Week 5 meet week take-a-break.

Hello!
I "finished" week 5's project, but it was a bit of a trial towards the end. The grommets that the author is using & the ones that I am using are clearly not the same size. This discovery was made after I drilled the holes & then tried to muscle in the grommets...which wound up breaking the balsa wood. I think I may re-do this project while I take this week to start a collaborative project w/2 friends & create a promotional poster.

I am very exited about this collaboration--3 artists & 6 canvases. I am hoping to get us a show in the local art center (which means typing up a prospectus & putting on my business shoes). I think I should be able to swing it--I have perseverance & persuasion on my side! Plus I spent a year teaching other artists how to get their work in galleries...so I guess I have preparation on my side too.

No pictures today--I have to get ready to go to the shop.

Week 4

Hello!
This week has been a bit wonky, between the as-yet-unrepaired sewing machine and Fiona's refusal to sleep through the night (yay 3 year olds!) But I have gotten as far as I can on this week's project, which is a "vision statement banner". I have to say the author really thought this one out because you attach your goals with velcro so you can swap them as they change. In addition to the required goals & mission statement, there's a few other bits on there that are just about me. The bird for one. That's a stamp I carved & printed on silk fusion fabric (fabric that I made with my mom). The map: I love maps. They represent adventure and freedom and a way home to me. The puzzle piece and the rune and the fabric leaves are things that I have collected over the years that feel at home here.

This is a color combination that I am enjoying. I am pretty sure that I'll encorporate these fibers in to the banner once I get past the sewing stage. That pink yarn was handspun and dyed by my mom AGES ago.
And as for the rest of my days, I have been enjoying doodling, drawing for work and painting with the kidlets. But that's all for another time. I have this other blog that I have to go update.

Oh. Also, I turned 30 this week. There was no hoopla. (which is mildly disapointing. I enjoy a bit of hoopla every now & again)

Cut & Paste

Ok, I know I am tired because my hands inadvertantly typed "cut and pasta" about 4 times. It took genuine effort to get that title out there--and i hope you appreciate that.
Anyway, of the many & varied blogs I read, one is by Kyle Cassidy.
He is a photographer and all-around interesting guy. In that he comes across as normal, but is surrounded by the most facinating people. As a people watcher myself, this is the ideal situation.

Anywho, he was asked by a reader for some advice regarding becoming a photographer. His actual response was too ginormous for cutting & pasting, but I urge you to go & read it here.

And hey! lookit the time. I am off to bed, with a side stop in kitchen.
Sweet Dreams, y'all.

Week 3, the sequel!

Hey!
The kids did get to sleep at a reasonable hour, and the kitchen chores were done, so I set out to continue down week 3's art challenge.
This week it was to make a tote bag to carry around your "journal"(I call it a sketchbook. The word journal makes me think of how melodramatic and self-indulgent I used to be when I was 13...and that makes me gag)

Aaaaanyway--i love shopping for fabric. It's like shopping for paint with the added bonus of patterns & texture (wheeee!!) Ahem. So, yes. My sewing skills are passable--I've made a few quilts, aprons, skirts...a dress once long ago...I figured I could handle a few straight lines. These are my fabric choices for the front. Pattern=yum! And I love swirlies.

Here is my machine. She was a gift from my mother-in-law the first Christmas after the mister & I were married. She's probably used it as much as I have. (She sewed all the curtains for our last house) Sadly, this is ALSO the machine that got dropped off the moving truck...which leads us to:

The clusterf**k that happens inside the bobbin casing every time I do more than 2 stitches.

This was my BEST result after 3 tries. As I am already mid-week, I am thinking about getting out the fusible interfacing & altering a bag I already own. I just have to brave the fist-sized spiders in the storage area to get to the bin that holds all my out-of-rotation bags.

And the machine? She will be headed to the repair shop. (Say a little prayer, won't you?)

week 3

Is off to a rocky start.
As I type this at nearly 10pm, I am STILL battling the 3 year old with insomnia.
Which means no art-hour for mommy....
which is kind of okay b/c this week's project involves sewing and my sewing machine is prone to devouring my projects. Which is completely not her fault. You'd be touchy if someone dropped you off a moving truck, too.
And fear of bills keeps me from taking her to the sewing machine repair place with all the nice old ladies.

Today was a wash.

I am hoping for a better tomorrow, which may involve sewing on the dining room table while the kids entertain their ownselves. They gotta learn at some point, right?