finally.

I finally got around to doing what I've been dreaming of for a whole year. I gocco printed on some Moleskines! First off, please admire my new logo stamp!



...and then here are a bunch of them! I am so in love with each and every one of these that its going to be really hard to let them go. I've printed on both lined and unlined books, and of course, they are original Moleskines so each has a perfect little pocket in the back...



...i've got this little wooden platform for displaying them...am also working on some other designs, and this same print is going to show up on this blog again really soon. In fact, printing this design on these books was totally unplanned, halfway through working on another project I decided to just give it a try!



...last shot is of a perfectly burned screen...thanks to the gocco gods!



Alright, I'm off to Chapel Hill, NC for a long weekend...no updates till Sunday/Monday probably! Then I'm back with just one week to go before Adams Morgan Day!

bookbinding thread.

Yes, thats what I knit with in my paintings. I adore printed matter and books, so its an added little connection I like to put in each piece.

Last week I found some new threads to try out at paper source. Some are linen, some are hemp:



Here are some already knit pieces begging to be blocked:



And here is a kitty begging for some attention:


Now go check out the application for Craftland. Looks like fun!
[via Sewing Stars]

Work in Progress

Here are some studio work in progress shots from last weekend:


I heard on npr this morning that tomorrow is going to be hot and humid... ah, the studio is going to be a sauna!

cat pad of the yesterday.

I've got a huge box in my living room...its the tent! I wanted to pull it out of the box, but its way to heavy, so I only managed to get the carrying case out. What is it about boxes and new stuff that makes cats fall in love?



Well, that was yesterday. This morning, they're determined to chew on my knitting needles and sit on my yarn. Alright, I admit catnip is in my knitting bag, so I'm sure my needles and yarn smell great. More on this project later!

I've been roaming the city looking for frames, finally found some I liked, so now I'm stocking up! Next stop, online, I need to get some shopping bags!

Man, getting ready for these art/craft shows is hard work!

makes running with scissors innocent*

First of all, please meet my new logo:



Thanks dear friends for answering my frantic e.mails and helping me decide on one to go with! You all picked the same one!

*last night, I saw a woman walk a whole block, and then cross the street with an eyelash curler stuck to her face! How crazy is that? Hey lady, you'll poke your eye out!

my cat growls at ups*

Another big DC arts event coming this fall: Artomatic! Dates/location will be announced soon!



My brain has been overloaded with all the different details of participating in art fairs. In the past week I've ordered a tent, bought a table, some chairs, some packaging material samples, and figured out my display strategy. My whole life has become an art to-do list!

Here is a middle-of-the-night peek at a corner of my table:



I plan to cover the table with some of Ikea's awesome new fabric. I'm thinking pistachio green on the bottom, and some brown/neutral linen on top.

Some web sites that helped in my art fair display decisions:
:: Make It has awesome tips on setting up at shows.
:: Craftster has a whole section on art/craft fairs.
:: The Art Show Photography yahoo group is a very active forum with a ton of info on displays.

*I've mentioned this to friends before, but today I can confirm that its absolutely true. My little Sword Juggling Veela Bianca growls at the UPS truck. She growls from the middle of the room, far from the door or window where she can actually see the UPS guy. She keeps at it till the truck drives away. I wonder if there are cats in the truck? Oh my, what if UPS is a cover-up for a cat snatching operation!

summery hats.

Here is a set of hats I made for a friend:



Good news is she caught her breast cancer really really early through her own self-exams. A mamogram didn't pick it up even. They had to do an mri on her to find it. Crazy! Bad news is her doctor still wanted her to go through chemo for preventative reasons. So thats why I made her the hats.

Not really related, but could be, here is a link to a list of natural, creative, mostly non toxic cleaning alternatives. Please be warned, cheesy elevator music will play if you go there. [via readymade]

full speed ahead...for another show!

I'll be in Adams Morgan Day this year! September 10! I've quickly switched into crank mode and am working full speed ahead on a bunch of new stuff. I've got 5 weeks till Adams Morgan Day, then 3 weeks later its Crafty Bastards!

Here is my hor-o-scope for August, from CrazyAuntPurl:
PISCES (Feb. 19 - March 20)
Now would be a really good time to start some sort of art project. There's a wide variety of really artsy rivers running through the Pisces world: the obvious painting, drawing, scrapbooking, knitting, crochet, etc. But Pisces has a real artistic-crazy streak this month, that extends to designing items from scratch, cooking up gourmet creations, making cakes shaped like Monopoly games. Don't rule out the more adventurous art-crazy, either, like carving stuff with power tools or making electronic devices, or building a car from scratch. It's your month to go a little nutty in the creative realm, and you should take advantage of it before your inspiration diminishes with the end of summer.

