Tag Archives: read

Beachscapes

31 Saturday Dec 2011

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I find most people naturally gravitate toward a certain type of landscape. For some, the mountains are the only real destination, and nothing excites or calms them like hiking and camping in the midst of thick forest, on the edge of cold lakewater. There are those who thrill in wide open, wavy-hot, golden plains, the kind of land where the views go on for miles, uninterrupted and clear.

My own heart’s cry is unmistakable: I love the beach. There is that moment every time when I first see palm trees and smell the salt on the breeze, and I just know I am home. This fall we visited the beach for the first time in years; the first time since my world changed because of unexpected, lasting illness; and only a few short months after I almost lost my life this summer. (Typing that makes me uncomfortable, but I am resisting the urge to tone it down because it is also true. If I don’t acknowledge yesterday’s pain, I think I lose some of today’s victory.) Going back to the beach was a homecoming of the sweetest sort, one of those precious times when you recognize every moment for the gift it is and can enjoy every part of it, from sunburn to sandy toes. I smiled for days, until my cheeks hurt and I had a tan that matched the laugh lines on my face.

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I brought back plenty of shells and a bag full of sand from the beach, and I determined to build a miniature beachscape to live on my dining room table. The ever-faithful T.J. Maxx offered a host of inexpensive choices for clear glass containers, and our local home and garden store stocked a few succulents that are also native to the San Diego beach we visited. The rest was highly therapeutic sorting, pouring, planting, and arranging.

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I love to try new things; that occasionally gets me into trouble, and it quite often gets me elbow-deep in glue, paint, potting soil, or cake batter. (never simultaneously thankfully :) This time it got sand in my teeth and bits of seashells under my nails, but it was delightful. As soon as I finished my little bowl of beach zen, I was ready to make another one.

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I made a second run for plants and glassware, and constructed two more terrariums for close friends, plus a small one for my husband to take to work — a little bit of permanent vacation in the midst of fluorescent lights and upholstered cubicle walls. You don’t need a particularly green thumb to make or keep a beach terrarium with succulents. A splash of water every week or two is all these require.

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After I finished my inaugural efforts, I went in search of a book to learn more. I knew I’d found like minds as soon as I opened Terrarium Craft: Create 50 Magical, Miniature Worlds by Amy Bryant Aiello and Kate Bryant. The title pages picture a terrarium almost exactly like the first I made, complete with sand, shells, reindeer moss, and succulents. The book is a fantastic resource with all the basic how-to’s and ideas for dozens of containers, plants, and decorative additions.

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I love how easy terrariums are to personalize — beaches or mountains; lush and flowering or spare and clean; elegant table centerpiece or quirky office decoration. Terrariums are also a great way to house keepsakes from your latest vacation, a reminder of that dream trip you haven’t taken yet, or your favorite pieces of home. And you don’t need any special gardening or crafting skills to put one together, just a willingness to get your hands a little dirty. Feel free to post your questions, and let me know how yours turns out. :)

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(Timber Press: 2011; ISBN 978-1604692341)

Clockwork Cthulhu

27 Tuesday Dec 2011

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I made all the holiday gifts I gave to grown-ups this year, and these three polymer clay miniatures were without doubt the most fun to construct. I made one each for my husband and two close friends, all of whom like Steampunk and the work of H.P. Lovecraft. For those of you not on that particular bandwagon, be warned: you may feel yourself growing geekier as I explain. ;)

Lovecraft was a prolific horror fiction author from New England who lived in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Cthulhu is one of his monsters of the deep, a sort of winged cephalopod with a few human cousins somewhere on the family tree. Cthulhu is one of Lovecraft’s most beloved creations and has gone on to inspire a whole range of modern fiction and film. (I personally attribute his popularity to those charming tentacles.) Of course little did Lovecraft know, he wasn’t even scratching the surface — have you seen the stuff that actually lives in the deepest parts of the ocean? (Don’t get me started on that episode of Blue Planet with the anglerfish…)

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On to our second geeky definition: Steampunk is a science fiction sub-genre based on a sort of anachronistic alternate future, modeled after Victorian England’s technology. Just picture our society as a Victorian might have imagined it — steam-powered, clockwork-driven, and founded on the principle that everyone wears hats and gloves at all times. Jules Verne wearing goggles + metal gears + computers = Steampunk.

