the countdown has begun!!!!!

This week in the mail I received the announcement for the upcoming show, Insatiable, in which i have a piece. And what a thrill it was ~ to see my name among all these other wonderful artists, and to know that this exciting show is just around the corner!! Not that I am not always excited about every show i am in (or most any art show in general :) It is just that I am truly gaga over the piece that is in this show ~ 'insatiable'.

I have been obsessed by this piece ever since its conception ~ gathering different yarns and twines, then moving into the more unique materials, such as old headphone, electrical wires, gardening twine and tattered plastic bags. As the time has passed i have gotten even more adventurous with what I can crochet into this beast ~ the ribbons from old balloons and the popped balloons themselves!! Also I was at a birthday

party with my girls where the girls at the party were taking off the plastic wrappers from their water bottles and pulling them into a long string!! I flipped when i saw this and asked the girls for all their wrappers and left the party with a roll of plastic 'yarn'. It is amazing how my eyes seemed trained to see more material ~ a bunch of gold streamers from a cheering pomp-pomp, cut rubber bands left over from creating a window-box, excess dental floss from an overly zealous pull. The mishmash of material that i am collecting is beguiling. As I scooping up the many pieces of flotsam and jetsam which is left behind by our everyday life, i feel that this piece is becoming a true illustration of our ever consuming appetite.

As 'insatiable' grows it seems to speak more and more to the subject of the show ~

Gluttony is the new status quo. Our appetite for food, power, wealth, sex, new experiences, and information is seemingly insatiable and poses increasingly greater risks to the welfare of our planet and its inhabitants. This juried exhibition will feat

ure work by 42 artists from the US and abroad that explores our ravenous craving for e

xcess and/or the consequences of indulging our endless desire for more.

I must confess that i am collecting more than i am crocheting. I keep hoping for that quiet moment where I can sit down and start 'spinning' this 'magic' into the piece. However another wonderful

element of this piece and the show, is that 'insatiable' was accepted as a performance piece!!! So it is going to grow during the show and i am going to have designated time that i need to be in the gallery crocheting. That alone is a gift - scheduled 'work' time!!! Especially since i have taken recently been given a teaching job I hardly see my studio ( But the teaching is wonderful (so far) great opportunity, great students and a regular income ~ WOW!!!) But for now the elation is with this coming show and my ever growing piece.

However also, for now there is also a great sadness. In the wake of the horrid news out of Arizona... may we resolve to open our minds and hearts to love and to embracing differences; to dynamic discussions of politics and ideas withOUT firearms and violence. My heart & prayers go out to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims and their families. Especially the family of the nearly 9 year old girl who was attending the event because she had just won a position in her school's student's government, and who is now dead ~ a victim of gunfire. In my busy day i had missed this event until I turned on my computer to finalize this post & once i saw the announcement my heart broke - on so many levels. so as i say every post ~

peace!!! peace !!! & peace i mean!!!!