TAFA Calendar 2013: Muse Moments

Hot off the press!  I have been wanting to make a TAFA calendar for quite a while and it finally happened!  Members submitted images and quotes and I put it together and laid it out on Zazzle. It looks wonderful and is a great way to have a TAFA inspiration throughout the year.  Here are the pages for each month (click on image to move the show forward):

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It’s a lot of fun to work on these group projects and get feedback from the other members.  All along, I have wanted TAFA to develop in as democratic a way as possible and feel pleased about our growth as an organization, as peers and as friends.  A lot of what I do feels like “slogging”, mostly marketing and developing content, but I find it so energizing to engage with this group and to see all of the wonderful things each of us is doing in our corner of the world.  Collectively, what we do does make an impact and I am honored to be a part of it.

Here is a bit about each of the members featured in the calendar, in alphabetical order.  Click on their names to visit their profiles on TAFA.

Ariane (Paris, France) joined TAFA over two years ago and has been an active and supportive member all along.  She is an amazing designer, using nuno felt techniques to create garments and accessories filled with fun and innovation.  One of her trademark vests is an example: it can be worn inside out and upside down, giving multiple looks for one piece.

Arlee (Calgary, Canada) hopped in during our second month of existence, helping us build credibility and has been our gatekeeper on Flickr from the very start.  A master stitcher, Arlee’s work pushes needle, thread, and fabric to the extreme, always looking for new ways to interpret her ideas.  She also explores dye methods extensively, reading the results as maps for her needlework.

Aryana (Arizona) is one of our most recent members and we are just getting to know her.  Her bold, graphic quilts speak to architectural and natural elements- line and color used as the dominant force in each piece.  They read as maps and urban landscapes to me.

Mary Hertert (Colorado) relocated from Alaska recently and has been exploring new freedoms with dyes, exploring ways to re-invent her long history with costume design into comfortable, zen-like wear.  Warm and spontaneous, Mary is synonymous with community in my mind.  Mary joined TAFA in March of 2011, so she is one of the old timers now.

Dana Biddle (South Africa) has her hands full! of yarn, dye and whatever she can explore next. She has a business selling hand-dyed yarns and enjoys making soft sculptures and knitted accessories.  Her sheep in the calendar is wonderful!  Dana has been an active member since she joined in May of 2011.  Even though our days and nights are on opposite ends of the spectrum, somehow she is able to keep conversations going, always cheerful and fun.

Debrah Block Krol (New Jersey) joined us in 2010, but took quite awhile to jump in.  All of a sudden, there seemed to be an explosion of new work and a blossoming of her talent.  She is one of the members who I have really seen improve in the last two years.  Her photos were passable when she joined and now they are works of art.  She has done many things in the past, including dyeing and knitting metal wire into jewelry, but she seems to have found a true love for nuno felting, specializing in feminine shawls and scarves.

If I could kidnap Elena, I would!  (New York) She joined six months ago and immediately started with, “How about this? Have you seen this?  Want to do that?”  Her business acumen and enthusiasm has been a huge motivator for me. She also volunteered to help with some social media tasks which was great.  Elena knits and crochets, using yarns that come from all the right places.  Her work is tight and elegant, truly beautiful.

Another old-timer, Heather (Gimli, Canada) is one of the members I’ve actually had the pleasure to meet in real life.  She came to the Paducah Quilt Show last year and we got a chance to visit for a bit.  Heather’s down-to-earth humor and practicality made me feel right at home and I know that I could easily spend a lot of time in her company.  An avid quilter, Heather’s designs are clean and precise, yet warm and speak to Nature.

Nancy Zeller (New Hampshire) wears many hats: she raises sheep and sells fiber art supplies, including her sheep’s roving and wool, on her website.  It seems like that would be enough, but if you visit her blog, you will see that there is non-stop action going on there with all kinds of workshops and experimentation.  Jackie, the sheep featured in our calendar, was a beloved character who died early this year.  We are honored by these animals who walk with us and give us so much love.  Nancy has been a member for almost a year.

Linda Moran (Arizona) is another old-timer I’ve had the pleasure of meeting!  She lives in Tucson and I was there this past January and hope to be there again soon for the Gem and Mineral Show.  Linda and Dean have perfected their own technique of marbling fabric, achieving fascinating and sometimes psychedelic results.  They cater to quilters at shows and have a shop on Etsy.  This past year Linda began contributing business posts on Handmadeology’s blog.  Click here to read valuable tips and insights.

Margery Meyers (New York) joined TAFA about six months ago and has been active in our Facebook group. She is a weaver and knitter and has a beautiful blog with great photos and stories.  Margery makes great buttons from her woven fabric, something to keep in mind the next time you need some for a handmade look.

Georgianne Holland (Colorado) joined TAFA over a year ago and from the start has supported the site financially and participated in our various discussions about direction, etc.  She is another member who has taken the business bull by the horns and leading it green pastures.  For the last several months she has invested time, energy and money into creating a real business plan and look for her felted home accessories.  Her new site will launch soon and I am excited for her as her brain child falls into place.  Georgianne’s folk art themes, often of birds and trees, speak to the nature that surrounds her.

I was a little nervous when Peggy Wright (Minnesota) joined TAFA over a year ago as she only had beadwork on her website.  Her local guild considers beadweaving as a fiber art, but I am not convinced as I am also quite active in the bead world and would see it more naturally there. However, Peggy assured me that quilting and other fiber work was a renewed interest that she was dedicating herself to and sure enough, the work started coming and showing up.  She has been doing a lot of paint/dye on fabric experiments with lovely results.  I especially like it when she incorporates her beadwork on to her quilts, such as in this cottage on our calendar.  Peggy has also been active in our group discussions and I value her voice there.

Stacy (Oregon) joined TAFA in our second month of existence and is probably at the top of my list of personal favorites.  She’s an old-time artist, in the sense that she hasn’t engaged in social media and prefers studio time over anything else.  I am in love with her Japanese themed wall pieces, often humorous and always an amazing use of color and line.  She has a beautiful website so I hope that you will jump over there to look at her work.

The work represented in the calendar and in these short stories are just a small glimpse into the talents and doings of our TAFA members.  They are each shaping a corner of the world in their own way, pushing us all towards engagement in the patchwork that weaves us all together.  Next month we celebrate our third birthday and the first year of having our site.  We’ve come a long way and there is much work ahead. But, as I always say, “Together we can do great things!”

Much happiness, joy, health, wealth,

and a good muse to all in 2013!