on my work table

A peek at what's on my kitchen work table this morning.

More pictures to come.

Happy Friday!

making faces

I was working on an idea for a class the other day. I wanted to make some little figures inspired by the little children that help nature get its start in the spring...root children, blumenkind, bulb babies...

I ended up with simpler features on the final pieces, but not before making a few faces first.

I was fun to watch the features on these little faces change as I needled into them. I've never done faces before, but I can see the appeal.

These little flower pot children have landed in my shop, and a class for beginning needle-felters will be coming soon.

brighter day

The color of the mushroom tops against the little bit of snow we have left, and the fact that I finished this project for a friend on time (ok, barely, but technically on time) makes my day brighter on this, the day after solstice and the returning of the light.

Enjoy your day, all.

Altar - How I Pray

A sneaky peek at a piece I made for the 'Hank of Hair, Piece of Bone' exhibit, opening this Friday at The Crossing Arts Gallery.

This piece is called 'Altar - How I Pray' and is made entirely of wool.

Some of the elements have been wet-felted but then needle-felted into the scene. A stitched stone lays at the base of the form as an offering.

I have two other pieces in this show. If you're local, stop out and see us Friday night and enjoy a glass of wine and chat.

You can find details about the show HERE, and I'll try to post more photos of my pieces after the show opens.

my 8x8 piece

We're having a fundraiser where I work in which almost 50 of our artists have created artwork on 8"x8" canvases that will be sold starting Sat. Oct. 10th. We were to make a piece that was representative of our "style" and this is what I came up with.

The first thing I did was to take the canvas off and use just the frame. I needled my scene and, in wanting to keep the 8"x8" size, "framed" my piece with leather belt pieces.

It looks at home on the forest floor but it's actually meant to hang on the wall.

Those ants found their way into my piece, I'm sure, because of this encounter.

For those of you that are local, please join us on Oct. 10th from 10-2 in the Crossing Arts Gift Shop in the Franklin Arts Center for this fun sale, mingling, and snacks. Each of the pieces will be available for sale for $50 or you can take your chances and place a bid at $25. If no one outbids you by the end of the month, the piece is yours. There are some beauties to be had, and it's for a great cause.

Happy Sunday, all.

awaiting finishing touches

The mushroom has been captured and is awaiting his finishing touches. The last peek before my show in September.

In other news, I'm expecting a delivery of wool today. 102 pounds worth. I'll snap a pic.

Happy Monday, all.

dot dot dot dot dot dot dot...

The dots are done and now it's time to tame the stray hairs that get roughed up as I work. I'll use my fine gauge needle to smooth the surface and then trim up with a small battery-operated trimmer before I fit it with a base.

Hopefully a bigger sneaky peek soon.

Happy Weekend, all.

dot dot dot

So many dots.

muse is meowling

I'm in a frenzy. My muse, who seems to be much like our errant kitty, has been meowling at my door day and night, after weeks of spotty attendance.

I'm almost done with this piece, part of a series I have planned for my show. My show? Yes, I've committed to having an exhibit of my work in September at the gallery where I work. Gulp. I'll have more to come on that but for now I'm still letting that thought settle in around me. A show.

I even banged out a landscape piece this week for a fiber exhibit at the gallery. It's prettier in person, but still simple as my landscapes tend to go. It's 10" x 10" and will be mounted in a shadowbox.

This burst of inspiration makes me want to quit my job, clear my schedule, and felt all the things!

If any of you know any recent lottery winners out there want to bankroll an enthusiastic but starving artist, you give them my name, okay?

Lisa

landscapes with sheeps

Oof. It's been a very busy week. Weeks. It's been a very busy couple of weeks. My day job has been full, full, full, and my work time has been very slim.

Very slim.

I haven't scheduled any new classes or worked on my many in-progress pieces but I did take a little bit of time to make up these brooches. A while back I had scheduled a class for a spinner's retreat in the area and that is coming up this Friday. They wanted to make a sheep brooch of some kind and after much mulling, I decided to go with a landscape (which is well-known and comfortable for me) with wee sheeps in it. Because the class will be done in 2 hours I kept the design very simple and doable for beginners. 

I hope they enjoy making them. I did.

How about you? Are you making time for creativity? What are you working on? I'd love to hear.

a buddy

 

As luck would have it, I had a little time yesterday after chores and taxes to do a little needling. Before long there was a wee little bunny buddy to befriend that grumpy snow bunny of mine.

A finger puppet buddy, in fact.

The snow is gone and the two of them seem to be sniffing the air for Spring.

Life is so much better with friends.

hopping off

A wee bunny hopped off in the mail today, a surprise for a friend.

Made in stolen moments in a very full week.

What are you making time for?

selfie in process

I worked on a project yesterday, a self-portrait for an upcoming show at the gallery at work.

It's been years, like years and years, since I've done any kind of self-portrait.

I'm not sure yet how I'll continue with this piece and I'm curious to see how it will turn out.

She looks a little sad, perhaps because I needled her face and then tried to drown her with soap and water. Just part of the process, darling.

Today it's back to work as normal so this will have to wait for now. I'll be twice as eager to return to it knowing it will be a week or more before I have this kind of me time. Me time. Ha.

Happy days to all of you.

a friend on your hat

I started this little gnome back in December while teaching some friends how to make Santas. I had completely forgotten about him until my youngest, the finder of everything, brought him to me yesterday. I had wanted to make a wee owl to perch on his leafy hat, so I did just that this morning.

I'm looking forward to playing a little more this weekend and finishing up some of those UFOs. (unfinished objects)

Hope your weekend is great.

what emerges

When I'm teaching a class of 10 or more it's common for the students to each work at a slightly different pace. When I'm asked to demonstrate a technique, like how to blend color, or how to make an eye, I'll end up doing so a couple of times. When class is over, I end up with something like this wonder from my latest bird class.

A 3-eyed, 1-legged, purple whatsit. Who, I'll admit, I find kind of endearing.

The "owl" from my recent owl class ended up with one eye and three beaks. I'd show you, but the cat thought he was irresistible.  I have a sheep class coming up on Feb. 5th. We'll see what emerges from that one.

Happy Tuesday, all.

a full weekend

I've really been looking forward to some good productive working time and I got it, for the most part, this weekend. Between my dayjob, teaching classes, and hauling a teenager to and from driver's ed (gulp), there has been very little time for my work.

 Despite a full house and chores to do I managed to finish a stone and get a start on two new landscapes for a show I'm doing on Jan.3rd (more on that to come) .

I was pretty pleased with my productivity, especially considering this happened too...

More to come on that later too.

In the meantime, have a glorious Monday, all.

owl be having a class and it will be a hoot

(sorry for that title, that was terrible)

I spent some time yesterday working on some wee owls for the next class I'm teaching.

I've found a great group of women in my community that are excited about learning to needle-felt, and we add a few new ones to each class. We needle and chat and have snacks and it's great fun.

The next class will these little guys.

hoo!

A tree full of wee hoots.

This owl will not have any of your shenanigans. He will not have them.

This owl might not either.

Each is simple in shape, perfect for a beginner, but fun enough for someone who is more experienced.

The class will be Dec. 9 from 5:30 to 8:00

at the Franklin Arts Center in Brainerd, MN

More details to come.