March came in like a lamb...and happy birthday Dr. Seuss...

Yesterday was a wonderful day when I went up to Medina near Cleveland to visit in Hallow's paper Outlet. I had a wonderful time ..and found some incredible handmade papers and card stock for $1.25 a pound...Yes I said a pound. I also found card selections for 10 for 95 cents with envelops. I bought several scrap packages with interesting papers to create a collage to donate to The Midland Theater's Ovation auction on May 4TH this year. I know I have a very big job to do for my beloved Dawes Arboretum so I wanted some elegant papers to weave and create a collage to celebrate the last 10 years since the reopening of their doors. I think I may have an idea already but as you know process takes time to cook on the back burner. I found glassine envelops to create ten small secrets about the theater...we shall see what develops.

I went in today to my downtown location...having two spaces is going to take some getting used to...organization is going to be my focus. I have organized the baskets of specialized brushed, the small and large stencils, the sponges and sponge rollers to add design elements plus the oil pastels etc to make drawing marks. I have two large boxes of screen printing supplies, Seta Colours for painting, Procion fiber reactive dyes and soda ash and urea and all the mixing tools. I have collected 12 five gallon buckets and layers of plastic to cover the tables and print making spaces. Can you tell I am excited.???

Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss!!! I ordered a new book of the Lorax to move with me into the Dawes studio space. I am thrilled this idea and creation is coming to fruition almost two years from the idea I had in a dream and last year on Arbor Day I was volunteering at Dawes with the children making leaf prints and rubbings to follow through with the proper identification of trees and their leaves.

We have had some terrible weather forecasts and thunderstorms ...my families in Kentucky and Tennessee are safe and sound from this progression of tornadoes that have moved across the Mid-west today. I am so grateful that our temperatures stayed cool so we did not have the heat to encourage the strong tornadoes forming here. I have a busy day planned tomorrow so I need to get to bed. Have a great weekend in your studios and get out a beloved Dr. Seuss book just for the heart memories. Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

p.s. We all rewarded ourselves at a wonderful Italian deli and bakery for lunch when we finished our paper chase! And when we got home Rosie and Roxie player a rousing game of hide and seek around the living room. In the end of this playtime...Roxie as exhausted and Rosie went off to get on the big bed in our room.