packing my bags and moving to a new blog.

For my 16 loyal followers -- ha ha -- I wanted to let you know that I am going to move this operation to my website (which has it's own blog) if you are interested in coming with me. The site is easy to remember www.maryjorosania.com
The you will see lots of pictures - and the occasional blog post.
I need to consolidate.

Feel free to comment on my website as well - it is set up for that, and I would welcome real people commenting rather than the strange spam comments I have been getting. (don't worry, you won't get spam from visiting!)

have a wonderful summer!
MaryJo

catching up

I am sure throughout the billions and billions of blog posts out there...there are at least a million entitled "catching up". I remember as a kid, so many of my diary entries started, "Dear Diary, it has been so long since I wrote in you..." I wrote to the diary as a person. I always felt awkward about it too - like I should just be writing more to myself, and less to a book - or in fact, should I have named the diary...personified it and made it like another person....

"Dear Brenda, it has been so long since I talked at you, please don't be mad at me. I have been going to bed early and have just not had the time between talking for hours on the phone and birthday parties at McDonald's....life is good. You know, Brenda, you are a good friend in some ways, you never interrupt you are always here when I want to talk....But....Brenda, I have been thinking...in many other ways, this friendship is really going nowhere. You never offer me advice, and you never tell me anything about you. Are you ashamed of me? Ashamed to let me into your life? Tell me Brenda, why is it always me who divulges my innermost secrets - and you just sit there, drinking it all in.... Why must I always initiate things with you....Brenda, it is growing tiresome. I am sorry, but this has to stop...I need some time apart. Goodbye"

Then another 3 months would pass before I picked Brenda up again.....That is why I never named my diary. It had to remain just "Diary" - an object on which to scribe the news of which boy I liked, which friends made me "crack up" or who WAS a "crack up" - both noun and verb.... (a phrase I used often as an 11 year old) and why today was either the BEST or WORST day of my life.
And with that....Dear Blog - it has been quite some time since I wrote in you. Please don't be mad at me, I have been busy.
Love, MaryJo

The Need for A New Blog

I am thinking of staring a new blog -- not getting rid of this one, per se, but as an art teacher I am seeing the need for people to speak candidly about art schools, colleges and universities....We need some honest dialogue for kids to research. Also, portfolio guidance, etc...I think I can compile some good information - with a little help from my friends, that is.

If anyone is out there, reading this, let me now your opinion on this....is there a need for something like this out there?

unknown illness

Well, finally I am feeling better. I stayed in my house for 4.5 days - two of the days I had a fever (at one point my fingertips went numb?) and only left once to go to the doctor. Was it the flu? I will never know, part of me hopes it was so that I can sail through the rest of the winter and hopefully not get sick again. All a week or so after I started a 7 supplement regime to keep the flu away....no such luck. But I am not giving up on the supplements - although I caved into the sweet, sweet relief of Tylenol Cold the past few days, I will not give up on you, oh natural healing. I won't, I promise. In the midst of all this H1N1 - swine flu madness, no one will commit to a diagnosis. Non committal doctors, gotta say, I was pretty surprised he was so "well, maybe, maybe not" with me.

Today when I finally left the house showered and able to look people in the eye again - since before I was so afraid people might avoid me since I looked so terribly sick - I couldn't believe the weather. It felt like spring. Not November. And so, I appreciated the day, and I once again appreciate what it feels like to breathe without wheezing, sneezing or coughing.

Warm and Fuzzy

that is how i feel.

i guess i don't have alot to say tonight.

this was the sort of day that doesn't feel real,

but as the night came i started to feel the ground.

cool pre-fall night

wet streets

shattered glass

laughing and singing

orange and vanilla

chaperone

pizza

talk of india and violin

birthday gifts

and

forgotten cameras.

Remembering Summer.

today. in a nutshell.

To remember what a broken heart feels like, listen to Sinead O'Conner sing Nothing Compares to You while driving. Sing at the top of your lungs.

"I am not your Dude." said today to a boy who called me "Dude".

Love affair with fabric and thread.

Powerpoint in the dark.

A bumpersticker that says "EARTH" - brilliant

A witness to road rage - middle finger and all.

More than one art project - what a relief.

Britches full of Stitches - even though I broke my violin.

Boy George in the car.

Grocery shopping with my husband.

meaning behind the threads

http://flavorwire.com/34280/james-gilbert

just something interesting that I got in an email today.

another sampling from the archives.

making bean sprouts, cooking veggies and quinoa.

isn't food pretty?

edible art

in my kitchen....
breakfast for dinner.

Summer Planting

My ipod tuned to the Wilco station on Pandora, I got my hands dirty today. I finally got around to planting the impatiens Daniel's mom gave me at our engagement party - which was months ago...these babies were bursting out of the plastic pots after being rained on over and over. Ants moved in and made the roots their home - I am not sure if this is a bad thing or not. One time I had a ficus tree - inside - that was infested with ants. Every so often I'd see a little tiny ant - thought nothing of it until the sad look of the ficus inspired me to replant it - I thought its pot was too small and that was why it was always losing leaves, etc. Luckily this replanting endeavor happened outside - there were thousands of them - little ants, their larvae, etc. That was what I encountered today - but with the ficus, I cleaned off the roots. washed them off with water, etc. and replanted the tree. It is still alive to tell the tale - so I guess I saved it's life. The impatiens seem pretty happy to me, and so did the ants, so I left good enough alone and just planted them - they are staying outside, so what's the harm?

The wedding is in 10 days and I thought it would be nice to make our yard look a little prettier. I have bigger plans for this little backyard space -- but this year, I am a little closer to my goal - the backyard oasis. I don't really know much about gardening, but have decided that - I am not afraid to ask and as long as my plants aren't dying, I must be doing something right! Put that on the list of things I would love to take classes in.

Philly Makes!

I am a part of the Philly Etsy Team which also has a seperate group and blog called Philly Makes! Inspired by the "thing-a-day" posting many of us participated in, we started our own - this is more of a "thing-a-week", and here is my first post!

new labels!

Ode to the Wedding Post

Ok, I think it is time I started making some posts about my wedding planning. I am learning about myself as I plan this event (which I am not planning alone...Daniel is right there with me!) One thing I learned is that I am not much of a girly girl and I like things simple. I will start by saying - to each her (or his) own when it comes to weddings. I will never impose my ideas on other people - but I think we have done a few things right in order to throw one great party without spending a small life savings.

#1 - the engagement ring - bought from Etsy. I am an art teacher, I wash my hands 2000 times a day, get them dirty, soapy, etc...and this ring is perfect. It's like a "lifestyle ring" :)


it looks like the tension setting in this picture, but has a pink sapphire....I highly recommend Robandlean on Etsy!!


Some other "indie" ideas:

Our DJ - NO MACARENA Check them out!

I love the dress I bought (under 300 bucks at Lilly Pulitzer) but wanted a crinoline to wear underneath, to make it special -- the dress itself if lovely, and I LOVE the fabric - which is why I bought it...but this dress is one that can be worn again - I am not into the one time only dress...) So, I put my sewing skills to good use:


this is me sewing the bottom of the crinoline...I had a great time working on it!

here is the dress fabric:


and the slip:

I took this before I added the navy blue ribbon I bought at MOOD in NYC.

FLOWERS - Go Local! Lilies and Lavender - "Lilies and lavender is a small, owner operated, cut flower farm located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania." I met Kate, the owner at the New Hope Farmer's market this summer...where I fell in love with her gorgeous flowers...and I mean gorgeous! Her name says it all -- Lillies! We are having all white lillies and some sunburst lilies - I feel lucky to have found her!

Cake! - we are going for the cup cakes from Jamie Hollander, another local company - for many reasons...they are $2.00 cheaper PER SERVING! Plus, you can have multiple flavors and colors!

One of my favorite parts of the whole day will be our celebrant Lois Heckman - Lois creates a personal celebration for your wedding day -- check her out!

Also, we registered with Little Flower Designs - for custom made pottery - we met Linda, the owner of Little Flower at the Indie Craft Fair in Philadelphia - and immediate knew we loved her work!
Another great suggestion I have for people planning a wedding is the registry WISHPOT - you can register on multiple sites through Wishpot - even local merchants and artists, Etsy, Buy Olympia. ...(Buy Olympia is not "local" to the Philly Area, but excellent!

new embroidery and projects

page 26.

books. I can't seem to have enough of them...some unread, some littered with bookmarks and pageholders for places I have been or want to return. Sometimes I just walk into the room where most of my books live and stare at the shelves in wonder. Topics that span the gamut staring back at me. I have never been one to choose one thing to do and stick with it, and my book collection is a great indicator of how my brain works. One Sunday morning I decided to take a moment with each of my books - even if just to open it and put it back on the shelf. Pay some attention to the neglected paper, ink and information taking up space in my house. I started to scan one page of each book - I chose page 26 - some books don't have a page 26 - so in that case it was 16. This number was completely random. After he woke up and I informed him of my latest determined task, Daniel suggested I do the first or last page, but I was already too far gone. 

As the afternoon approached, and I had finished my morning coffee, I stopped scanning - at 79 to be exact. The second shelf of 5 and more in the other room. I will finish, and when I do these pages will become something. 

a place for everything

new and improved workspace. 

 

showers of inspiration

I know a few people with new babies on the way...inspiring baby related creations. 

Random Sewing Projects

I have this list of random sewing projects that I need to do....today I crossed two off the list.
First - a case for my iphone. I can't find one that isn't leather or ugly or some bondage looking sleeve that has a flip top so I can "expose the screen". No thanks, I am not into accessorizing like that. I even bought a plastic cover for the back, and it hurt my ear. Bad design, it landed right over the cartilage part of the ear...ouch. So, I prefer the invisi-sheild (weird space age material that won't scratch - supposedly the military uses it on helicopter blades - I don't know about that, but it is pretty strong) and my grey wool felt and embroidery sleeve.
The inside is lined with this funky velour type fabric, which I wouldn't use if I was making one for anyone else because it is sort of fuzzy and makes the phone a bit linty when it is slipped out of the sleeve. But I still love it. The embroidery started out inspired by my living room rug and the crystal trees in the front yard - covered in ice for days.
Then it turned into something that makes me think of neurons. Anyway, here it is:




to see more pics of the iphone sleeve, visit my flickr site

Then I was on a roll..so I finally, after a long time needing to do it, I made an elastic bracelet for my pin cushion. I have had this pin cushion since I was about 10...or old enough to have pins of my own. Some of the pins are from way back when. I never use them because they are the straight kind without balls on the end, but the stay there stuck in my favorite pin cushion. I used to have a thing for snoopy...
Sometimes the pins poke through the back, so that will be something I have to look out for, but wearing the pin cushion on your wrist when working on clothing is so helpful -- it makes everything easier. 

Making things together

Nothing beats working in a studio. There is one thing that they do not teach you in art school, how to work without seven other people around drilling, hammering, talking, playing music, fighting, laughing....creating things with you. This is the reason I continue to go back to school - my last group, the class of Feb '05 from Vermont College of Fine Arts, remains in touch, through the magic of the internet -we even collaborated on an online exhibition with the theme of connections.
And, this is the reason I love my job - each day my students are creating art together which makes me happy.