Running Wild from Pamplona to Anchorage With Love

From US National Weather Service Alaska

“As of 12:15pm today, Anchorage's seasonal snowfall increased to 123.3 inches. The snow from last night and this morning moved this winter to third place in the race for the snowiest winter on record. Another 9.6 inches of snow needs to fall before June 1st for the record to be broken.” ...and March usually brings a few more winter storms.

Here is the link to more photos from the
Anchorage Daily News 2012 Running With
the Reindeer!

With only 9.6 inches of snowfall left to go for Anchorage to set a new snowfall record it’s pretty easy to get a little cabin fever! What’s a good Alaskan to do when winter is wearing out it’s welcome? Get out in it and RUN WITH THE REINDEER of course! Celebrating Anchorage’s Fur Rondy put the guys and I downtown, a short walk from our house and signed up for the 5^th Annual Run With the Reindeer. The "Run" is a popular fundraiser for the Toys for Tots Program. My costume was “The Herd Queen” and the guys were “Reindeer Luche Libres!” Of course Daddy-O and I packed a few of our favorite beverages in our pockets so we could stay hydrated like a good athlete should… It was evident that the majority of the nearly 2,300 other "Runners" had the same thought!

The "Herd Queen" and her faithful protector "Reindeer Lucha Libre!"

NO JOKE! This Reindeer with a Web Cam attached to it's antlers, hopefully CAPTURED it's Antlers POKING ME RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF MY BIB NUMBERS! Some idget had smacked the Reindeer on it's rump just as it was passing through the crowd! Thankfully the race bib was made of durable Tyvek and the antler didn't poke through!

At the "holding pen" racers waited for their heat to run while  partying with music from KWHL and throwing beach balls. The only problem was that the cold weather proved fatal for most of the balls as soon as they were hit!

Racers waiting for their heat to Run and the herd of Reindeer to be lead back to the start line -Celebrity, Womens', Men's and Couples or Groups.

VICTORIOUS Reindeer Lucha Libres at the finish line!

Viva La Invierno!

xOx
Alaska Dispatch 

Running of the Reindeer: Pamplona meets Anchorage

Amanda Coyne | Mar 03, 2012

Snow Power

Seems Alaska is receiving all the snow for the entire U.S.! Alaska’s weather has even had CNN watching. We’ve set a new record for snowfall in the month of January, ALREADY and with even more snow on the way, it’s been a great time to stay INSIDE the studio and sew. Here is a link to the images from the snowfall in the outlying cities of Valdez and Cordova that appeared in the Anchorage Daily News. With some of my deadline projects out of the way I’ve wanted to work some more on my powerline series using image transfers, fabric painting, embellishing and free motion stitching. The new TAP artist transfer paper provided a smoother image for me to sew and paint over. These pieces have given me an opportunity to practice my sewing when I slow down enough to quilt “properly.” I tend to not want to follow the “rules” of traditional sewing or quilting. It’s a gentle balance because the perfectionist in me would like to already be an expert at sewing the basics but I’ll need at least another week, just kidding, I’m still light years away but enjoying the journey! I’m working on avoiding puckering, maintaining proper tension adjustment, avoiding uneven stitches with my free motion sewing and taking more care with my finish work. Part of my steep learning curve is my desire to use new and different materials, fabrics, designs and embellishments. At least with the kind of winter we're having, the garden won’t even be thawed out until July giving me PLENTY of time in the studio! 

Art quilt, part of the "Powerline" series is about 13" x 30" tall. Cotton fabric, digital image transfers, fabric paints with free motion stitching. 

Art quilt, part of the "Powerline" series is about 14" x 16.5" tall. Cotton fabric, digital image transfers, fabric paints with free motion stitching. 

My Private Octogon Ocean

At 21 below zero I was better prepared for the extreme cold and had a warm kiln day! The metal work is going to have to wait until it is at least a balmy 10 above or even zero degrees. It is just way to miserable wearing my respirator and fogging my eye protection with my own breath or having my nose run inside of my welding helmet.

The bisque load I so patiently waited for turned out beautiful. Whew! My New Year’s goal of seeking “Nature’s patience” paid off. I was so tempted to lift the lid of the kiln early and take a peek, but I forced myself back into the studio to make some more fish and clay Shine-a-rellas that are now on the drying racks. The pictures are of the clay sea scape tiles with some of my Nature elements in the background. When I got to the last shelf, the fish looked like my private octagon ocean. The rough scriffito technique on the fish pair was my first attempt. I love the look but the sound and feeling of the marking through the glaze is uncomfortable for me to feel and hear…not sure what I’m going to do about that. One of the first pieces I formed was “Tired Old Moon.” I’m not sure how I am going to finish him but I’m so glad he survived the firing. There are several test tiles that I want to experiment with before I decide how to finish Mr. Moon.

Making sparks fly in the deep freeze

Back to work, no excuses, even if it is 10 below outside. Had I been better prepared this would have been a great kiln firing day, to warm things up a bit but instead I had a metal cutting day planned.

Brrrrrrrr, I was thinking that this deep freeze we are currently in, serves me right for all those epic ski days when I didn’t set foot in the studio and did not get any work done! This may sound a little “Northern Exposure” like, but for the first time ever, I had to put long underwear on under my Carhartt’s to work in the heated shop! Even though it was freezing cold outside, the black iron cut like butter. My Plasma cutter loves the dry air, and I love using way fewer consumables while getting much cleaner cuts. The smooth, quick, cut-once approach suits my freehand style perfectly. I laid out a 4 x 8 sheet of steel and used a Sharpie (which was too cold to work fluidly) to draw out a very cool octopus, Gallery pieces that included several sea life elements, a sea otter, ravens and some other individual artsy works to compliment my new clay work. I only got one sheet cut though, my feet were getting too cold on the concrete slab (even in my favorite pair of SmartWool's).

Some hardy souls are choosing to salute the deep freeze with a celebration of Alaska and life in the North. FREEZE is a bold series of large-scale outdoor installations in downtown Anchorage organized by The Alaska Design Forum in association with the International Gallery of Contemporary Art and the Anchorage Museum. So far, Mother Nature has been the perfect hostess.

The sun doesn’t rise very high in the winter sky and by mid afternoon it was time to call it a day. Even my “Chicken-vane” on our shed roof was cold, must be time for a Hot Toddy…