Mindful Mending this Friday and Studio Updates from RIVTAK

In this (long-ish) Newsletter:
-Upcoming Workshops- This Friday!
-Shop Update- Handmade Mobiles next week!
-Observable Universe Fundraising and free Collage Night!
-Workshop I Taught- Recaps
-Newsletter Coupon Code for product sale!
-Community Happenings
-A note from River Takada

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Join me this Friday, August 2nd for a Mindful Mending workshop at The Durham Arts Council!

THIS FRIDAY!! at The Durham Arts Council, I’ll be teaching: Mindful Mending $30- (Find under “Summer Registration”)- Bring a few items that need mending and we will go over the many possible techniques to repair fabric items like clothing, bags, pillows, etc.

You will have to sign in to register through DAC.
These workshops are my MOST affordably priced workshops!

Friday Night Makes at DAC
Sign up early for Fall Registration:
Sept. 20th- Mindful Mending $30

Oct. 25th - Sashiko $43 ($25 registration fee, $18 Supply fee at workshop- Kit included).

Find these listings under “Friday Night Makes Fiber Arts”

SHOP UPDATE COMING…

sun drenched and summer inspired:

Made with brass wire, sun bleached wood, sun catcher crystals and geometric shapes.

Observable Universe:
Got some old magazines you need to clear? We’d love to replenish our stash!

Our next COLLAGE NIGHT:
Tuesday, August 6th, 6:30-8:30pm
Next Week!

Free Community Collage nights will be hosted on the First Tuesday of every month for the rest of 2024!

Become a Patreon on OU’s Pateron here, starting at just $3/month! (In the future we plan to offer complementary monthly workshops for folks donating at the $25 level! Stay tuned!)

It costs $1,800/month to maintain Observable Universe’s space at Ample Storage Retail (rent, wifi, water, electric, toilet paper, etc.)

Currently we have 59 sustaining donors giving $465/mo.
Please consider helping us to increase both of those numbers so that we can all continue to explore what’s possible in the Observable Universe. 👁️🌙
In celebration of Leo season and Heather’s birthday (July 28th) (and mine on July 5th)- we are doing a fundraising push to keep OU going strong for another season! Please read the caption on this instagram post by Heather Anne, the founder of Observable Universe.

Check out what we’re doing in the studio:

Artist Open Studio: Jaylan, @nonbinaryonthecouch, is a designer, artist and photographer. They have such a range of talents, I love to see how their mind works! They are making one-of-a-kind tee-shirts these days and so much more. Including some amazing portrait photography.

Your contribution of the Observable Universe Patreon allows for the space to exist for community makers and caretakers, like Jaylan and so so many more!

I love it when friends and fellow artists come to OU and work on their own projects. Making your vision of creative expression a reality is one of my greatest joys!

Become a Patreon

Just for newsletter members: Use the code STILLYOUNG to get 25% off your total purchase* to celebrate MY BIRTHDAY with me this month! I love the idea of you having and gifting my handmade items! Thanks so much for your ongoing support!

*Discount code will END when NEW MOBILES are launched in the next week!

Shop Online

Recent Recap of workshops: Summer camp at Freeman’s Creative, the last week of camp offerings was all about Quilting!

Here are the kids laying out their quilt designs on the wall in the Freeman’s Creative Classroom.

I’m amazed at the kids design skills- all those pizza slices… they are all appliqued sewn onto those quilt squares!

These kids went above and beyond! By the end of the 5 days, everyone was feeling confident on the sewing machine and patch worked a number of bags and pouches to go a long with their quilts.

Of coarse we covered this importance of labeling your quilt!

Recent work: You know I’ve been taking as many creative workshops as the budget allows in 2024! It’s so fun to join a group of strangers for a few hours, learn from an expert and play with materials in a new environment! This past month I took the time to just play and make paper, experimenting with shapes and layer as usual.

This month I took a Paper Making workshop at Triple Spring Studio in West Chapel Hill. I loved this outdoor studio and have plans to teach a low-tech screen printing workshop there on Oct. 6th! Interested in Paper Making? Well, I found this great video on Youtube and just had to share the beautiful space at Share Studio in Maine.

Just for Fun: I’m a scrap saver! I can’t help it! I love saving the little bits from projects instead of just banishing it to the landfill.

This week I decided to utilize some of my scraps for a Scrap Batting/Quilting exercise!

I making sewing machine covers like this one I saw on Leila Makes. This a v fun way to reuse my hand dyed scraps by quilting them under some sheer organza and tulle. I’ve seen people do this method and make all sorts of things- its great way to make one-of-a-kind textiles.

This feels like an accomplishment worth sharing…. This is my Mom’s serger, at least 25 years old! A part of the plate had broken I had stored it for years trying to replace the broken part… well, I finally did it and got it working again stitching a small rolled hem! Excited to stitch some bandanas with this family heirloom!

Remember…I compiled the most epic local directory/spreadsheet of places and people you can learn from- well, it’s always here! If you have interested to learn something I don’t teach, check out the 2nd spreadsheet in this file which has a bunch of local artists that teach! I am happy to add your name to the list- please send me any information and links you would like to add.

Creative Workshops Resources

In Our Community:

Seed Sewers- A non-profit organization offering sewing education to all ages who are interested in learning beginner level sewing and how to upcycle fashion. I am always thrilled to see past students take their sewing journey to the next level and start teaching! Congratulations Allie Capo! Allie will be teaching a kids workshop this weekend! Hosted at the Scrap Exchange.

We love Freeman’s Creative! They are an amazing resource in the textile community, with their knowledgeable staff and abundance of lovely inventory. They offer a wide range of workshops- check out their August offerings!

Check out SuperG- a place to learn about printing! Jillian Lea is teaching a Lino Cut workshop on August 24th. Sign up now!

I made a recap video on IG of the Continuing Ed Screen Printing workshop I took with Paige in March!

Night School Bar is a bar and pay-what-you-can arts & humanities classes. Online and 719 N Mangum St, Durham NC.

They have so many cool offerings like reading groups, film classes and workshops all about food!

Some of my summer reads:

Woman without Shame, Poems by Sandra Cisneros- a short read, only took me 2 hours!

The Lost Tomb by Douglas Preston- A collection of articles written about real life mysteries which inspired many best selling novels.

Touched by the Sun, My Friendship with Jackie by Carly Simon- What can I say, reading memoirs by famous people just feels like watching reality tv. Yes, I am watching Love Island UK and USA, as I do every summer!

And I am currently reading The Actual Star by Monica Bryn, which I had tried to read previously, but part of the story is based in ancient Maya where “Blood Letting,” aka Cutting/Self Harm, was common. I had to stop reading it b/c it gave me the creeps but Night School Bar is hosting a reading group for this book so I decided to give it a second chance! I like the comparison to Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower. It’s a long book, so I’ve been taking it slow.

STILL looking for a home for this lovely loom that has been sitting in my studio/storage for way too long! Know anyone who wants to take their weaving to the next level??

This handcrafted wooden floor loom is perfect for scarves, runners, etc!

Thank you for reading all the way to the end! I’ve been taking a social media break as a little birthday present to myself and I’m feeling much more relaxed not filling my every free second with scrolling.

Have you taken any workshops recently? Recommend any books? Any workshop requests for the coming fall and winter? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I’ve been having a fun time dreaming up what workshops I might offer this coming fall- the possibilities always seem endless and it’s daunting to schedule this and that. Next newsletter I might just include a survey to see when and what you all are interested in as far as workshops go!

Thank you so much for your support!

Cheers, River Takada

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R I V T A K