swap-a-thon goodies

Last month, five names were fished out of a bowl as part of an annual swap-a-thon on Habit of Art.  I sent my art to five readers, and, in return, I received delightful treats and beautifully crafted items.  Three of the packages came from afar- New Zealand, Australia, and France. 



I love that I have so many talented and creative readers! The photos below show the contents of each swap package.  

New Zealand artist Sally Reynolds made this felted trivet and linen pouch from woolen jumpers and a tea towel.  The cozy wool and mountain scene remind me of home. 

Yummy tea, luxurious yarn remnants, and a set of very cool buttons made up this package from Katie of Je suis une monstre.  J'adore the stamps on the box- tres French!

I love this simple turquoise drop necklace by Linda of Osage Orange Studio.  Linda also included an original drawing by her husband!

The first swap to arrive was from Annie of California.  Tea, yarn, adorable gnome art, and a chocolate caramel bar- yes!  The chocolate is already long gone, but I'm still putting the yarn to good use.

I was so touched that Lamina of Do a bit created a new bag design for our swap.  She blogs about the creative process here.   I was also given one of her lovely screenprinted tea towels.  Hurray for artsy kitchen towels!



Thanks again to all who participated in the swap-a-thon, and I look forward to another great exchange next year.

show and tell: swaps

There are times when I think we should go back to the barter system.   I have yet to trade my art for more practical things, like chickens or grain.  But I have had the good fortune to swap my art for some pretty sweet stuff.  Here's a look at a few recent trades with some talented folks. 

These hexagonal shelves in my bedroom were custom made by furniture craftsman and fellow blogger, Josh Jackson.  Working only with reclaimed wood,  Josh salvaged the wood for these shelves from the living room of an L.A. home.  

I really love how the shelves finish off the room. To see more of Josh's handiwork, go to his website here.  Josh is also a very gifted writer, capturing the beauty and fragility of life on his blog, Jack at Random.  A must read, especially for those who have lost a child in utero. 

This beautiful silk blouse was made by Dani Kishino of Xsilk.  The silk is hand dyed in small batches using non-toxic dyes.  Dani also hand paints on some of her shirts, which can be found in her Etsy shop here.  So comfortable and flattering, this blouse has become my new favorite piece in my wardrobe. 

I've been a big fan of Natasha Newton's handpainted rocks for awhile now.  We connected this summer via Etsy, and we decided to swap painted rocks.  These beauties came from the beaches of Suffolk, England.  That's about a 5000 mile trip!  Be sure to check out more of Natasha's lovely art  here. 

Some of you may recall that I've run a couple of swap-a-thons in the past.  This is where I swap credit in my shop for items that readers make or already own.  It's been a year and a half since the last one, so I'm thinking it's time to run another swap-a-thon.  (And my tea selection is quite pathetic, so I'm really hoping that a winner or two can help me out with this.)



Look for more details and not so subtle hints in the next post. 

shopping for inspiration

I try to avoid malls and big box discount stores as much as I can.  I easily get disheartened by modern society's insatiable appetite for consumption.  The mix of mass manufacturing and instant gratification has become a dangerous cocktail for today's consumers.  We fill our homes with things that lack handcrafted tradition or thoughtful production, and, by the end of the day, we still find ourselves longing for a connection to others and this world.



Only buy what you love.



This was the motto of our retail store that carried handmade goods by independent designers.  As shop owners we likened ourselves to storytellers who sought to connect our customers with the stories and the makers of our products.  I believe it is this connection that gives a product its true value.



When I shop, I'm always looking for the history of the product.  Many of the items that I purchase actually come from second-hand sellers.  Shown above are some of the used things I picked up this past weekend at estate sales.  In general, I try to only bring home items that inspire me to take action (draw, cook, garden, etc.). 

