Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., painting, printmaking, Sewing | Tags: Cy Twombly, fabric, painting, pouch, sewing, watercolor
Yay! Spring is here! Get out the lightweight mittens! Get out the waterproof, yet non-bulky, knee-high boots! Get out the gauzy, cotton scarves!
Just kidding…
It’s in the mid 20’s and I’m bundled up like an Eskimo. Right now, I’m wearing a down coat in the house. My feet feel cold.
Beyond the perpetual climate woes in the Northeast (did I mention that Boston broke its snowfall record this year? Yay/Boo!), I sprained my knee recently, which is beyond annoying. I’m not a good patient, as I avoid seeing the doctor, do internet research, and hope for the best. I have a perfect excuse for laying on the couch all day eating bon-bons with my leg elevated, and yet that seems like a tedious way to spend the day. Instead, I hobble around trying to do stuff, wondering WHY my leg doesn’t feel any better. It’s kind of sad that I’m not even 50, and I’ve already started moaning about my aches and pains. Would you like to discuss the pros/cons between three different types of knee brace? No? Do you think that if I wore all three at once, it would heal faster?
In spite of my aching leg, I’ve managed to play around a bit with sewing, printmaking, and painting. I made a little pouch for my SIL:
It’s cute, right?
Here is one of the annoying things about photography that I struggle with…COLOR CORRECTION. Here is the same pouch in direct sunlight:
Looks pretty different, right? AAAARGH. I hate dealing with trying to reproduce accurate colors. It wouldn’t matter if I wasn’t listing things on Etsy. But because I am, I’m constantly struggling to get accurate color. It’s truly maddening. Well, it’s not as bad as cooking and grocery shopping, but a close second.
I took a 6 hr printmaking class on reduction printing. It was fun, even though I made some serious disaster prints. We just used those cheap styrofoam plates to print with. Here is a tutorial on this kind of printing. I was sort of content with this print:
You can do this kind of printing at home without a press, so give it a try! Do not accidentally lean your elbow on your styrofoam plate because you will:
a. get ink on your elbow
b. make an indentation in your plate which will affect your print.
Unless, of course, you’re into elbow prints. Who am I to judge?
I was also mucking around with watercolors too. In grad school, I took a VERY ANAL RETENTIVE watercolor course. We were doing Beaux Arts watercolors like this:
I know. WHY was I learning this in architecture school, as it’s soooo stodgy and traditional? I wanted to learn how to do this as it was an actual SKILL. Have I used that skill since then? No, but whatever. ANYWAY…I brought this up because this is my only experience with watercolor. Very rigid. So, this week, I started to just play with watercolors…generally making a mess.
I kind of liked doing these! Just blobs of color. Look at the cool effects you get with watercolor:
Neat, right?
I have basically spent the majority of my life trying to be precise and perfect in what I do (except for cooking and cleaning). Now, I’ve realized that this is total B.S., and it’s better to be messy. Notice that my fish print is completely anal retentive, YET AGAIN. Okay, so I fell of the wagon a bit. Clearly, I am still struggling to stop being that way, but I am working on it.
There is a reason that I love Cy Twombly’s work:
THE MAN
I love his work because it is SO free. That may not be the academic interpretation of what he does, but it’s mine. I love how visceral and messy his work is. LOVE IT. As a recovering perfectionist, I yearn for this…
Sigh! (Cy!)
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., Sewing | Tags: cards, fabric, parenting, play dates, scraps, snow, winter
I don’t know about you, but I’m trying to maintain sanity during this absurd winter.
That’s our walk to school. This image was taken several weeks ago. It’s worse now, but I have given up taking pictures. I need my arms now to keep balance when traversing the treacherous wasteland, formerly known as “the sidewalk.” What’s even more ridiculous, is that Boston hasn’t broken the record yet for snowfall. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? I don’t remember signing on for the Antarctic here…or was that in the fine print somewhere? Where’s my lawyer? Am I not entitled to a team of sled dogs by now?
This is a snow pile near our house. The town has started dumping snow in this lot at the nearby reservoir. Notice the house that is barely visible in the background. Yes, that mound of snow is probably 25′ tall. And yes, I am letting my child climb on it as I repeatedly yell, “BE CAREFUL!!!“. This is my way of trying to avoid being both a helicopter parent and a negligent moron. It turns out that I am both.
