Hello dolly...

Finally got back to work on these hooked dolls...one with an embroidered face and one with a rubber stamped face. Adding the hair was fun. For one I just used a variety of yarns from my yarn basket and the other one got some felted locks from the end of a mohair scarf that I felted...they still need their feet or shoes...haven't figured that part out yet.

Fun at Art From Scrap

Art=happiness!
Busy at work in the upstairs workroom and gallery at Art From Scrap...
Mother and daughter from England..Sat. morning art date..
Syd helping with threading those beads...
This boy made a 4 story house with plastic CD holders and then covered it with fabric! Not everyone had to make the booklace and there was a busy table of activity over by the glue guns.
Working on her collage pages...
Pretty cool!
Love that heart!


Whew! We had 29 students at our Sat. morning "Booklace" class at ARt from Scrap and we were hopping to help everyone get their necklaces made. Kids from pre-schoolers to 12 year olds were ready to create! Somehow by 12 noon it all came together and moms, dads, and kids left with smiles and their new creations. I usually try and give a little history on where the idea came from and how we adapted it from our first workshop at Artfest with Nina Bagley, but everyone just jumped right in and started creating so I had to let that part go. It was a great experience and so fun to work with kids again.
As we were cleaning up we "discovered" an art creation that was Glued to the table! Somehow we missed that with all the hole punching and paper cutting. We left it to dry...and get removed later! And a note to ourselves to bring glue sticks...all we had to work with was Elmer's white glue which can be quite messy.
After a little "shopping" in the store downstairs we headed off to CPK for some delicious lunch and a quick peek at Imagine. Then home for a nap!

Pin cushion softie

Started this mushroom pin cushion before the holidays and just got around to finishing it up. I used some brown cotton velveteen for the top, white wool for the stem and a veined beige fabric sample for the underneath part. When I saw the fabric at ARt From Scrap I just knew I'd use it on a fabric mushroom someday...just added the "beaded" beads on top for fun.

Beautiful sunrise....beautiful wool..

I love this wool roving from Belgium that I got while in Portland, Or at Northwoods Wool Store...
I decided to do some needle felting and pulled it out of the bag and this is how it was stored ...in a big circle...love those colors..!
Here's a funny little work in progress...a fabric collage made with kimono silks...more stitching to do...
sunrise...view across the street

Up early to get the boys off to school and there was a beautiful pink and orange sunrise through the trees.....I love the silhouette of trees at dawn and dusk...
working on class proposals and making samples... a busy week...and teaching on Sat. with Syd!

a bunch of unrelated stuff....

Water color pages for Booklace # 1...cover at top..
Booklace #2...water color pages and cover at top...used painted paper towel made in traci bautista's class at artfiberfest...
Booklaces put together....one on right is a Fiber one still to be connected...
Justin's Altered Shoe...Wingtip!
Close up of the Wingtip...

Finishing up the Booklace Samples and thought I'd show you some of the little pages that I water colored....and some works in progress...
And here is a photo of my son, Justin's, Altered Shoe that he made for his art class in Jr. High. I loved that on his information sheet for the project he wrote that his inspiration for the piece came from Michael de Meng. His teacher took the time to Google Michael! And she said as he was bringing it home before Christmas..."are you sure you want to take that home?" He wrapped it up and gave it to me as a Christmas present....and I have to confess that I did help him with it...which was allowed....he raided my art room for the wings and little doll face...but he did all the painting and most of the hammering on his "Wingtip"....I'm glad he has such cool art projects at his school and such a supportive teacher. I had great art teachers in South Pasadena where I grew up. In Jr. High, Mrs. Paden had me do all the drawings for the yearbooks, two years in a row...we were the Tigers, so I had to draw lots of little Tigers doing funny things, like dancing and playing hockey ( my favorite sport.) And in High School, we had Mr. Dalton...very creative and a painter who had studied with Raoul Dufy in Paris! I don't think I appreciated this at the time but he gave us a wonderful back ground in art history and interesting art projects to do in class.
My older son is also taking Advanced Art in his senior year in high school and the funny thing is that his teacher was an art student at UCSB while I was there...I vaguely remember seeing him down in the ceramics department where the fun stuff was going on. During Open House this year we had fun reminiscing about our art days at UCSB in the late 60's and 70's. I have always loved to draw and since there was no "drawing" major I went into Printmaking where I could "draw" with an etching needle. I still got to explore other art classes, like sculpture and ceramics and painting but, alas, there was NO fiber art at all! I guess that didn't stop me because I remember doing an embroidery of an ancient Peruvian cloth for a final project in an Anthropology class with a wild teacher, Mr. Allen, who had lived in Peru with the Indians and gave us the freedom to choose what we wanted to do for a final. He was a little too radical for the school at the time and got fired soon after....which inspired more rioting and discontent. Yep! I was still in school at UCSB when they burned down the Bank of America! I actually went down to Isla Vista to check it out and it was a crazy scene....people roaming all over the place, police and National Guard arresting students...didn't stay too long...and retreated back to my little mountain cabin in the hills. Whew! Those were strange times....but there was a lot to be concerned about...the Viet Nam war for one! That same year a group of students took over the computer center of the University and demanded that a Black Studies department be set up...I guess that somehow it worked because they did set one up and one of my neighbors teaches there to this day.
Wow! I didn't mean to get on this tangent today...but oh well....what I learned was that I would protest peacefully what I felt was wrong, but did not want to be a part of any violence as a way to change things and after graduation looked for ways to make positive changes in the world around me...which led me to meditation and helping to found a spiritual community here in Santa Barbara back in 1970. More on that later.

