Life's a Beach

I had the opportunity to spend several quality days with my dear friend Boni who has a place in Avila Beach which is on the central coast of California and about a four hour drive from my house in Long Beach.  Although Boni is considerably younger than I am, we have so much in common and have been friends for years.  We met through our husband/partners, both pilots who hangered their planes at the Bakersfield airport.  Over the last 20 years, we have taken many flying trips together including several to San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja, Mexico to see the grey whales up close and even touch and kiss them (see pics at the bottom). Boni and I have developed a close and enduring friendship, she is a real gem.

What can be better than a girl's get together experiencing all of the senses.  We started our day with either mat pilates or yoga and then road e-bikes to hiking trails and paths over looking the ocean, soaked nude in a hot tub, had a fantastic facial, went wine tasting, to galleries and shops, played trivia at the local bar (the MC was amazed that I knew of the bar in Homer, Alaska that has dollar bills hanging from the ceiling), had some outrageous cocktails and meals, talked our heads off, sang and danced and enjoyed our time together even some quiet time reading out on the deck.

And of course we both wore some of my felted wares.

The bubble cocktail at the Oyster Loft in Pismo Beach was amazing.  Only sorry I didn't get a photo of the smoke emitting from it once the bubble bursted.

I reminisce of the days when we flew to Mexico for whale watching at San Ignacio Lagoon.  So glad I had the opportunity to do this countless times.

So many social media platforms have become mainstream since I started blogging in 2012.  For me, it's been a lot easier to post my felted creations on Instagram and Facebook than to keep up this old blog.  Nonetheless I wanted to update you on what I've been up to which is pretty much same ol', same ol' - mah jongg, book club, travel, being a foodie and a drinky (is that word), bike riding, pilates, yoga, walking, playing with my dogs which means 18 year old Olivier and my new darling puppy Darwin and if goes without saying, lots and lots of felting.  My poor boy Kiza, my gorgeous Weimaraner, had an inoperable huge tumor and I had to put him down.  I loved him so much and will always remember his beauty and the heavenly smell of his ears which I hope I can experience again in my lifetime.

Last year I got into drinking Bourbon and have become quite the mixologist creating and trying to modernize an Old Fashioned.  I have been adding different spirts to the Bourbon, like coffee amaro and mandarin Napolian liquor as well as special bitters like mole and habanero. And of course, I use the best cherries possible like Luxardo from Italy.

Here are some recent pics of some of my felted creations including caps for men as modeled by my partner Joe as well as my brother Alan and Joe's nephew Ben.  Ben's wife Cassidy is modeling a scarf and my SIL is wearing a beautiful shawl.  I am donning all of the other pieces.  

 

Felting in Boulder, Colorado

Felting with Beth Marx in Boulder, Colorado - May 2023 from Beth Marx on Vimeo.

I just got back from a week in Boulder, Colorado where I taught 3 workshops and presented to the Boulder Hand Weaver's Guild - My Felting Journey - Creativity, Community and Connections.  This was such a rewarding experience, so filled with joy, learning, friendship and of course more creativity, community and connections to add to my felting journey.  

Click on the link above to get a sense of the creativity, community and connections we made together.

For the week, I stayed at Cathy Bickell's sheep farm and it was just an incredible experience.  

A day old lamb was abandoned by its mom and Cathy took it in to bottle feed.  Cathy will try to get the mom to reunite with the baby and if not, it will become a bottle feeder.

FELTED GARMENT WORKSHOP - PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, JAN 2023

 Start off 2023 creatively with an in-person workshop just for you.  Picture yourself in the warm California desert in the middle of winter, felting all day followed by an al fresco dinner at one of the many restaurants that line gorgeous El Paseo Drive. Maybe some shopping, maybe the hot tub, definitely a relaxing slumber.  Yep, it sounds like bliss, because it is!

Three-Day Workshop, Jan. 27 - 29, 2023 - $580

CREATE, Center for the Arts, Palm Desert, California

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Take your felting to the next level with this extensive three-day workshop with me. If you've ever wanted to learn to make seamless felted garments using a resist, make your own patterns, and de-mystify shrinkage calculations then this workshop is for you. You will learn how to make a pattern/resist from one of your own existing garments and to easily size it up to account for shrinkage using Beth’s Easy Peasy Shrinkage Calculation sheet. Beth's method for pattern making doesn't involve taking body measurements or using complicated math - you won’t even need to use a calculator! Make a vest or a pull over top/tunic/poncho, your choice.

