A note...

Just to let you know that I now accept credit cards.  Too late for the sale last Thursday, but just in time for some people who are coming to see my work this weekend! Many of the ladies who came asked if I accepted  cards, so since I do my best to listen, I am now able to do that.

If you see anything that you like, just give me a call at 305-582-1419 and I'll get your information and mail your order immediately. Have your credit card information ready and voila!

I will soon be on Etsy and maybe you can follow me there.  Thanks to everyone who came on Thursday for their wonderful energy and marvelous support.

The Day After the Night Before...

What a fun evening! It started at 6PM and people came steadily to the Open Studio party and stayed until almost midnight. At a certain point there were so many people in my living room that it looked like a bazaar and I couldn't recognize the space!   I was happy to see my Shibori scarves handled, tried on  and taken to their new homes.  Lea Nickless showed her eco-dyed scarves which she makes with flowers and plants and nuts and objects she finds along the way. They are beautiful. Eda showed her beautiful hand-made jewelry creations and all in all, people had plenty to choose from.  We had delicious food provided by star chef Charmaine and had other culinary contributions which were enjoyed by all.  Lots of bottles of wine and good cheer made the evening a total success. A good way to kick off the holiday season. A big thank you to all who came and made the evening such a great success!

Open Studio/Open House on Thursday, December 8th at 6PM

Art Basel, Art Miami and the many offshoots of galleries and special exhibits ends in a few minutes and Miami can get ready for a little less commotion (although this is an exciting city) and more time to just peruse local galleries and art studios without being trampled!

I'm having a little event of  my own and while not as grand as what this weekend brought to town, it will have pretty things to stuff in Christmas stockings and lots of wine, food and good cheer.

If you're in town, come on Thursday, December 8 from 6PM to my studio/home. I will be joined by Eda and Lea who will show some of their offerings.  Charmaine is bringing delicious munchies and all in all, I'm sure we'll have some fun.

Art Basel we're not but we can guarantee a good start for the season. You are cordially invited.

A little technology

I use my computer a lot. I also read on Kindle, play with my IPad and of course, text and take great pictures on my IPhone. My son admonishes "you have entirely too much technology mother!" He's probably right but my magical machines keep me company, delight and annoy me in equal measure and keep me current. That in itself is worth all of it.

My first computer was a Commodore 64. It was a lot of fun and helped me enormously in my work. I also watched the little man who lived in my computer. I had to feed him and make sure he thrived.  I had another little guy who lived in an island after being shipwrecked. He had parties with girls who passed by on luxury yachts but he never left his island. He was a happy little chap. Such innovative programs.  I enjoyed them all.

I remember DOS, I remember the first time I used Windows and took mental note of every bit of progress I made and was happening in my relationship to my PC. It helped me produce mountains of handouts for my students and keep tabs on who was signing up for my classes. I remember when my daughter Natalia introduced me to the internet!  It was in Tokyo and she had just gone to school in Montreal.  When she told me that we could be more connected if I learned how to use this new bit of magic.   I was game, bring it on! My brain froze somewhat cause  I was sure I wasn't going to understand what she was about to teach me.  It took 3 minutes and I was a convert. I could send emails and read way into the night as long as my eyes weren't exhausted and ready for bed. I re-connected with so many friends, I read so much fun stuff, I felt closer to my daughter. I had a virtual umbilical attachment to her and her siblings when it was their time to leave home for school.

I embraced each and every little step along the way.  Changed from PC to Mac, bought one of the first IPhones and carried my Ipod everywhere. All of it wonderful, new and exciting. I worked and played with my gadgets and looked forward to more,  but recently I realized that while absolutely wonderful, they were starting to replace other things that I also enjoyed.

I like to go to the mail box and find a handwritten or  typed card or letter from a friend.  I like paper invitations and real birthday cards.  I enjoy friends calling to say hello. Texts are beginning to irritate me.  They feel like an afterthought!  They are replacing the mindfulness of knowing when one of my friends might need to hear my voice or I theirs.  When a good hearty laugh over the phone with no visuals (Skype later) connects hearts and experiences.  Not to mention face to face encounters.  Love those. I certainly prefer to chat in person or by phone than by "chat room."   I want my grandchildren to know that writing a "thank you" or "I love you" card, putting a stamp on it and sending it to a friend (or to their grandma) is still thrilling and that it will be treasured in a drawer or a box for a long time to come. I want my children not to forget to teach them that.

