from snow to snow

2009 came and ended with a snow, and a new life. We'll never be the same.

reference section

I have begun a new series that I'll be posting for sale in my Halflight/Etsy shop: paintings and drawings on old dictionary and encyclopedia pages. This first piece is an acrylic painting of a juniper branch in a range of greens, on an encyclopedia page from the 20's (though I can't be sure, Sean and I saved a human-sized stack of a set that we rescued from Pacific St. in 2001, until our move in 2005, at which time I tore out the pages that seemed interesting, none of which seems to be a title page with a date). The pages have all been through some weather, so they are brittle, brown around the edges and water-damaged, but this makes for a perfect surface upon which to paint a simple image. So these days I've been asking myself if painting matters anymore, since I don't seem to be doing it (now that Little Creatures and MME have taken over life as I know it)...and we shall see. I'm hoping and praying it that does matter, for if it doesn't, it will be like the death of a dear friend, and nothing less.

One Week Later

hudson valley pods

Sean presented me with a milkweed pod from somewhere around Beacon, where I was selling this past Saturday at the Handmade Cavalcade. Then, I found a cousa dogwood (my favorite pod in the whole wide world!) growing in the yard of St. Phillips church in Garrison. . . where we visited our dear friends Tinkie and Blake.

summer in red hook

Little Creatures in Small Magazine

Little Creatures has been featured in the Autumn 09 issue of a beautiful online magazine, Small. The article is here. This magazine edited by Olivia Pintos-Lopez and Christine Visneau has a way of revealing the beauty of childhood in a way that I find quite rare. I am so happy that the editors were interested in Little Creatures. They asked wonderful questions, so I hope my answers were effective in explaining some of the story behind my work.

Fall Handmade Cavalcade

I will be selling jewelry and handcrafted objects for baby at the Fall Handmade Cavalcade in this September 12, from 11 to 7, in the Beacon Bookmarks' Barn at the corner of Main St. and North Cedar in Beacon, NY. This is a {NewNew} event featuring over twenty Etsy sellers from NYC and the Hudson Valley. If you can't be there, perhaps you have a friend in the area who would like to come? It's going to be a great show!

designer of the month: the extended interview

Look who's designer of the month at Brooklyn Indie Market! Could this be the youngest indie designer ever? Well, lookie here: I just so happen to have an extended interview on hand, and I thought I would post it for any of you out there who were interested in my daughter's creative endeavors. Here it is!:


Magnolia of CURIOUS URCHIN

Tell us a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations, personal stuff.
I’m basically an unwieldy, very chubby yet tall-for-my-age minor, with a whopping 6 months on the planet under my belt.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?
Pee, poop, sleep, laugh, grumble, raise my eyebrows, smile, whimper, moan, execute blood curling screams, semi-crawl, backwards scoot, half-way sit, shake rattles, eat every surface in range, eat peas and carrots, drink Mommy’s milk, sweat to the Oldies (nah, I really prefer Post-Rock), kick my left leg over and over, do power salutes, grow my fingernails out, flirt with strangers, stare at strangers, scratch at the floorboards and fabric patterns, pound on surfaces, scream for joy without letting up, especially from 6-7am.

What first made you want to become an artist?
What’s an artist? My mommy and daddy are kind of crazy, is that what artist means? I was born in a minor snowstorm, under a full moon--do those things make me an artist?


Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
I’m a sewing prodigy--basically I’ve been sewing since I was in the womb. I like the machine and all, but mostly I like to sew edges with my pudgy yet elegant fingers. Hand-sewing, that’s what I like. There’s something therapeutic about the repetitive nature of sewing….and eating, plush fabric edges. My inspiration comes from the sweet and beautiful animals, plants, colors and shapes that grow inside cotton fabrics. Especially the ones that come from Japan. I don’t really know what Japan is but it must be a wonderful place if it looks anything like the fabric that comes from there.


What handmade possession do you most cherish?
My first Curious Urchin teether--it's shaped like a puffy flowery star. I like to suck on it until I soak it with my cute baby spit. Then I move on to the next object or surface and put it in my mouth. But I always come back to the Curious Urchin teethers, for some reason. Made at home makes a difference, I guess. I also enjoy handmade and natural/fabric/wood creations from Little Alloutte, Babus, Acorn Toy Shop, Under the Nile (the veggies!), Haba, and Melissa and Doug's wooden toys. My other favorite thing is my mobile! I made one and it kept me entertained for months, so I decided to make more and more, for other babies. They are so fun, cause you can mix and match the shapes, so no two are alike!


