New Year greetings and a new blog site – the next chapter of lulu as a blogger

Welcome to a new year!  It has been eons since I last posted a blog at my old blog site.  I was just trying to add a new post, but the spinning circle of death is still spinning 30 minutes later, so here I am at WordPress to give it a try.

As I was trying to say over there, I love this time of year, arbitrary though the timing may be, as a time to reflect on the past year and gear up for the new.  By way of an introduction, I am a maker – a mixed-up media artist as I like to say.  I play with textiles, paper clay, and paints.  I also teach art, and I love to be inspired by art and nature.  This blog will be a channel to sharing these passions.  I would like to begin by sharing some of the highlights of my year in 2018.

For starters, I am fortunate to work with The Right Brain Initiative as a teaching artist in the Portland metro area.  The first half of my year was busy with residencies at various schools, sharing with teachers and their students the art of combining art with curriculum.  I have so much fun with the students and am so inspired by their art!

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I also had fun teaching workshops to the big kids (aka adults) both at my studio and at the Art & Soul retreat in Portland.  I love teaching art doll classes that combine a variety of techniques to the wonderful attendees.

In the summer I visited my uncle and his beautiful wife in Iowa.  I was delighted by the beauty of the countryside and small town charm.

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I’ve been enthralled by nature and nostalgia this past year in general.  My husband and I walk our dogs daily, either along the Willamette River, or somewhere in the woods.  Capturing the seasons with our cell phone cameras has become a shared pastime.

Part 2 of 2018 was filled with deadlines for shows!  Among the shows I participated in were the Clark Country Quilters doll exhibit at their annual quilt show (Vancouver, WA),

the annual Brazil Patchwork Show (yes, Brazil!),

the Columbia FiberArts Guild’s Maker’s Show (Portland, OR),

Guardino Gallery’s Day of the Dead show (Portland, OR), Cactus Gallery’s Day of the Dead show (Los Angeles, CA),

and the Houston International Quilt Show (Houston, TX).  It was a big highlight to attend the Houston show for the first time – the biggest quilt show in the country!

Well, so far I’m feeling good about this format for blogging.  I hope you had a wonderful year in 2018, and that 2019 will be filled with creative wonders!  If you would like to know more about my work, please visit my website at http://www.lulumoonart.com.  Thanks!  xoxo, lulu

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