Women's Wellness Weekend - Fall 2015

A Crafty Arab beehive quilled star made for Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

Five years ago I started teaching quilling at Camp Orkila for their Women's Wellness Weekend.

My work room had a great view at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

Every time I go, I have a great time, sharing my love of quilling, while enjoying a new craft, being outdoors, and meeting new people.

I just returned from four days on Orcas Island and once again feel refreshed and ready to take on the world. I taught a class on Saturday and one on Sunday and was able to take Friday and Monday off to enjoy the island.

I arrived on Friday morning and immediately went to Orcas Island Pottery to have lunch. I sat looking over the bay while soaking up sporadic sunrays.  I decided not to climb the tree house this trip and simply enjoyed playing catch with the house pug. Even though it's not spring, there were still some lovely salvia's that had beautiful blooms sprinkled all around the outdoor ceramics displays.

Hot Lips Salvia - Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

Saturday's class was full with students and I actually ran out of tools!

Saturday classroom at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

Here are works from some of my talented students.

Flower box made at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

Earrings made at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

Heart quill at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

Earrings made at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

Mother and daughter cards made at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

Card made at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

Card made at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

On Sunday over 85% of the participants headed home to family and only a few people came to the afternoon class.

New baby 1st Christmas card made at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

Card made at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

While I enjoyed the energy and buzz of the large Saturday class, I equally enjoyed the intimacy and bonding from only teaching a couple of students and getting to know them personally. A few more people came to the end of the Sunday class and we sat around and shared birthing stories. Impromptu storytelling at its best!

While on the island I brought chocolate from Kathryn Taylor, because I love coming home with my initials on chocolate, stopped at the post office to mail in my voting ballot and had some copies made at the library in Eastsound. I enjoy walking around town and seeing all the new things that have been put into place from the last visit.

Once at Camp Orkila, I managed to get in some pajama yoga, zip lining, biking, reading, catching up on some blog posts and having a morning of peace, praying and doing yoga on the beach.

Pajama yoga at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

Zipline trolleys at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

Quiet time at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

The new craft I learned was needle felting. I made this adorable little sheep with tiny individual balls of wool on its back. 37 of them. Just in case you'd like to know. Of course I think I punctured myself twice that many times with the needle, but I didn't count. :)

Sheep needlefelting at Women's Wellness Weekend - Camp Orkila Fall 2015

3rd Grade Art Lesson: Lines

3rd Grade Art Lesson: Lines by A Crafty Arab

Today I returned as an Art Docent at my daughter's elementary school.

An Art Docent is a teacher and/or tour guide in the field of art education. I have been an Art Docent for eight years in the Lake Washington School District, using their Visual Arts and Literacy Resource Guide.  Lately, I have been documenting these art lessons here to share with others.

I had offered her teacher the opportunity to come teach art at the beginning of the school year. We waited till October to let the class settle in and work out a schedule with the front desk about reserving the school art room.

There are seven elements of art and our class will be spending the rest of the year getting to know them personally.

The seven elements of art

Since it's our first lesson, I decided to keep it simple so I can assess each student's abilities (these are called EARLS, Essential Academic Learning Requirements). It also allows me the chance to memorize all their names.

I decided to start our school year with Lines. 

Paul Klee Senecio, 1922

The artist Paul Klee once said that a line is a dot that went on a walk.  He loved lines and African masks and would use his paintings as a way to combine the two.

Straight lines can be bent into curves and broken into angles to create an infinite number of configurations.

I asked the kids to give me examples of different types of lines. We looked specifically at lines that can be bent or broken: Wavy, Zigzag, Looped, Curly and Scalloped.

I then went over the three art lesson steps.
1. Write your name (on back).
2. Fold your 9x12 paper into eight equal parts.  We did this together as a group.

3rd Grade Art Lesson: Lines by A Crafty Arab

3. Draw one bent or broken line configuration in each with crayons.

3rd Grade Art Lesson: Lines by A Crafty Arab

I asked the kids to not outline their individual rectangles so that when all their pieces were placed on the wall together, their artwork would look like a quilt.

Left quilt side close up

Right quilt side close up

See you in two weeks!

Meet the Artist(s) - Homemade Harvest 2015

Thank you so much to everyone that applied to Handmade Harvest! We will have 10 artists this year. Woot!

