Hello!
1. Last week we went to a concert to see the “Ode to Joy” movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. It put me in mind of Wynton Marsalis’s Violin Concerto in D Major, which I saw last spring. Before seeing the Violin Concerto, I thought that orchestra was a bit bland, but no longer!
2. When I think of Ruth Asawa, I usually think of her intricate wire basket sculptures, but I discovered some of her 2d work, which is no less detailed and beautiful.
3. My Thanksgiving cactus is blooming!
4. My favorite app of all time: Notion. For my organizer personality, it has become addicting to make schedules, lists, and databases for everything. It is like having Google docs, sheets, calendar, and drive all in one place! The free version is all I could ever want, but there is a paid plan.
I made a list of all my social media post ideas, then created a content calendar so I can draft posts months before I will post them. I also made a database for all my patterns and illustrations.
I’m a bit addicted.
5. We watched the video of Riverdance a couple weeks ago, and I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry! Such amazing and seemingly impossible dancing.
6. Okay, this is the one I’m most excited about!!! The Valley Creative Reuse store is now open in Harrisonburg, Virginia! I can’t wait to get in to visit!
Creative reuse stores are basically thrift stores for art and craft supplies, and there are more and more opening across the country. Find one in your area here.
I have always been one to try and make things I need out of stuff I already have. Here are a few ideas I’ve tried:
- A light fixture (old CDs and white craft paint)
- A phone/iPad holder for filming (coffee can, puzzle box, pre-used bamboo plate, scrap elastic, a rock for balance, the top of a broken pepper grinder [not visible] and two binder clips [not visible]). It actually works quite well!
- Papering the inside of my dresser pulls with scraps of wallpaper
7. I stumbled on a NPR obituaries article about Fernando Botero, who died in September, and I remembered that I saw a print of his work Mona Lisa caricature in the Iguana restaurant in NYC last summer. It was memorable!
8. I have been only using 8 colors for all my watercolor painting! With them I can mix any color I need, and save money and palette real estate???? I use these Daniel Smith watercolors:
Hansa Yellow Light (cool yellow)
New Gamboge (warm yellow)
Quinacridone Rose (cool red)
Transparent Pyrrol Orange (warm red)
Phthalo Blue (green shade) (cool blue)
French Ultramarine (warm blue)
Chinese White
Lunar Black
9. Happy Thanksgiving, ya’ll!
Noemi
