One of the Perks of being a Grown-up

Being independent is a valuable trait, particularly when you are transitioning from child to adult. However, the deeper into adulthood I travel the more frequently I discover that inter-dependence is the key to being both, an accomplished adult and part of a community. Whether the help we give is small or significant is not what matters.

How often did I stumble, struggle, or fall down because I did not know who to ask or, for that matter,  what to ask?

I have made and continue to make plenty of mistakes that are mine to own. As a younger woman, the notion that I should be able to manage whatever life sent my way was the idea that I tripped over most frequently.  I was embarrassed if I needed help or did not know how to manage some new task that would crop up, only to learn that it was some routine aspect of adult life.

I remember the first time a grown-up, unrelated to me, saw me at a loss for how to move forward and helped me navigate a few unexpected obstacles. Some of it was small stuff like figuring out how to switch over the utilities from the previous occupant's name to my own in my first apartment. Sometimes her advice - like how to be a good neighbor to Mrs. James, the octogenarian who lived across the hall, while limiting the lengthy and confusing conversations between us to only one or two a week, turned out to be valuable life lessons.

Perhaps the most important lesson I learned from her was to be open to offers of help. I still had a long way to go before I learned to ask for help (at least in a timely manner), but as a result of her easy manner and offers of help I have had dozens and dozens of other-like experiences since then. People who have offered advice, support, and friendship as I traveled the terrain of life as an adult.

Someone once did or will do for me much of what I do and hope to do for others. It is this easy sense of give and take that lets me know I am part of a community in which we all help each other both, in dealing with life's challenges and in maintaining a healthy balance between doing for ourselves and doing for others.

Being grown does have its perks.

First Day of School

two girls off to school

buoyant girls, light, floating, glad

two girls in happy rain

It all happens so fast ... this life.

July 2009 was the first time we met you. Was it really only two years ago? It could have been last week we met your return flight from TN, except there are not enough days to then account for time at Teri & Nadav's, holidays, dinners, conversations over laundry, auditions – what’s it been six or seven roles/shows you have been in since we met? There was no shortage of late-night cramming sessions balanced by long talks about everything from hopes for the future to Warhammer back stories. I feel like there must be some sort glitch in the space time continuum!

Remember making holiday gifts for your family? Learning how to make homemade spaghetti sauce? Your first gaming session - it was Rachael’s game right? When did you finally overcome Miriam’s expertly executed “Little Sister of Insurmountable Annoyance” to become (and sustain)your big brother status with her? Yes, I know she is still annoying – that is a little sister’s job.

'Think for minute of the hours and hours you have kept me company while I worked on murals. Now - Blink - you are graduating, leaving for England, and meeting up with Ellen for lunch in London. Turn around twice more and you're moving into the dorms, you land a job on the Sun Star, and somehow survived Stage Craft (aka drafting HELL), all while trying to figure out if there was enough Mountain Dew on the planet to help you focus on homework at the end of the day!

Not all of it has been fun. You did your best to avoid learning how to be alone, ended up having to deal with that discomfort anyway, and discovered that while it can suck - being alone did not always equal being lonely. An experience that the residents on your hall will benefit from this fall, when their days seem too short or too dark, and they need someone to talk with.

Since we met, you have made new friends, struggled through loneliness, increased your (paying) job experience by 400%, and landed a gig for the coming year with Residence Life. In the past year you have developed a whole new sense of what you are capable of: Carrying a full load of classes, holding down a job, a full rehearsal schedule, all while staying in touch with friends both here and out-of-state.

There is too much to try and mention here. Each memory I include only gives way to another that feels equally significant. This life! It moves so fast! You have heard it before, but now that you have left your teen years behind and are a newly minted “20-Something” it is time to hear it again. Slow Down!

Breathe.
Let yourself take it all in.
Dance to your own drum.
Follow or lead, as you like, but do it at your pace.

Every life is filled with its share of bitter and sweet. Rushing ahead will not make what is bitter go faster any more than dragging your feet will make what is sweet last any longer. Being able to appreciate either as impermanent is how we cope with difficulties of life as well as remember to fully enjoy what is good. With this bit of advice out of the way, I have a gift for you on the auspicious occasion of your birth.

Unexpectedly, it is a guarantee.

