i wrote this awhile ago, but hadn't posted it.
i started my trained art life in illustration, using paint and paper. since graduating, i've slowly leaned towards fibers, and have focused on them in the last few years. every now and then i would take out the paints and canvas, work on a piece, and once complete, put the paints away again.
one of the pieces i wove awhile back needed something more; needlelace in green would be just the thing. i went for a bit of playful flora, and attached it with a small brad which i painted with nail polish. i find it strange that antique lace was mostly made in white thread (some exceptions being black lace for mourning, and spanish mantilla lace). it would make it easier to change between clothing, and it would be punchier against the rich hues of the fabric, but i think lace could be so much more modern if it were done in color.
two masked monkies i painted my great aunts years ago, along with a whimsical jellyfish painting by jennifer davis, and alice in wonderland puppets i bought at an estate sale in my college days, make up the bigger part of the wall. it's more colorful than the previous arrangement (i'm seeing a favorite colors scheme here).
the smaller wall is a little more subdued, the print of the doggies lining up hung in my great aunts bathroom; but as they have both passed on now, it is in my collection. my great aunts had the greatest stuff, usually lovely or funny, or a little bit dirty. i remember a charm i received from them when i was younger, it was a little silver boy peeing (like those found in water fountains), along with a little brass wishing well. they also had this hilda calendar which they would sneak out and show me, usually paired with a wink and a chuckle, every now and then. i hope i can be as kooky when i'm in my 90's. gads, i miss them.
a desktop still life: maeve's painting, covered tea vessel, wooden bento, pigment set, tree seeds, and an omiyage.
i read about the handmade market at kamigamo shrine, on the fourth sunday of the month, and knew i would have to attend. i've seen photos of the amazing hand crafts of japan, and most definitely wanted to see them in person. i was not let down, in any way. point of fact, i was really blown away by all the very creative and beautiful pieces people are doing!
i like tea; it's warm, flavorful, pretty, good for you, tastes lovely, goes well with baked goods. lately, i've started drinking a mug of green tea every day to help me relax when i get home from work. i've been using my hot cocoa mug, but started to feel that maybe it would be nice to have a dedicated tea mug.
i've an art gallery of sorts. in my bathroom. i think it's a great place to have art; the walls are painted white, the light is bright but soft as it is filtered by the frosted glass of the window. the small space really allows you to display varying sizes without the fear of needing to fill a large area.
as long as i don't shut the door when showering, humidity isn't really an issue.
i adore and am constantly being inspired by the creative work of australian artist tara badcock. her pieces are not only quite aesthetic, tactile, and gorgeous, but entirely useful as her talent takes the form of pincushions, tea cozies, purses, and pillows. her embroidery pieces are divine, excellently crafted and oftentimes bare a deeper meaning of complex social and world issues that affect her.
i've had a photo of a colorful and zany pincushion she created saved on my computer for quite some time, and finally decided to ask the artist if she still had it. luckily for me, she did, and we struck up a wonderful series of conversations. ultimately this led me to acquiring not one, but two of her lovely pieces! i was also able to feed my fabric stash with many soft and cozy cuts of wool from waverley woollen mills of australia.
as you can see, it wasn't long before meiko decided she was going to help me sort. actually, help may not be the right verb here; sabotage or hide may be more apt.
i received a lovely email the other week from a person on etsy who chose to feature one of my pincushions on their treasury. needless to say i was very excited! this is my first (that i know of) and i took a screen capture of it. there it is on the bottom left; it's the first pincushion i made, after the rains. i'm such a proud creator to be included with all of the other lovelies.
i love the work of jennifer davis; the color combinations, the textural softness against the detailed line work, the whimsy each piece exudes. last year i purchased a painting of a jellyfish. what really caught my eye was the little detail of the jellyfish's cap having a bow.
i've had my eye on a piece called "almost" ever since she posted it on her etsy store. i was finally able to acquire it this past week and i've made room for it in my gallery bathroom. my bathroom is painted polar white and what better place to put art then in a space where you can sit and admire it.
i tend to keep books that i look at frequently on my nightstand. they're within easy reach, and help me collect my thoughts when i'm exploring something new. i find that these books are also inspiring when one is in a slump. to list:
the cocktail: 200 fabulous drinks
(i love the illustrations by kat macleod)
urawaza: secret everyday tips and tricks from japan
(incredibly useful)
craft, inc.: turn your creative hobby into a business
(excellent resource)
the encyclopedia of embroidery techniques
(i've been using this for years, very good explanations)
mushrooms for dyes, paper, pigments & myco-stix
(mushroom dyes create extraordinary lightfast colors!)
