Genius on a train track

When I take the train into "Center City" (Philadelphia, for those who might be reading outside the tri-state Delaware Valley area), I frequently press my camera lens against the car window and snap frantically trying to capture the dynamic, fleeting, powerful urban art that I pass by. The pictures are never good.

I've harbored fantasies of slipping down through the urban obstacles to take good shots, but realize that if I did, the next post you would read would be a request for bail money!

So, how cool was it for me to discover Oliver Wright at a local street art fair in Ambler, PA this past weekend? VERY COOL. Oliver said, "I used to work on real trains..." and he sighed a wistful sigh. "Then," he said, "I grew up."

I don't want to send him bail money, but I was more than happy to plunk down my dinero for a table-sized piece of art:

Oliver Write - Revilo 215

Is this genius, or what? Now I can take my camera lens away from the train car window!

Here's Oliver's contact info. Pay him a visit, and tell him you heard about him from me.

http://www.revilo215.bigcartel.com/
on Facebook Revilo 215

A little bit Floo, a little bit Mooka...

gets us to Flooka! I've been playing around with this pattern for a while now. Some have even seen it show up in my classes. Traditional wordless instructions can be found on the "Tangle Patterns" page.

Flooka wildness!

What I've learned is that the curvier you make the initial stroke, the more Flooka looks like a curled up "pill bug." I've also learned that Flooka is ambidextrous, that is to say, you can curve the initial stroke to the left or the right.

I call it "Flooka" because the shape reminds me a little of the shape of "Floo" pods and because the second stroke reminds me of the "outside line creates the inside shape" nature of "Mooka." Strangely, the people to whom I've taught it (and I, myself) are reminded of caterpillars. We think, particularly, of the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland, although we don't exactly know why.