Category: owls

headed for squam

I’m headed to the Squam Art Retreat tomorrow to teach my botanical sewing class – I can’t wait to get started. I’m bringing a ridiculous amount of stuff with me – it’s like I’m moving. I’ll also be at the art fair with some of my botanical experiments and I’ll have the prototypes for the ship pattern with me too  if you’d like to see or have a question, or just come say hi – the fair is always fabulous.

botanical experiment

And some new Fortuny pieces – I just sent this group off to Venice.

rats

Francesco and Alessandro

piero

Piero

lorenzo

And Lorenzo.

new creatures

A little collection of new creatures – I’ve posted them on Etsy  just now (7/31). I spent the morning re -shooting them, I was disappointed with yesterday’s photos ( on the up side I learned some things about aperture) so now I’ve got to roll right into Flamingo making – lots and lots of flamingos…

textile art bird

Dark Bird

textile art owl

textile art owl

Pecksniff  (he’s got some fancy junk in his owley trunk)

textile art songbird

Plum Songbird

textile art owl

Mr. Bittles

(beautiful fabrics courtesy of Sri Threads)

inspiration

I started this dark bird months ago and he ended up becoming more complex than I originally intended.

dark bird

His underside is stitched and stitched. I like to have this kind of project, this kind of compulsive, repetitive stitching to pick up sometimes. I like to have busy hands when something is percolating in my mind or when I’m searching for an idea or part of and idea.

dark_bird_2

On the subject of inspiration: I listened to a great episode of “After The Jump” yesterday – Grace Bonney talks to wall paper designer Katie Deedy about her creative practices, where she finds inspiration and how she develops ideas. I love hearing about other peoples creative process and I could relate to everything Katie said. The work of being inspired is a constant and consuming process for me. I enjoy all of it – even when it’s difficult – the thrill of the chase I guess. I’m so curious what might be next, what surprises and odd intersections might reveal themselves.  I do some of my best thinking in the tedious or deeply repetitive work of hand stitching or paper mache and I’m sure that’s part of my attraction to those mediums.

handmade owl

I’m also nearly finished with a big gray owl – I’m photographing all the newly finished creatures today and I’ll add them to my shop ( temporarily on Etsy) tomorrow (7/31).

And progress – this is a sneak peek of the little boat pattern instructions that is part of the paper mache pattern collection (it’s nearly done!).

paper mache boat

 

owl work

I’m  working on some new owls – a  new smaller owl shape for me with some new details.  I’ll finish these tonight and photograph them in the morning . They are part of my “new creatures” update tomorrow ( friday 3/28 ) evening.

owl work

And onother new shape –  a hummingbird – a bit larger than a real hummingbird but still quite small, she fits in the palm of your hand.  The bird and owls are made mostly from Sri textiles – I love this muted palette.

hummingbird

 

 

 

laurent

Another new creature Laurent ( all my rats are french) and a blue owl.

blue owl

junk in the trunk

 

He’s big and blue and  bad, and has some junk in the trunk.

on my work table

Owls. And a blue velvet songbird.

I get pretty excited about fall and to celebrate I pulled out my houndstooth wool.  I’m also working on a blue velvet songbird and another owl  made from a  textile from Sri Threads.  It is one of my all time most favorite fabrics – I can barely stand to use it. I think if I had miles of it I would never get tired of it. Here’s a closer look – it’s a thick  heavy weave and the pattern is incredible.

And I made a little more progress on the songbird.

Another fall ritual for me is taking a group of little birds out to prospect park for a photo ( I do it every spring too).  It was a big adventure.

bloomer, bloomer & bloomer

Bloomer, Bloomer & Bloomer Attorneys at Law – specializing in forest disputes. From left to right: Miles H. Bloomer, Cyrus P. Bloomer and Billings Bloomer Sr. These gimlet eyed solicitors are made from a pair of antique swim bloomers.

Cyrus P. Bloomer

They’ll be in the shop next week and you can join my mailing list if you would like an email notification or check back here or on facebook for the exact time.

*Update – The Bloomers will be in the shop at 2 PM New York time on Wednesday 4/10.

fortuny window display

This silver grey Fortuny owl and some other creatures  found their  way  into  the beautiful new window display outside the showroom  in the D and D  building here in New York.  There are some great photos of the window on the Fortuny blog.

he storms off

the time keeper

Last fall  the Citizen Watch company commissioned a special piece. My assignment was to “re-imagine” one of their timepieces and  to make an object that fits my imagination and personal language.

The watch is called the eco drive- EYES.  I re-imagined the watch as an owl and I called my piece ” The Time Keeper”.

the time keeper

He  is an expression of the eco-drive watch and an expression of time itself. Focusing on visual and conceptual aspects of the watch, first and most significantly – his face- his eyes specifically, refer in a direct way to to the face of the watch.

ecodrive_eyes

Extensive mending was necessary to give the fragile garment structural integrity  and that  mending is apparent and celebrated, time marks, time transforms. The  stitches express the characters and marks of the watch face – stitches sometimes measured and precise ( marking seconds). Stitches and patches expressed as numbers and letters and circles or portions of circles sometimes shifting in scale.

timekeeper_bk

The marks refer to the design of the watch as well as illustrating a passage of time across the owls surface and acknowledging the history and life span of the ruined antique bodice he is made from.

mutton sleave bodice

He has gone off to live in the Citizen showroom in Tokyo.  Also he is featured  in  Real Scale Magazine ( a supplement of Ginza) in Japan. The article was written by David G. Imber and Yoshida Mika with photos by Jen Causey.

real scale magazine

I think the article will be available on line soon and I’ll post a link when it is.