Zoot you say?  That’s the wonderful coffee house here in downtown Camden (hours and directions at the end of the post) where my friend Jan P. and I just hung a show of textile art / art quilts for the month of October.  Here’s a picture of the little thing I made for Zondra (actually, I think it is Sondra?), the owner, and the customer side of the latte bar:

Zoot definitely has the best coffee on the mid-Coast of Maine, even better than Starbucks! Every month Zondra has a new exhibit, and Jan and I are thrilled to be this month’s show!  I made a number of new, smaller (and therefore affordable for Christmas gift giving, including to yourself!) pieces which I’ll be sharing here and on my website over the next few days. I’m happy to ship, too (hint hint!).

Jan and her photographer-husband have a newly launched website, From Photos to Fiber.  They sell his photographs and Jan is working on commissioned pieces of people’s family members, pets and buildings.  Check out the quilt of Ollie, their rapscallion dog…far left in the next photo.

Here’s a view of the left side of the main space, a sunny area with big picture windows facing Elm Street:

Here’s Jan in front of three of my pieces, which are on the short wall facing the front door:

Here’s the back area, with two of my pieces on the left, Jan’s three on the right, and our hanging stuff and jackets on the chairs and tables!

Here’s a closeup with one of Jan’s “house portraits” on the left, and a Trio of small tea pieces and my “Tea” on the center and right. 

I’ll be posting my new pieces, including prices, both on my website and here over the next week or ten days.  Hope you like!

Directions and hours:

Open  6:30-5, M-Sat,  and 7-5 on Sunday

On Elm Street in downtown Camden, between the Rite Aid and Town Offices, opposite the village green.  If you are driving north on Route 1, the old Atlantic Coast Highway, it runs right through town (Elm Street turns into Main Street turns into High Street, all within 4 blocks!); Zoot would be on your left a block or so past the flashing stoplight at the First Congregational Church (intersection  of Union and Elm).

My favorite is a double latte, and love the croissants, lunchtime savories and pie!

I am one (of a bazillion) of the folks who receive a bi-weekly e-mail from artist Robert Genn. Some of the letters are gems, and I really liked this one, so asked and received permission to share it here. I guess I liked it because what he suggests is similar to how I approach things. Here’s the letter:

Personal coach

September 28, 2007

Dear Sarah,

My friend Ralph, who doesn’t mind me talking about this, is way
out of shape. His personal coach, Alberto, is a ladder-chested
ex-lightweight boxer with blinding white teeth and lots of
hair. Alberto comes over to Ralph’s twice a week. Sometimes
they work out on Ralph’s expensive equipment. At other times
Alberto drives him in his beemer to an upscale gym. Personally,
I’d say Ralph’s still the same. Maybe not. Maybe he’s bigger.

“Tennis players got ’em, why not you?” Ralph says. He’d like me
to book Alberto, but Alberto’s booked solid, just one of many
solidly-booked Albertos around here.

It’s no surprise when people ask me to be their personal coach.
It happened again only yesterday. The lady was talking art, not
abs. Come to think of it, a lot of us buffs are in demand. So I
was thinking of all the inefficiency and disappointment that
must ride on Ralph and Alberto’s contract. And while I sort of
like the idea of tailored guidance, I rather wanted to offer a
more general workout. A sort of “Jenny Craig Success Course of
the Arts.” Mine’s free. Here it is:

Find a sanctuary where you can comfortably work.
Dedicate at least two hours a day to your art.
Have more than enough equipment and supplies.
Set short- and long-term goals and keep track of progress.
Think of your work as exercise, not championship play.
Explore series development and exhaust personal themes.
Work alone with the benefit of books and perhaps tapes.
Replace passive consumption with creative production.
Use your own intuition and master your technology.
Feel the joy of personal, self-generated sweat.
Fall in love with your own working processes.
Be forever on the lookout for the advent of style.
Try to be your own person and claim your rights.
Don’t bother setting yourself up for rejection.
Don’t swing too wildly and damage the well-being of others.
Don’t jump into the ring until you’re feeling fit.

If you can stick with this regimen for a couple of months, I
can pretty well guarantee your progress. If not, then at least
the exercise will let you know the job’s not for you. We all
have the potential to be slim, barrel-chested, rich, satisfied
or evolved.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: “……Yes, please go ahead and forward this letter to a friend.

If you think a friend or fellow artist may find value in this
material, please feel free to forward it. This does not mean
that they will automatically be subscribed to the Twice-Weekly
Letter. They have to do it voluntarily and can find out about
it by going to http://www.painterskeys.com

Well, if the President as head of the executive branch can give a State of the Union address, and since as quilters we are ALWAYS a bit curious (OK, almost voyeuristic) about other quilters’ studios, I thought I’d let you see what I’ve been up to this past week.