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I love working with vintage materials and I appreciate a vivid literary imagination, so these projects were a good fit. I decided to blend the two genres and create captured, clockwork Cthulhus, so I emptied out my jar of pocketwatch parts, grabbed a pack of glow-in-the-dark Fimo, and got to work. I really enjoyed crafting the tiny clay miniatures, brushing them with mica powder, and posing them in their new habitats.

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I am such a sucker for anything luminescent, and I spent as much time sitting in the dark watching these glow as I did actually sculpting. :) The smallest Chtulhu is about an inch high and spends his life inside a pocketwatch case. The other two measure about 2″ and 4″ across and make their homes in vintage mainspring advertising tins. I used tiny old screws, cogs, and rivets to add a little extra Steampunk flair.

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While studio time is often both cathartic and challenging for me, the hours spent on these were just plain old, inventive fun. They were also a great exercise in using what I already had on hand to create what I had in mind. I vow not to stop here, and there are definitely more tiny clay creatures in my future. I’m thinking a tiny jar of miniature, glow-in-the-dark, mechanical fireflies…

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If you’re interested in making your own Steampunk creations, you might check out Steampunkery: Polymer Clay and Mixed Media Projects by Christi Friesen. Her design sense is a bit different from mine but wholly inspiring nonetheless, and she has a fantastic sense of humor. It’s a great starting point, especially if you’re new to the world of polymer clay. Happy Steampunking!

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It’s a small world

15 Thursday Dec 2011

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As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a sucker for life in miniature. (It dawns on me that perhaps it’s not coincidence that we own a toy poodle and a chihuahua…) While there is a time and place for chocolate chip cookies that require two hands, I generally gravitate toward the bite-size. And in the studio, I love the challenge of small, intricate artwork. If life is in the details, I’m living well. :)

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It should come as no surprise, then, that I was so excited to read Microcrafts: Tiny Treasures to Make and Share by Margaret McGuire and friends. It contains patterns and pictures for 25 little whimsical projects. Among my favorites are matchbox-size felt monster babies, walnut shell sailboats, and mini-fabric bunting just crying out to decorate the top of birthday cupcakes. However, there was no contest for which piece I would try first: as soon as I saw the itty-bitty solar system mobile, I was already reaching for my art supplies.

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I recently tried my hand at felting for the first time (the process of making handmade felt from wool roving), so I already had a bin full of hand-dyed alpaca wool waiting to be turned into little planets. The process itself was fairly simple and the only other requirements were soapy, warm water, a bamboo mat (like the type sushi is rolled on), and a little patience.

This turned out to be a great do-together for my daughter and I, as we took turns rolling and shaping the wool into various heavenly bodies. (The only drawback was that our hands smelled like wet alpaca for days. I can now add “smelling like a llama left out in the rain” to my list of Weird Things I’ve Done for Art.) The finished felted spheres range in size from 3/4″ to 1 1/2″ in diameter, and as you can see from the pictures above, they are a fraction of the size of the wool balls with which we began.

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After a day of drying time, assembling the mobile was also pretty straightforward — just a matter of threading embroidery floss through each piece and tying them on. I harvested a couple of twigs from the tree in our front yard to use as the hanging frame (quite possibly the only useful contribution a Bradford pear tree ever made). I already knew my complete lack of scale wouldn’t be winning me any new astrophysicist friends, so I threw in Pluto too. Really, how could I possibly make a miniature solar system model and not include our diminutive neighbor? (Don’t worry Pluto, you’ll never be too small for me.)

