An Interview with CLAUDIA CHASE: Designer & Founder of the Mirrix Loom

Weaving is an ancient craft that may be traced to the Paleolithic era. The basic technique is to intersect yarn or threads that are at right angles to produce cloth. A loom is usually an important component of this process because it provides the support and tension to facilitate weaving. There is an enormous range of resulting fabric possibilities which depend on the loom, the threads/yarn used and of course the vision of the weaver.

Although there are many types of looms for handweaving such as the classic multi harness looms, backstrap looms, inkle looms, etc., until the Mirrix was born, they were all traditionally made of wood. This new loom was designed like a gleaming spaceship to be strong, portable and to accommodate both the tapestry weaver and the bead weaver. It’s a revolutionary product and its designer and founder, Claudia Chase, 57,  talks about how Mirrix became a creative success.

AN INTERVIEW WITH CLAUDIA CHASE

You designed the Mirrix loom from the vantage point of a weaver-on-the-go. How did that happen?

As I became more and more involved with tapestry weaving, I purchased two rather huge floor looms. And although they worked quite well (but were very difficult to set up, often taking more than an entire day) they were firmly planted in my studio. I wanted a small loom that I could take places the way one can take one's knitting or crochet anywhere. But the only extant small looms at the time just did not do the job well. They felt more like toys and the resulting weaving always disappointed me. So I talked to a friend who is good with his hands. He took my ideas and the stash of metal he had in his garage and after a few weeks of back and forth and new ideas and changes, the Mirrix prototype was born. It was made of fire truck trim and copper plumbing pipes and it was beautiful.

Can you describe the difference(s) of your first prototype of the Mirrix loom to the ones now on the market?

The Mirrix prototype is not that much different from the Mirrix Loom we now sell. The main difference is that we have refined the details so although the current Mirrix Loom looks very similar to the prototype, the details are greatly enhanced and improved. For example, the prototype handle was bent by hand, dipped in plastic and cooked in a regular oven. Now we order hundreds of handles at a time and have them professionally plastic coated. The brass pins in the shedding device that hold the rods are laser cut to exacting precision whereas the first ones were little metal loops.

Do you manufacture the looms locally?

Mirrix Looms are not only made entirely in the US, but are milled and assembled at Sunshine House, which employs mentally and mentally/physically handicapped adults. Commitment to perfection is obvious the moment you open up a Mirrix box. Our employees deeply care about creating a quality product and they infuse each Mirrix Loom with their amazing work ethic. We at Mirrix feel blessed to be a part of such a wonderful operation.

 How did you select the name” Mirrix”?

I made it up. I think I based it on an Italian verb that means to mirror and then made catchy by adding the "is" noting that a lot people don't ask for a tissue; they ask for a kleenex. The same goes for Mirrix. People seldom say "I am weaving on my loom." Rather they say: "I am weaving on my Mirrix!"

At some point along your life’s journey while you were developing the Mirrix company, you also served three terms as a State Representative in the New Hampshire House. What was the trigger for this initiative?

My daughter discovered that a mother and her daughter had served in the New Hampshire House and she suggested we should do the same. But since she was in college, I thought it might interfere with her studies so instead I ran for office and she ran my campaign. Elena exhibited her grasp of marketing at that point. No red, white and blue for us. Our color scheme was magenta. You could see our signs lining Main Street from miles away. Our bumper stickers were home printed on holographic paper. And our t-shirts were works of art we hand painted. Apparently, we got noticed because I was the first Democrat to win this seat since the Civil war and the first female Democrat to ever win it.

Are you still actively involved in politics?

Six years was enough. During that time Mirrix took a back seat and sales declined. Once Elena came on board as our Marketing Director I once again made Mirrix my single focus. So although I still follow what is going on in politics and always have a very strong opinion, I no longer feel compelled to physically get involved.

Your daughter works in your business also. What separate roles do you have?

My job is to run Mirrix in a general sense which means dealing with the books, answering phones (although I do have phone phobia and it's a lot better to first try to reach either Elena or me via email), processing orders, ordering inventory, paying bills . . . . business stuff which at times I enjoy and at times I hate. My job is also to design new products both hardware (looms and loom accessories) and software (the bead and fiber kits). Additionally, I do a portion of the customer service. Elena is our Marketing Director in every sense of the word. She has swooped us into the modern age. Our online marketing can only be described as cutting edge and ever evolving. Elena is also working on her masters in the field on online marketing, so we have the best there is in that department. She is also the web guru (a job she did part time for many years before joining Mirrix full time). Her other jobs spill into other areas as well. She has been known to design new kits, deal with lots of customers and generally do whatever it takes whenever needed to make sure Mirrix runs smoothly. And since we can pretty much read each others' minds most of the time, our working (and personal) relationship is rather seamless.

