A few years ago I was fortunate enough to go to a hook-in in Vermont and met Dana Psoinas from New York, one of the most extraordinary rug hookers and artists today.  I had already been mesmerized by her "Guardian" rug in a photograph, and suddenly, there was the real thing, right in front of me on the floor in Shelburne Vermont. 

And there was Dana herself.  A more talented and nicer person you just cannot find.  She specializes in rugs that tell stories, usually stories from fairy tales or myths.

I was star-struck.  We hit it off and have corresponded occasionally since then.  Lucky me.

I am still star-struck by her work, and so will you be.  Read on! 

She recently showed me three drawings she has done--freehand, mind you!--on linen, to sell as patterns for other rug hookers.  One of them is at the top of this post, and the rest are below, along with a sketch she hasn't yet drawn on foundation.  

More information about Dana and her process is at the end of this post.

She sold these through her Etsy site--but please be aware that these patterns are NOT FOR SALE now.  They were/are one-of-a-kind.  She is busy with her own rug making and does not stock or sell patterns all the time.  There is a wonderful photo of her finished Guardian Rug on her Etsy site--please have a look to see just how phenomenal her rug hooking is.  She works in 2-, 3-, and 4-cuts to achieve her extraordinary rugs.

Check her site from time to time in case she does post something to sell...who knows,  you may get lucky!

If you wonder about her creative process and want to know a bit more about her, you can check this recently-written blog post with more photographs of her rugs.  Enjoy.

With thanks to Dana for letting me post this!

Starting about 2.30 this morning--a bad case of insomnia resulted in this tile.  And then once I began, I couldn't stop tangling as the day wore on.

Yesterday I finished unpacking the house (after "only" ten months, 4-5 of which I was useless because of the broken wrist.  But still! 

I next need to hang pictures, and organize supplies and furniture in my studio.  But it feels fabulous to be unpacked finally, and to know in general where things are.

I haven't been allowing myself to indulge in art in order to get the house stuff done.  But starting with the above tile--and now that I know where most of my art supplies are--I couldn't help myself today.  So I went a little nuts.

WHEN A GOOD TILE GOES BAD...

Oh my, the above tile was meant to be a practice of the Delft technique.  But it fell apart when I thought I'd use Copic Markers (about which I clearly know nothing!) to shade a bit under the bands.  The result:  uneven shading and a "hard line"--I tried to save it with graphite and a tortillion, but really it was a hot mess. 

But hey.  No fail, no learn, right?  So I'm posting it. 

JUST KEEP ON GOING...
Once I finished that one I just couldn't stop, and did this one (I left off the Copics until I learn more about them).  Enjoying the blue-and-white a lot.

And if that wasn't enough, I indulged myself in some glitter markers that were recommended by an artist friend (see her review of them here):

Have not tried these yet but will certainly report back when I do.  They are very inexpensive (About $10 or so for all these)--and the package even arrives with refills.
You can see the refills above the markers.  I got these on amazon.

Tomorrow I have to "stuff the art genie back in the bottle" in order to get some required tasks done...and I have to keep her there for awhile, probably.  But today was a total indulgence.

In reading one of the Zentangle® blogs, I just spotted the most amazing photographs on--of all things--manufacturing pencils.  They are in an article written for New York Times.

These amazing art photos were taken at the General Pencil Company (We who tangle love their pencils.  And according to the Zentangle blog, the owner of the company is now a Certified Zentangle Teacher, which delighted me).

I cannot show the photos because of course they are copyrighted, but you won't believe how beautiful they are.  Check them out HERE.

(Thank you to the Zentangle folks for publicizing this.)

Indeed I have not posted in a while.  I'm in the final frenzy of unpacking, having moved late last March and then having had to wait/wait/wait for a post-move broken bone to heal.  Now I'm crazed to be done.  The end is in sight!  Once I'm finished, I will actually get to put pictures on my walls.  I miss my pictures very much.

No art at all is going on while I'm in this phase.  But today I attended a free 1-hour  "Creative Calm Online Circle" by my buddy Sadelle Wiltshire (well done, Sadelle!) and she led us through this meditative "continuous line exercise."  The above is the wonky but fun result.  Continuous line drawing is exactly what it sounds like:  you never lift your pen off the page; you just meander along with pen on paper and see where the line takes you.  It's not Zentangle®.  It's not supposed to "look like" anything...just see where the pen goes.  It's a very old art "warm-up" technique.  Fun and calming.  I did a second one in about three minutes, below:

I welcomed any chance to do something calming today, as yesterday a neighbor slipped and fell on black ice near my house and cracked his head (he's fine--no concussion or real damage).  He spent hours in the ER and it must have been scary.  It was scary just to hear about it.  I'm glad he's ok.

Then this morning I discovered my credit card had fraudulent charges on it, and had to cancel that.  Immediately after that unpleasantness, I tuned into the online Creative Calm Circle; it was just what I needed.

Need some relaxation? 

• Grab a pencil or pen and some scrap paper.  You won't be copying or trying to draw anything; this is just random movement.
  
• Put your pen on the paper and draw any simple random shape (maybe a spiral or petal or circle or square or triangle shape...anything simple).  Do not lift the pen from the page.
  
• Rather, keep it moving slowly; remember to breathe; allow the pen to go where it wants--even if you cross over the previous marks you've made--and see what happens. 
  
• KEEP BREATHING and just move the pen slowly.  Let the pen go anywhere it wants on the page.
  
• Stop when you feel like stopping.  (Try for at least 2 full minutes, though, and feel free to go longer.)
  
