SewGreen News, March 22, 2009 www.sew-green.org Women's contributions to a better world are featured in number of public events in Ithaca in late March and April.
CONTENTS ~ Crochet, Math, and the Environment ~ Women Making History ~ Sister Friends ~ SewGreen at CSMA for Earth Month ~ Seeing the World through Haiku Eyes ~ "Upscale Resale" Benefit in April ~ SewGreen Class Openings CROCHET, MATH, & THE ENVIRONMENT, Monday March 23 Science writer Margaret Wertheim will give a free lecture at Cornell University Monday night, March 23, about a crochet project that has brought a new audience to environmental awareness. An Australian native who grew up near the Great Barrier Reef, Wertheim started a project with her twin sister to "grow" a full-scale reef and its myriad inhabitants from crocheted fiber. Since then, dozens of collaborators around the world have contributed pieces. The reef's authentic beauty derives from expert needlecraft using techniques of hyperbolic geometry published by Cornell mathematicians Daina Taimina and David Henderson. For more about Wertheim, the reef, and how to contribute to the reef's continuation, visit her website at the Institute for Figuring http://www.theiff.org/reef/index.html. Wertheim's talk, "Reefer Mathness: Confronting Coral Reef Destruction and Global Warming through Mathematics, Collective Art Practice, and Crochet," starts at 7:30pm in Bache Auditorium, Mallott Hall, on the university campus. A reception follows. WOMEN MAKING HISTORY, Thursday March 26 An illustrated historical timeline of women's contributions to society encircles the auditorium at the Women's Community Building, where the annual "Women Making History" event will take place Thursday, March 26, starting with a reception at 6:30pm. Following a short awards ceremony at 7pm for outstanding members of the City Federation of Women's Organizations, a panel discussion titled "Saving the Environment, One Woman at a Time" will feature local history-makers Judith Saul, Gay Nicholson, Tina Nilsen-Hodges, Sharon Anderson, Linda Wagenet, Betsy Darlington, and SewGreen's Wendy Skinner. The discussion will center on how women can get involved in environmental and sustainability initiatives, and will include time for questions. The event is free and open to all. The Women's Community Building is located at 100 W Seneca St, Ithaca. For more information, visit http://www.lightlink.com/womens. SISTER FRIENDS, Friday March 27 Meet, greet, and eat with fabulous women of many backgrounds at the 5th annual Sister Friend event Friday, March 27, at the Clarion Hotel off Triphammer Road. Sister Friends is an intergenerational and diverse event that celebrates women of all ages, sizes, religions, ethnicities, and cultures, and their relationships with each other. This year's program will feature a variety of performances by girls, teens, women, and elders. SewGreen will be part of the Women's Market, which runs from 11am to 3pm. A luncheon is served at 11:30 and the program starts at noon. Tickets are $20 and are available at GIAC, 318 N Albany Street, Ithaca and at the Multicultural Resource Center, Cooperative Extension, 615 Willow Ave, Ithaca. For more information, contact Audrey Cooper 272-2292, ext. 135. SEWGREEN AT CSMA, April 1 through 25 April is Earth Month, and SewGreen is celebrating the planet with events that highlight creative reuse of fiber, fabric, and fashion. A gallery show titled "R-E-S-P-E-C-T", to show respect for ourselves, the earth, and its inhabitants, will open Friday, April 3, in the main gallery at the Community School of Music & Arts, 330 E State Street, downtown Ithaca. The opening reception starts at 5pm with a not-to-be-missed green fashion show at 6pm. The gallery show will be up until Saturday, April 25, when it concludes with a Community Crazy Quilting Bee for anyone who wants to make or contribute a piece to a reuse crazy quilt that will be shown the next day at the Ithaca Earth Day celebration at the Farmer's Market pavilion. Crazy quilts are traditionally made from leftover and reused fabric in irregular geometric shapes, and often incorporate messages and images. SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH HAIKU EYES, Monday April 20 Zee Zahava will lead a free creative writing workshop, "Seeing the World through Haiku Eyes: Celebrating our Lives on Earth," in the gallery at CSMA, 6 to 8pm, Monday, April 20. Haiku is a lovely poetic form that lends itself well to reflections of life and the environment, and Zee makes creative writing a pleasure for anyone. Creators of haiku may contribute them to the community crazy quilt! Pre-register for the workshop through SewGreen, [email protected] or 607-277-7611. "UPSCALE RESALE" BENEFIT CLOTHING SALE, April 1 through 30 Tree Cook is back with another huge sale of well-selected vintage and gently used upscale clothing, including flax and designer labels. This earth-friendly sale will run for the month of April at Ulysses Square, just past Jacksonville on Route 96 North (about 5 miles past the hospital). Tree is donating 100 percent of the net proceeds to a few of her favorite organizations, including SewGreen! Watch for news of the Grand Opening on April 4. SEWGREEN CLASSES & EVENTS, this week A few seats are still available in: ~ Beginning Sewing II, 6 to 8:30pm, Tuesday, March 24. For beginners who want to learn more skills. ~ Beginning Sewing III (Spa Night! part 1), 6 to 8:30pm, Wednesday, March 25. Learn more sewing techniques while making comfort items including a flaxseed eye pillow and microwaveable grain-filled neck pillow. Make a kimono style robe in Part 2, 6 to 8:30pm, Wednesday, April 1, which can be attended separately. ~ Doll Clothes Workshop, FREE, 11am to 1 pm, Saturday, March 28. Mini-fashion playtime for all ages. ~ Zippers Demystified, 2 to 4pm, Saturday, March 28. Learn to put in a zipper. Unless otherwise indicated, classes are intended for teens and adults, and are held at the SewGreen classroom at the Women's Community Building, 100 W Seneca Street, downtown Ithaca. All materials -- reused, of course -- are supplied, and we sew with SewGreen's fine old restored sewing machines. Cost for a single class is $15. Scholarships are available. Pre-registration is required. Contact [email protected] or call 607-277-7611 to reserve a spot. FIGURE DRAWING FOR FASHION, April 21 through May 26, at CSMA SewGreen coordinator Wendy Skinner is also an artist with extensive experience in figure drawing, and she is offering a class through the Community School of Music & Arts in figure drawing for fashion. Students will be encouraged to develop their own style of fashion drawing while learning more about the human figure. The course is open to all levels of experience and recommended for anyone who enjoys designing fashions on paper, is preparing a portfolio, planning to enter the fashion field, or just wants an inspiring figure drawing experience. Contact CSMA at http://www.csma-ithaca.org/ to register online, or call 607-272-1474. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ To be added or subtracted from SewGreen's newsletter distribution list, contact Wendy Skinner, SewGreen Coordinator, [email protected], 607-277-7611. SewGreen is a not-for-profit community program. _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
