In my last post, I talked about the big dump and how I hate moving. I’ve been in the new house for a couple of months now and things are finally coming together. There is still so much to do and after the big dump I came down with a bad cold which took a month to go away. Exhausting… And, yet, every day I am so happy to be here! As things settle in and become organized, it all feels so right!
The highlight of the past month was a visit from my Mom. She was here for a week and she brought the cold Wisconsin weather with her. We mostly stayed in and worked. She is 80 and has so much more energy than I do! (But, I have stamina and computer smarts. 🙂 ) She helped clean. She dusted, polished, vacuumed, washed, scrubbed, and made the place shine. One morning I was busy with something and walked into the studio area and found her washing the windows. In the snow! Bad photo, but it WAS snowing out there!!
1st Open House
I wanted to have an open house while Mom was here, but I also didn’t want to spread this awful cold I had had and although I felt like it was almost over, I didn’t decide until the last minute on whether we should do it. I always thought that colds were spread in the beginning, but I read that as long as you have the symptoms, you can hand it on to someone else and that really is no fun. I felt good enough and spread the word and 12 wonderful people showed up!
Victoria, Deb, and Jan 
Beth and a new friend. 
Victoria, Deb, Jan and my Mom. 
Michael saying something really important… 
Ellen, Victoria and Deb
It was so special to have Victoria and Michael Terra come. I hadn’t seen them in a long time. They travel a lot doing shows and I have been so busy with this move. They have been so supportive of me as an artist over the years, placing several commissions which were both fun and financially a huge help. Michael had a big pilgrimage to Burning Man in 2016 and I made a hat for the occasion!
The camera on my phone is disappointing… I should have taken more photos… Mom and I did go out to eat and we took Tor for a walk at Noble Park. Peaceful and we met a Irene who introduced us to another couple who were walking their dog, too.
Rose came by with her son, Avalon, and his wife, Dawn. I was so happy to finally meet them! They live in California and have huge rabbits as pets. One is almost 20 lbs!
Time passes too quickly and before I could blink, Mom was on her way back to Wisconsin…
I realized at the open house that the couches were not in the best place, so I changed things around after Mom left, not an easy job as I also had to change the direction of the carpet. But, the layout makes much more sense now.
Products!
Three shipments arrived for the shop! I am accepting things on consignment from Artizan Made and TAFA members. Info here.
It feels like Christmas! (And, it ’tis the Season!) So far, we have:
- Elizabeth de la Ossa, a collector friend from Chicago. Vintage huipiles and some Mexican textiles.
- MayaMam Weavers, a fair trade weaving group from Guatemala, members of both Artizan Made and TAFA. They sent runners, placemats, napkins and aprons.
- Jane Porter, fashion designer who works with eco-dyeing, sewing and knitting. She sent scarves, cowls, and kimono jackets. Gorgeous! Also a member of both Artizan Made and TAFA.
I had stuff from my past shops and this was enough to get the beginnings of shop atmosphere.
Bare bones started to fill in…
Colin’s Creatures
The Bird Room Gallery had been bare, too….
Rose kindly agreed to become the first show! I loved her work online and then in person and then I loved her! Funny how life brings people into our worlds… Rose developed her own method of applique and taught it for many years. She traveled all over the US, taught on cruise ships and made a name for herself. These days she is exploring other techniques and having fun. Mixed media, copper enamel, fused glass… Whatever catches her fancy. I love the dimensional work that she does, but adore these art quilts and am in cloud nine to have them here! She uses silk a lot in her work, so the fabrics have this warm glow, a sheen that pops out at you… Her work will be up until the end of January. We will have a party for her after Christmas. Visit her website.
Take the tour!
I take you through the house in this video. Come on in! 🙂
Race Unity Christmas Party
Earlier this year I started attending the Race Unity Group which meets on Thursdays, 6:30-8pm, at Washington Baptist Church. I’ve learned a lot at our meetings and thoroughly enjoy being with these people so I wanted to host a party in my new place. We had that on Thursday and it was super sweet!
It’s exciting to see this place start coming into action!
Aynex was here recently, too! She was the first person I met in Paducah and moved to Maryland several years back to be close to family.
The shop will be open soon. I missed out on the holiday shopping, but it’s ok. It will keep getting better and better and I have to pace myself. New posts about the shop will be over on Artizan’s blog, so if you want to keep up to date with new products and events, sign up to receive the posts by email. (It’s in the sidebar.)
The shop hours are going to be Thurs through Sat from 11am-6pm and by appointment. I am here most of the time, so just stop by! If my van is outside, I am here or walking the dog.
901 North 32nd St, Paducah, KY 42001
270-994-7606
rayela @ comcast.net (remove spaces)