• Don't expect great art (you don't see great art here, do ya?) but do expect relaxation.  The result doesn't matter--you can throw it away.  The process is what helps dissipate tension.
  

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh...doesn't that feel better?

 On Sunday I went to my first-ever Quabbin Rug Group meeting.  It was just great.  No fewer than eleven people showed up--I was impressed.  Here are some of the rugs I saw.

I only wish I were better at catching people's names.  I'm terrible with names.  therefore, I was only able to attribute a couple of these in-progress pieces. 

Enjoy the eye candy!

I think this may have been by Judy Jewett (altho I certainly could be wrong)?  It is from a pattern she purchased.  Love the colors she is using.  She was at the binding stage, so it should be done very soon.

Isn't this one just the most fun?  I can see the face of the wonderful woman who's making it, but I cannot for the life of me remember her name.  Darn.  I already want this rug and she's not even finished with it yet.

This rug is by Linda Faye of Amherst and is her own design--it's a tribute to the Peace Pagoda.  You can see that she's begun by hooking the many prayer flags flying in the wind there.  The Peace Pagoda has a good website here.  I'll be interested to see how this rug develops. 

Linda also had a wonderful dog rug with her, but I was unable to get a photo of that.

Not sure whose pattern this is but I heard the woman who is making this piece say that the original designer intended for it to be done in a fine-cut.  However, she is more of a wide-cut person and is successfully doing it in a 6 or an 8 (probably an 8--I didn't hear that part). 

She was making the point to one of the other participants that it's possible to take a fine-cut design and do it in a wider cut.  It can be done with many (not all) fine-cuts.  The results will look very different, but as you can see here, it still looks great.

How stunning is this???  Wowza.  I believe the woman who is making this is named Sue, but I'm not certain.  I do remember her saying that this is her first-ever hooked piece.  Oh. My. God. 

I don't know if she designed it herself or if it is a pattern. 

(Hanging my head in shame--my first piece from years ago never looked anything like this one...)  I was drawn to looking at this over and over.

Isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen?  I think this maker's name was Rebecca.  She was a guest at the meeting, I believe.  What really stands out for me about her--other than this truly wonderful folk-art rug which I believe is her own design--is that we were told she is "new to rug hooking."   Whaaaa-aaaaat???  I love these cats!

I heard her say that she's only been hooking for 18 months.  BUT...this is the 12th piece she has hooked in that short time.  So she's certainly not "new" in my book.  This is just great.

A talented woman named Penny (argh...I don't remember her last name either--was it Redfern?) sitting directly across from me was working on this rug, channeling Vincent himself.  Talk about an ambitious project.  I wish I had an off-the-frame photo of this; it's just wonderful. 

Last but by NO means least is this really beautiful and striking piece inspired by Japanese rock gardens.  Can I remember this woman's name?  No, of course not, but I love her work.  This is her own design. 

I get that "ahhhhhhhh" feeling simply by looking at the sinuous lines of the carefully raked sand, which she's captured beautifully here.  This is striking and I am loving the subtle colors.

I was definitely enchanted by all the rugs I saw.  We met at the Wool & Dye Works Rug Hooking Shop in Florence, which is a treasure in itself.

I'll finish off with a DRAFT of a triquetra knot, which I tried for the first-time today.  This says #3 because it's only my third try.  I have a lot to learn about these, that's for sure.

By which I mean to say, this is simply a sketchy practice piece for a free-form, unplanned knot. 

I have "knot" been practicing. 

Although my holidays were quiet-by-design, my last two weeks have been non-stop guests.  Wonderful guests and I was thrilled to have them. 
But I haven't had the headspace to draw, tangle, or write and am feeling rusty.  Looking forward to starting up again.

                                                  Ahhhh!  BOOKBINDING Again:

I did manage to sneak away for one day, last Sunday, in order to take a beginning bookbinder class with Peter Cangialosi.  He's an excellent teacher and I completely enjoyed myself.  Even more impressive:  every student (5 of us) left with a handmade bound book.  Here's mine:

This is a very small book, but it is a book.  I am delighted. 

January is apparently "bookbinding" time someplace in my mind.  Last year on MLK weekend I did (and blogged about) a prior workshop on bookbinding with Nancy Shepherd in Vermont.  We took the whole weekend and began by learning to make  paper for the covers; then we used a more sophisticated open binding than the one I learned last Sunday.

However, the day after that 2017 workshop with Nancy I formally "closed" on (legally bought) my new house.  ALL the info I had acquired from her flew right out of my head as I entered the whirlwind of finalizing the sale, packing up my apartment of 40 years, and relocating. 

What was special about Sunday's workshop was that it was one day and much simpler...but it jump-started my memories of a year ago and I began to recall what I had learned in the more complex 2017 workshop with Nancy.  I have progressed from not being able to retrieve anything I learned from her, to remembering at least 90% of it, and I am confident that I can recover the rest.  Hurrah!  Thank you, Peter.

In Peter's beginner's workshop, everyone finished wonderful books.  Many were prettier than mine.  He kept things super-simple and was endlessly patient with our million questions.

Here is a slideshow of all five completed books.  I can't wait to try my hand at this again.  I look forward to being able to make my own sketchbooks.

Two additional views of my book.  You can see the simple exposed smyth stitch binding in the photo to the left, and in view below you can see how flat it lies when open.  If I use better quality paper for my next book, it would be perfect for sketching.

Uh-oh, there may be yet another obsession coming on...