My son recently had a play date that, in typical fashion, spiraled into mayhem. The mayhem is my fault, which is also typical. Instead of refusing to allow my child and his friend to play with his chemistry set, I actually said “okay.” I tried, in vain, to contain the insanity:
This is my son and I admiring his handiwork. I managed to have the wherewithal to deny them more food coloring. Next time, I’m just going to let them watch TV.
I realize that I made a similar error in judgment a few weeks ago when I agreed to buy my son a “fossil excavation” kit. You may recall (if you have no life and have read this blog for way too long…) that in an earlier post I vowed NEVER to purchase one of these kits again. And yet, I somehow thought that this time it would be okay/less messy/better. Well…surprise! I was wrong…yet again:
Yes…this is our dining room table. Yes…there are chunks of rocky plaster being smashed on the table by my son with his hammer and chisel. Yet again, I vow NEVER to buy one of these things EVER EVER EVER AGAIN. I think that when my son develops severe asthma as a result of this “educational toy”, I am to blame. TV is starting to sound like a “no brainer” to me, both literally and figuratively.
So, I haven’t seen any art lately, as I would imagine that most museums and galleries have given up due to this ridiculous winter. I know that’s not true, but I also know that I do not have an AWD car, so I am not attempting to haul myself anywhere. In spite of my general malaise and apathy, I made some cards that I listed on Etsy:
They’re cute, right? I’ve sewn tiny scraps of fabric onto them. This is about all that I have the energy to do at the moment. When the snow melts, sometime in June, I may venture further afield and bring you back images of real art to look at. Until then, I’m just sewing tiny scraps of fabric onto cardboard. (small hands)
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., Sewing | Tags: baby legs, etsy, post office, quilting, sewing
I know. It’s a stressful time of year. I get it.
But why is it that the post office closest to me has staff that are the LEAST helpful? Actually, surly might be a better word. I was bringing a sold Etsy item to the post office. I was using a free padded envelope for priority mailing that I had ordered from the post office. I printed my label. I was all set. UNTIL…I reached the desk at the post office.
“You can’t send this in that envelope.” Blank stare.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you have a Priority Mail Express envelope, not a Priority Mail envelope.” Blank stare.
“Well, my paid shipping label says Priority Mail. Could you just put some Priority Mail stickers on the envelope and cover up where it says Express?”
“No. I can’t do that. You have the wrong envelope.” Blank stare.
“But this envelope is physically identical to the Priority Mail envelope…except that it also says “Express.” Can you just cover up the word, “Express” with some of your Priority Mail stickers which are right there next to your hand?”
“No.” Blank stare.
I kid you not.
I ended up going to the OTHER post office in Arlington. And do you know what the woman behind the counter at the OTHER post office said? WELL! She said that she would put Priority Mail stickers on it, no problem! IMAGINE THAT!
SIGH.
I know that I should be more forgiving…but that was totally ridiculous. That is not the first time that this employee has made me feel like my head was going to explode with frustration.
Avoid this post office like the plague unless you want your head to explode
Grumble.
So, I participated in a neighborhood Holiday Sale at a friend’s house yesterday. It was so much fun! I had a great time chatting with the other artists in the area and the neighbors that came by. I even sold a print and a scarf! WOO HOO! I did eat a ton of Christmas cookies, so that wasn’t so good. Here’s a bunch of new stuff that I’ve made:
Isn’t it beyond cute??? It’s a little quilted pouch, and it’s around 5 1/2″ in diameter. It has a zipper, and the lining matches the border. Adorable, right???
Here is the NEXT one that I’m doing:
I did some basic hand quilting on this one. As soon as I can finish it, I’m going to photograph it and put it up on my Etsy store. Unless, of course, I decide that it is too cute, and that I must keep it. Mine!
I also made these other pouches, which are listed:
and
Cute, right? The top one just sold recently. Woo hoo!
Okay, I’ve got to run to do the bajillion errands that seem to be piling up…much like the dust bunnies that surround me.
Speaking of running…check out the photo of these baby legs that I found online:
I want to die, these are so cute. The next time that I have to go to the post office, I am going to pull up this image on my phone to fill my mind with happy thoughts about fat baby legs…even if it turns out that I have to deal with surly employees and that I do have the wrong friggin’ envelope.
BABY LEGS!!!
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., Sewing | Tags: drawing, etsy, Halloween costume, pokemon, Pokemon characters, sewing, spoonflower
Yay! Fall is here! I love the colors on the trees…apple picking…apple eating…pumpkins…the whole thing. One thing that does trouble me, however, is the dreaded Halloween costume. My son has told me that he wants to be some kind of Pokemon.
Oh.
Great.
For those of you that don’t know, there are a billion different Pokemon characters, and none of them look remotely like a six year old boy. Example:
Seriously? How am I going to make any one of those into a costume??? Suggestions?
What if I bought a Pokemon stuffed animal, and just strapped it to his head? Weird?
He spends a lot of time drawing Pokemon, which I think is cute:
I think that those are made up. I mean…I know, I know…ALL POKEMON ARE MADE UP. I meant that these two are not “official” ones. Basically, I’m going insane over here with the Pokemon nonsense and I need someone to talk to me about something adult and tangible. World news? Syria? Ebola? Honey Boo Boo?
Hmm. Depressing.
Perhaps non-stop talk about Pokemon isn’t that bad after all!
So, my minor achievement (besides vacuuming) is to have actually created an Etsy store! Check it out here. Yes! You can now buy some of the crazy stuff that I make! So far, not much has happened. The odds of anyone “finding” my stuff on Etsy is similar to the odds in Horton Hears a Who.
Right? Sigh. It’s tough being a metaphorical dust speck. If you have any constructive feedback about my Etsy store, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
I’ve recently gotten some fabric back from Spoonflower that I’m using to make scarves. Spoonflower is an online, on demand textile printing service. So, you can design your own fabric and then have it printed! It’s kind of cool Here’s what I made:
It’s a knit infinity scarf. Here it is again, with more of the green showing:
I love it! I need to find a reasonable looking person to model it for me. Actually, I know tons of reasonable looking people, just not any that would be willing to be photographed for Etsy. Hmm. Yet again I am feeling the disadvantage of not looking like a supermodel. Sigh.
Maybe I should take a cue from a famous artist and try this strategy for modeling?
Rene Magritte, Les Amants
Right??? I could even cover my head with my SPOONFLOWER FABRIC that I DESIGNED!
Would that be appealing, or sort of freaky and disturbing? I’m thinking the latter.
Maybe I can just photoshop on a cute head?
man, baby, manbaby by Ed Alkema
WHOA. Okay…NOT a good idea.
Oh…nevermind. Just let me know if you’re a supermodel and would be willing to either:
1. Model my Etsy creations.
2. Go grocery shopping for me.
3. Vacuum.
4. Take out the trash.
Thank you!
Filed under: Sewing | Tags: etsy, hand made, photography, purse, school photos, sewing
I am SO happy to have time to work again! I’ve scurried around my basement studio space furiously trying to clean in up in order to be more productive. It’s better…I’ve got sort of an “organized hoarder” set up. I keep fantasizing about living in a more “minimal” way, but then all of the things that I like to do are the OPPOSITE of minimal: sewing, knitting, drawing, painting, ice hockey. Why can’t I be more cerebral? Oh well.
Is it time for lunch yet?
I recently finished making a cute bag:
The entire purpose of making this bag is to sell it. Unfortunately, I kind of want to keep it. SIGH. This is a problem that I have often. The inside:
See! I even made a little pocket inside with a fabric label on it!!!
I love the little wood bead zipper pulls. How can I possibly sell this? On that note, I’ve started trying to cobble together an Etsy store. It’s a lot of work!!!! I’ll let you know if I ever get it up and running. How much should I sell this bag for? $1K? $2K? Just kidding…sigh. If you say $20, I shall give you a good whack with a knitting needle. It’s HAND MADE…for goodness sake. You can’t get that at Old Navy! Hmm. Maybe they have cooler stuff at Old Navy? Oh well.
