fabric inspiration

I guess this is inspiration in reverse. I did the pattern first (see sweet pea pattern) and it called to mind kente fabric. So with a simple trip to google. I called up this gorgeous example of African fabric design, which I think rivals anything on etsy. And what a price. So here's my plug for bridgeforafrica.org, bringing us beautiful things and doing good in the process. So from here I'm off to order my very own Zambian Handbag sling.

bridgeforafrica.org

magic gardens

Isaiah Zagar's magic garden in Philly, it's been years since I've seen it. But it makes quite an impression. It runs along 1022 South Street. From outsider art beginnings to it's current protected non-profit status, the Garden is quite an accomplishment. Mosaic as a life's work is fascinating to me. In the back of my mind I would be a fearful some developer would come along and bring a bulldozer to make his point plain. Turns out that almost happened in Philly. I'm so glad disaster was averted. It's absolutely worth seeing. I need to file this away in my possible weekend field trip idea bin. Maybe this spring our little guy will find it magic too.

www.phillymagicgardens.org

mosaic revival

Last Sunday was mosaic day with my friend Jane. We both had mosaics languishing in dusty corners and couldn't bring ourselves to do the final step. I don't know what it is about grouting. It's not something I like to do alone and apparently neither does Jane. Maybe it's all the prep work and the mess, maybe its the finality of applying the grout, maybe its that slight twinge of dread that when its done it won't look quite as cool as you originally envisioned and the whole thing will feel like a colossal waste of time. Meanwhile, my mosaics have sat moldering in the basement next to the dog food for three years. But now, I can proudly say the vases are complete. For my next mosaic project, I'm going to see if I can shave down the production schedule by a year or two. This is definitely progress.