Thursday, August 11, 2011
Did you know that kaleidoscopes have therapeutic effects?
Healthy emotions are as important as a healthy body perhaps even more so. The kaleidoscope’s ability to soothe and stimulate at the same time makes it a perfect balancer. Dr. Clifford Kuhn, a psychiatrist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Kentucky, loves kaleidoscopes. He did not know when he started collecting them that they were an appropriate tool for his profession. He writes:
The essence of health is wholeness, an integration of body, mind, and spirit in equilibrium. Medical research has revealed that many of our current illnesses are the result of the effect of stress which seems ubiquitous in our modern society. Stress is destructive to our body, disorganizing to our mind, and disabling to our spirit. It has been demonstrated that a regular habit of quietly drawing aside from one’s usual responsibilities for reflection and relaxation significantly repairs or prevents the potentially destructive effects of daily stress.
Kaleidoscope viewing is one such activity of repair. It is restorative to the body in that it requires physical stillness and stimulates pleasant visual sensations. At the same time it has a beneficial effect on the mind by presenting an endless variety of form and color combinations that stir the imagination and stimulate the intellect. Kaleidoscopes are, likewise, good medicine to the spirit as they reflect the constant emergence of order out of disorder and provide a sense of participation in the creative process. In this way, regular viewing of kaleidoscopes can be a significant contributor to a person’s overall health.
The entire month of September is kaleidoscope month at Arts Afire Glass Gallery, and our featured artist is Award-winning and Internationally-acclaimed local scope artist: Charles Karadimos, whose studio is in Damascus, Maryland.
Charles works alone in his studio in Damascus, Maryland making each part of every kaleidoscope by hand. There are no machined parts. Every piece — down to the smallest shard of glass in the object chamber — is hand worked and individually selected by the artist himself. This thoughtful attention to every detail enables Charles to create beautifully intricate and detailed images that capture and hold the viewer’s attention.
His work is featured in many books and publications and is the recipient of many awards, including the Brewster Award for Creative Ingenuity. In November 2003 Charles became one of the Directors of the Brewster Kaleidoscope Society, the international organization of kaleidoscope enthusiasts.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Once a month on second Sunday mornings this summer, a group of painters can be seen setting up shop by the Alexandria waterfront. They pull out their easels, arrange the canvases, spread out their paints and brushes, and get to work immortalizing the beautiful scenery.
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Jack Dyer |
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Vicki Blum |
This group of artists is known as The Art League Plein Air Painters. They came together for the first time this month with a common purpose: to share their talents, not only by documenting the breathtaking views, but also by letting the public experience their creative process as it unfolds. Patrons are welcome to stand by and watch the paintings come to life or to come back periodically and check in on the works-in-progress. So far, the event has drawn crowds from all over the area as people watch the masters at work, with some hoping to snag a few tricks of the trade.
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Jill Banks |
The idea started with a meeting held by the Alexandria Waterfront Planning Committee. The Art League's executive director, Linda Hafer, was asked to help liven up the water view spread in front of The Torpedo Factory Art Center by getting a few painters to start working outside.
"The idea to breathe a little life into the neighborhood was going to be the undertaking of four different Alexandria groups," says The Art League Gallery director Rose O'Donnell.
Those four groups included the Alexandria Archaeology and The Seaport Foundation, along with The Art League and The Torpedo Factory Art Center. The Art League's contribution was the plein air display.
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Artists Sketching in the White Mountains by Winslow Homer |
"Plein air" is French for "open air," a practice which found a huge following among the impressionist artists of the 1870s. With the invention of tube paints and the box easel, which were easily portable, painters took their operations outside to capture nature on their canvases. Legends like Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir were the most famous advocates of the practice, as several of their famed works were created outside, usually under a large white umbrella.
Yet with Monet and Renoir unavailable to lead The Art League's outdoor movement, painter Jean Schwartz took over planning the monthly event. Last Thursday, she updated her official blog with a post about July's plein air party, even showing off her work from the day.
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Jean Schwartz |
"Last Sunday was the very first paint out of the Art League Plein Air painters. There were four of us, Jill Banks, Vicki Blum, Jack Dyer and me. We met on the dock behind the Torpedo Factory around 9:00 (Vicki wisely started earlier) and painted until noon. It was HOT! Thank goodness for my umbrella because the scene that interested me required I be in full sun and looking right into it. The brollie did its job and without it I would have fried. Lots of sunblock and water also helped."