Remember that silk chiffon top that I mentioned in a previous post? I finished that too! It nearly killed me. I vow NEVER EVER to work with that fabric again. It’s worse than silk charmeuse…it’s like trying to sew cotton candy. Here it is:
Sorry about it being wrinkly. I wore it, but couldn’t be bothered to iron it for the photo. I love it! It was a royal pain to make, though…
Don’t you like the cool layering effect? No? Too bad! If anyone has any helpful sewing tips for chiffon, besides finding someone more skilled to do it for me, please let me know.
Does anyone out there in cyberspace have an Etsy store? Or, do you shop on Etsy? If so, what do you think of these product photos? Are they nice, or shoddy? I still haven’t found an available super model to photograph with these items. I realize that deficiency may result in fewer sales. I don’t really want to put MYSELF in the photos, as that will GUARANTEE lower sales. Hmm. Seriously…photo feedback appreciated.
Speaking of photos…my son is having his school photo taken on Monday. I have to select the background that they will use. I have a choice of: corpse grey, two choices of electric blue, electric purple, smouldering ember orange, and sooty emerald green. Not great. I still can’t figure out which is the least hideous. Why can’t the kids stand in front of a leafy bush, or something natural?
Which would you pick? Ech. I’m worried about choosing the blue, as my son has a lot of blue shirts. His photo would end up looking like a floating head if his shirt matched the background…also not good. Maybe the gray??? I wonder if they can photoshop in a smile, as my son tends to scowl at cameras? That might cost extra. He also needs a haircut, but photoshopping in that will probably cost more than the haircut.
We seriously need to find a new place to get his hair cut. The place we go is SO SLOW, and it pains me to even contemplate taking him for a haircut. We ALWAYS have to wait somewhere between 1-2 hours until it’s our turn. Haven’t they heard of APPOINTMENTS??? Why can’t I schedule a time to be there so that I don’t have to try to entertain a six year old for two hours in a barber shop? Nightmare. They do a good haircut, though.
Okay, I’m off to try to do something remotely useful. I’m not sure what that is yet, but I’m sure that it will come to me. If you know of any places to get a good kid’s haircut THAT TAKES APPOINTMENTS near Arlington MA, let me know. And, no, a Flowbee is not an acceptable alternative.
As my son was both out of school and not yet in camp, I was inundated with “mommy-time” recently and could not write a post until now. Camp is a fantastic thing. We’re lucky that we can send my son there. It’s definitely cheaper than having me institutionalized from my son being home all summer, right? I’m so selfless.
My stepdaughter turned 18 this month. YIKES! Where does the time go???? In preparing for her family birthday party, my son dressed his Sasquatch up in festive attire:
Notice the red shoes and rakish tilt to his hat. This Sasquatch doll has become the most entertaining thing in the house. I guess my son has seen me sewing clothes lately, and decided that he would make some clothes as well. His look better than mine, naturally, but I’m trying not to feel too intimidated. I’m going to plagiarize some of his tape details, though…
During the past few mommy-madness weeks, we had a ridiculous incident of a bird “nesting” in my car:
Isn’t it cute? I got into the car, and saw the bird nestled into the front of the car, between the hood and the windshield. I got out of the car and stared at it…thinking that my mere presence would frighten it. Apparently not. THEN, in my neurotic way, I imagined that perhaps the bird was ill with RABIES, which was why it was behaving so oddly. (Luckily, no one uses that gauge on me, or else I’d be getting shots more often…) So, I got BACK into the car, and started the engine. The bird blinked and stared back at me, unruffled by my 4 cylinder Toyota starting up. I decided to drive off, hoping that the movement of the car would jar it out of its zombie-like stupor. No luck. I started to fret, as I needed to head to the Mass Pike. What would happen to the wee bird then???? I couldn’t let it blow away on the Pike!!!! Luckily, as I was driving along with him STILL ON MY CAR, I went over a small pothole (or not really so luckily), and he flew off at last. Disaster averted!
Okay. Not only has my life been reduced to such minutiae, but you’re actually reading ABOUT my minutiae. Oh wait, don’t take that the wrong way. Did I just lose my only reader? Wait! Come back! I promise to somehow make this more interesting somehow! PLEAAAAASE!!!
Just kidding. I’ve got no way of making this more interesting.
I have a friend who has lots of sari / saree fabric from India. I’ve been making simple, draped tops out of them.
This looks really nice on. It’s silk, so it has that sort of iridescent quality where the green and the red threads overlap.
