Craft

March 30, 2015January 9, 2018

Open to creativity

About a dozen people of all ages showed up for my workshop at Southwest Maker Fest Saturday.

I talked a little about making minimalist travel journals that you can start during your trip. Then I gave everyone an envelope with odds and ends to represent what you might pick up on your travels — attraction flyers, paper scraps, coffee sleeves, Travelcraft Journal stickers, etc. Then I set them loose to create something that told the story of their day.

Because the room I was assigned to was in a children’s museum, some of the parents assumed it was a “kid thing” and were surprised when I handed them an envelope to create one too. Also, the open-endedness of the project freaked a few people out a bit at first.

But, by the end, everyone — kids and adults — really got creative and made some fabulous things. They journaled, they drew, some of them went outside the booklet format and got architectural, building things with their materials.

I love seeing people open up to creativity.

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March 23, 2015May 23, 2023

The Return of Southwest Maker Fest

It’s almost time for the second annual Southwest Maker Fest, a free celebration of creativity and collaboration, hacking and tinkering. Once again, there will be lots of workshops, interactive maker booths, and music.

I’ll be presenting “Make Art Travel Journals Anywhere!” I’ve built on last year’s workshop to make it more hands-on.

Southwest Maker Fest will be held this Saturday, March 28 from noon to 8pm in downtown Mesa, Arizona. My workshop is at 12:30pm in the i.d.e.a. Museum HUB Classroom (150 W Pepper Place).

I’m also relaunching my newsletter with the next issue coming out this week! If you haven’t signed up previously, get on the list!

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March 16, 2015August 24, 2015

Shrinking

We had a great turnout for our Shrinky Dinks project at CraftHack!

I think that has a lot to do with the nostalgia that goes along with these.

We started out with clear and frosted sheets of shrinkable plastic and then used sharpies to draw or trace our designs. We cut them out and maybe punched a hole in the top for making jewelry later.

A couple at a time went into Eileen’s toaster oven. We found ourselves gathering around to watch them transform, the plastic curling up before thickening and setting. It still seems kinda magical.

More photos on the CraftHack Facebook page.

March 12, 2015December 4, 2018

The Farm at South Mountain

Have you been to The Farm at South Mountain? It has 3 restaurants, a big grassy field with pecan trees and picnic tables, a handful of shops, a crepe truck on the weekends, and, yes, a small organic farm. It’s a delightful place to spend the day. Phillip and I like to get breakfast from Morning Glory Cafe, or a picnic basket or cup of coffee from The Farm Kitchen, and then wander around.

The Botanica shop has unique garden and gifty things. On Saturdays, they set up a table in front of their chalk art wall and sell various local foodstuffs, like salsa and honey.

Maya’s Farm has an organic produce stand and its own CSA. Last time we were there, they were demonstrating simple ways to use more vegetables with samples of this amazing salad and sauteed breakfast radishes.

About 20 years ago (yikes), my family briefly lived at the base of South Mountain. On the way to school, we would drive down Baseline Road past all these beautiful fields of greens and flowers with little roadside stores selling local produce, sweets, nuts, and flowers. There are still a few left, but most have been replaced by stuccoed condos and strip malls.

The Farm is a way to preserve some of that open space, to keep the land viable and beautiful, to nourish the community in a way that asphalt and stucco simply can’t.

March 9, 2015August 24, 2015

Her secret is patience

Floating above downtown Phoenix is a permanent public art sculpture inspired by monsoon clouds and hot Arizona summers. “Her Secret Is Patience” was created by artist Janet Echelman, specifically for the site it is now suspended above. At night it’s illuminated with the colors changing with the seasons.

The name comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson. “Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience.”

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