To Create or Produce? THAT is the question.

Can you be successful at fine art shows and still be true to your original design style? As a rookie on the show circuit, I've come to realize that what the public buys can sometimes influence future designs. In a perfect world, we would continue to design what our creative genius wills us to make. How does one balance these two influences if they are far apart? Is it like yin and yang in life where sometimes you mass produce and other times let the creative flow? I wonder if there's a happy median. If you spend too much time producing product, will your creative juice stop flowing? For now I shall stay with the flow and see where my new designs take me. Afterall, if the many crafty people who come into my booth and ask exactly how I made something actually went home and copied my work than I would have nothing new to share with the world.

Fiberholics

Hello, my name is Patti Barker and I'm a fiberholic. I must say, I used to think of that term as a coin phrase, or slang for the day. Now my relationship with fiber is crazy. I totally understand. I get it. If I'm away for any length of time I begin to miss it. It occupies my mind until I return to play. I am so happily reunited with renewed inspiration. It's not just fiber. It's all the things you can DO with it. Dye it...blend, spin, weave, felt it, etc. Inventing new ways to pull it all together, using ideas from all directions of life. The creative exploring has me obsessed. I'm taking it one day at a time.

Spinning Art Yarn

Unfortunately, my first attempts at spinning met with failure. It was one of the most frustrating things I've tried to learn. Recently I began to incorporate purchased art yarn into my nuno felt pieces with fabulous results. I've been buying the art yarn from Picasso's Moon yarn shop in downtown Sarasota. Since Rex and I are planning to relocate to the Pacific Northwest in about 6 weeks, I have been wondering where I'll find art yarn. Debra from Picasso's Moon invited me to the Destin Spin In with the positive notion that THIS TIME I'll get it...I will come home spinning my own art yarn. I had my doubts, but tried to stay positive. I had heard about this event for several years. It was an incredible experience. It didn't take long for me to simply "let go" and let the wheel do the work. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm thrilled with my new yarns. Thanks Debra!

Catching Up

Wow, I can't believe my last blog was at the beginning of Summer! So much has happened that I don't know where to begin. The most profound learning experience has to be the July trip to the North Georgia mountains with 8 women who raise alpacas. We attended a nuno-felting workshop and I am totally enthralled with the magic of this craft. Layering wisps of natural fiber over lightweight fabric, adding a bit of water and voila' .....uncovering a felted design. Every time I make something this way I'm more than happy with the results. It is a much faster process than weaving, so much so that I can take breaks from weaving to whip up a few nuno felted projects.

In late August Rex and I travelled to Seattle, Friday Harbor and Portland. Ahhhhh, I simply love the Pacific Northwest in the Summer. We found a little five acre parcel on Friday Harbor with a cabin that we are in the process of buying. Wouldn't it be the perfect lifestyle to Winter in Florida and Summer in San Juan Islands? How would I avoid being labeled a snowbird? Does that mean I should also begin eating dinner out early so I could be an earlybird, too? What's up with all the bird analogies? My parrot, Huey likes the idea.

My latest adventure is to sign up for several art festivals to see how the general public responds to my work. You can check the Events Calendar on my website at http://www.surigirldesigns.com/ for the latest updates. I'd love to see familiar faces at any of these events!

Holiday Weekend Fiber Fun!

What a perfect way to spend my holiday weekend....dyeing gorgeous alpaca yarns ...both Suri Silk and Lace Weight skeins drying. I wonder what they will become?




...and weaving away on a black alpaca weft over cotton warp fabric. The alpaca yarn was made from my own suri alpacas...Iridessa and Ode To Joy.

After washing the finished fabric, the alpaca will felt slightly and fill in the see-through areas. It will make a really nice, light-weight, yet warm skirt that should drape beautifully!

Happy Memorial Day!

Inaugural Yarn Tasting Event!

WOW, what great fun we all had! Last Saturday marked the very first yarn tasting event for SuriGirl hand-painted alpaca yarns. Joan Trawick of The Local Needle in MacClenny, Florida was the gracious hostess. One woman's comment from her child prior to attending brought laughter...."great, now they are EATING the stuff!" It was an excellent turnout with ten women showing up to sample three different alpaca yarn weights in nine color schemes. Several women tried more than one yarn and I received 12 comment cards providing valuable feedback for future product improvements.

Thanks to all who attended and knitted up swatches for sample display. The comments received were all positive and the fabulous yarn names that attendee's came up with for the SuriGirl Yarn's 2010 fall line are simply priceless!

SO MANY LOOMS, so far away

Another great experience out west was my tour of the Oregon College of Art and Craft. The weaving room was so full of looms (28 I believe) that I began to vibrate out of sheer joy. The college is the first in the country (in conjunction with the Portland College of Art) to develop a Masters program in craft! I'm contemplating attending and learned that the continuing adult education program is taught by area practicing artisans. Anticipation is mounting as I dream of learning new techniques!