my newest hobby (hopefully)

So, as a birthday treat, I signed up to do a stained glass workshop at the Museum of Biblical Art. They have an exhibit about the stained glass windows that Chagall made for the synagogue of the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. They don't have any of the widows there, of course, by they do have his sketches and etching made in preparation for the windows.

We looked at the exhibit before making our pieces. I noticed a Star of David in one, and decided to base my design on that. Here's the finished piece:




I really enjoyed making it, and would love to do more stained glass work.

E is for Elephant

So, I'm reading this book, and there is an excellent quote that I want to share. They are discussing the temperament of Norma Jean, an elephant who paints.

"One thing is clear of Norma Jean,' Nandini said. 'She is excellently disposed, all good things an elephant can be: kind, friendly, big-hearted, barrel-shaped, very fragrant, like sandalwood...And she is very smart too."

I hope that I am also kind, friendly, big-hearted, and best of all, fragrant like sandalwood.

My first sweater

So, I've been knitting again lately. I just finished my first sweater! I should mention that's is a bolero for a newborn, so isn't that big.

Here's the front:


back:


The pattern on the back is suppose to bring protection. I hope it won't make the baby itch!

Here's a detail of the pattern:



I've very proud of myself for doing this pattern--I looked at it about a year ago and thought it was too complicated for me. But I picked it up and decided to try. I only had one moment of confusion with the pattern--I made one sleeve twice as long as it should be! I had to undo it carefully, as I was trying to keep careful count of the rows so both sleeves would be the same. I did figure out which way the stitches should be placed when you undo them, though. (If you put them on the wrong way, they are harder to knit and probably look funny.) Knitting is teaching me patience, and enjoying the process rather than just the result.

I better hurry and get the sweater in the mail before the baby is born, because I don't think it will fit for very long!

Everyday is Halloween at our house

That's what my dad used to tell his 7th grade students, anyway. At the photo studio where I work, we do a costume contest every year at Halloween where we photograph kids and adults from the neighborhood in costume, for free. This is the 3rd year that we've done it. We started just after I started working there. My job is to sit outside and get people's names, a description of their costume (so that we can figure out the names of the winners) and their contact info. It's fun to see everyone's costumes, but by the end of the night I'm usually exhausted and a little grouchy from dealing with the line.

Here's my costume from this year:


I'm a jellyfish, if you can't tell. (My boss's guess was a rainbow rain. Probably since last year's costume was more conceptual.) I did tell one parent that asked what I was that I was feeling more like the victim of a jellyfish.

Last year's:


Most who ventured a guess said I was a dryer. My title was "the place where all the missing socks go." My headband and collar are socks as well.

Our first year:


I'm supposed to be a sunflower. I made the headband myself. The blue sweater is the sky, the green shirt the leaves and stem. Unfortunately, the wire I put in the leaves wasn't that strong, so they flopped down. One little boy exclaimed, "Look! She's a banana peel!"

An addition to my art collection

This is a recent art purchase--bought in a subway station. He had a bunch of
drawings sitting out, and one that had flashing lights in a spaceship caught my eye and
made me laugh--he'd put a light behind the paper to make it flash. (They can be switched on and off, and he told me that they take watch batteries.)

The one was of a spaceship attaching an above ground train, which seemed rather violent, so I thought this was more what I'd want to look at regularly. (It also has 3 lights on the spaceship.) I think the dog is hilarious! It even has a magnet on the back, so I can hang it on my memo board!



You can almost see one of the lights in this photo.