It is with complete certainty that I say to you now: Whatever – Whoever, lies ahead as you move through the days and years of your life, I promise you, will be there when you arrive. I know this with complete certainty, so slow down:

You are worth waiting for.

Happy Birthday Daniel, I hope this year is, in fact, everything you never knew you always wanted.

Camping with Cousins

Another free picture collage by Smilebox

Teaching our Kids to Fail or Why We Don't Eat Our Young.

I know a lot of amazing young adults; they are kids’ really…but very cool kids. Like I know this kid who is
a Tae Kwon Do world medalist and another who at 16 years old launched and is successfully pursuing a career as a singer/songwriter, and another who at age 15 decided to UNSCHOOL - left the local high school (with parental approval), is legitimately pursuing academics that will ensure acceptance into a University and is spending this year traveling.

This doesn’t even scratch the surface. In our (small) town there are kids who are published writers and science geeks. Teens, who despite the fact that their bodies have not finished changing, are already changing our world. There are all the typical interesting kids you’d meet anywhere: athletes, smart kids, and an array of artists & makers who are actively expanding the dialogue on every possible topic you can imagine through their artwork or performances.

They are not all phenoms, but there is no shortage of extraordinary. It’s exciting to be around, it is fun, and it is a little terrifying.

Nerve-racking for those wondering if they can keep up the pace? How long will this be expected of them?
Pretty scary for their peers as well, classmates who are doing enough, but wonder if there is something wrong that they haven’t yet found their shooting star quality? And honestly, it seems pretty distressing for those who keep themselves out of the "crazy," but witness the self-imposed pressure their friends feel.
It is not hard to understand why some teens quickly learn to avoid the hazards of caring too much or trying too hard.

These fears are real and are an aspect of each of their lives – whether they are draped in their country's flag accepting medals or just trying to figure out if they can navigate their parents, friends, teachers, and the cafeteria on a given school day without someone freaking out.

They worry about bad grades, bad dates, getting fired, and breaking the rules, or worse: getting caught breaking the rules and on the whole, each new wave of teens I encounter seems increasingly more cautious than the last. Those who are bold in public arenas are often very guarded in more personal ones. The result is a strange kind of loneliness. They carry an uncertainty about how to create the foundations of friendship and that uncertainty seems out of place among, such otherwise, accomplished young adults. 

When children are small we often believe we can protect them. Once they are teens we have typically discovered our job was much less about keeping them safe from harm and more about helping them identify danger, and heal successfully.

Parent as Shield doesn’t really work, kids get hurt. They break bones, are not chosen at the audition, and are excluded from birthday parties. Kids get hurt and it turns out that our task as parents is less about protecting them and more about teaching them, and ourselves, to stand back up. How to experience failure without it being our undoing. How do we teach our children to fail? I suspect it is by doing it ourselves.

I know! If parenthood was held to truth in advertising standards I suspect there would be many fewer of us today.
• sleep deprivation
• diapers
• terrible twos
• terrible teens
These we had all heard about.

However, if someone said: "As a mom all your frailest and most unattractive traits will regularly be on display. You will often feel frustrated, and worn down, and despite being larger and more experienced than the children in your care, you will  find yourself unexpectedly vulnerable to their tyrannical demands." Add to this list modeling failure and truly it is a very good thing babies start off smelling good, but not edible.

So what are we to do? My answer is "Fall down six times, stand up seven."  Dust yourself off. You will be disappointed, or sad, or angry, or all of these, for a while, and then you are going to be okay again. That's the message we need to share, with those becoming adults in our homes: How we manage the tension of the unknown in our own lives.

If we hope to discover what we are capable of we must not let the possibility of failing limit our choices. I am not suggesting recklessness; I am suggesting not inflating fear by exaggerating the consequences of failure. We live in a time full of possibility and the real challenge any of us face is being open to it.

Honestly, now that you are somewhere in the thick of your adulthood aren’t you grateful your life has not been limited to the choices your 18-year-old self would have made for your 40-year-old self? The same will be true for them. We need to help them be open to what they cannot yet imagine.

Let our young adults know that despite many falls and mistakes along the way we have survived this far and it is time to let them know that we are confident they will too - humans are hardwired to solve problems and learn from mistakes. Creating an expectation of trial and error as part of life can free our kids to find their own answers and provide us opportunities to learn clever new solutions.

