pie for breakfast over the next few days!  Today I finished the last slice, though.  I’m beginning the next countdown to the next pie—I wonder what and when it will be?

Until next week

Martina Celerin

The felting continues!

I have been trying to balance my art creation time between wet and needle felting projects.  After the boys are off to school each morning I transform the kitchen into a wet felting studio.  The height of the central island is perfect for keeping my back happy as I work.  I have been playing more with colors as I create vessels that are dimensional and textured.  It has been a lot of fun to explore little experiments using merino top with different colors and exterior patterns.  I’m learning about how the wet felting technique itself affects the outcome.

For example, if I do the entire felting and fulling process on the resist (a balloon), I can encourage the fibers closest to the balloon to migrate to the surface.  I realized this because when I use two colors of fleece I can get the lower fleece to peek through the upper layer.  If I do the fulling without the resist, the process happens more quickly but I don’t get as many inner fibers peeking through the surface layer.  I have some more ideas on how to create new textures on the surface and I’ll experiment with those this week.  I feel like I’m on a fun working vacation by taking a break from my weaving. 

I have spent a lot of time creating tiles that will act as backdrops for my new my individual felted fruits and vegetables tiles.  In this project I have benefitted from the fabulous advertising job that Cardinal Stage Company does in town.  They use corrugated plastic yard signs to get the word out about their shows, but unfortunately the material is not recyclable.   

I have found lots of uses for them in costume and prop creation for Pippin, but now I’m using them as a rigid support for the black felt background for my small tile pieces.  This week I focused on creating turnips, oranges, and jalapenos to feature on the tiles.  My collection of felted pieces is steadily growing, so I should a nice collection by November 4^th.  That’s the opening date for the Artisan’s Guild show at the Convention Center, which runs Friday from 5 to 9 and Saturday from 9 to 5 on November 4^th and 5^th. 

Saturday proved to be a wonderful day for a morning visit to the farmer’s market.  The weather was cool, crisp and amazing.  Marina at le Petit Café served us hot cocoa and mocha to warm us up until we got into the sun, but soon we were focused on the abundance of fall vegetables.  We will have family visiting each of the next two weekends for Pippin and I’m planning to make a big pot of vegetarian chili and freeze it in meal size units.  I’ll be sneaking in a lot of yummy vegetables—red peppers, onions, eggplant, zucchini, summer squash—and may be even sweet potatoes.  I love to have meals in the freezer!  They are also perfect for family evenings when everyone is exhausted and no one is excited about making dinner.  It is good to have something ready to pull out.  The last word of the week goes for a pie report.  I finished the last slice of the apple pie on Friday and no replacement appeared on Saturday!  I didn’t see any raspberries Saturday at the market, and I guess it’s too soon for another apple pie.  Grandma and Tim are visiting this weekend and I’m sure they’re going to want a pie.  I can’t wait to see what happens!

Until next week,

Martina Celerin

Fourth of July traditions, old and new…

Yesterday was the farmer’s market, blueberry pie, the Fourth of July parade and fireworks. What more is there to say! I suppose there’s still art, so let’s start there. I made the tenth piece in my ‘Pieces of Life’ felt tile series. I tried to create a tropical jungle flavor within the same color palette, using a hint of an animal print and a large tropical leaf. I’ve met my goal for the series, but I’m still having fun with the design and creation phases of the project, and so I suspect that more will come…. I’m finishing both a dandelion and a fossil-fish piece for the Madison art fair this coming weekend. The dandelion piece is another tribute to the hardy, ubiquitous and sometimes beloved lawn flower of today, while the stone fish piece contains fern fossils from my friend Rudy Turner. Maybe ferns were the hated plant in lawns during the Jurassic, even if there weren’t people around to be upset about them. The piece has crinoids in the background that really determine the color palette for the piece. They have lots of ambers to rusty reds and orange tints, which gives it a warm feel. I also like the contrasts in the piece, such as between the soft fibers and unforgiving stones, or the new fibers versus the ancient rocks. I’m really excited about taking all my art to Madison, since it’s kind of like Bloomington on steroids. The people are just fabulous, the show is well organized and run, and I feel very comfortable there. And finally on the art front, I have work on display in Valparaiso, Indiana. I shipped off a sub-collection of ‘Shhh... the Trees are Sleeping’ pieces and a load of notecards to the rTrails gallery. It’s having a soft opening this weekend and I’m happy to be a part of it. My Columbus show “Touching Summer’ will migrate there on August first, so stop in and check it out if you’re in Valparaiso.

I’m a day late in posting this week—it was the Fourth of July weekend, after all, and there’s so much to pack in! My sweet husband got up early and baked me a terrific blueberry pie (did I say I like pie?). I got to have it with freshly ground espresso and vanilla ice cream, since we were out of whipped cream. The only down side was that when he turned the oven on, it still had a piece of flat bread in it that jumped off the tray the last time he baked. The kitchen filled up with smoke, but far more importantly, the smoke came upstairs to the bedrooms and woke me up. So the pie wasn’t as much of a surprise as he wanted. Then it was off for a quick trip to the Farmer’s market to get corn, new potatoes and peaches for dinner. That’s always a summertime treat that everyone in the family enjoys. From there we scampered to the Fourth of July Parade and watched the town go by. The hula hoop group was entirely unexpected, and we’d never seen anything like it. Their passing show was talented, fun and even artistic. To pass the hot afternoon, Tommie patrolled the back yard for butterflies for his photo collection. The garden is in full display and the butterflies are plentiful, even if the weeding has fallen behind. From a distance though, it just doesn’t matter. I’m really proud of Tommie for not harming the butterflies—he catches them, takes a picture, and sets them free to go about their business of brightening up summer. I’m also proud of Jacob for spending a couple of hours reading his book on dragons, which is presently a big thing. After dinner we headed for the Fairgrounds to catch the fireworks. They moved the display out of town this year due to construction on campus. Sadly, it wasn’t the best decision for us. We left early, but ran into traffic backed up on 2nd Street far past 37 towards Bloomington. We crept along and watched most of the fireworks through the trees as we inched toward the show. When we finally got into the fairgrounds the finale was going on. We managed to get just inside the gates when all the traffic turned to leave and we got stuck there too! We made it home right at midnight, carried Jacob to bed, and everybody crashed. We never even got to enjoy our sparklers! I guess I can’t complain though—it was still a wonderful Fourth of July weekend!

Until next week…

Martina Celerin