n o d d y b o o m

art links

My first attempt at working with the Dualflex Duaflex.  I can't wait to work with it on a tripod and at the beach.  I'm still figuring out which digital lens is best to use and how to drape a cloth over me while I'm shooting, etc. (so as to prevent excess light leaking into the photograph).  I love how dreamy and vintage this looks (even though it's blurry and rather rough and the lens could use some cleaning).  I'm just excited that I pretty much centered the black border and was able to crop out the excess (except that now that I've published, the photo has been cropped.  How do I fix this?)  Fixed it!  Can't wait to learn more about how to do this.

You probably can't tell, but those are hand carders, in the foreground, with a bit of wool in them, and thats my messy office/studio in the back.  I'm currently enjoying making batts of wool, combining all the colors I want to work with and then, when I'm satisfied with the colors, hand carding the batt into smaller, more manageable bits that I can spin into yarn.

::Cool links to artwork for your walls (as requested by Danielle)::

Kingpod's (Amy Karol of Angry Chicken)  small textile quilts and paintings.
Black Apple's prints (and paintings if you can get your hands on one).
Alicia Bock's photographs.
This tea towel (framed? might be nice).
Something from here.
Or maybe here.
Interesting photography and/or letterpress here and I love her new blog, by the way.  Very inspiring.

poppies

Went to see the California poppies over the weekend (they are typically in bloom from March until mid-May).  Stunning.  Well worth the hour or so drive to Lancaster.  There's a great antique store out there as well.

::  net surfing = fun finds = big smile  ::

these cups.

this cock.

this artist's work.

this bedroom design (I actually have these sheets, with the birds, which I love.  I love the arrangement of the artwork.  I wish I could talk Chris into painting one wall blue.  Love that bit of bright yellow as well).

fallen tree

A branch from a city tree fell on our front wall today. 

I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but it is a rather large branch. 

I am so grateful no one got hurt (it happened sometime late last night or early this morning while we were all tucked away in bed - very nice of the tree to accommodate us).  We're going to have to move that swing.

Here is the view from the other side:

G and I were just cleaning out the garden yesterday!  Goodness. 

The city hasn't been by to trim this poor tree for quite some time, so I suppose the branch finally got too heavy and just... dropped.  Luckily, the incident has set the gears in motion and they're now scheduled to trim our entire street in the next 4-6 weeks.  Isn't that lovely?

a fondness for certain things

Wool horse for Griffin's class basket (for the school's upcoming May Faire / Silent Auction). 

Brief feelings of guilt for not having contributed more, but I've deciding to let those feelings go, since:   a) I've been so heavily involved in the school in past events and need a break and,  b) I am currently just enjoying my family and making an effort to spend as much time with them as possible rather than doing anything else, which is a beautiful thing in and of itself and very much needed, at the moment.

Just discovered this lovely blog called "Thrifted Candy" that I am thoroughly enjoying.  She did a little spotlight on my vintage button wrap (thank you!), entirely Martha's idea, of course.

I am loving the vintage teacup wrap (in that same post on Thrifted Candy) and also the fabric wrap with the hankies and vintage trim.  Very sweet.  I am newly inspired to go perusing at the Rosebowl for vintage treasures.  My looking list for the next thrift-seeking adventure is:

-a desk for Marley's room
-vintage  teacups
-vintage spoons
-vintage buttons and trim
-miscellaneous things to be used as doll/robot body parts or to be spun into art yarn.

Also, on Flickr, I love this photo.  I don't know how she accomplishes this, but I love the effect.  I'm hoping I can start to create something similar by shooting with my digital through a Duaplex lens (just won one on Ebay - so excited - can't wait to try it).  We shall see. 

And, by the way, look at that dress (in the photo)!  I love the fabric.  I think I need to add vintage fabric to my Rosebowl list.

-vintage fabric (or curtains that I can cut up and make something with).

There.

loving

Very long luxurious three hour breakfast at 3 Squared on Abbot Kinney = discovery of most excellent pretzel bread + croissants + huevos rancheros and (obviously much needed) conversation had by all (happy birthday Gina!).

A gift of one of my favorite books wrapped in fabric and tied up with string (I think this is going to be my new favorite gifts to give).

Very excited about the "Through the Viewfinder" flickr group (thank you for this, Ani) and just the whole idea of shooting with a digital through a vintage camera.

 

highlights

Beach highlights from Malibu yesterday.

Photography blogs I've discovered recently that I'm really enjoying:

Adie Loves Polly

Jen Gotch

The Room

anticipation

Marley picked out carnations at the store.  Not my usual choice, but they last quite a long time and smell delicious.

I am incredibly inspired by this photographer and her blog lately.  Beautiful.  I hadn't been in the mood to pick up my camera since I got back from Seattle, for some reason, so it's nice to find myself enjoying photography and wanting to take pictures again.

Griffin's latest collection has become a centerpiece on our kitchen table.

