Creative Life Sampler

Just wanted to add to my collection of art and design photographed "in the wild." Sometimes you just want to collect ideas from new spaces that can be squirreled away for inspiration later, you know? Here are two utility boxes that I ran across on the streets of Pasedena. This is a very popular form of street art now and the personality of a city, or a section of a city, is frequently reflected in the way their utility boxes have been adorned. Seems Pasedena tends toward graphic design, . . . at least on this street.  (Check out the Label "Blank Canvas" in the side bar to the left for see more examples of creativity I've documented from trips and excursions through the years.) The facades of buildings offer intriguing textures and design elements: Even the grating around the base of trees can be interesting: K eep your eyes open! You never know what inspiration you might find on your stroll down an unfamiliar street.  😉

The second group of quilts I want to highlight from the Community Stitches: Quilt Designs & Stories exhibit at the Pasedena Museum of History  were collaborative efforts and made with a specific purpose in mind. The first example is a rather large horizontal piece measuring in at 78" h x 138"w. It was created in 2022 by a group of creative employees to welcome the first female director of the Jet Propulsion Lab, Dr. Laurie Leshin. At first glance it is a collection of space themed squares that invites the viewer to take a closer look at each block. It is not until the viewer takes several steps back that the red letters "JPL" begin to assert themselves.  This quilt reflects the innovative, "out side of the box" thinking one would expect from people who work at JPL. The detail photos below show traditionally pieced or appliqu é d squares along side three dimensional blocks and blocks that feature an element in crochet, knit, needlepoint and more.   In 2...

The Pasedena Museum of History is featuring a quilt show, Community Stitches: Quilt Designs & Stories, now through September. This is a relatively small collection of quilts displayed in two rooms. But the show contains several lovely examples of techniques and trends from an historic perspective. I thought I'd share some of my favorites.  First there were several crazy quilts on display. This was a quilting trend that was very popular in the late 1800's, the height of the Victorian era. The crazy quilt phenomenon feels like the precursor to the very popular "improv" trend in modern quilting right now, with its random shapes and unstructured design. Once again it is fascinating to see "variations on a theme" displayed in the same show. Though we may not always be able to identify the creators of these crazy quilts, their individualities can't help but emerge in their work. The random shapes in each of the blocks of my first example are obviously p...

© Lauren Klementz-Harte Most everybody has heard that the colors in California this spring have been spectacular due to a really great rainy winter. It's hard to keep your eyes on the road when you travel down the highway. There have even been reports that large swaths of color can be seen from space! It's awesome.  Nature has produced a wonderfully inspiring color palette for future projects. So, I just want to share the joy of spring, with much gratitude for this beautiful state.