Marysusan: All good girls are Marys

Love will Tear the Taconic Apart

2009-07-28T15:54:00.005-04:00

Watch the Monkey God

Hanging from my Dash

He knows

Where it Goes

Where it Comes

This Thing.

Contrary to Popular Belief

2009-06-13T11:45:00.003-04:00

Contrary to the thoughts of some...

I am not dead.

I have not dissapeared, nor have I moved to Tonga.

I've just been indisposed.

Watch this space for creative goodness, soon to come.

VERY VERY VERY soon....

Necessity is a Mutha

2008-12-30T18:52:00.003-05:00

Because sometimes you need something, and you need it RIGHT NOW!

We were on the train, Amtrak to be exact, to West Virginia. It was 6 am, and the sun was up, and I had been awake since 2. I was tired, grumpy, and only wanted to sleep. Unfortunately, the light was making it tough. Luckily, I had my size 9 needles and a skein of black Riverstone wool worsted in my knitting bag. I quickly whipped up a pattern in my head: cast on 18 stitches, knit 3 rows, purl 1, (to make a lifted rib to keep it from being heavy on my eyes) for 20 rows, then decrease at the bottom edge for 4 rows, then increase at the bottom edge for 4 rows, then repeat the purl 1 row, knit 3 rows back for 20 rows. Bind off. I wove in the ties (using the remnant of the long tail cast on for one tie).

The increasing and decreasing made the notch for my nose. It really worked suprizingly well, and by 7:30 or so, I had a functioning sleep mask.

The other passengers must have been SOOOOOO jealous.

OMG, someone likes me...

2008-12-11T17:10:00.008-05:00

So, I got all linkedy linked today and sorta featured in a blog write up on the joys of wool and felt, if you go to Moods and Appetites, you can see it. They pictured my Winter Majesty Necklace. You can also see some other impressively amazing felt work by some artists that totally make me drool, and who I DO NOT feel worthy to be pictured with.

I shamefully COVET that felted cat skull. Morbid? Yes. Fantastic? Abso-freakin-lutely!

Just call me Garth...

I'm not worthy....I'm not worthy....I'm not worthy

MAKE LIKE A STOAT

2008-11-04T18:38:00.004-05:00

Need I remind you, if you are in the USA today, to get out and VOTE VOTE VOTE like a BABY STOAT!

It is your priviledge and duty!

If you don't, you have nothing to complain about when your order isn't what you wanted!

All tied up

2008-10-18T21:21:00.009-04:00

It is finished. The corset is done, and I couldn't be happier. My fingers are tired and exhausted and a little bloody and bruised, but it is done.

It took several days to do the handwork on the corset.

I had to finish the eyelet holes in silk buttonhole twist (which was from a stash of vintage sewing goods and was about 120 years old.

Then I had to pin in the lining, and start binding the thing at the top and bottom edges. I had originally planned to use leather for the binding, but couldn't get the needle to get through, so I fell back on cotton.

It took me four days of hand sewing and pinning to get the bindings all done. I thought that it would never be finished. But it is, and I tried it on for the first time tonight, without lacing in too tightly for fear that a bone might snap. But I was lucky, and they all seemed to hold. I laced in over my chemise, and I was pleased that the look was very authentic. It was stiffer than any other corset I had worn, and I could definitely feel the "cone" shape that it was wanting to push my body into. It also seemed to push my shoulders and upper back forwards, which was something that I was not expecting.

What I'm bound to do...

2008-10-12T10:41:00.011-04:00

What the heck have I been doing with myself?

Honestly? I've been incredibly busy, just not with making as much stuff as I would like.

I have however been growing stuff (which I will share some images of).

Just recently I have gotten a fire in my belly again for the making, and thus I am back with posting to the blog. My latest project is a pair of 18th century stays using the JP Ryan strapless stays pattern.

I decided that it was time to have something to wear in my historical reenactment events that was a bit nicer than my leather jumps, and so wanted a pair of custom made stays, (corset) but was unwilling to pay the $300 and up to have them done. So as a challenge, I am making them myself.

I started on Saturday, October 11, and here is what I got done:

1. -Cut, sewed and fit the fitting muslin (out of muslin of course) which will then be used as the lining

2. -Cut the face and interfacing of the stays out of cotton drill which is a very heavy bodied fabric. (These are meant to be functional, not fancy)

3. -Sewed the face and interfacings together with a contrasting thread (machine stitched) so I could see the work

4. -Sewed up the body of the piece from the sandwiched face/interfacing pieces, once again in contrasting thread, and pressed open

5. -Sewed in the channels for the boning (yeah, machine stitched again, don't kill me, I only have a week to get this done) in a pale gold thread so it will be ever so slightly noticeable.

6. -Then I individual fit the bones into the channels. The channels were sewn to be 1/4 inch plus 1/16 ease to fit a 1/4 inch bone. I sewed all the channels freehand without marks, using only the presser foot as a guide, so it was a gamble if the bones would fit. I wanted to use half round basket reeding as my boning material, as this is fairly period correct. I cut each piece, shaped and sanded the ends, and in some cases, shaped the sides to fit the slightly more narrow edge channels. I ended up fitting in 88 bones to make a fully boned corset. I still have two bones to fit on the very ends outside the lacing eyelets....

The detritus of boning....

7. -I used a hammer and round punch to cut in the eyelets on one side (however after testing by sewing the eyelet, it may be too small and I may have to re-cut with a larger punch). I also turned the back edges over and hand basted the edge prior to punching the eyelets.

-WHEW~! All that in one day! What remains to be done is all the handwork...finishing punching eyelet holes, finishing them, sewing in the lining and binding all the edges...as well as checking for final fit and poky bones. I was going to bind in cotton, but I remembered some cream colored lightweight leather that I had laying around, and after consulting "What Clothes Reveal" I saw this was a very common binding material for corsets, and I think it will result in a sturdy finish.

Wish me luck!

Tigers in the Long Grass

2008-07-15T15:10:00.001-04:00

Tigers in the Long Grass, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

I'm looking for some inspiration....

I have been busy cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. You know how when you think you are going to make something, and then you start to "tidy" the studio or office, and then it becomes a massive cleaning extravaganza, and then you never end up making what you went in there to make in the first place? Well, that is the state I am in right now.

I have to get inspired enough to overcome the urge to clean and triumph with the urge to make.

I took a bunch of photos when I was walking in town, this being one of them...thinking I could use them for felting inspiration. It is worth a try at least, isn't it?

Wordle

2008-06-22T11:56:00.003-04:00

Another day, another new internet toy: Wordle

I created a wordle from the tags on my flikr images. I took a few out, that were a little personal or incongruous, fiddled with the colors and fonts a bit, and this is what I got.

I like it. I feel like it sums up what my art would be if it were manifest in word soup inside my brain. If you could open my cranium, it is what you would see on a hot June night.

Library Loving

2008-06-03T20:27:00.003-04:00

So my little exhibit at the library went up yesterday. It was the first time that I had done anything like that and I think that it looks pretty good. It took me some time to finesse it to where I was happy with the display, but in the end, I was pleased. It was a combination of my felt work and some photos of my felt being worn. It is just one display cabinet, but it is a start! It runs for the whole month of June, and at least now I can say that I have had an exhibit!

I also included an artist statement and a bit about the history of felting, as well as some of my microscope images of wool fibers.

Snake scarf gets LOVE

2008-06-03T17:30:00.002-04:00

snake scarf, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

So Craftmag saw my little snake scarf and decided to give it some love today in their blog. Yippee!

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2008/06/wetfelted_snake_scarf.html

If you were on Long Island, then you could see the real thing, as it in on display at my Library Exhibit.

I kind of love my little Rumpole the Reductive Rattler. He is wet felted, hand beaded and about 5 feet long. He works well as both a scarf and a belt. Totally fun.

Multitasking

2008-05-25T16:52:00.002-04:00

Talk about multi-tasking...

Even now, as I write this, I am being the consummate felting multi-tasker. I am listening to an audio book on my computer that is engaging of plot and amusing in the reading. I am fulling a new batch of felt (my third today) under my feet by rolling my bubble wrapped bundle of felt on a towel under the table while my husband looks on in horror. And finally, I am writing this missive to you. Not bad on a lazy lovely Sunday. I am busily making flat felt to turn into flowers for a little exhibition at the local library....hopefully I will have enough to fill the case and make it interesting.

Been gone a long time...

2008-05-13T18:42:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted in a long while, and I admit that I feel really guilty about that. I have my excuses and you probably don't want to hear them...but here we go anyway. I recently costumed another show at a local college (Dowling College), a production of "Little Shop of Horrors". This was a fabulous and rewarding experience. I really enjoyed working with a group of older actors who conducted themselves in a highly professional manner, as well as working with a director who really appreciated what good costuming could bring to a production. It was hard work, but worth it. And I got paid....which was also nice.

Then I did a "Sheep to Shawl" festival where I demonstrated felting all day. This was a fun day, as the sun was shining for a change and I managed to not only educate many people about the range of things that can be done with felt, but also sunburned my HANDS. Yes....just my hands. That is what happens when you wear a long shirt, floppy hat and sunscreen, but have your hands in soapy water all day in the sun.

I did hand out a few business cards and actually got a couple of convo's regarding some of my items which I had for perusal at the demo. Unfortunately, I think that when I mentioned price, it scared off some prospective buyers. I fear that is what often happens in the land of the handcrafted. Folks love the idea of a thing, but when they discover that the thing they love took 26 hand hours to create and (gosh) actually had material costs involved and so will have a price aligned with that fact, they no longer love the item so much. It is tragic, but I won't be a sad crafter who feels compelled to lower my prices just to move that item off my shelf. My integrity is worth more than that....thank you very much.

