Monthly Archives: December 2011

2011 review- dolls of the year

Posted on by

This has been a very busy year for me. I said yes to several projects that have stretched me in new ways. As the year is coming to an end, I am contemplating the paths I want to keep following and the ones that probably aren’t working for me. The year, now that I am looking back, seemed a little less creative. I feel as if I let outside forces direct me instead of following my own creative compass. I need to get back on track with that.

This is my round-up of projects I posted on flickr.

21 Tiny Worlds and I taught one workshop last spring. My big challenge with these is finding good tea cups.

16 foxes.

13 owls plus I made the pattern last February. And 3 babies and 1 bird lady.

14 Tattooed ladies and 3 girls.

And 27 handsome men- 4 lumberjacks, 2 Staffordshire inspired fellows and 21 tattooed men.

And all the rest- 7 kitties, 19 fish, 3 tikis and 4 dogs.

That adds up to 110 dolls plus the 21 Tiny Worlds.

And there are the things I made or worked on that didn’t get posted. Last February and March I worked on some patterns that will be included in a book that is coming out in June 2012. It is not a secret anymore because it is now available for pre-order on Amazon. You can see at least one of the dolls because he is on the cover!

I will be back tomorrow (maybe) for some more reflections and hopes!

 

Happy Day!

Posted on by

Merry Christmas if that is what you celebrate! When we cleared out my parents house some number of years ago, I found a portfolio with Christmas stationary, clippings from magazines and other graphic art, dated 1938. Here are some scans from the collection-

Have a wonderful day!

some presents to myself

Posted on by

I’ve spent some money on things I couldn’t resist. I will list them in the order I bought them.

I got an IPad in August and I love it. I’ve been using it for running charge cards when I go to markets and so it feels like a legitimate business tool. About a month ago I bought a DODO case and I totally recommend it. The IPad feels protected and the case feels good in my hand. It is an artisan-made product which I have to admit makes me love it even more. Check it out if you are in the market for any tablet case- I think they’ve got them all.

I read this review on Pikaland. I thought, I have GOT to get that! I did. It is amazing! Check it out, Wrap.

My favorite-

Crystal posted some mushroom ornaments on her blog right before the SOWA Holiday Market. I rushed over to her booth before the show opened to check out what she brought. Unfortunately some other vender had gotten in there before me and the ones I wanted were taken. Crystal make me some more when she was back home again. These will not be going back to attic after Christmas. They will be hanging in my studio all year round.

I found this adorable little fellow at Gallery Hanahou. He is made by Anna Hrachovec of Mochimochi Land. I think he will be spending his time hanging out on top of one of the above mushrooms.

And lastly, this owl ornament (I think he is papier mache and approx. 4″ tall). I found him at John Derian.

When I was at John Derian, there were lots of items by Coral & Tusk. I had never seen the work before and was tempted and intrigued. Then, as I was catching up on my blogs on Monday, somebody linked to them! I loved this fox. He has a pocket with a camera!

some more of the NYC trip

Posted on by

We stayed in a hotel in Brooklyn and enjoyed having some time to walk around. When I am there for Renegade I never seem to have a minute to explore!

On Saturday morning we went to the Dekalb Market. It is lots of little shops in rehabbed shipping containers. Plus there were venders selling under canopies and fantastic coffee. Then we headed onto the Subway and over to Manhattan. Next stop, ABC Carpet and Home. How is it that I have never been here before! It is one of those stores where the selections and displays are so exciting and inspiring that it is like a design museum. Next, John Derian, another fun, inspiring, and very crowded, shop. Clearly I wasn’t doing a very good job on the photo-documentation of the first part of the day.

At this point we needed a sit down break. We headed for City Bakery for hot chocolate and a yummy treat that I think they call a Bakers Muffin- sort of a muffin version of bread pudding but crunchy on top. Delish! And, a confession, both Ben and I removed the giant homemade marshmallow from our cups after a few tastes. It was just too much.

We headed uptown to join the crowds admiring the Christmas windows. In our typical way, before we went we googled to get a map of all the good displays. There is something very exciting about being in a crowd of cheerful people, all enjoying themselves. The highlights (ie the ones I took pictures of)-

Barneys- there was some kind of Lady Gaga connection but frankly I don’t really care about any back story. The windows were amazing! This is a room all decorated/ made of hair!

Just beautiful.

Next, Bergdorf Goodman.  They seemed to have a taxidermy thing going on. Some of the windows were small-

yep, that is a squirrel on a bike-

and some of them were big. These bird heads were on human size mannequin bodies.

I was intrigued by the fabric that this gown was made of- little strips if blue fabric sewed onto white netting.

These are Bergdorf’s too, although the theme changed. These windows are materials based. Everything in this one was wood-

This one, glass. The fish are mosaic and the dress is beads.