While shopping for certain things online is convenient and usually cheaper, I still like the thrill of the hunt in the shops in my town and feel that its much more fun to go say, to the real GAP than to peruse their pages online. I like to touch, smell, see the real color and even try it on and figure out if I really like the style on me!  Then I like to stop for a coffee and watch the world go by.

I like to hold babies and pet real animals and while the funny videos of pets online are often touching and hilarious, they're even funnier in person. I'm funnier in person too. In person you can see my wrinkles and my crazy outfit...you know...not like the pictures you see on Facebook!  In a phone call I can find out what I can do make you feel better or celebrate your great idea or remind you that whatever is worrying or upsetting you too shall pass.

I guess I want a good balancing act between our new technological friends and our flesh and blood encounters.  When one outdoes the other, I feel I'm in trouble and there's something missing in my life.

Santa's Little Helper

Thanksgiving, Art Miami, Art Basel, Christmas Oh my!  Between visits from my delicious kids, visits to my delicious kids, an impending visit from one of my best friends and trips to NYC there's little time to think about anything else.  Three boutiques have asked me to exhibit and sell my jewelry and Shibori scarves so needless to say, I'm delighted and enormously busy.

Here are some of the earrings which will be sold in Coral Gables.

And some Shibori Scarves

Never a dull moment in Coconut Grove!  These should make nice Christmas presents or enhance somebody's wardrobe.  They were all made with love and good energy.

Would you like to see my etchings?

Had to take my car for service yesterday and since I didn't want to bother anyone for a ride, I went prepared to spend some quality time drawing and practicing for a weekly art class that I'm taking.

There's a little cafe at the Honda place so once my car had been taken away for ministrations, I ordered a delicious Cuban cafe con leche,  took out my little sketch book (the size of a small notebook) my pencils, some charcoal and my trusty eraser and rag and proceeded to draw and shade and erase as necessary to avoid the ire of my teacher when I presented my results next week. Basically I was doing some  homework and patting myself on the back for leaving my Ipad at home!

Not five minutes had gone by when I felt I was being stared at.  Sure enough, a man was looking at my work and promptly started to comment on it.  "Can you draw me?" he asked flirtatiously.  "Nope" I said.  "I don't do portraits and besides, I draw a lot of hair!" said cheekily of course as I stared at his hairless head.  He thought that was very funny so he sat with me for a while and brought his cafe with him. Interesting face...maybe I should have tried.  He was a Honda employee so he was called to work soon after only to be replaced by another very attractive gentleman who commented that he loved the lady I was drawing.  He also sat with me. He also had his dose of cafecito. Both men were friendly and nice looking.   His car was ready so he reluctantly left our little chat dropping his card on the table with "I hope we can continue this conversation another time?...call me!"

A few minutes later another gentleman joined my table again commenting on my sketch and enhancing his conversation about a visit he'd made to the museum only last month.  I think he was trying to impress me. It was rather sweet.  Another card joined the first. Oh my!

Three more men stopped at my little out-of-way table to find out what I was doing.  It occurred to me that this etching thing was a very good way to meet people!  I didn't even need a dog or a fancy car to have six perfect strangers sit at my table quite naturally, chat away and suggest another meeting to further the artsy conversation. Most of them were spanish speaking and quite lively.  Most of them were attractive and definitely my age or older. Hmmm, have I discovered a new way to make friends?  At my age I guess a Honda service department is as good, or even better than other more traditional venues where people get to talk to each other! Who knew!

The cards? I threw them out.  I was flattered and had a great time.  Why push it right? Still, must return to the service department next week for them to install a spare part that they didn't have yesterday. Should I take my little magic sketch book?