Hmm...monopoly-shaped cake? I dunno about that...but I do hope my inspiration carries on after summer!

Here is peek at some work in progress! Yes...ribbon...I found these last week and instantly fell in love. Contrast stitching is my latest obsession.

Can you guess what I'm making from these pictures?

It used to be blue...

...a month ago.



Here is a photo I took a month ago beside an image my friend Zena took of the same stretch of beach last week. They think it is from the oil storage sites and electricity plant that were bombed weeks ago and are still burning.

The oil spill stretches all the way north at least to the ancient Phoenician port in Byblos, the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. This environmental disaster is something not being reported here in the news. Please check out Zena's blog to read more about this and the actions she is taking there.

The view on the left is from my parents Beirut apartment. It is called Ramlet-el-Baida which translates to white sands. This is the only public beach in Beirut, but most people go to beach clubs further north or south. As our plane was landing we had an awesome view of this beach, and all the kids on the plane started yelling "look! look! Beeeach! ma! Beeeach!"...and the parents yelled back "no, this isn't the beach we go to!" Ah, details.

Here are links to my previous Lebanon photo posts ::
:: Tripoli :: Byblos
:: Tyre :: Sarafand
:: Sidon :: Sea Castle :: Soap Museum
:: My Art Lounge Exhibit
:: Knitting :: Down the Mountain
:: Centre Ville :: Downtown Beirut
:: Mir Amin :: Beiteddine

Photos :: Tripoli :: Byblos

Tripoli was crazy. I had no sense of direction. It felt really really crowded and it felt like we kept taking the wrong turns. We got to the old city eventually, only to find that we had been driving around it in circles the whole time! We parked and just as we walked into the old souk, a woman from a soap shop jumps out and tells us we need to see the soap factory and she will take us there.

So, we met Mr. Sharkass and bought a ton of olive oil soap from him. He is the 6th generation of soap maker and spent a lot of time showing us how famous he was by opening magazine after magazine. A lot of the soap in the Sidon Soap museum was made by him. Now the "Sharkass" name is lovingly stamped on the soap in my shower.




Tripoli is famous for its hammams, but with the maze and all, we had no idea where to go. So, Mrs. Sharkass called over a young boy in the street and he led us through winding alleys. We didn't stay long. It was scary! This is one of the paths we took to get there:



We were all so mesmerised by the souk spaces and thought we didn't get any pictures. But I just found some pictures of the Tripoli souk on my camera!



Next, we found our way out of the winding souks to the crusaders castle.






I was quite happy to leave Tripoli and head down the coast to Byblos, a much more familiar place to me, for a beach party. Ah, the beach. Only a month ago you looked so blue!

phew.

My parents made it back from Lebanon. My first relief was that I could talk to them face to face and take a break from having my cell phone stuck to my ear. I am so happy they are here, and spent the weekend repeating that over and over again.

I discovered why they sounded really down the day they decided to leave. From a map on this excellent blog I saw that their village was bombed. I had no idea how close, but from the lonely blue circle in the center of the map I knew it had just happened that day.


by mazen kerbaj

One of my first comments when they arrived was "your village got bombed, didn't it?" They were totally shocked that I found out. Turns out the bomb* landed a kilometer away from their house, at 5am. They slept through it, but their maid on the upper level felt the whole house shake. It was that bomb, and all my persistent phone calls, that pushed them to leave.

My grandmother, uncle, aunt, and their families all made it back to Houston. My aunt and her son made cover page news in Beaumont, TX. I would tell you about my brother's escape to Jordan, but a cousin was with him on the journey and wrote an article about it here.

I can't believe this madness has already been going on for 20 days.

Please, someone, make it stop.

*The bomb that landed a kilometer away from out house hit a bunch of sheep.

Illustration Friday: Opposites

With the news that my parents are finally leaving Beirut, last night I sat down and drew. I was so excited to hear they were going to leave. In fact, thrilled. But both of them at the other end of the line didn't sound happy at all. In fact, for the first time in the past 2 weeks, they sounded really really down. They're worried about where they'll be taken, how they'll be treated, how long it will take, and all the uncertainties that surround leaving their country as refugees.



I stayed up and called them at 8.30am their time to see if they made it down to Beirut safely. check. I woke up early and called them at 1pm to see if they were on the ship. Nope, not yet. They were "checked in" and their bus was being held for 3 hours, so when I called they were sitting, waiting. I have spent so much time with the cell phone glued to my ear that I am 46 minutes away from my limit this month.

