Sketchbook is having a little summer vacation while I work in some larger experiments – back in a couple weeks.
(some of the little paintings below are available here)
sketchbook : 7/9 – 7/15
rowing out of the doldrums with a doll every day
For the next few days anyway.
Doldrums. Who ever invented the word deserves a prize. It sounds like what it is, what it feels like: a warm inertia, an unpleasant stillness, listlessness. Apparently I am not a summer person – productivity wise anyway – I always find myself here mid July-ish.
Or maybe it’s coincidental. The mid summer almost always finds me working on larger – longer term projects – christmas – workshops for the fall etc. Projects that it can be hard to feel progress on.
And sometimes the stagnated feeling means I need a break. Not this time though – this is a restless stuckness. So I am busting out. Rowing hard until I can catch a breeze and some beautiful momentum. For the next few days I’m making – starting and finishing – a doll everyday. Experiments and some of the usual suspects like mr. socks and tiny rag doll. It’s the kind of sewing I feel like doing, the kind of thinking I’m in the mood for.
I began today with Nora. A mysterious dark eyed girl. Im still deciding on her degree of anatomical accuracy and outfit. I’ll spend the rest of the afternoon and evening finishing her.
Get the elegant rag doll pattern here.
Working on shorter term projects gives me a sense of forward motion and satisfaction. I can feel the shape of the day again. Hopefully I can bring some of that energy into the larger projects in a couple days.
onward,
ann
sketchbook 7/2 – 7/8
3 ideas to try : paper lanterns, end of day baskets and collage experiments
Everything I’m doing this week would either not be remotely interesting to you or is top secret so it’s the perfect time to share a few good ideas I’ve come across lately. Stuff I’d like to try. I love paper lanterns, I like things that hang and play with light. These have so many possibilities. You could use fancy paper, or found paper – mixing in some wax paper and or fabric could be interesting. I love the way they look hung together. Find a tutorial for four different styles on Oh Happy Day. And lots more photos too – all beautifully styled and charming.
I’m a fan of finding ways to use the littlest scraps – especially little bits of fabric I love to much to part with. You’ll find a complete tutorial for this “end of day” basket here. It seems pretty straight forward – clothes line rope, fabric scraps and a machine with a zig zag stitch. I particularly love the black mixed in with bright color on this basket. It also occurred to me that a tiny – doll size – one might be interesting.
And the sketchbook collage work of illustrator Julie Hamilton. I discovered her work through the Brown Paper Bag Blog – there is a post with lots of Julie’s work and more about her process. It’s such a good way to experiment and an easy place to start if you’re feeling stuck. Make some marks. collect some paper, cut stuff up and mess around.
If you try any of these I’d love to hear about it – you can let me know in the comment section.
sketch book : 6/25 – 7/1
sketchbook 6/18 – 6/24 and current obsessions
The sketch book posts don’t usually get included in the blog page but I made an exception this week for a couple reasons. Mostly because I had a good week – I liked everything I made last week – that hardly ever happens. There’s even a naked lady.
And I wanted to tell you about my current obsession with Staffordshire Pottery and how that came about. I love looking at other people’s stuff. I want to look in your windows and open your drawers. I want to stop by when you are not expecting guests and look at everything. I came across this blog lately: The Bible of British Taste.
And I love everything about it – the houses, the art, the stuff, the textiles- on and on. This house in Scotland is my favorite post. That’s where I came across Staffordshire and there is just something about them – formal, sweet and quirky – all at the same time. You’ll also find some Chinese portraits there that have inspired.
Check it out – I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Also – For the next few weeks any way – I’ll be adding little paintings to the shop each Thursday.
a fortuny ragdoll, a little brown owl goes to sea and new things in the shop
I like this little fellow – amazing what turning buttons a little can do for an expression.
I’ve made him a boat and he is going to sea alone – perfect for him – he seems pretty bossy.
He is made from the small size of my little owl pattern and the boat is made from this pattern (both patterns are on sale for subscribers through the July 4th holiday – you can sign up here if you like– you’ll get the code shortly after).
