tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87532549573920904962024-03-13T13:54:54.401-07:00HartwareHartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-88656613023842291142012-02-10T15:31:00.000-08:002012-02-10T15:47:39.462-08:00Ladies and Gentlemen, Katie Johnson Has Left the Building<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--iSqB-k6GYg/TzWpIGFXOmI/AAAAAAAAAHc/oz-HLwgWCR0/s1600/emptystudioshot.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--iSqB-k6GYg/TzWpIGFXOmI/AAAAAAAAAHc/oz-HLwgWCR0/s320/emptystudioshot.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707654059299125858" border="0" /></a>Oh my, after 12 years of working, sweating, dying, painting, pressing, sewing, printing, batiking, packing, laughing, crying and focusing in this space... I have moved out of my studio. This empty, industrial, back alley 700 sq. foot windowless room housed Hartware's dye and print shop since 2000. This space served me well and I witnessed many changes in the downtown blocks which surround my work shop in those years. But I'm glad to be gone. I've moved my studio back to my dwelling and into the yurt that now sits near my house. This move feels momentous and delightful and unbelievable to me. I feel a fresh breeze blowing through all of the habits and patterns and ruts that working within those walls at 711 Main St. engendered. I suppose I could sit down and calculate just exactly how many minutes and gas I will save by not driving into my studio 5 miles round trip every day. I suppose I could do that, or I could walk to the lake.....<br />It is time to be quiet and wait. Something new is being born. I don't know yet what it is.Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-75810817853109055462011-08-20T22:01:00.000-07:002011-08-20T22:31:17.105-07:00The Altar Net<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XlUhqMR_wf4/TlCRbFp1ZhI/AAAAAAAAAHU/BAzHYIVZ5uM/s1600/the%2Baltar%2Bnet.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XlUhqMR_wf4/TlCRbFp1ZhI/AAAAAAAAAHU/BAzHYIVZ5uM/s320/the%2Baltar%2Bnet.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643170227655370258" /></a>At the Oregon Country Fair I chose an experiment instead of my normal routine of "work myself to the bone with no sleep and make as much clothing as possible" pattern. I chose to go on a financial fast. A fast similar to a dietary experience of abstaining from the ingestion of certain foods or even any food at all. I chose to consciously make less money by not adding new inventory and to witness the internal processes that arose from that choice. <div>
<br /></div><div>I am so glad that I did this. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>Let me say that one more time...I am so very, very glad that I did this. I had a very powerful time at the OCF this year. By stepping back from my personal treadmill I saw how addictive and compulsive my work ethic has been. In the act of choosing financial abstinence I put myself on a firm platform of trust. I knew that I would survive the financial strain of less money. I decided that my sense of security does not derive from money and that in fact, money is the source of quite a bit of my anxiety. With this simple act I began to assess all of my resources and the largest resource of all is my community. Ultimately, that is all that money is anyway. It is an abstract representation of our energy that we pass between ourselves in order to quantify our efforts. Money allows us to harbor illusions of independence. But those illusions are tearing at our consciousness and resulting in an increasingly alienated culture. We have forgotten that we created legal tender to simplify our bartering system. Now, people work just for money and completely forget that it is the planet's natural resources that are what is required for our survival. Thus we routinely exploit our abundant water and forests and mountains and the result is that we ultimately damage our own habitat. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>Creating the Altar Net for the Oregon Country Fair helped me remember who I am and what I am doing. It was a fantastic stream of conversations with wonderful festival goers and family and friends and new ideas. It has been a recognition that we reside within a net, an intricate interwoven web that supports us. This network of interconnection cannot be severed no matter how hard we try. We must breath the same air and allow the same water to pass through our bodies as every other inhabitant of this planet. Money serves us when we remember what a handy tool it can be. When we exchange it and it connects us to one another. It really only works when it is moving between hands and when it represents something. As our financial institutions crumble and Wall Street becomes a farce perhaps everyone will finally cry out "the emperor has no clothes"! </div><div>