Fiber and felt post card...

Decided to work on a fiber postcard to send in to Fiberarts Mag. for the Loveland stamp cancellation...due Jan. 15...may do a little more hand work before sending it off...for more details see Page 14 in Fiberarts Mag. Nov/Dec issue...
And what are these little fabric pieces? Well, I was supposed to be working on some sample "booklaces" for the upcoming workshop and instead of doing the paper ones I got sidetracked on making a fabric booklace...and these are some pages I am considering. They are 1 1/2" X 2" ...a fun little size and they go fast..sort of like the "inchies" that are popular right now. At least today I got going on the paper Booklace pages and did some little watercolor pages and will work on some covers later tonight....
Wishing you all a creatively wonderful New Year filled with artful adventures~!

Happy New Year...2008

My little trip embroidery...
My Aunt Dodo with her barn owl...
Justin and I in front of the Culinary Institute....an incredible stone building...a quick visit looking for Susan...a nice lady in the shop gave us extra cookies and they were delicious!
Giraffe close up...and more photos of the safari adventure.......



We could hear this Serval purring loudly as he sat in the sun....
Zebras!
A fort built out of driftwood at the beach....
girls looking for shells....
pigeons on the wharf....

We got home from our trip to Calistoga last night. We had a nice vacation and sunny weather for our Safari West adventure. Our store employees gave us a safari jeep adventure for Christmas and we picked the right day for a wild ride through 400 acres of a natural preserve filled with giraffes, zebras, gazelles, antelope, ostriches, lemurs, cheetahs, and lots of other animals that seem to enjoy their life in the rolling hills of No. Calif. (No tigers, elephants, or lions!) Then we headed back to our hotel for more hot spring soaking and Justin's birthday celebration.
I managed to get a little embroidery done on the trip and started to crochet my purse to felt.
Today I took a wonderful beach walk to start off the new year in a healthy and quiet way...joined by others taking in the day with beach combing, wave riding, and fishing on the wharf. I love being near the ocean...it clears my mind, renews my spirit and gives me new inspiration for art projects and other things I want to do.

We are off on an adventure...

Here's our Festivus/Christmas/Solstice dinner table...complete with Sparkling Pomegranate Juice ...


Early Thursday morning we will be taking off on a trip to Northern California to visit my aunt and uncle in San Mateo and then over the Golden Gate Bridge to Calistoga for a soak in the hot springs, our favorite getaway. We closed our store for the week after Christmas so Dennis could relax and get ready for a new year. We will be soaking, swimming, hiking, eating at our favorite restaurants, and get in a little shopping in the fun shops of Calistoga. One of my friends works at the Culinary Institute of America ( I think that is what its called..) and she has promised to find us a fun new place to have dinner..so we have that to look forward to. So anyway....I'll be gone for about a week.....I am taking a project with me to work on in the car...I hope to crochet and felt a wool purse.....something I have been wanting to do for years...so now is the chance to get going on it! Might bring some embroidery too....
SO...Best wishes for a Creatively Wonderful New Year to you all! Go make stuff!

Best Wishes from me to You!

