As I mentioned in my previous post, I am very happy to be participating in a blog hop to celebrate the season! On my day, which is actually and officially tomorrow the 21st (posting early today to make sure I am on time), I promised to share some ideas for making your holiday season more festive, creative, and fun. Check the last post for the details.
It has been a crazy and hectic autumn, I am just coming off a very long book project ( I just completed my illustrations yesterday for the next book in the Doyle and Fossey series ). And so, I decided to do a little time travel and share a project with you that I did more than thirty years ago. I took out these little sewn pieces and took pictures in my yard this morning--after the rain stopped. Funny. It is warm and balmy out and there are even still roses on the plants, despite it being the 20th of November. I am sure that I do not need to tell you that it seems like just yesterday that I made these ornaments. Somehow art and family have a way of making the years fly by. Still, I loved doing this project and I always get the same feeling of warmth and joy when I hold these ornaments now as when I created them long ago.
The back story is this: from 1972 until 1982, I was working in fiber arts full time, making puppets and mostly dolls and soft sculptures. My busy times were the spring, getting ready for the American Craft Council, Rhinebeck Fair in June, and then the fall, when I would fill the many orders from craft galleries around the country for collections of my figures. After the last collection had been sent out, I would treat myself to spending time enjoying the holidays and making things for myself. One December, that meant creating these tree ornaments out of cloth, fabric paint, and embroidery threads. This project was my present to myself after months of hard work.
The one funny thing that occurs to me now is that after months and months of being glued to my sewing machine and fabric paints, my idea of relaxation was to go back to my sewing machine and fabric paints!
These were very easy. For the bulbs I just painted on cloth, cut them out, sewed them together and stuffed. I applied the embroidery embellishment last, using running stitches and French knots.
The flatter pieces were created differently. For the figure, I actually used pen and ink and watercolor on unbleached muslin, and sewed the two sides together over a layer of batting, finishing it with a rough satin machine stitch (this was before I bought my wonderful Bernina a few months later). For the houses, I painted, cut, sewed a layer of batting and turned.
Afterwards I did a little machine quilting on those pieces. If you look closely, you can see my tiny signature and date added in india ink. I think I actually made enough of these houses to send out as my holiday cards that year! Maybe you were one of my friends who got one? My mailing list was not so long back then, and I actually sent out one-of-a-kind handmade cards. Ah--that was before I was raising children. Back then I had time to spare!
There is something lovely about having soft ornaments when most are made of hard materials. Since we were living in Ithaca, New York back then, winter was always a BIG DEAL. This is sort of what our little house looked like:
Of course, present in all of these was my need to draw. In my "off" months I would mostly draw. I guess my inner artist soul knew that one day I would be an illustrator full time. But here is the funny thing: now I am designing fabrics and setting up a sewing machine again. Yes, the old sturdy Bernina is about to have a permanent location. I see cloth and thread and soft things again in the future, even while I spend a lot of time drawing and painting, both with real materials and on the computer. I guess certain things are just in our blood.
We are also supposed to share some information about ourselves, so here goes:
5 things about me you might not know:
1. My natural hair color is bright red. People think I am a blonde. Nope. I am a redhead going gray.
2. I make great homemade pies from scratch, I used to love to spend hours in the kitchen, and I have gotten cooking magazines for years. Now I couldn't care less about cooking. There just are not enough hours in the day. I'd rather eat out.
3. I love dogs and cats with a passion and always have since I was a little girl. Now that my 3 sons are older, I am so happy to be able to have a dog again. For years life was so nuts I did not want responsibility for one more living thing.
4. I almost quit being an illustrator about 12 years ago to become an antique dealer and an interior decorator. I started buying tons of vintage inventory and even took out an advertisement. I was looking for a place to sell from.
5. I came to my senses and did not quit illustrating. But I also did not quit buying antiques. Instead, I just live with everything I bought then. I have no more room for things. That fact does not keep me from getting more, however. I am even going out today to an antique store. This is problematic.
5 Things Going on in my Creative life:
1. I have my first fabric collection coming out in 2010 and I am thrilled! It is part of my Really Really Retro line (Big surprise! I like Retro stuff!)
2. I have two picture books that I am creating new dummies for, that my agent will be sending out for me.
3. I'll be doing the brand new Licensing Gallery in NY in January/Feb as part of the NY Gift Fair. I am in love with designing patterns.
4. I have a new studio in an old mill building. I am still going back and forth a little between the old studio and the new. It takes time to shift your center of creativity, and sometimes one has to stick close to home.
5. I have two books coming out next year that I illustrated: Book 8 in the Bones Mystery series and Book 5 in the Doyle and Fossey mystery series. Personally, I never read mysteries, but I like to illustrate them!
5 Things that inspire me
1. Old stuff. All the time. Can't get enough of seeing it and buying it. This is an issue. See above.
2. My wonderful artist and writing friends whom I bounce ideas and whines off of in equal numbers, and who are great listeners.
3. People who keep going in the face of adversity, especially writers and artists.I find tenacity equal to talent.
4. Bright colors. For me it's about all color, all the time.
5. Good books that evoke great imagery and poetry in my imagination. I am still feeling inspired by The Book Thief, one of the best books I have ever read.
Now make sure to visit all the other blog hop artists I have listed below. Leave comments and links and we will be picking random winners and giving away prizes. Most of all, spend some time this holiday season being creative!
Terri Conrad Designs November 14th
Brenda Pinnick November 15th
Tori Higa November 16th
Joyce Shelton November 17th
Phyllis Dobbs November 18th
Cherish Flieder November 19th
Joy Hall November 20th
Barbara Johansen Newman November 21st
Sharyn Sowell November 22nd
