Usually, I try to visualize an outfit before I wear it.  Sometimes I can, othertimes I cannot. If it's not a style I've worn, it can be a challenge to see what will my body shape look like.  The 1920's styles are boxy, straight, and very loose to allow a woman complete freedom around her midriff/ribcage.  They had just ditched corsets and were suffragettes, you know.  They were empowered!  So this boxy style symbolizes freedom. 

When I struggle to visualize, I am learning to sketch out what I feel or see in my minds eye. This is a challenge.  Instead of usually seeing myself as I am, I often get the image of the model or sketch on the pattern in my head. It's not that my body is of any less value, it's just that I see the pattern model and think, that's how it should look on me. It's sort of like the record in my head skips and then keeps skipping. 

Considering that I don't normally resonate with straight, boxy shapes, I knew I really needed to explore some designs that would be true to the era and flattering to my pear shaped/hour-glassy curves.   With the help of my mother, another excellent visualizer, I decided that a couple patterns from Past Patterns would be flattering and simple enough for me to take on as my first 1920's dress. With a style this unfamiliar to my sewing knowledge, I need a base to start from rather than drafting my entire pattern.  

I begin my sketch with an outline of my body, making sure to draw my full thighs, round hips, etc. If I make sure those are even a little larger than normal, my eye and memory can get a "feel" for my body.  This is really hard to describe. So much of this is intuitive, muscle memory, and remembering what I look like in the mirror and through photos. So, hips & thighs in place, I sketch the rest of me. Yes, always with big lips. That's my trademark from way back in elementary school days.  

After the body outline is in place, I begin to draw in clothes. I repeat this process, creating a new outline with every new sketch. It just feels right to recreate my foundation.  I could sketch one, photo copy it and use that as a base, but I like the practice and I'm rarely with any more materials than a pen.  As you can see from my instagram post in early May, when I was travelling, all I had was the local newspaper and my pen. That didn't stop me sketching out Deer & Doe's Chataigne short on my body shape.

I decided to play with the girls dress since I am usually attracted to kid styles anyway. Does that make me unsophisticated and declasse? Nah!  I think the swoosh or curved gathering at the yolk (left) is kind of cute.  Looks fun on me (right), but given the blousing at the waist, I'm not so sure.  I also think I didn't quite get the blousing low enough. Hmm... I feel ok about this one. I'll probably try making it and/or sketching it anyway, but it's not my first choice at this point.

Moving right along to dress #2. This is a much more elegant dress. Plus I like how the flounce or draped rectangular panels give triangular impressions to the eye. After sketching it on my body and playing with design ideas, I like this one best. It appears to draw the eye down the body, whereas the girls dress draws my eye directly to the flounce and yolk point, then up.

I'd love to know your impressions of the sketches.  Which would you choose?

The amazing Rachel of House of Pinheiro is hosting a Name Tag Swap for the #NYlon2014 meet up. However, even those who wouldn't be able to make the event are able to participate in the swap, so I eagerly joined!  I've admired Rachel's work for a while and was thrilled at a chance to meet some other sewing bloggers and challenge myself in new ways.   

While I've definitely made use of "Hello my name is..." name tags, I haven't yet made a durable, lasting, fabric nametag before.  Besides, it would give me yet another opportunity to use the stamps I carved from art in my sketchbook.  See, a couple years ago I caught the carving bug and started drawing these funny cartoony skeletons.  I carved a series of them, then made & sold embellished versions of them as pins.  I have big dreams for what I will do with carved skelly's, but have had too many other projects in my queue.  

Before I decided the skelly would be suitable for my swap partner, I did a little research (after she emailed me to let me know we were paired).  

I was paired with 
Vicki of Yellow Submarine Time.  I couldn't have been paired with a better person.  

Vicki is fun, silly, adores + uses her vintage sewing patterns and loves things that most adults would associate with children.  

For her birthday, she made herself this silly shirt (left) in Sewaholic's Renfrew pattern and loves it because it makes her laugh.  

How cool is that?!

Given all that, I say to Vicki and I 
and anyone else who loves kid things or is just a big kid at heart, 
Kiddie Adults Unite!  
I think that sounds like a sew-along I need to host, don't you?

Vicki is amazingly driven when it comes to deadlines.  Before I even got started with her nametag, I received mine from her!  Isn't this fun?!?!  