The trip to wait in Cyprus is going to be at least 24 hours. The irony is that they will be boarding the same cruise ship they took last year on their tour of the mediterranean.

My parents really would not be leaving if it were up to them. Every year they spend the spring & summer there, and their fall & winter here, and this whole war and evacuation just didn't fit into their plans. The good news is my father completed some crazy root canal work on Monday, his foot is feeling better, and my mom had time to get her hair done. SA says she's going to be the prettiest refugee!

Previous Illustration Friday entries ::
jungle : jungle : portrait : cake : sorry : angels and devils : fat : under the sea : robot : spotted robot : speed : spring again : more spring : spring : monster : tattoo [one page tale painted gocco print] : tattoo : insect : tea : song : simple : chair : glamour [color gocco print] : glamour : cats : e is for : sea : flavor : holiday : imagine

*fingers crossed*

First of all, thanks so much for all the comments, phone calls, e.mails, thoughts, prayers, and good vibes being sent out... most of my family are either currently in transit, on their way back here, or about to embark on the journey.

I am thrilled that my parents are planning to leave Lebanon tomorrow. They are not as excited as I am. In fact, they sounded really down when I spoke with them this afternoon about it. If my brother and I weren't calling every hour to ask "are you gone yet?" they would stay there. I'm very tempted to pick up the phone now to see whats happening. 7am. Its already tomorrow there. The sun has already risen and they're probably getting ready to lock up their house, say goodbye to the mountains, and drive down to Beirut. Normally there would be a whole entourage of 3/4 cars taking them down to the airport, but this time they'll be going down alone. Its really not safe for anyone to drive around. I must sleep with my fingers crossed and send them good wishes of a safe trip down and through Beirut.

Turns out someone there knew someone here who talked to someone there who helped my grandmother, uncle, aunt and their families all board a ship safely on Saturday morning. My grandmother was very sad to leave, but I'm so glad she agreed to it. They received a call at midnight to say they had to be at the ship by 3am. I thought they were in Cyprus, but just found out today they are actually in Turkey waiting for a flight out, and might be there for another three days. My brother and his wife are in Jordan. I got a text message from them about how awesome the dead sea is. Hopefully they will arrive here in the next few days.

My parents are coordinating with the same person there that knew someone here who talked to someone there who helped my relatives board the ship on Saturday, so I'm hoping my parents will have an ok experience with leaving and all. Part of me feels bad that I've called everyday and put so much pressure on them to get back over here, and another part of me is relieved they've made the decision to get out. I understand that where they live now in the mountains is safe, but really no place there is safe, and we are all worried sick about what is going to happen when the bombing stops. 1,000,000 people displaced. I really hope this will not spur another civil war. I really hope all my friends and families and friends families stay safe over there.

Phew, my posts sure have gotten blabby! Alright, next post will be something creative. and fewer words. promise.

pardon me while i vent...

I've spoken with my parents every single day since the craziness started. My brother made it to Jordan this morning. The driver came from Jordan to pick him up. On his way over he drove around a busload of people that had got bombed as they were driving towards the Syrian border. No survivors. A HUGE bridge on the beirut-damascus highway not far from where my parents are staying in the mountians got bombed again, this time in half. This bridge runs over the road my parents take from the Chouf to get to my grandmother's village in the Metn. Of course they're not getting any sleep. They woke up to the sound of the bridge exploding. My mom was terrified to say bye to my brother, and my brother didn't want to leave them behind.



My parents hope to leave soon but they're waiting to leave with my grandmother and the rest of my moms family. My grandmother is 85 and was hoping to die in Lebanon and never travel again (she used to live in houston). So, her american passport had expired. My uncle took her to the american embassy and they were treated like animals. They refused to even give her an emergency passport so she can at least cross over to Syria or go to Cyprus to get it renewed there. Does anyone here have any state department leads here that we can follow? My family really can't leave her there on her own! She can barely walk!

Also, other extended family members made it onto the ships, only to be told moments later that it was full, and to get off and "come back again tomorrow."

I should add that my family does not live there, but they spend all their vacations there. My parents usually go there in the Spring and leave after the fig season is over. I really hope they make it here sooner, and of course I hope the bombing ends.

A generator fell on my dads foot and aparently that is why they haven't already left, still hopping around from doctor to doctor. This happened a few days ago, but I just got told today. They don't tell me everything. I'm glad they're all still alive, all limbs intact, but I feel terrible that everyone is going through this. It really is such a tragedy.