<br /></div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-5603579054260038022011-02-17T10:00:00.000-08:002011-02-17T10:09:37.224-08:00Altaring Consciousness<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g1J7pyCo8_E/TV1kRHrw8rI/AAAAAAAAAG8/_8ZN9Ho4voI/s1600/Earth.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 233px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g1J7pyCo8_E/TV1kRHrw8rI/AAAAAAAAAG8/_8ZN9Ho4voI/s320/Earth.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574722159037706930" /></a><br />This winter I have been building altars. It began with a small altar in my studio before I went to work there. That was the result of my ruminations from my last blog post in which I embraced the union of my "work" and my "spirit". The first altars were clearly devoted to the earth element. I was and could say that I still am very interested in getting my feet on the ground. So much energy is devoted to planning and decisions and visions that I yearn to see tangible results of all that ruminating. That is what I enter the studio for and pray to birth abundance. So, the altars seeped into my art. Here is the first completed image titled "Earth".<div><br /></div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-18093399916137561022011-01-20T11:03:00.000-08:002011-02-12T15:33:40.011-08:00The Back WombPerhaps the times really are changing. Maybe these big shifts in consciousness that everyone has been talking about are manifesting. All I know is that this 2011 so far has brought with it a lot of realizations and epiphanies and lovely experiences for me. The foremost being...goodness can I put words to this? Hmmm.<div><br /> <div>First! a disclaimer. I plan to launch into topics of a spiritual nature. I have no intention of making this into a sermon. But if I am gaining any wisdom as I age, it may be to recognize that I do lots of things which I think are free or untainted by ego or personality issues. Then lo and behold, 3 years down the line and I say "oh yeah..that choice or event was ego ridden". Or in plainer english..duh! So warning to the reader. If you cringe when the dinner conversation turns toward the divine or sort of religious or even a little woo woo philosophical, this blog post may not be for you. (oh, it is 11:11 at this very moment. So cosmic. Everyone dance!)</div><div><br /></div><div> Now a little back story. I was raised by a very devout and lovely Mom who was a Christian Scientist. Different from the Scientologists. But similar in the odd, not so many people know about them and has a vaguely cultish reputation. The "cult" or extreme flavor comes from the fact that Christian Scientists rely upon God for healing and do not use conventional western medicine to address ailments. They usually also abstain from alcohol and tobacco and recreational drugs. It was actually a pretty great way to grow up. Even though there were some intense aspects to it (Mom could be extremely strict about some issues) I would choose it over a bland religious upbringing. There was a lot of discussion and debate in my tiny Sunday School class. We were encouraged to think and question and best of all, to have our own relationship with the Divine. Within the framework of Christian Science, of course. My Mom really wanted her 4 progeny to grow up to be Christian Scientists too. She seemed to be very invested in CS being the "Right Way". </div><div><br /></div><div> Well, as I grew into adulthood I began to spread my spiritual wings and became very interested in many religions and teachings. In fact, my spirituality has been running along side and through my t-shirt business and craft all along. That seems like it should be something that is very obvious. But I was also raised by a successful businessman who made his living as a designer. There in the house I was raised in was a split between two worlds. My Dad did not and does not display very much interest in religion. Business and religion were two very different and separate facets of living. We go to church on Sunday and we go to work for 5 other days of the week (with lots of overtime and late nights) and we sail or ski on Saturdays. Beautifully and elegantly compartmentalized. </div><div><br /></div><div> No wonder I was so uncomfortable with using spiritual imagery in my work. Over the 20 years that I have created and brainstormed countless images for the chests of t-shirts I have consciously steered myself away from ideas which I considered to be too strong. Although lots of subtle and not so subtle symbols have made their way into my iconography, I've always used them with great caution. I did a few designs once that were based upon the tarot deck but it made me nervous. I wanted my images to be non-confrontational to the myriad festival goers. And it is true that the equal sided cross has asserted itself into my designs with a passion. And I have had some customers comment that the cross is too loaded of a symbol to adorn their body. But this is the way things will always be when the motivation is coming from the ego driven individual. There will be endless rationalizations and reasoning and mental gymnastics around