Soft Sculptures

These are another style of work I do with textiles. I started making them in 2002 (if memory serves me right) and referred to them as soft sculptures for lack of another name to call them. They have been designed to be easily hung on the wall. The girls on the left are called The Princess Sisters (there are two more of them), the next guy is The Artist and the woman is Madame LaFleur. At 1:42am it's time for a wee bit of shut eye. Bonne nuit.

Freaks or Geeks?

Whatever they are, I like these weird, odd, goofy, lighthearted, fun boys. Well, the clouds are having a jazz fest in the skies of New England - again! Later.

How Many ProodinThorpes Are There?

Here are some more plush dolls from the series called The ProodinThorpes that I spoke of in a couple of March posts. The burly boy below is Farley. He's the bully who picks on Trixie (who can be seen in the April 5th post with her dog Maila) and all the other neighborhood kids. King Flooba Ha Ha, is the colorful, abstract, fellow who represents the artwork of the character Babette. Enjoy!

The Bee, The Fly, The Bird...and Mr. Mosquito

Well, the troops are coming out. Yesterday bright and early in the morn, I stepped out on my porch with a delicious cup of coffee (my friend's tia makes for me when she visits from Puerto Rico - coffee on the stove - fabulous and strong - the best coffee ever!) when out of the corner of my eye, I beheld a flying creature coming closer to my left eye. Realizing it was a bee, I jumped up and anxiously got out of its way, interrupting my calm coffee moment. After I gathered myself and slowly dissolved back into my coffee space, a little fly replaced the travelling bee and I peered over to the right and saw the cutest little red breasted bird ever. The sweet little thing came closer and closer as I tried to stay still, so as not to spook it but she soon sped off in another direction. Moments later, yet another creature was buzzing so close to my ear, that it felt as though it was in my head. I recognized this particular buzz but I could not believe he, Mr. Mosquito, had come this early for a visit. Moral of the story - after all the rain and cold, I do believe that spring has finally sprung in MA. Enjoy the sun New Englanders!

Crochet Obsession

I am so absorbed with the potholders I spoke of a couple of days ago. If I'm being honest, I think I'm a bit obsessed and in love. One of the many thoughts I had while making them is that I wish I had an employer who would allow me to sit in any old corner of any old room and just make stuff all day long and trot on over to his/her office on Fridays and pick up my check. Oh, how lovely that would be... if only...

Anyway, back to reality and the potholders. Ok...the thing is this. Crocheting is one of those crafty activities that sucks you in - completely. I mean you don't want to eat or shower or even get up from the chair. It's like you go into a realm where the only known things that exist for sure are you and crochet and you can't imagine anything other than doing the next stitch and the next until you have finished the project. I haven't crocheted in years and I tried to read the instructions from the book but then I got so anxious to start, that I threw the book aside, decided to read it another time when I wanted to do something more complicated and jumped in armed with the memory of the stitches my mother taught me when I was like 11 years old. I figured I could remember those stitches to, at the very least, complete a square. Much to my surprise, I did remember. Quite frankly, I think it was the obsession to see the result that forced me to remember something from so long ago, or perhaps crochet is like riding a bicycle. In any case, I've completed six so far but now the other fun part begins - to embellish them with something. I'll be sharing soon.

In the meantime, it just occurred to me that my blog title/description reads "a landscape of handmade goods and art" and that I have shown many goods but no art, so whilst I continue to maniacally make potholders, as well as about nine paintings, 2 baby quilts and 1 adult quilt, please enjoy some paintings. The left is acrylic on wood titled DoggyStyle and the right acrylic on canvas painting is called Delirious which is about how I'm feeling right now with all the projects I'm working on. Oh...who am I kidding?...I love it! Love! Love! Enjoy the day.

Colorful Coasters

I've shown a wide variety of the various dolls I make, so I thought it was time to toss something else into the pot to mix it up. Here are some coasters that are so colorful and bright that they make me think of sunny days even when it's a torrential downpour outside like it is right now. Gotta run. I'm in the middle of a book that's showing me how to crochet some much needed potholders. It looks simple enough....really simple in fact. I should be able to handle this. I've made far scarier looking stuff than these. Wish me luck.

By the way, thanks Vintage Chica for your lovely compliments. I just saw your post. THANKS!

Little Punks

I am so happy knowing that I started some new paintings today. I mean yesterday. I keep forgetting that I generally post after midnight. Actually, happy doesn't even come close to

describing what I feel when I have a good painting day because my painter self is sooo much more temperamental than my crafting self. I really don't like that word but I guess that would be the appropriate word. It was just a great day for painting. The colors were right. The subjects were right and it was all flowing and...well...right. There's is nothing more aggravating than when you think you've accomplished so much in your day in the studio and you step back, look at your work and are not happy with anything you see. Whew...I got that off my shoulders. Now onto the real purpose of this post.

If you're going only by what you see on the outside, these punk rock girls look pretty mean but you know what they say about judging a book. Look a little closer and you will know that these girls were dipped in honey because they're actually pretty sweet...and funny.

These little characters are unlike any doll I've made in that they are "hard plush", if you will. In fact, they are more like petite statuettes. I accomplished this by painting them after I stuffed them. I made 12 different versions for the 2006 holiday shows.

One other wonderful thing happened yesterday. I met Abby from White Paint and Ribbons who was a sweet'ums sending warm welcomes and great compliments. Who doesn't love that, I ask you? Thanks, Abby! Have a sweet day, folks.

Thanks Schmancy!

I just went over to visit a couple of plush blogs before signing off tonight - or I should say this morning, as I just glanced over at the clock which read 1:36 am - and I saw my name on the links list at the Schmancy blog (www.plushyou.blogspot.com). I wasn't looking for my name, so it took me by surprise when I saw it. I know it's just the links listing but, still, can I just say how exciting it is to see your name on someone else's blog?! Especially for the first time. Ah... there is no feeling like your first time... THANKS KRISTEN!

Here are a couple of more plush for your perusal. The wide-eyed girl on the left is Trixie and her dog Maila. You can find more info on these two in my March 30th posting. Nighty night.

The Fashionistas

Let's make a u-turn back to the dolls. I guess it's quite clear by now that though I am a maker of many things, I do so enjoy making a plush doll. It's such a rush to see something go from being just a sketch (this is my process, anyway) to becoming something tangible with the right color combinations of fabric and ultimately a personality all its own. I love that and I love how these girls look.

Christiane is fierce in her pink and brown shin length dress with baubles hanging off the bottom that skim her ankles. And let us not overlook her hot, high heeled, Mary Janes. Mina is clad in a red-orange dress accented with chocolate brown, swirly designs set off by her kick butt combat boots. The baby of the group is little Francoise who sports a green checkered skirt, white blouse with brown dots and her sweet, blue, Mary Jane flats. Marie-France, cousin to the other girls (did I mention that the other three are sisters?) enjoys a mod look in a yellow dress with brown and cream circles, flared sleeves and high heeled, pointed toed boots with swirly accents on the ends. These dolls are hand drawn, hand inked and made with a lot of love. Have a great day!