May you all have a safe, warm and happy Holiday filled with hugs from those you love....and may our thoughts of peace and happiness circle our Mother Earth in this time of renewal and healing.
Made this Peace Bird just for You...to bring you good wishes in the New Year and Peace for all mankind.
Borrowed the card from MOO....just got my 3rd order of Moo cards and a set of greeting cards....so fun to share with strangers....especially those who have never heard of them...passed out a few at our Store's Christmas party. And just got home from the trip to Los Angeles, safe and sound, stockings filled and awaiting family fun the 25th....Love to you all!

what's new....

some fun Holiday goodness....Glittery M box filled with fun stuff...a glittery Star ornament from Tracie Huskamp...love it! and my $1.00 little angel find at the thrift store!
Tomorrow we will help out at the plumbing store and then head down to Glendale to see Dennis' family...over 100 of them! Then drive back home late at night so we can celebrate Christmas here at home. Dennis is one of 12 children....and most of them have a bunch of kids..so it is kind of crazy at the holidays....his mother is 84 and has about 37 grandchildren ( or more.)..and some of them have kids, too....but it's the only time we get to see everyone at once...except for Mother's day and her birthday...so...down we go to the mayhem of Christmas Eve at Grandma's house.

funny little doll

So nice to hear from you all...people have written from Europe and beyond and it makes my day to connect with other textile lovers!
Here is a funny little doll that I made a few days ago for a friend in the Northwest that gave me a bunch of wonderful old silk kimono fabric....so fun to look at and play with. I have to sort of "make" myself use it because it seems so precious. But who will ever see the silk if it stays in it's box? So, I am having fun making stuff with silk...then always go back to wool for the hooking.Anyway....I think she has a sweet smile..

Booklace Class at ARt From Scrap

I made the sample on the left and Justin made the one on the right.....you can collage both sides of the pages for more "art fun"....each page is 1 1/2" by 2"...fun for little hands. Justin water colored some of his pages....and collaged some. And you can make the Booklace bigger if you want. We made a big one for his teacher as a Thank You at the end of the school year.

January 12, 2008 Syd McCutcheon and I will be teaching a kid's workshop using recycled paper at ARt From Scrap making a "Booklace". What is a booklace? It's a little book that is also a necklace! We both took Nina Bagley's Copper Booklace class at Artfest and I modified it for my son's elementary school class and made it all in paper. It's a fun little project that involves collage, using eyelets (which are fun for kids), ribbon or yarn and a few beads. Will be making a few more samples for the class. I also volunteered to help with the Global ARt for Peace project in March and April. I love this art exchange that only happens every 2 years. If you work with kids (adults welcome, too) it is a really fun and meaningful project to explore. You make a piece of art (anything goes) and the director matches you with a group in another part of the world. You send your art to them and they send you something to keep...so all this art is being sent all over the world at the same time and they all express our wish for PEACE in the world. If you want to check it out go to:

http://www.globalartproject.org/

Several of our art pieces are featured in the gallery...I especially love the hooked PEACE rug we made with Justin's 4th grade class...

Handmade ornaments and fiber fun...

Quilt scrap houses....made last night...
Marny Cardin made this incredible french knot snowman pin! She sells kits and also is a rug hooker. She has a website...
Love the little carved gnome that Syd gave me last year and the larger hand carved Santa was a trade with another craftswoman from a show I did long ago....
Cindy Knight's glittery ornaments....always a delight.
more ornaments from locals...
Made these last night from Quilt scraps....
Finally got this hooked doll finished up...all I can say is that hooking faces is hard!
And I finished up this "Door of my Heart" sample. The little door in the middle opens up..

Thought I'd show you some of my favorite handmade ornaments from local friends...
and some stuff that I've been making. Somehow I got the cold/flu that my boys had and I've had to lay low. Not too bad...because it's been raining and chilly and a good excuse to get cozy with some hot tea and do some stitching. I've been having so much fun playing with the quilt scraps that Syd gave me. Since the old quilt had already been cut into I didn't feel bad about cutting it up some more. I love the old fabrics and colors and they inspired some more of the little houses. Not sure how I will use these yet..maybe a fabric collage of some sort.
Might venture out later today for some shopping for the boys. I hear that our waterfalls are running...we got 7 inches of rain up here on our mountain top! I'll be dodging rocks, boulders and mud most likely...just part of the way of life up here and why 4 wheel drive comes in handy.