What struggles have you had as a business owner of a new craft product?

It's been a long and interesting journey. Convincing established yarn stores to carry the Mirrix loom was actually quite easy. Convincing Bead stores was another story altogether. They just couldn't see why a bead loom would cost more than $20. Whereas the yarn stores, who are used to dealing really expensive equipment, saw the Mirrix as one of their really affordable looms. Marketing to the world at large has been a fascinating work in progress but has never been so fun or so successful until Elena joined us full time.

What is your vision for Mirrix Tapestry& Bead Looms,Ltd.?

To continue in the direction we have been going in since Elena joined us full time. One of our first slogans was: A loom in every lap. That's not a bad goal. We really want to spread the word about the joy of weaving and the fact that on the Mirrix loom you can weave just about anything. We also want to continue to have fun running Mirrix. We will be doing more classes (in person and online), some television shows, etc. in the future. Elena keeps saying "what if?" and then she makes us do it!

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Embracing Gratitude and Creating Happiness

Want to be healthier? Learn how to be happy.

Want to be happy? Learn how to be grateful.

Happiness is free and possible for everyone to lure it, capture it, treasure it, and revel in it. Sought after by rich and poor, young and old, healthy and infirm, happiness is an intoxicating experience because it allows us to see the world around us through a positive lens. It is a combat tool for depression and coping with every day struggles in life. We feel more in control and will likely assume more responsibility when our mood is elevated. “Instead of narrowing our actions down to fight or flight as negative emotions do, positive ones broaden the amount of possibilities we process” says Shawn Anchor in his book The Happiness Advantage “making us more thoughtful, creative and open to new ideas.”

Gratitude is a sure fire path to happiness. Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want, says that gratitude is “many things to many people” and is “a kind of meta-strategy for achieving happiness.” It is an acknowledgement, an affirmation of our self in relation to other people and situations. Even Oprah talks about the ways she manages to sustain gratitude in her life. She understands its importance is beyond material things: “You radiate and generate more goodness for yourself when you're aware of all you have and not focusing on your have-nots.” Inspired by Sarah Ban Breathnach’s book Simple Abundance, Oprah kept a daily gratitude journal where she wrote 5 things she was grateful for each day. Sarah calls them “heart reflections” and encourages attention to the small details in your life. It could be as simple as recognizing the beauty of a leaf, a stranger holding the door for you, the taste of a delicious dessert, having a good night sleep. It transforms your psyche and builds a positive inner mode of expression.  Sometimes gratitude is also a response to a negative event that has not fully impacted you. For example if you tripped and fell, you can be grateful that you did not break any bones, if you passed a test you can be grateful that you did not fail it, if you chose a lackluster recipe to make for entertaining friends, you can be grateful that you planned other tasteful dishes for the gathering.

Many people who have faced crisis turn to gratitude to change their lives in a new direction. Dana Jennings writes about his recovery from prostate cancer: “Living in the shadow of cancer has granted me a kind of high-definition gratitude. I’ve found that when you’re grateful, the world turns from funereal gray to incandescent Technicolor.” In fact gratitude is important in alleviating stress and depression because it builds emotional and physical wellness.

Dr. Robert Emmons author of the book "Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier” and one of the founders of Positive Psychology,  has been studying gratitude for more than a decade. He conducted the first major scientific study on gratitude to show how it can significantly change people’s lives. He demonstrated that people who consistently practice grateful thinking experience the rewards emotionally, physically and interpersonally. It impacts our psyche.  In the Journal of Gerontology, researchers studying memory in elderly individuals found that those who read a cheerful newspaper article about aging and memory did much better than the subjects who read a pessimistic article.

So the results are clear. Spending your energy practicing gratitude will lead to a rise in happiness that will generate a cascade of benefits; quite simply a better life. 

As Alice Herz Sommer, the 109-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor, says “I know about the bad but I look at the good.”

 

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
John F. Kennedy

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. Cicero

 

An Interview with MITCH LYONS: Artist, Founder of Clay Printing

                                                photograph by Carson Zullinger

Mitch is a very talented artist and also a pioneer.  He developed a unique technique of creating two dimensional art using clay called Clay Printing  As the inventor and a clay aficionado, he has mastered the elements of this process while, at 74 years old, he continues to explore more and more of its potential.

When did you first start working in clay? Where was it? What type of art were you making prior to working with clay?