I adore the Sword in the Stone, especially since it's about our namesake.  One of my all time favorite characters is Madd Madam Mimm.  In the movie, she & Merlin are going to have a Wizard's Duel, essentially fight over The Wort (that's Arthur as a young lad).  She turns to Merlin, "first of all, I'll make the rules!"  To which she names the weirdest and craziest things possible, ending with "No Pink Dragons and such!" whilst walking away with a wicked gleam in her eye, twirling her wand.  Nearly exasperated from all the transformation they've both taken to "out do one another" Mimm turns to Merlin and says, 
"DID I SAY NO PURPLE DRAGONS????!!! DID I?!?!?!?!?!?"  And that is exactly what comes to mind when I see this fun purple dragon on my name tag.  Vicki even modeled her design off the awesome vintage 1970's sun rise shirt pattern she got from her mom's stash. 

Given the name of Vicki's blog and the lovely yellow color of her sewing room (see photo above), I decided to make yellow the prominant color.  I also wanted to play with cotton scraps so I cut them into 1.5" squares and quilted them. I've long admired others who have quilted teeny tiny squares and was excited to try.  God was that fun. Far from tedious. I loved working that small.  I made sure to include the bats because a) they're funny and cartoony and b) bats mean good luck. 

I began to play around with placement of my "Neener Neener" skelly design. Middle, lower corner, elsewhere... Hmm. You can see on my well loved ironing board (I just can't bring myself to replace that cover even though it's looking rough), that I was playing with all kinds of sizes, carvings, ribbons, etc.  In the lower right of the corner on the far right you can see that the original carving I did of "Neener Neener" is nearly the same size as the pre-finished bag.  Well, that wouldn't do. I wanted Vicki's name and blog to be more prominent. Hmm... time to move on to other parts while I let the possibilities roll around in my brain.

I went on to lining the quilted pocket and then using my new found joy, Soft and Stable, by Annie, I used it for the main body of the bag. What a joy to sew with!  Seriously. This gave body and was super easy to sew. I even had to rip the bag seams out and it still handled that well. Color me impressed!  This is something I picked up at Sew Expo in February/March of this year. I stumbled on Annie's booth, patterns, bag hardware, etc. and was fascinated. I picked up several patterns and enough soft & stable to make her yoga bag.  She all her patterns, kits, and hardware listed on her site which I love because it's easy to get to again, and her finished products are so well organized (it appeals to the engineer in me).  

I created this entire project without using a pattern, template, or otherwise. It's all from a vision I've had or based on what I thought deeply about would result in the best overall finish.  Here are a few of my design considerations: 

• I considered making a fold flap on top of the pocket to keep objects in, but it would cover the quilted squares and it would result in fumbling by the wearer.  
• I made the strap really long because it can always be tied short and worn as a necklace or let out really long and worn as a mini purse.  
• I chose to quilt pieces of the straps because that would help tie into the quilted back and top row/band quilting.  Plus, doing so helped me continue to use up bits and scraps.
• I made 2 pockets because it's always nice to separate and organize objects or put your cell phone in a separate pocket so it's protected.

I used fabric markers and hand lettered Vicki's name & blog name. Then, after stamping my "neener, neener" skelly design, I embellished her with fabric crayons, pastels, and markers, then heat set it all. 

When I designed "Neener, neener" I had 2 visions - one of my brother putting all his fingers in his mouth and showing us his full set of chompers, one of my friend's toddler as a kindergarten aged boy being silly, wobbling side to side singing, "neener, neener, neener!" then running away giggling.  The perfect energy to pour into an object destined for a Kiddie Adult.  Then too, while I sewed, I watched Nanny McPhee Returns.  More good, clean kid fun!

I must say, if it didn't have Vicki's name on it, I would have had a really hard time letting it leave my possession.  

One of my favorite parts of participating in the Little Alters Full Moon art exchange project hosted by Peg Gyldenege in 2013 is seeing the body of work that I created.  So often we forget how we are.  Others see it, but we put our creations out there and may or may not see them.  Because every artist was remote for the entire project, we had to take photos and write about what we did because we wouldn't even see one another until the full year was over.  

