Other Hobbies

So the studio director cryptically informed me that I will be "pleasantly surprised" with the front of the fall brochure, so that means I'm on it in some way.  Yikes!

And also the recital DVD should be arriving any day now!!  I hope to be able to take some decent stills of the show on my laptop to share with you all.  I just want to watch myself, I have no idea how I really did on stage, just how it felt (amazing).

Other than waiting to see those things, I've been laying low these days.  I lost my job last week, which was a huge surprise.  I was in shock, and haven't done much other than paint my parent's renovation project, and putz around with cleaning and art projects.  Come to think of it, I've never shared any of my other day to day stuff on here, so why not?


Ballet isn't my only talent/passion/hobby...
I'm a serial hobby starter, that's why it's so amazing I'm still interested in dance.  I mean, I guess not, I have loved to dance my whole life.  Even still, I pick up a craft or hobby of some sort, get super invested in it for as long as it takes to become good or great at it, and then I lose interest.  I return to them eventually and finish projects, but I've got a lot of really cool projects laying around waiting to be finished.  It's a problem I have.

Here are some other interests of mine:

Genealogy-- I have researched my way back to the 1100's on several branches of my family tree.  Fascinating to me!  I usually go through a yearly phase of research, typically in the fall when it starts to get colder.  Ancestry.com is absolutely amazing.  I've considered offering my services as a freelance researcher for people.  I'm good at it.

Fiber Art-- This is something people freak out about when I show them.  A lot of people have offered to buy my pieces, but I can never manage to finish one.  Here are some of my partials.

I woke up one day a few years ago thinking about a book my mom bought me about art quilts back in middle school.  I figured I could make some, so I went out that day and purchased fabric and started cutting.  I started with a goddess series.  These are all very small, no bigger than 6x8 inches in size.  Each consist of many tiny individually cut pieces of fabric.  I love using existing patterned fabric in unique ways.

Here is an in progress shot.  It started as one panel.  

Mermaid, original tail and face drawing

 Current tail and added hair.  May change the tail. 

This one will eventually be a moon goddess. 

Modeled after Pele, Hawaiian Volcano Goddess.  The hands kill me.  

Wind-- This is my favorite of them all-- as I mentioned I originally started this piece as a panel with 4 windows and scenes.  I liked this one so much that I decided to turn her into a larger piece. 

Here is the original version:

It'll eventually have an earth that she's blowing wind towards.  I've started experimenting with layering different types of fabric to get my desired effect.  This has 4 layers, and it will be 5 after I add the earth. 

It has morphed into this:

I did another project for my moms birthday, a bird on flowering tree branches.  Not my best, but the bird looks nice.  I hand painted the bird face on.  

And finally, my latest project.  It's the furthest completed, I really am happy with the results.  It's the silhouette of a tree with a sunset behind it.  Here's the initial drawing, spread over two panels.  I should have made it 3 panels.  Next time! 

My mind changed as I went along with it, so I scrapped the initial work. 

And here's close to the final product.  I will add more branches up top.  

And backlit, as eventually destined. 

Ok well that was probably too many pictures.  That's a look into my non-ballet life.  I'll post recital stills when I get everything in!!