It’s kind of hard to tell in the photo. He likes it, and has asked me to make three more! (BTW, these are not for him, but for his girlfriend and family.) I made a more plain one here:
I know…pretty simple. The bottom edge is hemmed with gold, and there is a double layer of fabric at the top. The saris were going to be taken to Goodwill, so I’m glad that I can rescue some of them to become clothes. It also helps when you’re willing to wear something weird, as I am.
Okay, I PROMISE that my next post will be interesting. I’m not sure how I will manage that, but I’ll really work on having SOMETHING INTERESTING happen in the next week or so.
Does going to Bed, Bath & Beyond count? No? Hmm. What about Target? Trader Joe’s? How about Home Depot? Oh, never mind…
Filed under: Drawing, Sewing | Tags: animation, anne toebbe, art, barbara moody, boston, joe fig, mcsteez, sewing
The school year is wrapping up, and I’m in panic mode thinking about what I’m going to do with my son before his camp begins. I know that letting him eat candy all day whilst watching cartoons is NOT an option. Hmm. I also know that joining him to play Godzilla with his toys is also NOT an option, unless I want to go completely koo koo and wind up institutionalized. I don’t do “imaginative play” with figurines well. I don’t know why. I can’t do it. Build with blocks…yep. Draw with markers…yep. Action figures…nope. Can’t do it. I always end up doing something silly/hilarious, which makes my son mad. Play is serious business! I can’t play with action figures in a serious manner. I just can’t.
In order to try to get some art exposure before the dreaded post-school/pre-camp weeks arrive, I went with a friend to First Friday in Boston. We always have a good time checking out what the galleries have up. We have an even better time getting the required “post-gallery-beer,” but I digress… Barbara Moody, our studio critic for the A.P.T. program, had an opening that night at Kingston Gallery. It was great to see her and her new work! This is an image from the Kingston Gallery website:
Barbara Moody at Kingston Gallery
She creates wild landscapes that overrun fragments of architecture. I love the color palette! I love the marks, the layering, and the overall energy and vitality! She also has a series of very small works that are bold collages of imagined landscapes. Those were also wonderful. Go see this show, as it will close on June 29.
We stopped by Steven Zevitas Gallery and saw the work of Ann Toebbe.
Anne Toebbe at Steven Zevitas Gallery
I loved her work! She creates these flattened out domestic interiors from collaged paper. Each one made you wonder who’s room it was, and whether they were all from the same house, or different houses…
Anne Toebbe at Steven Zevitas Gallery
Aren’t these great???? My photos are terrible, so you have to go and see it for yourself. Her work will be up until July 5. Go see. Now.
We also caught the work of Joe Fig at Carroll and Sons. Joe Fig wrote a great book, Inside the Painter’s Studio, where he interviewed famous artists and then recreated their studios in miniature. LOVE IT. Here is what Leonardo Drew‘s studio must look like:
It’s hard to appreciate the detail of Fig’s work. Here is a bit of a close up:
This is TINY. Can you believe it??? Look at the messy paint cans! Look at the extension cords! HOW DOES HE DO IT??? Anyway…I have his book, so I was thrilled to finally see on of his works in person. I also love Leonardo Drew, so it was cool to have a peek into his world, even though it’s mini. I really could have looked at this for hours, but then I didn’t want to get too many nose marks on the plexiglass case. I should show this to my husband just to prove to him that I’m not the only messy person on the planet. Joe Fig would rather eat one of his models than have to recreate my household chaos in miniature.
Besides making nose marks on plexiglass, I haven’t been up to much lately…except for THIS…CHECK IT OUT!!!
WOO HOOOOO! Yes, that’s a friggin’ SERGER! Mwahahahahh…I’m sooooo excited. Now, I plan to dash off shoddily made items with reckless and foolhardy speed. 1,500 stitches per minute! Imagine what kind of trouble I can get into!!! Here’s my first serger project:
I know…I know…I should have ironed it…but remember? I’m ironing-challenged! I love this day-glo tomato color. Side view:
I look like I’m falling over. Hmm…probably had the camera crooked. ANYWAY…notice the ruching at the side seam???? My first time trying that out…it turned out okay! Because this isn’t Vogue magazine, I didn’t Photoshop my backside to make it smaller. If so, I would have posted this:
Don’t I look more skinny? Ahh…the alchemy of Photoshop! I hope that they incorporate that feature into the new Google glasses. That way, everyone would look as they would like. Kind of like beer goggles…but different. I think that I’d make myself look like Zooey Deschanel, even though that change would be pretty traumatizing if someone took off their glasses. Oh well.
