This doll is of the night garden-
Use your imagination though- no photographing with dark backgrounds… The dark colors are hard enough to show!
I think her upper torso tree, leaf applique looks like a shawl or stole.
Back view- because I am always curious about the back of everything-
2 ladies-
On the steps where the colors are often better-
Now I have finished the lady dolls that had been in limbo since last November- so forlorn. Onto the next thing!
The sketch-
The doll-
Do you know what a penny rug is? That is what I was thinking about- piles of cut-out wool pieces, stitched together and onto a backing. I know this is nothing like a penny rug- it is just what was on my mind!
Looks like the rain is going to end tomorrow. Yes!
Salley Mavor came over for a visit today. She was in town to meet with her publisher. She is working on a book of nursery rhymes. She brought some of the pages to show me. They take your breath away with their details and craftsmanship. I took some photos-
this is a detail shot of the chair that the girl is sitting on-
do you see the embroidered detail on the shirt above? Amazing!
I love the bees in this one-
Stone wall of felt and beads. The gate has hooks and eyes for hardware-
And that rat! I love him!
This is what I’ve been working on-
I will post better photos onto the blog and list them on etsy once I get some decent photos.
I am working on some ladies-
I’ve put 6 together- the cutting and sewing phase. Or maybe I should call it the inside-out phase- all the parts of making them that I do before I turn them right-side-out. Hmm, I like that! They will trickle out as I figure out who they are.
One done-
She is a tropical lady.
Hopefully, this one is next-
Did you see the enormous and beautiful mushroom that my son found in our neighborhood?
I found this interview of Sharon Schamber on Craft Sanity completely absorbing. The way she talked about creativity and ideas truely resonated with me. I love podcast interviews with artists where they talk about how they work, how they think, when and where they get their ideas. I end up participating in the conversation in my head! It helps me think about and make words for what I do too.
with flowering vines-
The color here is not quite right- the red is a dark red, the purple is a tweedy heather. But then, the brown is perfect!
the back-
5 babies-
okay, I went back and fixed the tails of the luna moth on the first baby–
Here is the fix I did-
Now the tails are thinner and hopefully more graceful. The new official baby picture-
And this one because I like it-
And now for some garden photos. The sunflowers are starting to open. The bees love them!
And this was what I was hoping for when I planted the tomatoes, 2 months ago-so exciting!
Everything I am working on needs blue lately. I did a morning of dyeing when the weather was truely miserable, one day last week.
My birthday is coming up at the end of the week- Saturday. So…. I had so much fun last year, I decided to do another birthday giveaway. Just leave me a Happy Birthday on any of the posts between now and Saturday and you are entered. I am not going to make it hard for anybody.
I made this needlebook for the prize-
Actually, I turned a piece of applique that I’d already done into a needlebook. I might find some other prizes before Saturday. If I do, I’ll post them.
Another bit of business- I am looking for an intern if there is anybody in the Boston area who might be interested. I have contacted MassArt, but figured I mention it here too. Email me if you are interested- mimik(at)pobox(dot)com.
Another baby with Luna Moth.
2 luna moths. Yesterday morning I posted the other baby. Later in the day I was finishing up the second doll. I wanted to take another look at the photo of the moth that I’d linked to. It is funny how a few hours and photos (instead of what is right in front of my face) can help me to see better. On second look, I wasn’t happy with the way the moth looked. I went back to the studio, picked out the stitching around the moth “tails” and redid it. I am going to do something similar for the first baby too.
When I post photos to my blog and flickr, I am declaring the piece finished. It feels very odd to go back and rework something. Too funny.
Anyway. Here are 2 sweet babies-
I spend a lot of time setting up photos and taking tons, most of which get deleted or are clogging up my iphoto. Here is a reality shot of the dolls around the house- sitting next to me as I type on my laptop.
I’ve been a bit obsessed with Luna Moths for a while now. This photo went by in my Flickr photostream last May and it’s been haunting me. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to fit a luna moth image into what I do. I was worried that moths on babies might have a giant ick factor. I got over it.
The moth and the moon are cashmere- so soft.
leaf and embroidery details-
Baby on a blanket-
I have only seen a Luna Moth once in my life- 30 years ago. I vividly remember the feeling of awe.