My artistic career started while I was a student at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia [previously called Philadelphia College of Art]. While I was a printmaking major. sometime in my Junior year, I wandered down to the basement where I witnessed magic. For the first time in my life I saw someone throwing on the potters’ wheel, and as they say "it was love at first sight". I knew then and there that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Can you describe the clay printing technique/process?

Printing with colored clay is a printing process that uses a slab of wet clay as the matrix, and china clay slip with organic pigments as the "ink". The slip is applied to the wet slab using a variety of techniques, i.e., slip trailing, stenciling, stamping, etc. to develop the design. A wooden rolling pin "the press" is rolled over a dampen paper that pulls a thin layer of colored clay from the matrix. Many mono prints can be pulled from the same slab without re-charging the slab.

 

How did you transition from classic 3D ceramics to 2D clay printing?

For me, and this has been true my whole artistic career, making clayprints and clay pots are the same. I never felt that I transitioned from 2D to 3D. All the techniques that I have developed over the last 45 years are the same for either. If push came to shove I will say that I am a potter making prints.

What was the evolution of your clay printing techniques over the years?

When I first started making clay prints in 1968, I was more structured in my thinking. First I thought that I needed an absorbent surface like paper to apply to the wet clay slab. For 12 years I experimented with paper [1968 to 1980] with some success. My images where also very structured and more conservative, less abstract. Around 1979 I found myself in a fabric store and noticed a roll of Pellon hanging from the ceiling. I inquired about it and was told that it was non- absorbent and figured it would not work for me. But I purchased a yard of it and went home and immediately stuck it in my print drawer and forgot about it. Probably about 6 months later I pulled it out and tried it. It worked, and worked much better then I imagined. What was going on here? This experience was a pivotal change in my direction to develop clay printing. While researching this change I discovered that Pellon, used for the clothing industry, has a slight static charge built into the fabric. This charge helps "pull" clay from the slab because clay also has a charge. One has a negative charge and one has a positive. All of this change slowly permeated my way of thinking more about the process than the product. This helped me get out of my comfort zone and try working "without a net". Many new ideas and changes occurred during this time, i.e., using pastels, transfers slips from paper, mark making using tools and textures.

You use special paper for printing. Can you describe the properties that make it important?

After I discovered the benefits of Pellon then I went to the internet to find out more about the static charge. This led me to the Non-Woven industry, which is not used for clothing, but for filtering,i.e., air conditioning, water, vacuum bags, coffee fitter, and in 1985 Swiffer. The materials that I have been using is called Reemay. It is primarily used for air conditioning and water filtering.

You teach this techniques in workshops all over the country and abroad. What is the response to your workshops?

For about 30 years I have been teaching ClayPrinting all over the world. I have taught approximately 300 workshops since 1983 and probably over 2000 students. In addition I have sold about 2000 of my DVD's: The Art of ClayPrinting with Mitch Lyons. On the internet, the search for Clay Monoprints, finds about 2 dozen sites that show past student's work. Although there are not many clayprinters out there, I always get positive results from students who take my workshop. Clayprinting is still new to the art community. The word is spreading but very slowly. I think the response is great, but would like it to be    far greater.

As an artist, do you have an upcoming exhibition; are you in collections?

Currently I have an exhibition in The Old Jewish Art Center in Philadelphia which ends this November. Another exhibition is in Brad Smith's studio right after Thanksgiving, and for the first two weekends in December I will have my annual OPEN STUDIO, which will celebrate our 27th year.

My work can be found in many personal collections as well as some major museums. Brooklyn Museum of Art, Delaware Art Museum, Noyse Museum and also in university collections: University of Delaware, Bradley University, American University, and others.

What new techniques are you working with and what is your vision for clayprinting going forward?

Recently I have been experimenting with the computer to add digital images to my clay prints. I have also begun to print on various grades of sandpaper and play with the idea of using decals to the clay print. After over 40 years of printing with clay I am still very excited about the technique. I must say that I am blessed that I not only found a wonderful way of working but it also perfectly fits my personality. Not sure where this will take me but I am getting out of the way so it will.

 

BASIC CRAFT TECHNIQUES: FROM ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY

It started in a simple way. We were small and eager to learn how to make things. Basic craft skills that we were taught: gluing, knotting and wrapping produced amazing results to our young eyes and so easy to do. Yet as older adults, those once amazing techniques now may seem more banal, dull and elementary.

However for those with physical or cognitive issues, these basic craft techniques remain powerful ways to explore creativity. Although these people are often guided in projects that have minimal challenge yielding results that are also minimally interesting; this can be changed in ways that do not add complexity but does enhance results.