(Microcrafts, Quirk Books: 2011, ISBN 978-1594745218)

Paper monster invasion

04 Sunday Dec 2011

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Thanks to my artsy kiddos and their new favorite book, there are miniature paper monsters cropping up all over the house. Their cumulative paper-crafting zeal and Papertoy Monsters: 50 Cool Papertoys You Can Make Yourself! by Brian Castleforte have populated our dining room table with a 5″-tall community of charming little creeps. (Clearly the cut-and-paste gene has been passed on. :)

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There are 50 original papertoy templates in the book, from Confetti Yeti to Octopup. Author Castleforte and the 24 other contributing artists are talented, imaginative designers, evidenced by their fun paper menagerie. The monsters all feature a mini biography and easy-to-follow instructions, and they are printed in full color on cardstock that’s been both perforated and pre-scored for easier assembly. I am usually leary of “just tear here” paper crafts, but these actually work; unlike my daughter’s paper doll years, the last few weeks have heard very few cries of frustration over inadvertent paper amputees.

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I would recommend Papertoy Monsters for those over age 10, including the grown-up paper artist with a sense of humor. Some monsters require more of a patient, careful hand than others, and I wouldn’t give this book to an amped-up fifth grader who needs to run off a sugar high. But it is just right for quiet time, and in my years of teaching art, I have found kids of all ages have a surprising capacity for focus and detail if the project is engaging and the end result worth the effort. These papertoys certainly meet those requirements.

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(Workman Publishing: New York 2010, ISBN 978-0761158820)

Everything Alice

25 Friday Nov 2011

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“Well!” thought Alice to herself. “After such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling down stairs! How brave they’ll all think me at home! Why, I wouldn’t say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house!” (Which was very likely true.)

I love Lewis Carrol’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I make a point of re-reading both annually, and they make me smile until my cheeks hurt every time. How can you not love literature that manages to exemplify both scathing political commentary and dry British humor, equal parts insightful observation and complete nonsense?

Alice has inspired multiple art adventures in my own studio, so I was excited to find Everything Alice: The Wonderland Book of Makes and Bakes. The book features 50 different projects based on Carrol’s work, with crafts and recipes ranging from Teacup Candles to Topiary Cupcakes; Duchess Macaroons to Lavender Dormice sachets. It’s clear that authors Hannah Read-Baldrey and Christine Leech are plenty creative and genuine admirers of all things Wonderland.

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I thought I’d give you a sneak peek and share my first project from Everything Alice, a fabric-covered teapot planter. I started with the inexpensive, Japanese-style ceramic teapot pictured above. (thank you, T.J. Maxx) This piece was also the obvious home for some Alice in Wonderland fabric I had squirreled away in my sewing supplies. The only other requirements were scissors, a paintbrush, Mod Podge, and two hours’ time to cut the fabric into strips and glue it on the teapot.

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I decided to finish my teapot planter off with some teabag-style tags made from a vintage playing card and a suitable quote: “It was all very well to say ‘Drink me,’ but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry.” The final touch was a few resin beads to compliment the colors and shapes of the Queen and her deck of subjects. I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

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If you’re the sort who likes to keep her hands clean, this probably won’t be your favorite craft; however, if you were one of those kids who loved making a second set of fingerprints out of glue, then have I got a project for you! (That’s the first time I ever got Mod Podge on my elbows before. :) My studio will soon have a little Alice-inspired native flora, and I can officially say I’ve upholstered my dishes. What more could I ask for?

P.S. — I can’t post about Alice without plugging my very favorite film version, the 1999 production originally shown as an NBC miniseries. It is true to the books in tone and whimsy, though much more laugh-out-loud funny. The music and special effects are charming without being too pretty, and there are dozens of big-name actors involved. My favorite characters are Martin Short as the Mad Hatter, Miranda Richardson’s Red Queen, and, best of all, Gene Wilder as the Mock Turtle. If you haven’t seen it, you’re missing a real treat. (It’s streamed on Netflix for those of you with a membership, or you can rent/buy it on Amazon.) It is one of my family’s top five “cocooning” movies — the sort of film perfectly suited to cuddling on the couch with a quilt and a mug of hot chocolate.