Not bad, right???? The pattern is one I drew up based upon I shirt that I already have. I suppose that’s cheating, right? The whole thing is so simple that it doesn’t seem like THAT original of a design…hmmm. I’m a long way from Project Runway…especially as they would spit upon my serger. BUT WHO CARES???? I love it. It’s “quick and dirty” sewing. Actually, based upon my housekeeping skills, mine is mostly “dirty”…
So, my husband recently discovered the work of Hombre_McSteez. He does AMAZING animations on acetate(?) held in front of some actual scene. Please watch THIS VIDEO on Youtube to see some of his stuff…
You also have to see his instagram feed…HERE.
You’ll never look at a green bean the same way again. At my house now, we all can’t stop saying, “I am a plant!” or “Me WOOT!”
My parting words for today are: Me WOOOT!!! Discuss amongst yourselves…
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., Sewing | Tags: nail art, sewing, vacation
I have made it through spring vacation week with my sanity mostly intact. I took my son to the Ecotarium in Worcester one day. I was trying to be a responsible mom, and not just let him play with his rainbow loom for eight hours straight while I stare at a wall drooling from excessive kindergartener exposure. The Ecotarium is a hands-on science and nature museum for kids. It even boasts a train ride! Unfortunately, the train isn’t working. It has a “tree canopy walkway!” Unfortunately, that’s closed as well. Humph. The vending machines work, though…if you need lunch because there is no cafeteria.
This is an image from the Ecotarium website:
Doesn’t that look lovely and educational??? Do not be fooled…the museum must be closed. A more accurate photo would show a maelstrom of kids and parents swirling around battered islands of educational displays. This is is pretty much the case with all indoor kid destinations: The Children’s Museum, the aquarium, The Museum of Science…etc. etc. They’re all the same. As a result, I typically avoid them like the plague. Bad mommy! I SUPPOSE it’s fun for kids. I’m not really sure. I know it’s not fun for parents…until they get a soundproof room with WiFi and a barista.
At least they had some live animals to look at. We got to see a soft shelled turtle, a spotted turtle, a bald eagle, some owls, a turkey vulture, a porcupine, a skunk, and other stuff. I loved watching a turtle munch on a big piece of lettuce. Adorable. Why are they so cute? Who knows.
I actually managed to get a surprising amount of stuff done this week, in spite of it all. Here’s some of the stuff that I made:
A bag for a friend’s daughter:
A pouch for a friend:
I also reupholstered two chairs. I’ve been meaning to do this for about four years. No joke.
They turned out pretty well, all things considered. I know that they’ll stay nice looking, as I won’t let anyone sit on them.
We also managed to survive Easter. I did such a good job hiding the eggs that we didn’t find one of them until the next day. Luckily, a squirrel had not tried to stuff it into his pouch and run off. (I mean in his mouth…I know that squirrels are not marsupials…)
Our eggs this year turned a little day-glo. I’m never happy with how our eggs turn out. Perhaps because I’ve got this in mind:
Am I setting the bar too high? HOW DO PEOPLE DO THIS???? Don’t tell me with some tiny little wax dropper…there’s no way. Have you seen what the side of a candle looks like after it’s been lit for an hour? That’s what I think of when I imagine dripping wax. Seriously…how can I get these egg elves to come to my house??? Maybe the people who make these are the same people who do nail art????
Look at those tiny flowers!!! It gets worse:
Three dimensional flowers…This person clearly does not cook.
Umm…is that real? This person clearly does not eat.
No comment necessary. This is not a person.
If ever my husband ever feels that I am not spending our money wisely, I’ll just show him this pic. Is an electric can opener really the sign of a cultural apocalypse? I think not.
Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts..., Sewing | Tags: art, artist, dedham, drawing, quilt, sewing
“BRRRBOOHOOHOO” means that I’m getting VERY TIRED of the temperature around here.
I know.
