"Made by Katrina"

Studio Happenings and Inspirations

2012-01-23T20:51:00.001-08:00

Hi friends,

I've been finding teeny tiny bouts of time in the studio to work on teeny tiny projects. And as my studio life often reflects (or maybe imitates) what is orbiting in my physical life, it seems only suiting that I've been working on a very small scale. I'm learning to work for 20-30 minutes at a time because that's how my schedule shifts while tending to the little one. And it makes me wonder how I spent those glorious long hours alone with my thoughts and my tools and a big pretty studio window overlooking the busy street below. Time, you masquerader, you.

I'll be restocking my Etsy shop in a few weeks and the photos above are a sneak peek at some of the new work. I'm currently drawn to natural fibers and hues punctuated by bold primary pops of color. Fuschia against linen. Red against pale brown. And lime green against a dusty white. I've always loved how the songbirds look at the feeder against the winter snow. And I think my recent trip to NY re-inspired this familiar winter view. So I'm recreating the palette in my projects? Yes, perhaps so. I am endlessly inspired by the nuances of weather and season. Ho hum.

And... I am currently loving these design books: Open Studios with Lotta Jansdotter, MicroGreen: Tiny Houses in Nature, and Modern Vintage Style by Emily Chalmers. And have you seen this cabin design website yet? Good grief. As if I needed another design drool-worthy distraction.

Happy week to you.

xoxo,
k.

Winter Wonderlands

2012-01-16T20:17:00.001-08:00

I've returned from the land of winter. The true winter. The deep-in-your-insides winter. The no-way-to-escape it winter. The winter-winter. The chill. The gasp. The edges of weather. And it was enchanting, I must admit.

Snow. And just a bit more snow. And mostly just chilly but some days it was down right impossible. And my California body doesn't understand a New York winter anymore. It's been almost a decade and I've been reset. Re-patterned. Re-purposed, maybe. But some part of me still peeks out from behind the freeze and grows giddy with the barren trees and piercing sky and spread of white across the hillsides and rooftops and lawns. Yes, giddy.

I am easing back into my studio life. I am already loving 2012. I have a few projects on the horizon and look forward to sharing them with you as they evolve. Hi there, 2012. It's very nice to meet you.

xoxo,
k.

I'll Be Back Soon & Happy New Year's Too

2011-12-26T09:35:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

The fog is thick across the rooftops and tree branches this morning and, thankfully, my tea is hot and somehow streamlined in comparison. I'm suddenly maintaining a uniform of plaid flannel shirts and dark denim jeans and high leather boots or wooly slippers and often a hat with flaps or, I admit, a bright yellow beret. Cardigans are slung over the backs of nearly every chair in our house and small and large throw blankets too. Today is fog rolling into late morning and a little boy asleep and a handful of photographs between me and you.

I'm going to take a few weeks away from this space. We'll be visiting friends and family and so I'll leave you with a few glimpses into our cozy Christmas morning. The lights on the tree kept us company until the sun peered through and the rest of the neighborhood started to wake. Of course, our mornings start early. Or our evenings run late. Or time is still in short cycles of newborn care but we are finding our way down tunnels and portals and side streets of daily function. His cheeks are rounder. His eyes are brighter. His hands are more like my hands.

Happy New Year, dear friends. And do you want to know a secret? Okay, then. My birthday is New Year's Day.

xoxo,
k.

Happily Winter Merry

2011-12-20T14:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to you, dear friends.

I hope your winter holidays are filled with peace and joy and that pretty winter light. I hope you find a bit of magic tucked here and there and that you drink some champagne and eat some sugary snacks and stay in your pajamas a bit longer than usual. I hope you are surrounded with things that sparkle and twirl and pirouette and otherwise sing. I hope you make a New Year's resolution that feels more like fun and less like function. I hope you have ample time with family or friends or colleagues or neighbors or even kind strangers or otherwise beloveds near and far. And if you live in cold weather, I do hope you catch a snowflake on your tongue.

Happily Winter Merry. That's my wish for you.

xoxo,
k.