You will learn how to sandwich wool roving between layers of sheer silk fabric and embellish the garment as suits your taste and style. Beth will teach you how to create seamless edges, professionally finish the open areas like the armholes and hemline, and how to shape and size your garment to fit properly and flatteringly. Once you finish your garment, Beth will style you and take photos of you modeling your beautiful and unique felted garment.

Some prior felting experience is necessary. But even if you have only made scarves in the past, this workshop is for you.

Students will need to bring their own materials and supplies.

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Best Western Plus, Palm Desert offers special rates to students from CREATE.  Call them directly at 760 340-4441 and speak to someone in the sales department and let them know you have signed up with CREATE.  

Shetland Island Felting Retreat with Fiona Duthie and Fellow Felters - Sept 2022

I was all ready to go to Shetland in May 2020 and in late March 2020 we still thought it would happen.  Of course it was postponed due to the Covid pandemic and later rescheduled for September 2020.  That date came and went as did the next reschedule in September 2021.  At that point it looked like it was never going to happen and I was so disappointed.  But in early summer of 2022, Fiona Duthie was able to pull it off and rescheduled it for just a few months later, September 2022.  Although many of the felters in the original group could unfortunately not commit given the short window, I decided I was without a doubt going to go.  And my original roommate Pam also committed to go.  We decided to not only be housemates in Shetland but to spend a few days in Glasgow, Scotland before the workshop and then extend the trip afterwards to visit Edinburgh and the Scottish highlands.

Pam and I arrived at the Shetland Samburgh airport via LoganAir from Glasgow on 8/31/22 and we were met by Fiona and Graham who drove us about 45 minutes to to our Air B&B in Lerwig which turns out was the former home of Fiona's grandmother.  Fiona showed us a photo of her as in infant in her grandmother lap in that said home.  Our classroom was in Lerwig, which is the largest town in Shetland with a population of 7,500, about half of the population of the whole island.

The first full day we spent taking a chartered bus to various places on the island to get familiar with this magical, textile rich place.  We visited the super cool shop called Nielanell owned by Niela, a contemporary knitwear designer. We later learned about Fair Isle knitting from Elizabeth.  We visited the Shetland Textile Museum and later to an organic sheep farm where our host Ronnie Eunson talked to us about native Shetland Sheep.  We were able to get our hands into the fleeces that we would be using in our felting projects.  The landscape is gorgeous with stone walls, green as far as the eye can see, the gray North Sea, the winter, the smokey peet fires,  super friendly people, so many sheep, darling Shetland ponies, the delicious fresh seafood.  I took it all in and it would be the inspiration for the felted piece I would create in the 2 ½ days in the classroom.

Over the next several days (total of a week in Shetland), we visited many other sites including the Croft House Museum on the coast of Boddam; Jarlshof, the best known prehistoric archeological site in Shetland; the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse with its incredible views, St. Ninian's Isle, a large tombolo (a natural sand causeway with sea on either side) on the west coast of Shetland, linking the South Mainland with the Isle;  Eshaness, the western tip of the main island (called Mainland) which has some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in Shetland and is in the opening credits of the Shetland series where Jimmy Perez is looking out.  

Shetland is truly remarkable and I am so glad to have this opportunity to not only felt with Fiona Duthie and the other amazing women but to have my senses piqued which is something we have missed these past few Zoom years. The scent of the peat fire in the Croft house was glorious.

My 3D felted piece was inspired by the undulating landscape, the peat bogs, the stone walls, the North Sea and of course the textiles. I incorporated the textiles of Shetland in my project which included fair isle knitting, tweed, lace, twine and Shetland wool in the form of fleece, roving and yarn. It also includes kozo paper and found objects from my walk on St. Ninian’s Isle including small stones and hard seaweed, the large piece of seaweed is reminisce of a Viking ship. How to get it home I had to flatten it and later reshape it and tack down the seaweed with Shetland yarn and rusty wire which was also an inspiration.

Shetland is truly remarkable and I am so glad to have this opportunity to not only felt with Fiona Duthie and the other amazing women but to have my senses piqued which is something we have missed these past few Zoom years. The scent of the peet fires and the incredible winds will stay in my bones forever.

Once home, I finished my Shetland felted project by shrinking it a bit more, forming it to my liking and attaching the seaweed that I found at the beach at St. Ninian's Isle with steel wire that should rust over time. It will grace my front door and be a constant reminder of my amazing experience in Shetland.