Spring Awakening

I thought I had already posted this but it seems to have mysteriously vanished…

I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus through the past several months, but that doesn’t mean everything has completely stopped. Winter is always a time of hunkering down and working on long overdue projects - right after all of that holiday travel and such has settled down. I’ll be reconfiguring my ubiquitous web site presence -updating information, changing layouts, etc., & bringing my private persona & life out into the public a bit more. I’d love to hear from you, find out what is happening in your world & what you have planned in the upcoming months.

* I’m almost through redesigning my web site, Ishah 'El theatre arts, which is up, and should be finished soon

* I hope to have some new music up soon. Which isn't really new. I’ve got a huge back log of material that needs to be edited, mixed and promoted through out the internet. I’ll also have it posted on my web site.

* Ditto with writing, which I will also feature on the web site.

* Fundraising. It just never stops. If the spirit moves you, please help out. We are a non-profit organization and we subsist entirely on the kindness of strangers - people just like you! (Now doesn’t that sound officially NPR - PBS-ish?) Donations are tax refundable. Please check out some of the links provided & consider helping out: FirstGiving, JustGive & Paypal.

* I have also been selling my own original spice blends for seasoning and cooking. You can find them at: emburke.etsy.com. I’m hoping to branch out & feature some other non-edible creations I’ve got brewing in the back of my mind. My wife, Cheryl, has some great home made crafted items that you should check out here: yarnbee.etsy.com.

* I’ve been checking out scores of sites where creative artists of all stripes mingle & scheme, and it has been really impressive to see the growth of an independent grass roots, DIY industry. I have to say, I for one am glad that I don’t have to go into town to a Tower or HMV record store to find you. Especially at 4:00 am. Now if I could only make it to more of your performances.

* I’m also working on a forum portal for collaborating & sharing, which will be on the web site.

* Collaborating: I’ve been checking out the new collaborating sites for musicians, artists, etc. It has fantastic potential and I’m really excited to try it out & get together (virtually) with some of you. Come look me up at ejamming.com, jamuse.com, indaba.com, jamnow.com, macjams.com & elsewhere.

* I’m curating a featured film & visual arts afternoon every third Sunday of the month (excepting this month, which will happen on the fifth Sunday, the 30th) at the Ark Five Collge Episcopal Center, 758 North Pleasant Street, in Amherst, MA. 2:00 to 5:00 pm. Details will be posted here as they come. Hope to see you there.

* This Saturday I’m joining up with a bunch of friends to try improvising some loosely scripted noise. It should be great fun! I’m hoping that we will record it but I suspect that may not happen.

* Speaking of improvisation & fun, Joe Edelman, an event and community artist who works with communication technology, public space, and fun, is planning on doing some large scale improvisation in the community here. It will be very fun, interesting, inspiring & probably create some well need creative enlightenment. I’ll post here when it happens. Maybe you can join us.


* Come on out & find me on some of the other sites I’m on:
FaceBook, MySpace, MusicForte, isound.com, ReverbNation, & elsewhere.

I can’t guarantee that you’ll discover anything new or different from one site to the other, but it would be great to have your friendship & support elsewhere!

Thanks for all of your support, your kind & generous words and most of all, your friendship. I really appreciate it!

Regards,
Elliott

a good yarn spun

or - pulling at invisible strings

She knitted mufflers endlessly

Cheryl, my incredible wife, has found a burgeoning world of opportunity, community, excitement and satisfaction through crafting, mainly knitting. She loves to knit and it has paid off well in a rather unexpected and serendipitous way. For over a year now she has been blogging about her projects and process; she joined a high profile online knitting group, Ravelry, which has had a long waiting list just to get on. Through these means her art has been recognized by others, especially a sweater that she designed and knitted. The owner of Webs, a local yarn store, recognized her sweater while she was shopping and they fast became good acquaintances. Soon she was approached by the store and asked if she would be interested in knitting store samples for credit, which she accepted with excitement. Cheryl had been hoping to someday merge into spinning her own yarn, and this gave her the perfect opportunity to not only acquire bushels of yarn but to obtain her own spinning wheel at little to no cost. Web's approached her again and asked her if she would be interested in teaching a knitting class, which she also accepted and is now on her third week in.

As if that isn't enough, she has also won awards for her knitting at the annual Eastern States Exposition for the past two years.

None of this was planned. much of it came about after she began to blog about her interests and share them with others. Honestly, she was skeptical about blogging for at least six months but was somehow won over to the idea and has been blessed by it. Sure, blogging takes more time than she would care to invest in and expend toward, but it has taken her places she never expected and given her friends she would never have found otherwise, and that is an invaluable achievement.

If you like crafting, knitting, yarn and other such related arts, pop on over into her sphere of cyber creation - a world of color, discovery, creativity and community. You can find her at:
Yarnbee
Ravelry
Etsy
Flickr
& at her website at:
busy bee printing press
(amazing graphic designer by day, incredible craft maker by night)

Drop by and tell her Elliott sent you. I think you will love Cheryl almost as much as I do!