All of her work feels both vintage and modern somehow.  So I am playing around with my own photos a bit to see if I can capture a bit of that same feeling.  I have no idea what I'm doing.  I'm really just tweaking the colors in Iphoto.  But it's fun.  Kind of like painting or... well not exactly that, but something.  I wish I knew how to give everything sloppy borders.  I always used to have everything printed up with sloppy borders, back in the day, but with digital photography, I'm at a loss.  I'm sure there's a way to do it in photoshop, but I'm incredibly inarticulate in that program and have no idea where to begin.

Collection of thrifted teacups.

Chris gets back tomorrow.  He has been gone nearly a month. I can not wait to see him again.  It has been brutal.  The kids are also eagerly anticipating his arrival and have arranged to make his favorite meal (tacos) and stay up late playing chess with him in their pajamas by the fire.  I will be there with my camera to record everything.

art class

I've been spending lots of time doing family stuff and house stuff and paperwork stuff and very little time blogging and spinning and cooking and just creating in general (funny how that happens), but hopefully I will be back up to speed by next week.  We have squeezed an art class into our schedule and I am so glad, because unfortunately, we don't have the studio space to do this at home (or even outside).  Look at that wall.  Isn't that beautiful?  Covered with layers of paint from all the children who have enjoyed making beautiful paintings?  I love that.  And look at the size of Griffin's painting!  He just loves being able to express himself in that way, in such a big way and with so much paint and no one telling him not to get paint on the wall.  This particular day, they were doing a clay "relief" of a person (sorry, no photo yet), so the "person" theme traveled into his painting as well.  Sooo sweet.  I love all the colors.  I love the people.  Children are precious, are they not?  I just love how free they are with their thoughts and feelings and how they express them in their work and play.

Listening to a lot of Jacqueline Du Pres at the moment.  Incredible cellist who died tragically at 42 of Multiple Sclerosis.  Beautiful.  Inspiring.  Keeps the kids from fighting in the car.  Here is a favorite U-Tube. 

clare doll

This is my Clare doll.  She has a canvas face and hand- crocheted white mo-hair.  Her body is comprised of vintage plumbing parts, chain and misc. scrap metal.  She holds a small doll/child, a "frozen charlotte" that was given to me by a kind woman I sat next to in doll class at Artfest, and a bell.  All her parts are attached with wire.  My kids really like her, which is funny, because I thought they'd be all weirded out, being that she's made of the miscellaneous.  But, no.  They love her.  She's a gem.

She has a tutu...

...over her metal skirt (kind of liking the metal/tulle combo).

She travels in her own case.

I made the case in Pamela Huntington's "Just In Case" class (great teacher).

We made "fabric paper" to line it, which is basically muslin, modge podge, paper scraps, more modge podge, tissue and more modge podge.  I have One Good Bumblebee to thank for the lovely vintage paper scraps (thank you!).  Her "pile of paper" is the ultimate.  I collect them.  Whole drawer full of them.  Bought them as gifts and couldn't let go (got that from my grandma, bless her).

There's that Andrew Marvell quote again.  Can't get enough of that.  Tattoo, here we come.  That's it for now.  Have a nice weekend!

handmade book

Look!  A very inspiring video clip of an African lion hugging his rescuer.  Have you seen this?  Incredible.

Also, this elephant painting his own self portrait.  Very inspiring.  Makes you think.

Here is the book I made at Artfest in Pam Sussman's "Book of Talking Ribbons" class.  Fun.  It is a very small book, which happens to fit perfectly in the very small case I made to carry the girl doll I made at Artfest (and haven't photographed yet, sorry).

I burned the pages because I felt it went along with the character of the book, somehow.

This "Red Riding Hood" imagery comes from a very old book I found at the flea market.  The pages were very nearly falling apart, so I've given them new life here in this little book, which has become a sort of diary/memento for my little girl doll.  So sweet.

I think it would be nice to make a larger version of this to store some of the kids favorite drawings in.  I've been talking about doing it for quite some time now...  Maybe now that I've run through the process, it will be easier to actually make it happen. Although... I've also thought of creating/decorating a box for all of it instead... sort of like a box/suitcase portfolio that just contains everything.  I don't know.  I'm still in the indecision process.

As I post this I am drinking red wine and sewing a bunch of ends in, on Marley's poncho (that I knitted up on my machine...uh... a month ago and that she's been wearing with all the end threads just dangling there), wishing for a bar of chocolate, but I'm not thrilled with this wine (or the fact that I don't have any chocolate lying around).  It's too fruity for me (I'm not sure if that's the right way to describe it, but anyhoo). It's a dryish fruity wine, but still.  Altogether too much...fruit.  I really prefer a dry, light red wine (I wish I knew what I was doing at the wine shop).  I would love suggestions from anyone who knows better than I (Ang, I can't remember what the heck we were drinking in Seattle, but I really enjoyed it).  So... suggestions?  Anyone?  Please?