designs, audience evaluation, demographics, niche markets, product development. These are the foundations of the church of capitalist business making. </div><div><br /></div><div> I've been meditating. As I meditate I am training my mind away from its lonely perspective of me, mine, yours. I still my thoughts in order to remind myself of my presence. To be in the now. To release the rationale, the pattern of separateness. As my story of reality shifts my creativity and entire relationship to my income and my business must shift with it. Suddenly I am no longer an individual artist "making a name for herself." Now I am a channel, a vehicle for creative energy to flow through. In the same way that a mother gives birth, she doesn't and can't create a baby, she allows a baby to come through her. The ultimate mystery does all the work. When I'm in that zone of creativity I know I'm in "The Zone". Yeah honey! Eveyone dance and sing praise. Hallelujah! We are not alone! </div><div><br /></div><div> So, the realization that spawned this little rant (while washing the dishes) was not that I should make more images of a spiritual nature. Rather, I should make the time I spend working and designing, painting, de-waxing and washing more sacred time. OK, I noticed it too, there are a lot of shoulds in those two sentences. As a friend told me once "don't should on yourself". OK, try again. I'm discovering that when I work and it has the quality of a prayer, it shifts the whole definition of work. Even though I am self employed and my work has the intention of bringing financial stability to me, I can still do it in the sense of being of service. Most folks with jobs go to work and their boss tells them what to do. I've joked a lot that my boss drives me really hard. But that was because my brain was asking itself what to do. Now my brain is asking my higher self to ask something larger, the Tao, the Universe, the One...what to do. It is very different. And in order to hear, my brain has to shut up and listen. Oh my!</div><div><br /></div><div> The Back Womb. I have quietly referred to my studio with this name. I toss it out in conversation to friends when they've entered through the only door. I look to see if they catch the pun. I think mostly people have thought that I'm trying to be asian or have a subtle lisp. My studio is 5 miles away from my dwelling. I chose it for very pragmatic reasons. I use a lot of water in my process and I wanted to use city water instead of my well water. My studio has a concrete floor which is also very pragmatic for messy, waxy jobs. It is the back room of a retail space on Main St. in Cottage Grove. It doesn't have any windows. It only has one door to the outside. When the door is shut it is utterly enclosed and I have no idea what is going on outside. Well, maybe a peep of light from under the door will indicate that the sun has come out. Fortunately the door faces south. I have rented this space for 10 years. I moved into it in January of 2000. It has presented a challenge to me energetically because I have never liked it's lack of windows and rather garage like quality. I have wanted it to be prettier but never have known how to go about it, because it is my work place. And work and spirituality are separate you see. </div><div><br /></div><div> Well, that dichotomy is changing. I don't know what will happen, but I believe that when we change our thoughts our outer reality seems to change miraculously. For now, I must end this blog post and head to that very same studio. Today I'm feeling really curious about how I'll feel when I'm there. Today the question will be, what will best serve this place? Instead of what needs to get done? </div></div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-69526353823484838142010-11-22T13:02:00.000-08:002010-11-22T13:26:52.571-08:00RebirthStanding in front of the white, blank, sheet....of paper or fabric or wall. A coming back to that blank page. What? Why? How do I lift my pen or brush? Feel the urge. Eternally the question, what next? What has come before? What shall be different? What shall remain? What is unfinished? Should I bother? Is it worthless? Is it brilliant? This moment thumps itself over and over using me as it's drum. Again, I find myself here. Even my computer freaks out periodically and offers me only a white screen. Does it conspire with all the other blank sheets that wait, expectant to receive the image, the message, the word? What's the word on the street? <div>Today...ripple. The thought comes to just do it. Just put out there the things I love. Feel the love sister! What do I love? What is worth remembering and reforming into color and pattern?</div><div>OK</div><div>Mushroom gills, compost, ripples, gods, frailty, webs, potato bugs, roots, growth rings, usnea, ease, puffs of smoke, fat trees, traffic jams on epic bridges, dry firewood, empty highways in vast land, persian carpets, children dancing. </div><div>Thankyou Life</div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-89090003870345512722010-11-14T18:28:00.001-08:002010-11-14T18:30:14.589-08:00Splotch<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/TOCbKNfFvjI/AAAAAAAAAGk/7mWtffYxCdU/s1600/splotchcrop.