What's New

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

It is 11:29pm on Wednesday evening. I just got back to my room after another long day of class. Our instruction time is from 9-12 and 2-5. The studio is open from 7am until 10:30pm and it has taken every bit of studio time to complete the assignments. This is a very intense class and I am LOVING it! Half the time I don't know what I am doing but I just in and start cutting and sewing fabric together. The first day of class we started and finished three composition! Yup...that's right...three! Yesterday we made a black and white composition and today we recreated the same composititon...larger....and with color.

I am surrounded by very very talented people and I am in awe of their work. I am learning so much...both from the class time and also from my classmates.

Here are some sights from my week so far...

This is the home of our teacher, Nancy Crow.

Classes are held in the upstairs part of this 1849 barn. There is another class (fabric dying) going on in the basement.

This is the inside of the barn....

This is my work station....wow....it looks so neat and tidy......it looks a whole lot different tonight...piles of fabric everywhere!

Instruction time

Classmates...

Our instructor

Sewing demonstration

Cut up the lines and arrange them...

Sew them together

and..... Ta- Dah! My first composition....Don't you love these lines!

Our second assignment was to create to sets of line/shape fabrics with black and one bright color. One set with the black as the line and one set with the bright as the line.

fabric sets...

the view from my work station

My neighbors working hard

working....and working...and working....

and....we have bold and dramatic! Okay...no comments here...part of the learning process is to ...well...just doing it! This is a "workshop" piece....I can work to make a beautiful one when I get home.

I arrived in Ohio on Friday Evening....travel was uneventful...just how I like it! Saturday morning I drove around my new environment...key word here...I DROVE! Ah....the freedom of the road! I can not believe how excited I get over seeing simple familiar things. Like...right across the street from my hotel is a Sam's Club, Joann's Fabrics, Olive Garden, Best Buy, Target, and even...dare I say...Wal-Mart. I had breakfast Saturday morning at the Cracker Barrel (a blast from our Virginia days) and lunch on Sunday at Steak n Shake (a blast from my junior high days in Indiana). On Sunday I drove to the Easton Mall. You name it...they had it. Easton Mall is the largest mall in the state of Ohio. It is beautifully designed very much like BridgePort in Portland only they actually had easy parking and it was about 3 times larger. And...surrounding the main mall area are all the chain stores like TJ Max, another Joann's Fabric, Old Navy...etc. AND...Trader Joes!!! Of course I had to stop in and buy orange sticks, honey sesame cashews, and some fresh tulips to brighten up my hotel room. I told the cashier that my son also works at Trader Joes...not sure she really cared.... but it felt like I was somehow "close" to him just shopping there.

Sunday evening was "set up" time at the workshop. The workshop is in an 1849 wood frame barn in rural Ohio. Oh my gosh...the drive to the Barn was wonderful. I am a sucker for old barns and old Churches and I saw many many many on my way to the Crow Frame Barn.

Classes started on Monday morning so I took the opportunity to take these photos on my way to class.

Hah! What a change from Shanghai. Did you know they have air in Ohio!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Contact info while I am in Ohio

I will be using Tim's sim card...the number is (360) 909-3382.

I arrive on the March 27 and return to China on April 11th

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

We had a gorgeous sunny day in Shanghai. Our weather has been very fickle...it goes from really nice to really bad in a matter of hours. After a morning of running around the city, I settled in on our orange loungers in the sunny window and took a short nap.

Abi had a half day of school with interviews for internships this morning. It looks like she will be working at Hyatt on the Bund for two weeks in May. I took her and Peter to lunch after school. They still had on their "grown-up" clothes so I pulled "the mother card" and snapped this picture outside the restaurant. It is hard to believe that they will be off to college in just a few short months.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

I will be leaving Shanghai on Friday for another exotic location......drum roll please.....Columbus, Ohio! Yup! It's true. I have an opportunity (thanks to Tim) to attend a two week fabric arts workshop given by Nancy Crow. I have to take a ton of fabric with me...oh darn...too bad I don't have any....see photo below. Ah....two glorious weeks of nothing but creative opportunities.

Fabric cabinet after trip to Korea. Look there is still room in the cabinet.

I actually sold 1/4 of the fabric that I bought in Korea. I cut it into fat quarters and packaged them in coordinating sets of three. I had a blast matching the fabrics and I sold enough to pay for my trip. I am soooo ready to go again!

Today I was scrolling through my last few blog entries and a thought occurred to me. (I know it is a surprise!) Anyway...We have described Shanghai as a city of contradiction. There are many social, economic, political, and generational differences here. So...if you look at our last two weekend activities you will see a good example of this. Two weekends ago we were in a charming village just a few miles away from our house. Last weekend we were at a stylish fashion show with a runway...also just a few miles from our house. And that is how it goes in Shanghai...

Monday, March 23, 2009

We rousted Abi out of bed this morning at 10:00. Driver Tim took us to breakfast at Thumb Plaza and then we came right back home so Abi could get some homework done. Tim showed me some helpful tricks for PowerPoint and then went to JinQiao to hit a bucket of balls. I spent most of the day working on a presentation that I need to have for my class next week. I am sure my children could have done the same amount of work in 1/4 of the time....it has been a while since I used PowerPoint AND I have Vista. So...the learning curve was pretty steep. Even with all that time spent on the computer I am not finished. Ugh! Tim and I treated ourselves to a massage this afternoon and it was a very nice break from the computer.

Tim cooked tonight...a really nice steak dinner.....AND....he did the dishes so I could continue working on my presentation. What a good husband!

Tucker was in CA this weekend attending an industrial design show with his classmates. A nice break after a week of finals.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

It has been a very busy week for Abi. 10 International high schools led a fund raiser for "Healing Home". This organization provides funding for orphans that need surgery and have been abandon by their parents. The event was held at "the Loft" a small boutique shopping center in downtown Shanghai. Abi worked every night after school creating decorations and installing them in the event room. Along with the decorating project she decided to participate in the student fashion show. She was a model for one of the brand name clothing lines and also showed four of her own designs. Two weeks ago she sketched four outfits on paper and hired Mrs. Wang to sew them for her. I think she might have discovered a new talent.