printing by hand
(very clear instructions, great scandinavian designs)
the art of manipulating fabric
(just received the other day, the vast array of techniques is overwhelming and exciting!)
kay nielson
(the illustrations make me drool, such gorgeous details and patterns)
tricia guild pattern
(the colors! the variety of prints! a flocked velvet cover!)
inside joke. i'm actually referring to the commode. anyways. the tub and plumbing are completely movable in case i decide to rearrange the placement. in keeping with the vanity, the tub faucet is encased in cork as well. perhaps i will get a bidet along with the toilet. if and when i can purchase just those two units alone. i don't really care for another set of bathroom appliances.
let me first start off with saying that contact cement is a pain. and that the angle of the roof is a pain. and that applying wallpaper on a small scale is still a pain. the wallpapering job is not perfect. nope. because the thing with contact cement is that once contact has been made, it stays, imperfections and all.
but other than those things, i likes it a lot. it's very balanced when all is said and done. and enveloping, like a green house. the star nook is lovely as it's set off with the lavender paper.
i decided to install the cork covered sink, and there's a stool in the room for towels. today i shall go a bathtub hunting. hopefully this venture will be successful as i generally stay away from most if not all forms of mall, be they strip or otherwise.
i decided to scan the wallpapers before i hang them on the walls. of the three i have to say the first one is my favorite. i like how the rock and planter came out, also the standing bird. i'm not sure how they're all going to look together and set at the angle of the roof. enveloping perhaps.
next step is to adhere the panels to the wall using contact cement. there are two reasons for this choice; one, i can later remove them if i would like, and two, the paper isn't 100% flat so i need an instant bond for it to be smooth. one reason against using contact cement would be the long term archival properties; i'm assuming contact cement isn't good in that department.
...of what i've been up to. i am in the middle of finishing the bathroom in the dollhouse. i was inspired by an armoire to conclude that the bathroom must have chinoiserie wallpaper. and that that wallpaper was to be lavender gray. how i came to this juncture is still somewhat a mystery to me. as you will see tomorrow, the connection from this armoire to the fanciful imaginings of chinoiserie wallpaper is peculiar.
this is a sample of the drawings that will act as guide to the later application of paint.
so this year for christmas i was determined to hand craft all of the gifts i would be giving. my brother had mentioned that he would like a painting for his apartment; just no "girly" colors like the last two paintings i had given him. "girly" of course being robin egg blue, baby pink, and lime green. obviously. i guess he just doesn't realize that pink was a male color, it being derived from red, and blue being a female color as it is generally more delicate, less fearsome. thus i went with yellow and blue. i choose to not see gender in color, as pink goes well with most complexions and should be worn more often. a good example being india. and giving nothing up of myself, as i quite like those two colors together, i painted him this octopus and jellyfish. i prefer to see it as a cloudy sky, the octopus coming into the picture on the diagonal; but is it friend or foe to the little jellyfish?
i've never been one to like mushrooms. oh, they're pretty enough, sure. but eat one? ugh. slimy. but then a weird thing happened. i watched a program devoted to fungi on some educational channel. and suddenly i wanted to eat them. it's very strange, but you know, they're very tasty sauted with butter and garlic.
and then i wanted to paint them, and so i did. they're even better to paint!
at the same time, i came across a picture of a dumbo octopus in national geographic. i really think they're a very adorable and cute creature. the ocean is full of such inhabitants. i've always been drawn to things that are so ugly they're cute.
so, onto researching my new subjects. for images a scroll through flickr would be my best shot. there are surprisingly few photos of the dumbo octopus, also known as Grimpoteuthis. they're a little deep in the ocean, places where we (homo sapien) don't get to a whole lot (which is a good thing, imho). i found around 12 or 13 on the whole. mushrooms are a little easier, there are entire groups devoted to this subject.
oh, and i like to work small (kinda obvious huh?). the above painting is 5" x 7".
i have just discovered that i am not in fact a libra, but am a virgo. yay! that libra sign never made much sense to me anyhow. apparently astrologists are behind the times and that due to "precession" the place in the earths sky that we see constellations has altered 36 degrees to the west. thereby placing the astrological constellation, the virgo, in the nights sky on my birth, and not the libra. after reading the write up on my new sign, it all makes so much more sense. i don't run my life by the zodiac, but it's interesting nonetheless.
oh, and the phrase "hoist with his own petard" comes from the time of the stuarts and is when an invention that was used to blow open gates blows you (the bearer of said device) open instead.