I have done a TON of paperwork on the book, writing to get permissions to use quotes, and so on, so seriously needed some creative time. Plus, Jan and Dwight P. (Jan is a friend and quilter, Dwight is her hubby and photographer) and I are having a small show at Zoot, the cool coffee house in town. That means I figured I needed to make some pieces for there that are not expensive (as in might actually sell and generate some much-needed income). When I finish one thing I tend to need to have a tidy attack and clear the surfaces so I can function. Then stuff piles up as I work. I guess I’ve been working. Here is the work table:

Here is the overflow (Gramma’s toaster table, immortalized in my Flying Toast quilt):

Here is the sewing machine cabinet:

And the doorknob:

Yes, busy. I have one more 6×6 piece to fuse up and quilt, then I need to paint all the canvases, mount all the pieces, add hanging sleeves to the ones that will not be mounted, add hanging apparatus, label them, take photos, re-size the photos for use on the website, price them (duh!), and be ready to sell them! I’ll blog them here and on my website galleries (think I’ll make a “small works” gallery for most of the ones mounted on canvas which I can then delete once the pieces have mostly sold). Even though they will be for sale at the coffee house, I’m definitely open to purchases that require shipping [grin!].

Woooohoooo! It’s official, and I can finally say so in public as I’ve just sent off the signed contract:

I’ll be teaching at the big AQS show in Paducah, Kentucky, this coming April! I still can hardly believe my luck. I won’t bore you with all the details, but in a nutshell Bonnie Browning happened upon my website on a Sunday, asked if I had submitted an application to teach for AQS, and if I hadn’t would I–by the next morning (!!!!), since they were going to select teachers for the 2008 shows (Paducah, Nashville and Des Moines) that coming week! Even better, she hadn’t put it together that the Sarah Smith of the classes was the Sarah Smith of the to-be-book for AQS! WELL, you know the results–and the class listing is below the photo!

I have a question for all of you (at the end of the post) about this picture and my new class:

Here’s what I’ll be teaching and when (tentative schedule…dates and times could change, but will be final when the catalog comes out). With the exception of Intro to Machine Quilting, which is my most popular class. Paducah REALLY likes 3-hour classes, which I don’t usually do, so I divided up some of my day-long classes into parts (for example, the two classes on Wednesday are the majority of my intro applique class).

Wednesday, April 23

AM- Looks Like Hand Applique (But Isn’t)

PM- I’m gonna see the show!

Evening- Chunk and Jigsaw Fusible Applique

Thursday, April 24

All day- Introduction to Machine Quilting

Friday, April 25

AM- Machine Quilting: Dabbling with Decorative Threads

PM- If You Can Write your ABCs, You Can Draw Your Own Designs

Saturday, April 26

AM- Nearly No Mark Machine Quilting

PM- All Star Review: Decorative Threads by Machine (a short demo session)

The “ABCs” class is a new one, and is an offshoot of my postcards class. Here’s the class description: “Most of us fear drawing, and we think we just can’t do it. Well, I have a secret I’ll share: if you can write the alphabet in block letters, you can draw and I’ll show you how. Once you’ve learned my way of using the alphabet to look at the world, translating shapes into applique or quilting designs is easy! Bring several pictures as starting points for you to create your own design with help from Sarah. The pictures can be of any subject matter that appeals to you: people, places, things, if you like it, bring it!”

Apart from the fact that I’m terrified and hope I’m not in over my head, do you think picture at the top illustrates the class description? Does it work? Could I make it better somehow? Any and all suggestions are MOST welcome!

And now, for something completely different:

If you have ever wondered what it would like to be a 4-th generation Maine Lobsterman, check out Ryan Post’s website and podcasts at :

www.MaineBuggin.com

and click on the links for Episodes 1 and 2 (Just below the photo of the cameraman in a red t-shirt) which are documentary-style videos of what it is like to be a lobsterman here in the far north-eastern corner of the US.  Ryan hopes to show what life is like as a lobsterman year-round, not just hauling up the traps when they are full.  You’ll probably need not-dial-up (as in something faster) internet to view the videos.

Paul (Hubby) and Eli (number 2 son) have come to know Ryan through their Isshinriyu karate with Sensei Pete Bishop. Ryan is one of the regulars in the dojo (currently the basement of the Offshore Restaurant, on Route 1 in Rockport….or is it Rockland that far down? No…think it is still Rockport). The denizens of the dojo are all really good guys, and amazingly accepting of this pint-sized kid working out with them (everyone there is an adult, and three black-belt and several ranking belts, yet they accept Eli, age 9 1/2, as one of their own).

Joshua’s girlfriend is from an old lobstering family, too, and it is wicked hard work. It is lucrative when you can get it, but income is sporadic, and of course no one is out hauling traps in mid-winter, so you need an off season job. She isn’t a jock, yet she is so strong that she can sometimes beat Joshua (who is on the wrestling team!) at arm wrestling, thanks to working on the boat (she’s the one who brought us the king’s ransom of four lobsters this summer, which I wrote about in my blogpost Lobster Homicide).

And yes, Maine really is that beautiful! And the colors on the buoys: each lobsterman is assigned a physical location in which he/she can set their traps, and each lobsterman has a particular color of buoy so they can tell which traps are whose. Enjoy!