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From the Torpedo Factory Dock by Jean Schwartz |
August's event is scheduled for the 14th from 9am-noon on the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria. The Torpedo Factory Art Center is located at 155 North Union Street.
Re-posted with permission of The Art League
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Jacqueline "Jackie" Ehle, a Torpedo Factory artist, spins trash into treasure. "I enjoy creating from things discarded, experimenting with trash, and traditional materials, to create sculpture that delights all who see it," Ehle explains. Her whimsical sculptures have been featured on television, displayed in public spaces, museums and hotels and are in the private collections of Wynton Marsalis, Mary Tyler Moore and more.
Ehle finds inspiration everywhere: "Strolling along a street, a rusty washer winks at me from the sidewalk, and later, I bring it to life as the eye of a hound, perhaps by sewing a broken light socket at its center." New Orleans, where she was born, plays into several of her pieces: Les Bon Temps Lion (left), Jazzman and Katrina Skull (below).
She's recently started to increase the size of her sculptures and enjoys working on them in public spaces, giving her the chance to talk with people and answer their questions. To view more of Ehle's work, go to her website jackieehle.com.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
In 2009, Leisa Collins, a native of New Zealand, and her husband started a 12,000 mile cross-country journey to find the perfect place to live and work. No surprise that journey led them to Alexandria, Virginia, where Collins has re-launched her art career and become active in the local artistic community.
Since her arrival, Collins has combined her talents and social activism in her work with Art on the Avenue, spearheading the 60-foot public mural in Del Ray, and the creation of Creative Art Nexus, a new local community art hub providing an art mentorship program for youth.
Collins' love for her adopted hometown is evident in her numerous paintings of Old Town Alexandria and Del Ray, the latter the subject of a recent art show at A Show of Hands. "I love [Del Ray's] eclectic blend of architecture and especially the bungalow homes, the artsy funky bright colors and most of all its true sense of community and family living," she explains in her blog Art with a Message.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
I guess the small incident of food poisoning has kept me from blogging about the GIANT yarn festival that happened the weekend before last. i just realized that I never posted anything about it. We had so few staff able to work that weekend, that I headed up there first thing Saturday morning and spent about an hour before turning around and coming home. Of course I bought some Socks that Rock mediumweight…my favorite sport weight sock yarn. I always buy a couple of hanks that I later have serious doubts about. In some ways, I think they are prettier in the hank and should just be put in a shadowbox and left alone. Yarn art anyone?
Given the amount of painted sock yarn in my stash that seems to look better in the skein…Veronica sent over this sock pattern idea from the Yarn Harlot Blog. It does seem to break up the pooling rather well. Something to consider…She did actually knit them in a colorway that I have in my stash somewhere.
So anyways, I was quite happy standing in the pack of folks searching for hand dyed sock yarn that I don’t need. I also stopped by the Miss Babs booth to see Veronica and Babs. Then I decided to eat fried dough and lamb kebabs at 9:30 am. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. It took three days to recover.
I did a fairly good job of resisting much of the yarn that I used to be tempted to buy. Having access to a great deal of yarn right here outside my office door has made it much easier to say “no” and be well behaved. I realize that not all of you have this luxury. I didn’t get much time to visit the sheeps…I ate some sheeps…but not a lot of visiting with the sheeps…What was everyone’s favorite sight at the festival?
Originally posted on May 18, 2011 and titled "So About That Festival."
Re-posted with permission of fibre spaceTM.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
reprinted from The Stuck Creative, by Gary Goodwin*:
The downside of not losing weight is having excess weight. Hard to hide that. The visible downside of not stopping smoking is smoking and worse. Can’t hide that. Visible and even dire downsides can be motivating. Worrying and painful, but motivating nonetheless.
Most people reading this post are working on creative projects outside the daily requirements of work, family, friends, pets, commuting, etc.
Optional projects just don’t have the power of presence that bad habits and nasty conditions. If you have a bad habit or a nasty condition, you know and everyone knows it. If you have an optional project and you don’t do it, who knows? Who cares? As long as you stick to the required stuff (i.e. feeding the dog; showing up for work, etc.), everyone is just fine.
Does not creating have a downside for you?
What is your “pain” if you are not creative?
A Creative is diminished when his/her projects are not born or finished. There is no chance to develop a craft. No chance to learn to be confident or to learn how to solve creative problems. No chance to meet others on the same path. No chance to have trust, hope, determination, and focus pounded into the psyche by the hammer and anvil of creative growth. No chance to see how living one’s creativity touches other people in surprising, unpredictable ways.
What is your downside if you should never create again?
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What will you lose?
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Who could you have been?
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Who could you have met?
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Where could you have gone?
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What could you have given?
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What could you have changed?
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What could you have prevented?
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Who will set-up an intervention to get you back to creative life?
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How and where will you “detox” from the uncreative world?
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Who will do surprise testing to make sure you have creativity circulating in your blood?
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How will you remember to stay on the straight and narrow (dedicating a portion of your life to creativity)?
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How can you weigh-in to see your weekly creativity level?
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What’s your plan for when you relapse into uncreativity?
What is the downside for you? Make it invisible no more.
*Gary Goodwin facilitates The Stuck Creative self-coaching workgroup at Mindful Hands. The workgroup meets the 3rd Satuday of every month. Next session is Saturday, May 21, 1:30-3:30pm. Free, donations gratefully accepted.
Monday, March 21, 2011
The Target Gallery and the March of Dimes are teaming up to raise money for both organizations with the appropriate title, "March Madness." This exhibit is open to ALL DC-area & regional artists with the requirement that the work be created on 10x10-inch wood panels provided by the Target Gallery. The exhibit runs through March 27 and five awards will be announced at the March Madness Art Party on March 25. The party starts at 7PM and will be held in the main hall of the Torpedo Factory Art Center, right outside the Target Gallery. As you may have guessed it by now, the theme of the evening is NCAA March Madness Tournament. The main hall will be transformed into a pub-like atmosphere, featuring games, pub fare, live music, prizes and more! Beat the buzzer: buy your ticket now and pay only $15. Purchase them at the door, and pay $20. Your ticket gains you access to the party and one drink ticket PLUS the many party festivities.
About March of Dimes
March of Dimes, a charity that is working to insure every baby is born healthy. In 2009, despite a volatile and challenging economy, the March of Dimes awarded more than $20.3 million for research grants focused on understanding and eventually preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality $2.7 million of the total research budget was invested in Prematurity Research Initiative grants to scientists researching prevention methods. In 2009, millions of people took part in special events to benefit the March of Dimes with family, friends and co-workers. 20,000 companies in 900 communities raised $75 million. Visit them on the web at http://www.marchofdimes.com
Buy your ticket now: http://www.torpedofactory.org/galleries/target2011/MarchMadness.htm
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
On Sunday, March 13, fibre space instructors and volunteers welcomed three of young people from the Wright to Read program to boost their knitting skills or learn to knit for the first time. Several volunteers from our community donated their time to teach them, and so many of you donated knits! We had enough kits to send back to the larger knitting group that has been formed at the Wright to Read program.
Leigh Hoyer, Director of the Wright to Read program, is always thinking of ways to get children involved with the broader community in which they live. Over the years she’s introduced them to the Alexandria Aces baseball team and Christylez Bacon, progressive hip-hop artist and Human Beat Box. But lately she’s taken a more hands-on approach, teaching the quiet rhythms of knitting.
Many of the children have become interested in knitting, sticking with the process long enough to make their own scarves and discover that they have relatives who also knit! Picking up this new hobby has given them a way to connect with their family who also enjoy the craft.
Wright to Read is an educational program associated with the Family Resource Learning Center in Alexandria, which promotes literacy through the tutoring and mentoring of elementary school students and outreach to the Alexandria community.
You can learn more and get involved with the Wright to Read program!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
I’ll bet you’ve never knitted while riding in a Humvee or an F16, while wearing a gas mask or cleaning a gun.
Lieutenant Commander Jenn Almy, Combat Knitter and Family Physician on the NATO Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit, has done all of these and more in her course of training and between caring for patients in Kandahar, in the south of Afghanistan.
This is the story of Jenn Almy and the Kandahar Combat Knitters.
Jenn has been knitting for about 3 1/2 years. She took up knitting as occupational therapy for her wrist, and to create a baby blanket for her sister’s new baby. Jenn grew into a “second family” during knitting classes at Yarning for You in San Marcos, CA. The knitters there made items for deployed soldiers, and gave her a warrior hat when they learned she would be deployed. Before leaving, Jenn lined up 6 months’ worth of knitting projects for her mom to send to her overseas.