It'll be a tight fit and we might have to expand out of the living room (what a nice problem to have!). I know I can't wait to see everyone's home crafted goodies that they are bringing to this annual, one day pop up shop.

Watch this space for upcoming interviews from our all female, Washington artist team to learn about them and what they’ll be sharing with you: 

A Crafty Arab, Blue Heron DyeArtworks, The Cat Ball, Holli Dunn, Lorraine Holland, Veronika Lisuk, NatalyaPeskin, Samia El Moslimany, Scarf City, and Thea Starr. 

See you on November 14th!  

Homemade Harvest 2015 - Meet the Artists!

Call to Artists - Homemade Harvest 2015

Every second Saturday in November, for almost 10 years, I've created a Homemade Harvest in my home for others to enjoy.

A Crafty Arab Call to Artists - Homemade Harvest 2015

What is Homemade Harvest you ask?

Homemade Harvest is a celebration of the handcrafted goodness generated by artists in the Seattle area.

I clear out all the furnishings in my living room and invite artists to come share their products with the consumer directly. And, other then a small amount to share the cost of the provided food, every artist gets to keep every dime they make.

No commission fees.
No table fees
No forms.

Just like when craft fairs started. Between friends.

I then invite every person I know (yes, I do actually carry flyers for two months) to come and support these talented vendors that use their hands to make art.

In the past, we have had felted carrots, soap, ornaments, glass bowls, ceramics, lotion, cake pops, earrings, calendars, scarves, cookies, notebooks, socks, crayon holders, and a kitchen sink. I have had Christmas stockings, menorahs, and Eid cards all in one location, plus things for men, cats, and the perfect hostess gift every time.

This year's event has been set for November 14th and I've just put out the call to Homemade Harvest's past artists.

Some have already said they'd love to come back, some have moved on.

If you are an artist and have ONLY handmade (please this is important) items feel free to contact me for details on how to to be a part of this year's show.  Send me some links to an online shop or your IG account so I can make sure you are a good fit. My email is ACraftyArab at gmail.

If you know of an artist that makes ONLY handmade (yup still top priority) items, feel free to pass this on to them.

If you'd like to come and support ONLY handmade art and ask real live artists direct questions, like "is this acrylic?" or "what is your favorite fruit?", let me know and I'll send you my address to come by on the second Saturday in November from 12-6. Once you get close, you'll see the balloons.

No need to knock, just come on in to support your local handcrafting artists.

Mr. Galabeya Goes to the CD

Two years ago, I created a Mr. Galabeya Card Tutorial while I was teaching Arabic art to students at the Startalk Language Camp.

Once the camp was over, I printed out the instructions and created card kits. These kits included a colorful blank card, envelope, three cutouts and step by step details. All that was needed was a pen and glue. These kits were listed in my Zibbet shop and I would often take them to events to sell.

A Crafty Arab's Mr. Galabeya Goes to the CD

Recently I discovered that my friend Esther Ervin was creating a Little Art Supply Depot to install in the Seattle Central District. Her artwork is to be part of the City of Seattle's Art Interruptions series. These art instillation offers ephemeral moments of surprise and reflection in the Central Area Neighborhood Greenway from September 4, 2015 to January 3, 2016.

Ervin will create a "Little Art Supply Depot" modeled after Little Free Libraries, Ervin's installation will be stocked with small packages of miscellaneous art supplies for people to take and use. Participants are invited to post photos of their creations via social media and art supply donations are encouraged.

Supplies are maintained and stocked by the artist. To learn more about the project, visit its Facebook or Twitter accounts. To make a contribution, visit GoFundMe.

Ervin was an Artist in Residence at Pratt Fine Arts Center and the James W. Washington Foundation. Her art includes mixed media work and jewelry. We meet many years ago while attending the Washington Arts Alliance Foundation's Cultural Congress. We recently both exhibited at a Onyx Fine Arts Collective group show.

I really wanted to be involved in her project and contacted her to see if she would like some Mr. Galabeya Card Kits for her Depot.  I'm excited to say that she has agreed.

If you do find yourself near the Little Art Supply Depot and do take home a Mr. Galabeya to make, please send me a photo! I'll post them below or on IG as they come in.