/// recent finds ///

classic books, including two Pearl Buck early editions

a vintage Kodak Retina in near perfect condition

linoleum cutter set in its original box

yarn remnants for a new zigzag blanket I started

vintage backpack for hiking// whoops! snipped the fabric when opening the package . . . 

mended by affixing triangle patches

My week

i am in love my new hand-dyed scarf and pouch from driftwood & fossil

what a great project for kids!

i bought this dinosaur topped jar at a school fundraising event last weekend

a dear friend of mine is in Uganda for the year to help children of the AIDS epidemic 

she sent me this wonderful recycled burlap bag she found on a recent trip to Rwanda

much love and thanks, T!

glorious weather this weekend

everyone's out and about enjoying the sun, at last

this photo was taken on a walk through Tryon Creek Park 

magnolias . . . one of the reasons i love spring so much

started a new 11 x 14 painting

i'm working on six pieces for an online show coming up

more info to come in a few weeks

I heart Portland

Just when I thought I made it through Portland's damp fall and winter without falling ill, I caught a bug this week that has kept me in bed the last few days.  Ugh.  No fun at all.  I try to make the most of it by watching a lot of funny clips from The Ellen Show.  I figure laughter is the best medicine. That and spicy Korean soup.



I don't have any new works to share with you all, since my art production is at a standstill for the moment.  But I did have an idea for a new monthly series called I heart Portland.  I was born and raised in Portland, so I like to think that I know a few things about the Rose City.  Did you know, for example, that there is a volcano (granted, a dormant one) in city limits?  Thanks to a three week unit on Portland in my high school history class, I have a wealth of fun and trivial facts like this. . . all to be revealed in due time my friends. 

[unless noted, all photos by me]

It's April, and that means tulips.  Lots and lots of tulips.  Just 30 minutes south of Portland is the Tulip Fest in Woodburn, Oregon.  It's a spectacular display of flowers that lasts for just a month. 

Portland has some of the greatest cheap eats around.  Here's one of my guilty pleasures.  Poutine from Potato Champion! 

"Keep Portland Weird" is a popular bumper sticker in town.  Portlanders take pride in being "different."

[images: crafted-systems.com]

Crafted Systems is the brainchild of Portland-based designer Aurelie Tu.  She partners with the local YWCA shelter to create her modern home collection.  Each product is made from 100% natural wool felt and is handmade here in Portland. 

Dazzling chandeliers made from discarded objects

Drop, 1800 plastic bottles, 2007.

According to British designer Stuart Haygarth, one man's trash is another man's treasure.  He collects thousands of discarded objects, mainly plastic items, and creates stunning chandeliers out of the found materials.   Drop (shown above) is a lighting structure made from the bases of 1800 plastic water bottles.  The pieces were tumbled in a cement mixer to give the plastic a frosted glass effect.



His lighting designs are as thought-provoking as they are beautiful.  Tide (shown below) is constructed with plastic debris and other manmade materials washed ashore along the Kent coastline.  Haygarth shaped the collected items into a moon-like structure, since the moon creates tides that wash up the discarded objects onto the shore. 

Tide, manmade objects washed ashore, 2004.

Spectacle, plastic framed spectacles, 2006.

Icon Experiment: Stuart Haygarth from Penelope Shaw on Vimeo.

Tail Light, vehicle light lenses, 2007.  [images courtesy of www.stuarthaygarth.com]

In addition to his creative lighting designs, Haygarth uses reclaimed objects in installations.  Here is a video of the 2010 installation Framed in the Victoria and Albert Museum (London).   Framed is comprised of hundreds of painted picture frame off-cuts.







FRAMED Stuart Haygarth/John Jones installation at the V&A from Stuart York on Vimeo.

A cheap and eco-friendly alternative to a headboard

Since moving into our lovely bungalow home with a tiny master bedroom, we’ve been sleeping with our mattress on the floor.  I don’t mind being so low to the ground, but it does pose some decorating issues above the bed. 

Several months ago, I painted the walls by the bed a kelly green.  I love the pop of color, but the blank space above the bed was just as noticeable as before.  I went back and forth on ideas, from floating shelves to decals to oversized photographs.  I wanted to create more warmth and texture in the room, so I finally decided on mounting salvaged wood onto the wall. 

We ended up getting a stack of used wood boards at The Rebuilding Center in north Portland, and it only cost us $16 (which is about $1 apiece)!  On the back of one of the boards, I caught sight of this tree logo that was stamped by a local lumber company.

The timber industry is huge in Oregon, so I’m sure most of the wood we picked up was milled nearby. 

After sanding the wood boards with an electric sander, we arranged them aesthetically on our back patio.  Keep in mind that there might be lead paint on salvaged wood, so you need to take precautionary steps when sanding. 

 

There was enough wood to create a backdrop a little larger than 5’ x 5’.  We cut the boards at an even length and then nailed them to the wall from the ceiling down.  

After wiping the wood clean with a damp cloth, we applied an eco-friendly finish [AFM Safecoat Polyureseal] as a protective coat.  It dries quickly, and on the same day, I was able to hang my estate sale find of a beautiful coastal scene.  (The little white triangles were my addition.) I also bought a neat retro wall lamp on Etsy that goes perfectly in the mix. 

The overall project took about half a day of work, and the total cost (which includes the wood, poster and lamp) came in at under $50.  I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, and it really is an easy, affordable, and eco-friendly project that any diy enthusiast can tackle.  

Dear blank

[image source: sapling press]

Thanks to Sapling Press and Jared Wunsch of dearblankpleaseblank.com for the tearful laughs.  The eco-friendly letterpress cards are available for purchase here. 

My art fair finds

Art fairs are a test of my self-control as a shopper, and often times, I fail.   It helps to be a vendor at the art fair, so that you're stuck in an 8 x 8 ft space for most of the day.  But even then, it only takes a few minutes for me to find several must-have products while on a break. . . I'm an efficient shopper to a fault. 



Artist Jill Bliss was my neighbor at the Rieke Art Fair this past weekend, so I didn't have to go far to find a number of things I wanted to take home with me.  I snatched this lovely (and huge!) paper weight, which was her last one.  I really don't have a need for a paper weight, but I couldn't resist its crystal ball likeness.  When my youngest daughter, who collects snow globes, asked if it could be hers, I quickly replied, "Nope. It's mine."  All mine, I thought.  I think I'll call it my precious. 

Both Jill and I love to draw things in nature.  She just came out with a new drawing book that is quite brilliant.  There are nearly 200 pages of art instruction, beautiful drawings, and plenty of blank space for the inspired artist. 

I taught drawing for many years, and trust me when I say there aren't enough great instructional books on drawing.  This is one art book that I'll definitely keep in mind when shopping for an enthusiastic learner. 

I have a weakness for handmade sketchbooks, and it took me all of 10 seconds to claim this one as my own.  I was chatting with Clare Carpenter of Tiger Food Press when I spotted the hand printed and bound artist book in her booth.  This is what it looks like on the inside:    

The pages are in an accordion design!  My plan is to draw one very long illustration.  If I make it past page three, I'll count it a success!

Here is another hand bound book I bought from Clare.  The floral cover is vintage wallpaper, and there are two silk ribbon ties.  My brother is getting married this month, and I thought this would make a perfect wedding guest book. 

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Also . . .

Sunday Brunch is an online dress shop that features an artist each month.  On their home page, they pair an art work with a dress that complements it.  I'm flattered that the New York-based shop chose to feature my art for the month of May!  As part of the feature, I wrote some thoughts about my art and fashion.  You can read it here. 

Embroidered chairs by Peter and Sally Nencini

I'm in full-fledged covet mode over these embroidered chairs by Peter and Sally Nencini.  The talented duo transforms old chairs into functional works of art.  Peter creates the designs, and Sally reupholsters and embroiders. 

I'm a big fan of Bauhaus art (Kandinsky and Stölzl), so it's no surprise that I'm so keen on these geometric and simplified designs.  Add fabric and midcentury furniture into the mix, and it becomes my kryptonite!

[image source: Peter Nencini]

. . . I am powerless.



For more creative awesomeness/torment, visit Peter's blog and Sally's website.