Today is the day! After countless blog posts, bemoaning my lack of space, the support of friends near and far, and a ton of serendipity, today I am getting my barn. Note I didn’t say a barn. I said my barn. The barn I envisioned. The barn that I shared as my “dream[Read more]
A friend of mine began her retirement this week. For months, she’s been sorting and donating and thinning her stash of worldly possessions, determined to lighten her load before this next phase of life. She mailed me a lovingly curated box of her odds and ends, with the note, “Hope[Read more]
I’m happy to report that the sketchbook project is going ridiculously well. The students continue to be enamored with the process of upcycling and have started bringing some of their own materials to share and use in class. How cool to know our conversations about creative reuse stay with them, beyond the end[Read more]
Admit it: aren’t you tired of my writing about how much stuff I have, but that I have no place to store it? I know I am. For too long, my focus has been on the negative side of upcycling – the clutter that can come from never throwing anything away.[Read more]
The most common question asked during my first six months as Artist in Residence was, “What’s your favorite medium?” Sometimes it’s used as an ice breaker or conversation filler, when I meet someone new. Other times, the question is a gentle segue into finding out more about my background and[Read more]
A common conversation, when I’m teaching classes on the art of upcycling, is how old this seemingly “new” concept is. We’ve given it new names (like “creative reuse”) and much better PR (Pinterest alone can be credited for making “upcycle” a household word). Still, at the end of the day,[Read more]