When we started, MY FEARS were: 

• I'm not good enough. 
• All these other artists are REAL artists. They're talented, they know their craft. My work will just seem childish and unfinished.
• I'll be the odd one out because they all know how to work with metal/glass, but I don't like or choose to work with metal or glass. 
• No one will like or appreciate what I do. I'm too weird.
• What if I have artists block and can't think of anything to make? 
• How am I ever going to fill each block on that tray? It's SO daunting.

When we finished, I LEARNED this about my own skills and art:

• I am a very talented sculptor
• My creations, no matter how far apart are consistently me.
  
• My art has a childish, cartoon-like sense about it and other people like it
• I'm very creative and think outside the box not only in my engineering and business work, but also in my art.
• I like to challenge myself, but need to have some stability, familiar territory & structure while I explore and challenge.
• Just try. Trust. Then try again.
• Follow your intuition and instincts. If you don't you're fighting yourself and the universal flow that is being offered to you. Swim upstream if you must, but you'll be happier if you flow with things.
• Step away from your work for a while (days, weeks, months, a year), then when you come back to it you'll fall in love with your own work. 

Hello dear readers and fellow artists!

For the final full moon exchange I had myself.  Every time I looked at the two spaces all I could see was a little creature sitting & gazing at the stars or swinging or doing something, but always sitting between the two spaces as though it was one complete space.  So as I've learned, rather than fight the visions that you're seeing, trust them and go with them.

I've learned the best place to start, if your piece will involve sculpting, is to begin with the sculpture itself. The rest of the details will take care of themselves once the sculpture is done.

So I found the color liked. Blue seemed to suit the thoughtful posing I saw the character in. I curled his toes and helped him sit gently on the ledge.  The drippiness of this particular clay lent to him naturally turning his head as though he were listening to something. 

I tried out a few backgrounds to see how I'd like them. Then I sat back in my chair across the room to see what that gave as an effect to the whole tray as well as just that little area where he would be.  Unfortunately this first set of the backgrounds just didn't quite do the trick.

But he needed a little something more... He just felt so bare.  And he was beginning to feel more like he was part of the stars,  like a little being that had come down from the stars. So I gave him a crown of stars made from some star shaped sequins.

After basking in the warm glow of the oven I gave him a little paint. I thought having a background with lines as well as stars would be fun, having lines looking more like astrological symbols and charts. So I used up a piece that I had already folded into a box (marked with sharp lines) and fit it into the new spot's shape. The background is actually made from colored pencil and is very similar to the one I made for the pink moon several moon exchanges back.

Meet my star being.  He watches over and listens.  He is ready to offer any advice you might need. He encourages us to gaze upon the stars and listen for the answer.

Skeletons, skeletons, skeletons!  I love to draw cartoon skeletons doing funny things!!  Are you inspired by day of the dead? By Halloween? And by silly skeletons?  Ooo, ooo, I am!   And that’s just what I ended up making this moon for the Little Alters project.  

Kimberly Kostal is the recipient and I know how much she loves skeletons.  In fact, last moon, she tried to make one for the alter for me, but got stuck. So, I was excited when inspiration began to strike. Little did I know, I’d hit some rough patches that would hold me back and delay my progress.  

Below is the quick sketch I did of the skeleton I planned to create.  I thought I'd be making a bah relief (think embossed or carved effect). But, my body and the universe had other plans and my idea totally changed.  Or so I thought.

Do you find that when Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos time comes, you feel like the world has slowed to a near halt?  This year I feel more in tune with the natural world. This means that my life is naturally turning introspective, the same way the earth is quieting for winter, and creating art is not as easy as other times of the year.  

I’ve had ups and downs in health for much longer than I’d like now and am back on track to healing.  But, sometimes, we need to pause and listen to our body, then change course. I’m learning to listen and honor the message, no matter how hard it is to hear.  Spending time on health that I normally spend doing other things means less of those other things for now, including art.

After realizing I was going to attempt an art technique, the bah relief with paper clay, that I had never done, nor had any experience with (read neither failure or successes), I finally had to come to terms.  I don’t like to work on techniques while on a deadline.  I prefer to have tried, failed, succeeded, learned, and know how to do a technique before I attempt it under deadline.  Otherwise, I’m a stressed out basket case. Not that bad really, but puts undue stress on my art and life and I need less right now.  

