GIFTS

 

Before the Christmas holidays, my sister and I spent much of the time making decorations for our family's home. We cut out snowflakes to decorate the front windows. We sprayed sycamore seedpods with gold and folded paper into intricate balls to hang on the tree.

I still feel the nudge each winter holiday season to make decorations. In the past, I've created holiday cards using bits of wrapping paper and card stock to make simple trees.

This year is a little different. I gave away most of our Christmas decorations which were perfect for a big family home but would not fit into our city apartment. When we sorted out our belongings at the moving company, we gave the decorations and other goods to one of the crew whose church helps provide for families in need. His offer to take our unneeded stuff was a gift to us.

We kept a small artificial tree that I decorated with ornaments that we received from students, family, and friends. The tree sat on our kitchen counter for many years and will be our Christmas tree from now on. Each ornament tells a story of someone's special connection with our family. It is packed with ornaments and has no room for another, so I've had to look for other ways to express my holiday creativity.

Inspired by a Suzie Beringer class using a circle as a design device, I've continued to make designs inside circles. Cutting paper into circles is always a challenge even with the help of circle cutters and punches. I discovered that Hahnemuhle, a German paper company, offers a box of circles made from their 140 lb cold press watercolor paper. The paper is contained within a round metal box with a lovely illustration on the top. The 5-inch paper is just the right size to fit inside a 5-inch by 7-inch envelope.

Once I decided to use the paper for holiday cards, I needed to find the center of the circles. I set aside one piece to be my guide for all of the other circles.

Here's an easy way to find the center of a circle:

I lightly drew three lines across the circle. Each line needed to be easily divisible by two so that I could find the middle of each line quickly. I marked the middle of each line. With a 90-degree triangle ruler, I drew a light line from the center of each line across the paper. The three lines intersect at the center of the paper.

Once I had the center, I could use a compass to draw light lines around the circle for lettering. I've decorated each card with a different design. The first was a simple one with just the leaves of a fir tree. I've continued to make more complicated ones, but now I'm ready to return to quick and simple.

Hahnemuhle watercolor paper in circles:   https://www.fineartstore.com/p-17047-hahnemuhle-expressions-watercolor-round-paper-tin-set.aspx

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On a rainy afternoon recently, we visited the Amy Sherald exhibit at San Francisco's MOMA and felt awed by the stunning portraits she has painted and the volume of work she has produced. Most of the paintings were hung at a lower level than normal so that the eyes of the people in the portraits look directly at the viewer. Staring at them, I felt like I was connected to their souls. Sherald's portrait of Michele Obama covered most of the wall in a separate room and towered over us.

The museum was filled with people wandering through this exhibit, around the sculptures by Kara E-Walker and the interactive rooms by Yayoi Kusama. We stopped for a treat at Steps Cafe before we boarded the T line to go home. Through the streetcar's windows, we watched as numerous Santas flocked the streets on their way to SantaCon at Union Square. Seeing so many people wandering downtown and through the museum was heartening. Another step in our city's renewal.

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"Know what you stand for and what you think is good." Carole Cadwalladr