Recharged

Last weekend I was on the road again, but this time it wasn't to teach or take a class. I went to a Festival of American Basketry event in Iowa's historic Amana Colonies to spend time with people I treasure and to get a creative boost. Your mileage may vary, but I find that 12 or 14 hours in the car gives me some quality time to reflect, mull, plot, wonder, and discover patterns and possibilities that might elude me among the distractions of home and hearth. Beyond that, I had a chance to learn some new tricks, got helpful feedback from artists I respect and admire, and coerced them into to modeling a few pieces from my looping trunk show while I took pictures.

And on the way home I hit paydirt at my #1 thrift shop -- where they had just moved a small mountain of good stuff to the 50 cent bins in the back. I cleaned up, and still had enough drive time left to think about how to refashion a couple of pieces.

So thank you, Joanna Schanz, who for years has organized the Festival of American Basketry and Willow Weekend, another Amana basketry tradition (held each year in February). Once again, I've returned from Amana recharged, excited, and feeling connected to a community.

Where do you go for a jump start?

Weight Loss Miracle

Sunday night I needed a small piece of felt. Lazy me didn't want to go out in the cold and dark to get it from the studio. I got to thinking and lo and behold, there was felt in a box in the basement. It's been there since we moved into the new house in 2001. Last year I opened a box down there and found cans of soup. I have no idea why I packed soup that way, moved it, and stored it down there.

But our move was nothing compared to this one: The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection recently finished packing for a move to new quarters. I've enjoyed reading about the move on their blog. In one of their posts from last summer, they were purging items.

Like many offices and other workspaces, we had over time acquired extra copies of this and that as well as our share of outdated office products. Out they went! No more boxes of typewriter ribbons for us, thanks.

Other people seem to be getting in the spirit, as well. Mayflower reports that average moving weight has decreased since 1997 by 10%, with a 2% drop from 2007 to 2008. It's a weight loss miracle. I don't know if it means people are moving into smaller, more sustainable homes or if they're just tired of having so much stuff they can't find anything. We call that "three double boilers syndrome." That's when you keep so much stuff that you can't find what you need when you need it -- so you go out and buy another one.

The two boxes of felt stuff in the basement are going out to the studio today. Space is tight out there, so I know I have to make decisions: Keep or donate. Hmm.

Sievers has a garage sale at The Gathering in October, with proceeds going to worthy causes. One year that was the Island's K-12 school art department, which at the time had an annual budget for materials of $100. Total.

The Textile Center also takes donations for their annual garage sale in April. This is an important fundraiser for the organization, as well as an unbelievable opportunity for great bargains. I helped price and sort one year and could not believe the amount and quality of donations. If you think you might be able to volunteer at this event, there's information at the bottom of this page.

I feel lighter already.

Dig This Grant Proposal -- And Vote!

I live in an area with a relatively small population. Combine a small population with a high percentage of non-resident homes (read that cottages and second homes) and other factors, and the statistics may suggest a level of monetary wealth that isn't quite in tune with our reality. But the area is rich in one resource: hardworking, creative people.

One of those people is Maggie Turnbull, who helped start the local farmers' market and is involved in teaching the community about permaculture, composting, rainwater harvesting and more. Now she's trying to get a grant to start a citywide tree planting program and

to take advantage of the mature trees we already have by tapping all the maple trees in Ward 9 (where the ACFis located) and have several days and nights of outdoor sap-boiling, music, and good old-fashioned conversation.

Please vote for this $5000 grant at Brighter Planet. It's easy, it's free, and it really can make a difference.

Building The Pile

Welcome to Compost & Creativity. I’m Donna Kallner, a fiber artist from rural northern Wisconsin. For most of our lives, my husband and I have been self-employed. We’ve had lots of practice at coming up with creative solutions to challenges faced while trying to make art and make do. And in trying to make a difference in the world, we’ve learned that even small things can yield big results.

Everywhere we turn, we meet wonderful people who are also trying to make do and make a difference. This blog is a place to share ideas. Thanks for coming by and joining in.

I’ll be posting once or twice a week about topics related to living well but simply – things like vegetable gardening, composting, food preservation, bread making, growing and gathering craft materials, homebrew, winemaking, low-cost low-impact recreation, pets, housekeeping, clothing, craftivism, community, volunteering, vehicles, books and blogs. I’ll post occasional creativity exercises, DIY gift making tutorials, and PDF resources that make it easier to get volunteer jobs done in your local community.

To stay up-to-date with what’s happening at Compost And Creativity, subscribe to this blog, using the button in the sidebar.

Building a blog is a lot like building a compost pile: It can be done with little thought to the ingredients and left on its own, and still produce results – eventually. But the results will be better and we’ll have something rich and fertile sooner with a healthy mix of elements added to the pile.

Here, the key to the mix is you. I hope you’ll share your ideas and experiences. Join the conversation related to a post by clicking the Comments button at the bottom of it.

Want to write a guest post for Compost and Creativity? Send me your ideas at donnastitches[at]gmail.com.