11 degrees isn’t THAT bad. But when the wind blows, it IS cold enough to make one’s face ache, fall to the ground, and get lost in a snow drift. I almost tripped on mine the other day. We sort of missed out on warming up during February vacation, as we didn’t go anywhere. I was delirious with kindergartener fatigue for that entire week. I found myself staring vacantly at a spot on the wall while my son talked incessantly about: double inverted fishtail bracelets, how he needs more rubber bands, and why it’s better to stay inside all day and make bracelets instead of going outside for sledding and exercise. Because my son is obsessed with Rainbow Loom, we have an explosion of colored rubber bands all over the house, in addition to all of the bracelets/charms/actions figures that he makes. He keeps reminding me that I said that it is the “worst toy in the world,” which I mistakenly said when I was in a fit of frustration trying to help him with some rubber band disaster project. I get a migraine just thinking about it.
Actually, those days at home were much easier than the days with playdates. I yearned for a large margarita both during, and after, every playdate. Thankfully…there weren’t many of them as MOST people were gone because they had gone somewhere to thaw out. In our house, that’s standing in front of the toaster oven.
Let it be said that I am thankful that we have both a house and a toaster oven.
The vacation was a general success, though, as we did manage to get through it without Mommy falling ill with a case of the vapours. I threatened to do so numerous times. In order to cope, I also obsessed over my own crafty projects:
THAT…is a stupendous baby quilt that I made for a friend. I even sewed on a poem:
I know that I can post this without spoiling the surprise, as new mom’s don’t have time to get changed out of spit-up covered pajamas, never mind read my mindless blog!
NEXT PROJECT:
Yes. I made that. I followed a pattern that I found online, so I can’t take credit for the design…but I CAN take credit for the snazzy fabric choices! I’m using it to keep my knitting in…(more craft addictions…pls send help!)
Check out the super cool lining! I nearly broke my sewing machine with this…so next time, I’m using lighter weight fabrics. OR…I am going to get an industrial sewing machine, which I’ll set up in the middle of the dining room. (JUST KIDDING, HONEEEEEY!!!)
Besides showing you my ridiculous crafts…I am also proud to say that some of my drawings have been included in the latest issue of New American Paintings.
WOO HOO!!!! Yes, I draw AND make garish things out of fabric. Maybe I need to start drawing the garish things that I make out of fabric? Maybe not. I should probably start with some overdue housework first…
Nah.
The drawings in New American Paintings are actually up at a new arts center in Dedham right now: Motherbrook Arts and Community Center.
It’s great to be included in this show, as there are many really talented artists who are also participating. I’m going to show you the work of just a couple of people…
Christiane Corcelle, Square 27
This gorgeous print is part of a series that Corcelle has done. She specializes in carborundum collagraph printmaking. I have taken several classes with her, and she is also a great teacher. I LOVE this whole series…the colors…the transparency…the textures. Amazing.
Martha Wakefield, Slip #11
Wakefield is one of the co-curators of the show. She has an entire series of paintings on slips. In each one, the slip is almost floating down off of the canvas. She really captures the lightness and hidden quality of these garments (or rather, undergarments…). They don’t hang as if suspended from a hanger, but they are almost drifting away…slightly billowing to suggest the form of the wearer. Beautiful!
Jeanne Williamson, Fence as Lace #7
Williamson is the other co-curator. She describes her own work as: “Contemporary abstractions that combine grids from orange construction fences and rich textured mixed media surfaces.” She has taken such a neglected part of our landscape: plastic construction fences, and transformed/re imagined them into compelling works of art. I love the neutral palette with limited color. The dark textures almost seem to relate to the construction origins of the material, whereas the dots of color (and the title) relate to textiles/femininity.
Go see the show, as it’s up until March 21. Please feel free to buy one of my drawings too, as I know that you’d love to have a picture of me on your wall!!!! I go with most decor, especially Chinoiserie.
Actually, I just need more funds for my craft addiction…and maybe some groceries too.
Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts..., Sewing, textile forms | Tags: art, boston, Bromfield Gallery, Color, drawing, quilt, quilting
Where have I been??? What have I been doing??? Honestly…I have no idea. I was SUPPOSED to post last week, but my beloved child was home with a fever. We were all pretty much sick, and my husband is still on the mend. DRAMA.
