Strange Days Indeed

                                                               Bizarre.       Surreal.
Just some of the words I'm thinking and also hearing from others as the pandemic ramps up in the USA and other countries.  There's the cascade of cancellations, the hoarding of odd things (toilet paper, really?) leading to empty shelves in stores.  I could, but won't, go on.

With all the cancellations I've been able to focus a bit more on art.  I just finished this small piece that's part of a group challenge.  Meaning, a number of us are doing the same-sized piece with the same word on it, but other than that, we are each deciding on our own colors and border patterns used.  It was fun to do this, and I'm doing a second one as a punch-hooked piece.  I hooked this one in traditional fashion.

Welcome Mat, 2020. Size is slightly larger than an automobile license plate. Traditionally hooked using hand-dyed wool strips in size 6.

I didn't plan this and just made-it-up-as-I-went.  And it probably looks that way!  I like it though. 

Today I took an online class with Joanna Quincy (a CZT from the UK) on the tangle Mooka, which I've used for years and love.  But I know I can always learn tips and tricks and get better at anything, so I signed up.  We did lots of fun practice and all did a similar tile.  As you know if you read this blog, tangling is like handwriting and looks wildly different from person to person--part of its charm, fascination, and fun.  Here is mine:

Tangles: Mooka and Tipple. Graphite and black Micron 01.

And here is the mosaic of the entire class' tiles:

"Mosaic" of tiles from Joanna's Mooka Class. Fun to see the Differences in drawing and shading.

Both rug hooking and tangling are incredibly relaxing, a much-needed, outrageously helpful characteristic right now.  All forms of art practice can help us get through this.  Read this fascinating article on the topic.

And finally, a quote from the late John Lennon which captures it all:

Nobody told me there'd be days like these;
Nobody told me there'd be days like these;
Nobody told me there'd be days like these;
Strange days indeed -- strange days indeed.