I am also busy making some new felt for an exhibit at a local library. I will keep more posted on this as it comes available.

Video Essay: Green everyday

2008-04-23T10:09:00.004-04:00

I know that I haven't been blogging as much about my art...which I am getting back to, BTW. But as spring comes, I am moved to think more and more about the environment, which is something that we think about all the time here. So I put together this little video essay with a few of the little things (beyond what I have already written about in this blog) that we do around here to be green)

Enjoy! (Comments are always appreciated)

Ranting till my face is Green

2008-04-22T08:16:00.002-04:00

primordial, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

It is Earth Day...which is sweet and all...but I find the whole "one day a year" of it mildly insulting.

I was reading my newspaper this weekend (Yes, I still get a newspaper. And yes, I either compost or recycle it) and there were tons of ads for "Green" products and businesses.

Come on people. Get real. What percentage of the public actually falls for this wholesale greenwashing that is being trotted out more and more and passed off to general consumers like it is environmentalism. Piss off.

If you care about the environment, you care all year....that is 365 days in my book (366 this year...you get an extra day of care-y goodness) not one day where you proclaim all your evils to be for naught.

I'm sick of it and I'm not going to take it anymore. If you pretend to be "green" then I am not going to be spending my dollars with you. Hey big company, know how we can tell you are an impostor? You use the word "GREEN" on your products of advertising and have done so either:
a: just around earth day
b: within the last year but are not a new company
c: and you are a petroleum company. There are no green petroleum companies...so that horse has flown the barn so to speak.

Also....don't insult me by coloring all your advertising green. It doesn't mean the stuff you make or sell is. You really should be ashamed of yourself. You know who you are.

If you are going to talk the talk, big businesses, walk the f-ing walk.

I'm done ranting for now. I think that I will go make some stuff that I don't have to label "green"...because handmade is just that by it's nature.

white curl earrings

2008-04-21T09:56:00.001-04:00

white curl earrings, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

Curly....white....fun. I love the assymetry and the movement in these. They are fun, springy, and great for spring. They weigh almost nothing. And will be up for sale very soon on my etsy page.

aqua necklace

2008-03-29T08:32:00.002-04:00

aqua necklace, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

My newest creation over at etsy. This felted necklace has been treated so that all those hard edges will remain nice and sharp. The glass beads that I used as spacers are absolutely delicious, and I have to admit that I was tempted to keep them for myself. I also used some cute cute cute green polka dot glass beads around the back of the necklace, so that it would feel nice and smooth against your neck.

There you go. It is for sale in my etsy shop. Go get it.

pink earrings

2008-03-25T13:09:00.001-04:00

pink earrings, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

Now hear this: I am branching out into earrings.

I had all these end bits from the felt ropes that I make to create the hard beads for the "Bullseye Bones" necklaces. I finally figured that they would make great earrings.

So here they are...and they are for sale in my Etsy Shop.

They kind of look like tiny hams, don't they?

Drink Green Beer

2008-03-24T08:44:00.005-04:00

Yeah, I know that St. Patricks is past. And I pity any of you out there who actually drink green beer on this most co-opted of holidays. What I am talking about is beer that is another shade of green...

In my house, we try our darndest to live pretty damn green. Our electricity is generated by the solar panels on our roof, we don't drive when we can walk, only one of us drives to work ( the other bikes), and we recycle/upcycle like crazy. We also extend this idea to what we eat. We have a pretty large garden that gets more productive every year. We try to grow the majority of what we eat in season, and when we can't grow it, we strive to shop local. And that is what brings me to our topic for today: Greening your beer...

I will admit, I am kind of a beer snob. But when ecology was a factor, it always tended to win over taste. In grad school, my roommates and I drank case after case of Old Milwaukee, because in Kentucky, it was the only beer that would take back the bottles for re-fill instead of recycling. It wasn't bad beer...but I knew that there had to be something better out there.

Now we have great options in the form of micro-brewers. Do a Google search. Go ahead, I'll wait. I bet you can find at least one brewery within 100 miles of you. And if you do...buy your beer from them. It is so much greener than that fancy import from Germany or Holland or Bavaria that you have been drinking, and it probably tastes better too.

Think about the reduced carbon footprint simply by reducing the shipping distances that are involved in getting the brew to you when you purchase local. This is a huge environmental benefit. You also get the added charge of pumping dollars into your own local economy, which can never be bad.

Our local brewhouse is the Blue Point Brewery. We are lucky in that they are only a few miles away. They also are super green, because they give you the option to buy the beer in growlers which are essentially gallon jugs. If you have a couple brewmeisters in your house, this could be a good option for you. The awesome greenness of the growler is that you wash it when it is empty and you can take it back to the brewery (or a couple of other convienent beer sellers with Blue Point taps) for a fill up. You get a little discount on the price of the brew going in the jug, and you get to know that you are keeping a big old chunk of glass out of the recycling stream, by re-using - which should always come before recycling anyway.

(If you go to the BPB, try the Old Howling Bastard...you will never be the same)

So eat, drink, and be merry my friends....but keep it local if you can. You will feel good about it in more ways than one.

New Endeavor

2008-03-21T09:46:00.003-04:00

I just published my first instructable:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-wet-felted-wool-curly-que/

I used the video's that I have posted here on the blog, but now they have some written instructions and some additional edifying images.

Enjoy!!!!

fungus among us

2008-03-21T08:26:00.002-04:00

fungus, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

Yeah, I know that this isn't a fiber...but I love how this picture came out, so I am posting it anyway. This is kind of the most extreme Macro you can get. What you are looking at here are the fruiting bodies of a common bread mold, stained for visibility and viewed through a microscope at 100x.

I took the photo by fitting the microscope with my digital eyepiece that I bought surplus from Russia. (My school couldn't afford one at the time and I REALLY wanted one) I think that it looks like modern art, and it kind of reminds me of my encaustic flower paintings that I do when I am not wrapped up in wool roving.

Maybe I should blow this up and sell the prints on Etsy...it really is kind of oddly lovely, isn't it?

corriedale 100x

2008-03-19T07:55:00.002-04:00

corriedale 100x, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

THE SCALES! LOOK AT THE SCALES!!!

Yup...that is what makes this stuff felt so well....

When you heat these fibers up, those scales flip open and just grab each other like crazy.

LOVE IT.... I really do.

Cashmere 100x

2008-03-16T16:17:00.002-04:00

Cashmere 100x, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

When art and science meet.....it can be a beautiful thing. In Forensic Science class last week, I was teaching my students how to recognize different fibers microscopically. While they were looking at fiber samples through the microscopes, I took some photos of thier best samples. I thought that I would share some of the better ones with you.

I took this with my camera, a steady hand, my students and a microscope. Yes, it is green dyed. If you look at the image in the largest format, you can see the cuticle scales on each fiber.

living room shelves: eye spy game and contest

2008-03-02T12:12:00.002-05:00

living room shelves: eye spy game, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

Can you spot all the hand made items on this page?

If it is an Etsy item, can you find the shop it came from?

If you click on the photo, it will take you to the original flickr file, where you can add your comments and notes.

I think that I shall make it a contest. Every one who leaves a comment on the Flikr photo, trying to ID an item is eligible.

The prize will be a set of hand felted hairpins, just like the one's I sell in my Etsy shop, ...as well as some possible goody destash items waiting to go in my other shop, toomuchmary.etsy.com

The EYE SPY contest will run until March 8th, 2008.

Good Luck!

I will choose the winner totally at random.

A Dark Confession

2008-03-01T16:47:00.002-05:00

nutmeg, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

I have a confession to make.

My husband hates nutmeg. Or at least he thinks that he hates nutmeg. Every time that I make a quiche or an egg dish he complains that I put nutmeg in it. Now I know that I do NOT over season my food, be it with nutmeg, or salt, or anything else. I also know that if you DO NOT put nutmeg in a baked egg dish the flavour falls flat.

So I have started putting nutmeg in everything I cook.

EVERYTHING.

It is only a little bit. But it is going everywhere....all the time.

He has been complimenting me on my cooking more than ever.

What does this say about his sense of taste? What does this say about our relationship? What does this say about his fear of nutmeg?

More importantly, I wonder if he actually reads my blog?

What do you have to confess? Feel free to do it here. I am pretty confident that YOUR significant other doesn't read this blog.

Felting Tutorial Part 3: Curly-que

2008-02-25T17:48:00.003-05:00

Welcome to Part 3 of my felting tutorial on making a Curly-que.

Part 3 covers how to shape the Curly-que, after it has been formed and wet felted. You can find Parts 1 and 2 posted yesterday and the day before!

I would also like to give a big shout out to Linda over at The Craftgossip Blog Network, who picked up Parts one and two of my tutorial on the felting section of her blog today. You ROCK!!!

Felting Tutorial Part 2: Curly-que

2008-02-24T09:24:00.004-05:00

Here is part 2 of my Video Felting Tutorial: Felting a Curly-Que.

This portion of the tutorial covers the actual process of wet felting around the wire form. Part 1 covered how to wind the felt around the wire form and prepare it for wet felting. (If you haven't seen Part 1, it is in yesterday's post!)

Enjoy!

Link to part 1 of the tutorial here: Take me to it!

Felting Tutorial Part 1: Curly-que

2008-02-23T14:34:00.004-05:00

I thought that it would be fun for me to start filming a series of tutorials on some basic felting techniques.

So here is the first in that series: How to wet felt a curly-que, just like the one you see here!

These little curls are really useful as embellishments or as fun elements in larger pieces, I use them all the time. Besides, they are a great place to start because they work up quick, don't take much roving, and they are just as whimsical as all get out. They can take something that is kind of ho-hum and elevate it. They can also be just the thing to add a touch of the organic to a piece that is feeling a little staid or static.