The first example of gluing which, by itself, is taken for granted because it is used so frequently. And then there is the magic of decoupage. Its origin is from Siberia with a 12^th century migration to China, and has been used in a wide variety of products. Starting with papers that could be found in the home (magazine pages, wrapping paper, and pictures) and Mod Podge glue, this is an inexpensive and easy craft that thrives on imagination.  Papers are placed single layer or multi layered on a porous surface (eg. wood, cardboard, canvas) to attractively decorate anything from a greeting card to a chest of drawers. With encouragement, curiosity and a flexible eye, these papers can produce unique patterns and color combinations that are hard to visualize in advance and so much more exciting to watch as it develops.

Knotting is a primitive technique and can be traced to 10,000 years ago.  Now we know the art of knotting as macramé and it also can be interpreted in the forms of knitting and crocheting.  There are opportunities to use basic knots to create simple projects that are exciting to develop.  For older adults with issues, a thicker element that is soft to the touch (eg. nylon) may be easier to work with than some fine hemp. One can also add beads and make a belt, bag or holder for a plant hanging.  In our everyday lives, we know that a men’s tie must be knotted to be worn and a hammock is a knotted fabrication for outdoor “seating”.  Artists have also used knotting in creative ways  for home items:  an artful chair designed by MarcelWanders is covered in epoxy resin for strength. Merrill Morrison works in a different way. She is an extraordinary fiber artist who works with small knots and says  "There is nothing like the tactile feel of the threads, as well as the rhythm of making knot after knot, until my shape takes form. I often incorporate beading to add luster and texture, which allows me a multitude of possibilities in surface embellishment."

And finally, wrapping is a wonderful way to combine elements and/or cover surfaces. If an element is wrapped in a linear way, it produces a effect called coiling and the coiling can be translated to an artful product to create anything from fashion accessories to sculpture. The late fiber artist Judith Scott was deaf, mute and had Downs Syndrome yet made amazing sculptures by wrapping diverse elements together. These sculptures are collectibles and now sell for many thousands of dollars. Another fiber artist, Sheila Hicks used coiling to create huge installations of art. She was the first fiber artist to take this very basic technique and elevate it in her art.

These basic craft techniques (and many others) require a short learning curve but the possibilities are endless.

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for. - Georgia O'Keeffe

Guiding Creativity Workshops Using Crafts for Older Adults

Creativity Matters blog is licensed under a Creative Commons AAttribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at agingandcreativity.blogspot.com

I am providing a session titled: The Creative Experience- Profiles of Courage and Passion on Tuesday, October 2^nd  at the 2012 Regional Conference on Aging hosted by the Philadelphia Corporation of Aging in Philadelphia. . The following information focuses on Creativity Workshops using Crafts and is an excerpt from that presentation.

In general, I recommend that the leader assess projects for these attributes to provide a successful workshop.

□        Interesting: Materials should trigger curiosity and encourage  willingness to engage

□        Engaging: Materials/project keeps participants involved

□        Clear Objectives: Explanation of tools, techniques and goal; Guidance NOT Duplication of examples shown

□        Success Driven: Encourage satisfaction and completion

□        Socially Supportive Community: Community and  individual respect

□        Project Appropriate for Participants with respect to:

□        Gender

□        Physical ability

□        Cognitive issues

□        Psychological concerns

To encourage safe crafting, it is important to develop projects with attention to these guidelines:

□        No Sharp Tools

□        No Precision

□        No Tiny Pieces

□        No Lengthy Projects

□        No Complex Directions

□       No Difficult Learning Curve

Examples of techniques that may be considered in a project include:

□        Wrapping

□       Weaving

□        Knotting

□        Threading

□        Gluing

□        Cutting (with assistance/supervision if appropriate)

□        Stamping

□        Rubbing

□       Tearing

The participants are likely to realize positive results because the workshop experience:

 

□        Builds knowledge of

□        Materials

□        Techniques

□        Increases

□        Self Esteem

□        Socialization

□        Fosters

□        Independence

□        Problem Solving

□        Expands

□        Creative Capability

□        Confidence

For additional information or speaker and/or workshop requests, please contact Judith Zausner at Judith@caringcrafts.com

"Arts  and aging is neither about arts, nor just about aging. Rather, it is about creativity and positive engagement—that is, creativity as both a goal and a process for shaping the self and society.“

-Steven T. Dahlberg
International Centre for Creativity & Imagination

 

For Veterans: Art Making and Transformation

There are many hurdles in life and, for veterans, many of these hurdles seem insurmountable. The war zone has scorched traumatic memories in their psyche that may sit buried and unreachable. Fortunately now there are innovative support groups that provide a cathartic relief through creativity.

