The 2014 Graduate!

I am so happy that my friend Miranda  graduated from The Urban School of San Francisco!  This is the succulent lei I made for her. Her mom Rebecca told me she would be wearing a traditional Norwegian bunad that was blue. I only had once piece of thick wool felt that my friend Dorothy found for me at scrap-sf.org  It turned out it matched her dress!  The post below shows a little small demo of how I made it.

Congratulations Miranda and her parents Mikkel and Rebecca!

Succulent Sisters graduate!

My daughter Elana and her friend Annakai have a small business called Succulent Sisters www.succulentsisters.wordpress.com. They make custom terrariums by order, teach terrarium building workshops and sell terrariums of their own design at the Alemany Flea Market and popup road side shops (otherwise known as the sidewalk) in San Francisco.  Both of the girls graduated this past Saturday from The Urban School of San Francisco. I wanted to make them something special so I made them both a succulent lei. 

                                                

                                        

Here are the two leis hanging on our front door ready to be presented on graduation day.

   

Here are some photos of the process of making the leis. I was uncertain how I was going to put them together. Thanks to friend Dorothy www.dotsrainbow.blogspot.com for her technical support and to friend Gloria for giving me some of the lovely succulents from her garden.

                                           

I gathered the succulents from Gloria, our garden, some from my mom and some from
the local nurseries floragrubb.com and www.sloatgardens.com

                                                         

                             

The next step was finding something in my studio to attach
 the succulents plants. I settled on some clear plastic tubing.

                                         

The next step was taking 24 gauge wire and cutting a piece and
inserting into the base of the plant and then twisting the wire.

                                     

The next step was taking white floral tape and
wrapping the wire.

                                           

                                     

After making a hole in the tubing with a hot (putting the nail over an open flame)
 nail the plants were inserted in the hole and the wire was twisted around the tube.

Both of Elana's grandmothers could not be there at her graduation. Grandma Pearl passed away in January and my mom her Grammy could not make the trip as she is caring for my 92 year old dad. Both grandmothers gave us many of their succulent clippings and we have them in our yard. I made sure that the lei had some of her grandmothers succulents.

                                       

Annakai and Elana wearing the finished succulent leis on graduation morning!

Congratulations Elana and Annakai! Don't they look great wearing their leis on graduation day. Perfect for the Succulent Sisters! I am so happy with how they turned out. The girls were so surprised! 

The Altered Book Show at Marin MOCA

 Marin MOCA Altered Book show is opening tomorrow.
I have my "Three Layer Cake" in  the show.

April 20, 5-7 pm
with talk by Mary Austin, 4-5 pm
Co-Founder of the San Francisco Center for the Book

Juror Talk: May 10, 6:30- 7:30 pm
With Juror Donna Seager of Seager Gray Gallery

LIVE Auction closing:  May 25, 5-7:30 pm

Marin Museum of Contemporary Art
500 Palm Drive
Novato, CA

This is my piece of that I entered in the altered book show.

This is my friend Dorothy Yuki's piece called Center of the World made
with pages from a discarded atlas.

Come by the show. There are over 150 altered books in the show this year.

Ending the year creatively.....

Wow the 2012 year is nearly ending and it was a full year of recreating, workshops and art and shows.
Here a few photos of the last workshops in December and how I closed out the year. My friends Dorothy Yuki, Megumi Inouye and Aiko Cuneo were fellow teachers at some of the holiday workshops.

These are some of the projects the workshop participants at www.fabmo.org. The coffee filter bows and  2011 calendar gift bags were some of the projects we made. 

The tables are always overflowing with supplies at the workshops.

This was my sample display for the participants at ruthstable.org. We had samples for Hanukkah and Christmas  all made from repurposed, found, recycled and unusual materials.

These gift tags are made from fabric swatches by one of our creative participants at fabmo.org.

The coffee filter bow with a paper bag center were a hit to make at the  holiday workshops.

I volunteered to teach at the Arc Studio and Gallery where www.scrap-sf.org sponsored an afternoon of free make and takes for all.

Artist Aiko Cuneo taught the participants at Arc Studio and Gallery how to make wire sculptures and jewelry.

Dorothy Yuki show participants at the San Francisco Quilters Guild how to make ornaments from found paper.

The table was filled with all kinds of paper for the tag and ornament workshop  we gave.
Did we bring enough materials? Our friend Kenan Shapero asked up to participate. We had a great time.

Many of the participants at the workshop enjoyed using the Big Shot die cutter I brought
from www.sizzix.com. It cuts material, felt, card board and more. I love using it.

One of the last workshops of this year was  at the www.ohanloncenter.org. The title of the workshop was "Not your ordinary wreath". Look at all the beautiful wreaths made from coffee filters, discarded books, old maps and paper towel and toilet paper tubes!

