Mistakes...They're A Good Thing!

I've been hearing a lot lately about letting yourself be free to make mistakes, because we always learn something from them. In some cases, for those of us with artistic proclivities, they can lead to a whole new fun way to play. Case in point: my attempts to stencil on T-shirt material.

My first attempt at putting a design on T-shirt material with fabric paint worked okay...sorta. The paint was a bit thick and as I dabbed it on with a makeup sponge, the fabric stuck to the sponge and pulled up through the stencil. It still worked, but I thought it would work better if I thinned the paint down with water.

With a new, larger stencil (found at my local home improvement center in the paint department), and some red pigment mixed with water, I tried again, and got...a blob of icky pink, in the vague outline of the stencil. The mixture was too thin, and the water bled under the stencil. And, alas, this blob was right on the front of my first tank top project. Wonderful, I thought, as I stared down at the nasty shade of pink. What the hell do I do now?

First, I let it dry. Then I thought, well, I'll just re-stencil the same design over the top of the blob, since most of it would be cut away anyway in a reverse applique. So, with a different color of paint (not my first choice on any of these colors, but I wanted to use stuff I already had during the experimentation process), I redid the stencil over the blob. To my surprise, I loved the halo effect the blob gave the pattern, but really hated the colors. Now I'm thinking of ways to purposely create the blob/halo before I put down the actual stencil design, using much nicer colors.

As for the final pink and white design...it got completely covered with a design that tied in better with the colors and design of the section of pet food logo that ended up on the top right of the shirt (I'm using old work T-shirts of my husband's, and most have pet food logos on them somewhere).

Even though the experiment with the watered down color failed completely, it actually gave me a new idea to play around with, so in the end, it wasn't really a failure, is was a mistake that led to new ideas. So, go ahead, make mistakes, and you, too, might create a big icky pink blob that leads to new ideas.
 

Another Project...Really?

I need another project like I need a hole in my head, but after seeing Rice's numerous and amazing experiments with hand sewing and beading over on her Voodoo Cafe blog, and after purchasing the book Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin, I had to jump in and play.

It has been a long, long time since I did any kind of hand sewing or embroidery, so the first thing I decided to do before diving in with wearable items, was to experiment with the fabric on small sample projects. All of the embroidery I had done previously had been on cotton or denim, material that didn't stretch, and that I could put in an embroidery hoop to keep it flat and smooth. I had never done anything on knit fabric, so was unsure how that would work. How would I keep even thread tension if the fabric was moving around?

First I dug through my husband's T-shirt drawer. He gets tons of the things for free through where he works. All of them have pet food logos on them somewhere, so I will have to work around those. To start, I picked out a black one and a grey one, and cut off the sleeves. Then I made a simple paper pattern and cut out two pocket-sized pieces from the sleeve material.

On the grey piece, which would be the top color, I stenciled a star with alternate wavy and straight arms, using some pale rose fabric paint I already had, dabbed on with a small makeup sponge. After it was dry, I pinned the two pieces together using two of my grandmother's long, pearl-headed straight pins. Using dark grey embroidery floss, I back stitched all around the star stencil. Then I back stitched around the border of the two pieces, about a half inch from the edge. Lastly, using some old rose colored beads I'd had for decades, I did a beaded back stitch next to the original back stitch around the star. Final act was to cut away the painted stencil to reveal the black under-fabric, and trim the grey away from the border to give the piece a black frame. Then I added three rose beads to the center of the star. Done.

Notes to self for future reference:

In the Alabama Studio book, they use paint mixed with water and spray it on the fabric to make the stencil pattern. Now I see why. Using straight paint made the fabric very stiff when it came time to cut it out. Also, dabbing at the fabric caused the material to pull up in the middle of the stencil, as it kinda stuck to the makeup sponge. Once the design was cut out, it left a stiff edge rather than a softer one, which makes the reverse applique look kinda spiky.

Use a simpler, slightly larger stencil next time, at least for the reverse applique. When it was all finished, I couldn't really tell that the arms of the star were different shapes. It ended up looking like an amoeba rather than a star.

My embroidery scissors are still too blunt-nosed to get in the sharp corners of a cut-out design, so I need to find sharper ones.

I need lots more practice with my embroidery. This first piece is pretty crude in that respect.

The beads I picked, although a good color, were too big and clunky for the design.

I very much like the feel/weight of the doubled fabric. Since where I live there are more cold days than warm ones, I think I will be doing more work with two layers rather than one.

One lucky break was that I already had in my personal library the embroidery book Elegant Stitches by Judith Baker Montano, which is the book the Alabama Studio author recommended.

 Conclusion:

Am I hooked? Oh yeah. Embroidering on the T-shirt material was easy and relaxing. After more practice with small pieces, I will attempt an article of clothing—probably a tank top. Will I have an entire wardrobe of hand sewn clothing? Probably not. I just don't have the time.  But I will enjoy embellishing articles of clothing I already have, using the techniques shown in the Alabama book. They are very inspiring.

The most fun for me, I think, will be adapting the techniques and embroidery into designs more in keeping with my personal style of dressing. I have no idea what I'll end up with, but, as always, the journey is the most exciting part of the process.

Around the Garden

Here are a few pictures taken of the flowers in my large fenced garden. It is fenced so the deer won't eat everything, since the little darlings sleep on the lawn during the summer. They like the cool shade and soft grass, I guess. For the rest of the yard, I have become a bit of an expert on putting in plants that deer won't eat...well, most of the time.

Anyway, here are just a few photos that I took about two weeks ago, when everything was pretty lush. As we roll into summer, and it gets hot, the first bloom of the roses is over, and the blosoms left  or that come later, fade in the heat.

