To Do List

- 16 felted scarves (check)

- 26 button pins (check)

- 6 bead crocheted grape pins (check)

- 3 ... (and counting) felt beaded necklaces that have been embellished with more beads (check)

- and (for those of you who don't know me) 6 sugar skull pendants are making their first ever public debut ! (ch...eh almost)

The production list is thinning out, but I cannot WAIT to have these things en route to Boston.  Once they are out of my house I can begin my next series/projects:

- Birthday gifts

- A sugar skull ring for Shirley (who so kindly featured me on a blog she writes for: http://thesourmashblog.com/2011/12/06/what-the-felt/)

- A blue and black beaded necklace for me

- A scarf for me

- Personal thought collection and reflection

- See several exhibits at The American Natural History Museum (worlds largest diamonds - oohhh aaahhh), the MAD Museum (worlds most fascinating jewelry ... my unofficial title for the museum's typical collections), Brooklyn Museum (most surprising museum, I always come across pieces I unknowingly look for) and explore galleries in Chelsea (either gawking or mocking art that has entered the realm of the high-ceiling, white wall, thick rimmed glasses bored and aloof gallery clerk Chelsea gallery)

- Plan some trips

- Plan more trips

Aaaand now some images I've been looking at:

Hisano Takei creates architectural felted neck pieces:  

I absolutely adore her use of ivory-white wool in order to focus on one area - structure.

I love Julie Christie's necklace here: 

I think it would be suuuuuper interesting to create one using long felted tube shaped beads.

This is me in my room:

I know I don't look thrilled but that's probably because I am tired ... or the fact that I've been told I look (excuse my french) "bitchy"/angry (people constantly ask me if I'm "okay" - what's with that anyway?) I am absolutely OBSESSED with the texture and color of this scarf and I cannot wait for it to be exhibited and hopefully enjoyed by someone else as much as I have !

Here is a back view:

and side view:

(I apologize for the poor resolution of my Photobooth pictures)

Stick Pins

So I finally got around to making pins for my neck pieces:

I am currently attaching them to stick pins, the kind you would put in a hat.  The are for closures on my pieces and just pins.  

Frances Elvira Alessio

Just for a minute I would like to remember and honor my truly and literally Great Aunt Fran.

(A dress she designed, drafted and sewed herself.)

Her hospitality, honesty, respect, passion, positivity and creativity were infectious.  Her vivaciousness has greatly impacted my life and the lives of those around her.

Each year I was lucky enough to celebrate a Jewtalian Chrismakkuh.  We'd shamelessly prepare to loosen our buckles and pant buttons, ready to indulge in the Italian Christmas Eve classic - festa dei sette pesci (feast of the seven fishes).  The grandness of her meals and artistry in her water colors, sculptures or ceramics have inspired my work.  Especially her stuffed artichokes.

Senior year of high school I made a 4 ft by 6 ft painting of artichokes that currently resides on my diningroom table:

My Aunt Fran was as much a teacher as she was a student.  From Monet to Pavarotti, she appreciated all things creative and beautiful art or music.  

"Your creative ability is awesome ! 

We admire you so much !!!"

- an excerpt from the last card she ever made and sent me

The funny part is, I've always said the same about her.

I am greatly humbled by her and will certainly continue to create, keeping in mind her ability to amplify anything ordinary.

Untitled

Last Wednesday we officially shifted away from the clement November/December weather.
Thus ensues my winter hibernation.  And also fantasies of the ultimate comfort den:

The above image is an interior created by Dana Barnes, a fiber artist, sculptor, textile and interior designer. Her designs are fabricated entirely of felt.  The circular rug in the center is her interpretation of the classic Americana braided rug.  It is braided wool roving.  After braiding the roving she sticks the piece in the washing machine - the hot water and movement felts the wool.  The washing machine technique works for larger pieces, or if you want to shrink your wool sweaters to look like baby clothes.  Pieces like my scarves are delicate and the intensity of a washing machine may over felt the wool.  This means that your two foot by six foot piece of pre felt (which already shrinks up to 30% once you finish it off) may become the size of a piece of paper.

The white sheet with what looks like stacked white discs is also felt.  The wool probably came in batting form - another raw form of wool before you felt it - instead of roving.  The flat white rug is just that, a felted rug.  The disks are actually one piece.  Their function? Oh, you know, just being the greatest lounge for reading a book or magazine, taking a nap or watching a movie.  

More braided roving-rugs and also super sized granny squares (made using the washing machine technique).  The wall hanging is wool that was felted and embossed with circles.  Fun fact, wool has memory. If you dry felt over a form or leave stitches to hold pleats while it dries, the wool will retain that shape.  The embossed circles were created by drying the wool over round forms.  On the table is another type of braided rug, a piece of felt that was cut and loosely woven together to give it a braided texture.  

This photo, of Dana Barnes' Tribecca loft/studio, appeared in The New York Times in May, 2010.  The granny squares caught my attention.  I love the Japanese inspired dining area using massive granny squares as floor pillows.  And the vibrant cushions against exposed brick, raw wood furnishings, and a neutral background.

Felt is fashion meets function.  Really.

Dana Barnes creates environments that use the organic integrity of wool to enhance the sleek modernity of a New York apartment.  Felt is a way to incorporate textural and colorful elements without any frills.

My ultimate winter comfort den? You're pretty much looking at it - from floor to ceiling, a felted nest.

Summercamp

I spent five years, well, summers at sleep-away camp.  Today I came across a few images of "bunk rooms."  It would have been nice if the bunks looked anything like this:

On a side note - check out that antler chandelier.

Puppetry, Miniature props, Sets

I just saw The Muppets. Before the movie even started a 10 minute long preview of a fourth Toy Story set The Muppets up for being a heartfelt piece of nostalgia.  Personally, they [Toy Story] had me at the last one.  But I am not a movie critic and this is not a film oriented blog, so bear with me I'm getting to my point.  

I was introduced to Muppets on Sesame Street starring our pals Elmo, Bert and Ernie and Big Bird.  I really never thought some of their comrades were over half a century old.  But the variety hour aesthetic certainly put things into perspective, that perspective being Miss Piggy and Kermit are nostalgic characters from generations other than my own.  

But there's more.  

My infant memory centralized on fun looking toys and/or the hard-hitting problems of brushing my teeth, tying my shoes, getting into a chair, reaching for cereal.  I never noticed or even appreciated Jim Henson's incredibly detailed puppets or skilled puppeteers manipulating their dialogue like a ventriloquist.

The first detail I noticed were the pieces of foam used for snouts like "The Great Gonzo's," which appears to be carved, painted foam:

His eyelids and mouth also look like they could be cut, painted foam.

The use of flocking to create Miss Piggy and the detail of her costumes:

The imitation Miss Piggy Chanel suit.

Her netted cocktail hat.

For promotional purposes, designers were even dressing Miss Piggy in their collections.

Kermit's head is manipulated by a hand.  

(just never thought about it.):

His body was initially a recycled coat, his eyes are toys cut in half, and he has a pretty damn cool collar (made from synthetic fleece).  

Can I mention again that every authentic emotion is created with someones hand?

Lastly, the hair as seen on Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem:

(Especially Animal, Zoot and Janice's Hair)

Janice on guitar featuring string hair:

Zoot on Sax featuring synthetic hair:

And my personal favorite, Animal, on drums featuring feather hair:

(Look familiar ladies with feathers in their hair? Remember, Animal did it first)

The Muppets resonated with me in more than one way.  It was truly inspiring to study the details and nuances that mold these characters.

(puppetry, miniature props, sets.)

Crafternoon

white, ginger, pear tea and this soundtrack:

My idea of an opportune moment for documentation comes 20 minutes before I've got to leave

(whew, longest title ever)

Today, 20 minutes before leaving for work, I found my self staring at my latest endeavor - inverted pleats in a large felted shrug.  I folded one of my wider, thicker shrugs in half and noticed that the back of the neck had way to much fabric, it wasn't contorting to the curves of the neck and shoulders.  Hence my solution - pleats.

I proudly present to you some loosely documented works:

you can't really see the pleats, but they're there and you can see by the way the fabric moves in the back.

Do the above images look familiar? Yes, yes they do because it's my friend the Sea Anemone !

This started out as one sheet, I cut it and stitched it together to create this texture.

Bougainvillea inspired pins.

A box o' beads their purpose - to be determined

Untitled

I am sipping my coffee when I should begin laying out felt for beads.  But today I used one of my favorite kitchen utensils the "froth-er," "Latte Whip" or as my wonderful Aunt Fran would say, "zoom zoom."  Slow sipping it is in order, so I embark on a brief indulgence of the internet.

Today's journey - collars.

After my favorite Saturday past time - Dim Sum, I made my way up Broadway.  If not for my stomach, which had more than reached capacity, I would have been shoving my way up those city streets.  What caught my eye was actually in the window of a store I would have absolutely overlooked otherwise - I have no need for clubbing outfits, sequined or bedazzled clothing, and booty shorts year round.  It was this unusually demure mannequin and even more so, incredible feathered collar:

As stated in a previous entry, lately I have been thinking a lot about closures.  I don't want to use anything that is readily available but having spent so much time designing scarves, I forgot to think about closures.   My image was to create scarves that are more like collars, and I think many of them would benefit from a closure for embellishment.  

(I would have taken a more detailed picture however, the zaftig, camouflaged clad gentlemen working in the store was grilling me from the window hence the click and run.)

This shrug has a "hook and eye" type closure, where both are made from a satin fabric in a color similar to the feathers...interesting...

And also Chanel.  I was looking at the 2009 collection and found these neckpieces fascinating: