tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44603303052047244762024-03-13T11:07:33.598-04:00Where Earth Meets SkyWhere Earth Meets Sky is a creative journal of sorts where I share my artwork, photographs, creative inspirations, gardens and love of music.Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.comBlogger188125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-16985190364953026262016-02-29T10:27:00.000-05:002016-02-29T10:28:30.632-05:00My blog has moved to WhereEarthMeetsSky.com<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I66d-762aTM/VtRb0yR6viI/AAAAAAAACl8/O-V9afs0Oaw/s1600/Erin_Long_Photo76783238600065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I66d-762aTM/VtRb0yR6viI/AAAAAAAACl8/O-V9afs0Oaw/s640/Erin_Long_Photo76783238600065.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.whereearthmeetssky.com/" target="_blank">WhereEarthMeetsSky.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am so happy to announce the completion of my website. Please come visit me at <a href="http://whereearthmeetssky.com/">WhereEarthMeetsSky.com</a> where you can keep up with my blog and creations. There are lots of lovely photos with sneak peaks into my studio and gardens. Now you can purchase my cards, prints, embroideries and original art directly from my store online and I can ship to you anywhere in the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's been so wonderful connecting with you all via blogger over the years. I feel like I've been inspired by so many interesting people and talented artists and met some kindred spirits through the blogger community. I hope you will still check in with me and say hello from time to time at my website! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With love,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Kim </span></div>
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<br />Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-50588717859692038422016-01-30T11:37:00.000-05:002016-01-30T11:43:40.583-05:00Recap 2015!Hello! Well 2015 has come and gone and I have posted ZERO blog posts during that whole time! Wow. Ok. So how are you? Hope you had a great 2015 and that 2016 is off to a good start.<br />
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I have to say some happy, life altering events happened during 2015. One, the big ONE... my daughter, Mirela Jozefina, was born in February, 2015.<br />
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Being pregnant, giving birth and caring for my newborn and my two/three year old son took almost all the energy I had.<br />
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And two... as I came out of the new baby fog, I began to focus some of my time and attention back on my art business. Last fall I took the steps and began the process to create a website and online store that will serve as an online gallery and shopping place for all my original designs in their various manifestations as cards, archival prints, original embroideries and paintings.<br />
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I am very, very excited to be coming down the home stretch of designing my website with the creative, thoughtful and artistic contributions of my talented friends: photographer, Erin Long at <a href="http://www.erinlongphotography.com/" target="_blank">Erin Long Photography</a> and designer, Seth Gregory at <a href="http://www.sethgregorydesign.com/" target="_blank">Seth Gregory Design.</a> Without their help I would not have the site that is about to be launched. Thank you Erin and Seth!!!<br />
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So here we are, 2016. My baby will turn a year old at the end of February and I will give birth to another baby around the same time: WhereEarthMeetsSky.com<br />
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I hope you will visit me there and stay in touch via my blog through my new website. I will no longer be blogging via Blogger. Stay posted as I will let you know when WhereEarthMeetsSky.com officially launches. Thank you!Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-83459316305968985032014-11-08T19:36:00.001-05:002014-11-08T19:36:51.094-05:00Stage Road Walk About, 2014, November 15th, 11am - 5pm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Shop local this holiday season, by taking a classic fall country stroll. </div>
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<br />Visit four open houses all within a half mile of each other on historic Stage Road in Cummington, MA. This event shows the unique concentration of artists, small businesses and idyllic farms that pepper our Hilltowns. </div>
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<br />Leni Fried Printmaking at 494 Stage Rd. (www.lenifriedprintmaking.com) has a studio in her 150 year old barn. Leni Fried, an artist of over 30 years debuts her latest monoprints, cards and affordable art inspired by our hilltowns. <br /><br />Next on the tour at 509 Stage Rd. is Kimberly Wachtel: Where Earth Meets Sky Art and Designs (where-earth-meets-sky.blogspot.com). You can't miss Kim's brightly colored house which reminds one of her whimsical, handmade designs inspired by traditional Polish, Hungarian and Eastern European art. At her studio you will find original paper cuts, paintings, prints, cards and hand embroidered items<br /><br />At the top of the hill at 523 Stage Rd. is the old Colonial, site of the former Stage Road Tavern where one was served grog! You can ask for grog, but you may receive a pottery tour in its stead! Steven Jones, potter, will be showing his wheel thrown stoneware at this classic colonial and barn.<br /><br />The last stop for the Walkabout at 556 Stage Rd is Gordon's Fold Highland cattle. Look for their long horns and shaggy manes.Eric Driver has continued his grandfather Gordon's tradition of grazing these animals on this land. Bring your coolers Gordon's Fold will be selling Grass fed, U.S.D.A inspected beef and taking orders for Winter shares. <br /><br />Mark your calendars for Saturday, Nov.15th from 11-5 (Leni Fried printmaking only Nov. 16th). <br /><br />We encourage you to feel the crunch of fallen leaves, the brisk air and warm up with cider, art and refreshments at each location. Shop local, walk local this holiday season.<br /><br /> </div>
<br />Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-88534429036641813422014-04-23T10:41:00.000-04:002014-04-23T10:41:09.640-04:00Alchemy Fair is happening this weekend!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.alchemyfair.com/" target="_blank">Alchemy Fair</a> is happening this weekend! Here are some new hand embroidered sachets I made during the past few
weeks to sell at <a href="http://www.alchemyfair.com/" target="_blank">Alchemy Fair </a>along with my original designs, available as cards
and archival prints. I'm really looking forward to being part of this special event. I think it is going to be a lot of fun.<br />
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<span><strong>Craft, Food, Workshops and Entertainment.<br />Saturday April 26, 10am-6pm &Sunday April 27, 11am-4pm<br />Gateway City Arts Complex, Holyoke, MA </strong></span> </div>
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(92-114 Race Street, Holyoke, MA, 01040).</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">$6 at the door, under 12 free. </span></div>
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includes participation in dozens of FREE workshops including juggling,
tight wire walking, fabric trapeze, pottery making, hula hooping and our
Kids Kraft Korner. Check the </span><a href="http://www.alchemyfair.com/workshops.html" title=""><span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>workshop page</strong></span></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"> for days and times. </span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>UPDATE: We are now officially a <a href="http://www.stbaldricks.org/">St. Baldricks Foundation</a> Event! Come shave your head with us and help put an end to pediatric cancer! </strong></span>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5;"><strong><span>Alchemy</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></strong></span><br /><span style="line-height: 1.5;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Different elements coming together to create something entirely new </span></strong></span></div>
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<span>Our Sponsors</span><br />Earth Level: <br /><a href="http://www.yarn.com/" title="">WEBS, America's Yarn Store</a><br /><a href="http://www.northamptonbeadery.com/" title="">Northampton Beadery</a><br />Water Level:<br /><a href="http://www.premierestaffing.biz/" title="">Premiere Staffing of Holyoke</a><br />Air Level:<br /><a href="http://www.artisansofwmass.com/" title="">Artisans of Western Mass</a><br />Friends of the Fair:<br /><a href="http://www.showcircusstudio.com/SHOW.html" title="">The Show Circus Studio</a><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/alotta.hoopla.5?fref=ts">Alotta Hoopla</a><br /><a href="http://www.beorganics.net/index.html" title="">BE Organics</a><br /><a href="http://www.maleaspottery.com/studio.html" title="">The Celadon Studio</a></h2>
Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-39488086069559902382014-04-02T10:05:00.000-04:002014-04-02T10:05:53.234-04:00Get Thee To A Garden!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"Spring is here. If you are inclined to look for the meaning of life, get thee to a garden. There are profound reasons why the garden is central in the sacred texts of major religions. Since ancient times, it has been the place where the soul goes to exercise, while simultaneously engaged in a multilayered dance with earth, plants, sun, birds, bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, night, day, temperature, the faithful earthworm, water, minerals, fragrance, a cast of thousands of microorganisms, our stalwart friends the fungi, chlorophyll, nectar. I think of it as a ballet in the biosphere."<br />
- George Ball in The Wall Street Journal<br />
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The temperatures are climbing to the 50's F here in the hills and although there is still snow on the muddy, muddy, ground, I feel as if I am finally thawing out from a long, hard winter. The above quote made my head spin in gladness for the beautiful perspective of the words which celebrate our interconnectedness with the plant, animal environmental, celestial systems. My gardens at home are just starting to reveal themselves again and I'm aching to connect with the dirt and the plants. Soon, soon... <br />
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We went to the Smith Botanical gardens a couple of weeks ago. Oh, the smells! Wonderful smells! Humid, damp air, moist dirt, hyacinth, freesia, daffodils, tulips, orange blossoms, camellia, cacao trees... It was soothing to our winter weary souls. And nice to have a view looking out the conservatory windows through green plants and steamed up windows to the gray frozen landscape.<br />
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So if you are still waiting for the grasses to green, the daffodils to push up, the forsythia to bloom, get thee to a garden! A botanical garden or conservatory is a good place to BE, even if just for an hour or two. Your kids will love it, you will love it! You will linger in a room of blooming bulbs and close your eyes, just to breath in the fragrance. Happy Spring!<br />
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<span id="goog_1727648049"></span><span id="goog_1727648050"></span><br />Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-50735786567571911462014-03-12T10:36:00.000-04:002014-03-12T10:38:07.597-04:00My Book Review of "Bieganski: The Brute Polack Stereotype, Its Role in Polish-Jewish Relations and American Popular Culture" <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>From Naivety to a Better Understanding of Polish-Jewish Relations and Stereotypes</b><br />
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I just finished reading <i>Bieganski: The Brute Polack Stereotype, Its Role in Polish- Jewish Relations and American Popular Culture</i> by Dr. Danusha Goska. The heart-wrenching, complex realities and stories captured my mind and heart. Goska’s brave and honest writing pulled me in. The information revealed and the topics discussed about Poles and Jews are what most people, in polite conversation, do not want to talk about or bring up. “Don’t go there. It is too touchy.” Goska bravely goes there and brings to the forefront a history of the Polish people and Polish Jews that needs to be openly discussed and understood. Stereotypes have defined these cultures in a negative light for far too long. It is time to understand and look at our assumptions and biases. I give Goska a standing ovation for collecting all this harrowing, at times horrific, yet important, information for her book. Goska’s agenda is not to side with Poles or Jews. Her agenda is to uncover, reveal and discuss an elephant in the room: the misrepresentation and stereotyping of Poles in contemporary culture by some people and organizations. She has introduced me to a whole wide world. Goska writes:<br />
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“Stereotyping occurs when insupportable conclusions are drawn from demonstrable facts. These conclusions come from a limited perspective. To the Polish peasant who saw Jews only as tavern keepers or estate managers who lured Poles into excessive drink and then pressured ruined, drunken peasants to pay very high tavern tabs, or pressured desperate serfs to work to fill grain quotas, the Jew is a greedy drug pushing slave driver, no more, no less. To the Jew whose most memorable encounter with a Polish peasant was the Pole who drank to excess and toiled like a mule in the fields, the Pole is a bestial drunk. The Pole did not factor into his assessment the tender Jewish parent, or the intimidated Jew pressured by the Polish magnate to wring the peasants for all they were worth. The Jews did not see the exuberance, generosity and creativity that the peasant displayed with his peers.”<br />
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With all stereotyping we choose to see only one side of a story. The simplification of Jewish or Polish culture perpetuates misunderstandings, bigotry and hatred. When you bring into the mix horrific world events like the rise of the Nazis, the Holocaust and the power play Poland experienced at the hands of Russia and the Soviet Union, the stereotypes are compounded by the awfulness and the ugliness of these times and events.<br />
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I had not heard of this book and I didn’t really think about Polish and/or Jewish stereotypes much before the spring of 2011. This all changed when I went on a quest to Poland to meet my relatives and to study art history and ethnography through a summer school program at Jagiellonian University in Krakow. I met Dr. Goska on this trip and that is how I learned about <i>Bieganski</i>.<br />
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A couple months before I embarked on my trip, I attended a Georgian singing workshop, in a New England town near where I live. I spoke with a man about my plans to travel. When I said I was going to spend a little over a month in Poland, a look of astonishment appeared on his face, followed by a question. “Why would you want to go to Poland?” he scoffed. I was taken aback by the suspicious energy that was driving this inquiry. An awkward pause in our conversation followed. He then said, “The people of Poland are anti-semitic. My nephew was there this past year and he was horrified by what he saw and what he experienced. Poles hate Jews.” His demeanor and blanket definition of a whole race of people alarmed me. Aside from the “dumb-Polack” jokes I heard growing up, this was the first serious run in I’ve had with the stereotyping of Polish people. This “Bieganski” moment shook me awake. Interactions like this one, documented and undocumented, is why <i>Bieganski</i> is such an important book. <i>Bieganski</i> has been an instrumental book in helping me to understand Polish / Jewish relations.<br />
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Goska unveils how Poles are stereotyped in popular media by writing extensively of the portrayal of Poles in American cinema and in the press. She devotes early chapters in <i>Bieganski</i> to these fascinating topics. You have to read these chapters to believe it! <br />
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<i>Chapter 6: The Peasant and Middleman Minority Theory</i> was particularly eye-opening to read. I found this chapter helpful for understanding the core issues explaining the rise of Polish / Jewish stereotypes. Jews were the middleman minority in Poland for hundreds of years. <br />
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“Middleman minority populations are concentrated in urban, skilled and mercantile professions. Their Socioeconomic status falls between elites and peasants. To some extent, they operate under their own code, and are not limited by the surrounding culture’s taboos that impede business progress for those rooted in their communities (Bonacich 584). Middleman minorities have at least a ritual tie to another territory, and if only in a mythic sense, experience themselves as ‘sojourners.’ The sojourner mindset encourages the choice for easily liquidated professions and the amassing of capital, while at the same time it erects barriers to the forming of bonds with members of what Bonacich calls the ‘host’ society. Bonds are formed with other members of the middleman group, even those geographically distant (585-86; 593).” <br />
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Chapter 6 provides a theory and one possible explanation of why relationships between Poles and Jews have not always been smooth, easy or easily understood.<br />
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Poles and Poland, as well as the Jews, were victims of the Nazis. Chapter 7 in <i>Bieganski, The Necessity of Bieganski: A Shamed and Horrified World Seeks a Scapegoat,</i> begins to explain the question that I have in all of this. Why are Poles sometimes blamed by Jews and others for the Holocaust? Why are Poles sometimes blamed for allowing the Holocaust to happen? It was Nazi Germany who brought all of this about. Nazi Germany caused the suffering and deaths of millions of Jews AND Polish people and others. The problem is as Goska writes here: <br />
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“If one does not single out Poles, whom can one blame? The answer is too terrifying to attract an audience. Given the worlds response to the Holocaust, and to events since, like the auto-genocide in Cambodia, Wladyslaw Bartoszewski wrote:<br />
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‘Humanity has failed and continues to fail ... the only people who did not fail and who completely confirmed their humanity were those who responded to this test by making the ultimate choice and who died helping their neighbors. No one living can say that of himself. No on living can - whether for political or polemical reasons - demand it of others.’ ”<br />
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I’ve read comments about <i>Bieganski</i>, in book reviews and on the <i>Bieganski</i> blog, where others sometimes want to label Goska as an anti-semite and/or anti-Polish. Both criticisms are flawed and narrow. <i>Bieganski </i>is such an important book because Dr. Goska brings to light stories of Jews and Poles that help air out the the stink that builds up and perpetuates stereotypes. It is time to move beyond the past, towards a more understanding, kind-hearted, compassionate view of the Polish-Jewish history. As long as there is an US and a THEM, there will be stereotypes. Our human selves are flawed yet the religions which represent the Jews and the Poles, Judaism and Christianity, teach kindness, compassion and understanding. Unfortunately, until we can rise higher than our human hurts and gain a level of compassion and forgiveness, there will be negative stereotypes. <br />
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Goska writes:<br />
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“It is time for people of good will to stop scapegoating, to stop insisting that one ethnic group is uniquely prone to stereotypical thinking. It is time for people of good will to join together to a way to address all stereotypical thinking, including that engaged in by stereotyped people themselves.”<br />
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One of the many things I take away from this necessary book is to tread lightly and question assumptions: personal assumptions and assumptions made by others including the media, academia, and world and religious leaders. <i>Bieganski </i>deserves to be widely read and discussed , especially by Polish-Americans, Poles and Jews. It deserves to be included in academic courses about Jewish and Polish relations. The Bieganski issue is not black and white. Goska does a fair and thorough job revealing the shades of gray found in the stories she shares and tells. Goska does not paint the picture that all Poles are good and all Jews are bad, nor vice versa. Instead she walks a fine line in her writing revealing the hurtful stories, both true and untrue, that are perpetuated about these two intertwined cultures and ethnicities. <br />
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Check out Danusha Goska's <a href="http://bieganski-the-blog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Bieganski The Blog</a> for more thought provoking reading and links in relationship to Bieganski issues in popular culture. She is now in the process of having her book picked up by a Polish publisher, <a href="http://www.wysokizamek.com.pl/" target="_blank">Wysoki Zamek</a> publishing. I wish her and her publisher the best in this pursuit. See my Amazon review and comment of vote for it<a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R1F4MD02K6FIZ6" target="_blank"> here.</a>Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-75253659445681214342014-02-09T12:33:00.000-05:002014-02-09T12:33:37.608-05:00A Fun Morning! Valentine Paper Cut Workshop @ Knack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last Saturday I had a wonderful morning at <a href="http://www.knack.org/" target="_blank">Knack</a> teaching paper cut techniques to ten lovely women. I had a full house show up for the workshop and we all gathered around the table and got to work. I talked a bit about Wycinanki, Polish paper cuts. I especially focused on the Kurpie style Polish paper cut which uses a single fold, symmetrical design technique. Some students used the templates I brought to class for their design and other students created their own unique designs. Every paper cut made in this workshop was created by using recycled / up-cycled materials that Knack has gathered or that have been donated to the store. All the women seemed inspired by the class and especially by the design examples I shared from books I bought while studying in Poland and Hungary. A couple Polish/American students came to the class because they wanted to learn a little about their creative, Polish heritage. It feels good to pass on the beauty and heritage of traditions I've found particularly rich and inspiring. I plan to be back to Knack sometime this spring to teach another paper cut class. This time we will create floral paper cut designs. Stay posted for the date which I will announce here and on Facebook once I book the day and time. Thank you to Macey and Amber at Knack for having me teach this class and for taking these pictures which capture the feel of a fun, creative morning at your store.Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-13578380359023380222014-01-16T13:47:00.000-05:002014-01-16T13:51:07.880-05:00Making Valentine's Cards: Up-cycled, Paper Cut Workshop February 1st<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last month I created the above example and template of a hand made, paper cut, Valentine using paper remnants I found in my scrap paper folder for an upcoming work shop I'm teaching at <a href="http://www.knack.org/" target="_blank">KNACK: The Art of Clever Re-Use</a>, in Easthampton, MA. The workshop takes place in a couple weeks, on Saturday morning, February 1st, from 10am until 12pm. Spots are still open if you want to join me!<br />
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I'm really looking forward to teaching an art class again as it has been a number of years since I've been in a teaching role, encouraging other's creative energy and talents. Yes, in a past life, before I moved to western MA, I was an art teacher to middle school and high school students.<br />
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I took two embroidery classes at KNACK this fall and had a ball! It was wonderful to get out of the house on a Saturday morning. I walked into KNACK with the smell of a fresh pot of coffee brewing, greeting my senses and one of the friendly owners there to welcome us. All the workshop attendees soon gathered around the table and got to work with a wonderful and talented teacher. We all learned something new that morning and it was inspiring to be in KNACK's studio space.<br />
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I just got confirmation today that the workshop is a GO since I have enough people enrolled in the class to allow it to happen. And there are still some spots available if you want to join us at KNACK's fabulous creative re-use lounge. I included the following information taken from KNACK's website which shares all the info and links you need to find out more info and enroll in the workshop.<br />
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<b>Class Description
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Valentine’s day is just around the corner! Make unique cards to give
to loved ones (or keep for yourself!). Paper Cutting is an art form
that is practiced by different cultures all around the world.<br />
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You will learn about the Polish form of paper cutting called
“Wycinanki”; the Kurpie style of cutting from Poland is the inspiration
for the projects in this workshop. This style cut out is made from one
piece of paper that is folded in half, down the middle. You'll create
beautiful cards to take home, and learn the skills to make many more on
your own.<br />
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<b>Details </b></div>
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<b> </b>Saturday, February 1st<br />
10am-12pm<br />
Taught by Kim Wachtel<br />
Cost: $30<br />
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Pre-registration required<br />
Class size limited to 10<br />
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<b>Sign up</b></div>
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Stop by during regular business hours to register for this class, or you may sign up online.<br />
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<a href="https://knack.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php">Register for Workshop!</a></h3>
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Our <a href="http://www.knack.org/workshops">cancellation policy</a> can be found at the bottom of the <a href="http://www.knack.org/workshops">Workshop</a> listings page.<br />
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<b>Questions</b></div>
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<b> </b>Contact us! We can be reached at 413-529-0126 or <a href="mailto:info@knack.org">info@knack.org</a>.</div>
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Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-81592414716725716802014-01-05T21:00:00.002-05:002014-01-05T21:00:19.811-05:00Snow Days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My little place in this world is covered in snow again. As I struggled with the flu a couple of weeks ago it became warm and all the snow melted away before Christmas. It all just didn't feel right! I began to feel better and then freezing temperatures and a few flurries came on Christmas Eve. Beginning on New Year's Day the snow officially returned. The fresh snow is one of the things I am grateful for in 2014.<br />
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I have been enjoying looking at art work online that captures the beauty of winter and this snowy season. A friend recently posted art work done in the early 1900's by Wladyslaw Jarocki on facebook and I found his work beautiful. I love the contrast of the whites, greys, browns and blues of the landscape with the brightly colored scarves and embroidery accents on the traditional clothing of his Polish highlander subjects. I want to give away my black, nylon covered jacket for sheepskin, fleece lined, embroidered coats, woolen stockings, leather boots, long heavy skirts and colorful scarves and dress like these beautiful highland women.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wladyslaw Jarocki<em><b>, "Winter Sun"</b></em>, oil on canvas, 69.5 x 99 cm, private collection</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wladyslaw Jarocki, <em><b>"Hunter in Winter"</b></em>, 1915, oil on plywood, 98 x 67 cm, private collection<a href="http://artyzm.com/e_historia.php?id=7553"><img alt="" src="http://artyzm.com/images/i.gif" style="border: 0;" /></a></td></tr>
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This past holiday season I was particularly inspired by eclectic paintings and other works of art posted by a blogger at <a href="http://polarbearstale.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">A Polar Bear's Tale</a>. The art work posted there is so special. There are illustrations, fine paintings, crafted items and photographs to be enjoyed. All the images chosen for this blog seem infused with magic, beauty and nostalgia. The posts cover themes and the art work reflects the seasons and holidays. I enjoyed looking at this blog over Christmas more than watching a holiday movie or tv program. If you enjoy looking at lovely works of art that reflect the magic of a season I suggest that you head over to <a href="http://polarbearstale.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">A Polar Bear's Tale</a> to scroll through the treasures there.<br />
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And finally since this is the first post of the New Year I think <b>gratitude</b> is the word for 2014. I started a gratitude jar and before going to sleep I will write down on a piece of paper a moment of beauty from the day for which I am grateful. On New Year's Eve this upcoming year I will read about all the positive things that filled up 2014. Among other things, I am grateful for the love of my family and friends, the return of snow, celebrating Christmas again with my mom and dad who came up to visit on New Year's Day bearing beautifully wrapped gifts, birds chirping and singing outside on a walk and nearby my bird feeders and the kisses of my 18 month old, cutie-pie of a boy, Kazmir.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">gifts on New Year's Day with snow just beginning to fall outside</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">garden in snow</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_1087193482"></span><span id="goog_1087193483"></span>Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-57977905522054736012013-12-24T10:58:00.000-05:002013-12-24T10:58:54.543-05:00Merry Christmas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! </span></div>
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Above are a few images from vintage Polish Christmas cards for you to enjoy. I hope that you enjoy this special Christmas Eve and Christmas day where ever you are, with those you love! <br />
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Images from: <a href="http://www.petea.home.pl/apan/en/node/2343">http://www.petea.home.pl/apan/en/node/2343</a>Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-9904875295640086652013-12-17T15:45:00.000-05:002013-12-17T15:47:22.601-05:00Spruce Corner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For the last two weekends some of my cards and embroidery pieces were at the Spruce Corner Schoolhouse Holiday Sale. Above are some pictures of this magical little place. I traveled "over the river and through the woods" to get here and also seemed to travel back in time.<br />
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This little schoolhouse harkens back to another time when we educated our children in our small communities in one room buildings. Kids of all ages would gather to learn together. As I set up my things for the holiday sale my mind wandered. Part of me longs to send my child to this place with other kids of all ages, with a dedicated teacher who believes in creativity and story as well as math and science. Today schools often look like office buildings or even worse, prisons. They are often big impersonal spaces filled with people and tied to the clock like a factory. Although a place like this may be filled with good teachers and love, it is just hard for me to think about how big classrooms and schools have become in their physical size and numbers of students. The system is less personal. So when I come to this space for the holiday sale, as an artist and a holiday shopper, I start to day dream about "what if?". What if our small communities in the hills of MA could open some schoolhouses like this with a dedicated teacher and smaller groups of our children? Is it possible? What would it look like?<br />
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When I walk through the wooden door the first thing that I am aware of is the quiet. There is only the sound of the crackling fire and the hushed voices of other holiday shoppers. I also quickly become aware of the lack of electricity. The light is all natural. On a cloudy day or at twilight the space has a muted, serene quality and on a sunny day the sun casts shadows, playing with the window panes and lovely arts and crafts objects that are for sale. A fire in the big wood stove heats the space. A top the stove a pot of spiced, hot apple cider infuses it's fragrance throughout the room. The building is truly how it would have been in the 18th and 19th centuries. There is no loud holiday pop music, no glaring flourescent lights and no crowds. It's a place where I can think and where I can enjoy what I'm looking at.<br />
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If you live in the area or find yourself in western MA during the first two weekends in December perhaps you would like to shop here too? The Spruce Corner Schoolhouse is on Rt. 116 between Ashfield and Plainfield, MA. This was my third time participating in this sale and I look forward to it every year.<br />
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Here are a few things that I purchased this year. I knitted knome for Kazi, a felted Christmas tree ornament and some felting materials to try my hand at felt painting.<br />
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It's a beautiful frigid snow day here at my home and I'm keeping the wood stove pumping as I write this. If you look closely at the picture with the knitted knome, out the window my sentient sunflower is still standing guard over our house and garden. Her head is bowed and she wears a cap of snow. I hope you are enjoying the warmth of the season where ever you are!<br />
<br />Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-63002765056263953592013-12-09T21:23:00.000-05:002013-12-09T21:23:46.256-05:00Winter Quiet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In between the extreme busyness of art business activities, craft fairs, stocking the stores that carry my designs, holiday travels, family gatherings and birthday celebrations there have been moments of peace and quiet. I catch these moments when I can. Sometimes the moments are more premeditated and sometimes the quiet moments catch me by surprise. <br />
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Like now as I write this on an icy December night, the baby is asleep and my husband is out in his studio. I have the house to myself. I lit a lot of candles and am playing medieval renaissance music through the speakers. It feels good to sit in golden candle light and catch my breath at home in a peaceful atmosphere. I created this moment.<br />
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Another moment of winter quiet came by surprise this weekend early in the morning and at twilight as I drove to and from the craft fair in Charlemont, MA in which I participated. The rural winter scenes were beautiful as I drove and the light against the silhouettes of the trees so lovely. These quiet moments in the car were a welcome break from the constant sound of voices and loud, popular holiday music at the fair. The pictures above were taken during these moments this weekend.<br />
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Winter is a time for quiet, a time to think, reflect, regroup and dream. I'm slowly exhaling after all the running around of 2013 and I am ready to reflect and dream. For the next few months I want less agendas and less deadlines. My creative self needs this kind of break.<br />
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I turned 38 this past Tuesday. I am excited about this time in my life. I'm old enough to know more about what I want and who I am. And I'm young enough to continue working on projects and begin working on some long term goals. I can take steps, one at a time, that will eventually add up to something big. I think this something will take years and years to accomplish. I hope to still have plenty of time ahead.<br />
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And yet despite having goals and dreams, I feel wrapped in the mystery of the unknown and this is where the magic lies. Those unexpected, sometimes quiet moments when I feel held, embraced and guided by something bigger than myself.Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-30617981137877712012013-10-31T20:33:00.000-04:002013-10-31T20:35:50.207-04:00Danse Macabre<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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...and the veil between the worlds is thin.<br />
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Happy Halloween.<br />
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I'm thinking about my ancestors as All Souls Day approaches. My relatives will be lighting candles by their grave sites in Poland and Hungary tomorrow.<br />
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I couldn't help but listen to this song tonight, remembering when it captured my imagination so many years ago as a little girl. And it still captures my imagination! I love this piece by Camille Saint-Saens. Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-74964081810653538762013-10-18T14:53:00.004-04:002013-10-18T14:53:55.901-04:00Shop Local! ...handmade arts, crafts and farm on Stage Road, Cummington, MA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been busy getting my things ready for this fun event that I am helping put on and organize with my neighbors. I feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful area with many talented artists and farmers. Our Walkabout has become a tradition I look forward to which encourages the support of local arts and farms and the local economy. I hope some of you can make it out here to take a stroll and visit our neighborhood. Mark your calendars!<br />
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Our press release and posters are making their way out into the world. Here they are...<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Shop
local this holiday season, by taking a classic fall country
stroll. Visit six open houses all within a half mile of each other on
historic Stage Road in Cummington, MA. This event shows the unique
concentration of artists, small businesses and idyllic farms that pepper
our Hilltowns. Start at 494 Stage Rd. or 556 Stage Rd. to do the 1 mile
round trip tour, on November 2nd and 3rd, 11 am to 5 pm. (** Just 494
Stage Rd is open on the 3rd.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Leni Fried Printmaking at 494 Stage Rd. (<a href="http://www.lenifriedprintmaking.com/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="color: black;">www.lenifriedprintmaking.com</span></span></a>) and One-Off Handcycles (<a href="http://oneoffhandcycle.com/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="color: black;">oneoffhandcycle.com</span></span></a>)
have a shop and studio in their 150 year old barn. Leni Fried, an
artist of over 30 years debuts her latest tree monoprints, cards and
affordable art inspired by our landscape. Mike Augspurger from One-Off
handcycle builds and sells a three wheeled handcycle for off road
use for people in wheelchairs. Rosemary Wessel (<a href="http://www.rosemarywessel.com/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="color: black;">www.rosemarywessel.com</span></span></a>) will have cards and original oil paintings of trees and more other-worldly subjects. She will also be showing in their barn.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next
on the tour at 509 Stage Rd. is Kimberly Wachtel: Where Earth Meets Sky Designs. You can't miss Kim's
brightly colored house which reminds one of her whimsical, original handmade designs inspired by traditional Polish, Hungarian and Eastern
European art. paintings and cards. Her hand made paper cuts, paintings, prints, cards and embroidered items will be for sale.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At
the top of the hill at 523 Stage Rd. is the old Colonial, site of the
former Stage Road Tavern where one was served grog! You can ask for
grog, but you may receive a pottery tour in its stead! Steven Jones,
