Back Porch Style

I met Conni at last year's Stitch craft show in Austin, where she purchased a book from me and enthusiastically told me about her new shop in Dripping Springs. We've been keeping in touch online through the winter and her shop is finally open. I stopped by the other day and was so charmed by the bright and juicy atmosphere she and her partner Valli had created there in the old stone house on the highway. The store's called Consuela. In it are warm wood floors, a couple of large well-stocked work spaces filled with fabrics, ribbons and buttons (which they use to create oil cloth pillows and bags and other decorative things for the home), and in the back a room filled with their sunny, stylish, artsy merchandise. My favorite thing about the shop is that every turn reveals something different. They also carry work by a smattering of independent artists and designers (me included). You can't find two things alike in there -- proof of these Texas ladies' creativity and passion for enlivening a shopper's experience. You can tell that they have a lot of fun and want to share it. Prices are reasonable; you'd expect to pay a lot more for most of the delightful handmade and vintage goodies they have. I just love this place and will definitely purchase gifts and stop for a chat whenever I'm in Dripping Springs. If you can't make it check out the website Conseulastyle. It definitely captures the flavor of this delicious new shop. The grand opening is Friday, March 28. Margaritas from 5-7!

New Sketchbook Covers

Just playing with fabrics and decided to make a few of these sketchbook and journal covers. I like how they look before the flaps are stitched down (like the green one at top). They're like mini quilts. One of these days I'll go ahead and make a quilt just to look at, but until then they're book covers. I've covered all my books (date books, address books, journals, sketchbooks).

What does it say about me that I have to make something functional all the time? I think it's a result of my effort to simplify/get rid of stuff I don't need/ clear out the superfluous decorative stuff around here to calm my head. I figure if we just make the stuff we use pretty then we won't need to fill up the house with all the extra stuff. If it's just hanging on the wall or sitting on my window sill then I'm breaking the rules. That doesn't sound like an artist talking, does it?

You should see my studio, full of dolls, doll parts, and all kinds of funny little arty things. My kids are all super creative and their toys and artwork are everywhere. My husband also has hobbies galore, music, electronics, etc. His studio is as full as mine (but no color -- all black and gray and chrome. I keep trying to sneak some art in).

I still maintain that I could live in a simple one room space with a bed, a desk, a window. I really don't need all this decoration and chaos and activity. I could very well be wrong about that, my little fantasy about being a contemplative nun somewhere. But I hope to find a happy medium. I'm watching my parents and older (on the verge of retiring) friends all starting to fret about their possessions and how to get rid of them. This downsizing of theirs has resulted in more than a few boxes of useless stuff pitched in my direction. We recently received an assortment of about 20 videotapes of children's movies from an aunt in another state. Very well-meaning, of course, but in these days of Netflix and DVDs I'm happy to say I don't mind the job of taking them to Goodwill for her. Sometimes you just have to make gifts of things to purge them.

Here's a little blessing to all my future grown kids and extended family -- you may toss this ratty little covered journal right into the river where it can decompose and feed the fish. May someone thousands of years from now find the treasure of green glass beads embedded in sand. I don't care. It's my gift to you.

Birds in Flight -- Lots of them!

Winged Migration:
This film has been in my Netflix queue for awhile now and I finally saw it tonight. It's wonderful -- an hour and a half of birds in flight! The filmmakers must have attached tiny cameras to the birds because most of it is shot from the point of view of the airborne bird. It's really amazing to see the landscape below while among migrating geese. One time as my plane was nearing the ground I saw the shadow of a bird flying along with the plane's shadow, speeding over the land. It was weirdly breathtaking, unnatural and beautiful. I suppose I always look at birds flying and imagine being free from all the constraints of the world, our small duties and tedious days. Yet, in this film the narrator begins by saying "This is a story about a promise. A promise to return." And of course these animals repeat their flight patterns down to the smallest landmark, year after year, flying thousands of miles to mate or eat, with no lamentation that their days and years are all the same. My three children fell asleep while watching, of course. I convinced them it would be as cool as Microcosmos (a favorite nature film) but the Enya(?) music and beating wings must have done them in after a long Saturday. I loved it.

