I'm someone who loves her routines, so I need to be especially mindful of trying new things. Sometimes it helps if I have a specific reason or a date in the calendar. This is how I came to visit a new-to-me art gallery (Blue Moose Art Gallery) that opened in 2016. I'd driven by plenty of times over the years, but it wasn't until I signed up for a class that I actually walked in the door and found a delightful space filled with local art and friendly artists. Now that I've been inside, I'll be more likely to stop in occasionally.
On My Work (Art) Table
In early February I took a class at the aforementioned art gallery and learned how to dye a silk scarf. It was quite fun! The teacher, Julie Grillo, was excellent, sharing tons of inspirational examples of finished scarves and managing to give everyone individual attention as needed. My abstract design features triangles, although most of them have blurry or rough edges. (It's one of those processes where you don't know exactly what you're getting until it dries.) Here's a photo of my scarf with turquoise, blue, and purple:
In the Kitchen
I tried the pizza dough in a kid's cookbook, The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs by America's Test Kitchen. Pretty good! I will also try the pretzel recipe before I need to return the book to the library.
I've also been watching a few episodes of Food Tech, which is a TV show from the History Channel that explores the origins of common foods. I liked learning about baby carrots and juice boxes in the Lunchbox episode. I did need to fast forward some of the parts that involved animals (particularly the one on making hamburgers), so consider yourself warned!
What I'm Reading
I'm about halfway through 1,000 Words by Jami Attenberg, a book full of short motivational pieces about writing. I'm fascinated by how this book came to be written. The author challenged herself and a friend to write 1,000 words a day for two weeks. Thousands of people joined in online (how did I miss this?!) and supported each other. Now it's an ongoing challenge known as "1000 Words of Summer." This is a great example of how if you're struggling with something (like writing every day), others are probably in the same spot. It never hurts to ask for support!
On My Library Hold List
Agrylle by Elly Conway is on my to-read list. If the title rings a bell, it might be because it just came out as a movie, plus there was a wild conspiracy theory circulating that singer Taylor Swift was actually the real author. How could I resist?
I've also requested Hooked on Shakespeare: Crochet Projects Inspired by the Bard by Gurinder Kaur Hatchard via our state's interlibrary loan. I'm so curious to see the projects! Sometimes when I think of an idea, I immediately dismiss it, thinking it's way too specific and narrow. This book seems to prove that there is no such thing. There's an audience for everything!
Art I Admired
The bicycle brooch at the top of the article "The Immense Charm of Miniatures" is amazing! I've been drawing bicycles lately and it's felt rather tricky getting all those gears and spokes in the right place on paper. I can't imagine trying to do it in jewelry!
Made Me Laugh
Etsy has been bragging about using AI (artificial intelligence) on its website to improve the customer experience with better search results and suggestions. I was pretty amused when these images for "beads" and "charms" popped up as recommended for me. And yes, they were right next to each other just as I'm showing them here. (I'm hoping the beaders and jewelry makers who see this will also spot the issue!)
New in the Shop
Most orders in my Etsy shop this month will receive one of my daisy stickers with my original drawing. The background turned out a little bit more gray than I expected, but it feels oddly fitting -- a winter sky with the promise of spring flowers.
See you next month!