potter, will be showing his work in this classic colonial and barn.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
last stop for the Walkabout at 556 Stage Rd is Gordon's Fold Highland
cattle. Look for their long horns and shaggy manes. Eric Driver has
continued his grandfather Gordon's tradition of grazing these animals on
this land.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
encourage you to feel the crunch of fallen leaves, the brisk air and
warm up with cider, art and refreshments at each location. Shop local,
walk local this holiday season.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">See you there,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Leni, Mike, Rose, Kim, Jim, Steven, Eric and Monica..."</span></span></div>
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Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-45119568268006212682013-10-10T15:34:00.000-04:002013-10-10T15:34:30.347-04:00Christmas Trees and Snowflakes, New Card Designs, Holiday 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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These new Christmas Tree and Snowflake paper cut images are at the printers this week to be made into holiday cards for the upcoming season. I thought I'd give you a little preview of what I'll have available at the Walkabout, craft fairs and at the stores where I sell my things and here on my blog starting in the beginning of November.<br />
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It is good to have some new items made to sell at the various sales opportunities coming up in the next few months.<br />
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I liked making these Christmas "Tree of Life" designs and Snowflake designs. Working with colorful paper, coming up with original, folk-style inspired images and symmetrical design is satisfying for me. I like the moment I unfold a new piece after cutting it for an hour or so to see if it works.<br />
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Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-75683690059776220602013-10-04T15:10:00.000-04:002013-10-04T15:14:52.406-04:00Sister Sunflower<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
A sunflower grew to be twelve feet tall in my garden this year. She was a volunteer. I did not plant her. She is the daughter and granddaughter of the sunflowers that grew in the same spot over the past few years. I've come to think that her presence is the guardian of the house and the land. Everyone who comes to my house comments on her. I like her strong, quiet companionship. Sometimes I go out to the garden and just stand next to her. All alone. I look at her beauty and think about how she teaches me. In return I admire her and give her a little of my company. Her flower head is over a foot in diameter. The seeds are riping and later this fall they will feed the birds, squirrels and chipmunks who will come. Her head is heavy, bent down in a pose of humility and surrender. The dazzling yellow petals have whithered away. The nights have turned chilly. Her heart shaped leaves draw inward towards her strong and straight stalk holding her upright even in the rain and in the wind. She surrenders to the season. Fall is here and the trees, birds and flowers are letting us know. It has been a truly beautiful two weeks. I can't remember a more beautiful turning of the leaves to their golds, reds and coppers. Rain came today and everything is beautiful in a different kind of way.<br />
<br />
In light of listening to a weekly poetry program on the radio, I feel like sharing another Mary Oliver poem. I just love her work. This excerpt from the following poem <i>The Sunflowers </i>resonates with me<i>. </i>Oliver just squeezes out the truth, the essence of a thing, the essence of spirit the truth about what it means to be alive.<br />
<br />
Like these words from <i>The Sunflower</i>...<br />
<br />
"...each of them, though it stands<br />
in a crowd of many,<br />
like a separate universe,<br />
<br />
is lonely, the long work<br />
of turning their lives<br />
into a celebration<br />
is not easy..."<br />
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<i>The Sunflowers</i>: APoem by Mary Oliver</h3>
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Come with me<br />
into the field of sunflowers.<br />
Their faces are burnished disks,<br />
their dry spines<br />
<br />
creak like ship masts,<br />
their green leaves,<br />
so heavy and many,<br />
fill all day with the sticky<br />
<br />
sugars of the sun.<br />
Come with me<br />
to visit the sunflowers,<br />
they are shy<br />
<br />
but want to be friends;<br />
they have wonderful stories<br />
of when they were young -<br />
the important weather,<br />
<br />
the wandering crows.<br />
Don't be afraid<br />
to ask them questions!<br />
Their bright faces,<br />
<br />
which follow the sun,<br />
will listen, and all<br />
those rows of seeds -<br />
each one a new life!<br />
<br />
hope for a deeper acquaintance;<br />
each of them, though it stands<br />
in a crowd of many,<br />
like a separate universe,<br />
<br />
is lonely, the long work<br />
of turning their lives<br />
into a celebration<br />
is not easy. Come<br />
<br />
and let us talk with those modest faces,<br />
the simple garments of leaves,<br />
the coarse roots in the earth<br />
so uprightly burning.Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-33438396667885480092013-09-26T20:35:00.000-04:002013-09-26T20:35:01.187-04:00Wholesome Transformations: A hand designed commission<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
My friend Bi-sek has been interested in homegrown, healthy food for longer than I've known her. She's a talented organic gardener, cook, community organizer, nutritionist, health enthusiast, environmentalist and mother. I admire her and her work as she pushes herself as a woman and a professional. She is also the founder of the community garden that I am involved with called <a href="http://www.raspberryhillgarden.org/" target="_blank">Raspberry Hill Community Garden.</a><br />
<br />
Last year she commissioned me to design the above logo for a business she is developing. She wanted something hand drawn and painted in my colorful folk style. Since her business is about transforming oneself through nutrition, my
inspiration for the drawing started with a seed blooming into a vibrant flower. I choose the sunflower because not only is the plant beautiful, the seeds are nourishing. We decided to put some images of healthy vegetables and fruit in the corners of the composition. <br />
<br />
Bi-sek and her daughter shared a gift this past winter with me and Kaz. They would come over to my house to play with Kaz and give me a little break from taking care of the baby so I could head over to my studio for an hour, two or three to work on this project. At this time it was important for me to start reclaiming my artistic self. This project helped me do that. Thank you, Bi-sek!<br />
<br />
You can find out more about Bi-sek's work with nutrition at <a href="http://www.wholesometransformations.com/" target="_blank">Wholesome Transformations</a>. <br />
<br />Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-5556030126550114502013-09-17T20:58:00.000-04:002013-09-17T20:58:14.665-04:00"My work is loving the world..." a poem by Mary Oliver<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Messenger</b></div>
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<i>By Mary Oliver</i></div>
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<i> </i>
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My work is loving the world.</div>
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Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—</div>
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equal seekers of sweetness.</div>
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Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.</div>
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Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?</div>
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Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let me</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
keep my mind on what matters,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
which is my work,</div>
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<br /></div>
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which is mostly standing still and learning to be</div>
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astonished.</div>
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The phoebe, the delphinium.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.</div>
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Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart</div>
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and these body-clothes,</div>
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a mouth with which to give shouts of joy</div>
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to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
telling them all, over and over, how it is</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
that we live forever.</div>
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All photos were taken today, a glorious September day, at the Raspberry Hill Community garden.</div>
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While on a drive this week I came across a radio show where poetry is read. The host read a Mary Oliver poem that took my breath away. I think her work is deeply beautiful and true.</div>
Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-63647234087569093922013-09-12T21:17:00.000-04:002013-09-13T10:00:48.628-04:00Another week around the homestead: mental meanderings and links to interesting articles and tasty recipes.Another week has gone by...<br />
<br />
And it is time to post on my blog.<br />
<br />
I am posting on a weekly basis these days and have no plans to break from this habit (even if I'm not sure what to write about). This is one of those weeks, I'm not sure what to write about.<br />
<br />
Yet, there is always "something" to write about. This week has been about traveling in busy circles, one thing to another and then back to that first thing and on to the third. So please indulge me. I do not have a unified theme to this post. Following will be some thoughts, recipes, stories of work around the homestead, and some inspiring and interesting articles I read.<br />
<br />