I hope you enjoy part 1 of this tutorial, parts two and three will follow shortly!

Part 1: Taming the wool (The wind up)

Part 2: Prepare to get wet (Felting it up)

Part 3: Taking shape (Forming the curl)

I must be Bored...

2008-02-22T14:54:00.002-05:00

Herbert LOL cat shopping for bike shorts, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

If I am doing things like this to my perfectly good photographs. Actually, I recently discovered fd's flickr toys and have become addicted to them. I kind of hate lolcats, but here I am making one out of this picture of my dear Herbert, never-the-less.

I have also created a bevy of psuedo inspirational posters that I am VERY tempted to share with the viewing public at large. They are misanthropic and somewhat offensive. I kind of love them.

My husband wants them for his office, so his college students will really grasp where they stand with him. If you want to see them, click on my flickr stream there on the left sidebar.....go ahead. I double dog dare you.

Wearing your heart outside your chest: Featured Etsy seller: EHMEGLASS

2008-02-21T08:36:00.007-05:00

FEATURED ETSY SELLER: EHMEGLASS.ETSY.COM

My husband has great taste. Let me just start off by saying that. He also has the good sense to shop for me from my Etsy favourites list.

Good Man....

So for Valentine's day I received the most perfect peice of jewellry you could imagine for a romantic biology teacher. Isn't it great? I can't wait to wear it to school, and for the kids to see it. Nothing like wearing your heart on the outside of your chest for all to see...

I think one of the best things about it must be in the nature of the glass itself. As you wear it, it gets warm. And while I am certain that it only acheives body temperature, you could almost imagine that it feels a bit warmer than that...giving it the illusion of having a tiny life of it's own. The detail in this coronary cadeaux is just amazing, and the biologist in me delights in it. The artist in me wonders at the process, but honestly, doesn't want the mystery spoiled.

All of the work coming out of Amy Johnson's Toronto TANK studio has this amazing organic quality that just draws you in. It makes you want to touch it, and caress it. Because while all her product is glass, it does not appear precious or weak. This stuff is strong. At least in appearance and intent if not in reality.

You owe it to yourself to see what she can do...I can attest that as fantastic as her work appears in photos, her efforts are even better when you hold them in the palm of your hand.

ON pins and Pins

2008-02-19T17:31:00.004-05:00

Hair Pins...something new to do with my hardened felt:

I had these left over felt beads that had already been hardened with the acrylic so I had to figure out what to do with them. I am kind of over seeing buttons stuck on the end of bobbie pins...but I thought that my felt disks were quite different!

Now I think that I shall whip out a few of these whenever I have some left over bits at the end of a necklace making session...

Too Much Mary

2008-02-18T19:29:00.002-05:00

Too Much Mary Banner copy, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

So...while I did not get much made, I have gotten some organizing done. In the course of going through my studio I decided that I have too much stuff. Plain and simple: there is Too Much Mary.

I have too much of Mary Jane in me. She was my grandmother who ran an antique shop called "The Elephant's Foot" and never threw anything away. It is a dangerous and delicate rope to walk, and I acknowledge that.

Hence, me opening up a second shop purely for destash. And when I say destash, I mean it. I am getting rid of the dusty, the old, and that which I must finally admit to myself that I shall never use. Maybe these things will inspire someone else.

Come check it out, I will be listing things fairly constantly, until the point is reached where my studio space no longer tests the boundaries of physics.

So the new destash shop is: http://toomuchmary.etsy.com

I will ALWAYS be found making art at my regular address: http://marysusan.etsy.com

A few Favourites on a winter day

2008-02-18T10:24:00.001-05:00

A few Favourites on a winter day, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

Still getting into a creative mood...and searching for inspiration on a cold, wet day.

1. Tree Peony, 2. Mietze and his true love 1, 3. Untitled, 4. feltygoodness, 5. Stack of pearls earrings, 6. Indie snow07, 7. PAISLEY PARK, 8. Felt Cherry Drop Scarf, 9. 1008, 10. Loop Di Loo - Sold, 11. Catch the Brass Ring, 12. wedding bouquet, 13. Liebe von Volkwagen #1, 14. dressed without a face, 15. Untitled, 16. winterdetail2

vases

2008-02-17T16:47:00.002-05:00

vases
Originally uploaded by Marysusan

I haven't managed to make anything yet today, but have cleaned in my pit of a studio and have taken a few nice photos in the fading February light...and that is something.

Isn't it?

Add: I did in the end make something, now the light just needs to return so I can photograph it.

Abandoned

2008-02-17T12:04:00.002-05:00

abandon
Originally uploaded by Marysusan

Where is my muse?

I am waiting for inspiration to strike. Now that the play is over and I can finally get into the studio and make some things for myself alone, I find that I am at an impase as to how to do so.

Perhaps I just need to get in there and make something, anything, to get the juices flowing. I know I NEED to do it....or else I will just stay in this grey limbo of doing nothing, which is a kind of artistic metastasis.

It has got to break.

Beautiful in pink

2008-02-15T05:20:00.001-05:00

For our latest show we executed over 35 outfits that had to be made raw....20 of those were for the Beautiful Girls number. We made a progression of pink flapper dresses that went from pale pink to a vibrant orange. They each had a vintage rhinstone buckle at the shoulder and a pink headband to tie everything together. Each dress was custom made for the girls' measurements, so that they could dance in them and feel comfortable. This was probably the biggest overall task that my girls and I had to tackle for this production of "Singing in the Rain". We also made the sparkly pink top hat, to go with the tux (which was donated for the event).

(All faces were blurred as all actors were minors)

Dress without a face

2008-02-14T19:32:00.003-05:00

I have discovered the danger of things being too good.

Here are two of the costumes from the show that I just finished. They are from the "Dancing Cavalier" section of Singing in the Rain that I made for our winter production. Faces have been removed, as it is a High School production and the actors are minors.

The dress has almost 20 yards of fabric in it...BTW.

Unfortunately, tons of people just assumed that we had either purchased the dress or had borrowed it from a local museum or costume house in the city (one of the possibilites being this close to Manhattan). Folks just could not beleive that we (my mum and I) made this dress. She gave me some amazing help on the bodice during her Christmas visit and then I completed and fitted the dress over the next week. There were over 30 woman hours of work in that baby. Don't get me started on the man's version...

They were just amazing on stage...I was so happy.

Exquisite Corpse

2008-01-31T20:19:00.000-05:00

I can't show you what I have been making lately, as it is for the school play...perhaps I can post some production stills later...

But I can post some links to my most current writing. I recently reviewed the book Exquisite Corpse by Mark Nelson and Sarah Hudson Bayliss. It is about the connections between surrealism and the Black Dahlia murder. It combines my two interests of art and forensic science. You can read that review in its entirety HERE.

But here is an excerpt, or an amuse bouche if you will :

The authors of Exquisite Corpse, Mark Nelson and Sarah Hudson Bayliss, posit an extremely interesting hypothesis: that the murderer of the "Black Dahlia" was inspired by, and intimately involved with, the surrealist art movement. This in and of itself is an extraordinary claim, which unfortunately relies on too many layers of assumptions and suppositions to be held truly credible in anything but the realm of pure theory.

The core of the text makes the basic assumption that the murderer of Elizabeth Short, a.k.a. The Black Dahlia,was George Hodel. This information is relied upon as if it were fact in this book, which unfortunately, it is not. There is one major source that proposes Hodel is the Black Dahlia killer, and that is his own son, Steve Hodel. Exquisite Corpse fully hangs its hat on this idea of Hodel being the killer. If this were not the case, their hypothesis would crumble like the walls of Jericho. Once one buys the idea of Hodel as the killer (largely based on the presence of two pictures of a pretty, young unidentified woman in a Hodel family photo album, which Steve Hodel identifies as Elizabeth Short, frankly, I don't see the resemblance), then the connections to the surrealist movement can be made.....

Superhero

2008-01-12T09:43:00.001-05:00

I love fun silly saturday morning time wasters. Here is my newest one, the HEROMACHINE.

I have generated two alterego's for myself:

The Lab Girl:

Has the ability to...

Prepare lessons at lightning speeds
Implant info in students' brains telepathically
Blast the occasional jerk with a "Behaviour Modification Ray"
Fold time for grading purposes
Look fabulous Doing it
Repel stains and evildoers with her Lab Coat of Majesty

The Good Girl Mary

Has the ability to:

Create something from nothing
Whip onery felt into shape
Get others to shop Handmade

Blast the Big Box Stores (metaphorically speaking or course)

See the good in everything
Alter space and time to pack more matter than possible by mere physics into a small space
Blow away creative blocks

You can make your own SUPERHERO at:

http://www.marvelvc.com.br/Hero/

Have fun!

What have I been doing with myself lately?

2008-01-09T18:13:00.000-05:00

You might have noticed that I haven't been posting a terrible lot in the recent past. This is because I have been working my little fingers to the bone costuming our Winter Musical. I thought that I would post a couple snaps of one of our latest creations.

This is Miss Marissa, a lovely young student at my school who is playing Lena in our production of "Singing in the Rain." The gown was sewn by my sainted mother and myself. We mostly completed the bodice together in a couple afternoons and one hectic morning during her Christmas-time visit, I then completed the remainder of the dress last weekend. The wig is constructed from two wigs, that are supported with foam inserts and supplemented with flowers, bows, birds and yes a cage.

And this is just the beginning.

Christmas Gifting

2007-12-25T11:20:00.000-05:00

So...I haven't been able to show you much of what I have made lately, because it was intended for Christmas gifting, but as a couple of the recipients are in transit and out of range of the possibility of Internet corruption, I can reveal a few of the goodies I put together, but only a few:

I whipped up some felted soaps for stocking stuffers:

I made a gift box of 20 handmade cards for my mother to send. I thought that this would be a nice gift. They tend to be cute, as does she....

