Craft Show at DCCA

I think that sale I made 2 weeks ago went to my head. Last week I signed up to do the Craft Show at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts on the evening of Dec. 4th. That gave me 10 days to make product which is now 5 days, yikes. Yes I'm counting Friday, I might even be hand finishing things at my table that night. Nothing like a deadline to get yourself moving. On Wed. I took one of my purse panels cut it in half and made my first wristlet.

Here's my second one, 4 to go.

Putting in zippers isn't exactly fun but I'm crossing my fingers they'll go smoothly because I don't have a lot of time for mistakes. I'm also hoping to whip up a few more bracelets.

In the midst of this craft explosion(and I do mean explosion, you should see my house) we took a family trip to check out Eastern State Petitionary in Philadelphia. This prison was built in 1829 based on the idea that solitary confinement and labor would lead criminals to become pentinent. Each prisoner had a private cell with plumbing and heat and a private exercise yard. After 147 years of consecutive use it was abandoned and left to decay in 1971.

The minute I walked in the door I was snapping pictures. If you live close by you really should go. If you do, make sure you take your allergy meds and be ready for the funkalicious smells. The property has been left to deteriorate naturally and that's what makes it so cool. The history of how and why it was built is fascinating but I was in love with the textures and the crumbling layers of days gone by. How is it that disgusting, disintegrating plaster walls, wooden doors and metal structures can be so beautiful, or at least to me. On top of all that they have invited artists to create installations to compliment the wonder of this place. The installations fit in beautifully and are shown in some of my photos.

Matthew and Jonathan Stemlar : Juxtaposition

Judith Taylor : My Glass House

Linda Brenner : Ghost Cats