December 7 1-5pm and Saturday, December 8 10am-4pm
Burning Question of the Week
When the air quality became toxic due the the Camp Fire, our son procured a carton of n95 masks. He spent time after work delivering them to his loved ones all over town. Thank you, Max! We have been wearing them while outside ever since. The thing leaves deep crevices on my cheeks after a walk, and I’m frustrated at not being able to scratch an itch on my nose or have a snack. But what’s behind that mask we are becoming all too familiar with? Cleaner air to breath, thank the 4Ms – 3M and Max. The other important things behind the mask are our facial expressions. This is the worst for me – the inability to express myself to passers-by on the sidewalk and folks in stores etc. They don’t know I’m smiling at them! With more fires and smoke assuredly in our future, Eric suggests we make our million by manufacturing masks with a movable mouth on the outside. When we greet someone, we can turn that mouth into a smile with a flick of our tongue on the lever inside – a true joy stick.
Closing the Gap
I am not putting down the needle and thread for good, but I am beginning to close the gap between semi and fully retired. Due to a self-imposed moratorium on buying new fabric, the very last of my Polartec and hand-stitched tribal quilts are made up into jackets and vests. For future garments, I’ll be mining my own shelves still loaded with bolts of fine fabric. There are nooks and crannies and bins stuffed with lovingly saved favorite textiles – so there will be more one-of-a-kind pieces in future. Some of my favorite ‘new’ pieces are in a group I call Continuation Clothing. Used shirts, jeans, sweaters, kimonos have been transformed into fresh wearables thus avoiding the landfill for now.
Writing workshop with Valerie Wallace!
Monday, November 26, 1-4pm $45 | Optional consultation available
Strange Animals
Workshop
The prose poem is a hybrid creature adept in traversing emotional and situational terrain, often inhabiting interstitial spaces such as the season in the seam of autumn to winter or winter to spring. This three-hour writing workshop will focus on the prose poem as a source of inspiration and gift to each of us as readers and writers. Expect to create at least one prose poem in class, plus something surprising in an in-class exercise. RSVP by Saturday, November 24 at noon.
Optional:
Receive feedback on an existing poem (up to 3) or other piece of writing in a private consultation before or after the workshop. $15/page
- Send 1-3 poems or 3 pages maximum to valeriemw@gmail.com by 7pm Saturday, November 24, along with all available start times on November 26 (12pm, 12:15, 12:30, 4:15, 4:30)
- Valerie will confirm your time by noon, November 25.
Valerie Wallace’s debut poetry collection House of McQueen (March 2018) was chosen by Vievee Francis for the Four Way Books Intro Prize in Poetry. In their starred review Publishers Weekly said that Wallace created “…a literary seance…serving as a scholar of and medium for the late iconic fashion designer Alexander McQueen….” Her work was chosen by Margaret Atwood for the Atty Award, and she has received an Illinois Arts Council Literary Award and the San Miguel de Allende Writers Conference Award in Poetry, as well as many grants to support her work, for which she is extremely grateful.
