Received an Award

This week I was awarded a certificate from Artsonia. Artsonia is an online kid's art museum providing free, educational resources for kids, families and school. The award was for outstanding leadership in the area of Arts Education at Winn Art Room. The school's online art gallery - www.artsonia.com/schools/winn2 - ranks # 1 in Nevada, according to Artsonia. The award also recognized significant achievement in the area of technology intergration within the art program.

While teachers in more than 100 countries showcase their student artwork on Artsonia, Winn Art Room, in Winnemucca Nevada was ranked #1 out of the schools in all of Nevada. During the 2008-2009 school year, the Winn Art Room gallery showcased 3574 pieces of artwork. More than 51557 visits to the their page were recorded and had received 1041 comments from friends and family. And I keep saying that Artsonia is a great and effective way to get parents and families more involved it our art program, and the kids love it.

Also the family members purchased keepsakes imprinted with the child's artwork and Artsonia donated 15% of their annual sales back to Winn Art Room, this year we raised $213.16. (I used the money for art supplies in the art room.)

What a way to leave Nevada! I am very grateful to Winnemucca's Lowry High School for allowing me to upload pictures of thier art departments work along with my art room's work. By combining both together to showcase the commitment to the arts in such a small community and compete with the larger cities in the state.

After moving to Sierra Vista and opening an art program with the Huachuca Art Association, I again signed up with Artsonia to showcase my students here. We starting small and growing all the time. So far we have two classes and around 18 students. More on the new program another day.

"Nana Sews a Quilt" (my first little book)

Let me step back and show you a project that started small as a gift for my grand daughter, Rachel, age 10 (then) and lives far away from me in Virginia. I wanted to sew her a quilt remenisent of the one her mother had when she was a child. It was a pink, delicate quilt of Sun Bonnet Sue. Catrina loved that quilt and even though is was well worn and tattered, she wanted to preserve it. I took the tattered quilt and, to my best attempt, I repaired it. The idea of following the tradition of sewing a quilt for the new generation was germinated.

I wanted to sew a new version of the Sun Bonnet Sue. But when I went researching, I found a 'plethora' of information on this 100 year old quilt pattern. I ended up designing a small single sized quilt for Rachel that included a sleeping girl under a cover of 12 Sun Bonnet Sue blocks, each representing a different era of the pattern. Phew! This was getting to be a bigger project than the first idea plan.

With the help of quilting friends at the Winnemucca Quilters Group, I learned to cut, stitch, stuff and stitch some more. And the purist I am, I sewed it all by hand with just a tiny needle and lots of bandaides for punctured fingers. After I finished it and was ready to pack it off to Rachel, I decided to write a little book with all the information I had collected on the history of the Sun Bonnet Sue pattern as well as what it took to create and construct Rachel's quilt. The result was a colorful little book published on Lulu.com where you can go to purchase the book. Have a look.

Nana Sews A Quilt by Sherry Harig

2010 Came Anyway - Ready or Not

Since I posted my first on the blog and was getting things 'on the cyber road', life threw a curve ball for us in Nevada. We have to uproot again, can't stay here with no place in the state for my husband to work.
Through the expanded world of the Internet, we found we could go pretty much anywhere in the world for work but it always comes down to uprooting a home and household. So off he went to Arizona to test a position there and I was charged with the assignment of finishing the remodeling projects on the house, packing and storing our possessions, and selling the property.
It took me 6 months! I learned I can do all sorts of construction projects on my own, using tools smoothly and successfully tackling DIY projects. Who knew I would be so adept in the area of construction. When done, I deemed myself a "DIY Diva" (crown included). The house sold in 15 days.
Life started in Arizona with a three month time of transition until we were settled on 5 acre piece of desert and home that need MORE CONSTRUCTION! Well I was ready with my new DIY crown and all the experience I had acquired . Of course the progress is slow when we do it ourselves but we are happy when we finish each stage. Making a new life in a new place is hard work but after 43 years of new beginnings, we are getting the hang of doing it with a sense of ease.