Woodcarving

Every time I go home to Maryland, Dad takes me to his woodcarving workshop where he is busy creating relief carvings of many different themes. Lots of his woodblocks depict farm work, or animals, and some are nautical. His little "get a way" includes his bench, tools carefully hung in their place, an airplane model flying above his head, and a display of his current and past work. Even though I don't carve, I love to see and feel the wood, and it inspires me to do my own projects, whether it be weaving or drawing or spinning. Here are a few photos from "Grandpa's Shop".

Egyptian Tomb at MFA worth seeing

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has extended its Middle Egyptian exhibit until June 2010. In 1915 archaeologists uncovered a shaft leading to an amazing burial site from over 4,000 years ago along the eastern Nile. The exhibit displays rooms of carvings and implements buried for a provincial governor and his wife, to bring them safely to the afterlife.

One of my favorite carvings was of women weaving on a horizontal ground loom. The fiber was flax and the task was shared with one women who spun the fiber, and others who helped control the warp (lengthwise ) and woof (crosswise) threads. According to the exhibit, these techniques are still used by traditional weavers in the Middle East. For more about "Secrets of Tomb 10A" , go to: www.mfa.org

Pineland Farms Visit

February is a great time to visit Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, Maine. It is a perfect destination to see after a long winter. A little west of Portland, it is a 5,000 acre working farm which includes a Creamery with delicious cheeses, a market, restaurant, and horses and award winning cows. The Holsteins produce delicious milk and graze outside when its warmer and live in a spacious barn in winter. They make good animals to photograph and draw. I'll be ready to visit the farm soon. Curious about more? Go to: www.pinelandfarms.org