And now, back to taxidermy. Little mice on purses. This one made me laugh- it is that mouse in the tutu that did it.

This one, all metal.

The next store had theater scenes of cut paper.

 

And we later saw a giant version when we were on the bus heading downtown. I love the silhouette look in a window.

Tomorrow I will show you the few little things I bought. I can’t remember when the last time I was in New York at Christmas time but it has been a while. I’m so glad we went!

Gallery Hanahou

Posted on by

I had a great visit to New York. I headed down to SOHO as soon as I got there. It was a thrill to see my work in the Luvable and Hugable show at Gallery Hanahou. As always, it is fantastic to see everything in person after looking at the catalog, and so funny to see things where I had a picture of a certain scale in my head and I was way off!

Lots of the other artists in the show are people who I follow online so it was a thrill to see their work in person too.

I loved how they hung the Cotton Monsters from the ceiling!

This is the other side of the room. Aren’t the crochet paintbrushes so funny!

Somehow I seemed to have missed photographing one of my favorite pieces- a plush spray can. I was expecting it (from the photo in the catalog) to be life-size and as a result, didn’t notice it on my first turn around the gallery… because it is much bigger!

My husband and I stopped into the new Scotch & Soda store which happens to be right around the corner from the gallery. I didn’t see any suspiciously familiar fabrics on the clearance rack. I felt the need to check since my sister, who is visiting Australia right now, actually saw some of the offending articles in Melbourne. My spies are everywhere!

My studio is a disaster right now. I managed to get myself into a crazy gridlock. It started because I am trying to clear out a little bedroom and uncover the bed since all the kids will be home for Christmas. This is the room that I’ve been tossing everything into for a while now. I needed to take out some of the furniture including a bookcase. I can always use another bookcase in my studio but to get it in, I needed to rearrange things- which involved emptying other bookcases. Yikes, what a mess. The little bedroom is getting close- I think it will be ready for tomorrow evening when it is needed. Then I can move onto clearing out the front room so we can set up the Christmas tree.

Tomorrow I will post about some of the other things I did in the city.

the weekend

Posted on by

The SOWA Holiday Market is usually 2 days but was only one day (Saturday) this year. People really wanted to come!

Apparently the line was like that for much of the day.

Here is my booth. (Sorry about the bad photo. My camera seems to be developing focus issues. Is a 3 year old digital camera geriatric?)

This is just one side but at least it is in focus-

The show was fun, busy, exhausting!

On Sunday I went to the Art Institute of Boston to see an amazing show- the work of Chris Sickels of the Red Nose Studio.

Sorry- more terrible photos. Go to his website to get a good idea of how incredible his work is. He makes these figures and then photographs them for his illustration work. I love seeing pieces like this close up and in person- the details of the stitches and fabric choices are what interest me most. The show is only up for a few more days but if you are in the Boston area, I would highly recommend it. And it is free!

I am planning on going to NYC at the end of the week so I can see the Luvable and Hugable Show. Is there any other shows I should go see while I am there? Any other general recommendations?

 

 

forest fox girl

Posted on by

Come out to the SOWA Holiday Market and see me this Saturday- yes, that is tomorrow!

One more girl fox.

I’m having fun with the picture taking! They look like friends, right?

When I took off the coat to photograph the dress, oops! Guess she isn’t quite as finished as I thought!

I love picking out just the right fabric for the clothes that the dolls’ wear. This forest fabric seems like just the kind of design a sweet shy fox girl would wear.

and another fox

Posted on by

Sometimes when I am working on a piece, I start to imagine a character. It usually happens when I am trying to figure out what they should be wearing. I didn’t want to make another professor-type fox, so who was this fellow going to be? I thought of a fox who goes on a walking tour of the English countryside. He has his sketchbook in his bag for when he sits down for a rest.

Here he is with all his stuff-

How do you like his V-neck sweater? I love it- it came from an old sweater of mine! My personal sweaters can be difficult to use because I really wear them out before I am ready to part with them and often there isn’t much usable fabric left.

I made him a red handkerchief for his pocket.

His jacket on and buttoned up. And his olive green cashmere scarf and wool felt satchel.

Saturday Fox

Posted on by

I finished this fellow up on Saturday evening, just in time to take him to the Bazaar.

I usually photograph my work before I tag them. You can see the tag on this fellow’s foot. It is shrink plastic with my signature and date. All my dolls have these tags.

His vest, which closes with hook and eyes, is lined with a green cotton with a fern kind of pattern on it.

well that was really fun!

Posted on by

The Boston Bazaar Bizarre was so much fun!

Here is the Cyclorama at the beginning of the day. I was in the first group of vendors to load in.

and later-

My booth-

Thanks to all the friends that came and said hi, thanks to all the wonderful new people I met there and a HUGE thank you to the organizers who do such an amazing job. It is always fantastic to get out of the studio and hang out with other amazing crafty people- it was a great day!