Process

Doane’s Oyster House

by

Post update: 11AUG17 Finished piece.

This building no longer exists. It used to be on 5th street, downtown. It was a very popular place to eat oysters and meet about politics.

Purchase Doane’s

[doptg id=”6″]

Doing research at the Washington State Archives I found this wonderful photo of a restaurant that used to be on 5th in downtown Olympia. State Legislators met there. There was a separate “ladies” entrance, to ensure there were only proper outings and no mixing of the sexes.

Before I commit to cutting the paper, I rough sketch and sort out how big I will make the piece. On the table are my tools for working. Sometimes I journal about the picture and ask the people in it questions. They were very happy to be working there and got a long really well. They were always busy and the restaurant was very popular. of course, there is no way I can know if that is true or not; it’s what I got while I journal-ed.

The next step is choosing the building, trim, and window colors. I use a heavy colored paper from the craft store. I used to mount the finished piece on black paper and I’m trying to get away from that and use some sort of color instead. I think it brings my work alive and, what can I say? I love color! Once I choose my colors I sketch out the building, trim, windows and such with a pencil and then I check my angles and cut them out with scissors or x-acto.

I love cutting the windows and doors out! I then very carefully glue the trim pieces on. With this I use YES paste and a broken toothpick. TIP: if your YES paste is getting a little hard to manipulate, just sprinkle a little water over the top of it, close the lid, and let it incorporate for several hours to overnight. I then mix it in a little and find it reconstitutes my paste and makes it pliable again.

I can’t really write more about the glue-ing process. It takes patience and time. I put on my bifocals and move slowly. It is very meditative for me and I get really excited when I envision the final piece. The Joy I get from doing this is monumental. I hope my work brings you Joy and makes you smile.

 

 

Ocean Shores

by

The coast is a special place to me. I grew up in high altitude where the plains meet the Rocky Mountains. There wasn’t a lot of standing water there. The ocean was this amazing, mysterious place that I saw maybe a few times when I was a child. It was vast and blue. Moving to Washington has been so great since I see water almost every day.

Here’s a link to one of the pieces I made of Ocean Shores, Washington. What did you do when you first saw Sharky’s? I think I hollered, “Whoa!!”

https://villaparkhearts.com/product/sharkys-ocean-shores-series/

Making the Reversible Margaret

by
THIS…is what I am talking about:The Buddha Called.

A custom order flew in from the ethers when I sported my Sacred Heart Margaret last month. Here are some pics during the process this weekend. Thank God for 3 days off! There are four pieces to this purse; 8 total with inside lining. The matte board is for the bottom reinforcement.

Patterns made of cardboard. This is vintage paisley fabric from the 1970’s.
Pieces cut. The white oilcloth is underneath.
My chicle pattern square. I came up with this a long time ago, just playing around with scrap oilcloth.
Buddha. He does have a happy smile on his face. I decided to add a lotus shape behind his head.
Buddha, pre-batting.
Looking good!
Signed and finished.
Next?!

Design Book Arrival

by

Remember when I told you the good news about a AvA Publishing wanting to include lovely Lorraine in it? Well, I received my copy of PRODUCT DESIGN: IDEA SEARCHING in November, but I just now posted this draft. It is a beautiful, slick-looking book. I am quoted with words of wisdom (ha). This was a really big deal for me.

Getting Ready for Artswalk I

by

Beads and beads
Bugle beads, Gold
And a few purple seed beads
All on oilcloth, which you know I love.
Nylon thread that mucks up my machine is now used to bead bead bead. It takes a while to do this process, but it is amazing.
super thin needle, beads, sample, and scissors. i luv scissors. july

Birthday Cakes and Wishes

by

One thing I love to make more than anything is fake food. Past creations include a layered cake out of spray foam, cured hams from Sculpey and paint, bread, and mini tea cakes. This rather large cupcake is more fantasy-Pee-Wee’s-Playhouse-like, made out of styrofoam, fabric, oilcloth, beads, thread and a lot of straight pins. I first told you about it in April. Many eyes saw it at the Tacoma Art Museum’s 5th Birthday Party along with other amazing art cakes. Follow this link to see good pics on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tacomaartmuseum/tags/birthday/

It is a little terrifying to make something and then let it out in public. Thoughts creep in, insecurities…will people like it? Will they say sh*t about it? Will it make them smile? Honestly, I was surprised my small stack of cards disappeared and one nice person actually took the time to email me and told me to “keep going” with my art, which was very cool. ty

Make a wish and blow out the candle…I did…and do you know what I wished for? Is it bad luck to share your wish? I’ll tell you later.

Brown-bagging it? Here’s Lunch Help by Angelina Chica

by

My lovely Lorraine is the most popular design I sell. I have happily found a lot of blogs that are linked to her, so I thought adding lunch ideas for those of you who carry her would be fun to start compiling. I’m tinkering with the idea of creating recipe cards with my own lunchtime favs that got me through the crappiest work years of my life. Stay tuned.

Fit Sugar
SELF Magazine Lunch Article-March ’08
Team Sugar one and two

Join my newsletter updates!