Valentines for the Troops

At their last meeting, Girl Scout Troop 1953 made Valentines for Troops in Iraq. They enjoyed playing with fabrics and fibers, buttons and beads. I was helping them earn their stitching badge, but we ran out of time and ended up using quite a bit of glue. The postcards were adorable, though, and sure to be appreciated overseas.

I'm always amazed the amount of work that goes into planning just one meeting with kids. My hat is off the the three women who commit to these meetings every month.

Vest to Jacket

Ok, A friend asked me (a year ago) to sew sleeves on her embroidered vest which she purchased in Saudi Arabia many years ago. She even gave me the fabric for the sleeves. Try as I might, even after many episodes of Project Runway, I could not find the inspiration to complete this simple task. I thought maybe I should add a collar with the same material so that the sleeves wouldn't seem too loud. But then again, maybe the patchwork look wasn't quite right. I finally decided to just put three-quarter length skinny bell sleeves on it so she could wear it over a turtleneck or collared shirt. The truth is, my friend is a tall, very slender, very hip chick and if anyone could pull this off it would be her! I can't wait to catch her wearing it. I'm returning it today, after looking at it on my mannequin for over a year. Yippee!

Patterns

I think there is a quilt in my future. I keep coming back to the idea of making some patterns for fabric and think it would be fun not only to try to make a repeating pattern on Photoshop based on land views from the sky, but also to quilt some areal views of fields of crops. Who know if I'll ever get around to it, the way things go, but at least if I say it out loud or write it down there's a chance.

K and I are planning a trip to Chicago for a visit to the American Girl Store. I'll have to get K to take some shots from the plane window, since of course she'll get the window seat. As much as she is looking forward to this trip I think I can convince her to duck inside the Chicago Art Institute for a few hours and maybe a museum or two. I know there is a doll gallery in Chicago, the Hellman Gallery which houses dolls by some artists whose work I love. I've only seen most dolls in books and the internet.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting away with just my daughter. It's a bittersweet thing watching kids grow. On the one hand I loved them small and cuddly. On the other hand it's nice that they're getting old enough to travel. I hope soon we can take them around a bit.

Finally sitting down to my computer again!

Okay, that's a bit of a stretch. But really I haven't done any more than check emails and write press releases for my volunteer organizations since about my last post. So Happy New Year! I am updating www.jenmcgahan.com, which will now be my doll website exclusively. After cleaning up all the other crafty things in it, I decided to focus on just two websites, the first being that one because I have a lot of fresh new stuff to put in its galleries and also because it's really easy to update. If you are looking for a web building site I have to recommend itsmysite. Not only is it easy to use, but it's relatively inexpensive, you have a lot of options for customization and and I think it looks pretty nice once you get the hang of designing with it.

The next job i need to tackle is getting something up on Sweetboo. The craft shows last year were a lot of fun for me, but also a lot of physical work and time away from home. I'm hoping to get this stuff onto that storefront before too long and be able at least show it in a pretty way online. I think I began that website in the first place because I wanted a site which would support Paypal and a merchant credit card account, but also so that I could learn Dreamweaver and built a more interesting site. Ha -- here it is a year later and still no working site. My web designer has laid the foundations for me and my job is to play around with her building blocks and get something together myself. At least that was my plan. Beth has been a big help in that regard. She offered to teach me web design to get me started and I did actually make a page or two. I hope I haven;t forgotten how to do it. I've already invested a bit of time and money, so I should probably make that a priority.

I won't go into all my other new year's goals, but hopefully I can cross a few from my list.

Worktable

Today was a gorgeous HOT day. I spent a little time this afternoon while the kids were at school tidying up my workroom. After putting everything away I proceeded to bring things out again; old patterns, doll parts, possibly useful junk.

