A Closer Look at Ottoman

Great Art and Design

I've come across a couple of pieces of art/design the last couple of days that I feel are noteworthy. First, is Ink Calender by Oscar Diaz.

 

(found via Craftzine.com)

"Spanish designer Oscar Diaz has designed a calendar that uses the capillary action of ink spreading across paper to display the date. Each month, a bottle of coloured ink spreads across a sheet of paper embossed with numbers, colouring them in as it goes."

 

I think it's stunning! (Printmakers have a think for ink and paper.)

Next, is wallpaper by Cassandra C. Jones. I love conceptual art, and this is rad:

 

(found via Apartment Therapy)

It's called Good Cheer, why?

 

Here's what Jones has to say about the piece

"Good Cheer is an installation of wallpaper that is composed of found snapshot photographs of cheerleaders performing routine stunts that flaunt their briefs.  This type of photograph, a young girl in uniform with one leg up in the air, has a duel connotation of family values and pornography all in one image.  Good Cheer surrounds the viewer in this paradox of ethical ambiguity."

Kona Cotton

I have been using a gray fabric for my "for your Wall" pieces that I purchased a couple of years ago. I really like it, but I knew I wouldn't be able find it again in my local fabric store (if you can call Joanne's a fabric store) because it was in a section where they put fabrics they will no longer carry and such. So, when I went back to find a replacement, I found a lovely Kona Cotton in a darker beautiful gray. Here's a comparison:

Since the old fabric is ontop the new, it's a bit lighter from the sun hitting it, but this will give you the idea. The new fabric is lighter weight than the old as well.

I have just a little of the old fabric left for a few "for your wall" pieces, but you will start seeing the new fabric soon.

I have been searching for an eco or organic fabric to ultimately take center stage. So, if you know of any wonderful fabric that comes in solids that is environmentally friendly, please let me know. I have found a lot of fantastic patterns, but have had little luck with gray...I'd like to find a tan/beige/natural too!

Meanwhile, it's sweltering here! Yesterday, it was 109 degrees; today, it may be hotter. So, the other day, I made a treasury on Etsy that reminded me of winter:

 

Maybe if I stare at it, it will cool me off.

Happy Wednesday!

Blackberries and Black Beans

I've started collecting ripe blackberries from the brambles that line our driveway to make freezer jam (I haven't learned to can yet...I'm hoping to do that with Pamela when she visits). I figure I won't be able to collect enough in one day to make jam, so I figure I'd freeze them to make one or two big batches. So, I've been collecting (Boo is such the helper), washing, letting them dry on a 1/2 cookie sheet, freezing, then putting them in a container in the freezer (freezing them separately prevents large clumps, then you can just take them out of the freezer one-by-one if you wish):

 

They are frozen in the picture. This reminds me, when I was a kid, my friend Ann's mom had some small green grapes in her backyard that she would freeze and we would eat them frozen...what a treat!

I also soaked some black beans today and while I was running errands, some jumped the bowl:

 

I make my beans in the Crock Pot. I use water (or stock, if I have it), diced onion, lots of whole garlic cloves, a few bay leaves, and salt. It turns out really pretty good and they are perfect for dipping tortilla chips.

Happy Tuesday!

Blackberry Removal and Additions to the Shop

We, by sheer luck, found a guy that removes blackberries for a living and he does so by pulling them up by the roots! This is much better than mowing the blackberries which is what we were essentially planning to do. Here's a few before and after shots (as well as a pic of the tractor that pulls them out) to see what a dramatic difference it makes!

Before:

After:

 

The blackberries may look nice and lush and green, but they are extremely invasive (I know, I've said it before, but one can even get money from the state to remove them...we may have found out too late...we'll see) and are about eight feet tall, therefore, we couldn't even use most of the property with them there. We plan to at first plant some native grasses to keep the blackberries at bay and for erosion control. Then we'll plant more trees and possibly some shrubs. I'd really like some nut and fruit trees if we can keep the deer from eating all the harvest. That little tree is a cedar...you can see a tiny bit of it in the before picture. We found three baby ones.

Before:

 

You can see that the blackberries will send shoots up the trees too which cannot be good for the trees.

After:

 

There's another cedar poking out to the left of the tree on the front right. I'm hoping to transplant it a bit farther back because it's too close to the house and I don't want all the shade in the winter. The other trees are deciduous so they are in perfect proximity to the house. The cedar, moved back, will provide privacy from the neighbor.

Here's the tractor that did the work:

 

Some trees were removed that were hindering other trees. There is Jeff to the right cutting them up for firewood.

Goodness! I forgot to post a picture my Dad in the Bobcat he rented to help move the blackberries to a HUGE pile and move a lot of dirt around. The tractor was a total P.O.S. and beat my dad up for 10.5 hours (picture a horse bucking you around for an entire day):

Thank you Dad! (And, thanks for the little reminder - he he!)