What advice would you give to artists new to BIM?
When I’m at BIM the only way to go is to roll with Auntie Kathy. She takes me around to meet the peeps (by the way, I love Peeps, Marshmallow Peeps, even though I can’t eat them yet), by carrying me or pushing my stroller. So my advice for all of you who may never have done BIM: Get in good with Auntie Kathy!

In ten years I’d like to be…
An actor in Little Creatures films. My mommy and daddy don’t know that I want to be this . . . so I’ll have to be sneaky about it.

PS:
I got tired of dictating to my secretary, so here’s a parting word of advice to all you designer people out there:
B v hh j bzz m f b xc 888nm nh ,hnh j uikns sbvyv n nwx bv b

process dictates outcome

I contributed this piece to the Benefit for Nicole Gagne, the jewelry artist who was injured when a staircase collapsed this past April at the Crane St. Studios in Long Island City. The show was this past Thursday at Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, and 100% of the money from art sales went to Nicole. While I know several artists who have worked in the building, from painter Hein Koh to tintype artist Keliy Anderson-Staley, I do not know Nicole, but I was intrigued to see on her jewelry website that our jewelry has some similarities. . . hammered metal shapes suspended on chains, inspiration from nature, incorporation of natural objects, and a philosophy of work, ‘Process dictates the outcome,' that resonates deeply with my own theories of making and teaching. I painted a watercolor representation of one of her metal shapes and attached seeds onto the FREE WILL entry of an old encyclopedia page. I hear she is doing much better, thankfully. I hope we can meet someday.

tame those wispy summer locks

From now until this Sunday, all bobby pin sets in my Etsy shop will be 50% off! These are a fun solution to fly-away summer tresses, sun-dried beach-hair, the growing-out-the-bangs phase, the need for a crown of jewels, and everything in between. I have two listings for custom pins, one for a set of two, the other for a set of four. At half price, these unique, made-to-order sets some to just $3 and $6 each! I also have a cute millefiore bobby pin set with a handmade gift bag, only $9 with the discount. Just enter SUMMERPINS in the message box at the checkout, and I will send you a modified Paypal invoice. Thanks for shopping!:

curious urchin :: fabric art

I have been smitten by the fabric collage bug, which flew into my window when I gave birth to Magnoliagirl. Currently, whether I like it or not, my hands must be kept busy at all times sewing shapes and colors and patterns to each other. I am inspired to the point of obsession by the thousands of possibilities when it comes to printed designs on cotton fabric. I love using miniature printed trees, creatures, flowers, suns, stars, as starting points, cutting out around their inked outlines and re-arranging them, intermarrying them, many fabric origins all in one carefully-crafted pattern of my own, a completely original wall hanging that longs for a child to gaze upon it for years to come. These pieces are available for sale at my new Etsy shop, Curious Urchin. Hope you can visit, especially if you're looking for mobiles or teethers for the 2-8 month-old set.

{newnew}

I just joined the {NewNew}. What fun! I am happy to be associated with such lovely artists as MaryAnne of Wabisabi Brooklyn:

Anne Arden McDonald:

who is now selling beautiful cast rings on Etsy:

and the illustrious Virginia:

. . . whom I had lost but now have found.

three things

Yesterday, Cricket featured one of my word painting/collages in her lovely blog, Three Things. I love her work, too. She makes textile neckpiece/necklaces that are quite unusual and beautiful.

cells:::connected

One of my paintings was featured in a beautiful Etsy treasury this week:

post-trunk show

Virginia Galvan (pictured below next to her work) and I had a wonderful trunk show.

I was honored to show my work at Cozbi's shop (images above, below and a nice blog about the shop at Allyn Howard's Blipadee), one of my most favorite spots in NYC, and blessed with lots of help from dear Sean (who took many of these pictures) and even little Magnoliagirl, who made friends left and right! The whole thing inspired me to make more pieces and do more jewelry shows . . .

Cozbi and Amanda

One of Cozbi's amazing dolls.

Beautiful bibs, quilts and pillows...and some lovely dresses, for little ones.

Cozbi's multitalented hands.

A Southern Magnolia pod.
Ladies wearing their Pixie Petals:

Roxanne (oval painted wood/silver lariat)

Maggie (silver/wood lariat)

Evelyn (gold and sea urchin earrings)

Maggie (double B/W Venetian glass bead lariat)

Marika (triple teardrop lariat with carnelion and chalcedony)

Cindy and her mom Charl (Silver circle earrings with smokey quartz + Blown glass and LED earrings)

Monique (Vintage bead with silver lariat)

kbe with a sleepy mme (Large brown felted wool bead with silver).
Damijan Saccio took many lovely photos as well, here are a few: