February 28, 2010

Printmaking: Take One

My one goal for this weekend was to prepare materials for the Drexel Art Auction. My scarf is finished and the flower broach has a pin back. For this year's auction I absolutely wanted to provide bidders (and all others interested in my work) with my contact information. I brainstormed ideas of how to present that information and business cards were the first method that came to mind. Since I just began making paper and doing linoleum block printing I wanted to make truly unique cards. Here are some photos of my first attempts.






Once the ink dries I will cut out the peony flower shape and write my information on the reverse side. These cards are works of art in themselves! I love creating them!

February 22, 2010

Sew Loving It!

This weekend I set up my fabric station in the studio!



I un-boxed my Singer sewing machine after having it in hibernation for four years. Needless to say, before I use it I need to take it in for a tune-up. I found a great sewing machine repair shop in Collingswood, New Jersey. Dennis, the man who runs the business out of his home (after having a shop for over 20 years) knows my fiance's family! His prices are by far the best I've found.



My sewing projects on the horizon are very small and include herb sachets and sachet covers. Since I can't use my sewing machine just yet, I plan to hand sew these small sachets. I found a great website that describes each hand sewing stitch. To reinforce the information provided on this site I conduct You Tube searches to view videos of these stitches.

This is a sachet cover I made last night. I am still working out "design flaws". While I like the perfect imperfection of these, I anticipate an evolution in design.


February 17, 2010

Save These Dates!

There are so many great events coming up in the next few months. While I have them all in front of me I want to share them with you!


Drexel University's Annual Art Auction

March 5, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Come see and bid on art of various mediums, including my chunky scarf with large flower broach!

National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA)
Philadelphia, PA
March 31- April 13
Pre-Conference Event: Tours to the WheatonArts Ceramic and Glass Studios!

Quilt Show at WheatonArts
March 20 & 21
250 examples of quilters art, from traditional bed quilts to contemporary wall hangings! This is the largest juried quilt show in South Jersey! It is a must see!
Presented by Garden Patch Quilters

Eco Fair at WheatonArts
Saturday, May 1 (FREE ADMISSION)
A great event not to be missed!
This event includes information on and sale of eco friendly products and services, composting presentations (my favorite), native plant sales (great for gardeners), live music, tree tours by the Master Gardeners, and eco craft for kids!

American Craft Week
October 1-10 (my birthday!)
A celebration of all the ways American Craft enriches our lives! Become a participant today by clicking the above link!

February 14, 2010

Papermaking!

My goal this weekend was to begin making handmade paper to do linoleum block printing. So far, the sheets are coming out great! Some of these will be business cards that will be included with purchases of my yarn work others will be greeting cards, bookmarks, etc. Additionally, I plan to make large works on paper by printing on the 8x10 sheets individually and then sewing the sheets together.





Another exciting weekend surprise: My mannequin arrived!


I am using her to display my yarn work. Here is the scoop neck cowl that I will be teaching for a spring/summer workshop at WheatonArts for youth aged 14-20.

February 11, 2010

Yet Another Snow Day

South Jersey was hit again by a snowstorm. I took advantage of the time to work on a blanket I began before graduate school and then never finished. Well, today I finished stitching the squares together and started the white border!


Beauie absolutely loves the snow! He always wants to explore. This photo is of him walking on top of about 2 feet of snow.





Sketch of the Week: Echinacea flowers
I have a small bunch of these flowers that I will tranplant to the new house come spring. The flowers are a gorgeous shade of purple and they make great tea!

February 9, 2010

The WheatonArts Brownstone

I am so lucky to work in a great organization with amazingly creative artists! I work in the office of the Creative Glass Center of America, however the organization includes a Museum of American Glass, unique shops and craft studios (ceramics, wood, glass and flame working).

My favorite shop at WheatonArts is the Brownstone Emporium. Here are some images of the Brownstone. This unique boutique sells handmade garments, jewelry and accessories. It is the perfect place to shop for unique handmade gifts! You can also shop online!

A beautiful handmade scarf with matching hat.


Truly unique handbags!


Journals made with eco friendly paper!


The 2009 World's Largest Ornament event results!


Unique home decor!



Personal accessories!


Glass ornaments from the Brownstone Christmas Shop!



Running a very close second for my favorite shop is The Gallery of Fine Craft! If you love glass art and jewelry you absolutely must visit this store!

February 6, 2010

Snowed In (and loving it) !


The 30 plus inch snow storm the weather station had been broadcasting for days has arrived! I couldn't be more thrilled. This weekend I am at my house with my future hubby and we are eating great food and making great art.

Since future hubby is a printmaker it was only a matter of time before I had to give the medium a try. His focus is screen printing but I prefer linoleum block printing. Here is my first attempt at linoleum block printing.






I am so excited to begin making paper to print these images onto. With this lino block I plan to make blank cards from handmade paper and cards to be included with sales of my fiber work.

As a complete side note: I am not normally a fan of Green Day these days but this performance at the Grammys gave me chills and almost moved me to tears. I think this performance really put the song in its best light and was able to convey the purpose of the song so much better than any other version.

February 4, 2010

Drexel Art Auction

It is that time of year again! The Arts Administration Graduate Association (of which I am a member) is hosting the 7th Annual AAGA Art Auction at Drexel University on Friday, March 5th. The silent auction will take place in Bossone Lobby and Atrium at 3128 Market Street from 7 - 10pm.

Artwork created by regional artists will be available. The art work ranges from textiles to photographs, paintings and prints. This year I am donating one of my thick scarves! I began working on it today and hope to finish it by the end of the weekend.


Proceeds from the auction will subsidize Drexel's presence at Arts Advocacy Day in Washington D.C.

Come and join us in spreading the word of the importance of the arts from Philadelphia to Capital Hill! There will be great food, people and music!

For more information please visit the AAGA website.

February 3, 2010

Snow Day!

This snow came during the night! It was only a few inches.




February 1, 2010

Antique Weekend


This weekend I was able to finally make time to visit an antique store. I have been trying to carve away time to do that for so long! I started small and went to a single antique shop located in Deerfield Street, NJ called Jantiques. They have an assortment of antique furniture and decorations for the home and garden. I was mostly interested in items for my soon to be English cottage garden.

They didn't have any seating that I loved but they did have two beautiful iron (painted white) birdcages. I did not purchase them on the first visit but I do plan on a return visit.

My future visit is motivated by both the birdcages and the possibility of adopting a second cat. During this past visit the store owner had an adorable, semi-longhair, cat inside the shop, accurately weaving between the numerous antiques on the shop counter. She (the cat) was extremely friendly and possessed the disposition that made you want to take her home immediately. Turns out, the cat is a stray and the store owner brings her in when the weather gets cold. Future husband loves the idea of adopting her. My only concern is how she will get along with the cat we already have. I am leaning towards adopting her. She will, of course, need to get her shots and be spayed.