Love Letters

You've really got to check out this uber cool chick's site!!!

Howdy friends!  Many of you may already be familiar with Lisa Hoffman ... & for those of you aren't, boy, do I have a treat for you!!!  Lisa's posts regularly blow me away with information about people, books, events, current affairs, & more.  Her latest post is particularly interesting if you sew or if you just love handmade things... Lisa's previous post is about a TV show on the Sundance channel I'd never heard of, and once I started looking at the links Lisa provided, it was like I was Alice in Wonderland falling down that tunnel... an hour and a half later I had to stop and rethink what it was I was supposed to do that morning!  I had a blast and I didn't have to leave my studio or get out of my jammies!!! It's a wonderful mix of information from an incredibly cool lady, and every time I stop by, I can count on learning about something I might not have heard of otherwise.  On top of that, Lisa is an extremely friendly, welcoming host, and has become one of my favorite "virtual" internet friends. I hope you'll take a minute to visit Lisa and become a fan of her site, too!   

In other news, today is the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the Berlin Wall... over the next few days, in 1989, there was a celebration in the streets and people on both sides of the wall started chipping away at the wall, taking chunks of it; until at last, the freed people of Berlin, East and West, tumbled the giant divider of the people, literally and figuratively.  

From the site Berlin-life.com:

The version of the ‘Wall’ that started life in 1961, was in fact not a wall but a 96 miles barbed wire fence. However, after this incarnation proved too easy to scale, work started in 1962 on a second fence, parallel to the first but up to 100 yards further in. The area in between the two fences was demolished to create an empty space, which became widely known as "death strip" as it was here that many would-be escapers met their doom. The strip was covered with raked gravel, making it easy to spot footprints, it offered no cover, was mined and booby-trapped with tripwires and, most importantly, it offered a clear field of fire to the armed guards – who were instructed to shoot on sight.

In 1975 I was lucky enough to visit Berlin and gained access into East Berlin through the famed Checkpoint Charlie.  I was a very young teenager and it was a terrifying experience, (there were armed guards watching our every move) and one I've never forgotten.  But the city of Berlin was one of the most beautiful European cities I saw on that trip, very cosmopolitan, clean, and loaded with the obvious history. No one ever imagined the wall would be torn down and the city and country united.  Perhaps there is room then, for hope for the world today, that we might be able to find a way towards peace, too. 

I'm going to be very busy for the next week, studying for ACLS, which stands for Advanced Cardiac Life Support.  It is a provider course for health care professionals... I stupidly let my certification expire years ago.  In an effort to improve my job chances and make myself more marketable, I'm taking the class again next Saturday.  I've got a LOT of catching up to do!  So, I will not be doing much in my studio this week, but please be sure to check back!  

Now, GO MAKE SOMETHING!!!

Third exhibit piece...

This is the third and final piece I entered into our guild's exhibit... there are gazillions of layers of papers, calligraphy, ephemera, etc.  It was really fun to make... 

 

The colors are much, much brighter colors in person... lots of rich autumnal colors.  Note the postmark on the envelope, near the top... yup, 1913!!!  How cool is that?!?  I lucked out and found an entire box of letters written nearly a hundred years ago, and have had them tucked away for a long time.  Eventually, it became obvious to me they were doing absolutely no good sitting in a box, hidden away, and I decided it was time to use them. I think they end up being even more precious when used in a permanent piece of artwork and I'm grateful that someone valued them enough to save them all those years ago.   

Exhibit work

In my previous post I showed one of the pieces I am putting in our guild's exhibit, and another piece I was trying to figure out how to finish... well, here it is... the final edition:

The printed page in the center is from a very old French dictionary, courtesy of a dear friend of mine, Kim Mailhot, host of Queen of Arts, and the stamped image on top of the dictionary page is one of my favorites... this is glued to a piece of illustration board that is mounted on top of the canvas.  It provides some interest in that it is three dimensional, and the stamped image is actually in the background of the lettering on the canvas... in addition, the creamy color of the dictionary page is repeated in the buff colored acrylic paint used in the background of the canvas.  It took me a while to come up with just the right thing to put on top of the lines of lettering, and I'm really happy with the final outcome.  Simple, but effective, and there is a relationship between the two parts of the final piece. 

Thanks to all of you who sent me feedback on my early efforts with this piece... it was fun discussing it with you!  

 

Latest Calligraphy project

Greetings all!  I hope this finds you doing well... 

I've been busy preparing some work for an upcoming calligraphy exhibit our guild (Michigan Association of Calligraphers) is hosting, opening next Saturday, November 7.  I'll show you one piece I've got ready to go...

 

In the photo, there is a shadow almost halfway down the first third of the grid... it's there because I had to scan the canvas in two parts and then put it together in Photoshop, and I forgot to eliminate the shadow until I'd already posted it... sorry about that... I'm usually much more careful!  

The requirements for this exhibit is that the work contain some form of calligraphic marks.  The piece above will satisfy that requirement, but in a fairly unusual manner... I guess you could say it's done in true McCreedy style!  One thing that is not obvious, is that underneath all the collage pieces is a layer of calligraphy done in a very pale gold... you can make out some of the letters near the top of the canvas. The colorful squares and large rectangle that runs down the left hand side are all cut from a piece of watercolor paper with layers of calligraphy written on it in multiple colors of ink.  

None of the calligraphy is really meant to be read... and underneath all of it is handwriting done in pencil.  In some of the squares of the grid is my handwriting in a dark green ink, again, not necessarily meant to be read, so some of the writing is covered with collage elements and with a somewhat opaque tissue paper.  In addition there are a few three dimensional objects, the rusty washer in the lower right hand corner, the rusty calligraphy nib in the lower left hand corner of the grid, and the circle with the "B" in it is a slice off the end of a wine cork.  There's also a metal brad in the upper left hand corner helping to hold the heavy paper in place, and give it another dimensional aspect.  

Here is a scan of another canvas I'm working on, but am not quite happy with... 

 

The white shadow and the numbers are done in layers in Photoshop... at this point there is nothing on the canvas except for the writing... I'm trying to figure out what to put on top of the writing... my husband thinks it's fine without anything else, but I'm not quite satisfied yet.  I'll be sure to post a photo of the finished piece.  

Thanks for stopping by, I apologize for not posting more regularly... my studio is nearly all back together now, so I'm able to be much more productive.  Still no job, but I have a couple irons in the fire... my health care runs out the end of November, so I'm starting to get a bit nervous about that.  Otherwise I've come to terms with things and am trying to just relax and enjoy the days to myself until I get a job offer.  Keep your fingers crossed for me, would you please?  I'd appreciate it... now, go make something!  :D

By the way... this is my 200th post!  I'm really surprised... see how time flies when you're having fun?!?  

  

Latest knitting project

Hey kids!  I thought I'd take a moment to share my latest knitting project, one I've actually completed... I know, shocking, isn't it?!? Anyone who knows me very well knows I am the Queen of starting knitting projects... I just love to choose the yarn, and see how it knits up, but I lose interest pretty quickly, especially if it's a very detailed pattern, the kind that requires lots of close attention (that takes all the fun out of knitting for me, at least at this point in my development as a knitter)... I guess I'm kind of like a two year old that way.

 

This is a very long wrap, approximately 30" wide... made of Rowan Kidsilk Haze, a mohair and silk blend.  I am totally smitten by the yarn and by how it turned out... I can wear it with anything and can even curl up under it, if conditions warrant!  It is a tactile dream.

 In this close up photo can you see the "blush" of the mohair? (That's an official knitters term, honestly I'm not making this up! It refers to the fuzziness of the yarn.)  It is dreamy, lightweight, and very, very warm.  I feel like I'm six foot tall Parisian model when I'm wearing this... it's probably my favorite knitted piece so far, and I'm keeping this one.  I gave away my former most favorite knitted object and I'm still kicking myself... it's a long story!  This wrap took me nearly a year to complete, with lots of down time in between bursts of knitting... definitely a labor of love!

Currently, I'm working on a hat with a gorgeous cabled cuff around the bottom, something I've never done before (cabling).  Unfortunately, I chose an all cotton yarn, so there is absolutely no stretch to the yarn, which I am afraid I will regret in the long run... but we'll see... maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.  The yarn is a somewhat boring, very conservative oatmeal color, as you can see below:

 

 This is a close up of the band... note the cable running horizontally at the bottom of the photo... after sewing the long, cabled band together, I picked up stiches along the top edge of the cable and am now working on the body of the hat. The hard part is done, and the rest should be relatively quick.

 I'll be sure to post a photo of the finished product. Thanks for stopping by!

 

Green Collage for sale!

Yup, believe it or not, the two green collages I showed photos of on a recent post are now for sale in a local gallery!  I'm beyond thrilled and very hopeful, and while the money would come in pretty handy right now; it's not the prospect of making money that is thrilling to me.  What's thrilling to me is that I feel validated as an artist and I'm encouraged to continue down the path I've been on... and I needed that encouragement, badly! 

(Of course, my name doesn't appear as shown above!)

Having lost my job, just like the other 263,000 people who lost their jobs in September this year alone, my confidence has been badly shaken... so any little success feels pretty darn good right now.  Please keep your fingers crossed for me... 

Now, GO MAKE SOMETHING!!!

I love change... especially change that is forced upon me!

Bad News

My news is nothing new these days, but it's new to me... today I was let go from my job as a result of "downsizing" at our hospital.  Without question, it was the most distressing, humiliating, unexplained experience of my life.  Did I mention humiliating?!?  And imagine... the people who met with me (department director, my manager, and someone from HR), had the nerve to tell me how difficult it was for them!  No question, but a. that's part of their jobs as managers, and b. at the end of the day, they go home STILL EMPLOYED!, and finally c. did they really expect sympathy from me as they were firing me?!?  I'm really sorry, but that was not something I was at all interested in hearing, certainly not at that point in time.  The other really helpful platitude was "you're not the only one being let go"... well, you know, I certainly feel for all the other employees who lost their jobs today (apparently there were more than 320 full time staff let go), and frankly I wish we could all get together to commiserate over a stiff drink... but at that moment, that really didn't do anything to make me feel a BIT better!!!  

I'm trying to wrap my head around this, and I'm not doing very well.  So, while nothing anyone has to say will get my job back, please understand I don't expect sympathy from anyone.  I just really needed to get this off my chest... and there may be more wallowing &/or anger to come, so please forgive me in advance! I know I'm not alone, but this is my pain, my loss, and my experience to try to understand and process. 

In the mean time... 

Bubba

This is a photo of the little guy who is "boarding" at our house, for how long is unclear, but every day is a gift, either way.  He is really, really sweet... he likes everyone and other pets, even our cats.  That's his little "chippy" to the left of the bowl... he carries it out on our walks, too cute! 

Trust me, I am very happy to have Bubba here to help make me smile, and to make me do something for someone else... it helps get me outside of myself and my own grief.  

Please Give the Lift of Life!

My older brother Larry is the proud owner of a donated liver as of yesterday evening, and what an amazing gift to receive!  At the same time, it's kind of hard to be really, really happy for Larry; knowing another family lost a loved one in order for there to be a liver available for transplant to Larry.  He is at Baylor University Hospital in Dallas, where he has been on and off for months in various stages of illness, waiting. The available organs are assigned to the recipients based on how ill the recipient is, and in a kind of perverse manner, the recipient has to get "good and sick" before they move up on the transplant list... so it becomes a strange dance of watch and wait & numbers... liver enzymes, creatinine clearances, blood cell counts, just to name a few levels that are observed closely... the recipient can't get too sick, or they move down on the list or are removed entirely... and if they are too well, back down the list, again... you get the picture, right?  It's just a very complicated, convoluted procedure.  

I am so sorry for the donor family's loss and so grateful at the same time, that they were generous and compassionate enough not to bury a perfectly good liver, knowing it could afford someone else another chance at life!

This goofy drawing is a little something I put together for Larry, back in July, when he was very, very ill and understandably depressed.  I get to draw a nurse in a somewhat disparaging manner, since I belong to the "club"... not necessarily nurses with "cankles", but an older nurse for sure!

Larry was infected with Hepatitis C after undergoing an out-patient surgical procedure in an OR in Texas, where an anesthesia tech was stealing narcotics from the anesthesia carts in the OR, shooting up, and then using the same needle to draw up saline to put volume back into the vials of narcotics, so no one would suspect any meds were missing.  55 people altogether were infected, Larry being one of them.

So, please, let your loved ones know your wishes about organ donation... it is my fervent hope that more people will realize we won't be needing those organs once we "go", and someone out there may be desperate for a heart, a liver, a kidney, corneas, lungs, even skin for burn victims... it is such a wonderful way to do something generous & altruistic, and make the final act of our lives an incredibly wonderful thing.  

It feels SO good to be back in my studio!

I've been away from my studio for more than two months, and I've felt so unlike myself.  Thankfully my husband and I have gotten the studio/loft area of our house to a point where, although it isn't "done", it's definitely functional, and I can live with that! 

These are a couple of new collages I've been working on... an obvious green theme, and only because I really like the colors... they measure 10"x10" and are on canvas.  There are many layers of paint and gesso and writing in different areas... some in pastel, some in ink, some in pencil, & some done with the pointy end of an old fashioned compass tool, written in wet gesso/paint. I really enjoyed making these, and I'm anxious to get back up in my studio to continue the process. 

Thank goodness for the creative outlet that helps to keep me semi-sane and happy... I suggest everyone find an art form or craft they can lose themselves in... 

Now, go make something!

Follow up to Lady's love story

Lady & Lily, February 2009

I apologize for how long it has taken me to write again.  It's been a little over a month since we lost Lady, and I'm afraid to admit I'm still wallowing. I don't cry everyday or anything like that, but when I see someone walking a big, beautiful black Lab, I can hardly speak.  And while our kitties have done an admirable job of trying to amuse and distract me, it's just not the same.  

Just about the time Lady died, my studio got torn up while we paint and stain the attic, so I haven't spent a moment in my studio, either... which really makes things feel strange for me.  I feel like part of me has been cut off and I almost physically long to be back in the studio.  This weekend we will hopefully be putting the finishing touches on the studio and I'll be able to get things in order. 

 

In the photo above, you can see how grey Lady became, and you can also see that the kitty Lily wasn't the slighted bit afraid of Lady... she liked to walk back and forth past Lady's head, and tried really hard to lay down right by Lady's face.  So cute.  

I hope you are all doing well, and I appreciate ALL the kind wishes and comments re: Lady's death.  It has meant the world to me and to my husband... he's not a blogger and just cannot quite understand how it is so many people we've never actually met have been so kind to us. Quite a wonderful community of loving friends, isn't it?!?  

xoxo,

Lady's last photo, she couldn't get around very easily, but she could still smile!

Lady & Lily

Ladybug, a love story...

What a sad time this is at our house, and yes, I'm wallowing in self-pity for a day or two...

we came home Wednesday night, late, and found our big old, sweet old puppy dog, dead in the backyard. Granted, she was a hundred years old, a dinosaur, a bit of a relic... but we're still really, really sad.  

Lady was all goodness and kindness and such a big presence in our lives!

She lived to make us happy, which she did incredibly well, and I hope I made her life half as happy as she made mine...

Ladybug, 2003

It's a really great story, how Lady came to live with us, and I'll try to keep it brief...

Lady Comes Home, Chapter One

"She's really nice for a dog, but she can't stay"

These were my husband's words when I finally told him what the surprise was that I'd gotten him, when he came home from work on Saturday, December 7th, 2002.  I'd been working with a gal who raised puppies for Leader Dogs, and I had mentioned I really wanted an adult Labrador Retriever, and when Lady was left at the Leader Dogs, she called me.  Lady's owner had died, and the lady's family thought she'd make a great Leader Dog, so they gave her to the Leader Dogs.  There was a question of her having Parvo, and she was too old to be a Leader Dog, so Leader Dogs surrendered Lady to the Flint Humane Society, and that's when my friend called me... she said, "There's a really great Lab up in Flint, and someone needs to go get her... I thought you would be interested".  

I didn't tell my husband (because I knew what he'd say), and on Saturday morning, my daughter Corey and I waited for John to leave for work, and we headed straight to Flint.  I recall Corey saying to me, en route to see Lady, "What do you think she looks like?", to which I answered, "Well, I think she's probably about 65 pounds and yellow... not sure why I think that, I just do"... and when we first saw Lady, she was outside, peeing like a boy dog, and she was pitch black, weighing in at about 90 pounds.  NOT what I was expecting!

They put Corey and I in an adoption room with Lady, and Lady immediately went over to Corey and put her enormous square head in Corey's lap... Corey looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said "I just LOVE her, mom!"... and that was that.  Lady had adopted us.  I remember loading her into my car thinking, "I sure hope I don't live to regret this"... and we headed home.

For the remainder of the weekend, my husband spoke not another word to me besides, "She's really nice for a dog, but she can't stay".  To which I simply did not respond.

I worked all day Monday in the Operating Room, and was not about to drive back to Flint that night, so she stayed on till Tuesday.  After work Tuesday, I decided to surprise John again, and took Lady to see him at his work.  Everyone there fell all over themselves talking about how pretty Lady was and what a great dog she was, and I could see my husband slowly becoming kind of like a proud papa.  

We took her home that night and gave her a bath, and she was incredibly well behaved... she didn't fight it, she just stood in the tub and let us hose her down and bathe her.  Next thing I know, my husband says to me, "OK, she can stay, but never in our bedroom!"  I was more than fine with that.

Little while later, I look in our bedroom, and at the end of the bed, is John's robe on the floor, folded in half and there was Lady, lying right on top of it.  I must've looked pretty surprised, and John said to me, "OK, well... " he stuttered, "never on the bed! OK?!?!?"  

Needless to say she eventually won a spot on the bed with us, and for years we slept with that great big dog hogging our bed, and we loved every minute of it, until she hurt herself and couldn't jump down any longer.  After that, her dog bed was at the foot of our bed, until Thursday morning.  We loved hearing her snoring like a sailor... it was a very comforting sound... we knew she was alive.  And as she got older and older, (the vet thought she was between eight and ten years old in 2002 when we adopted her); that snoring at night became more and more important to hear.  

Her bed has been put away, and her remains have been cremated.  She made us better human beings by adopting us, and we will miss her every single day.  Stay tuned... if you like, and one day real soon, I'll tell you the story about the four thousand dollar rescue dog... it'll be Chapter Two.  

Thank you for reading all the way down to here... I really appreciate it... this is cathartic for me and necessary... I hope I didn't bore you too much!  

With a heavy heart and lots of tears, 

xoxo,

Kathy

PS: Thank you SO much to all of you who have so kindly and graciously written to me with condolences... what a great community of loving friends I have!