I discovered I had no pattern for a doll part I'd used three times before so I made a form out of aluminum foil covered with stuffing and mummy-wrapped with strips of cotton. After stitching it all down I had the base (the scraggly thing in the center) over which to drape cotton fabric so I could make a pattern from it. I pinned the fabric smooth and then cut it into pieces. I sewed them together, making sure to document and trace each piece first, and got lucky with a workable shape the first time out. I did have to widen the hole a bit. The finished mock-up (left in picture) is now documented and I have pattern pieces finally. I'd been wanting to make another open-heart doll but was not looking forward to reinventing that hole in the torso. Now it's done and the fun can begin.

I don't know why I didn't do that a long time ago. It would probably be a good idea to make patterns from the pieces I use and like. Most often what happens is I draw the pattern freehand and sew it together and stuff it to see if I like the result. If I do, I just want to keep working and I'm too lazy to take the thing apart (you have to un-stuff it first) and copy each piece. So each time I do something slightly different but similar. So efficient! I'm definitely going to change my ways.

First Art Show!!!

I'm beside myself tonight. I opened up an email from the Austin Museum of Art Holiday Art Festival to find I was accepted into the show! Having never been in a real art show I'm pretty much freaking out. Of course I tried to call all my family and no one answered their phone (isn't that always the case when you really want to SHARE) so this will have to be my official announcement: please come to Laguna Gloria for the AMOA Holiday Art Festival December 1 and 2, 2007!

So here's the thing. I thought it was such a long shot that I'm not even sure which three photos I submitted. They were all dolls, but now I wonder if I need to stay on target with the style of those particular dolls or if I can play with some new ideas I have. For example, if I submitted dolls with all fiber heads, should I keep making fiber heads for the show or can I make paper heads? The fact is for the next two months I'm going to be making dolls dolls dolls. It's always what I've wanted to try: just focus on my dolls for awhile -- and now I have a reason to do just that. Dolls are a strange niche. I'm hoping I can represent myself and the art museum in the best light possible. What's really important to me is to do what I'm meant to do and reach the people I'm meant to reach with my art. Whew! I really can't wait to work through these next two months.

The usual bemusement

After making a doll I often put her somewhere I can see her easily for a few days and every time I enter her room I catch myself wincing with self consciousness. I've really struggled with why I make dolls as if it mattered. I wonder if my time couldn't be better spent.

I've been working on "Monica" on and off for the past couple of weeks. I made the nest first, then I found a head in my head collection and played with that for awhile, painting, adding features with paper clay, sanding, painting over it again, adding layers of paper, etc. While the head was still being made, I made the arms and legs, alternating tasks until all the components came together at about the same time. This is my usual process and the doll (her personality) occupies a good portion of my thought while she's coming into being. While I drive, while I sew, as I make dinner, I find myself (how can I say this without seeming weird?) praying about her and just trying to listen quietly for a way to her completion. I'm often surprised by her appearance when she is finished, like a new mother might say to her baby "well that's what you look like!" The process is what's important to me, the human issues I contemplate during the making of the doll.

Incidentally St. Monica was the mother of St. Augustine, and the wife of Patritius. She was always praying for the souls of her son and husband, as they were bad-asses, both of them. They both became Christians eventually, so her prayers were answered before she died, but not without a lot of heartache. I have a friend who recently told me about Monica and she has captured my imagination for the last month or so. As I was making this doll I considered the struggle of many women who want their loved ones to be a certain way (or healthy, or on the right path, whatever), and all the mental energy which goes into fretting about them. A mom tends to entrench herself in her nest, her family life, the role of a 'good wife and mother', and yet sometimes she can do no more than pray, hope and wish for her people to find their own way and become whole human beings, just as the mother herself is on that same road.

The making of a doll can be like having kids for all the wrong reasons, or playing god. I feel a little bit guilty about that. Here sits Monica, my little nest doll with her two little worrisome eggs in her lap. I feel for her, I wish she could move on and fly away, but alas that will never happen. While the process was cathartic for me, she is forever stuck in the moment. She is a reflection of me and my thoughts during a certain period of time, but I can always go do something else and she can't. Too bad.

Back with more leather bags

The computers and the router haven't been playing nicely this week. You all know how frustrating it can be to have no access to the web. A voluntary blackout can be heaven for your mind and spirit, but when you want/need to be online, say for example during the first week of school when teachers are emailing and calendars are posted and the general buzz is just starting back up, well, no-contact can be very bad. On top of all that I wanted to post pictures of these little bags I made with the leather Goodwill coat. I used Aunt Nevada's cool purple brooch on the clutch above, and some sticks I painted red on the tiny bag at the top. The white leather coat is pretty much done for now, although I may be able to squeeze out one more little thing if I cut creatively.

I love the new school year. Second only to November my favorite month is September. I find the beginning of the school year (even if I'm not the one going back to school) is a renewal of purpose for me. Getting back to the grindstone, I find I have stores of energy which were lacking throughout the summer. Some people feel that way in the spring, with the rebirth of life in nature all around them. Me, I just want to play and drink margaritas when the weather starts getting friendly in March. (Remember this is Texas.) It's when the heat starts to break and the kids go back to classes that I start feeling new again. I have a lot I want to accomplish this year so I hope this feeling lasts.

I just joined Jazzercise again after about 18 years. They still do grapevine and all the other dance moves, as well as some "new" moves from kickboxing and pilates. The high energy, loud music, and friendly ladies are what I remembered and liked best about the program and all that's just the same. I love it -- such a retro way to exercise. But now with Michael Buble and Rihanna on the ipod.

Sewing with leather

Well, I finally tried it. I came across the perfect large white leather coat at the Goodwill and figured it was time to see if my machine could handle it. In order to minimize waste I used the coat design elements in my bag design. For example, I took apart the lapels on each side of the front opening to make the purse straps. I took a pocket off the front and made use of a nice stretch of clean hide for the front and back and used the under arm and part of the sleeve (where the leather seemed a bit softer and weaker) for the inside top where the magnetic closures were placed. I used a walking foot and regular thread. My walking foot is noticeably lower quality than the other attachments I have. The foot's metal is actually bendable when I have to wrangle a thick chunk under it and it doesn't lift up as high as I'd like in the first place. I think for top stitching I should have used a heavier-weight thread, too. Where the straps attach to the bag was too thick to machine sew so I hand stitched those parts using a tapestry needle and DMC thread and pliers. Not much fun, and we'll see how long they hold up before I have to reinforce them. Sometimes the hand stitching is the strongest part -- you never know. Anyway, the result is pictured above.

I guess on one side of my brain I'd like to see cleaner sewing and fewer stitch marks. However I realize I'd need to get my hands on a real industrial machine to get several layers of leather PLUS the thick foam interfacing I use under the needle. Also, I'd need to purchase clean hides which haven't been used before. From the old waste-not-want-not mentality there's something really satisfying about using secondhand garments in making new purses. If you're like me you really love the stitch marks left from removing pockets and from previous stitching on the coat. It's the patina of a recycler's new creation and a-okay with me. In all, I'm pretty pleased with my new bag. I own a nice "pleather" white bag, but I've been wanting a white leather bag made from real skin (sorry PETA). Every time one of those "IT" bags catches my eye the price tag shoots a little hole in my heart. So this one's mine.

I have three more leather coats to play with: one great soft black leather coat, a sort of pebbly brown leather coat and a dark plum colored leather coat. Yippee. I'm thinking next time I'll use a different interfacing. While I love the structure of the white one, I may ease up on the machine (and save some needles) and use a thinner interfacing. Maybe a slouchier design will accommodate that. This is gonna be fun.

Costume Jewelry!

I've been playing with these things all day. My neighbor Lynda's aunt passed away and left several large boxes of costume jewelry, one of which Lynda has been storing for months. She invited me to take what I wanted from the large extravagant cache this morning!! Can you believe this magnificent booty? A gorgeous collection of strands of plastic, crystal, silver, shell, etc, as well as many matching sets of brooches and earrings, necklaces and earrings, odd lone pins, and mismatched earrings. I swear (even though it looks like I was a pig taking all this lovely stuff of her hands) Lynda pushed it on me. And when I said "No more, I can't!", there were still just as many beautiful things left. The truth is I scored in a royal way. Oh, yeah!