The approach of fall always seems to up the anti in New England. One becomes soberly aware that winter is approaching and it's time to prepare. Time to get the wood in and stacked, time to harvest and preserve from the garden, time to prepare for opportunities like craft fairs and art sales that happen in the fall around the holidays, time to go back to school and get back to normal work, child care routines.<br />
<br />
The icing on the cake was a yucky cold that Kaz and I came down with, made all the worse with the high, hot temperatures we've experienced the last couple of days. Can I just say... blah, blah, blah?<br />
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Before we came down with the cold, Grandma and Grandpa came to visit us from PA for a couple days last week. We went out to lunch in Northampton and as you can see, Kaz was really excited about sharing the quesedilla we ordered.<br />
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Anyway...<br />
<br />
Last weekend we put the finishing touches on a wood shed we built out back in which to stack our wood. There will be no more loose metal roofing blowing about in windy winter storms, yay! The next day Josh decided to slaughter 4 of our old hens who are no longer laying as many eggs. A friend came over to help. I took care of the baby. Really, I was not in the mood to take part in the killing of our hens. I was game to cook them though.<br />
<br />
So I made a delicious chicken stock by cooking the bird for 14 hours in a huge stock pot with our home grown potatoes, carrots, garlic, dill and parsley. That night we had a chicken noodle soup for dinner to help us get over our colds. Quart after quart of golden stock made the way to the freezer to be used this fall and winter. Then, tonight I made a homemade chicken pot pie. Oh my, it was good! I've never done this before. It took some work but it was worth it! Here's the <a href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/chicken-potpie-3" target="_blank">Chicken Pot Pie recipe</a> that I roughly followed (substituting fresh vegis and herbs from the garden) with a <a href="http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_pie_crust/" target="_blank">homemade pie crust recipe</a>. If you find yourself with some chicken meat after making stock all day I highly recommend using the meat this way. Homemade chicken pot pie is the perfect thing for a cool fall/winter evening. Well, yes, it IS still summer and really it IS pretty warm and humid but I had to make use of the food left over from stock making.<br />
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I've been rotating back and forth between new paper cut deigns and some embroidery projects this week. I have three new holiday tree of life designs cut and ready to be glued on some paper. I hope to have these images uploaded to the computer in two weeks so I can design the cards and get them off to the printer for my first official holiday sale of the season on October 26th. I am loving doing the paper cuts and embroidery. Both are really relaxing and put me in a quiet, zen like head space. I'll share some of the new images with you soon.<br />
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I day dream about traveling and plan trips in my head. Of course, I'd like to go back to Poland and Hungary. It is never to early to start preparing. Even if it takes me a year or two or three to get back to these countries. I've been studying the Polish language through Pimsleurs Polish language recordings. I am making head way! I've finished with the recordings that I have and need to look into finding the next round. I'll see if the library system can come up with something like they did for this first round of recordings. I have a feeling I may need to invest some money into taking my studies up a notch.<br />
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On that note, I just read a really inspiring article called , <a href="http://cosmopolitanreview.com/why-speak-polish/" target="_blank">"Why Speak Polish?"</a> by Isabelle Sokolnicka. She writes....<br />
<br />
"All jokes aside: Parents, send your kids to Polish school. Don’t let
them watch cartoons or sleep in on Saturday mornings. Seriously. Or find
some other effective way to teach them your language. Be creative, be
tough, but don’t let them forge their identity without discovering this
important part of being Polish.<br />
<br />
You’re still unconvinced? What about…:<br />
<br />
The fact that there is something strangely beautiful in the
unpronouncability of Polish names or the interminable chains of
consonants; something unique about a Slavic tongue born in the heart of
Europe, and influenced by languages as different as French, Hungarian,
German, Italian or Turkish.<br />
<br />
And that there is something indescribable and unqualifiable about the
subtlety of Polish poetry. The delicacy and depth of the vocabulary,
its capacity to represent movement and perspective like no other
language, and the very wide range of prefixes and suffixes that can
completely alter the meaning of any word are all elements that permit
nuanced expressions of specific emotions or particular settings, and on
top of that all – with very few words: the perfect ingredients for
poetry-making. Read Baczyński, Słowacki, Miłosz and of course
Mickiewicz: maybe it’s the authors’ talent but maybe it is also the
language that makes it so incredibly natural to step into a true kingdom
of literary creativity. Make your kids learn Polish. Make your kids
learn Poland. Make them spell <i>solidarność</i>, <i>ojczyzna</i>, or better even – <i>milość</i>.
Who knows, this might just be the beginning of a long-lasting love
affair with the Polish language… or at least of a friendship with
unquestionable benefits."<br />
<br />
In the coming years I think I may find myself in Saturday morning Polish school with Kaz. I don't care if I'm the oldest person there!<br />
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And now for the icing on the cake... I'll stop my meanderings after this last shout out.<br />
<br />
If you are like me and like to lose yourself (or perhaps find yourself) in other countries,<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/magazine/a-middle-aged-mans-quest-to-become-an-old-castilian.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">An American Man’s Quest to Become an Old Castilian</span></span></a><br />
is a MUST READ. It's a NY Times article adapted from “The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge and the World’s Greatest Piece of Cheese,” by
<a href="mailto:mike@tellingroom.com" style="font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.25em;">Michael Paterniti</a>.<br />
<br />
A man finds his "soul place" while on a quest for a particular cheese. Yes, I said cheese! If you are not interest in this piece yet, then I don't know what's wrong with you :-). Something happened to him during his first visit to a small Castilian village. And of course none of it was practical.<br />
<br />
"But something happened to me. Even now, I’m not exactly sure what. I
have a friend who once told me about the first time he ever took a ferry
to an island off the coast of North Carolina, and how he knew, right
there on the ferry — with the salt spray and the light off the ocean —
that he’d come back to this same spot every year. He’d come to relive
that feeling of leaving his old self behind. That annual renewal, the
reacquaintance with the person he felt himself to be on that island, was
something he wanted to organize his life around. Similarly, Guzmán
instantly and improbably became <i>my place</i>. It made no sense, practically speaking."<br />
<br />
I can really relate. A simple idea or lead can push you through a rabbit hole towards a soul shaking, life altering, new reality. Connections happen and projects emerge and are created all for the love of a place. Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-45996256138080490842013-09-05T10:09:00.000-04:002013-09-05T10:09:23.799-04:00My new love... Embroidery!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I discovered something new about myself this week. I love to do embroidery. I had a hunch that I would really like to do this and I was right. I've enjoyed admiring and looking closely at embroidery for a long time. Now it feels so good to be doing it!<br />
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Last Saturday I took a two hour workshop on embroidery at a new, truly awesome, re-use center/store called <b><a href="http://www.knack.org/" target="_blank">KNACK</a></b> in Easthampton at the Eastworks building. Knack is a DIY palace. The store takes used things, sometimes on the way
to being discarded, and brings new life to these things as potential
and transformed arts and crafts items. I love the idea behind creating a store like this. Upcycling and reusing materials is a great way to transform items and the workshop space encourages community to learn to do things for themselves. Here is Knack's mission statement...<br />
<br />
Knack: The Art of Clever Reuse is a <a href="http://www.knack.org/what-creative-reuse-center">creative reuse center</a> where you can:<br />
<ul style="margin-left: 200px;">
<li>Find all sorts of reusable materials for your creative projects</li>
<li>Take a <a href="http://www.knack.org/workshops">workshop</a> or drop in during our <a href="http://www.knack.org/open-studio-time">open studio time</a></li>
<li>Have a <a href="http://www.knack.org/parties">party</a> (birthday, craft night, creative gathering, etc.)</li>
<li>Shop for upcycled gifts/art handmade by local artists</li>
</ul>
A woman named Bonnie Sennott taught the workshop. I was really impressed with her embroidered art pieces. She creates abstract images with embroidery stitches which I found beautiful and inspiring. She has a blog, <a href="http://www.bluepeninsulaknits.com/" target="_blank">Blue Peninsula Knits</a>, which is full of her projects and examples of her many creative talents. She is a talented knitter as well as a knit pattern creator.<br />
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The photo above is of my completed project from the workshop. Bonnie gave us a template to work with and all of the materials to create a sachet. We got to try out 6 different embroidery stitches while creating this pretty, fragrant sachet, stuffed with lavender, camomile and flax seeds.<br />