I have tried techniques under pressure and time crunches and it can be very educational and huge inventions/breakthroughs can occur, but I’d rather save that for a different time/place than the alter project.  You’d think one month was plenty of time.  But for some reason, right now, my brain & emotional well being just need a bit less stress. So, I’m purposefully acknowledging and choosing the less stressful route. In future, I will try new techniques under deadline and will plan for it be a fun and enjoyable route.  I've learned that planning helps make the journey fun and if you anticipate there will be unexpected turns, it is much more manageable.

Why not just draw & paint?  Well, silly me, I thought that wouldn't be "enough".  It wasn't grand enough, complex enough, blah blah - shut up critic in my head. Back to drawing I went.  I found some ATC sized vellum / marker papers (heavier than cardstock) and re drew the original sketch.  It's more fun to sketch an idea over an over (without expecting it to be exactly the same), because you begin to see what elements you consistently emphasize or remember.

After sketching Mr. Skelly Pants - who is actually a bit of a steampunk observer (he says, "Hmmm, yes... what is that I see" with the voice of a hefty walrus) - I grabbed all my water soluable crayons, pencils, and pastels and went to town coloring. Ooo boy, coloring between the lines! That was fun!  You'll notice that I gave the feather a ton of color, but in the end it was a shiny purple. That was NOT on purpose. I was faking my way through, trying to to see what would happen. I think nicely though, the colors do come through a little and give the feathers and cap more depth. 

After I watered it all down, it needed more still.  I know! Twinkle H2O's!  So, I painted the sky, the hat & feather, and a few other adornments in the wonderfully sparklie Twinkle H2O's.  Now I'm really in LOVE!

Just above you'll see a miniature version of one of my skeleton designs that I carved into a stamp. I reduced it 50% and recarved it to create the one you see above left. But, it just didn't excite me for this month or on the mini canvas with paint above. Meh. And I was really diggin the water colors. 

The down side of canvas was that it was just a smidge too thick to fit into the space.  Oh I can fix that!  With a blade, I went to town cutting off the folded corners of the canvas. Dangerous? Yes. Because the canvas could peel away over time. Washi tape to the rescue!  Round the edges and 2 pull handles so the piece could be inserted into it's slot on the printer drawer and then easily removed.  Grab a couple of bits of secure glue and mount that mini painting to it's canvas style frame.  Voila! 

Looking back at him now, I think he definitely has the dancing feel of the silly skeletons above, don't you?

Doodling releases an idea from your head to paper. I discovered that my doodles are what end up being my best hand-carved stamps. When I first started I thought I needed a perfectly clean design, no mistakes, almost like a print out. HA! Not so. 

See, even though this guy below that I sketched at lunch today has too many fingers and not in the placement that I really want, it doesn't matter.  When you copy the design onto tracing paper with a #2 pencil, you can grab whatever line works for you and leave the others alone.  My other skeleton stamps that I carved came from super messy pages from my left-over engineering school lab books that I drew on.  They have too many lines, look silly, and unprofessional to me. But they make brilliant stamps. I think also it keeps my logical brain out of the way and gets my creative mind digging right into the work instead of critiquing it and over-working the piece.

This particular skelly was drawn as one of my ideas for the October Full Moon exchange for the Little Alters project.  Kimberly will be the lucky gal to get him.  My plan is to try carving him in a bah relief style out of paper clay.  

Wish me luck!
~GG~

I have been drawing since I could hold a crayon. Been cartooning more in the last five years as I recognized my style lends itself quite well to the cartoon world. Exploration of en vogue cartoon artists exposed me to the world of digital sketching. At that time I had only a computer & mouse and the only good way to sketch digitally was with those pens & pads that you plug into a computer. They were expensive and cost prohibitive. Enter the iPad.

I received an iPad as a "hand-me-down." At first I didn't know what to do with it because it is wifi only. But then I discovered Paper by 53. Oh God. Love me this app. You can have multiple sketchbooks, incorporate photos, and add a page. It's quite lovely. And, if you're out & about sketching, it's a fantastic ice breaker as people are quite fascinated.

Launch of my first comic. 
Loosely based on my own life experiences.

I can't stand the curtains I have ANYMORE!
I've had these since my Pirate party (OMG - 2006!) and it's time for a change.
I've been dreaming of the circus, moroccan architecture, and something cheerful.