Shibori - Instant gratification

I thoroughly enjoy the preparation.  Yes...the wrapping and scrunching and tying.  Here's what a piece looks like before submerged in the dye:

White silk wrapped with wooden circles and mung beans tied with string

Dipped in the dye

Drumroll please.....the results:

and some more...

and more...

and one more...

The Post-Menopausal Artist Moves to Miami

Young women hear about menopause and they wonder how it will affect them.  The perimenopausal among us complain about an array of symptoms that they experience or expect to experience.  I know that I certainly blamed menopause for a whole range of things that were in one way or another related to my age at the time.  What I never expected was an enormous burst of energy that helped me cope with what was happening to me in my own life then and which has allowed me the opportunity to carry on after my husband's death and thrive.  Is it hormonal?  I believe so.  Because menopause comes at a crossroad in our lives.  Our  grown children move away. In addition, in my case, my husband died and I was left with this life to live on my own and a major lust for life that I never expected without him.

I hosted a thousand people in two states for the weddings of my four children by myself.  I sold my house in New York and moved to Miami by myself.  In fact, I spent the last night in the old house on a mattress in the floor of the bedroom I had shared with my husband in the company of my dog and two cats!  At 3am I woke up in the cavernous house and thought it was time.  My belonging were already en route to Miami and I decided that I needed to drive with my dog rather than fly.  I needed to be actively leaving.  Physically, emotionally and spiritually leaving that house which had housed us all and gave us so much pleasure. I loaded my overnight bag in the car in addition to a few odds and ends that had remained and with the dog as my only company, I drove to my new destination while it was still dark out.

When I was crossing the George Washington Bridge, I turned on the radio and one of those evangelical types told me "you are going to your future, it will be everything you want it to be" and on and on he spoke... directly to me.  It was spooky!  South and down we went Ume and I only stopping for a few hours of sleep in a dog friendly motel on our way. I was never sleepy and like anyone who's driven down 95 to Florida will confirm with few distractions apart from the famous signs of the "South of the Border" complex.

We made it to Miami the next day in the afternoon. I managed to avoid speeding tickets and the car worked like a dream. My energy needed to be and was boundless.

After settling down in my new home I started painting. And you know what?  I couldn't stop!  I had no idea how to paint so I signed up for classes in acrylics.  Took one class with a lovely lady in Coconut Grove and was inspired to just go home and paint. Then came the jewelry making and recently the "Shibori" which I talk about in another part of this blog.

Its that energy again.  That creative energy that pulls me out of my shell and reminds me that I am not alone. I am on my own. I'm in good company.

The post-menopausal artist with her grand-daughter Lily

Boo Boo and Coco have to be in on the Shibori action. They are my greatest fans! They hang out nearby to check out the latest product

I can do magic!!!

Cushion covers, scarves, bedspreads, oh my!

I've always thought of myself as a bit of a witch. My mother was one and I think I inherited some of her skills. It is no wonder that I like Shibori! I combine potions...put them in a big pot, throw in a few things here and there, stir it all around, dip fabric and then comes the magic! Oh yes, it may not be a design that I necessarily had in mind but believe me, its always magic.

Shibori - Japanese art of tie-dyeing...for adults!

No doubt about it. I have a definite addictive streak. Have always loved 'blue and white." From dishes, cups, saucers to textiles, anyone who's been to my house has noticed my predilection for this particular color coordination. In Tokyo I was in heaven. It was everywhere. A major fan of my friend Amy Katoh's little store in Azabu Juban called "Blue and White" - a shop that demanded my weekly visit to check out what else she could come up with for me to love. And she never disappointed. Amy understands the crafts of Japan. She has a knack for making ancient Japanese crafts and craftsmen/women available and enjoyable for all. I highly recommend her books which I will list for you to check out.

In any event, my friend Lea Nickless who is a wonderful artist, posted some Shibori dyed pieces on her page in Facebook and when I complimented her on them, she casually mentioned that she'd be glad to teach me how to make some! I took her up on it! We had a class in her beautiful home the following Saturday. The rest is history...I was hooked. Immediately ordered the dyes and yesterday, I started working! It is a wonderful process.

