National Tie One on Day

Here's something that I think is soooo cool and a great way to re-frame Thanksgiving. It's called National Tie One on Day and the idea is to wrap up a loaf of bread or other baked good in an apron, tucked with a note of encouragement or prayer, and present it to someone you know who is need of support of some kind of spiritual or physical uplift. As a lover of aprons, I stumbled upon EllynAnne Geisel when a friend sent me a link to her exhibition, The Apron Chronicles, since painting some of my husband's grandmother's aprons. National Tie One on Day was Geisel's response to her observation that the day before Thanksgiving, which traditionally was an occasion to celebrate family and prepare a bounty of food to give thanks, was becoming more linked with stress than joy.

I am going to make a point to pick someone to present something to, wrapped in an apron. I've gotten my husband involved and we decided this is something we will do every year with our son as a way to give back and teach him the joy of giving. Now we just need to think about what we're going to bake. Share this with your friends, participate in National Tie One on Day, and have a joyous Thanksgiving!

You can view my paintings which feature or incorporate aprons on my Facebook Page - www.facebook.com/traillworks.

3:30pm Coffee Fix

Saved at Three - Thirty, Mixed Media on Arches, 10 1/2" x 7 1/4", ©2009 Jennie Traill Schaeffer. $269 (unframed)

I completed this about two weeks ago, in a tizzy one day not certain what to work on and feeling very unfocused. Rather than work on commissions I felt it was important to channel my frustration into something for myself. I was about to make myself a pot of coffee and rather than throw away the used filter I decided to collage it onto a drawing of my wedding cake which had been sitting around the studio for a long time. Once I started gluing, the piece just evolved. After completing my painting, Homage to Julia, I have a need to collage. It incorporates watercolor, several coffee filters, and this gorgeous deep blue green paper with copper screen-printed circle motifs. Of course, the ever-present percolator is incorporated.

Bookmaking on 2nd Saturday, Newton

"Make a Book from a Grocery Bag?! Yes, it CAN be done... Amaze your friends, Mystify your family! Be the first one on your block to master the ancient art of bookmaking using the humble yet elegant grocery bag," says Sussex County's premier bookmaking artist, Renie Garlick.

Stop by TraillWorks on Newton's 2nd Saturday from 2 - 3pm to watch Renie give an engaging demo. While you're there, you can enter to win a copy of my first hand made book for sale. It's a collaboration with Renie; she constructed it and I designed it with her. The book features Japanese Hosho paper, Nepalese Lama Li Lokta paper and a giclée on Arches of my recent painting, Homage to Julia, a collage personifying Julia Child and her beloved mixers. Only 50 copies will be made and I will sign and number all of them.

Interior

Exterior

Measures 5” x 5” square, 160 pages, covered in printed acid-free Japanese Hosho paper
and lined with Nepalese-made and air-dried garnet Lama Li Lokta paper. Signed and numbered limited edition of 50 books.
$40, buy now on Etsy.

There's always so much to do on Spring Street on 2nd Saturday. So come by TraillWorks to savor your day and then linger awhile. Visit TraillWorks.com to download the press release listing more of what's going on throughout the day.