Otomi Textiles and Other Notions.

I went to Oaxaca, Mexico a couple years ago and really fell in love with all of the folk art made in the region. They're known for black pottery, weaving, tin, painted pottery, wood carving, chocolate and mole. 

I got this piece of black pottery there. It's kind of a candleholder/lantern.

But also, they're known for Otomi textiles. I wish I had been as intriqued by it then as I am now and only gotten one thing while I was there because they are quite expensive. Ahhh how could you not fall in love with them? The symmetrical designs, the funky mix of animals and flowers and leaves mixed with the focused color palette. Mmmmm good-ness.

I'd like to be able to just throw one over a table like that. Oh, this? Oh yeah, it's just a spare I had laying around, I thought I'd just put it here. Whatever.

Would it be crazy to try to make one myself? It would probably end up being one of those projects that I never finish. Why must I want to master every craft I see. I need to learn to focus and really study a few things... I also decided today that I'd like to learn to make silver jewelry while I was looking at this ring I got in France:

That is added to my list including extremely accurate yet whimsical watercolors (inspired by the work of Austrian masters I saw in the Albertina in Vienna), crewel embroidery, woodworking, abstract painting, become better at figure drawing/painting (not as much of a dream as something that I will have to do for my major), designing fabric and/or wallpaper and all of the random drawings I have ideas for. Every couple of months I get overwhelmed with ideas I have and I actually make lists and write them all down, with the romantic notion that someday I will finish everything I'm working on and get those images out of my mind and onto paper. I have yet to even start on ideas from a year and a half ago.

This summer I made a To-Do list for things that I have committed to getting done before school starts. A lot of them are related to furniture or decorations for my new house. The list is at least halfway done, so that's good, right? The main things I have left are a banjo strap I'm embroidering for a friend, and lampshades. I have 2 matching stacked glass ball lamps, kind of like this:

And no lampshades for them. I decided to paint some paper ones that I have. I've already started and repainted them 2 times. I'm on the 3rd plan. I think this one will work, I just have to get them done. I saw this picture of fabric from the blog "What's blogging my view" awhile ago.

mmmm green goodness. I'm going to paint a similar overlapping leaf pattern on the shades and not look back. I think it will get along quite nicely with my other things. Now I just have to find or make a seat cushion for my wood desk chair and paint it a coordinating color. Hmmphh. Always knowing that you can do it yourself is hard work.