Dough in Shadow

I grew up the daughter of one of the original craft chicks.  Despite moving from Philadelphia to Los Angeles after WWII to seek something new my mom brought with her a love of handwork and innate color sense.  She and my dad built their family in Silverlake amidst a flowering of Bohemian mid-century craft.  There were local potteries, artists, musicians everywhere. And when I came along I naturally became her crafting partner.  I remember sitting on the beach in Carpenteria at the age of ten learning crewel embroidery and wondering why she didn’t seem to mind the sand and salty sweat getting on our fabrics and thread.  Knitting and macrame were to follow.  We made our own lampshades by weaving wool around found frames and beautiful sensual curtains from huge wooden beads (I wish I had those now).  She owned a needlepoint store for twenty years where I got to stare at colors for hours at a time and see her create stunning combinations for clients.  Which is all to say that early on I knew the value of sitting quietly and watching in order to learn.

Now I get to teach and although the nature of what I do is noisier and more aromatic, that quiet sense of calm and accomplishment still accompanies the transmission of knowledge whether you’re the receiver or the giver.  I was lucky to be able to work with Craftsy.  Their meticulous and thorough production of instructional video craft content is the apex of the form.  Thousands of folks from all over the world have taken my class on Perfecting the Pie Crust.  I wake up every morning and click on my instructor page eager to see who is asking me a question and where they’re from.  If you love craft and learning check out Craftsy.  From cooking, cake decorating and bread making to quilting, photography, jewelry making it’s all there.  Right now it’s National Craft Month and all classes are up to 50% off.  It’s a good time to explore.  Here’s your discount link.