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I find that doing needle work is really very relaxing to me...like weeding a garden or knitting a scarf. Repetitive, task oriented work makes me happy and puts me in a mentally and physically relaxed state. This activity is becoming a nice way to end a busy day full of child care and play, work, household chores, gardening and cooking. Plus I feel like I'm making progress with my creative practice since the sewing links up with the creative work I am now doing. It's a win/win situation!<br />
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At home, before taking this workshop, I've been playing around with simple watercolor patterns and incorporating hand stitched elements into them. I've been really attracted to the sun symbol motifs carved into wood of decorative Zakopane architectural elements and furniture in Poland. I'm making little images with gouache, paper, and thread using simple folk art motifs. Here's a work in progress at my work table.<br />
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I'll be happily embroidering as well as making new paper cuts and little paintings to prepare for the full season of craft fairs and holiday events in the coming months. I'll post more news on these events in a future blog post.Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-63379446544329468982013-08-29T10:35:00.000-04:002013-08-29T10:35:59.258-04:00Paper Cut Wedding Invitation: A hand designed commission<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In the winter and spring of 2012 I worked on a wedding invitation commission for my cousin, Bridget. She and her (now) husband, Matt, wanted a clean, organic design with fresh, spring green being the only color amid simple neutral tones. She wanted an image that was inspired by nature.<br />
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Her desire to have a clean simple design made me think that a paper cut would be the perfect medium for her invitation.<br />
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After a couple experiments and attempts I was hit with an inspiration for the design after looking through a few books from the library of botanical drawings. I simplified the idea of a curving organic branch in a neutral dove gray and added birch like spring, green leaves which attached at the ends of the branches. I cut the paper using scissors and an Exacto knife.<br />
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Using this branching leaf design I created a frame for the text in her invitation. We went through a bunch of different fonts on <a href="http://www.dafont.com/" target="_blank">dafont.com</a> and found a nice font with a handwritten, organic feel.<br />
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Bridget really wanted a tri-fold card. This design incorporated a "cut-out" postcard for attendance replies. She did not want a lot of disconnected pieces of card paper and envelopes to be a part of her invite.<br />
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The cover of the card was simply the image of the branch with leaves and the names of the couple. When you opened the card, all the information regarding the wedding was there...the announcement, the location and a RSVP card to fill in, cut out and send back. On the back of the card was some more logistical information, the address the return post-card and a place giving credit to the the designer...Where Earth Meets Sky Designs.<br />
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This project was a huge learning curve for me. I learned more about using the design programs on my computer, Photoshop and Illustrator. Thank you, Josh for all of your help with the computer programs!<br />
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A local co-op called <a href="http://collectivecopies.com/cchome.htm" target="_blank">Collective Copies</a> did the printing for us. Despite some hiccups with the printing machine used for the addresses on the envelopes, it all worked out in the end. I delivered the completed project to a very happy bride to be.<br />
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Thank you Bridget and Matt for hiring me to be a part of your wedding in this very special way!Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-62567222888459063592013-08-20T06:00:00.000-04:002013-08-22T14:37:51.314-04:00Folk Flower Tattoo: A hand designed commission<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In 2011, upon return from my trip to Poland and Hungary, a woman who donated some money to my quest got in touch with me. She liked the images I was making inspired by eastern European designs. She also admired my quest to travel, learn and meet family. She wanted me to design a tattoo for her based on my eastern European Folk Flowers.<br />
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A big birthday was coming up for her and she wanted a special tattoo to mark this passage in her life. She is a talented flower arranger, has a flair for creative color palettes and creates unique, locally grown flower combinations that are used in her arrangements.<br />
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We got together to talk about what she wanted. Then I got to the drawing board.<br />
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A tattoo! A bit daunting, isn't it? Tattoos are a creative expression that are pretty permanent for a lifetime. I wanted to make sure that the design I came up with would be something she'd want to live with for the rest of her life.<br />
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I created two design options and she liked them. She took elements from them both and used them in her final design. This was an interesting process for me because I never had to design an image with the dimensionality of the human body in mind. Bone, skin, muscle...it was a cool challenge. Especially for the location of her tattoo as she wanted it to come from her foot, around her ankle (where that ankle bone protrudes) and up her calf.<br />
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Ultimately I had to hand the design over to the final artist, the tattoo artist. She would bring the image to the skin and to life. We met with her and she thought she had something good to work with. She and my client tweaked some of my color choices and varied the drawing just a bit, combining elements from both drawings, so that my work would translate to the tattoo medium, needle and ink, skin, muscle and bone.<br />
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When I got to see the pictures of the final result I was happy with how the image found a home on my client's skin. Graphic folk art patterns and design lend themselves well to tattoo art. The colors are so vibrant and beautiful. I know that my client really wanted colors that were vibrating with life as part of her tattoo.<br />
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This commission was a fun project and good challenge. I really enjoyed working with my client. I'm happy she has a piece on her skin that means so much to her. It reflects her life and her work with flowers.Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-4414180599550567832013-08-13T20:48:00.000-04:002013-08-13T20:48:32.334-04:00Studio Time<br />
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I am making a real effort to spend time back in my studio.<br />
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Working.<br />
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The time is right to put energy into my creative practice with gusto.<br />
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Now that Kaz is over a year old, takes two regular naps, has an early bed time, and enjoys some time at the local daycare a couple hours a day, a day or two a week, there is no reason I can not get at least 6 -12 hours of studio time in every week. I know this doesn't sound like a lot but it is something. Something which is very special to me.<br />
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First I spent time reorganizing and cleaning up my studio space after using it as a home office for the past year. Now that the space is in studio mode I am back to work. Paints can stay out and works in progress are easily accessible. This is great as I sometimes need to get to work fast when I only have a bit of time to spare. A half an hour here an couple hours there soon add up to sketches being made, watercolors being experimented with and dreams taking shape.<br />
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During studio time I am taking care of Where Earth Meets Sky business. I want to use some of my creative time to get ready for craft fairs and holiday sales that happen in the fall through Christmas time. I would also like to get my cards and prints into some more retail businesses. I want to update my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WhereEarthMeetsSky" target="_blank">facebook business page</a> and learn how to connect it better with my blog. I'm thinking about setting up my Etsy shop again since it has been dormant for the past year.<br />
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I just finished a commission I had been working on for a friend for long time. I want to share all the commissioned projects that have come to fruition in the past year and a half. I created a wedding invitation, a tattoo design and a business logo with matching business cards. I still need to finish a poster/flyer template for a musician friend. Posts to come will show the work in their completion. I will also have an organized page here on my blog which focuses on the commissioned projects that I've been hired to create for others.<br />
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Giving myself a kick in the pants to get out of my head, take action and get to work has felt really good. Creative work brings a greater sense of purpose and meaning to my life. My other roles in life are satisfying but when I put energy towards my creative practice I feel more whole and complete. The danger for me is procrastination and fear of failure. Somehow when I take action these two negative aspects become weaker and quietly hang in the background instead of blazing in the foreground. I do not feel good when I procrastinate or am unnecessarily fearful.<br />