....but a few trend to the artsy...

The other goodies I can't show yet! I plead for patience!

Punk hair for babies...cause they don't have any...

2007-12-16T14:50:00.000-05:00

I have been busy lately making Christmas stuff and not stuff so much for Etsy. Thus, if I posted photos of the things I have been making I would be giving away the secrets of Christmas gifts. I did, however make a prototype gift of a baby hat with a Mohawk, for all my post-punk parent friends. Unfortunately, I truly screwed up the measurements and the thing fits me. Soooooo, I now have a Mohawk hat, and I still have to make half a dozen of these before the Holiday arrives. This one was supposed to be for a friend's 3 month old boy.

Errrrghhh!

If I had known I was making it for myself, I would have given it a longer crest, and the crest would have been pink. DAMN.

Raw Bones: Felted necklace

2007-12-09T14:35:00.001-05:00

This is the "Raw Bones" felted necklace. When I finished the snake, treated it with the acrylic, and cut it, I thought that it looked like uncooked bones....which is kind of creepy to me, being a vegetarian. However, with the little rose quartz spacers and the touch of red coral, it turned out to be quite the engaging necklace. The upward facing side of the cut beads really does frame the face.

Even if it is a little...morbid?

Felt Heirloom Roses

2007-12-02T14:40:00.002-05:00

So...I am off the Peonies for a little bit and on to Heirloom Roses. I consider this little guy to be an heirloom rose, cause he is so open. Aren't those the roses we always remember as smelling the best and lasting the longest, even if they were not the most showy in the garden?

This 4 inch wet felted and hand beaded beauty with needle felted details would dress up any ensemble, from a simple black turtleneck, to a blushing pink evening gown. It also looks spectacular in a chignon, and that is why it is convertible from a hair fork mounting to a traditional corsage pin.

I love making these, and I made the flat felt for this over the summer, and had it sitting about for a while waiting for it tell me what it wanted to be. Last night it whispered to me...so I helped it along.

How I love my Newsday!

2007-11-28T21:06:00.000-05:00

So tomorrow I am in Newsday again! Yippeee!!!

They are publishing their Handmade Shopping Guide, and I get a picture and a blurb.

The link to the web version is above....psssst I'm #5.

SWEET!!!!

Guess I am going to need to make more flowers this weekend!

Winter White Majesty Necklace

2007-11-24T12:33:00.000-05:00

This is the Winter Majesty Necklace. It is a blend of cream and white merino and corriedale rovings that were wet felted and then sculpted. It is embellished with freshwater pearls and some very tiny sweet pearly seed beads. I simply adore the sculptural nature of this piece, and think that it is one of the most visually interesting and inspired things I have made in some time.

I can imagine the White Witch of you-know-where wearing this to a garden party before she drinks some sweet pale wine. It would look amazing with a simply cut evening dress....or a black V-neck T-shirt. It would be divine for a winter wedding! It weighs hardly a thing for being so substantial.

The process of building it was really organic, in that I started with the curly-cues and then went out from there, adding elements and sculpting parts as the necklace called for them. The part that is slightly redolent of a marriage between an open egg and a bird's nest dusted with spun sugar was actually felted around a small stone from my garden, which I then freed from it's woolly captivity. The tiny felt and pearl "cameo" on the opposite side is the doorway through which the stone made it's exit.

I'm almost too much in love with it to let it go....almost, but not quite. It could be yours...just go to Etsy.

Blue felt necklace

2007-11-22T15:28:00.001-05:00

I just completed this blue felt necklace...somewhere between making the mushroom galette and the vegetable broth. I had to to take a break from the cooking and so THIS was my thanksgiving. It is made from a rope of wool felt which was layered in different colors before felting. After I wet felted it and it was dry, I soaked it in a liquid acrylic polymer so that it could be cut and it would keep it's sharp edges. I cut it and strung it today. The necklace is just shy of 15 inches long, so it lays ever so elegantly against the collar bone. The beads are glass and the clasp is silverplated and magnetic (so it goes on SOOOOOO easily). I love it, because it gives a great pop of color around the face and is a real statement peice. It is for sale on Etsy as we speak.

Wet Felting Flower Seminar with Carol Cypher

2007-11-18T18:21:00.000-05:00

So, I said that it would be coming and here it is. The complete rundown on the Carol Huber Cypher workshop that I went to last weekend. If you can imagine that lovely wooley smell that is slightly redolent of wet dog, then you can feel like you were actually there.

We arrived and were greeted with a long table covered in luscious wool. It was full of little bags filled with roving in stunning color combinations. We each chose our seats and our bags, fully geared up for a full day of felting and fulling. ( Could I use the word "full" there a few more times?)

Then it was time to design our flowers for our lariats. Mine started out looking like the love child of Cousin It and Man Ray. They were puffy and lovely and tempting to pet, but always remember and never forget: Don't pet the felt!

The water came out and it was time to start felting....and rubbing and felting and rubbing some more...with intermittent peeks to check on the progress of the flowers.

Next we moved on to the fulling and shaping of the flowers. Folks went wild here, some ended up with multi-petaled rose/violet hybrids that exist no where but in the imagination. My flower called out to be a trumpet shape, like the Angel Trumpet Flower, so I did my best to give it what it wanted.

Next we made our lariats. This involved essentially laying wisps of roving down over a long length of roving, building up thicknesses where we wanted to cut leaves later, and adding in colors for interest. We then felted these as a rope, and tried not to entangle each other's fibers at the same time.

Below is some great video of Carol explaining how to cut the rope part of the lariat to sculpt it!

Then it was time to bead and assemble. Carol was insanely generous in sharing her impressive bead stash with us. I was immediately drawn to some lavender fringe beads that seemed to be just the thing for my lariat. I didn't want to overdo the beadwork, but I still wanted it to have some pop. I also added a little pekoe stitch beading around the edge of one of the petals for some textural interest.

Here are some photos of the finished product. I really love how it turned out. The image on the left is before it was quite done (hence the hanging thread)...the one on the right is pretty much fully realized. One thing that I did that I love is that I split open the "bump" that I had sculpted into the "pod" end of the lariat and sewed in a lava bead. It looks like a primeval seed.

My husband says that they whole thing looks like it is about to assimilate me , like a Triffid. He couldn't be right....could he?

Parting with Art...

2007-11-17T18:30:00.000-05:00

So I just sent off two of my little paintings and an acrylic felt flower to new homes today. I decided that the flower needed a special little send off, so I made this gift box for my customer to find it in.

Hopefully, it will be a bit of cheer in this week of dreary weather. (And a bit of an added surprise for her, unless she reads my blog of course!)

The paintings were a long awaited commission for a lovely customer who already owned one of my "Angry Flower" encaustic paintings. These two will turn her previously lonely singlet into a fulfilled trio.

It has been a while since I have done any encaustics and it felt good to get back in the studio and get some paint on my hands and wax on the palette.

Carol Huber Cypher: Felting Recharge!

2007-11-12T10:20:00.000-05:00

So I got to go to two felting workshops this weekend that were a total creative recharge for me! They were both held at Rumpelstiltskin Yarns, in Sayville NY, and they were taught by the felter and teacher extraordinaire, Carol Huber Cypher. She is truly amazing. She was so patient, kind, generous, and knowledgable. I could have done an entire year of workshops with her and still had more questions to ask...but that is just me. On Saturday we made felt beads all day. Now this is something that I know how to do, but WOW! Working with Carol I really got to go back to the basics and refine my technique. Being self taught, you don't often know when you are doing something wrong, or could be doing something better. This was a perfect time to learn!

We made some wet felted beads (the bi-cone, the burgundy and gold disk, the briolette, the coil, and the "mille fleur" cut) ...then in the afternoon we needle felted.

The green and white knobbly bead is needle felted and covered in silk tussah and is meant to emulate a baroque pearl. I also needle felted the grey white and green bead, the tubular white red and blue beaded bead, and the pair of lungs which will get mounted on a pin backing and worn to classes at school (always the bio-teacher doncha know!)

Next post I will show the Felted Flower Lariat that we made on Sunday...Delicious!

Requiem for a Black Squirrel

2007-11-04T17:28:00.000-05:00

There is a small odd enclave of genetic mutant squirrels that live in my town. In fact, they have often taken refuge on my property. They are like normal squirrels in every way but for their color. They are a dusky, rich, sooty black. I love the black melanistic squirrels. I always imagine that they get picked on by their grey brethren, and perhaps they are less suited for survival, as their coloration makes them an easier target for local predators.

There was a particular dark and frisky little guy that had taken up residence in our neighbor's old maple tree, and sometimes sought refuge in one of our sheds (Shed # 3 of shanty town, for those of you in the know). I would watch him scamper up and down the trees and across the yard, gathering acorns and nuts and fruits from the local gardens. He was always easy to spot.

Today my husband was putting the hoses away for the season in the third shed. He pulled an old wooden wine box out from the shed that was full of leaves and paper. It was a squirrel nest. This intrepid rodent had constructed his nest from both leaves and vintage Rolling Stone magazines from the 60's and 70's, thus making himself the hippest bushy tail on the block. I took a stick and stirred up the nest a bit, to see if I could discern his preferences, John Lennon or ACDC, and to my horror, saw a puff of black fur. It was a tail...that was attached to a rather stiff and flat and definitively dark squirrel body.

My beloved melanin enriched nut-eater was no more....

So here is to you, my kindred genetic mutant, at least you died in a comfy nest of musical coolness, protected from the cold and wet, and long of tooth.

Here is to you.... I pour out some tea by the fig tree for my tiny melanistic homie.

