Spending the winter in sunny California (it's been 75 to 80 degrees much of the time) caretaking an orchard with animals has been good for slowing down, noticing small wonders. The wildlife is plenty here: deer and grey herons walk through the orchard, healthy ground squirrels pop in and out of their dens and the other morning I woke to nine peacocks in the garden (not wild, but pets from next door).
The other thing of beauty on the landscape is some crafty graffiti around the town, Here's an example outside of the Redbud Library:
More photos HERE on my Flickr.
There's a sweet new childrens book called Extra Yarn and some creative fans surprised visiting author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen at Copperfield's Books in Petaluma this week. Here's what they saw when they pulled up to the shop front...
Kenilworth Jr. High student Amber Ton:
A vintage VW Bug cozied up:
Kenilworth Jr. High art teacher Erinn VanderMeer with author Mac Barnett:
Photos BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat
There are several books available on the subject of crafty graffiti. Here are a few to get you started...
Extra/Ordinary: Craft and Contemporary Art, by Maria Elena Buszek
Craft Activism: People, Ideas and Projects..., by Joan Tapper and Gale Zucker (check out their blog)
Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti, by Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain (who also have a BLOG)
For more reading check out Betsy Greer's blog CRAFTIVISM, and for more inspiration search Google Images and Tumblr with the search term 'yarn bombing'.
Yarn Bomb in Paris; photo found on Tumblr by tofz4u
