traveling vicariously through my art-o-mat stones

It's always so fun to see where my Art-o-mat stones have ended up.  I think this means that my last batch has sold out.  I guess now I need to work on the next one.

and three

Three healthy, happy little ducks have hatched.  We're all smitten and enjoying their peeping and silly antics.  You haven't seen funny until you've seen three duckling swimming in your sink.  Hilarity, I tell ya.

Hello blue eyes.

Notice the guy on the left is sticking his tongue out.  Just like a kid.

Cuddling a duck while still in your pajamas is a great way to start the week.

Happy Monday, all.

two!

Well good morning, sunshine.

Two so far with one more pipping.  Cross your fingers.

*****

I was featured on the Folt Bolt blog today!  If you haven't seen them before, do check them out.  I follow them on facebook where they share some of the most lovely and colorful work.

Have a glorious weekend, all.

you guys!

One is out!

random stuff on a Tuesday

I had a craving this week for something sweet and creamy.  I really wanted ice cream, but alas, we had none.  I did have some rhubarb stalks though and coconut milk.  I infused a simple syrup with the rhubarb (which, holy wow, is that tasty) and added it to a slushie I made with the coconut milk and grated ginger.  Yes.  Oh my yes.  About a gazillion calories, but yes anyway.

I bought this sweet little oil lamp from my friend Haddie the potter and my kids lost the wick so I turned it into a little water reservoir for an acorn.  I keep it on my window ledge at work and when I came back after the weekend I found that my acorn has sprouted teeny tiny leaves.  Happiness.

Betty thinks my patio furniture is her perch.  It is not.  Do you hear me, Betty?  Not.

In a few days I may be a grandma.  Our little Goose may be a daddy soon. Though I never count my chickens ducks before they hatch, two of the eggs in the incubator have pipped as of this morning.  They still have to make it through hatch, but there is a little hope that I might have two ducklings to love soon.  Cross your fingers for us.

Stones.  I miss working on stones.  My work life and my home life have been pretty busy and my hands are yearning for their own work.  I'm hoping to put some of these stones in them this weekend.

What's up with you?

squish

A change of pace.  Needing desperately to unwind after a long day, I decided to grab some of the clay I had dug from the yard and slaked long ago.  I rolled and squished and played until I made some forms that have been in my head for a while.  I envision some little woolly worlds in these and I'm hopeful they'll make it through the firing process.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

I hope you get some play time in too.

upcoming workshop - needle felted birds

Needle-Felted Bird Workshop

June 26th 6-8:30pm

Suite 114 at the Franklin Arts Center

Brainerd, MN

Join me for an evening of needle-felting in the historic Franklin Arts Center.

You'll learn how to use wool and specially barbed needles to make a sweet little bird that stands on wire legs.

Cost is $20 and covers all of the instruction, tools, and materials you'll need to make your own little tweet.  You'll keep your felting mat and needles, and extra supplies and wool will be available for purchase from the instructor after the class.

Good conversation, coffee, and snacks are complimentary.  Join in the fun!

Register two ways.

send me an email (lilfishstudios@gmail.com) and pay the night of the class

or

pay for your registration now through my online shop

Thanks!  Hope to see you there!

three little birds

Three little birds...perched by my doorstep...

Preparing some work samples for my next needle-felting class.  So cute I want to make a whole flock.

More info to come.

just dandy

Holy buckets, what a busy couple of weeks.  Work has been swamped, I taught a felting class (which was so much fun and came with blackberry basil jam!!), I visited the Walker Art Center to see the Edward Hopper exhibit, I sang communally at an event with Tefsa Wondemagegnehu, and I picked dandies until my hands turned yellow.

I decided to infuse some good quality white wine vinegar with dandelions so I can eventually make a dandelion vinaigrette.  It's steeping away in the dark recesses of my pantry.  I can't wait to try it.

I also made dandelion "honey" which is a thick syrup that tastes deceptively like honey.  So good on ice cream, especially when you eat it while sitting in the grass where the kids can't find you.

With all of this I've had very little time to create.  My goal this weekend is to make a little time for just that.  

Have a wonderful weekend, all.