(PS: I will admit that for a very brief moment after his discovery, as I stood there with the poking stick in my hand, I was trying to figure out if I could somehow work him into an assemblage, but then decided better of it...)

Etsy Blogger: Project Felt

2007-11-03T14:05:00.000-04:00

I want you to check her out: http://projectfelt.blogspot.com/ . She felts, writes about felt, ecology, the need to reduce and recycle both in art and in life, and lists some pretty darn cool stuff on Etsy. I feel a kindred spirit coming on....I am totally adding her to my blog roll.

Last week: Met a new artist Sharon Henson

2007-10-28T17:22:00.001-04:00

Well, she is not so new, but I did meet her at a festival last weekend. She does daily paintings and puts them up on her blog so they can meet the world. I really like her tiny paintings of food, but that might be because I like to eat all the time.

I talked to Sharon for a while and tried to convince her to come and check out Etsy as a platform for selling her work. She had never really looked at it before. Check out her blog and tell her how groovy she is! http://dailypetitepaintings.blogspot.com/

Headed to the Coffee Shop

2007-10-28T13:10:00.000-04:00

I'm headed over to Starbucks to fill them in about the wrap thing yesterday. My main concern is if this happened to someone with a food allergy, it could be REALLY bad, not just icky like for me.

I'll fill you in on what happens!

UPDATE:

I went to the Starbucks, explained what happened in a very calm way. They filled out an incident report and brought me a free coffee as we talked (the assistant manager and I). They didn't have to do that vis a vis the coffee, BTW. She said the report would be sent to Seattle headquarters and that they would get back to me.

She asked if there was anything they could do to make things right or to restore my confidence in the shop. I told her that I didn't want anything, that simply listening and filing the report so that it would not happen again was enough. I told her that I come in almost every Saturday for my coffee and that would not change. I simply wanted to let them know what happened.

I honestly think that she was taken aback when I didn't ask for anything. I got the feeling that she didn't know what to do next. Asking for someone to "pay" for a mistake just isn't my style. However, I get the sense that most folks do expect financial retribution or merchandise.

Hopefully, they will either eventually make the wraps open on one end so you see what you get, or label them more clearly so the barissta's won't make such an obvious mistake again.

Starbucks Mishap

2007-10-27T13:36:00.000-04:00

I was just poisoned by Starbucks:

I went there during my usual Saturday morning town stroll, and decided that in addition to my standard Grande Hazelnut Latte, that I would try one of their new breakfast sandwiches, as it might be a nice change from the egg on English muffin that I normally get at the bagel place.

Well, I ordered the Spinach and Feta with Roasted Tomato Wrap, as that is the only item in the category that is meatless. You see, I have been a Vegetarian since I was 14, so that makes me totally meat free for over 21 years now.

They gave me my sandwich and drink, after messing up my order a little bit on the drink (evidently the H was misinterpreted as an A so they made an almond latte the first time around), and I headed home, as it had started to rain.

I got home, settled in with the mail and opened the bag with my sandwich and happily started to chomp away. Something wasn't right....it tasted kind of funny.

I took another bite, figuring it was just in my head. It still tasted very strange. I looked down into the wrap and saw that there was something pink inside, and it wasn't a tomato. It was bacon. I had been given an avocado, egg, and turkey bacon wrap instead.

I spit out what was in my mouth, drank a bunch of water, and am now sitting here with the wrap in its bag, my hands shaking and some terribly awesome stomach cramps.

What would you do next?

Do I take it back and complain? Do I just chalk it up to experience and never eat anything that I can't see the insides of again? What do I do?

Parade Day

2007-10-20T16:58:00.000-04:00

I love this costume.

The idea of disguising a dog as another type of dog...

brilliant.

I was roaming the town festival today and took many awesome shots of our annual Halloween parade...which is a bit more like a disorganized stroll, but who is checking on these things, really.

I thought that I would post a few up, in particular the ones that didn't look so stalker-ish. Nothing says weirdo like standing on the side of the street, taking pictures of other people's kids.

Tiny Jack Sparrow and Tiny Policeman, hand in hand.

Who says there can't be peace in the middle east?

Seriously Dude.

This is bull....ballerina bull.

I had MANY more pictures, but for privacy reasons, didn't want to put them up for the world to see. If you were at the parade or walking in it and can describe your costume or your child's costume I shall happily go through the pictures I took today and email any that might be of your family to you! I feel so luck to live in a town where we still do such lovely fun little things like this...

Time Travelling again...

2007-10-16T06:06:00.000-04:00

Sew, Saturday was a day for making things historic and Sunday was a day for wearing them. For a long time now I have volunteered with a local historical society to teach and demonstrate some of the finer points (or not so fine points) of colonial living. This means demonstrating things that were chores, not pretty foofy things...so I don't wear pretty foofy things.

Sunday was meant to be chilly up here in New York, so I wanted to make a warm jacket that I could wear with my colonial get-up. I have four petticoats and thick stockings already, so keeping my lower half warm wasn't an issue, but I often only wore my chemise and leather jumps on my upper half, and that could be cold.

I dug out a historically correct pattern that I had ordered ages ago for a Carraco Jacket and some variations thereof, and rendered it in a fine red wool herringbone tweed. I didn't have time to finish the sleeve edges, as the pattern called for a winged sleeve, but with all the activity I do while wearing it, I am afraid that it would rip, so I think I will just hem them later.

This is what I ended up with. The back looks a little lumpy, but that is because you are seeing some of my corset lacing through the back, and I just drove home. (That tend to wrinkle things a bit). I really should steam the thing and take another photo.

I would also like to make one that is open fronted with a stomacher in a lovely cotton or silk brocade so I finally do have something "pretty"....not that the Historical Society will ever put me in a position to wear it. I shall never be the lady of the house, always the scullery maid and fish wife.

Figs aren't just for wearing any more

2007-10-09T17:30:00.000-04:00

Figs...

You can only eat so many in a day...or else one suffers the consequences, which I shall not detail here. The question then becomes, what do you do with the multitudes of figgy delights which are rapidly ripening outside your door? Fig Jam of course! So last weekend (not this one, which was the weekend of pneumonia) was the fig jam extravaganza, as well as the day of canned figs....for a proper figgy pudding at christmas.

Here are some photos of Fig-i-licious-ness:

Other Writing: Books and the Reviews of them

2007-10-03T10:27:00.000-04:00

BTW: I don't just write here...I sometimes write reviews for a site called Metapsychology.

My newest review for them, of "The Consciousness Plague", is currently on their front page. Check it out. You can also do a search for my other reviews, if you are interested.

Cheers.

Down for the count...

2007-10-03T08:33:00.000-04:00

OK folks...I'm not teaching today. I'm down for the count as the millions of bacteria currently inhabiting my lungage have decided to have a party and use my alveoli for punch bowls. "I gots the pneumonia", as my sainted Grans would have said. So, I'm not planning on spreading it to the kiddies and my fellow teachers today. I shall leave that till tomorrow.

I am glad that I got to the doctor quite quickly on this one, as it came on as suddenly as a firestorm in a toothpick factory. Went to bed feeling a tiny bit under the weather; woke up yesterday with a hacking wet cough. I worked out my teaching day and then immediately sought Hippocratic relief. She called it "Community Bourne Pneumonia" which is just a fancy way of saying that I caught it directly from someone, instead of the bugs setting up house after weeks of suffering with a cold and then a cough.

It's no fun either way, although this way does have it's benefits:

1. No runny nose to get red and raw

2. The cough sounds REALLY impressive

3. I can do a fabu warthog impersonation

4. My fever, when graphed, could be used for rollercoaster design

5. I got an inhaler prescribed so I can pretend to be Urkle

6. The antibiotics make me so nauseous that I will probably lose 10 pounds

7. Cause I'm not sneezing, I can play with glitter if I want.

As per suggestions

2007-09-30T11:13:00.000-04:00

Wow...a week since I posted, I think that I am going through blog withdrawl, but the grading and teaching has to come first!

Ok...I took many of your suggestions into account, and here is my once change purse, masquerading as:

An apple cosy

A vase cosy

A junk receptical

What do you think?

Tag..you are it.

2007-09-23T07:58:00.000-04:00

Ok...I got tagged a couple days ago ...but I didn't post my tag list so here it is:

I am tagging:

SeeKateKnit
Albina Rose
Monkeydog
OzoAzul
Rustchic
Hobbledehoy

Ok gals...tell us 6 random facts about you and sent on the tag to six others!

(I have seen this as 8 things on other's blogs...but my directions said 6 when I got them...so 6 is what I'm doin.)

Oh...and please go down to Wednesday's post and make me feel like SOMETHING I revealed to you was interesting enough to garner comment! Please! I feel so boring!

Jelly, jelly, jelly for my belly

2007-09-22T09:04:00.000-04:00

All I have managed to make this week is JELLY...lots and lots of grape jelly. But, it is the best darned concord grape jelly to ever pass the lips of man or beast. No Welch's for us here. All our jelly is made from the fruit of our 75 year old vines that grow on the arbor at our Long Island home.

Since I describe the process for everything else, why not this?

We picked over 30 pounds of washed and sorted grapes (so the actual picked amount before culling was probably more like 70 lbs). We have to sort them and pick over them carefully, because we find little guys like this:
Isn't he cute? We named him and all his tiny snail brethren George and set them free in the compost pile.

We then squashed them and boiled them into juice. The boiled mash gets filtered twice. The juice then has to sit in a tall container for at least 12-24 hours so that the sediment and the tartaric acid crystals settle out of the liquid and fall to the bottom, otherwise you get crunchy and cloudy jelly.

We then made two batches (with one more to follow today) of jelly by pulling 8 cups of juice (per batch) and mixing it with 6 cups of sugar, boiling it, boiling it and boiling it some more while carefully monitoring the temperature and constantly testing it for reaching the "jelly point".

