Fashioning Felt at the Cooper-Hewitt

Starting next week, if you are in the NYC area, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is having a Fashioning Felt exhibit. "The exhibition explores the varied new uses of felt in a range of fields, including product design, fashion, architecture, and home furnishings." (William Berry on http://coooperhewitt.org/ .) It runs through September 7. Sounds right down my alley! (Joy, can we go?!) And thanks to Kim for finding this first!

Fun with Fiber

Yesterday was a very fun, creative day in the studio and kitchen. And it didn't involve sewing or cooking :). The kitchen part is the last step of the felting process and this (at left) is the result. It is
inspired by a painting I saw. I love the colors - deep salmon, raspberry, butterscotch, buttery yellow, soft olive green and a shot of citrusy green on a sourdough white background. (really, I wasn't cooking!) And, if all goes as planned, this is the first of a series of four. It is roughly 17" x 17". I first thought these could be used as placemats, but now I have ideas of using them as seat covers for chairs, as pillows, or in a wall arrangement.
The background is wool from Corriedale sheep, and the stripes are of dyed Merino wool. One of these days, I plan to put together some photos or a video showing the wet-felting process....one of these days.

Fearrington Folk Art Show

"Be'th Good
or
Be'th Bad
Just'th Be'th"
C Hub

What do bottle caps, tar paper, wrenches, tires, plywood and paint (lots and lots of it) have in common? Folk Art!

Two girlfriends, Kim and Lindsay, came down from Richmond to see the Fearrington Folk Art Show this past Saturday. Soooo much to see.

One of my favorite artists is Theresa Isbell Gloster (shown at left) whose art depicts her childhood growing up with 12 other kids in her grandparents' house. You can see more of her art by 'googling' her name. And she can be reached at 828.757.3992 or bam1963bam1963@yahoo.com .

Out in the parking lot, there was still more art...on (and I do mean "on") the cars, trucks and vans of the artists at the show. I seem to be blog-photo challenged right now, so I won't include the other photos I have. But suffice to say, it was very entertaining!

Pierce-ing the night

A few nights ago, I went to see Pierce Pettis at a house concert in our area. In spite of a serious bout of asthma, he managed to give a great concert with plenty of energy. He plays acoustic guitar and sings songs he has written as well as some that other artists have written. You can hear his music at http://www.myspace.com/piercepettismusic . (One of my favorites there is "Just Like Jim Brown".) Garth Brooks recorded Pierce's "You Move Me". Give a listen if you're up for some good, Alabama-grown music - some sweet and mello, some foot-stompin' good - with thought-provoking lyrics.

1-2-3 GO!

I have finally decided to take the plunge into the world of blogging :). So don't be surprised if the look of my blog changes a million times over the next few weeks while I get it juuust right. I'm aiming for a bit of inspiration, how-to's (or how-I've-done-it's), and stuff of interest to those who love the handmade world - either doing it or enjoying what's been made.

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Check out http://www.spoonflower.com/ if you've ever wanted to design the fabric of your dreams. They will print any length of fabric for $18/yard. Not bad.

Fellow Etsian, http://www.sudiosu.etsy.com/, has a fun idea: Art Card Editions and Originals or ACEOs. They are 3-1/2" X 2-1/2" compositions that she does for some quick creativity. Original art for $15 - can't beat that!