Combat Paper, a New Jersey non profit, is an extraordinary program that travels around the country to help veterans’ relieve their stress from the effects of war. It fully embraces a creative process in three stages. Starting with “Deconstructing”, the veterans bring in their worn combat fatigues for shredding to begin the paper making process, then the shredded small fabric pieces are pulverized to produce paper pulp which begins the “Reclamation” process. They get to reclaim their uniforms as paper. The third stage is “Communication” because when the paper is dry, they can write poetry or draw images on it to communicate their feelings and/or stories.

As they are go through this transformation process of their uniforms and internally themselves, each person is encouraged to talk and share their war experience with facilitators who also have military backgrounds. For most of these veterans, it is the first time they have spoken about traumatic events from the combat zone. Since the workshops are closed sessions for veterans only, they feel safe to open up and process emotions and memories that have previously been untouched. This is a community of veterans helping other veterans to heal with psychologically, emotionally and physically through a creative journey of inner exploration.

Drew Cameron, an Iraq war veteran and talented artist, co-founded Combat Paper in 2007 with his idea to “liberate the rag”. He says "The story of the fiber, the blood, sweat and tears, the months of hardship and brutal violence are held within those old uniforms. The uniforms often become inhabitants of closets or boxes in the attic. Reshaping that association of subordination, of warfare and service, into something collective and beautiful is our inspiration."

With the success of Combat Paper, other organizations have formed to support veterans’ healing through art. Warrior Writers Project is a Philadelphia based non-profit that is a “community of military veterans, service members, artists, allies, civilians, and healers dedicated to creativity and wellness”. There is emphasis on writing although they also encourage other mediums such as painting, photography. To expand their reach, Warrior Writers also offers trainings, retreats, exhibitions, performances and alternative healing practices that include massage and yoga. They have recently published their third anthology After Action Review, which showcases more than 100 veteran poems, creative writing and art.

Inspired by Combat Paper and Warrior Writers, in March 2011, Veterans in The Arts, a Minneapolis based organization, began offering classes. Their direction includes literary, visual as well as musical initiatives. Although new to this approach of creative healing, they have already received the support of ten art partners to build on their mission.

Being deployed overseas will generate feelings of loss of family and friends but it is very difficult to predict what experiences the soldiers come back with. These organizations strive to heal those wounds through sharing, art making and heart felt support.


Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.
Helen Keller

Optimizing the Patient Doctor Relationship

Relationships matter. Good relationships have a mutual investment in time, energy and compassion. It’s the way we express our involvement and when, over time, the scale tips out of balance, the relationship falters. It may be intentional but it’s always a shift that benefits from communication.

So even though we maintain many different relationships, what we expect from our dry cleaner is not what we would expect from our best friend. Yet all relationships are invisibly tethered by an agreement of respect and a willingness to interact.

Our patient-doctor relationship holds these same principles. In addition to respect, there is deep seated trust because we are seeking his/her professional expertise in our personal health care. This is an important relationship yet why do some people fail to take responsibility for it? Why respond passively, inaccurately or impatiently when you can actively engage with your physician and participate in your own care?

Dr. Don Friedman recommends that patients do away with their sense of powerlessness and advocate on their own behalf. “There is a therapeutic sense of control”, says Dr. Friedman, “when a patient participates in his health care”.

He suggests 4 approaches to maximize your doctor visits:

1. Prior to your office visit, make a list of all the questions you need to ask and all the information you need to share.
2. Be sure to express your concerns about your medical issues. If your doctor doesn’t know about them, your doctor can’t help.
3. Clarify your understanding of all aspects of your illness: lab results, symptoms, life style changes, etc. Ask if you need more information.
4. Understand the instructions you are given and the responsibilities you have for managing your treatment. Repeat the instructions back to your doctor to ensure you’ve interpreted them correctly.

This is common sense yet sometimes our inner self makes it difficult while our outer capacity for organizing can also be an issue. So create tricks for yourself to get in the game of having a proactive relationship with your health. Keeping a journal helps with both the inner and outer turmoil. Decorate it, flag it; stream your thoughts, doodle. Personalize it in a way that makes it important to you and provides positive feelings each time you make an entry. Make sure that it is in a place that is easily accessible. It will be helpful to create a separate section for health notes and remember to always bring it on visits to your doctor.

Learn to be an advocate for yourself; you deserve the good results.

As Albert Schweitzer, the Nobel Prize winning physician said:
The witch doctor succeeds for the same reason all the rest of us doctors succeed. Each patient carries his own doctor inside him. They come to us not knowing this truth. We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to go to work.