My husband claims that I have Jelly Performance Anxiety, as I am always convinced at some point in the process that our grapes didn't have enough natural pectin and that they will NEVER become jelly. This is in fact a VERY good gauge of when the jelly will happen, because about 3 minutes after my declaration that the batch is HOPELESS AND WILL NEVER SET UP....it does. Every time.

SO now we have jelly...for us, for our neighbors' children, for my friends at work, for family. We also still have about 200 lbs of grapes on the vine, which would probably be enough to do 40 more half pints of jelly, but there is only so much jelly one woman can make. Any winemakers out there? Wanna come pick some grapes? Please?

Cause next week we make Fig Jam....

Tagged

2007-09-19T18:46:00.000-04:00

As I understand it, I'm supposed to come up with 6 interesting things about myself to tell you folks...so here goes:

1. I used to work for J.Peterman. Yes, that J.Peterman. And guess what customers? Asking if Elaine was on her break or if Seinfeld was around was just as funny the 1076th time as it was the first. Go ahead....ask me again!

2. I met my husband on an afternoon blind date...and disliked him at first sight. I thought he was a huge stuck up snob. However, after a second blind date that day which was even more disastrous, I went to meet my pals at the local Irish Pub to commiserate about the sorry state of my love life...and who did I bump into but: Yup, you guessed it, a rather more drunk and much more fun future husband. After we left the pub that night I:

talked our way into the gallery where an 8 foot by 3 foot painting of me was hanging (more on that later) by pretending that I worked there
walked 2 miles home and didn't remember any of it, cause all I was paying attention to was him
flushed an opossum out from under a neighbor's pick-up truck cause he had never seen one.

It was meant to be....

3. I worked for several years as an artists model. (See #2). It was great motivation to stay in shape and I got to participate in the artistic process in a totally new way.

4. I hate to have people watch me eat. Particularly Cheetos. I can only eat Cheetos alone. Sorry. I think it has something to do with the obligatory finger licking.

5. I have actually had cat scratch fever. It is no fun. Did you know that the lymph nodes in your head that run along the back of your skull can swell to the size of small plums? I do! I have Herbert to thank for this. Want to check Herbert the Killer cat out? Peruse my Flickr stream.

6. I teach forensic science in my "real" life. So watch it. My students are convinced that I could get away with murder....and I like it that way. My favourite topic is blood spatter analysis....soooooo much fun! Nothing like combining math and mayhem! Of course, the kids love it when I do my Miss Cleo routine and do handwriting analysis. I can read them like an open book from a handwriting sample. It is a totally creepy and illogical talent that I have always had, and I could probably make a fortune, but I don't exploit it.

Tag...I'm it!

2007-09-18T20:19:00.000-04:00

Goodness! I just got tagged! I suppose that I shall have to think of 6 interesting things about myself to share with you folks tomorrow...hmmmm. Interesting...and publicly sharable, this might be tough.

Tooting someones horn: Artistic Detour

2007-09-17T19:55:00.000-04:00

This chica is relatively new on Etsy, and I just wanted to give her a little love. She is Artistic Detour. She is currently holed up in her island lair off the coast of California, making incredible stuff for you to peruse! She mainly works in fused glass, but also is selling some pretty prosh kimono fabrics from her shop. Her glass pendants are generously sized and feel great on the skin (trust me, I know). She has an amazing eye for color and creates pieces that just make me want to eat them up. Check her out!

Collaberative Challenge #2

2007-09-14T08:58:00.000-04:00

I guess this is kind of the reverse of what I did before. I issued a challenge to someone else, now I am asking you to do it for me! I was playing in the studio, making some felt beads for a commission, and wanted to try a new technique that I had seen in a couple of felting books I had gotten from Japan (more on those later). I wanted to make a change purse, and what I ended up with was this:

It is really cute, about 3.75 inches (9cm) across and 3 inches (7cm) high. What I didn't think about was having a purse frame to fit the top....which I don't. And after some looking, don't seem to be able to find. The inside is totally hollow and a great shade of pink. (Very um....organic...nudge -nudge)

Here is how I made it for those of you who might be interested:

I wet felted several layers of roving around a Styrofoam ball, then cut it open, put in a ball of Styrofoam that was slightly smaller (which I had to cut down from one the same size as the first), then I wet felted it some more with the decoration applied. After that, I put a ball of soft foam inside and needle felted the decoration on again for a little added security.

So, my crafty friends, the question is: What does it become now?

Help me out, I have no idea. Because when I look at it right now, all I see is a change purse...

As promised but late

2007-09-13T09:19:00.000-04:00

This is the problem when you are a teacher...you make promises to lots of people and then you have to prioritize them. Yesterday I promised some students I would stay after school and work on metric conversions with them after they gave me the puppy dog eye...hence the no pictures of the gorgeous necklace. It was the day before a four day weekend, and I would normally run out of my classroom like a bee after honey on a day like that, but who can resist the puppy dog eye in connection with a request for extra help? I love you people {those folks who for some strange reason continue to come back here and check out what I make and say}, but sorry, those kids will almost always come first.

So here it is a day later, and the skies are blue and lovely with tiny puffy clouds that remind me of just why all those artists came out here to Long Island to live and work. The air is crisp with a tiny hint of a moist fall to come, there is a dead opossum in the street in front of my house (we bagged it, and yes, I felt bad cause I think it is the one that I saw waddling across the yard at dusk from my perch on the deck many nights this summer; and I generally feel bad when things die in untimely ways; I'm human like that) and I have fired up the camera. So here:

It is one of the necklaces that Leah (Kneek) made in response to the collaborative challenge. (see posts below). It is silver and the little object inside is a bit of amethyst. Aren't you jealous? Don't you want one? I have one. he he he he (evil giggle)

NOTE: Kneek just opened an etsy shop where you can have one of her creations for your very own! Please go check her out!

Mid Week Too Tired Blues

2007-09-11T20:07:00.000-04:00

It's too late to take good pictures and I am way tired after a long day of teaching but I just had to crow. My good friend Leah over at Kneek (Homework) sent me the sweetest surprise package and you are all going to be madly jealous. Leah honey, if you are reading this...you could be making a fortune, a FORTUNE DO YOU HEAR ME, selling these on Etsy! This is exquisite!

I promise pictures tomorrow. The light is gone for the day and I want you to really be able to SEE this beauty!

Let me just say that my blogger pals ROCK!

All Apologies

2007-09-09T08:08:00.000-04:00

I want to give sincere apologies to all my loyal readers who were unable to load my blog due to the craptacular gymnastics going on at Etsy yesterday. I don't know what is going on over there in Brooklyn, but for the time being, I have {sob} taken down my Etsy minis from the side bar so that this blog will once again load smoothly. When they have gotten their collective merde together, I will return my Etsy links to their rightful places.

Read on my handsome and beautiful friends....read on.

Acting like a Maniac

2007-09-08T09:55:00.000-04:00

What a fun and exhausting week!

Since I have gone to the trouble to have a job teaching and molding America's youth, I have made the promise that I would never write about it in specifics, as I could potentially let something slip that could embarrass a teenager that I teach, or bring attention to my district, or upset someone that I work with. But let me say this...the first three days of teaching are exhausting, I don't care where you do it or who you are doing it for. It is a constant precarious dance of showing that you are caring, loving, witty, wickedly smart, creative, a little soft, a lot hard, fun, funny, humorous, an entertainer, interesting, interested, knowledgeable, quick on the uptake, slow to anger, posses super-human hearing, have three sets of eyes, already know their names, can count papers while walking backwards and talking at the same time and can laugh at yourself when you don't, all while being a tough as nails bitch about the rules when they want to see how far they can push. If that wouldn't wear out Superman, I don't know what would. It is like being in a Broadway opening night show eight times a day...five times a week.

So...this having been the first week of school, if you know a teacher out there who you think is doing a great job ....or maybe this is really their FIRST WEEK EVER {bless them}...give them a pat on the back or a little hug. They really are going to love your kids, and probably already do.

With that said, I can't wait to get into the studio today and recharge myself for Monday! Yipee!

No one will notice...

2007-09-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

"Orange, I wouldn't have noticed if you didn't point it out"

Big Orange has something on his face. Little orange has some slight words of encouragement...even if they are somewhat backhanded. Little orange isn't used to this whole being nice thing. This is a 3 inch x 4 inch minature encaustic painting with acrylic underpainting. Just another in my series of "Mean Flower Paintings" that I offer on Etsy.

Garage Sale Heaven

2007-09-03T14:22:00.000-04:00

Ok...I don't know a crafter or artist out there that doesn't love a good garage sale and I just had to share this with you. I was browsing Treehugger and came across their write up about this little tool. It is a nifty Google mashup that allows you to put in your own address and it will automatically pop up a map with all your local yard sales. Your house is marked with an "H" and if you roll over the other flags, it gives you the addresses of each yard sale on the map.

Now keep in mind, that this was Labor Day Monday. If it were a Saturday, the flags would be so heavy on this map that it would make Tienanmen Square look like the Fireman's Parade! Treehugger reminds us in the original article that this doesn't work in all areas and seems to work best in and around major cities, but gosh, give it a try! What have you got to lose? I know I always try to plan out the most efficient route when I do my Yard/Garage Sale-ing....this tool is going to make that sooooo much easier.

Oh my antique dealing grandmother, Mary Jane, would have been in hog heaven!

Collaborative Challenge: Part Deu

2007-09-02T13:09:00.000-04:00

In the immortal words of the "A-Team":

I love it when a plan comes together

Back in July, my friend, Leah, put a lovely knit wire necklace she made up on her blog. I was then inspired to make a sketch of how she could take it a step further and issued her a COLLABERATIVE CHALLENGE.