Mobile Art

13 Sunday Nov 2011

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I am a lifelong, card-carrying member of the Cut-and-Paste Club (Platinum Kindergartner level — and, yes, I made the card myself). I was sold from the moment the five-year-old me unfolded a little wedge of paper and discovered that all those pleats and snips had created a big, beautiful snowflake.

So you can imagine my excitement at discovering Mobile Art: Papers, Designs, and Instructions for Twenty Stunning Mobiles. So far I’ve made a charming Matryoshka doll mobile (picture above from the book), and it was surprisingly quick and simple. If you’ve got twenty minutes, a pair of sharp scissors, glue, and twine, then you’ve got a piece of art. Some of the mobiles are whimsical, some seasonally-themed, and some distinctly Calder in design. Simple shapes and colors reign, but the subjects range from cupcakes, to abstract mod shapes, to peas in a pod.

As a paper-crafting geek, I actually have opinions about adhesives and cutting tools. (Just smile and nod.) For the projects in this book, I love EKTools Honey Bee Scissors: they’re small, sharp, and have non-stick coated blades so you can cut tape and stickers with impunity. My adhesive of choice for these mobiles is Weldbond, a thick, white glue that will stick anything to anything — and believe me, I’ve tried. Mosaic tiles to the top of a dishwasher, floral napkins to desk shelves, glass beads to a Gibson guitar, wire limbs to a tree made from books… sticking twine to paper is a gimme for this stuff.

I’d love to see a link to your favorite cut-and-paste project in the comments section. Next on my list is a mobile shaped like a tree limb, with birds and leaves suspended from it. I think it will look great brightening up a corner of our homeschool classroom. :)

Art Saves

25 Tuesday Oct 2011

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I just finished reading Art Saves: Stories, Inspiration, and Prompts Sharing the Power of Art by Jenny Doh, and it is everything the title promises. Part self-help, part how-to, the book features short biographies of twenty artists who find strength, healing, and self-expression in creating art. The artists share their guiding principles and inspirations, examples of their work, and directions/prompts for artwork modeled after their own. I found the range and variety of artists compelling, and their words carried with them a sense of community and hope that made me want to head for my studio.

In the last four years, art has played an increasingly important part in my own life, especially when it comes to processing the emotional and spiritual challenges that accompany serious, life-changing illness. Although Art Saves largely features professional artists, I certainly don’t think you need create art for a living to appreciate the sentiments these artists share. The projects are accessible, and the stories honor our creative diversity while still being sweet reminders of all we share. I am planning several projects inspired by my favorite artists in the book and will share them in the coming weeks, but I encourage you to check it out on your own.

(North Light Books, Cincinnati; published 2011; ISBN 978-1-4403-0906-9)

Optimism

20 Thursday Oct 2011

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I’ve been reading The World I Live In + Optimism: A Collection of Essays by Helen Keller. Her writing is powerfully frank and fiery, but also remarkably humble and full of wonder. One of my favorite passages is from Part One of her Optimism essays, “Optimism Within,” which reads:

Most people measure their happiness in terms of physical pleasure and material possession. Could they win some visible goal which they have set on the horizon, how happy they would be! Lacking this gift or that circumstance, they would be miserable! If happiness is to be so measured, I who cannot hear or see have every reason to sit in a corner with folded hands and weep. If I am happy in spite of my deprivations, if my happiness is so deep that it is a faith, so thoughtful that it becomes a philosophy of life, — if, in short, I am an optimist, my testimony to the creed of optimism is worth hearing. As sinners stand up in meeting and testify to the goodness of God, so one who is called afflicted may rise up in gladness of conviction and testify to the goodness of life.

Can I get an amen?! :)

(Dover Publications, New York; originally published 1903 + 1908, new edition 2009; ISBN 978-0-486-47367-3)