I can't believe that I lived in Tokyo for 12 years and never once dipped cloth into dye. What was I thinking! I guess I was too busy having babies the first 6 years and helping other women have their babies the next six years.

Books by Amy Sylvester Katoh:

Japan: The Art of Living

Japan Country Living: Spirit, Tradition, Style

Blue and White Japan

Otafuku: Joy of Japan

New earrings for sale!

Back at Work!

Hand made metal hoops with turquoise bead

Its been a busy summer so far. Lots of visitors, a trip to Brooklyn to celebrate Max's second birthday, a quick trip to Buenos Aires and now, finally, I'm back at work. I'm making a lot of new earrings, painting and journaling. I feel so grounded in my new studio. I feel like I'm where I belong. It makes me happy. Hopefully that is reflected in my work and in the rest of my life!

I look around the workshop and my eyes fall on loved things. My women, my tools, pencils, brushes...books. Everything familiar. Touched. Enjoyed.

Studio/Workshop in Coconut Grove

I fell in love with my home in Coconut Grove at first sight. It is much smaller that the house in New York where my husband and I raised our family and I had to lighten up a lot to be able live here comfortably. Like many old houses, the closet situation leaves much to be desired and I sometimes miss the walk-in closet and all the storage space in the house I left behind. Still, the charm of the house made practical considerations...just that, a mere thought. I was moving in.

There is a guest suite that I've called "the cottage" which is adjacent to the house. It has housed guests and now it has transformed into my studio. During the Memorial Day weekend I moved in all my art projects, tools and equipment and have been working to make it mine. I can go there whenever I wish and sit and paint, or draw or wait for inspiration to strike. I can also leave an unfinished project without worrying about the mess. Just walk away and return later.

I've always had a need for a room of my own. We tend to call that extra room in our homes "the office" and leave it at that. I've always had a space in every home I've lived in that housed "my stuff" whatever that meant at the time. It wasn't officially "mine" though. It wasn't intended for me. Funny, I remember moving into a new place wherever we were in the world and assigning rooms for everyone and like most women, calling that extra room "the office." Some men like the garage as a project room and others need office space at home. My husband never felt a need for an office at home. He never brought work home and had no interest in a space designated for that purpose. He used to say that he did his best work lying on his back looking at the stars! I on the other hand, did work at home and my office was really wherever I had the space. Sometimes the basement, a room left behind by one of my kids going to college, a lonely abandoned spot in the basement, a spot wherever I could find it in the house. And it was a cavernous house. And it really didn't have a real room for me.

It took me a long time to allow myself the full privilege of calling a specific part of the house mine and only mine. Not my bedroom, or office. No. My space. And now, so many years later I finally have.
A place to play, to think, to create, and while many will say that my whole house can be my sanctuary, a room of my own, and in my case, separated but adjacent to the house where I actually live, is a gift I have given myself. Because that's what it is. Allowing it to happen. I've had that cottage for almost five years now and its been empty expect for the times that I've had visitors and they could enjoy the comfort and independence that it provided them for a few days. When they left, it would remain empty. No more. Now my guests will be housed in the spare bedroom in my house. The "cottage" is now mine.

I immediately called my daughters and recommended that wherever they are, they make a room their own and call it by that name, "my room." And they have to make it theirs.

I guess I've finally grown up and taken possession of a small place in this world that is completely and utterly mine. Visitors to my studio? By invitation only!

The first thing you see in my new workshop is this sign:

Monday Monday...

I love to wake up in a place where I can do my sun salutations and get an answer from the sun! It says 'good morning Elena...this is going to be a good day!'

Last night I produced these little earrings which gave me much pleasure as well.

The store in Coconut Grove is open!

In a few weeks I'll be able to have my very own studio/workshop/exhibit in my cottage at home. I'm very excited to have a place to combine all these interests and get my house back. At the moment, I work where I can and every room in my house has turned into a workspace.

A happy customer...

Thanks Rosanna for stopping by. I hope you enjoy your earrings!

She bought these among others...

Here are some more pretty things.

Wrap around and around...

Airy and breezy