Well, she completed some pieces and just posted them to her blog with spectacular results. Wow! Kneek, color me impressed! Check out what her creativity has wrought!

This is the kind of work that makes me want to pick up some needles and hooks and learn something new!

Green Flowers

2007-09-01T10:49:00.000-04:00

I'm sure she will be Ok, Green.

This little flower isn't so mean, he is a little more concerned than angry and that makes a change for these tiny guys. They tend to be a bit more bitchy than this. It is pretty unusual for them to be this nice to each other.

This little encaustic is 3 inches x 4 inches. I had primed and painted the background for this and another piece this size over two months ago, but just got around to doing the encaustic layers. It was cool enough yesterday for me to fire up the hot plate and melt the encaustics. I consider this a little warm up for a commission that I want to finish this week. I firmly believe that you have to warm up your artistic muscles just as much as you need to stretch your athletic ones.

I hope someone buys this soon...cause I have the perfect Moo stickers to put on the package!

Heart Shrine

2007-08-31T08:50:00.000-04:00

I completed my "Heart 35" shrine and decided to put it up on Etsy. I feel that it did its job for me, and that I would put it out in the world for someone else. There are plenty of folks out there who could use artistic protection for their hearts, in one form or another, maybe it has been broken physically or metaphorically. Maybe everyone needs a protective heart shrine...

Some details:

Yes, that is a real suture needle

and real suturing silk.

I figured that I might as well

go to total realism in at

least some regard, and I

did have all that old medical

equipment laying around.

Don't Ask...

Please note the heart diagram on the right...

This is a stamp pulled from an old anatomy text

Love it.

Then there is the spool of surgical tape

and the wooden spool/game peice

Interpret it as you will.

Buttons...I just love buttons.

These were decayed and falling apart,

which I see as a distinct bonus.

They hold things together....

until they don't.

What do you have to protect your heart?

Just your Sternum?

A wish, hope and a prayer?
Lame.

Get Serious.

Teeny Weeny

2007-08-28T17:24:00.000-04:00

Teeny weeny watercolors make me happy.

This is an attempt to appease my Sister-In-Law who wants a version of one of my pastorals but with a sunset. I don't usually paint sunsets, I usually paint pale blue skies...but anything for family you know. So I consider this one a study, as it is in a 2.5 x 3.5 inch size and she wants something bigger. I just wanted to see if I could get the gradients to happen. Not bad. I'm putting this one up on Etsy and then I'll kick out a larger one for her this week.

Killer Cats

2007-08-24T13:04:00.001-04:00

I wish I had something new to show you...and I will soon I am sure. Unfortunately, Herbert has been guarding my desk and has claimed my chair as his own.

Get a load of the glare I got when I asked him to move.

I mean, would you want to try to make it past those claws? I can tell you I have tried, and have the scars to prove it.

No Holes

2007-08-21T17:41:00.000-04:00

I am happy to report that I don't have a hole in my heart.

That is what they were looking for with the whole "gargle this Karo thick Lidocaine and then swallow this Sharpie on a rope" thing I did this morning. I simply won't tell you all the crude things that are going through my mind to describe how my esophagus feels right now...but let's say one scenario involves the Coney Island side show and a mug of flaming bourbon.

It is a great relief. I am a little torn however, because if they had found a hole (also known as a PFO) they would have been able to fix it pretty easily and then my Migraines might have gone away. The migraines mimic TIA type strokes pretty closely with progressive blindness radiating out from the center of vision until complete, total loss of sensation on the left side of the body, hemi-paralysis, and finally mind-crushing pain for 6 to 12 hours. Now it is back to the drawing board to try to find the root cause. I count myself as lucky though, I have found a medication that staves them off almost completely (Topamax), but I live with the constant fear that one day it might stop working. As someone who worked in research for a long time, I can not accept that a causality will not be found.

At least now I can go back to the studio and make my happy little flowers with one less thing to worry about.

So There!

Title: This is where all the trouble begins

(Yes, that is my brain in there)

Invasive

2007-08-21T10:19:00.000-04:00

I'm feeling a little bleak today. It is cold and raining buckets, a preview of fall to come, which is generally ok, but not for today. I haven't been allowed to eat or drink anything since yesterday because of a procedure I am having today where they, numb up your throat, sedate you and then stick some ultrasound equipment down your esophagus so they can get a very clear look at your heart. I am thirsty and cranky and more than a little apprehensive...so I started making this shadowbox.

It is significantly darker than my other work as of late, and it is probably NOT destined for Etsy, but then I am feeling a little darker than usual today. Keep your fingers crossed for me...it is not a very risky thing I am having, just an uncomfortable one.

Vacation Inertia

2007-08-20T12:19:00.000-04:00

Ugh...I need the inspiration fairy to strike.

I got back from vacation days ago and I can't seem to get anything done. My butt is glued to my office seat and although my studio is alluring, I have no clear plan once I go in there. I feel easily distracted and uninspired, which is exactly the opposite of how I was hoping that I would feel after a jaunt away from home.

I did go tag sale-ing on Saturday and picked up a few fun items that I might incorporate into my work, including these odd little curio boxes from the 60's. They were obviously made for the decorative market, because when I started dissecting them I discovered that several of the pieces were assembled directly on the fabric backing with some black brittle resin type stuff. I am hoping that I can grind that crap off with my dremel. There were bits of newspaper stuck in behind some of them for filler and they were obviously Russian...which adds a bit of mystery to their production. They say that they were made in New York, so I am guessing in some drafty 5th floor walk up tenement in Brighton Beach.

Alright...enough talk, time to walk the walk...gotta get my butt into the studio and see what gets made.

Birthday Girl

2007-08-19T21:02:00.000-04:00

Yup...It is my birthday.

I had a day of weeding, thai food, Superbad, and playing with my new camera.

I can't wait for a day of making stuff tomorrow!

When your art dictates your life

2007-08-17T16:08:00.000-04:00

I don't often post about non-art related personal life type stuff here...but I thought that this was kind of amusing. My husband and I just celebrated our 1oth wedding anniversary (hence the trip to Williamsburg). He gave me the most lovely diamond anniversary band. You see, when we married, he was a young college professor and I was a grad student (get your mind out of the gutter...he was never MY professor, we weren't even in remotely related disciplines) and we had very little money. We could either pay for our wedding or pay for a ring. We decided on a wedding, and he made me a promise that I would have a ring by our 10th wedding anniversary. Well, many folks never make it that far, you know. So here comes our anniversary and also comes the ring. The design of it was so considered.

I couldn't have a big solitaire, because that would just be silly, besides, the prongs would get all caught in the fibers of wool when I felt. I needed to have something simple and elegant, because I am a simple gal, and a clutz...and anything too big would get knocked about. I needed something where the stones were flush to each other, so that paint and dirt and who knows what else wouldn't get caught between them. So....this is what I got.

And it is perfect....

and yea for sweet patient husbands who understand about artsy women...he may not be perfect, but he is really really close.

Time Travel

2007-08-14T11:56:00.000-04:00

On Sunday we went to Arthurdale in West Virginia. It was an experimental socialist community spurred on by Eleanor Roosevelt during the depression as part of the New Deal. Out of work coal miners and other workers were given the opportunity to buy some land, a house, their furnishings, some livestock, and were taught a trade. They had a forge, furniture making workshops, weaving workshops and other small scale production. Children were taught a trade in addition to the traditional curriculum, and the traditional subjects were approached on a project “learn by doing” basis. Each grade would pick a project for the year, and all their lessons would revolve around that project…such as, the fourth grade wanted to learn about the western pioneers, so they built a cabin, outfitted it, made a covered wagon, planned their foods to take west, learned about the history of the western frontier, and planned a campaign west. Talk about progressive!

Historic Inspirations

2007-08-09T14:41:00.000-04:00

After three days in Willaimsburg, I have amassed some impressive photographic inspirations. Our hotel lied, and it has no internet access, but I was able to find a connection in town today. The light here is soft and lovely, even in the heat (104 degrees yesterday), which makes for great photos and I thought that I would share some with you:

The Green Parlor

The Day Gown

The Toy Horse in a Childless House

The Blacksmithy

Gorgeous Orange

2007-08-03T08:44:00.000-04:00

I just made some gorgeous orange felt with pink hints that is destined to be a rose, I think. Maybe one of the beads will be the center somehow. The flat felt is mainly a really hairy mohair that was fun to feel, and the beads are merino. The texture is sooo different when you get to felting them, it is just amazing.

The color combo was inspired by my spare bedroom. This morning, I put this great duvet made out of vintage hankies on the bed, and had to play with some fun bright colors, how could I not?

My husband calls this the grandma room...and rightly so. The bedroom suite was given to my great-grandmother from my grandmother back in the forties. I inherited it about 10 years ago. It just fits in this room, with the cool green walls and sloped ceilings with it's calm morning light.

The rest of our house is decorated in such a mid-century modern eclectic style , this is really the one room in the house that is like a true step back in time.

My MOOOOO is in the HOUSE!

2007-08-01T14:25:00.000-04:00

My Moo stickers came! Happy happy joy joy and they are just as freakin' cute as I thought that they would be. They are super shiny and slick and printed on really nice stock. The print resolution is fantastic I couldn't be happier!

Folks need to come to my Etsy store and buy more stuff so I can stick these bad boys on your packages! I have already started sticking them on everything else....like my computer....

If you are considering buying some Moo stickers, don't blither- blather and hesitate. They are a great value, and super simple to order with your Flickr photos.

Wanna trade?

P.S. Yup...They are all photos of my work....