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I have found a website that I find particularly inspiring and helpful as I make headway organizing moments of free time to create art work in the studio. It is a space for mothers who are artists called <a href="http://studiomothers.com/" target="_blank">Studio Mothers</a>. There are some good articles there for those of us looking to use any bits of free time we have pursuing creative endeavors. Really the inspiration here can be useful and translate to how one may pursue any life passion. Sometimes we just need some positive affirmation to help us along the way. This is a place I can find that.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">meme taken from <a href="http://studiomothers.com/">studiomothers.com</a></td></tr>
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<br />Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-56628851286572632622013-08-05T09:38:00.003-04:002013-08-05T09:38:57.365-04:00Summer Harvest Time BeginsIt's that special time in late summer when the hard work in the spring begins to really pay off. The counters and the table in my kitchen begin to be cluttered with what was picked from the gardens in the last day or so.<br />
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We've been having fun making cordials and fermenting various items from the great outdoors. Last week we spent an hour picking the wild cherries which are abundant this year on Stage Road. The cherries are sitting in various combinations of vodka, gin and sugar to become cordials to be enjoyed this fall and winter. I have a rose cordial in the makes. Once the elderberries are ripe they will be used to make our special immunity boosting cordial. I have a batch of pickles fermenting in a crock. It's my first time trying to make this fresh fermented pickle. I got the recipe out of my new Polish cook book, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/From-Polish-Country-House-Kitchen/dp/1452110557" target="_blank">From A Polish Country House Kitchen</a>". Josh and a friend made a big batch of dandelion wine which is aging in corked bottles in the closet. I've been wanting a chest freezer for a long, long time and just recently we purchased a used one to put in the garage. It's holding a nice amount of rhubarb, raspberries and blueberries so far. I like to look in it and dream about the good food we'll be eating this winter.</div>
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OK, lets leave the kitchen, go outside and take a look in the gardens! Right out the front door is a scramble of marigolds, geraniums, lantana, snapdragons, new guinea impatiens, canna lillies, mint, and salvia in colorful pots on the front porch.</div>
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The old claw foot bathtub is now a garden and full of canna lilies, calla lilies, dahlias, geraniums, gladiolas and morning glory.<br />
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Today I picked a whooping 13 peaches off the peach tree. My biggest harvest yet!<br />
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I created a hay bale, raised bed at the base of the terrace garden hill in which to grow squash. The plants are quite happy as they grow and spill out over the edge of the haybales onto the meadow and hillside. It looks like we'll be eating a lot of spaghetti and butter cup squash.<br />
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The sunflower greeting the morning rays is a pretty sight. Under her grows some kale, peppers and a volunteer tomatillo.<br />
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The cherry tomatoes are just beginning to ripen. <br />
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After looking around my garden at home I headed around the block to my community garden plot at the <a href="http://www.raspberryhillgarden.org/" target="_blank">Raspberry Hill Community Garden</a>. The space is a very special place where the sounds and beauty of the country nourish my soul. The crickets are chirping, the swallows fly and swoop over the garden and big old maple trees line the lane. The land, also known as the Guyette Farm, was gifted to the Franklin Land Trust by Evelyn Guyette. The gardens are situated on a beautiful spot overlooking hills to the west. The sunsets are gorgeous and the cloud watching is excellent. I got a late start with my plot this year. It's my first year working the land here and a lot of sod needed to be lifted in order to create my garden beds. Finally they are all planted and beginning to really thrive. I'm growing carrots, beets, dill, cabbage, potatoes, kale, onion, leeks, green beans, cucumbers and a cherry tomato. I really love being a part of this group of talented and dedicated gardeners and look forward to spending more time here with the land and with others in the years to come.<br />
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Let's walk through the gate and take a peak at the gardens.<br />
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The blueberries are ripening in the sun and the old barn is in view over the raspberry brambles. <br />
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Cloud watching to the west.<br />
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My plot is pictured below in the foreground. All the plants are relatively young but they are coming along. I think they'll do really well growing big and strong during the warm month of August into September before the frosts come. <br />
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At home again, Kaz came out to the garden with me after his morning nap. He enjoys throwing around the dirt and mulch as I prep a bed to plant more lettuces.<br />
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Happy August, early harvest time to you! I hope you are enjoying these golden days.</div>
<br />Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4460330305204724476.post-3343187259954808072013-07-29T19:50:00.000-04:002013-07-29T19:50:37.908-04:00Stone Upon Stone<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I just finished reading "Stone Upon Stone" by Wieslaw Mysliwski,
translated from Polish by Bill Johnston. This book was chosen by the
University of Rochester as "the finest example of world literature in
translation" for the year of 2012.<br />
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I found out about this book a few months ago online by a great resource for those of us interested in Polish culture: <a href="http://cosmopolitanreview.com/" target="_blank">The Cosmopolitan Review</a><a href="http://cosmopolitanreview.com/" target="_blank">, "A Transatlantic Review of Things Polish, in English"</a>.<br />
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"Stone Upon Stone" is a raw, honest and human piece of fiction narrated by the protagonist, Szymek Pietruszka. The memories from his life are sometimes brutal, other times funny, lovingly tender and often painful. His recollections are sometimes poetic and poignant and other times long winded and rambling.<br />
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The book is set in communist era Poland in the mid to late 20th century. The story weaves back and forth as Szymek sets forth a stream of consciousness recalling memories from his childhood, young adulthood, time fighting in World War II, and adulthood as he looks back from the perspective of the winter of his life. His memories come to the surface as he prepares to build a tomb in which to be buried. So many rich stories and perspectives roll from page to page. I felt like I was a part of Szymek's mental wanderings and intimately witnessed his 20th century life, lived as a peasant in a small village, where he lived so much and saw so much change.<br />
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Szymek is the real deal. He's doesn't lead a pretty life. His stories certainly are not sugar coated. He suffered much and his neighbors suffered along side him. Yet you see a resilience
and a strength of character through his humanity and humor. At times I
cringed while I read about his behavior and actions as he deals with
strong emotions related to love: the love of a woman and the love for
his invalid brother. Szymek lets the reader in to witness both his dark side and light side. My heart ripped open as I read his first hand account about fighting in World War II and what kind of atrocities he witnessed during that time. He's a man who grows up with all aspects of raw reality coming to him. It's one event after another: abuse, war, hunger, hard work and hard drinking, love gained and lost. I wonder if his story mirrors the story of Poland? Poland greatly suffered during the time of Symek's life.<br />
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What I most enjoyed about "Stone Upon Stone" is how Szymek remembers the traditions of his family and of the rural peasants in the village in which he lives. He is down to earth, often blunt, as he recalls his memories of working the land, and the traditions and rituals around the holidays. Nothing about this story is veiled with nostalgic memories that shine as if looked through rose colored lenses. Szymek tells things as they were. He remembers hard work mowing the field at harvest...<br />
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"Plus harvesttime was getting close. And harvesttime was a curse. From dawn till night you worked like and animal. Your head's pounding from the mowing, your eyes are blinded by sweat. Instead of crossing the sky, the sun just keeps moving to a fro across your back, all the time from when it rises in the east till when it sets in the west. It's like its claws were sunk into your skin. Because it's not even the sun, the sun is what shines over the river and the meadow and the reeds, this thing is a huge bright bird that's got it in for you. The moment you feel like straightening up a bit, it jabs you in the back of the head with its beak. Like it was reminding you your life belongs down below, not up above, that your life is this eternal unmown field you keep moving across, swinging your scythe. And you don't even know if you'll ever finish mowing it. You'll only be done when death takes you."</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Field near Korczyna, Poland</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farmer's fields near Zakopane, Poland</td></tr>
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I recommend reading this book if you are interested in Polish literature, history, life and culture. The story is told in the most personal of ways through a character who is not afraid to tell a story about the realities of his life and the experinces of his heart.<br />
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<br />Kimberly Wachtelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03418731674136228243noreply@blogger.com0