Slideshow of Fairies

Latest creations

I am such a bad blogger. I have neglected to post words and pictures for a month now. I get some great ideas, but then I get distracted into some other great ideas, which delve into yet another idea or two. Not that I don't have bad ideas every once in a while, but I would say 95% are great (the other 5% are really just old useless crap pretending to be bigger than it really is).

My one and only New Year's Resolution: to allow more creativity into my life. I have some other "goals" - but they are not as important as allowing more and more of my divine creativity to flow and express through me and to grab hold of my life with gusto. And boy have I been creating a lot of fun, inspired things (of which I promise to post more pictures - I am so behind).

It is funny that I am making peace with my sewing machine after all these years. I was given a very nice Ulna machine with a billion settings at the young age of 18 (21 years ago!). I never got the hang of it. Every time I tried to use it I would jam it all up and it would make horrible noises and smell like it was going to explode. So I stopped torturing the thing. I figured sewing was not for me at all. Years later when I tried to pick up sewing again, I got so I would just take on hand stitching projects because the damn machine still frustrated me. Do you know how long it takes to make something all by hand? I stuck to little projects; small dolls and doll clothes, that sort of thing. Then my husband bought me a hundred dollar Singer machine from Target a few years back that has very basic features. After a few attempts, I can now say that I can sew on a basic machine. I can figure out how to get most things made. I am remembering sewing lessons from my mom from when I was 8 years old. (My mom, by the way, is most excellent at anything sewn – I should post a few of her creations too because she is not so into computers).

I have to say that the biggest factor that has led me back to the sewing machine is having a daughter four years ago. (I also have a soon to be six year old son – but he is not enchanted with the things I create as much as my daughter is. I think it might be a girl thing.) There is nothing more pleasing than watching my little girl hold on to a new doll or stuffed animal and make up stories and create imaginary worlds for whatever I just made. Heck, I even let her play with the fancy stuff I’ve made every once in a while because she is so captured by it.

Most of what I end up making I hand over to my kids. There are a few good reasons for this. One; they are my muses. Two; we are four people living in a two bedroom house – what is mine is theirs – there is no way around that. And because we live in a relatively small space – toys, books, games, dolls – they are everywhere. There is no place to store them away out of sight (and who wants to do that anyway). My home décor is totally for the kids, so it makes logical sense that the things I create also fit in with this pervasive theme.

I will tell you that I am contemplating creating some clothes for myself and/or my daughter. The only thing holding me back is the price of fabric is more expensive than buying an item at the store. But I just read an article in Craft magazine about making skirts with table cloths found at yard sales and thrift stores. This sounds fun and worth exploring. BTW, Craft magazine is so fantastic, check them out at www.craftzine.com

An author by the name of Jonathan Mooney (The Short Bus) writes, ‘there are two types of people in the world. People who have carpets that smell and people who don’t.’ (I had to paraphrase it because I did not read the book, my husband did and he shared the great philosophy with me.) Then he and I had a long discussion about how much our carpet smells. I think I have had this shame about my smelly carpet. I think my carpet should not smell (I hate carpet – it gives me away immediately no matter how clean I try to pretend to be). Now I need to consider the smell, the ground-in-no-plush-left , stained and overflowing with treasures of beads, sequins, pins, small lego pieces, tiny doll shoes, marbles, etc. – it is all big fabulous work of art! (I’ll post a picture of my carpet – I promise). I see all these beautiful pictures of some woman’s craft space (which we all know is only that clean for the picture) and I seethe with envy – I can show off my war torn carpet as proof that I live beyond appearances, I embrace my urge to create over my obligation to clean.

Christmas Stars

The stars I have pictured here are the Christmas gifts that I made for my co-workers. Each card has something written on the back and the "hook" is a beaded wire I strung through the card so that it could be hung on a tree or just hung on a tack. I made at least 20 of these and they were very well received. I know my pictures are not the greatest - my camera is about five years old. The card is water color paper cut in the shape of a star, I used artist chalk to cover the star with color then painted it with Modge Podge and then generously covered the glue with art glitter. Next I adhered a nice sticker in the middle, added some ribbon or other fibers and attached a beaded wire at the top. I loved making these.

Piku and Googoo

"Piku" and Googoo" were so named by my daughter Amelia. They are both funky rag dolls made by me using a free pattern posted by Missy Ballance at http://www.missyballance.typepad.com/ where I also got the pattern for the bears I did as well. Missy has some great ideas, wonderful teddy bears and a great spirit. Check out her spot.

I have been looking through other people's sites and getting so inspired! I love the art, the sentiment, the stories, the art, the pictures, the adventures, and the art. My goodness we are a bunch of grand creators let loose in the world to uplift, inspire and to add our own uniqueness to this vast and glorious earth.

I have a confession. I never really thought of myself as an artist. Yeah sure I enjoyed learning to create things here and there - but not true art. It started to change for me about 12 years ago when I led an art therapy group for women in recovery from chemical dependency. I began to witness the transforming power of art in these women's lives and the lives of their children. The way the women would take a hold of a given project and pour their soul into it. It started to rub off on me. I began to explore all sorts of creative outlets. I still not sure I would call myself an "artist" - but the lines are more blurry for me on that one. No, I know that I am a creator. The power of art is such that I am learning that just like a lump of clay or a skeen of yarn - I can mold and build and form my life into something creative, funky, inspiring and fantastic. And that's fun.

I am posting here for a number of reasons, some of which I know consciously and some are deep and hidden. I am naturally an introvert and using this format feels safer than dealing with people face to face (yikes!). I have been so inspired by other creations done by countless other wonderful creators that I wanted to contribute my own piece into the community. I am hoping that I can tap into a growing and evolving community of people who can share ideas, inspiration and heartache as we each build and celebrate our life paths.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy my artwork and please feel free to write me.

peace, joy and yummy food-

Angie