Bad grades, bad dates, getting fired, breaking the rules, and being impulsive are all parts of becoming capable adults. Failure is not something to fear, it is merely one of the tools for becoming an individual with the strength, energy, and sense of humor needed to enjoy this life and make this world a sweeter place by being in it.

I know. I am scared too. If I can hold on to this idea, firmly, with both hands, for say seven or eight more years, the young adults in my life might all survive long enough to become old adults. Truth is, I love their company, but I admit there are days when it is a good thing that if they smell good it is not in that baby back ribs kinda of way.

Recent Events Have Left Me at a Loss for Words

But not those at Punk Torah. (Please check out their blog)
Norway, Amy Winehouse and My Guinea Pig: Why G-d Really Sucks Sometimes

I am grateful that there were no local Guinea Pigs harmed or who met their end in the writing of this post. That said, it has still been a hard time to be an adult in this world lately, both locally and globally. I am making an effort to manage much of the crapfest without making the other individuals under my roof also wade about in it.  My roof currently shelters a fistful of young women having a sweet summer and as summer ends too soon there is just no need, ya know?

So, I send my condolences to Mr. Bacon Sandwich,  to Amy's family, to the many in Norway, and to those closer to home - I am holding you in my thoughts and in my heart. And to those who are being supportive of me, either through your easy sweetness or thoughtful efforts - thanks. I really appreciate the good you put into this world.

ArtNight: A Community

Currently, one of the more exciting aspect of my life is raising my daughters in the culturally and artistically rich Fairbanks, AK. No, that was not sarcasm. In this small community an unexpected number of professional and emerging artists gather routinely to create and share techniques in visual art, music, dance, theater arts, and creative writing.

While it is informal in its organization, ArtNight includes opportunities to try-out canvas painting, film-making, poetry, hip hop dance, and photography as well as a number of other creative pursuits during weekly gatherings. Last night alone there were half a dozen artists creating mixed media small works, another engaged in jewelry making, dance, costume design (which eveloved into an intial fitting), and story telling.

ArtNight was established in 2009 to provide open studio time, it has grown into a community. People come tired or inspired, to get lost in their own creative process, or to discover and dabble in the art of living, defined by ArtNighters as: Fall down six times, stand up seven.

Pictures are a small sampling. There are over 50 artisits and makers who regularly take part in ArtNight. Please contact me if you want more information about a specific piece or the work of a particular artist. More pictures can be seen on my facebook page.

This free digital collage customized with Smilebox

You live where?

I am often asked about my home, Tuesday. Often the questions are about the obvious and ongoing construction, my bits of garden, hauling water, too little or too much sunlight, and Alaska's remoteness. The nature of the questions varies a bit with the experiences of those asking. Why did I name my house? Why Tuesday? (We will save those for a different blog post.) On the whole, most people are really asking me about finding my way, carving out an existence, composing a life.  This post is not the whole answer, but it may be the most relevant.

Life at Tuesday:
Light in the summer, glowing with warmth in the winter, music, the quiet turning of pages, laughter, and conversation are the foundation of our home. I wear blue jeans, and sarongs, and I walk barefoot when it suits me, most of the summer it suits me.

In this life I am learning, not nearly fast enough to be ahead, but almost fast enough to keep up. I plant, I explore history, I spend time in thought, I paint, I read, I write: I dabble. Tuesday is an honest reflection of the lives it shelters. A place where function and form occasionally meet, but for the most part whimsy overlaps utility to create pockets of comfort, and now and again, art.

People come from all over to spend time here. I think because here is a place that offers enough. Frequently, we find there is enough conversation, enough peace, enough to eat, enough quiet, enough candor, and enough joy, to support us on our journeys. The door is open, both to leaving and returning.

Enough is that place between too little and too much. It is easy to fall short of what is needed. We can see that truth in every community despite the plenty that surrounds so many. A fear of scarcity, felt by those who have what they need as well as those who do not, creates a hunger that more cannot satisfy - such that life's real challenge is walking the line between too little and excess.

I am like you, there are days I worry, trying to manage the tension that comes with not knowing if there will be enough.