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/TOCbKNfFvjI/AAAAAAAAAGk/7mWtffYxCdU/s320/splotchcrop.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539598141386767922" /></a>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-13451698462085287152010-11-14T18:17:00.000-08:002010-11-14T18:31:51.876-08:00Dragon 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/TOCZPSBTyPI/AAAAAAAAAGc/81krYySXrBY/s1600/dragon1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 233px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/TOCZPSBTyPI/AAAAAAAAAGc/81krYySXrBY/s320/dragon1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539596029480126706" /></a>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-54984007340280476502010-06-21T13:01:00.000-07:002010-06-21T14:29:18.529-07:00Muse InfusedYikes! My muses are on a bender. Yup, I'm pretty convinced based upon solid information from a reliable source, that my muses are getting ripped. They have been sited in a seedy part of town at a juke joint...yes, a bar, a pub of ill repute and sho'nuff they are tying one on. I can see them in my mind's eye, pounding the bar, reeling with laughter, chortling their hearts out to the lone bartender as they regale him with the antics and hoops they are making me leap through. The reason I'm certain of their debauchery is because I am being twirled like a marionette who's strings are being jerked by drunken puppeteers. <div> Clarification? Last week, I was stopped in my tracks by the certain realization that I must change all of my production process and designs for the clothing by which I make my living. This was a huge, breath taking realization with no small repercussions to my schedule or life style. I'm still reeling. I canceled the Fremont Fair, which I have been a vendor at for the past 20 years. And I have been working with a furor. The Oregon Country Fair is upon me in the next few weeks. My favorite and most beloved gathering of friends and family that I attend and work at annually. So, I have decided to give a title to the body of work I am producing for the Country Fair. I deem it "Muse Infused". I am throwing myself into the fire and asking the muses for their mercy. I intend to deliver new work which is produced without care for income or practicality. I am allowing my drunken muses to have free reign. I am painting silly and sublime images and slapping them into odd corners of garments. I am making things unlike anything I've done before. Drink up muses! We only have 15 working days left! Yikes! I am off the computer now and back to work. </div><div><br /></div><div>Find my booth at M68 in Chela Mela Meadow at the Oregon Country Fair. July 9,10,11. </div><div>Blessings</div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-24091159442128605702010-04-14T18:47:00.000-07:002010-04-14T18:49:01.306-07:00Escape From the Garden<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/S8ZwfkwygyI/AAAAAAAAAGE/LCosFaeRoqE/s1600/Escape+(in+process).jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 114px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/S8ZwfkwygyI/AAAAAAAAAGE/LCosFaeRoqE/s400/Escape+(in+process).jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460175285979874082" /></a><br />I think this cicada is stealing this apple. Can't decide if it is the apple from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or from the tree of life. I mean, we never hear about the fruit of the tree of life, do we? Probably because the insects stole off with it before the serpent even got there. All that the serpent could offer Eve was the one last apple from the tree of good and evil. Oh well, and here we are, the fallen, while the insects have immortal life.<div><br /></div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-91080198772132925792010-04-14T14:25:00.000-07:002010-04-14T14:31:11.808-07:00Red Rising<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/S8Y0Ca9GfdI/AAAAAAAAAF8/NmktgQgAIAU/s1600/snake+step+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/S8Y0Ca9GfdI/AAAAAAAAAF8/NmktgQgAIAU/s400/snake+step+2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460108814433287634" /></a><br />My serpent painting evolves. I was so delighted and surprised by the red snake. For me, the process of creating images is very similar to dreaming. I often don't know what is going to come next and I can be totally taken aback by what arrives on the canvas. Although I have been visualizing this painting for a while and shifting color options in my mind's eye, I had never seen a bright red snake. But now, I love it. It is fueling my desire and energy to work further upon this piece to see what else is going to appear.Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-19214275287265362372010-04-08T12:54:00.000-07:002010-04-08T13:05:12.431-07:00Serpent Dreams<div><br />Here is the beginning of the process. I sketched the initial idea for this painting while I was at a slow festival in Humboldt County. The back of my booth opened up to the banks of the Eel River. It was a beautiful sunny day and a stunning venue for a festival. In the heart of the Redwoods and the heart of a fiercely independent community of renegades who still harbor the spirit of those who lived amongst the trees centuries ago. I made a quick sketch of this idea of the primordial snake who's tongue extends through spirals of DNA strands to split into the equal sided cross at the top. Did something in the spirit of the Eel lick my consciousness there and ask to be rendered? <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/S7402gYHZ_I/AAAAAAAAAF0/S__lHLEIHzc/s1600/snake+step+1.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/S7402gYHZ_I/AAAAAAAAAF0/S__lHLEIHzc/s400/snake+step+1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457857909428283378" /></a></div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-50547421766651990442010-02-23T18:03:00.000-08:002010-02-23T18:13:47.835-08:00Taxing my mind<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/S4SJntvrnUI/AAAAAAAAAFk/lAcDA4wOePg/s1600-h/Site+dancer+2-10.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 74px; height: 320px; " src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/S4SJntvrnUI/AAAAAAAAAFk/lAcDA4wOePg/s320/Site+dancer+2-10.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441625565157891394" /></a>OK, Now it is definite. I am avoiding my taxes. I am doing everything imaginable to not be working on them. Aha! I thought as I was scanning my checkbook for deposits last March. "I haven't updated my blog in so long! I must do that right now. Here are my most very important, cannot wait a minute news items which will invigorate your life immediately. <div>I have a new blog/web site. Da ta da daaah. It is www.cadajohnson.com. That is where I have posted my dear to the heart art work. I have been working on wall paintings since October with a fervor. An ernest fervor, to be exact. This painting of the dancer is my first completed piece of a series of four. Today, I finished the second painting and I will be posting it soon. But.....I told myself that I had to do my taxes first. </div><div>sigh.</div><div>Back to it. </div><div>Blessings</div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-27070697885192547242009-11-20T10:25:00.000-08:002009-11-20T10:39:20.998-08:00Happy Holly Daze!Here we go ya'll, the slithery sled ride through America's winter festival season. For me this time of year is always such an intense mix of joy and stress and glee and darkness. Take a deep breath....<div><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#66FF99;">Nov. 21,22; and 27-29: Eugene Holiday Market, booth# 83</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#66FF99;">Dec. 4-6; Humboldt Artisans Crafts and Music Festival, Eureka, CA, booth#73</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#66FF99;">Dec.5,6; Eugene Holiday Market, (yes we are at two locations this weekend, Eugene and Eureka) booth# 193</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#66FF99;">Dec.12,13; KPFA Crafts and Music Fair, San Francisco, CA, booth#56</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#66FF99;">Dec. 12,13; Eugene Holiday Market,(again...double boothing it, Eugene and San Fran.)booth#106</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#66FF99;">Dec.19,20; Eugene Holiday Market, booth# 106</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#66FF99;">Dec.22,23,24; Eugene Holiday Market, booth#106</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Please have a blessed season</div><div>Peace,</div><div>Cada Johnson</div></div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-17706165416468043252009-10-07T17:01:00.000-07:002009-10-07T17:38:06.930-07:00The Spineless Flip FLop Jig<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/Ss0tCqE10OI/AAAAAAAAAFc/I55FC7lEjqs/s1600-h/IMG_1111.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/Ss0tCqE10OI/AAAAAAAAAFc/I55FC7lEjqs/s400/IMG_1111.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390013852709933282" /></a> When I am faced with my own inconsistencies I tend to want to run screaming for cover. They make me quake in my boots. You could say it is akin to having multiple muses playing tug of war with one's creative integrity. It is as though the gods are kicking my sanity around for their amusement and I'm on the sidelines begging for a moment of peace. So I try to make rules for myself. As an artist who paints on clothing, I have said countless times these words. "No, I am sorry, I do not paint on clothing which is provided by my customers. You see, there is too much opportunity to destroy or maim a perfectly good piece of clothing. I paint on clothing which I purchase wholesale so that if I destroy it then there is no problem. " Perhaps you are surprised to find that the question "Will you paint on my clothing?" is that common. I'm certain that I have had to answer that query at least 200 times in the last 19 years. It is actually quite common. Many, many customers appreciate my paintings but I don't have a garment which fits them or is their style. Their face lights up as they hit on the idea. "Hey...what if I bring you a piece of clothing? Would you paint it?" And I have to shatter their hopes and explain that the odds of their clothing surviving my studio are low. Much less, it is unthinkable that I would paint on a precious piece of clothing like formal wear or a wedding dress! Horrors!