i am a bunny and i live in a hollow tree...

 there is a season for everything and that especially means all things in the art and creative realm. my wonderful husband helped me realize this inclination that i had, and now it removes the "creative guilt" that sometimes overtakes me when i have left one endeavor for another. it also reminds me of my favorite book growing up as a kid, where the bunny basks in each picturesque setting of the seasons and describes each activity. i mirrored that style in regards to my creating seasons...

• in the summer i spend time sketching plans for the garden, getting my fingers in the soil and letting them be stained by the green of the grass and letting them dance over the grill or skillet as i saute fresh green beans or swiss chard. this season i let my inside passions go and walk barefoot.

• in the fall my mood changes to an energetic melancholy- what this looks like i can't explain. only that suddenly i want to read milan kundera, wear a skirt with a tweed blazer and walk the 'quad'. my canvas starts to look more like a real canvas with acrylic paint and charcoal on it. there is also a bounty of harvest and that leads me to milk all i can with the season's highlights. (i also learned to crochet and began to write more.)                        

• in the winter, for some odd reason becomes my deepest longing and need to experience a serious rendering of art. less in this time to i reach out for inspiration, but instead i dig deep and pour out. if i chronicle the past 5 years i see a history of this. standing out in my garage/studio with fingerless gloves huddling over the heat lamp, watching my breath as i sing at the top of my lungs a Bon Iver song (aptly named, too as it means 'Good Winter') and step back and sigh. it is in this season i received my first easel, showed my first pieces at a gallery and a festival, i sought out an amazingly talented encaustic mentor, and framed one of my biggest pieces to date. in this season, i come alive, i am ready- the cold brings out something in me. it affirms my hunch that cold cities produce true art and artists. (think Russia and Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Nabokov, think Seattle and all the amazing musicians, think Paris and A Movable Feast, painters and musicians alike, etc, etc, etc) this also becomes a cozy and perfect time to sew and create functional pieces for myself and loved ones.

• i like to lump spring in with winter somewhat in that we have a very non-distinct break from the storms and wet gray. but this is okay as the symbol of spring matters more to me and my art in that the birth and renewal of foliage reminds me of this life and how i am most alive when i have put to death the things of this world. ("for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." romans 8:13)

as always, here's some music that is inspiring me at the moment: the National

aprons pt. 2

the ruffled, tiered apron was finally finished at 2am christmas eve eve. whew! what a project! the most time consuming part was hemming each of the ruffles and then gathering them. i modeled it after an apron i already have by the brand name "funktion".

aprons pt.1

as a kid i used to call it "my maker" because, obviously, when you wear one, you are making something. whatever you call them, they are fun to wear, own, make and even look at. no wonder there is a resurgence of aprons in a rather funky and chic art form. i have been dying to make some and here are some of the results now that Christmas is on its way... (I named them after the soon-to-be-recipients of the presents)

the "Gracie"

 

the "Madi"



this one is mine- so, "untitled 1" ?

this one was made out of 3 men's shirts from Goodwill... go figure!

if you want any of the patterns or other details, let me know and i'd be happy to share... if i can make them, anyone can!

Can-Can skirt

i stumbled upon this adorable blog: MADE, a creative collection, and saw this adorable, girly skirt that i would love to someday make for adelaide.... and maybe myself?

Ready Made

one of my vices is magazines. i feel like i can never have enough. i use them up, read them, cut them, file them... i pulled out a Sunset magazine the other day that was from Summer '04 and found a wonderful salmon recipe. when i was at the grocery store the other day, i walked down the long magazine isle and my eye browsed over all of the topics that i gravitate towards: crafts, gardening, fashion, organic living, cooking, chickens (yes, there are a few chicken publications that you can subscribe to via "Hobby Farms"), etc. i thought to myself, "i wish there was a cool version of Martha Stewart and Sunset combined..." maybe i should clarify to all you Martha & Sunset fans- i think those are actually cool, but some of the ideas, lets admit are for a little more 'well to do' or with much more time on their hands- say retirees. (Sunset, i don't necessarily need ideas for the chicest B&B to stay in Napa, or do i actually want to collect pricey china from around the world, Martha) SO! just as i was thinking this to myself, i came across Ready Made: "Instructions for Everyday Life". it was pretty on the cover with a picture of a Strawberry Rhubarb Ricotta Tart on a cute little antique dish.

here were some of the other topics they cover:

• interior design
• home design
• art
• food
• diy
• bedroom ideas
• home and garden
• lighting
• home organization
• sewing
• crafts
• hobbies

 basically everything i love! Kendall and Brittany, this seems like you, too... ;)

girly tulle

i pulled out the sewing machine the other day and a few pieces of whimsical prints that i had intended for making little girly things... i made this easy little skirt for adelaide. what would go perfect with it is a nondescript little tee- i will have to try and find one at thrift stores, as i am sure she will grow out of it before i even put it on her.

Textiles

I have a whole pile of fabrics, and little time, little talent to make all the things I want. I think the biggest success would be if I can make just one spring skirt that embodies cherry blossoms and rain on warm grass. This blue, airy rick rack fabrick evokes that feeling to me.

curtains or skirt?

this pretty swirly fabric seemed perfect for an adelaide skirt, or one for me, but i am wondering if they might make fun and whimsical curtains in my kitchen... the problem with them as curtains is that they might lend themselves to the more "country/eclectic look" that i am trying to steer away from... maybe if i paint the walls a slate bluish white? like this Benjamin Moore swatch called "Winterwood"?

maybe if i do such whimsical curtains- it will veer in the opposite direction of  "fresh and modern"?
then again, anything will look more modern than my country butter yellow walls.

getting the goods

while my nearest supplier (I thought i'd use drug terms sometimes to draw the parallel between the addictions that one can have...

mine? paints, fabrics, wire, paper, yarn, wax, wood, thread, ribbon, sequins, ric rac, glue- hot, mod podge, yes paste, etc…) of fabrics would be the universal JoAnn Fabrics. while the locality and generality of it’s chain store conveniences are nice, where I could lose the house at is a little fabric store in Bainbridge. I made dirk miss a movie one day when I told him I’d be “right back” and in so doing, came back waaay to late to still make our movie. (New York, I Love You was showing. when we finally did see it, it was fabulous) this little fabric store has it all- the vintage calico prints, hip patterns (I hate using the word hip, by the way.), and an expert waiting in the wings to give you advice and lessons on the sewing machine they have handy for just such occasions. the store is called Esther’s Fabrics. check it out- along with a movie and a bite at the vegetarian noodle place on the corner.

i want to make some skirts for adelaide with this fabric:

So, i have started sewing (kind of)

just because i bought an old vintage Kenmore doesn't mean i know what i am doing. nor does that mean i will improve over a reasonable amount of time. what it does mean, however, is that i will be all the more tempted to nickel and dime away my small budget on textiles of any sort. fabric, i have found, can be irresistible and frivolous even when you don’t have an idea on how to put it to use. yards of fabric can be gathered while you mumble in your head “ooh, this would make a perfect skirt…” “OH! this would make a perfect throw pillow…” “this fabric is so unique and vintage, surely I could do something with it!”