Yesterday I visited the Red Barn Sewing Center in Merrimac and held a beading workshop for a group of great ladies from the Merrimac Valley Quilters. The time flew by and made me realize how much fun it is to just teach beading! I used a document camera to project the stitches onto the wall. This could be recorded -- maybe there is online classes in my future after all. That would solve the problem of traveling physically. Webinars? Videos? So much learning to do on my end. We even thought of ways that a parrot could be the one doing the teaching instead of my ugly mug onscreen...to be continued!
Have been on another WWII listening kick lately. Reading the firsthand stories of how people survived such horror never ceases to amaze me. The strength of the human spirit is truly limitless. Last night I listened to a short book by Jacques Lusseyran called "And There Was Light." Amazing story of a man who was made blind in an accident at age 7, and how the lack of sight let him "see" more about life and people than those who had all senses intact. Brilliant. He became a member of the French resistance, eventually being arrested and sent to Buchenwald, where despite all odds, he survived. He relied on his inner vision and ability to CREATE joy and love rather than merely reacting to it. Brilliant philosophy for survival in any trying time. To think of what the people exposed to the conditions of a concentration camp had to endure is truly beyond our understanding in these "peaceful" days filled with luxury. Books like this should be required reading for our kids today. As I sit here in my sun filled, warm kitchen sipping coffee with a tiny green parrot landing on my shoulder for a kiss, I am grateful. Even if my body hurts so much I don't want to move!
Today's art link can only be to the amazing felting work of Megan Nedds. On her Woolen Wagon Facebook page she has documented the process of making an incredibly lifelike greenwing macaw sculpture from felt. Anatomically accurate down to the feather, with amazing colors and lifelike forms. Wowza!! Incredible work! It is no surprise that the piece sold immediately -- she has incredible talent and has certainly found her niche! Check it out!
Happy Sunday. Crawling from the wreckage of a busy week, but at least am still moving :) Find joy, everyone!