I’m making more over the weekend. I want to bring a couple to the Squam Retreat with me in September. I’ll be at the art fair on September 16th with sewing patterns and art work and some surprises. I hope you’ll come say hi. It will be only the third time I’ve done this sort of thing in the 11 years I’ve been in business – I am generally pretty hermity. But it’s the last year for the retreat and the art fair and the first time I have print patterns to sell (there are more on the way – I’m drawing the mushroom pattern illustrations now) so I am showing up. I will kind of dread it for the next couple months and then end up having a good time, proving my wise mother right again – her advice around anxiety producing situations was always “ You’ll be fine once you get there”.
And please meet Josephine and some curious birds. Her dress and silver slippers are made from Fortuny and she has Edwardian lace unmentionables.
Have a lovely long weekend – I’ll be here – making lots of things.
suddenly a billy goat appeared and the space between ideas and action
Suddenly a billy goat appeared. A very distinguished goat. It was not my plan, he is not on my list or schedule and I probably should have been doing something else. But I felt a strong spiritual directive to make a surly goat. I had the impulse and I followed it immediately, that hardly ever happens and I think its a good thing to do. I usually have quite a lot of time between my ideas and when I do something about them. Sometimes they get stale – resistant to action. Maybe too much time lets doubt creep in or I get stuck in an endless circle of overthinking. There is huge value in diving right in, creating the first iteration, maybe making a mess but also getting a feedback loop going. I’m pretty sure there is some actual brain chemistry around this but I haven’t looked it up yet – I was busy making a goat.
I made my gray goat rag doll from an Edwardian skirt. I’m working on another in black now.
Goats have been on my mind, turning up in my little paintings often. I love their expressive, humany faces. They always look like they are silently judging you.
This goat be in the shop next week – I’m thinking Tuesday – with some other recently finished things including some Sri Threads songbirds.
You can sign up here if you’d like an email when the new things are available.
Update: If you’d like to try making your own songbird you can find the sewing pattern right here.
sketchbook 6/11- 6/17
my new favorite paint and songbirds on my work table
I’m particular about paint. I like very flat color. I’ve been using Holbein acrylics for a while and the last time I went to pick some up I discovered something new – or new to me – from Holbein to try – Mat Acrylic.
They come in big tubes and the colors are flatter than flat. Very opaque too. They flow beautifully on paper and the finish of the paint when dry is almost paper-like itself. They are unlike anything I’ve tried before – the closest comparison I could make would be gouache which I find difficult to work with. Also – in case you are wondering – I paint my little squares on hot press watercolor paper. I like fluid 100 and Arches.
And lovely Sri indigos and teals. Teal is the color that is on my mind lately – smokey and mysterious. I’m working on things for the shop and will add these as soon as they’re finished – possibly tomorrow , more likely Saturday. I also have some rag doll experiments in the works, including some Fortuny rag dolls I’m excited about.
Thanks to everybody who entered last week’s book give away – the winning number (chosen by a random number generator) is 330. I’ll be sending an email your way Annie L. for address info. If you would like to order a copy of Stitch-Illo you can find it here.
sketchbook 6/4 – 6/10
confronting the pigeon : progress on my city bird
I like pigeons. I like the city beasts. And I have an affinity for the less loved creatures, ants bats, rats, mosquitos etc. Pigeons fit right in. What I love best about them is that they manage to be imperious and goofy – all at the same time.
So I want to make a pigeon. I stalled in the muslin draft phase. Stalled real good. The universe keeps sending me excellent pigeon fabric though. Maybe that’s why I got stuck – couldn’t choose. There is also a little anxiety about when to move out of prototyping – and all the freedom and experimenting that affords – into trying one in beautiful pigeony fabric.
I ended up deciding to combine a mix of collections in a way I don’t very often. I used Fortuny for the body and will use it for the feet also, an Edwardian pinafore and other garment scraps will be feathers and some beautiful teal from Sri Threads for the head.
The teal is what finally got me to take a shot at turning out a finished bird. It arrived lately with some other magnificent pieces and I couldn’t resist trying it. I’m happy with the shape and I’ll move into details this weekend and start a couple more too – using more of the exquisite things from Sri.
A condescending yet vacant pigeon or two should be forth coming.
