Speedy Higgins Plays the Drums 38H x 38W 2012

Artist Statement—After college, I lived in Kansas City, Missouri and worked as a cocktail waitress at the Grand Emporium. During the early 1990s, the Grand Emporium was the place to hear live music in Kansas City. It was twice voted “Best Blues Club in America” by the Blues Foundation in Memphis. Many a night, Speedy Huggins, a Kansas City jazz legend would drop by to see what was happening. He was in his late 70s at the time, but he still loved to dance with the ladies. He liked to have a Hennessy or two–but never three. And if a band asked him to jam, he would always say yes. Every so often, Speedy would stay until the lights were turned up, and it really was time to go home. After I’d wiped my tables down and stocked the beer cooler, I would drive Speedy over to the old folks home where he lived. We would talk about the night, music, dance, and Kansas City.

I am from northeast Kansas, and this Christmas I will be in Kansas City celebrating with my family. As I was searching for a quote about KC to begin the newsletter with, I could not find a good one! All Kansas City quotes are about —sports, jazz, and BBQ. And then, I hate to admit this, all the other quotes about Kansas are about it being—a flyover state, boring, and provincial. These things can be true if that is what you want to believe. But for me, it is home. 

Kansas City is the origin story for many things— Mickey Mouse, Bomb Pops, the multiplex movie theater, the candy coating on M&Ms, the Kansas City Chiefs, BBQ, and Kansas City Style Jazz.

The latest KC creation (and perhaps most fabulous in my world) is the quilt retreat space ART NEST owned and operated by my college friend Tina Jackson! It is going to be an amazing place to study with your favorite quilting teacher and/or bring your quilting posse for a private retreat. 

I visited the space this past fall, and it is all inclusive—a huge studio space with the potential for a wet studio, bedrooms galore for hunkering down, lovely outdoor areas and a fire pit, an industrial kitchen for catering, common areas for relaxing and more! To watch the rehab process for Art Nest, lots of modern quilting, and Tina’s crazy cats check out Tina’s instagram page @sewdreads.You can also sign up for the Artnest Newsletter and @artnestretreats on Instagram.I will be teaching at Art Nest on the regular—details in the near future. Retreat registration will be open starting February 1, 2024 with the faculty itself opening May 1, 2024.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Stitching Toward Discovery
Stitching Towards Discovery 2024 is now full, but you can still see amazing student work on my Instagram page. I will be offering this workshop again starting in January 2025. You can see my complete teaching schedule here. 

Improv for Everyone
Twice a year, I offer a budget improv workshop—$30 for a four hour RECORDED workshop! The next one will be held in January. It is all about half circles and lines! Here are the details.

IMPROV FOR EVERYONE—HALF CIRCLES & LINES 
Learn how to improvisationally cut and piece half circles with lines! We will discuss tricks for inserting additional information into our half circles as well as how to build curved units composed of line.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 2024
12 NOON-4PM East Coast Time
$30

STUDIO SNAPSHOT
I brought along some handwork to do on this trip. Never leave home without a quilt project or two AND some knitting! I am a lot of things, but I am NOT a light traveler. 

Happy Holidays--snow, family, good food, and gratitude-- to all of you! 

Maria

PS—Kansas City based Hallmark is credited with inventing decorative wrapping paper, so think about that as you are opening gifts this year!

PSS— "Kansas City" is a rhythm and blues song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952. The song became a chart-topping hit when it was recorded by Wilbert Harrison in 1959. "Kansas City" is one of Leiber and Stoller's "most recorded tunes, with more than three hundred versions”, with several appearing in the R&B and pop record charts. (paraphrased from Wikipedia)