During her course of field training prior to deployment at Fort Dix in New Jersey, Jenn’s CO, Captain Michael McCarten, noticed her knitting during down time. As McCarten’s wife, Kathleen, is also an avid knitter, he knew to ask Jenn if she was a Ravelry member. She was – and so he got them in touch with each other. Between them, they began to organize what became the Combat Knitters. Kathleen is also a member of the Knitting in Alexandria group on Ravelry – more on that in a moment.
En route to Kandahar, Jenn’s knitting began to attract more attention. Her colleagues were asking if she’d teach them to knit once they were all settled in. Even though she’d never taught before and considered herself a newbie, she agreed.
Jenn began to dream up a collaborative project to help teach new knitters and represent the military serving in Afghanistan. Her search led her to the idea of an American flag made of blocks – each one representing a state, military service, or star. The state blocks were designed by Rhonda White, the wife of a marine serving in Okinawa.
Jenn says: “Each square used an average size needle and its finished dimension of 8.5inch by 8.5 inch was a reasonable size. I thought this would be an excellent learning block for the future combat knitters. I would teach them to cast on, knit, purl, bind off and how to read a pattern. They would then finish a square and contribute to the overall project. They could complete this fairly quickly (well some faster than others) and then I could get them started on project for themselves (scarf, hat, etc).”
Jenn was still in touch with Kathleen here in Alexandria. Kathleen began to organize the yarn, needles, and patterns necessary to create Jenn’s American Flag afghan. She called on our help here at fibre space™ to contribute yarn to create the project.
Jenn ended up teaching about 20 people to knit in private lessons, setting up individual times between shifts. She says she tried to get men to learn, but “no takers.” She also created a Combat Knitter’s patch, which you can see her wearing below.
Staff members in Jenn’s hospital serve on the front lines of casualty care in Kandahar, the Taliban capital. They treat many types of patients, from American soldiers to Afghans burned in oil stove accidents, pregnant women, and children with devastating war-related injuries. Jenn helps these post-operative patients recover prior to evacuation. We all know that knitting is valuable for stress relief, and for the combat knitters this is even more true. Knitting has helped give the Combat Knitters a hobby during their infrequent down time, and something other than trauma to think and talk about after a day’s work at the hospital.
While Jenn’s deployment is ending, the Combat Knitters are still knitting, passing on what Jenn has taught them and planning new projects.
Here’s a look at the American Flag afghan – almost finished!
Jenn says: “The [afghan] is almost finished but it was more the journey of the project that was the most worthwhile aspect. Is the project perfect? No. There are mistakes. Does every block have the same gauge? No. The project though in my eyes is perfect because despite dealing with never ending traumas and patients, the combat knitters wanted to leave something behind. The project ended up larger in size than initially thought of. We have decided instead of one Afghan we are going to divide the Afghan into 4 parts and hopefully have someone mount it on a frame/board and then be able to hang in the NATO Role 3.”
We’d like to give a big thank-you to Jenn and the Combat Knitters for contributing these photos and telling their story. Also a big thank-you to the Knitting in Alexandria group (and others) who have generously supported the Combat Knitters and other service members. Jenn and other members of the Combat Knitters will be returning home and are looking forward to getting to their LYS. We are hoping to see some of them wearing their patches in our hood as well!
(Courtesy of fibrespace.com; written by Veronica and originally posted on March 7, 2011 )
Read the March 10, 2011 Washington Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/09/AR2011030905233.html
Handcrafted Alexandria
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
This Sunday, March 13, from 11am to 1pm, fibre space™ will host a charity knit or crochet project for Wright to Read. In the past we have made caps for preemies, helmet liners for soldiers and scarves for Operation Gratitude. Keep an eye on our site for an update on each month’s project. Stop back frequently to check on our next charity knitting project.
Share your passion for knitting with youth from the Wright to Read program at the Family Resource Learning Center (part of Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority). Join us to help continue the “knit education” of students at the center who have been learning to make their own scarves. We are in need of volunteer tutors / teachers during this event as well as kits for the students to knit with. The kit has one set of bamboo US#8 needles and one hank of Ella Rae Superwash. Purchase kits at fibre space™ now through Sunday March 13th. The materials are 20% off for the kits! (kit cost is $13.20)
About the Wright to Read program
Wright to Read is an educational program which promotes literacy through the tutoring and mentoring of elementary school students and outreach to the Alexandria community.
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