waxy pin

i think big changes are coming

Reading this book radically changed the way I think.

Characters show up in my drawings, but I did not recognize them.  I did not think about them as characters.  When I was painting anything I would wonder what the heck I was doing.  Why put that color there, or a flower here.  Any painting or drawing I did would be followed by extreme bouts of self-doubt.

I am attracted to narrative painting.  If a painting has a story in it, then I am magnetically drawn to it.  I did not see what I was doing when drawing or painting as being containers for stories.

But, when I read what Gianni Rodari* had to say about storytelling**, I finally saw that what I had been doing did contain stories.  I did know who my pencil drawn characters were.  I just needed to write them down.  The other really important change for me was the realization that maybe writing about a character first would make drawing and painting feel meaningful to me.

{ I have a tendency to write about the stuff I am working on as if it is so close to being done - at least it is in my mind though not necessarily in reality.

But this time is different! } 

I wrote a story, a real story.  A story about an unhappy octopus.  When I am finished illustrating my octopus story it will be appearing here.  

Unabridged and unfettered.

The other plan is to change this blog.  The banner is destined for an overhaul.  The colors will probably change.  I am thinking of shifting the focus and liberating myself from writing tutorials in the future.

The existing content & tutorials will be preserved.

Happy Day! 

 

*Hugs and posthumous heartfelt thank you's to Mr. Rodari.  I hope you read this post.

**I have tried many times to write in my life, beginning in second grade.  I have lots of beginnings and little pieces but never anything that actually connected and became real.  Mr. Rodari's book helped me figure out how to think about story fragments in order to glue them together.

 

 

my favorite visitor

Of course you can't hear what he is saying, but he is a chatty guy when he decides to get going.

My favorite winged visitor, Mr. Thelonious Monk.

We had illness around here, followed by an unexpected surgery for Samson.  He is back to his old self again, feeling very disgusted that we are all hovering around Mr. Monk's cage instead of coddling him on the couch.

How do you like my new haircut?  I can actually coax some fingerwaves out of it, which is like a minor miracle.  I have decided that happiness with the state of my hair is the key to smoother sailing.

The Grammar of Fantasy

The Grammar of Fantasy by Gianni Rodari

Somehow the library plastered its bar code sticker over the author's name on the front, I wonder how that happened.

A revolutionary book, which I read the other day while sick in bed.  Gianni Rodari is funny, with lightning flashes of extreme brilliance, and he allows no shadows here.  

Mr. Rodari's sincere admiration of children's innate storytelling abilities and his thoughts on how literature shapes and then is shaped by experience are profound.  

I have all these story fragments scattered around which I never could figure out how to make into stories, but now I feel well equipped to corral them into something real.  

This book should be required reading.

 

 

movie + book + movie

Jean-Michel Basquiat:  The Radiant Child

This movie made me cry and cry.  The scenes of Jean-Michel painting are fascinating, he painted fast and he painted what he felt should be underneath what would be on the surface.  I wish he was still here, painting furiously away. 

See the movie before you read the book below.

 

Widow Basquiat by Jennifer Clement

This is a very beautiful book.  You will be surrounded by New York city of the late 70's-late 80's, and fall completely into life as it was there.  Read this for a more complete understanding of Basquiat, his friends and the times they lived in.

The Universe of Keith Haring

A very touching movie about Keith Haring, someone who really ought to be here now.  I loved this film. 

 

 

small documentary list

See the trailer here. 

We watched this one over the summer and loved it.  I imagine most of you have already seen this film, since it has been out since 1994.  

Leon Theremin was far ahead of his time when he discovered the sounds electricity is capable of.  

Alice Neel (2007)

An absorbing look at Alice, her work, and the times she lived and worked through.  

You need to see this movie before going on to see the rest of the documentaries out there about the New York art world of her era.

 

Eames:  The Architect and the Painter (2011)

This one definitely fills in the gaps on the history of this dynamic duo.  Highly recommended.

 

 Sketches of Frank Gehry

I watched this one late at night many years ago.  I loved it (especially the scenes of Frank working and drawing), I think I taped it and watched it twice (something I never do).  

This movie could also be called amiable conversations with Frank Gehry.

 My Architect (2003)

Another eye-opener and gap filler.  

Louis Kahn led an unusual life, which did result in profound architectural achievements.