Oh, and I included a picture of our little pond turtle. He/she turned up about three years ago, and stayed. We have no idea where he came from, but we're kinda happy he likes our place.

Earrings

I love making earrings. They are quick, fun, and a great way to use up bits and bobs left over from other projects. You can play around with ideas, color combinations, and wrapping techniques, and if the idea doesn't work out, you haven't put loads of time and effort in, so taking it all apart doesn't give you heart palpitations. Also, you can keep the prices down, so they tend to sell quicker than larger pieces with higher price tags.  They are also easy when it comes to doing seasonal/holiday specific designs. So, if I am stumped for an idea, I make earrings. It's always fun, and inspiring.

For Love Or Money?

In a pod cast done with Lorri Scott over at the Voodoo Cafe blog, the question came up on whether you create things to make money, or for the love of it. This mainly applied to those attempting to make money off of their artwork/clothing/jewelry, etc, as opposed to it being more a hobby. Should you follow trends and attempt to make things strictly for the buying public, or do you stay with what you love, and hope it sells? I think it is a question anyone wanting to make a few bucks from their work will ask themselves at some point. If you are depending on your work as your only source of income, it's critical.

I'm lucky in that I am married, with a husband who makes enough money to support us. I am also retired, so I get that little Social Security check every month, which helps. So for me, I don't really have to make that choice. I can make what I love, put it up on my Etsy site, and hope it sells. Sales there have been hit or miss...mostly miss. I have better luck at SCA events where people can actually see the pieces, hold them up, try them on, and fall in love with them. I make enough to break even. Sometimes a bit more.  If I relied on my jewelry to support me, I'd be doomed.

Some artists are lucky. They make what they love, and it sells like hotcakes, or at least they sell enough to keep them from signing into a 9-5 job. Then again, if you rely on your artwork, I suspect your hours are more like 12/7, with no medical insurance or 401K plan. To make that commitment, you must be passionate about what you do, or you'd go nuts. And I don't think you could be that passionate making stuff just for the sale value. Could you churn out stuff you didn't care a fig for, just to make money? I know I couldn't. I'd become a greeter at WalMart and keep doing what I love on the side.

Depending on your circumstances, it's a tough choice to make. Some may not have the option. Some may do both...make things more commercially viable, while also making things they love. It can be frustrating, and tempting..."Wow, look, pink plastic sonic bracelets are selling like crazy on Etsy. Maybe I should make something out of pink plastic? Maybe I could actually make some money?"

How true to your artist visions can you stay, and still make enough money to at least keep you in supplies, let alone make enough money to live on? How do you make that choice? How much are you willing to bend? How long are you willing to try before giving up?

I suspect most true artists, like me, would do what we do whether we got money for it or not. It's just in our DNA to create. You can't NOT make something, whether you keep it for yourself, or attempt to sell it. Between my jewelry and drawings, and my writing and gardening, I am always busy creating something. Some things I attempt to sell, hoping that others will appreciate what I do and love them as much as I do. Some I keep for myself, because I love them too much to turn them loose. Others, if I haven't sold them and they've been around for awhile gathering dust, I donate to silent auctions or raffles. Others, made for a specific person, I give as gifts. But they are all pieces that I loved in one way or another. Nothing was made of cheap goods, or slipshod workmanship...to the best of my currant ability. It's the only way I know how to work.

  
So, the bottom line for me is...I do it for love. I am blessed, in that I have the time, additional income, and understanding spouse that allows me that luxury. I give thanks for it everyday.

(Necklace pictured is made of antiqued brass findings, worked black wire, beads that look like polished steel, and in the center of the filigree medallion, a vintage button with faceted jet chips.)

Goodbye, Domino

Will be taking a hiatus of about a week or so. My little merry prankster of a cat, Domino, who has been the joy of my life for almost 20 yrs, was finally laid to rest last Monday, after a long battle. I miss him terribly, and when I can finally wake up in the morning and not cry when I realize, again, that he is gone, I'll start posting again. Right now, my heart isn't in it, it's with my loveable jokester in a place where I can't follow.

My Imaginary Interview With Seth Apter

I recently won a book, Seth Apter's "The Pulse of Mixed Media", from a giveaway on The Voodoo Cafe. After reading the book, and being intrigued by the questions Seth asked over a hundred other artists, I decided to pretend he had given me a call and asked me a few of the same questions. So here we go...my pretend interview.

Seth: What three words do not describe your artistic style?

Me: Cute, bright, minimalist.

Seth: Is there a color that rarely shows up in your artwork?

Me: Yellow (really, anything pastel).

Seth: What is your current art obsession?

Me: Perfecting the things I already know how to do, to take them to a new level.

Seth: What is your biggest pet peeve in terms of art?

Me: Pretension. Artist who describe their work and what that work is trying to say, in terms so esoteric no one can understand what they mean.

Seth: How do you express passion in your artwork?

Me: I think all true artists are passionate, or they wouldn't do what they do. Their art is their passion, and every piece would show that passion.

Seth: Do you deliberately hide messages in your artwork?

Me: Sometimes, but the most consistently hidden element in my work, even my jewelry, would be cat hair. I live with four indoor cats. There is nothing in my house that doesn't have a certain amount of cat hair on it.

So, there it is, my imaginary interview. Seth asked many more questions of the artists in the book, and they give very interesting, compelling answers. It's a very good insight into how these artists feel about their work, and why they do what they do, and do it so well.

And thank you, Seth. Call me any time. :=)

Here is a link to Seth's blog, The Altered Page.