The Good Life

After a couple of weeks in Nebraska seeing family and old friends, we came back home and immediately started preparing for school. If I haven't said it before, we've been really lazy this summer, staying up late, sleeping late, playing way too many video games and watching too many reruns of Spongebob. The trip to NE was nice, since the kids met up with lots of cousins and played together for days. Mom's house turned 100 years old, so she threw a big party (in 90 degree heat), complete with a giant potluck dinner. We canoed, fished, went to a family reunion, stayed up half the night with college friends --the things you do when you go "home". I admit I do my share of grumbling that our vacations always seem to be spent in the midwest with family, but really, there's no better way to re-discover the simple blessings I take for granted.

Jenny's Heroes

Last Christmas, while in Barnes and Noble in Lincoln NE, my college stomping grounds, I ran into an old acquaintance. Jenny and I exchanged addresses and agreed to keep in touch. Rather than the usual email, I was surprised to receive a handwritten letter from her. I immediately sent her one back, along with some doodles and watercolors, and we became regular pen pals. (It really does happen in the 21st century.) Jenny is a very smart and creative woman, and frequently sends small gifts along with her letters. Here is a tea towel she embroidered for me with some of her favorite famous women. These excellent women are: Lucille Ball, Catwoman, Anna Axmatova, Lily Tomlin, Marie Curie, Julia Childs, Cleopatra, Frida Kahlo, Guinevere, Colette, Phyllis Diller, Santa Rita, Nefertiti, Lady Godiva, Emily Dickinson, Camille Claudel, Elizabeth I, Mae West, Jeanne d'Arc, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Austen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Greta Garbo, Zelda Fitzgerald. You see why I love Jenny?

Amy Butler...Cake!

This is fun. An Amy Butler fabric inspired this cake. This very talented person makes some gorgeous cakes. I loved the comment by another flickr user, " shame to waste it on a wedding..."

Trick Horses, BBQ and Mexican weaving

My friend Mary fell in love with a horse a few years ago. She had taken her son out to Red Horse Ranch to take some riding lessons and ended up on a horse called Monet. True love. She invited the kids and me out to the ranch for dinner, music, and a short program featuring two amazing horses and their owners Alan and Sue. I'd never seen horses perform in such a way at close range. Their beauty, intelligence and sensitivity was tempered with a wildness I don't see every day. Now I know why Mary loves it out there. Meanwhile, there was a gentleman there selling imported Mexican woven goods which captured my son Willie's attention. All the other kids were playing in the dirt and petting the horses while Willie looked through rugs and pillowcases on the porch -- truly his mother's son.

Brightness on a rainy day

The basket of checkbook covers look like little soldiers here. I enjoyed working on these smaller-scaled pieces.


Well, off to the farmer's market this morning. Gray skies and wet ground. I hope the weather's not too bad today. Spent most of yesterday in the emergency waiting room with Henry, who got his first seven stitches in his little noggin. I heard the old thing about "boys being boys" a few too many times yesterday. Yeah, I think it's sinking in by now.

"Beauty and folly are old companions"

A quote by Ben Franklin, discovered when I uploaded these photos from fdsflickrstoys. I love this quote and find it appropriate for this set of pictures. As I was photographing my stack of pink ribbon spools from yesterday's post my eye was caught by the many vignettes featuring pink and green in my house. So I stayed on the first floor (don't even get me started in my daughter's room upstairs) and snapped pictures of pink and green. If the pink and green objects were moveable and small I took them outside and snapped them on my white board. These are those shots. In all cases these objects were indeed side by side somewhere in my house. Pink green pink green pink green; or choose ANY combination of colors and open your eyes. You will see them see them see them. Beauty and Folly.

Crafting for a Cure

I know there is some pink ribbon around here somewhere....I got so lucky last week when my friend forwarded the information to participate in this fundraising event. Patty Mayes, a Round Rock resident, will be walking in Dallas in the 3 Day Susan G. Komen walk for Breast Cancer. I'm delighted to be one of 25 vendors there donating a portion of my proceeds to Patty for the walk this October. Let's hope there will be lots of folks out at the Teravista Golf Course this weekend in support. Go Patty!!!