I've never thought of Halloween as an opportunity to learn something about the design process, but looking back on last weekend, I now see Halloween differently.
I spent the weekend in Providence, RI with my grandkids. I volunteered to help the 3 kids cut their pumpkins. From the start, I should have realized that pumpkin cutting had entered a new era. First, we went on line and got directions (I didn't tell them that I have been cutting pumpkins, annually, for the last 45+ years). Then we looked at pumpkin designing sites; there's been a lot of thinking outside the pumpkin in the last few years. Amazing designs ... way beyond a smiling or frowning face. And controversy ... do you cut off the top or make a whole in the back; do you scoop out the gook before or after you cut out your design?
Being a modern grandmother, and not wanting to infringe of their creativity, I suggested that each one create their own design and go about it anyway they wanted. So,
- one chose an oblong pumpkin (aren't round ones premiun?), laid it on its side, and carved a crescent moon, a star, and meteor;
- next one cut out three stars to light up the Halloween night;
- the third one, Mr. Retro, asked how I cut my pumpkins, when "you were young." I told him there was only one way ... triangle eyes and nose, and either a mean or happy, big mouth, with fangs hanging out of it. That suited his personality just fine.
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I drove back to Vermont that night; at 10PM, I got out the pumpkin carving knife and got going. The kids had challenged my pumpkin carving rut ... my pumpkin had to have a face (it's tradition and makes me feel good), I scooped out the gook after I carved the face, and I created a pumpkin face without any triangles. How freeing ...
Pumpkin10.11
My mother always said that you shouldn't toot your own horn. I don't know if including a blog about Creative Women that was featured on Milkshake counts as tooting your own horn ... but I was so flattered to see this that I sent it, right away, to my kids, friends who have helped me grow Creative Women and women that I work with here and abroad.
The best part of this blog was how the women at Milkshake captured what Creative Women is about; it's not just me, or us in Vermont, or even the people we work with in Ethiopia. It's the collective energy of all of us ... from Vermont, to Ethiopia, Mali, NY, Swaziland, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Peru and more. Thanks for your clear writing and "getting it", Milkshake. I just subscribed.
Ellen
Creatively Speaki ng ...
Creatively Speaking ...
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If it’s true that creativity has got to start with humanity, as Marilyn Monroe famously declared—and we believe it—and that women have the power to change the world— which we’re sure of—then the business model of design collective Creative Women is as flawless as its hand-woven goods.
Founded by Ellen Dorsch, who appreciates beautiful things, travel, and good deeds, Creative Women is based in Vermont but the women behind it reside around the world. Through partnership with a handful of female-owned textile design studios in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Mali, and Swaziland, Dorsch’s company imports stylish accessories and traditionally-inspired accents for your home.
Each purchase supports fair trade practices and women’s financial independence in developing nations. Over the past eight years, Creative Women has helped its partner studios grow and provide jobs for more than 300 women.
The gauzy Netela Scarf is our new go-to for when the sun sets and temps fall. And we’re loving the Paris-meets-Ethiopia chic of the Hatch Tablecloth--perfect, we think, for a late-summer dinner party, followed by a well-deserved rest for the chef beneath the Textured Silk and Cotton Throw.
We knew you were more than just a pretty face Ms. Monroe.
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