SCRAP ART show at Arc Studios and Gallery in SF SOMA district

Last Friday was the opening for the SCRAP Art show at the Arc Studios and Gallery. It had been raining most of the day but the crowd turned out! It was packed. It was tough to get photos but here are few of the opening. The exhibition was put on by scrap-sf.org. I was fortunate to have had two pieces of work accepted into the show.

Friends Megumi Inouye and Dorothy Yuki with me at our opening.  My "book cake' is  on the
left and Dorothy's piece is in the center. 

Me, Megumi Inouye, Dorothy Yuki, Kenan Shapero and SCRAP's Executive Director Shaui Chen

  

My daughter Elana and her friend Annakai aka succulentsisters.wordpress.com were  asked
to display their terrariums made with material from SCRAP on the reception desk and the food table
at the Arc Gallery.

One of my favorite pieces by Marguerite Gilligan.

My friend Megumi's piece- repurposed bows from SCRAP items. 

The opening  ended with a fashion show by Tuan Tran.

The opening was so much fun with family and friends. Many thanks to all the great people at scrap-sf.org.
I have been going to SCRAP for over twenty years. It is one of my most favorite places to shop for art supplies in the whole city! Thank you Jenny Morningstar and Shuai Chen for putting on an awesome show. I am  proud to have been a small part of it.

Cempazuchitl Flower workshop

Last Saturday I walked with my friend Dorothy to the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts in the San Francisco Mission District. I have passed this center for years and this was my first time inside. We attended a Day of the Dead Workshop where we learned how to make Cempazuchitl flower known as the "flowers of the dead". These flowers are used to decorate the Dia De Los Muertos altars to honor loved ones that have passed away.

           

We started making the flower by scrunching and crinkling the crepe paper. We cut little triangle across the top.

Dora Luz Sanabria the instructor shows Dorothy her method of folding the flower.

You then add the 24 guage floral wire for the stem.

Using floral tape the flowers bottom and stem are wrapped to finish the flowers.

The finished wrappped marigold. Now just spread out the flower gently with your fingers to desired "bloom".

The finished Cempazuchitl flowers.

I heart SCRAP fundraiser

This past weekend I volunteered  and put on a Valentine event along side Dorothy Yuki at our favorite art supply store in San Francisco- SCRAP. We were happy to help host a room full of Valentine crafts. We had a steady stream of crafters young and older coming through the workshop room re-creating and 

and repurposing. There was music, food and a lot of people supporting the

wonderful SCRAP.

Certificate of Honor from the Mayor's office!

music to craft by.....

Our friends Hannah and Jonathan from FabMo came to support Scrap.
(pictured left to right: Jonathan and Hannah, myself, Shaui Chen the director 
and Dorothy Yuki.

The crowds were steady with crafters for four hours in the workshop space.

We made pins using  scalloped punches, a stapler and pin back.

I set up  the Typewriter Station at this fundraiser and again it was a big hit. A lot of people used the typewriters to peck out messages to include in their Valentines.

                                                                              


                                                                

TV SHOW

My friend Megumi Inouye is a host on a televison program called the Japanese American Journal on KTSF in the San Francisico Bay Area. She invited some of the staff of Ruth's Table where I am the Artist in Residence to be on her program and discuss how Ruth's Table was founded  and the programs it offers to the public.

Megumi made it easy to appear on the TV show by asking great questions and keeping the conversation flowing. I am hoping that the program will make more people aware of what a great place Ruth's Table is for the community and to honor the artist Ruth Asawa.

The set for the Japanese American Journal program.

Dorothy Yuki and myself in front of the table with our art projects from Ruth's Table. Our segment
was last and the table was wheeled onto the set where we did a show and tell for the audience.

Aiko Cuneo, arts educator and Ruth Asawa's daughter, Dorothy Yuki, Lola Fraknoi director of Ruth's Table, 
host Megumi Inouye and  Monica Lee. We just finished the taping of the segment 
that aired on Saturday the 11th of February.

Third Annual Sunnyside Conservatory Card Party

Last Saturday I helped set up a card party at the  Sunnyside Conservatory in San Francisco. Dorothy Yuki, Stacy Garfinkel and I set up in the beautifully restored conservatory. Over one hundred children and adults  came and made valentines cards and envelopes using found, recycled, and repurposed materials. It was the third annual event and it was a big success.

The Sunnyside Conservatory

The beginning of the crowd of Valentine card making. We made the banner 

out of old maps and dictionary pages.

 We set up a typewriter station with vintage typewriters. The kids loved typing

messages for their valentines. SO many of them had never seen or used a typewriter!

I used an empty frame to display card samples. 

This is where I made use of the clothes pins I posted about below.

One of many fun cards made that afternoon.

A little girl made this card cutting petals out of remnant material.