Friday, April 9, 2010

Good Times, Good Food, Good Art!

seated from left: me, Sammi, Lorraine, Pam, Sara, Tina, Jen, Susan & Jay

"Those who hear not the music think the dancers mad." ~ Anonymous

The gals of TAGG met again last night for our April dinner meeting. We tried a new place this time,; Soffritto Italian Grill in Newark, Delaware. It was charming, very accommodating and the food was good.

There were seven of the usual suspects there and we were delighted that two guests joined us. Sara Jo Renzulli is a painter and fabric artist. Tina Skinner a fabric artist and the new director of the Oxford Arts Alliance in Oxford, Pennsylvania. 

We started "show & tell" before dinner; which was a good thing because there were some items that would not have been enhanced by marinara sauce. Our guest, Sara, led off with one of her needle felted critters; this absolutely adorable rabbit that you see here. 

It's made from various wools, including angora, and its flexible frame allows it to be repositioned. We just fell in love with this little guy. He's so soft and fluffy and is available through Sara's Etsy Shop.

Sammi, a sculptor by training, is a busy mom of two girls and has made the switch to fiber arts while the girls are still little. She shared with us a cute little sundress which she made for her daughter and a fetching crocheted vest which she made for herself complete with a corsage made from sari yarns.


And speaking of corsage's, Tina showed us the corsage she was wearing that she made from recycled fabrics. Tina, I discovered, is also the author of the Geisha Fan Book, which is available through Amazon.



Lorraine was busy with more gourds. This time she painted and etched teeny tiny little gourds. As some of the artists present thought of ways to re-purpose these gems a number of them were purchased right at the table. 
Lorraine plans to sell these at next month's artist studio tour in Cecil County. Meanwhile, other of her gourds can be purchased through Meadowbrooke Gourds.

Pam, who I can only describe as a Renaissance Woman, was telling us her idea for designing souvenir bandannas for a local state park. Pam is a cartographer by training and profession and can often find ways to incorporate maps into her artwork. Her inspiration for this project is this  bandanna depicting the Everglades and she's holding up to it a map of the local park which she plans to interpret into an artistic bandanna design. 

I should note that the felted bead necklace that Pam is wearing is also one of her creations. 


 To see more of Pam's other talents you can visit her Website.  


And Susan showed us her latest ceramic works. The first is a beautiful wall hanging. 


The second is a comical figure she calls "Kimono Cat." Check out his pigtail!

Amazingly we did manage to eat our dinner and some of these items were still being passed around the table as we ate along with certain dishes of food that were being shared. Toward the end of the dinner the rabbit made another appearance. He started making the rounds at the opposite end of the table from me and as he was passed from gal to gal, I noticed that each person was sniffing deeply at his fur and then there was much giggling and commenting. As the rabbit headed my way I had to ask why we were sniffing it. The reply was that it smelled good. By the time that critter made its way to me the giggling was even louder as each woman felt a little self conscious about sniffing a stuffed rabbit in public. I have to admit that it smelled very good. To me it smelled like freshly washed hair; very fresh and softly fragrant. 


Just then Susan started laughing uncontrollably as she noticed that there were people from other tables staring and laughing at us and then we all lost it as we wondered if these other people thought we were getting "high" from sniffing the bunny. That's when Sammi leaned over and murmered to me "Those who hear not the music think the dancers mad." So appropriate!


So for next month we've decided to meet in private at Pam's home for potluck dinner! ;-D

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

OMG, you are right on with your description of the evening. It is always a pleasure to have new guests willing to share their art and I hope they were not frightened away by the boughts of hysterics. We are a serious art group-Really!

Susan the suntanned snow hater

Anonymous said...

You have a great, welcoming group of instant girlfriends, and only creative people would collectively sniff bunnies. Thanks for the invite -- I won't miss another opportunity to join! Tina

Lisa Daria said...

what a great group of diverse talents - and a good reason to get together for dinner!

Diane Hoeptner said...

The felt bunny is to die for adorable!