You know that it has been cold when 14 degrees Fahrenheit feels not so bad. I’ve been wearing the same, over-sized wool sweater for what is likely a month. I didn’t wear it today, as I had to meet with a museum curator…and I didn’t want to potentially offend her high aesthetic standards with my Sasquatch-like appearance. How cold does it have to get for all standards of appearance to be eliminated in favor of comfort? Clearly, that bar is never very high in my world. I’m always wearing some kind of sad, D.I.Y. project. It’s funny that after YEARS of being an architect, where we are trained (brainwashed?) to avoid color in favor of black, gray and white…my D.I.Y. projects are always crazy colorful. I often think that my aesthetic sensibilities actually haven’t changed since I was seven years old, which is kind of sad…as I dressed kind of weird as a kid. Things haven’t changed, I guess…
I finished up a knitting project recently:
That’s the front…here is the back:
Kind of neat, right? I can’t take credit for the pattern…even though I changed the neckline…the cuffs…the length, etc. This is not the sweater that I’ve been wearing for the past month. The sweater that I’ve had on is more like a wool mu-mu. This week, I realized why I can’t move somewhere warm…I’d have no reason to knit.
I’m totally serious.
You’re likely wondering when I’ll stop yammering about my technicolor craft projects, and move onto something more interesting. Well, your wait is over!
My friend, Helen, has her work up at one of the well-known Boston galleries…
Helen Payne, detail of installation “Here I Sit, Brokenhearted” at Bromfield Gallery, Boston
Here is the description of the installation:
An installation on bathroom tiles where drawings make visceral vignettes, showing moments ranging from giving birth to getting booked. A shape-shifting protagonist emerges from the tiles. She morphs in time and race and limps along at odds with expectations but at one with viscera.
“Here I Sit, Brokenhearted” is about the ill fit of the body and how our most private moments can play out in the public sphere.
Helen beautifully elucidates aspects of humanity (primarily vices and viscera) that are typically hidden. Her work is both sensitive and bold. Helen’s drawing fluency is as compelling as her chosen subjects. Please check out her installation at Bromfield. It will be up for a few months…but don’t procrastinate! Go see it! If you see something that looks kind of like Sasquatch at the gallery, come over and say, “hi.” It’s probably me.
I’ve been sidetracked on a quilt project that I’ve been meaning to do for AGES. Yes, I said “a quilt.” Yes, I know that I’m supposed to be focusing on art, but as I just said…I’ve been getting a bit sidetracked as of late…
Sewing curves is challenging…so I decided to put myself in circle boot-camp by doing this koo koo quilt. So far, it has been super fun…albeit a royal pain in the tush. This is a mini-quilt…so the width is around 32″ or so. Each of those little scallop shapes is probably 4″ wide. In doing this quilt, I learned why people don’t normally use linen-type fabric for quilts (which I did.) The weave of linen is so wide that it’s like trying to sew a piece of friggin’ GAUZE.
Okay, well not quite THAT bad…but almost that bad. I fear that this quilt can never set foot in a washing machine, lest I want the thing to turn into a huge blob of colorful thread. Kind of like this, but made out of thread:
Do you know that’s actually a creature called a “blob fish?” I kid you not.
Sigh. I always have to learn things the hard way. At least I can sew a half-decent circle now, in spite of the fact that I look like Sasquatch.
Speaking of blobs, did you read about that recent study that says that sitting too much will pretty much kill you??? WHA? HOW? WHO? I have pretty much sat through my entire adult life. Besides pulling all nighters at school and at work, where I was SUPPOSED to be sleeping but was just deliriously SITTING instead…all of my favorite hobbies and activities involve SITTING. Can I possibly knit whilst hopping around? Can I somehow read AND do jumping jacks? How about sewing and yoga? Quilting and Tae Bo? No?
Upon hearing the bad news about sitting, I promptly slid down within my enormous wool sweater and pouted like that hideous blob fish.
Boo.
I’m waiting for the study to come out that says sedentary craft activities are actually good for everyone’s health because they keep mommy happy. And we know what a maelstrom of discontent mommy can be when she’s NOT HAPPY…
Be thankful that you don’t live with me.
slightly wonky 