<div> The other rule which has served me well all these years of practicing my trade has been this: I do not paint on white clothing. Well, at least, the clothing that I paint on does not remain white. In fact, the very reason that I embarked upon dyeing clothing was because of the curse of white cloth. It is a soil and spot and paint magnet. I discovered in college that I could gain years of use out of clothing which I had spilled and stained within moments of it being in my vicinity, by dyeing it. After college this habit gravitated into a craft and a source of income. But after the first year of selling t-shirts and clothing in open air venues I swore that I would not sell white clothing as a finished product. </div><div> Lo! Along came a customer who has transformed himself into a friend over these years and offered me a project which has made me question my integrity. I broke all my rules. He sent me a white tuxedo, a precious, white, garment of his own and asked me to embellish this item for Burning Man. Yikes! What was I thinking? My work table is riddled with the evidence of paint misdirected. I have spilled as much paint and as many quarts and full jars across half finished garments as I have said no to customers asking for custom work. It is trying to be a clumsy artist. </div><div> I felt so much triumph that I was able to take on this project and get away with only 2 smudges that I have recorded my efforts for you here. The owner of this tuxedo took it off to the desert of Nevada for Burning Man and promptly spilled coffee on it. </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/Ss0tCAh7fJI/AAAAAAAAAFU/0NPjZSMXNfo/s1600-h/IMG_1116.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/Ss0tCAh7fJI/AAAAAAAAAFU/0NPjZSMXNfo/s400/IMG_1116.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390013841557650578" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/Ss0tBvk5ieI/AAAAAAAAAFM/V65Dam909T8/s1600-h/IMG_1162.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/Ss0tBvk5ieI/AAAAAAAAAFM/V65Dam909T8/s400/IMG_1162.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390013837006703074" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/Ss0tBLZM6cI/AAAAAAAAAFE/o_7ppiSmYB4/s1600-h/IMG_1170.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/Ss0tBLZM6cI/AAAAAAAAAFE/o_7ppiSmYB4/s400/IMG_1170.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390013827293964738" /></a><br /><span><span></span></span></div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-63321651883663162202009-09-14T10:23:00.000-07:002009-09-14T10:39:12.901-07:00On the RoadOkeydokey! I'm packing the van, getting things organized and hitting the road. For 3 weekends in a row I'll be in my booth at festivals. Here they are:<br />September 19,20<br />North Country Fair, Arcata, California: I'll be in booth #65. It is on the North end of G street, West side of the street.<br />September 26,27<br />Corvallis Fall Festival, Corvallis, Oregon:Booth #137, the street I'm closest to is NW Madison St.<br />October 3,4<br />Issaquah Salmon Days: I haven't received my load in packet for this one yet so I'll post it when I get the booth #<br />And remember, I will have tall silk flags on my booth. If you're hunting for me, look up. It is a great way to find the booth. You can see them from way down a long string of booths. <br /><br />The fall is upon us. Time to embrace the changing seasons, the crisp clean clear air, the morning chill, the abundant harvest. <br />Many blessings, have a beautiful autumn.Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-39868830618252118512009-08-03T15:29:00.000-07:002009-08-03T15:38:26.715-07:00Etsy!If you haven't been there yet. You should check out Etsy. It is a massive website "venue" of handcrafted functional art. I have finally gotten on board and I'm making my t-shirts available that way. There is a red button below my profile picture which will take you to Etsy's site. When you get to the Etsy home page, put Hartware into the search bar at the top and it should whisk you to my on line shop. Yeehaw! ....Wow! I just had a hummingbird fly into the middle of my yurt (where I am writing this from) hover and fly right back out the door. Nice Grand Opening moment!!! Wheeeee!<br />Happy Heat Wave!Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-26341344492147422112009-06-30T10:41:00.000-07:002009-06-30T10:53:37.251-07:00The Oregon Country FairYeehaw, the "Fair" is upon us. For those of you who have never attended this event....I say there is nothing else quite like it. And for those of you who have been there.....how many times have you heard these words? "I swear there was a booth here that sold really nice t-shirts...a minute ago. How did we get here?.....Where was that cheesecake booth?....no the bathrooms are that way." I have had so many painted, bedazzled, giggly, festers tell me that they could not find my booth that I can't take it anymore. Here I am!!!! Da ta da daaaa! M68 is the official booth number. We are on Wooten Way which is the shady side of Chela Mela Meadow and when you get in the neighborhood look up. The silk flags! They really help. They will be above us. (it is way too hard to make them go below us). So have a magnificent Fair even if you never find us. <div>Summers here and the livin is easy........</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Hartware's entire festival schedule for 2009 is at the bottom of this page.</span></div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-20890271801910943702009-06-11T14:02:00.000-07:002009-06-23T10:01:10.457-07:00Altared Nation<div>I have returned from the Freemont Fair stimulated and jazzed and pumped with new ideas. I have been traveling with my buddy Olive who inspires me toward whole new levels of interactive explosive joyful living. I am on fire with the idea of you. All of you are walking kinetic altars. You all choose with care the items which you drape upon your body. And with this act you are allowing the juices of your unique spirit to seep onto the physical plane. There you are! </div><div>I am seeing a fashion trend a foot. The act of integrating the found object into each unique outfit. Folks are running around with all kinds of things draping off their bodies! Olive and I intersected with a young charmer who is turning cowboy boots into camisoles! Yes indeed! I am inspired! I am ready to turn coffee makers into turbins and candy wrappers into thongs and television screens into waistcoats. Be prepared. I think that change is in the air. </div><div><br /></div><div>I also want to tell you about the charming liquid moments which occurred. But I am feeling that I don't have time at the moment. Remind me to tell you about the guy sitting on his pick-up truck who started singing DoReMi,( yes, from the Sound of Music) with us while we were packing up the booth. </div><div><br /></div><div>The other thing I am inspired to do...? To actually write something in my blog. Hah! </div><div><br /></div><div>I must be off to work. I have much, much, much to do for the Oregon Country Fair. If you would like to find me there I will be in booth #M68 in Chela Mela Meadow.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">The rest of the year's festival schedule is at the bottom of the page.</span></div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-5980026800769635982009-06-11T13:17:00.000-07:002009-06-11T13:57:39.203-07:00selling t-shirts on a blog<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/SjFq5y06XCI/AAAAAAAAAEU/Ic03AZ1hkfc/s1600-h/rootandart.jpg"><img style="text-align: center;float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 359px; height: 400px; " src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/SjFq5y06XCI/AAAAAAAAAEU/Ic03AZ1hkfc/s400/rootandart.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346171773794278434" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div>OK<div> I believe that I can do this. Post things to my blog in little 10 minute bits of time between eating and making the t-shirts. </div><div><br /><div>The two designs above are heat transfers and I can put them on to tee shirts with many color combinations. They are printed over a white rectangle created with a wax resist so there are cracks and texture in the background. I am dying the shirts with a unique process which gives a subtle texture to the whole shirt. They are pre-shrunk and completely machine washable. </div><div><ul><li>tank tops $25</li><li>organic short sleeve tees $30</li><li>organic long sleeve tees $38</li></ul><div>add $4 for shipping and handling. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you would like one of these designs or have any questions e-mail me and I'll give it to ya straight. <br /></div><div>Yay! </div><div><br /></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-43168009706438079442009-05-27T11:11:00.001-07:002009-05-27T11:18:18.211-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 204, 204);">Well,</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 204, 204);">I am the queen of spreading myself too thin. It has become clear that maintaining a retail site and producing t-shirts and carting everything around to festivals is just too much. The festivals have won out and I no longer sell my t-shirts at Kalapuya books in Cottage Grove. The bookstore and pub and bakery are all thriving and fantastic spots to visit. If you are passing by, stop in and say Hi. And if you are interested in seeing what my inventory looks like, shoot me an e-mail and we'll set up a time at my studio. Kalapuya Books, the Axe and Fiddle Pub and Eatery and the Backstage Bakery are all located on the southwest corner of 7th and Main St. downtown Cottage Grove, Oregon.