Check this Out: Kim Westad Ceramics

2007-07-30T09:38:00.000-04:00

I first saw Kim Westad's ceramics at the Renegade Craft fair in Brooklyn, just before the skies opened up and the rain started slapping down at us like wet towels in a summer camp shower, but I had to take a minute to shout her praises. Her stuff was just too lovely to ignore. Since the Renegade folks were thoughtful enough to put out a little booklet with all the vendor's web info, I was able to track her down at etsy.

I just love the sinuous forms that she uses. Her textures are a very sexy mixture of soft silky bits mixed with highly reflective but subtly colored glazes. I LOVE her color choices. They are very grass and sky... I can't wait to indulge myself in a few of her pieces for my birthday gift to myself. She has a tremendous eye for balanced design that is at the same time whimsical and sophisticated. Don't pass her up. If you want to learn more about Kim, you might want to visit her website www.kimwestad.com. Or you can buy her ceramics at her Etsy site at http://Kimwestad.etsy.com

And what is even better....she is running a SALE!!!! A SALE!!! YIPPEE!!!

Get thee to Kim Westad at Etsy and send yourself some sensual ceramics (try saying that five times fast!)

Thrifts and Thanks:

2007-07-28T14:44:00.000-04:00

Whew! The article resulted in a nice bump in my blog traffic. I hope that everyone new enjoyed their read, and got to see something of interest. Don't be a stranger!

I did some fairly serious thrifting today and came up with some great vintage fabrics which is a darn good thing. Because even though I am not planning on selling my City Bags, I have had several requests on the QT to whip some up. (I am seriously rethinking the not selling them thing after four separate requests to make them came in). So of course I had to find just the right fabric combinations. I think these will make a very sweet bag.

I'm working hard to get some courses done before deadline, so I'm probably not going to get into the studio as much as I would like, unless I am very disciplined indeed. We shall see how that goes. Discipline in the summer is not easy. Not easy at all, particuarly when the studio is RIGHT THERE....calling me.

Media Love: Newsday

2007-07-26T07:18:00.000-04:00

So I got a little Media Lovin' today. Newsday ran a very nice excerpt from an interview that I did with them in their Part II section today. You can read the article at Newsday.com. Unfortunately, you don't get to see the pretty pictures, and the lovely buff offset box they put it in to make it stand out. Thanks Newsday! You Rock.

They also published the interview in its entirety on their blog, Cheap Thrills. Check it out, and while you are there, read about some of the other great DIY projects and goodies they have put together for you!

Like how to grow a pineapple...a pineapple, people!

Yippee! I feel like queen of my tiny felted world today. So damn the torpedoes and pass me a cuppa tea....I gotta get to felting.

Watch out...they are acrylic and they are taking over....

2007-07-25T18:06:00.001-04:00

I've gone a little crazy with the acrylic felt flowers. But they are just soooo much fun to make! They have a totally different personality than my other flowers do. My encaustic flowers are grumpy, my wool flowers are refined, and these...

Well, these just holler out "Hiya there! Hey, you want some tea? I can put the kettle on. Come on in...it's no trouble. You want a cookie? I love cookies. Don't you just LOVE cookies?"

Don't they?

Felt for the Allergy Prone

2007-07-24T14:33:00.000-04:00

A girlfriend asked me the other day, "So what happens if you get a customer who is allergic to wool?".

I didn't really have an answer for her...until I made up this little guy. He is all acrylic and cotton. Not one speck of wool in there. I needle felted in the details.

It is constructed a little differently than my other flowers, and I think it looks sort of like a Cosmo. Truth be told, it was inspired not by a flower in my garden, but by a flower on my vintage 1940's apron.

You can see the blue and mauve flowers in the photo, if you look hard enough.

I think they are cute, and I am going upstairs to the studio to make some more.

Yeah, this isn't a Plastic Bag either...

2007-07-23T14:30:00.000-04:00

So I wanted a bag I could carry to the city...That wasn't over exposed and carried by the hundreds...

I wanted a bag that I could sling across my body and have it lie relatively flat, would have a strap wide enough not to dig into my shoulder, would have a pocket on the front and one inside large enough to dump my keys and a cell phone into, and that would be cute and packable. It needed to be big enough for a magazine, deep enough for a light sweater to go in it if needed, and sturdy enough to be thoroughly abused.

Not asking much, or so I thought...But I couldn't find that bag. So I made it. Sorry, Anya Hindmarch.

Totally cute. I made it with some great fabric I found a month or so ago, but had no idea what I would do with. The body of the bag is three layers of fabric thick on each side, so it also was a sweet way to use up a little ugly fabric for the middle of the sandwich that no one will ever see.

The lining is so nice that I could potentially turn the thing inside out and get two bags in one, if I wanted to.

Just like this....

I'm not planning on selling these on Etsy, this one is just for me....but I suppose if there was an interest...hmmmm, I could. I did make a pattern as I worked, after all.

At this point I am considering splitting my Etsy shop into two anyway, one shop for the paintings, prints, and collage and another for the fiber based stuff. I'm not sure if this is a great idea. I know others have done it, and I am afraid my shop is starting to look a little schizophrenic. Do you have an opinion on shop splitting?

Little Things....

2007-07-21T09:44:00.000-04:00

After finishing my Blue Peony, I had enough felt left to make a smaller version. This one is only 2.5 inches across and might be considered the baby brother of the other peonies, or the stunted unfertilized runt. I'm not sure I love it, it lacks a little something in the oomph department. I also didn't double felt it after assembly, so it wouldn't loose even more size and that way it keeps the pinked edges. Who knows, the smaller size might make it more wearable.

Check this Out: Dangerous Mezzo

2007-07-19T18:14:00.000-04:00

I bought this great piece a few days ago from Nina of Dangerous Mezzo over at Esty. It is a lovely over-painted photo titled "Past Perfect". She arrived today in the mail, and I was on a quest to contrive as to where to hang her. Strangely enough, in amongst the piles of old frames I had out in Shed #2 of The Shanty Town, I found the perfect frame for her. Doesn't she look lovely?

Sometimes these things have a way of working out.

Nina's over-painting work is just gorgeous. It has a haunting and compelling quality that you just can't quite shake. They really do become more than the sum of their parts. Since you are here, check out some of her other work....

New Stickers

2007-07-19T11:45:00.000-04:00

I, admittedly, haven't played with stickers since I let go of my album of Lisa Franks as a kid, (well, I might have had some Garbage Pail Kids in there too...) but I just had to spread the word on these fabulous new little stickers from Moo.com

They come in a pack of 90, they are totally customizable, and how cute is this, they are on tear out sheets.

I just ordered two sets, in green of course, with my Flickr images of my work. I'm gonna stick'em ALL OVER my Etsy stuff.

Can't wait for them to arrive!

(Based on your comments, neither can you...)

Pretty Packages

2007-07-18T13:43:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I like to do something a little extra....

I always try to have nice or quirky packaging, but today I must say that I outdid myself. Maybe it was the rain that forced a delay in my trip to the post office, or the old papermache box that I found, but let's say that my customer is going to get a bit more than she bargained for when she opens up this package!

I went a little crazy decorating the box: vibrant paints, delicious papers, shiny brass brads, soft velvet ribbons. I just couldn't stop. I could probably sell this in my shop, but I wouldn't. It is a little thank you for giving a home to one of my favourite things I have made so far.

Then I had to figure out what to put it in to ship it. The post office doesn't like round things, you see...that is where the old wooden cigar box came in. I figured, no irate carrier could destroy that bad boy. So in the box it went, with a gift card, a magnet, a wing and a prayer. Wrap it in brown paper and it is off....

Collaborative Challenge

2007-07-16T14:05:00.000-04:00

It is amazing how things link up in the Bloggy world. I was reading my friend, Leah's fabu blog, Homework. She had this great description of some silver wire knitting that she had done. This immediately set off the bells and whistles in my head to used the silver "fabric" to create a pouch to enclose an object, like a stone, pearl, or bit of wood. This could then be "sewn" along three edges using wire strung with beads (or not).

I promised her that I would make up a sketch of my idea...so here it is. I used my Wacom Intuos tablet to do the sketch with a little help from Photoshop. Love that tablet, one of my favourite toys. Leah, my dearest Knit Geek, link me up and lets see what can you do with it...

The collaboration ball is in your court!

Chopping Wild Hairs

2007-07-15T10:10:00.000-04:00

This is almost totally non-art related, but here goes:

I was in the West Village Friday, and decided that it was time. I had been growing my hair out for two long years and it was time for it to come off. After my friend Cheryl passed away, my friend Diane passed away, and two other girlfriends were diagnosed with cancer, I decided that this was a little thing (a very little thing) that I could do.

I am donating my hair through Beautiful Lengths. Hopefully, it will make some beautiful woman feel a little better. If you have ever considered cutting your hair (it is summer and damn hot! Do you need another reason?) Consider doing it now, and for this great cause. Here is a before and after. (I said I wanted it to look like Maggie Gyllenhaal's)

My hair is laying on my desk, looking very much like a sleeping animal or an amputated body part at the moment. It is a little disturbing, I must admit. I can't wait to send it away tomorrow. At least now it won't need tying up at the felting table.

Blue peonies...

2007-07-12T18:00:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you just have to make something. That great piece of flat felt that I made during my playdate on Friday last just became a peony, a blue peony.

Now, I have never actually seen a blue peony in real life, they may very well exist in some mystical garden out there, but I have seen one on my great-grandmother's coverlet.

My great-grandmother's coverlet was sewn from the drapes that had hung in the dining room of my great-great-grandmother's house. These were staunch Appalachian women. Nothing went to waste. Now the coverlet is folded at end of the bed my grandmother gave my great-grandmother....which has pride of place in the front bedroom of my house.

Blue Peonies....may this one make some lucky woman feel as lovely as these women never knew they were.