Enough time for me to raise my daughters as individuals and sisters? Enough time for me to be alone with my husband, and enough time for me to be alone with myself? Enough time to be home and enough time to explore? My daughters know the comfort of home, but will there be enough to ensure they develop the ability to trust and delight in places unfamiliar? Can I develop enough poise to navigate day-to-day challenges and leave room to experience the sacredness in each day? Will I recognize enough?

I don’t know? I am not sure that it matters.

For now, I walk through this life with you, creating, allowing for, and discovering enough. Enough to give, enough to ensure well-being, enough to help others, enough to celebrate, enough to make each of us whole.

Welcome to Tuesday, make yourself at home.

Paige and Tali Harvest Our Dinner

Photo collage generated with Smilebox

Postcards Home

Digital collage customized with Smilebox

Camp pUnk bLosSom: Week One!

  

David keeping the freezer full! 

Our nieces, Ruby and Paige, landed on July 10th and every day since they arrived has been like a "Double Header." We kicked off their visit by hosting friends from Anchorage and Northern Virginia to a dinner of Moose and Salmon. We have made a visit to our local swimming pool and to our favorite library. We had a dozen or so over for a John Hughes-A-Thon - that transitioned into a 3AM Denny’s Dessert run. We have canoed a bit of the Chena and enjoyed a very artsy Art Night.

 We fill the downtime with silly talk about everything from hairstyles, boiz and grrlz, what traits trigger the flirt factor, to the standard details regarding school, home, and life on planet Teen Grrl! At least 5 books have been read cover-to-cover this week. The AK summer sunlight means they have pulled off that last feat without flashlights under the bed covers! 

The younger girls add to this their own side adventures: Playing in the maze and exploring at the botanical gardens, baking challah, yoga class with Rivka, and t-shirt art. 

The foursome dressed in costume for the Premier of the final Harry Potter film, Ruby helped lead services at Or HaTzafon: she guided our community in chair yoga to help us all get in a Shabbat state-of-mind.

The next morning we all took part in celebrating Maia Eisenberg’s Bat Mitzvah which we followed with some serious lying about and indulged in half dozen or so episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer until sleep claimed us.  Today, Miriam and Ruby are celebrating Ari's 11th year on this planet and all the girls have taken part in assorted rounds of the "10-Minute-Tidy," but on the whole have been such proactive housemates that it did not require too many "rounds" to sweeten up the house. 

At last we have each slipped into comfy chairs, curled up with the occasional cute boy, a good book, and a snack within arm’s reach to quietly see this first week of “Camp pUnk bLosSom" come to a close.  94 days of summer continues....next week Dance Party Update!



Postcard from Hogwarts

Free digital slideshow created with Smilebox

Ode to Camp pUnk bLosSom

Pairs of adventurers, happy

Their feet on the ground again

Ready for familiar faces

Anticipate new experiences

Their coming is met with exclamations

Easy smiles and arms that wind them in comfort

Pairs of adventurers, happy 

The clatter of lids

The easy movement of memory

Leaves warmed by sunshine, fish

Run the course from story and song to platter
Moose move into view

While the table shudders pounded with winnings

Pairs of adventurers, happy

Touring, humbled by elusive air
Buoyed by water

Lifted on laughter

Music, magic, change

pUnk bloSSoms

Unexpected dreams

Pairs of adventurers, happy

Summer Races Ahead, June Gone, July Already in Full Swing!

Since resurrecting my blog to document the wickedly brief 94 days of summer here in AK  I have been racing with the daylight to fit in both life and writing. In an attempt to shorten the distance between my entries and summer's break neck pace I submit to you an abridged version of our summer to date...

Garden Step 1: plant 300 seeds.
Moving Day: for our friend Patrick. Though we were sorry to have him move out it was exciting to help him plan and paint his new room. The plan included a custom designed and built loft (by the Eskridge/Crowson team). He now rests each night in a cozy round bed which hangs from his ceiling – his own personal cloud!
Clean-up Happens: This time at Ruby’s homestead

Celebrating Summer: old school – very old school! See Maypole...

Summer Jobs 101 for the Modern Teen: Register with Alaska’s job board, write a resume, create LinkedIn profile, write cover letter, prepare for interview, secure references, interview, and write thank-you notes. Rinse and Repeat until employed! 

