Jon asked me where I got the idea to make potato print scarves at The Mansion today. It was really a combination of people who inspired me.
It was my friend Emily that made me think of printing with potatoes because she uses potato prints in some of her art. It’s one of the things that I love about Emily art, the way she uses techniques that many of learned as children to make art as an adult.
I think it’s part of what give’s Emilys art the feeling of spontaneity and freshness. It’s easy to relate to but is a the same time sophisticated. (recently Emily made earrings from Shrinky Dinks. They are elegant with the hand made posts. I have a couple of pairs. You can see them here.)
The other person that helped me come up with the idea was Janet. She sent me the bolt of white wool.
I didn’t think about how messy it would be, but Paryese, the activities director, was right there with plastic gloves and aprons to keep everyone from getting paint on their hands and clothes. Bonnie, the previous activities director showed up to help too. And Robin, who Jon and I know from Jean’s diner where she used to waitress, was there as always.
I couldn’t get any of these projects done without the help of these women. The big round table was full and often people need help, all at the same time.
The room was buzzing and Jon was there too taking pictures. Zinnia hung around the people who didn’t want to make scarves, to their delight.
I brought potatoes with simple designs already cut into them. And everyone shared the paint and the potatoes, passing them around the table.
As many of you already know from reading Jon’s blog, The Mansion has been sold. We don’t know what kind of changes the new owners will make. But we’re not being naive about it. We know what usually happens when big companies take over small ones.
I hope we will be able to continue working with the people who live at The Mansion, but even more I hope the people who live there can continue to call The Mansion their home. And that the people who work there can stay if they want to.
I have a date set up for my art class next month, so for now, I’ll just keep doing what I do and hope for the best.
We did, as usual, have a lot of fun making these scarves.
June who always says that her son is the artist not her, actually called herself a messy artist today, admitting to the creative in her. And Rachel talked about how she never painted before until she came to The Mansion. Now whenever Robin needs any painting done for things like Holiday decorations, she always asks Rachel to help. And I met Carol for the first time. We worked together and she made a beautiful scarf.
