first of the year

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My first finished project of the year- a special order made with a cup that the buyer sent me.

It is good to have a project with a deadline right after the Holidays. It forces me back into the studio.

Now I’ll add a little real life here. I said yes to this project right in the middle of the Holiday season- not something I’d usually do. That time of year should be spent running back and forth from the post office, mailing out all the finished artwork for someone’s special gift. Except that didn’t happen this year. The markets I did in December were fun but the sales didn’t add up to other years. And my Etsy shop was very slow and has been all fall. That has me wondering and rethinking what I’m doing here- hinted at in this post. This old life/art path is not smooth or straight, right? It is that time of year to look back and then forward- why am I doing this, what do I need to get out of it creatively and financially, what do I need to do so that going to the studio every morning is the best part of the day. Yes, it is January again, the time of year to figure this stuff out.

top 10 of 2011 and onto 2012!

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I’ve been trying to figure out a good way to post my thoughts on the year and my family suggested a top 10 list- great idea!

So, here are 10 happenings that defined my year- these aren’t all good things, btw. They are in a sort of chronological order.

-Crafty Biz Meet-up Group- this monthly meet-up continues to be one of the great things in my life and we have now been going for 2 years! This is an open group with no requirements. Anyone who gets excited talking about market reports, credit card companies, electronics for small business and all that other micro-biz stuff is welcome. We meet on the second Wednesday of each month at 10am in Arlington, MA (usually). Contact me if you’d like to join us.

–Words With Friends– yes, I’m addicted.

-After Renegade Brooklyn, I got contacted by a very cool store that you have most certainly heard of that starts with A and ends with e about making some pieces (a whole lot in my terms) for their website. It soon became clear to me that this would not be a good match and I had to back out. Sometimes you have to say no. And sometimes that helps give a clearer idea of what is the right thing to do.

–My Dad died. That threw me more than I expected.

–I got an IPad. I like it more than I expected.

–Renegade in Chicago– was totally amazing! Paula Poundstone, Red-Eye, Mary Engelbright, yeah, Amazing!

-The Shelburne Museum in Vermont- I went twice!

–Land of Nod– signed a licensing contract. Hopefully I will have products in their catalog next fall!

-Had my work ripped off. It was very upsetting but then everything worked out and it renewed my faith that there are good and helpful people in the world. Thank you everyone who supported me. It did make a difference.

–Luvable & Hugable show– not only was I thrilled to be asked to be in their 5th anniversary show, I actually made it to New York to see it!

I read over my list of hopes from a year ago and can honestly say, yes, more of that. Always, I should make more patterns, use up what I have, explore new designs, teach some classes. This year I hope to go to the West Coast Renegade Show in San Francisco and maybe LA. I want to finish up the many partially started dolls that are all over my studio. They have been waiting a long time for my attention! And maybe answer those emails that have been waiting for the last month or so ( sorry if I owe you a reply). Keep myself open to new things because I never know what is around the corner. On the other hand, don’t let myself get overwhelmed- there was a little too much of that this year.

The pictures are from the 4 wonderful days when all the kids were home and we were all relaxing. Eleanor made us the oil lamp from a clementine peel at the top of the page. Below is a typical scene when we are all together-

One of the computers was missing for the group photo though. Some homemade wrapping paper was made-

My studio is getting it’s yearly post-Christmas clean-up and makeover. I’m excited about the reshuffle. I’ll post some photos when the dust settles.

On to the new! A HUGE Thank You to everyone who visits my blog, reads my words, leaves me encouraging comment, and buys my artwork. I feel blessed to be part of the online craft community. It has made my world a better place. I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous 2012!

 

2011 review- dolls of the year

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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!

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.