Clucking Blossom 2011: Did not disappoint: Music, Art, Mosquitoes! The event had everything a Fairbanks kid needs to know that summer has arrived and all is right with the world.

Garden Step 2: Raised beds are how we roll! 

Garden Step 3: Time to plant this crop!

Nasturtiums, Carrots: orange, purple, red and white,Sugar Snap Peas, Spinach, Lettuce,Tomatoes, Radishes, Basil, 3 kinds of Mint, Parsley, Beets, Potatoes, Dahlia's, Delphiniums, Sweet Peas, Hostas, Columbine, Lily of the Valley, Pumpkins,Wild Iris, and Sunflowers

Garden Step 4: Keep up with the watering until monsoon season...

More Music, More Friends: Amanda was in town, as was BNL! 

Student Rabbi Arrives: meet, greet, cocktails! Our kind of Rabbi!

Garden Extension: Mini-salad garden for the Rabbi, courtesy of Miriam
Bar Mitzvah #1: Daniel Wolfe, Wow! Daniel it was a perfect day.

Auntie Deb: Makes her annual summer journey north. 

Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre Groundling’s and Fledglings Summer Production 2011: Mid-Summer's Night Dream. Thalia as Helena, Miriam as Peas-blossom, Emma as Bottom, Kelsey performed Lysander when Tyler landed in the hospital! Tyler is well now and Kelsey is our HERO!  I am hopeful that pictures will soon surface. 
Harvesting Firewood: Some chores never really end.

Time to fill the Freezer: David leaves for Chitna, 3 days later he returns with 16 Red and 1 King! Summer = good eating!
Bar Mitzvah # 2: Sam Greenberg -
Destined to be our first Pro-Baseball Rabbi! 

Cast Party: Those Monahan’s throw a  great shindig!
Rain: Enough to keep the garden happy, refill Lake Eskridge, and cancel the annual Jews in Canoes float trip. Though I am not complaining. There is still plenty of sunshine!

Thalia saves the Day: This happens pretty routinely, but this time she is doing her part down at Black Rapids Lodge. Last summer she lent a hand when Annie and Michael fond themselves short staffed with guests confirming and arriving at the end of their season. This year they knew who to call when they needed a reliable Jill-Of-All-Trades. She will be back by next Tuesday but is not opposed to making another trip down their way later in the summer too. 

First Ripe Blueberry: found in bushes behind the house July 7, 2011  

Tomorrow: is July 9, 2011. If you know who is holding the universal remote please ask them to stop fast forwarding! A momentary pause would even be appreciated. Regardless watch your inbox as I attempt to keep pace with the remaining days of summer....

Personalize a free collage

Postcards from Home: uRbaN arT in the PaRk

All that Light! It makes us a little loopy...

This solstice the sun hung over head for 21 hours and 50 minutes. I grew-up with a father who often said “You’re burning day light kid.” Well, let me tell you I have tried for over a decade now to burn up all the daylight in an Alaskan summer and it is an exhausting task – though I do give it my best effort.

Our family celebrated all weekend, kicking off the festivities with The Midnight Sun Fun Run. Fairbanks has plenty of serious runners who participate, but none of them take themselves too seriously, and so there is no shortage of them running the 10K in costume. They are not alone, runners of every age, shape, and gender will take to the roads which winds through neighborhoods to be cheered on by locals who hand out water to all takers. Many of whom are dressed as superheroes, giant fish, lumber jacks, Jedi, and flowers of every variety.

The next day the Midnight Sun Festival is the main event downtown. It is a street fair of the classic variety with booths, food, games, and rides. It begins at noon and goes on until midnight and always features music and dance performances free to the public.

That same evening the Midnight Sun Baseball Game, an event that has not required artificial lighting since the inaugural game in 1906, begins around 10pm. Just the same, by the time you have shook hands with the local ball players, had them sign your program, and convinced your family that now is in fact the perfect time to get ice cream, midnight is a distant memory.

You are thinking all that sunlight makes us a little loopy, huh? Well, you’re half right. There is something strangely appealing about being able to stay outside all night long doing things by the light of the sun. It is a bit like staying out past curfew – way past curfew! You know there will be consequences, but that just adds to thrill.

94 Days of Summer: Alaskan Style

June 21st marks solstice for all of us living in the northern hemisphere and it is filled with sunlight and the promise of summer. A promise I took pretty lightly growing up in Virginia, where an Indian Summer might take you halfway through October before the air became crisp.

Life has carried me pretty far from those climes and these days I am prepared to use everyday that summer has to offer. I am often asked what life is like here. Well, living in Alaska, summer or winter, is a lot like going to camp. You mean to write, but you are on the move and writing letters home is often competing with sleep, but this year is going to be different! No for real – this summer I will send poorly edited letters, slightly sticky postcards, and maybe even some almost-in-focus photos back to document this odd life I am carving out up here. No promises about winter, but this summer is a sure thing!

I know, I know, I am already a week late and a couple of photos short, but you watch your in-box. You will get 94 days of Alaska summer in fun-size installments for your personal enjoyment!

More Soon,
Jennifer

Stranger in a Strange Land

Dear Friends, Family and Fellow Vagrants

Some of you must be wondering if I fell off the face of the planet. The answer is yes. Yes, and I have stumbled into a very odd place indeed! So clearly am I am stranger in a strange land here. The air is breathable, the land forms recognizable as such, and the populace no less varied than others encountered in my travels, but there the similarities stop. I am clearly not on the planet of my youth.

The inhabitants, while enjoying each other’s company well enough, maintain their most fundamental relationships with a species that appears to exist in many separate and contained environments. Hundreds of beings live within hand held bits of light and are able to communicate using hieroglyphics on a small illuminated screen. This symbiotic community may be tiny in stature, but clearly is vast in number.

When I arrived here I immediately learned of a rare, but highly sought after beast with detachable antlers. I have spent days receiving communication via the tiny species mentioned above reporting the trials and tribulations of those in pursuit of this beast. The prized creature is dispatched and the adults and older youth then gather together for hours and hours (21 to be exact) using very SHARP KNIVES to disassemble it. It is weighed, marked, and runners deliver the parts, sharing them or storing them for future use. I am lucky to have found myself among such an openhanded community.

These days the diet consists a great deal of apples, honey, something called kugel (which is very edible and worth trying to recreate when I get back home), and the beast (minus its antlers). Occasionally they use their bread to fortify the local rivers - which might explain all the variations on “kugel.”

Young and old here are extraordinary storytellers. The older often recite poetry about the many creatures found here, including the beasts with detachable antlers, a King of Fish that swims in their rivers (perhaps that is what the bread is for), as well as stories of loves lost and won.
Young beings everywhere here call me mom. It appears to be a designation of some sort, perhaps a variation on “Hey, You,” but certainly is not a rank or title. It can be said with distinct derision, most frequently it is just a means to get my attention, but I have noticed that quite often genuine warmth and affection are conveyed with that single word as well. Perhaps it is long the lines of a pet-name.

The youth here are bold, and often travel out of sight of the older community members. Typically, they spend their time in small herds whenever they can. Together they build fires, eat, and beat the snot out of each other with an enviable exuberance. They also share stories. All are heroic in nature and nearly all include intuitive details that make lengthy descriptions unnecessary. They know. Time and breath are in short supply here. Consequently, the youth encourage each other, as well as other community members, to save theirs whenever possible. Still stories get told. Sometimes they speak of love and the mundane details of service to the larger community, but that is quite common stuff among them. More often their stories are about the complicated craft of Star or War, as well as many battles from The War of Hammer!

Lately there has been contemplative chest beating, songs sorrowful and lively, and (I kid you not) the building of colorful make-shift shelters for sleeping in outside as the temperatures begin dropping towards freezing.

Yes, it is an unlikely place I find myself these days. I admit I have grown very fond of the youth (particularly that odd bunch that insist on call me “Mom?”) but I have not forgotten you.

On nights when the others sleep I work quietly, repairing my ship. Perhaps some of the youth would consider it an adventure to help me man her, we will see. I doubt I will return to the planet of my own youth anytime soon, but my wanderlust is far from sated. So watch the night skies for me, soon I may find myself on a planet near you.

Until Then, I remain yours.
Truly,
Jennifer
9/2010

Paradise Found (an oldie but a goodie)

Okay, I realize that most of you would not consider Interior Alaska paradise, at least not in the middle of winter. Perhaps I am overstating a bit, but during these dark winter days I have found a source of sunshine in downtown Fairbanks - and it's not just their bright yellow walls. The Stash is generating real warmth.