Ooh, and here he is with Boo helping out:

Here's the mama fox that we were worried about with the removal. However, we still hear her, so she seems to be just fine (this pictures was taken before the blackberries were removed):

 

She actually had two babies with her when my dad took this shot; she ran off before he could get pictures of them.

In other news...

I listed a couple more items in the shop:

 

Lichen for your Wall (V2) 3 (6 inch)

Moss Wrist Pincushion (V2) 2

More Finds From the Jell-O Mold Yard Sale and Some Moss

I got not only cute little Jell-O molds from that yard sale a couple of weeks ago, but some other great items as well.

I found some great vintage cookie cutters:

These scalloped ones seem like they will be versitle.

Here's a bunny and a cute little ghost (I think):

 

There were lots of Christmas ones to choose from...here's what I brought home:

 

I also found what I think are chocolate molds:

 

And some more chocolate molds and one for madelines!:

 

Boo likes to organize tomatoes in them.

Oh, and I also found an adorable box of matches from 1955:

 

I think it will be a perfect decoration for Christmas. Here's the back (oh, the text and the scalloped edge):

 

I also listed Moss for your Wall 7 (5x9 inch) yesterday. It has a vintage embroidery hoop. I really love the oval shape:

Happy Thursday!

Lichen Peppermint Brooches

I made some pepperminty brooches as well (you may remember that I made some lavender ones and listed them recently):

Lichen Peppermint Brooch 1

Lichen Peppermint Brooch 2

Something that I didn't think about when making these (I haven't ever seen a scented brooch, have you?) is that when you hug someone, it will recharge the scent by crushing the leaves! How sweet!

Happy Wednesday!

groups, piles, stacks

I love multiples. Maybe because my degree is in printmaking (and sculpture...I made my sculptures in multiples as well and then displayed them in groups). There's just something incredible about things in quantity that is powerful...for good or bad - think of synchronized swimming, dessert flowers in bloom or crowds and swarms. A couple of reasons I think printmaking is so interesting is because I like to repeat a process (it's sort of meditative...I did that with sculpture too) and I also like that they are duplicates of one another (essentially). Mass production is very interesting...well, on a small scale, if that makes any sense.

Anyway, I made a treasury yesterday of groups, piles, and stacks because of the beauty of multiples; and I think it's an appealing way to list items in ones shop. I included some images that are fine art photographs as well.

There are some old favorites in there, but an image that I've been thinking about a lot lately (and a shop that is pretty new to me) is that of gloilocksandbody's soap Satry - Blood Orange - Black Vanilla - Charcoal...here's a close-up:

Here's another shot:

I think I love it because it looks like it's old with patina or like decay and decay can be very beautiful.

Then again, maybe I love this aesthetic because of my former printmaking professor:

(Tracy Templeton Familiar Distance)

Wow Tracy, I realize how much I miss working with you. Here's another:

(Tracy Templeton Outside Echoes Haunt)

In case you're wondering, they are etchings with chine colle...you can see more of Tracy's work here.

Happy Tuesday!

My Birthday

My birthday is a week from today. I'll be 32. My mom got me a sweet early birthday present when she was here. I've been wanting it for some time, but never justified paying that much for baker's twine, even though it's tons of it:

The shop we got it from said that they have been using theirs for around five years and they still have a lot left after heavy use.

I don't know if I'll use it for wrapping things or for a sculpture.

I love visual simplicity, the everyday, and peppermint stripes...this is all of it wrapped into one.

Blondie

They're playing locally tonight, unfortunately we won't be able to attend because of Jeff's work schedule. They were my first favorite band, and ironically, Jeff found my old tape in the garage while organizing today:

Check it out...1978 (a year after I was born):

Pretty early for a cassette tape, don't you think? It seems really early. My dad always has gotten the latest in audio/video technology; we got our first CD player when they first were available to the general public (I think in the early 80s).

I was really into Blondie (and, dare I say, the Bee Gees). Apparently, I had a Blondie poster, but my mom says that I didn't like a picture of someone looking at me in my room (I still don't really like that). I believe "Call Me" was my favorite song...released in 1980.

Lichen Lavender Brooches and More Thrifting

I listed these guys yesterday:

Lichen Lavender Brooch 1

Lichen Lavender Brooch 2

They are just like the slightly plump Lichen Brooches, but filled with lavender instead of polyfill.

Also, one of my local favorite thrift stores was having a sale on dishes, so Jenny picked up some more of this pattern for me:

Eight teacups (similar to the three I already have, thankfully Jenny talked me into getting all eight because they are glass with raised images while the three I got previously are porcelain with images under the glaze), a dinner plate, and a cream and sugar (love the simplicity). Yay!

And yay...it's Friday!