A must-see when reading up and examining the last 100 years of architecture in this country and abroad.

 

 

more movie

I flix'd this film over the summer, and loved it.

If you haven't seen Exit Through the Gift Shop yet, then put it on the top of your movie list.  Yes it is a documentary of sorts, one which my family watched with absorption despite their inflexible stance on watching the documentaries that are my steady movie diet.

Ari has watched it twice since with friends.

Once you see the film, then go rooting around to read up on the hoax rumors, etc.  The whole thing is very amusing, and after having watched the art world for 20 years, I find myself in agreement with Banksy.

 
Little ghosty guy, he has been hanging around unfinished since late last spring.

 Listening to Gotye in a loop (I have been a fan for a couple of years, it is good to hear that he is getting radio play now), I especially love this video of his song Somebody That I Used to Know.  Throwing in Rammellzee every once in a while.

 

 

The Mating Season, 1951 & The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, 1947

The Mating Season, 1951  Spoiler Alert!!  All pages with descriptions of this movie give away the funny parts.  To maximize your enjoyment of this film avoid reading wikipedia and imdb.

Still toiling and chipping away over here.  I have Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea on a constant loop with a little Cate Le Bon thrown in here and there.  It's weird but both artists make music that put my brain in a place of deep concentrations.

Okay, Alan and I watched The Mating Season several weeks ago on Netflix and it had us really laughing.  It even contains a very inappropriate moment with the husband's boss which the new wife gamely tolerates (and which we had to hit rewind to view a few more times since it was pretty surprising) - aah those were the days weren't they?!!

Gene Tierney is killer beautiful, she is one of my favorite old school hollywood actresses.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, 1947

and a quaint trailer here

I think Alan and I watched The Ghost and Mrs. Muir sometime in 1987 or 1988.  We picked it up at the video store on a whim.  We had no idea how much this movie would affect us.  Incredibly romantic, bittersweet and a little bit unnerving, we both dreamt about the movie after we went to sleep that night.  I think we may be watching this one again this weekend.

at the movies

It has been very boring around here from the looks of it.  I really needed a break from thinking about blogging, which has been a welcome vacation for me.  I have been toiling away on new work which is getting much closer to being finished and ready to be posted.

 I became a netflix junky over the summer and have been watching movies a couple of times a week since then.  So to jazz things up here a bit it seems like a good idea to just post about movies for a while.

 

 More about Clara Bow here.

Alan and I watched the silent film "It" (starring Clara Bow) this last Saturday.  We usually have a harder time getting emotionally involved in silent films, but we were completely sucked in by Clara and the plot.  The story had some very silly moments and laughs.  It is definitely a story of its time with some dubious moral snobbery and you will find yourself having serious doubts about the man she wants. 

 

I love this interview, it is very insightful into the way Clara worked.

at work

I just wanted to give a big shout out and thank you to Nancy over at Owen's Olivia for featuring my navy Paisley Waves #4 border print!

If you haven't been over to Owen's Olivia, then scoot over there and check out Nancy's fabulous tutorials below.

Olivia's Felt Acorns

{Painted} Faux Ombre Chevron Curtains

*********************************

 A little news from here:

While neglecting my blog and the internet in general, I have been hard at work on small things which will be appearing here and in my shop shortly, I hope.

A big hello to everyone and to all of the Veterans and military who serve this country.  Thank you.

Gingerbread Cameo Ornament Tutorial

 

Another tutorial as promised in this post.

I know it seems way too early to be posting tutorials for Christmas ornaments, but I happen to have some especially joyful Gingerbread People running around in my shop who would love to be at your house decorating your tree.

I am really happy with how they turned out.  The ornaments ended up having the kind of vintage feel I was after.

Gingerbread Cameo Ornaments are super easy to make, and would be very fun to craft with children.  I wish die cutting machines had been around when I was small because I would have been cranking the handle to cut anything that machine could die cut.

The instructions below are for the ornaments you see in the pictures above.

{PLEASE NOTE}

I used a Cuttlebug Die Cutter to make the Gingerbread Cameo ornaments, but you don't have to use a Cuttlebug.  Spellbinders Dies are made to be compatible with many die cutting machines, click here for a compatibility chart.  

Hand cutting directions using freezer paper for the pattern:

You don't have to use a die cutting machine to make the felt oval frames for the ornaments.  You can measure and cut felt ovals by laying freezer paper over a Gingerbread Cameo (the shiny side of the freezer paper needs to be face down) and tracing the oval edge of the cameo where the pink stripes meet the black fabric.  Draw a second oval around the first traced oval on the freezer paper so that is 5/8" wider on all sides.  You should end up with the larger oval being about 5" tall, and the smallest oval should be about 3 3/4" tall (centered inside the 5" oval).  Use the freezer paper as a cutting template for the two felt oval frames.  Iron the freezer paper onto felt (shiny side down), cut along the oval lines, remove the freezer paper without tearing it, and iron the freezer paper oval frame onto felt again to cut out your second felt oval frame.

*******

You will need:

*two Gingerbread Cameo's (you can find them in my tiny shop)

*black felt

*5" x 8" piece of Pellon #805 Wonder Under 

*5/8" Rick Rack trim

*5/8" grosgrain ribbon

*white fabric marker or fabric pencil (removable) 

*freezer paper - to use if you are cutting the ovals out by hand instead of using a die cutting machine

*fabric glue (I prefer Fabri-Tac by Beacon Adhesives)  

*5 1/2" x 8" piece of chipboard or the side of a cereal box  

*5" oval die cutter (Spellbinders Nestabilities Petite Ovals Set)  

*3 3/4" or 3 7/8" oval die cutter (Spellbinders Nestabilites Petite Ovals Set)

*One Spellbinders Enlarged Embossing Pad

*fabric scissors

 

If you are using a Cuttlebug Die Cutting Machine here is the sandwich recipe for cutting fabric or felt:

1. Spacer A on the bottom

2. Spellbinders Enlarged Embossing Pad

3. Chipboard on top of the Embossing Pad

4. Cutting Pad B on top of Chipboard

5. Place felt or fabric on top of Cutting Pad B

6. Place Spellbinders Die on top of Felt or Fabric

7. Place another Cutting Pad B on top of Die 

Feed the sandwich through the die machine.  If the machine does not want to accept your sandwich stack do not force it through.  Check your chipboard layer and make a substitution there with a thinner piece of cardboard.  Try again and see if this was the problem.  

Cut two Gingerbread Cameo's with the 5" oval die making sure to center the cameo image within the oval die.

I usually use two small pieces of two sided tape mounted on the Cutting Pad B on the top of the sandwich to hold the oval dies in place.  You can see the tape in the photo below.

Cut out two felt oval frames as shown using the 5" oval die and the 3 3/4" oval die

(or 3 7/8" oval die).

To assemble the Gingerbread Cameo ornament you will need:

2 - Gingerbread Cameo's cut into 5" ovals as shown

1 - piece of Pellon #805 Wonder Under cut into a 4 7/8" oval as shown

2 - oval Felt frames die cut as shown or hand-cut following the directions for using freezer paper to cut the felt ovals 

Press the Pellon Wonder Under paper to the back of the Gingerbread Cameo fabric (as shown above) following manufacturer's directions.  Make sure the Pellon is centered on the image.  Once the Pellon paper has cooled down from the pressing, peel the backing paper off.

Place the second Gingerbread Cameo fabric oval on top of the first so that wrong sides are together and edges match.  Steam press following the Pellon directions for the Wonder Under so that the two Gingerbread Cameo's are fused together back to back.

Mark a line 1/8" in from the outside edge of the fused cameo oval fabric using a white marker or white fabric marking pencil.   

Cut along the line you have marked to trim away about 1/8" of fabric along the edge of the oval all the way around.

Center one Felt oval frame over the Gingerbread Cameo and glue in place.
 

Flip the Gingerbread Cameo over so that the felt edge is facing down and the side without a felt edge is facing up.  Glue rick rack along the outside edge of the oval so that the curves of the rick rack stick out just a little beyond the felt frame.

Glue the second felt oval frame on top of the rick rack as shown.  The rick rack should be sandwiched between the two layers of felt.

Cut a 4 1/4" long piece of 5/8" wide grosgrain ribbon.  Fold the cut edges of the grosgrain ribbon under and glue down.  Fold the entire ribbon in half and glue each folded end to one side of the oval ornament at the center top as shown.  Add an ornament hanger and you are done!