Open House @ Engine, Afterparty

I don't know if you ever did this, but one of the weekly church groups I was in used to hang out together after the Sunday evening service. The group called this the after glow. I'm calling this post the after party since the open house today was a blast!

Everyone who was presenting showed up on time and any mishaps were quickly dealt with. The other crafters were as follows,

ARDUINO 101 with Tim Karu

CLAY with Cathie Cantara

SCULPTURE with Cheryl Lichwell

BOOKBINDING with Kate Gerwig and Justine Bald

PRINTMAKING with Nora Tryon

ENAMELING with Kate Cathey

My middle brother, Bill, would have loved seeing Tim Karu's work. Bill makes his own computers and Tim's work involved using computer parts to make art. Some of the pieces looked like airports from an eagle eye view, while others look like futuristic space ships.

Cathie Cantara and Cheryl Lichwell were near each other as you continued around the circle. Cathie's work was shown on a potter's wheel, while Cheryl had blocks of clay on a tripod about eye height and did portraits of various models throughout the event. Engine's own young friend got her portrait done.

Nora Tyron and Kate Cathey made up the next part of the circle. Nora worked on printmaking with paints, balloons, and baby shirts. She also displayed some very cool prints with pretty colored skies from the print making process, which she then used what looked like India ink to draw trees on. Those pieces were just wonderful. Kate explained the difference between enamel and ceramic glazes. Enamel glazes are applying to metal surfaces, while ceramic glazes are applied to clay bases. She uses a fixative to hold the finely ground glass onto the vessels she had for display purposes. Enamels, and ceramics for that matter, require firing in a kiln to become permanent.

Finally in the circle was Kate Gerwig and Justine Bald with their bookmaking supplies and samples. This table was hopping from the moment they set up shop till it was time to leave. They had lovely examples of homemade books and different types of binding samples.

Before I left for the Open House, I had put a project in my purple office tote, and wouldn't you know it, the hook wasn't in the project. I didn't realize that till I got to Engine and was pulling the project out and looking for the hook. So, I took a few steps back in time, borrowed a pencil to improvise a hook, and explained to folks that this is how crocheting and knitting got their starts as just folks playing with strings using sticks. I ended up with a square foot sized granny square out of the time there with that improvised hook. :)

I was set up near the front entrance with projects spread out on a large, black, leather ottoman and a card table. I had business cards for the taking on both surfaces. Folks lingered most over the socks, stitch markers, and scarves, as well as the brightly colored items. Lots of compliments were received on color sense and on fineness of workmanship. :) Next post will include pics from my phone that I've yet to download.

As many of you are aware, I have been healing from a bad brain infection this past September. While I had a blast at the Open House, I also noticed myself developing a headache and becoming distracted/sensitized to the noises of folks having fun. I was managing to smile and engage with folks, but also happy that I was off to one side in a way. I wasn't in the middle of the noise making part. That was a relief.

I spoke for a long while with Jim Emerson, Treasurer of Engine's Board of Directors, and he serves on the Biddeford School Board. He is a very kind listener and got likely more than he bargained for when he sat down to chat with me about my projects. He asked if I was doing this part-time or full-time and that lead to a discussion of the headaches, migraines, and anatomy involved in meningitis.

He also asked for the story of how I can to be a knitter/crocheter. I shared the story my mom told me long ago about my being fascinated by watching her make a yellow loop stitch crocheted layette for my middle brother. Mom asked the physical therapist who was working with us to help my fine motor control skills improve about learning to crochet as an adjunct therapy at home. The therapist was ecstatic with that idea. From how mom tells the story, the therapist went on to implement that idea with her other patients.

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I’ll get back to you. Enjoy! Don’t forget to Subscribe to my RSS feed!