Featured Member: Pena Lynn
NAME: Pena Lynn
MEMBER SINCE: March 2017 (with no regrets)
PROFESSION/VOCATION?: Speech-Language Pathologist; Writer; Artist
Q0. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: I’m a speech-language pathologist helping figure out how to help children and adults communicate and learn. Part of what brought me to my profession is my interest in languages and learning about them. At work, I evaluate, gather information, collaborate with other professionals and we come up with a diagnosis/explanation. We work in teams, for example, autism team, behavior team.
Most weekends, I’m in my home studio writing and making things. I like to read and see how writers use words. I decided to become a writer at a young age and now I’m pursuing it with the help of my tutor and friend, our local author Bart Yates aka Noah Bly. I’m learning to write my first novel and I’ve been working on it for a few years, getting better from year to year.
Making things with paper and fabric gives me immediate reward and satisfaction from finishing a project in a short time.
My current projects are:
-finishing first draft of my novel
- I’m teaching myself to sew and making more tunics from dress shirts I got from thrift stores. I’ve “lost” 4 of them to my sisters, mother, and sister-in-law on my recent trip to the Philippines.
-using up scraps of fabrics by making crazy quilts I call “halo-halo” quilt (after the Filipino “halo-halo” dessert typically made of a mix of ingredients: sweet beans, gelatin, coconut, candied bananas, tapioca pearls, jack fruit, sugar, in shaved ice and milk, topped with leche flan and ice cream)
Q1. YOU x YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO PS1: My big project with PS1 was a co-show with my husband Dave Dugan titled “Scrap Happy Panels.” He showed his cartoons drawn on his handmade paper. I showed my quilts made from scraps of fabrics leftover from various projects, friends, and the lady on the bus. I also showed tunics I sewed from recycled kimonos and from men’s dress shirts. I called the dress-shirts-turned-tunics “Lolo’s Tunics” in honor of the grandfathers who probably owned the dress shirts I got from the thrift stores. (Lolo= grandfather in Tagalog and Ilocano, both Philippine languages).
At the time of our “Scrap Happy Panels” show, I wasn’t a member yet, and that was when I decided to become one). I’m a proud supporter and attend shows when I can.
Q2. THE FIRST IMPRESSION: I was introduced to PS1 by my husband who is a member of the IC Press Coop. I was impressed by the many activities on the board the first time I visited.
Q3. THE BEST (AND WORST!?): PS1 is a wonderful resource in our community. I’d like it to be more well-known so I don’t have to explain what and where it is.
Q4. WHY THE LOVE!?!? Art is beneficial to the community because it keeps people like me, who go crazy without it, out of trouble. I’m inspired by seeing works of other artists and knowing artists with the same interests, such as the Sew Good Sew Fun group, book makers.
I’ve experienced the presses when my husband worked on his projects. He had taken different courses and had introduced me to the intaglio and letter presses. I’ve been to different shows and met many of the artists. I’m glad that we have this resource and venue in Iowa City.
Q5.. PS1 x FUTURE: I would like to see PS1 in a brighter place and have it open for longer hours so that it is a ‘constant’ resource. I would also like PS1 to become more physically visible (like a gallery downtown???) and more well-known in the community.
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