December in Oakland and a Red Thread for Mothers

2011-12-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

This is what December looks like here in Oakland. It always amazes me that we have flowers at the farmer's market and Christmas trees on the corner. Squash, greens, roots, apples, persimmons, and citrus fruit abound. And a very low December sun makes for very long sidewalk shadows.

***

I've managed to find moments in the studio to make a handful of Christmas ornaments for our sweet little tree. The "peace" ornaments might one day become a mobile or a wall hanging or something to hang near our stockings.

***

Our little one is 6-weeks old and my heart and head are still planted in my new world of motherhood and also the practical parts of tending to a newborn and being on maternity leave. Not surprisingly, I often find myself thinking about lineage and my own mother and my grandmother and I imagine them tending to their own tiny humans and wondering when they too would return to the things they had nearly forgotten.

And I imagine this is how my mother did it. And how her mother did it. And how the mothers before them did it too. How there is this long red thread of lineage holding us all together over decades and then over centuries. How all the mothers before me held onto that same red thread as they tended to their newborns and contemplated their new identities as "mother".

Their bodies accomplishing amazing feats. New levels of physical pain and tiredness and also reveling in the simplest new joys and holding fast to that thread knowing that all too soon the whir of the world would be back inside their hearts and homes. And how the newborns hold to that thread too, learning miraculous skills like how to turn their heads from side to side and then suddenly purse their lips into a very first smile.

And my heart continues to peel back and open.

xoxo,
k.

Other People's Pretty and Holiday Inspiration

2011-12-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

Source: flickr.com via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: stylesncream.blogspot.com via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: poppytalkhandmade.com via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: moredesignplease.com via Katrina on Pinterest

***

Somehow, it is already December. And somehow, the holidays are just around the corner. And somehow, I haven't yet purchased or crafted one holiday present. I haven't hauled the decorations out of the bottom of the closet. I haven't baked one cookie in honor of the merry winter celebrations. This year, I might just dress our newborn in red and white stripes and consider our apartment "decorated".

Instead, it's been warm in Oakland and I've been welcoming the gorgeous warm weather by taking long walks with the little one. I will not complain about the pretty winter sunlight or the warm windy afternoons but my heart is full of lazy silver snowflakes and boughs of evergreen. You can take the girl out of New York but you just can't take New York out of the girl. Le sigh.

I am managing to make a few new ornaments for our Christmas tree and I have holiday cards waiting for best wishes to be written and sent. Little pockets of time here and there and yonder. I've also started a new holiday-themed board over on Pinterest to indulge my wintery visions (complete with the gorgeous found images posted here).

This year, it seems I am amassing a collection of other people's pretty.

xoxo,
k

Transitioning and Always Dawn or Dusk

2011-11-28T10:13:00.000-08:00

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Dear friends,

A few glances into our nest these past few weeks. Time has taken on an entirely new meaning. The little one is suddenly one-month-old and we are suddenly one month into parenthood. And somehow, it always feels like dawn or dusk. It's as if the sun is always rising or setting and another day is just ending or just about to begin.

Sleep is seldom and infrequent. And I am realizing that this feeling of lightness and drifting and tiredness are actually the new ways of being. We are in transition and time is meaningless. I'm not convinced there are still 24 hours in each day but some days there are 30 and other days there are only 12 or 15. Evening and dark and light and waking and resting are all inverted and, somehow, it always feel like daybreak or sunset.

Soon enough, I will return to the studio and to your beautiful blogs and to the other parts of myself that have been patiently waiting while we've been immersed with our newborn. For now-- just a few photos in low light cast with a bit of what is bewildering and also very new. And, my dearest Maxwell Forest, you are full of quiet mornings peeking out from the California fog and also the most radiant and cloud-coloring dusk.

xoxo,
k

Welcome to the World, Little One.

2011-11-13T13:22:00.001-08:00

***Welcome, Maxwell Forest***

Dear friends,

Our son has finally arrived! As many of you might have suspected given the long delay since my last post--he was born two weeks ago after a long, complicated labor. After some health hiccups I am happy to say that we are both home and turning the corner towards recovery. As a result, I'm learning the art of surrender very early on in motherhood and I'm also learning to slow down to a snail's pace (a very slow snail's pace) and let the days wane and wax as they will.