The Stash is Fairbanks's own Handmade Gallery and Sewing Lounge.

Sewing Lounge! I love this, what community doesn't need a venue that supports creativity in a hands-on and straight-forward manner. The Stash is home to a sewing lounge: a needle and thread Mecca for the beginner as well as the experienced seamstress, crafters, and fiber artist alike. The equipment you need is there, set-up and rentable by the hour, space to spread out, and if you need it, a little help from your friends at The Stash.

Cool? Yes.

But really, a Sewing Lounge?

In San Francisco? Sure.

In Fairbanks Alaska? Why not?

It is not the first of its kind. A drop-in urban sewing lounge exists in the Bay Area for those who long to "sew and socialize" which is aptly named Stitch and gets credit for blazing this particular trail back in 2000. Since then a handful of other locations can boast a sewing lounge, but they are decidedly "sew urban" and exist almost exclusively in large metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, St. Paul, and Seattle.

However, you don't need to be an urbanite to see the practicality of a place where you can use, but don't have to keep and maintain, the sewing equipment you need. In Fairbanks Alaska, we don't all have sewing rooms or studios, or perhaps we do, but currently the children are sleeping there. However, just as many of us live in cozier accommodations ranging from the classically full home, to dry cabins, or dorm rooms.

This snug bit of truth places our local sewing lounge on the cutting edge of the artist and maker revolution. Just think: this could be the end of dragging your sewing machine out of the closet or, as I do, borrowing one. No longer will you displace meals from the dinner table, or struggle to remember how to use this particular model of sewing machine. No more will you need to hunch protectively over your project, acutely aware of the "premium real estate" you are occupying in-house, feeling rushed to finish what you have started before a riot ensues. Hassel will no longer be the number one killer of Creativity!

Why not? Because ‘the Stashettes’, Rachael Brechan, Jane Magelky, and Robyn Neilko - the owners of The Stash - hear you and are providing a haven where ideas flow, artists and makers connect, and creativity isn't just surviving - it is living LARGE.

You can learn to make duct tape accessories - think craft meets punk rock - or soulful knits, that warm the heart, heads, and hands of those who make, as well as receive, them. The Stash hosts special events and participates in First Friday - Fairbanks's well-established monthly evening of gallery strolling and meet-the-artists type mingling.

In a manner both inspired and practical, the Stashettes are confident that art enhances the quality of life and they are helping others make that connection all over Fairbanks. Already they have hosted a variety of projects including a knit-a-thon, in which local knitters took part in an evening of knitting hat's for chemo patients. Currently, they are supporting a drive for blankets that will be distributed by the Northern Council on Aging and they maintain display space billed as "For Kids, by Kids" which promotes local artists and makers who are under the age of 18, many significantly younger than 18.

Less than six months after opening The Stash has grown from showcasing a few dozen local artists and makers to approximately 100 local artists and makers whose vision and designs reflect a willingness to take risks, a sassy flavor, or an ironic playfulness that one doesn’t always associate with traditional galleries. Their sign boasts 100% Handmade - 100% Local and is brimming with hand-spun and hand-dyed wools, vintage fabrics, artistically re-purposed materials, and one-of-a-kind products, which are selected through a juried review and all of which support a creativity-based counter-economy.. The Stash is another step forward in the efforts to revitalize downtown. A downtown where, those carving out a living will tell you that, increasing its appeal among longstanding- independent-thinking Fairbanksians as well as newer community members means providing more choices for the socially conscious consumer.

To me, all this feels like a beginning, an underground movement breaking through, a grass-roots movement taking hold. Surely these women represent the indie craft movement emerging across the nation? True, they offer an alternative to mass-produced goods. Their shoppers can make purchases and feel good knowing they are directly impacting the local economy, while the environmentally conscious are pleased to have a selection of artists and makers whose products embody the revamp, reuse, and recycle ethic, and everyone seems to enjoy discovering just how much talent exists in our community.

When I asked each of the owners, they laugh and say it isn't so. Sure they are fans of the indie craft movement, but their reasons for creating this venue are much closer to home. They are each "Makers" themselves. No, it turns out that community-building, helping revitalize local economy and social responsibility are just natural by-products of their collective creativity.

11/2008