Tiny Toadstool class May 24th

I'll be teaching a needle-felting workshop on Saturday May 24th from 1:00 to 3:00 in the Franklin Arts Center in Brainerd, MN.

This class will cover the basics of sculpting and you'll go home with an adorable mushroom terrarium of your own, including wood base and glass dome.

I'd love it any of you would be able to join in.  If you're interested, email the Resident Artists Gallery at fac.residentartistsgallery@gmail.com for information and sign up.

Hope to see you there!

'bobs here for a visit

Two wide-eyed little 'bobs from beyond the woods arrived yesterday.  Sent to me by their creator, Kit Lane, to spend time under my sewing needles.  I think word must have gotten out, hence their startled expressions.

I'm not sure when I'll get to these little two but I'll try not to make it too long.  I'd hate to torture them with the anticipation. (that's always the worst, isn't it?  the waiting?)

Some of their brothers have gone before them.  You can see them here and here.

In unrelated news, the Tuesday farmer's market opened yesterday in the parking lot where I work.  It was pretty darn chilly out there and I admired the growers' pluck for sticking it out.  I did my part and bought a block of mushroom spawn for growing wine cap mushrooms, some big beautiful basil plants, a jar of raspberry jalapeno jam, and a block of locally made goat gouda.  Mmmmm and mmm.  Tuesdays are a day to look forward to.

Have a great day, everyone. 

shadow stones in the shop

Some of those stones I talked about last week have found their way into my shop.  Each with a shadow of a leaf imprinted upon it.  Stitched with the very same thread that bound the leaf and stone together during the long winter.  Coupled now in a different way.

Each is a worn grey, turned so by an afterdip of iron to highlight the color the tannins left behind.

When held in the right light you can see those permanent leaf shadows upon them.   Reminders of the seasonal change.

In my shop now as a set of three because I couldn't bear to split them up.

mini mushrooms

I've been working on some little mushroom terrariums for an upcoming class.  Teeny tiny little things.  They make me happy.

Still working on them but will share photos when they're done.  I'll share details of the class, too, when I have them.

Happy Saturday, everyone!

unicorn poop and such

Because a joke really isn't funny until you've worn it into the ground, right?

I'm surprised that unicorns are so present in my life right now.  Why, I haven't had this much unicorn interaction since my awkward unicorn sweater days.

Oh lawd.

Not only am I the unicorn in our group, but while planning an installation exhibit for work, the subject of unicorns came up.  Naturally they found their way into the show and naturally we needed unicorn poop cookies for the opening.  Naturally.

For those of you in the area, stop on by the Franklin Arts Center tonight between 5:00 and 7:00 and erm...enjoy? a unicorn poop.

Want to make your own?  I found the recipe here and will say that the glitter gel makes all the difference.  

Have a magical weekend, everyone!

Oh! and if you're wondering, there is a unicorn name generator and I will now be answering to Tulip Golden Nostrils.

beautiful neglect

A wool and silk scarf I made, rolled up in a bundle on an oak limb.  Forgotten through the snow and the subsequent thaw.

Impressions left by plum leaves, and rose leaves, and eucalyptus sent to me by Heather.

Left so long that the wool has started to decay and pull away from the silk.

Gorgeous, all the same, to me.  India Flint, I am not, but each of these faint impressions gives me a little flutter of happiness.

A pile of stones was treated in  kind, left in the snow wrapped in leaves.  They too house vague images of autumn.

The combination is a quiet kind of beauty.  One that speaks to me strongly right now.  Mine to keep.

classes and kits

I taught my 2d felting class on Thursday night and had such a wonderful time.  It was so much fun that I forgot to take any pictures.  Not a one.  But believe me when I say that the ladies who joined me were such good company, asked such good questions, and made such great pieces.  It was a real pleasure for me.

I like teaching, and I hope to do more of it in the future.  In fact, I will be doing it in the future as I will be teaching a Tiny Toadstool Terrarium class on the 24th of May for FACRAG (Franklin Arts Center Resident Artists Gallery).  If you're at all interested in receiving an email when I have classes upcoming, you can sign up HERE.

If you'd like to have a go at felting on your own I have put a few little sheep kits in my shop.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone.