Time Off, Politics, and Nirvana (Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat)

Ten days away from my blog--heinous! But I have been spinning, knitting, reading and watching DVD's on early world religions. And tomorrow is my first class at the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat, an all-day class with Pat Bruner, knitwear designer extraordinaire, on knitting for weird bodies. Well, that's not the name of the class, but I have a weird body and so does Pat, and last year she wore some of the most gorgeous sweaters I'd ever seen--in a size close to my own! I asked her where she would ever find patterns like those in large sizes and, of course, she said, "They're my own designs." "Golly," I said. "I wish I could do that too." "Come to my class next year," she replied. So I am. And I 'm excited.
I don't have another class until Saturday morning, when I have three hours with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, "The Yarn Harlot," for whom I provided a internet link near the beginning of this blog in December, 2007, I think. She's the stuff. Brilliant, creative, a phenomenal fiber artist and writer, and one of the funniest people on earth at this time. Ironic, sarcastic, and yet somehow innocent at the same time. She has made me laugh and weep with her stories. I met her at Madrona last year, but not so as she would remember, although she tells me she does. Huh. Anyway I have her class in two days and am really looking forward to it.
Went to the Tacoma Art Museum on Thursday to have lunch with my friend Cris and to see the Renoir etchings and lithographs on display. Awesome. I'm not a big fan of etchings or lithographs, but they were amazing. Best of all for me, though, was an original Renoir oil on canvas with two little girls playing with mom's hats. The brush strokes were both bold and perfect for the subject matter, and his use of color was really interesting. The shadowed areas on their faces (from the hats) were done, I think, with a complementary color/tint only, in very pale and thin layers. The skin was a pale peachy pink with pinker areas in appropriate places. The shadows were in a grayed version of the same color made, I think, by adding a very pale aqua tint, or mixing it with the peach before applying. You artists out there tell me if that would be possible in oils.
I asked Wayne if I could put a Barack Obama sign in our front yard. He said I should put a sticker on my car instead. We'll see.
I promise to blog again in less than ten days, and hope I'll have something to say. Blessings to all who enter here.