Knitting Dragonflies

Yay, the sun is out. We have so many sunless days here in the winter. I feel like when it does come out, I need to go out and really enjoy it! So I’ve been catching up on my “to do” list! 1)Let me see I made 3 Hula Hoops, for Christmas presents, very easy and fun. If you are interested in making one yourself, I have included some info on how to do it: This is the best tutorial I have found for making a hula hoop yourself, watch out, you can’t make only one! He also includes all of the supplies you will need. A taping link, and a hula hoop demo to get you started. Watch out it is addictive and fun, (and burns calories)! 2) Felting gnomes, which turned out to be elves, and Santas! See photo at top, more than one was made but the rest became presents, and this is the only one that got captured in a photo! Felted gnome tutorial here   3) Painting more Sumi-e paintings. Bamboo, Prawn and Iris…. I was amazed that all of my “practice” bamboo paintings were eagerly taken by visi

I’ve been playing around just a little bit with some watercolors. Here are some Iris .In Japan, the iris is used as a decoration for the “Feast of the Boy” in May.  The upright shape and strong growth are thought to symbolize the ideal of the samurai. And in about 30 min, I tried to make a simple plum blossom branch, with magic markers and crayons. The plum blossom is a symbol of longevity in China. Its delicate bloom emerges in the winter months and signifies life and hope while other plants and trees remain dormant. Have a great New Years Eve!!

In an effort to loosen up my paintings and brush strokes I became interested in the ancient Sumi-e Japanese (I have also seen it called Chinese) painting. Sumi_e roughly translates as ink painting It is an art form that strives to distill the essence of an object or scene in the fewest possible strokes. A few carefully placed broad strokes that fade off abruptly, a few thin lines and a dot, and a bird is clearly called into being on the paper. Sumi-e is sometimes confused with calligraphy, because the tools used are the same. Calligraphy is the graceful, artistic representation of written characters, using ink and brush, while sumi-e is painting a scene or object. In the West, sumi-e is often called Chinese Brush Painting , although it has been a major art form in Japan and Korea as well. To paint with ink requires the use of the Four Treasures . This refers to the must-haves of sumi-e: an ink stone , an ink stick , a brush , and the appropriate kind of paper . The ink stone is a