feburary inspiration : europe

For me, inspiration comes in small amounts. Than in a flash I see how they all fit together. Connected by a color, a pattern, a medium or a line. I sometimes get a glimpse of a finished piece and I start the process of getting there. Other times images & feelings have to sit together on a shelf for a while until they can be plucked down & put in the rite place.
I realized today that the shelf is filling up. We'll see how & where these will show up.....





photo's:
1:clogs I saw a pair this weekend & LOVED!! found them here
2:A poster of stamps that was leftover from a swap.
3. Vintage painted wooden figures thrifted.
4. A gorgeous embroidered Mary & Baby J, thrifted by my mom, awesome!

foxes & cake

It's still winter here, and for me anyway I always want to have the oven on around 2pm. I remember my mom would make us ginger cake on cold winter afternoons. I did the same this week & the boys who were napping and the men in the shop loved it.

While the cake was baking I started this project, not sure where it will lead but there may be chickens dancing with that nicely dressed fox.

















Ginger Cake 350 25 min.
1 stick unsalted butter , cream with
1 cup brown sugar, add
2 eggs, one at a time, add alternately
1/2 c molasses ( or sorghum & honey)
3/4 c hot water
and dry
2 1/3 c total flour (mixed WW & AllP)
1/4 t salt
1 t b. powder
1/4 t b. soda
1 t ginger
1/2 t mace or cardamom
1 t cinn
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t allspice

I made 2 small cakes with this, one for the shop & one for the house. Great with powdered sugar on top.

shirt dress placket for the new year

I wanted a new dress/shirt for the new year and since I didn't get anything from Anthropology for Christmas I was inspired to just make my own.
At Target yesterday I saw this shirt dress ( pj's!) & grabbed it, vowing to figure it out as I went.















I looked in my stash & found I had a remnant of this amazing Japanese fabric. I cut a rectangle of fabric & cut it in half. Placed it on either side of the opening & turned under edges. I shaped the top angle, nearest the collar using iron, it's not very precise because I knew the collar would cover it. Top stitched around each piece. I wanted to soften the edges so I added this antique trim & top stitched it.





This is about as sassy as I get at 3 in the afternoon.

wild thing

Can you tell I'm into plaid? Felix, that lucky little boy & because he was sick, this year for Halloween 2 handmade costumes. The first was a detective, which lost favor once he saw another kid welding a weapon. Sooooo we compromised on this Wild Thing Costume. The hat ( a little small but who cares) was made from this pattern. I really like the way it came out, and he looked darling. And to show that I haven't been been neglecting myself I made a new scarf, made from recycled suit wool that came my way via Five Green Acres.

I'm feeling a little restless in my art/craft making these days. So as not to waste too much material & precious studio time I'm taking a craft hiatus. Every few years I need a break, once I realize that I'm making the same things over & over. Need a refresher on what inspires me. I've started to carry a sketchbook around with me instead of a knitting project. Looking at the world around waiting for inspiration may seem a little silly, but rite when you think your searching something like this appears.
This video was taken before I even had kids, a quiet lunch in our little kitchen in the old house. I noticed this reflection on the wall and was mesmerized.
( don't mind the sound, it's just our community radio station. )

Stitch Coach

Onto number 2: Sewing
I had a few goals set for this year, 1: to have a show of my paintings ( check) 2: to sew more clothes for my family. As luck would have it a friend asked me if I would be interested in attending a private fitting class with her a few weeks back. Taught by a stitch coach, Steffani. So literally the morning after my opening I packed up my sewing machine and headed over to my friends house for this unexpected class. It was amazing, three of us ( my mom came too) all had projects, and Steffani jumped rite in. Helping us fit clothes, make patterns, tips upon endless tips on how to sew garments that actually look good on your body.
The second session was at my house this past weekend and was equally inspiring. It's like doors are becoming unlocked into the secrets of sewing. And the first key is to have someone measure you, here's a good form I found for you to jot the numbers down. Knowing your measurements is key to looking at patterns and adjusting them to properly fit you.

So in the que are boxer shorts for Mr. T and a shirt for me. Now back to it, I'm leaving the laundry & dishes rite where they are!

final lap

I'm in the home stretch for the show. The paintings are finished, but a few more up my sleeve so stay tuned! Here's most of the source material for the ball jar series. I am so excited, this is the first concrete series that I've done, from conception & sketches all the way to the gallery wall. I suppose that I could insert a part about my kids into that last sentence but this rite here is about me. I can finally say without a shrug of the shoulders that I'm an artist ( which used to mean, I have a degree in something that I can't make money at nor do I have the time or inspiration ) but now I can. sigh.
so now that I can see the light at the end of this tunnel here's what I'm thinking about next.

Sewing some clothes. I reorganized the sewing area a little bit, I hope it's easier to use & clean up now.
I need to spend more time with him, playing music.
and get out of this cold & dirty basement and out into the sunshine. It's summer !

painting again

Here are some of the "sketches" for the show coming in june, which seems like rite around the corner. Seems like there's always something going on so now, so I have to make dinner at 4pm and hand off everything when T comes in from the shop and hit the studio for an hour. Not so bad but I do miss a nice walk in the prairie, but I can actually listen to NPR. I'm having a really good time with this series and everyone I tell gives me a new idea. The latest was from my brother who said that his host father in Brazil would keep match sticks and egg shells in mason jars, those will definatly make it into the show. Now that the little craft frair is done ( was SUPER FUN, think about it, go to a bar for evening and sell crafts, OK I guess I will.) Some great friends stopped by and I shared a table ( or 3 ) with a great crafty friend. So, now back to it.

bird bulletin board

This was another quick project that came from the last craft night which I hosted. A friend brought extra supplies from this project and left it for anyone who wanted to try it. So after making my chicken cards I had just enough to make this bulletin board from an old frame, a dish towel, cork, heat & bond and some card board to back it. I'll try to make a tutorial this weekend when I get more supplies. And I can now officially say that I'm procrastinating some bigger projects. All right, I'll go and paint now.

cluck cluck

This was a quick & satisfying late night project. You know the one where your partner goes to bed early, the kids are down & it's just you, the TV, scrap fabric, heat & bond ( thanks beth ) and your iron. I have big projects on my list so these small ones are a perfect warm up to my day off.
I think my affection of chickens & eggs is heightened because I think we'll have to postpone getting a few hens for one more year. At least these cards don't require food.