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 204, 204);"><br /></span></div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-58174254916858559752009-02-25T09:21:00.000-08:002009-02-25T09:38:16.058-08:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Hey ya'll<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> New Stuff!</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I'm excited by my new ventures. I've started a line of recycled, re-incarnated, resurrected t-shirts. Hallehujah! I am cutting up older/barely used t- shirts and sewing them into fresh combinations. Add to this the fact that I over dye these weary shirts with my tried and true dyeing process and they become pretty exciting hipster born agains. So, I am welcoming any donations you may want to send my way. OR...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">If you are so inclined, bring your old t-shirts to my booth and they will have a trade in value of a buck a shirt.</span> (that's $1) With a limit of up to 15. That means you can get a new short sleeve shirt from me for half price. I'm looking for 100% cotton and in pretty good shape. It's time to reuse and reevaluate our resources and get soooo much more from our stuff. We can do it and have a great time! See ya outside in the fresh air and live music and bubbling froth of our magnificent festival/market scene.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">peace</span></div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-18129180221905975472008-11-22T22:10:00.000-08:002008-12-17T16:09:34.560-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/SSj0FsNfQSI/AAAAAAAAABI/Rmznzb4bfQA/s1600-h/IMG_0403a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M3PTwzEmob4/SSj0FsNfQSI/AAAAAAAAABI/Rmznzb4bfQA/s320/IMG_0403a.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271731742441423138" /></a>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8753254957392090496.post-5738509330249603062008-11-22T22:00:00.000-08:002009-06-23T10:02:50.622-07:00<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:small;">When I'm not hiding under a rock........</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:24px;">Festivals 2009</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">This is my wish list for shows. I don't know at this time if I will be at all of these events, but I'm intending it. Check back closer <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">June 6,7:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> Summer Arts, Benbow State Park in Humboldt Co. CA</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">June 20,21:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> Solstice Festival, Fremont, Seattle, WA</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">July 10-12: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Oregon Country Fair, Veneta (Greater Eugene), OR</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-weight: bold;"> booth # M68 on Wooten Way next to Chela Mela Meadow</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">September 19,20:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> North Country Fair, Arcata, CA</span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">September 26,27:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> Fall Festival, Corvallis, OR</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">October 3,4:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> Issaquah Salmon Festival, Issaquah (Greater Seattle), WA</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">December 21,22:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> Holiday Market, Eugene, OR</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">December 5,6:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> Humarts Holiday Festival, Eureka CA</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> Holiday Market, Eugene, OR</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">December 12,13:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> KPFA Community Festival, SanFrancisco, CA</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> Holiday Market, Eugene OR<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">December 19,20:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> Holiday Market, Eugene, OR</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">December 22,23,24:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> Holiday Market, Eugene, OR</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Whew!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204); font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>Hartwarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435743717848298806noreply@blogger.com0