Here are some blogs I've been reading that have kept me sane: kerblog by mazen kerbaj and beirut update by zena. I really wish both of these artists had started blogs before this war, and in fact I had just talked to zena about this a few weeks ago while I was there and all was peaceful.

thats all for now.

Photos :: Tyre :: Sarafand

Along the coast, south of Sidon, we found Tyre. Tyre was a major Phoenician seaport from about 2000 BC through the Roman period. It was once an island and according to Herodotus, was founded about 2700 BC. Yes, thats BC, crazy long time ago. Purple dye was invented in Tyre.

The Roman hippodrome is one of the largest ever found. amazing. It was once used for chariot racing and could seat 20,000. Sitting up high on the stands, you can imagine what it must have been like when there were people all around. The light coming in under the stands, looking through the arches into the stadium, reminded me of movies like The Gladiator, and what it was like just before they enter the arena to face thousands of people.



Next we found the area of the port ruins, which was once a Phoenician island. What I find interesting is the two overlapping floor are from different civilisations: Byzantine mosaics laid over the Roman mosaic floor.





We were a day late to see the glassblowers in Sarafand, the site of ancient Serepta, where Phoenecians blew glass thousands of years ago. They shut down their glass furnace for the first time in many many years. Soon they'll be opening up a new shop in Zouk in the north, and then the Sarafand location will be working again soon, if it still exists.




All these images are from areas that have been the hardest hit in the past 10 days. so. sad.

who's a crafty bastard?

I am! Mark your calendars for Sunday, October 1st. Yay! For more info, check out the Crafty Bastards web site!

Sidon :: Sea Castle :: Soap Museum

This tiny painting of the Sidon skyline was done 16 years ago from a photo. At the time I was in high school in Dubai and had yet to visit Lebanon. But I dreamt about it from the pages of a large book that featured photos of the country from the 1970s. Problem was, the book was all in arabic so I had no idea what most of the pictures were about.

Last week when I visited Sidon I discovered where the photo was taken from: inside the Sea Castle looking towards the port! So of course I had to take a photo of the view for myself.





Sidon was fascinating. After the Sea Castle, we drifted through the most mesmerising souks. As SA said, we were all so blown away by the souks that none of us took any pictures. It was like we were in a maze and there was too much eye candy all at the same time. We stopped by Khan al Franj (the French Quarters), then went on the Soap Museum. What a treasure. I'm so amazed I had never heard of this place before!





This was my first trip to the South of Lebanon with SA. We went all the way down to Tyre. Every other time we've visited it didn't seem like a smart thing to do. Of course the fabulous new beach clubs are south of Beirut, around Damour and Jiyyeh, and we went there, but never as far as Sidon or Tyre. This was the first time I could say to family and friends "we're going to the South" and their response was positive. Some people I met even thought it would be cool to go all the way to the border. I didn't think that was such a great idea.

Well, looks like we made it down there at the right time, because if we were there this week, we would have missed out on some awesome places.

yikes.

My brother's plane landed in Beirut today at 4.15am. At 6.05am the airport runways were bombed and the flights were all diverted to Larnaca in Cyprus. My parents heard the bombing while they drank their morning coffee from their balcony.



I spoke with my family and everyone is safe. My brother and his wife just returned from their honeymoon in Italy. I'm supposed to pick them up from the airport here on Monday night, but we'll see if they can make it out from Beirut that soon.

My Art Lounge Exhibit.

Here are some pictures from my Art Lounge exhibit in Beirut! The exhibit was part of the Imagining Ourselves Project, co-sponsored by the International Museum of Women, San Francisco, and featured the work of many talented lebanese women. An exhibit book was published and featured the work of all of us!

The exhibit space is also a huge lounge with a bar and an awesome bookshop, plus the hours are great: 7pm-close, Tuesday-Sunday. The exhibit was scheduled to end June 24th but it was extended till July 9. So yes, I visited it many times.




I decided to keep some of my artwork there to be placed in another exhibit in Beirut. Of course I am working on a new series to show here in the US. If you are interested in a commissioned painting in this series, please let me know by e.mail. [sometimes its hard to get in touch with you through the comments!] My e.mail is: darnknit at gmail dot com
Thanks!



Here are some images from other arts venues in Beirut: Espace SD, a gallery in Saifi Village, and the staircase art exhibit in the fabulous Gemmayzeh.

Previously::
:: knit signing.
:: some more connections.
:: open studio fun.
:: about connectedness.
:: knitting dreams.
:: kite watcher.
:: imagining ouselves.