Arting with Nona!

A post-Christmas week-long art fest with my friend Nona from New Zealand was a fantastic way to close out 2008 and begin 2009. We played with beads, shrink plastic, alcohol inks on metal, and much more. Just a few photos to commemorate the week:





















We also took a class with Kelly Kilmer in which we made and began to work in an artist's journal.

Felted Xmas Stocking Redoux

I made and sold some felted sweater stockings this year, so I just wanted to post a few photos so I can remember what they looked like!

I'm not even sure which ones sold, as some are still up at Made in Ojai. Whatever is left will be put away for next year.

Christmas 2008: New Traditions

Another holiday season has whizzed by and I'm finally getting a chance to have a look back at all we did and made this year.

For the first time in a long while, our family was split up on Christmas. My sis-in-law Amy went to great lengths to create some new traditions for us, including a sleepover with matching jammies for all the girls! Here are some goofy shots of our celebration with my brother's family and my friend Nona from New Zealand:









I didn't make as many gifts as usual this year, but did get a few done. Here is a collage I made for Kyle and Mel's living room, to go with their Asian colors and theme:





And a scarf I made for Mel:





I made this Sedona collage in my mixed media class at Ventura College with my parents in mind. Unfortunately, i ordered the wrong size frame for it!







And several family members and friends got sets of magnetic poetry tiles that I made. The rest are for sale at a shop here in Ojai.









It just got mailed today, but i finally finished a hat and scarf for my sister out of some gorgeous natural and hand-dyed alpaca:



I'm sure I've forgotten something, but that's it for now.

Recycled Wool Sweaters Galore

I've been quite the assembly line worker the past couple of weeks. A shop here in Ojai, Made in Ojai, has been selling my iPod covers, and they asked for some Xmas stockings. then I had the idea to make larger pouches for jewelry, lingerie, eyeglasses, etc.

So off I went. Can't do anything in a minor way, now, can I?

They're also having little boutiques with all the artists whose work they sell every Sunday in December, so I'll sell some of these items there.



























You should see all the sweater fuzz all over my house!

Low-tech Printmaking

Last Sunday I began a series of classes at Vita Art Center in Ventura which promised a unique approach to printmaking. Well, instructor Chris certainly delivered!

He's created a print frame for monoprints and uses his truck as the press!

Have a look:









It's truly ingenious, but results in him running in and out of class and driving his truck back and forth about a hundred times! Talk about a dedication to art . . .

Another Great Giveawway

Hop on over to the Retro Café blog for your chance to win a huge collection of eyelets!

Packing Tape Bag

With the help of DH, I finally finished the packing tape bag I started during my failed art retreat when I got so sick. This project is from the book Kaleidoscope by Suzanne Simanaitis. It's found on page 104.

Overall, I'd say the effort required is NOT worth the result. I invested about 4-5 hours in this little project, and dealing with the packing tape was extremely frustrating. Next time I think I'd try clear contact paper instead. But the bag IS pretty cool.





The thing that really held me up was the handles. I wanted to use clear plastic tubing with ribbon inside, but couldn't figure out how to attach them. Enter DH with his cool little pop-rivet tool! Evidently these rivets are used mostly for sheet metal, and Mark has used them for attaching things to his kayak. But they worked pretty well here and I'll definitely call on him again to use these nifty little guys on purse handles!