He is bewildering and magical and beautiful all at once. And we are exhausted and time has taken on a new meaning and, of course, sleep too. I keep seeing this image of a tiny mythical creature falling through the paper ceiling of my life and landing in my arms. Part human. Part animal. Part myth. Part fairytale. Like a satyr. Or a centaur. Or more like a tiny human with brown sparrow wings tucked against his perfect newborn back. He's other worldly, like he burst through this very fragile divide that separates worlds and now we are learning to occupy this human world together. I tell you, he's magic.

Time is suddenly irrelevant. So until soon, friends, until soon. And in the meantime... Welcome, Maxwell Forest, that bright light is the sun.

xoxo,
k

More Like a List of Things

2011-10-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

Welcome to my corner of the world. Today, a list of things somewhat sporadic instead of a coherent or well-thought story to tell. Instead, thoughts like clouds passing but not like you are looking at the entire sky. A leaf in the late afternoon light. The squirrels arguing over something I cannot understand though one looks at me like I should try to understand him/ her or possibly mediate.

The photos above: An embroidery project in-progress and natural linen and red thread will always make me happy. A collection of eucalyptus buttons from a recent walk in the woods and the buttons still smell like the woods but on my studio table so miles away from the forest. Leg warmers for the little one, inspired by sock monkey colors. I have just acquired Maira Kalman's "The Principles of Uncertainty" and I am liking it very much.

Today is my due date! But the little one has decided he will arrive fashionably late, it seems. So I am employing my anticipation to stitch, sew, write, read, bake, walk, dream, and to notice the quiet moments all around me. There is a pause around me now. A palpable waiting.

And you? What are you pausing to notice these days?

xoxo,
k

House Tour: Our Small Urban Nest

2011-10-20T17:37:00.001-07:00

(View of the bedroom into the nursery. Artwork by 3191, HSJ, and Lisa S.)

(New raspberry-colored pillows, fresh off the presser foot.)

(The bedroom: raspberry, gray and white. Artwork by Wild, A. Fox, and Gracia&Louise.)

(Up-close: over my dresser.)

(The living room: Gray, yellow, red and turquoise too.
Artwork by McConnell, Joan, and S. Fairey.)

(Newly made pillows, still feathering the nest.)

(Up-close: yarn stash.)

(The kitchen: wood, white, and red. Sunflowers from the farmer's market.)

(Photos by me, letterpress print by Starshaped Press, and red shelves by my mister.)

(Up-close: vintage Pyrex collection.)

(View of the studio, my favorite lookout perch.)

(Up-close: inspiration lines including cards by some of you!)

***

It was so much fun showing you the recently renovated nursery so I thought I'd show you the rest of our place too. We moved here in February and I can finally say that it feels like home. Phew. It's as if I have to live in the space for a period of time before I can truly claim it.

Lately, I'm embracing a clash of geometric patterns, bold colors, white walls, worn furniture, and an ever-growing collection of books. I have a weakness for gorgeous hardcover design books full of photographs and articles. Some of my favorites: Undecorate, Flea Market Style, Apartment Therapy's Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces, Lotta Jansdotter's Handmade Living, and Decorate.

As if that wasn't enough, I'm always inspired by the amazing design boards that surface on Pinterest. And, as we all know, swoon-worthy design blogs are not hard to find (peek at my sidebar for some links). Lucky for us, inspiring & accessible design is everywhere these days and we just have to access computers, bookstores, or magazines for a good luscious dose.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of my own urban nest. (And for those of you wondering, no baby yet!)

xoxo,
k

Autumn Polaroids

2011-10-17T20:22:00.000-07:00

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Oh, you know I cannot resist the pull of the pretty analog--letterpress, Polaroid, needle & thread, typewriters, and so the list goes on. But there's something extra special about analog film. It's extra special because you tuck it away in a big box and then you leaf through that big box and then you find things that you didn't notice before. The light, maybe. Or the subject and how he/ she/ it has changed. Or maybe it's the composition.

I took these photos last autumn but they never made it to my scanner so they have been quietly hidden inside the little red Polaroid box until now. They seemed to be tucked there amidst the stack just waiting for this very October to be shared with you. Something about brown plaid and moody skies and plump pumpkins and a blue vintage dress.

Happy Autumn. And Happy (almost) Halloween.

xoxo,
k.

PS-- It was too much fun showing you the nursery. So this Thursday I'll show you the rest of our tiny apartment and studio too (complete with virtual cookies and tea).

Welcome to Our Nursery!

2011-10-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

(A view of the littlest room in the house.)

(I made the pillow from quilt scraps. Fabric by Denyse Schmidt for JoAnn's.)

(The big secret? Our clothes rack hangs behind that white curtain. Hush, don't tell.)

(Artwork left to right: Mobile by me, feather block print by 1canoe2, top photo by Andrea C. Jenkins aka Girl Hula, bottom sun print by yours truly. Apologies, I can't find the press name for the letterpress whale card.)

(A simple mobile made of linen, embroidery thread, and fiber stuffing.)

(Another view: A baby-friendly collection of vintage and antique furniture. We had almost everything except the tiny bookshelf from the Alameda Flea Market and the vintage dresser [below] from Craigslist.)

(Embellished sweaters made weeks ago, fabric bunting just finished, and a budding collection of vintage baby hangers.)

(Gifts from friends: a team of toys and softies.)

(Another view: Looking into our bedroom. Far right: ABC print by Sycamore Street Press.)

(Children's books by favorite artists: Nikki McClure and Clare Rojas.)

*****

The nursery is finished! (Okay, minus a handmade quilt and a hanging mobile waiting patiently by my studio desk. Otherwise, the nursery is ready for the little one.) We converted our walk-in closet into a tiny baby's room. Our small, one bedroom, city apartment is about 650 sq feet but I was determined to create a space in our home that felt like it was designed for our soon-to-be son.

So, we assessed the various corners of our cozy abode and decided the walk-in closet was the answer. For those of you who like the details: The closet is about 8.5 feet by 7.5 feet total-- minus 2 feet for our hanging clothes rack (behind the white curtain)-- we were left with 6.5 feet by 7.5 feet or 49 square feet for the nursery. And, magically, 49 square feet is enough! I chose items carefully, paired down, dreamed up, and shifted things we already owned to keep it all affordable. And now, it is finally complete.

I like to think of it as our vintage-circus-inspired baby boy's room full of animals and stripes and dots and handmade love and bright colors. Admittedly, I was hellbent and determined that neither a small space nor a tight budget would keep me from designing and decorating a little space for our newborn dreams. Voila! A walk-in closet turned nursery.

Welcome to our home, dear friends. I do hope you liked the visit.

xoxo,
k.

October and Sun Prints and Fabric Bunting

2011-10-10T21:46:00.001-07:00

Hello friends,

I am spending my first days of October surrounded by my dearest things: writing, reading, sewing, stitching, baking, decorating, and dreaming. I am also trying to waddle out into the beautiful city for short strolls, tea dates, and shopping trips to get the last few things for the little one on his way. Maternity leave is blissful. And quiet. And tender. And full of anticipation.

I am making the (above) fabric bunting with quilt scraps. The quilt is progressing day-by-day but it's so nice to have quicker projects that can be finished in a few hours--like bunting. And I'm embroidering some wishes onto a series of recent sun prints (also above). Sun prints of feathers and leaves with added stitches of very short poems. This one is a wish for the little one, "dream and then dream".

I'm going to post again on Thursday this week. So do come visit for a cup of tea and a nursery tour! We are almost ready for babes around here. Almost. I hope your week is happy, dear friends. Just that--happy.

xoxo,
k

Let's Talk About the Weather

2011-10-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

(Views of my week: sun prints in-progress.)

(Figs from the tree in our backyard: soon to be jam.)

(Paper scraps made pretty for garland.)

(Handwritten notes on cards by these folks.)

(Hydrangeas in the late afternoon light.)

***

I know, we talk about it all the time, but I want to take a minute to talk about the weather. It's raining today and I am aflutter with the cool temperature and the wet sidewalks and the sound of raindrops hitting the rooftops and cars splashing puddles as they pass. It's cool and calming and forces us indoors for a few hours in our studios or offices or living rooms or kitchens. I'd like to think it forces us to contemplate and get cozy and realize that even a pretty summer must end.

The gray sky is punctuated with full green and yellow leaves dripping with wet. Today feels like the first autumn rain. Like the first winter snow in New York City, it has the effect of heightening the senses and forcing us to recognize that we are at the whims of the weather. It makes the city quieter as it dampens and deafens. Put simply: I love it when the seasons shift.

There is something simple about coming back to the weather. Like a ritual or a practice or a meditation. It forces us to be present in the moment. It forces us to take notice of what is happening outside of our selves on this particular day. And the shift of seasons always heightens my awareness of our dependence on agriculture and its dependence on weather and that, even in these big bustling sophisticated and structured cities, we are all at the mercy of the rain.

Le sigh.

xoxo,
k

PS-- For more inspired weather pondering, visit Anna Emilia's gorgeous blog.

Upcycled Sweaters and Applique

2011-09-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

My fingers are happiest stitching and sewing and sketching and printing and writing and making.

I showed you the blue whale sweater I recently made here, but I've made a few more and wanted to share those too. I found adorable thrift store sweaters and added original applique, vintage buttons, and hand stitches for "up-cycled" embellishments. Three sweaters for three little ones on the way--mine and two others.

Detail: barn swallow sweater with pink felted hearts and a blanket stitch at the collar.

The sweater front-side, kept company by one adorable MODify/d elephant and a Gentle Giraffe (gifts from friends).

My favorite handmade barn swallow stencils are at it again--this time in hot pink.

Front side: a circus-inspired sweater complete with an elephant and balloons. I was happy to find a home for a few vintage buttons.

It's amazing how gendered clothes are for the little ones. I do love Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Baby for her thoughtful approach to baby design and gender too.

Back side of the circus-inspired sweater. Elephants are supposed to be good luck, no?

This yellow elephant was once a thrift store sweater himself. A few times through the washer and dryer and it was felted into a lovely buttery texture. (Hooray for cashmere.)

This whale sweater is a gift for my own little mister. I've been researching and writing about whales and marine mammals, so this blue whale made its way into my stitches.

Blue whale sweater front-side.

Blue whale back-side with breaching water drops.

I like how they look all together--as if they are assembled for a crafty child's circus!

Today is my first day of scheduled maternity leave. After working for three years with the same arts organization, a scheduled leave feels so strange. And also liberating. And somehow calming. And certainly exciting. And also nervous-making. But mostly, exciting.

xoxo,
k

Gold, Amber, and Orange: Autumn Too

2011-09-19T20:36:00.001-07:00

(35 weeks along, 5 weeks to go: grow, baby, grow)

(a weekend trip to Little Farm in Tilden Park)

(the sweetest mama cow with sunlight on her ears)

(concrete, denim, amber and gold)

(soft ambers and baked goods for autumn too)

This is a dreamy time of year-- summer spills her last batch of vibrant pinks and greens and purples to make way for autumn's golds and ambers and orange. Every spring I'm reminded of promise and optimism and everything budding up green. And every autumn I'm reminded of reflection and gratitude and everything cozying up for the winter ahead.

In the Bay Area, the seasons are a bit less predictable than in my native New York. September does not necessarily mean cooler days and the beckoning of wool and plaid. Instead, it usually means warmer days as the temperatures inland start to cool off and the fog can swing back out over the mighty Pacific. Instead of wool and cashmere it calls for sundresses and sandals. Come September, we typically get a burst of summer heat before the rains.

But somewhere in my seasonal clock, September means autumn. It means back-to-school and bursts of foliage and the beginning of wood fires and temperatures conducive to baking pies. Regardless of the warm days here in Oakland, my internal monitor is seeking out autumn instead. I want to knit, bake, wear fingerless gloves and sweater tights and cardigans, collect gourds and mums, and simmer spiced chai. Everywhere I look it's full of gold and amber and orange.

xoxo,
k.

Barn Swallow Shawl: Stitch Work

2011-09-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

I love Natalie Chanin's work. I love the hand work and all those stitches and how the designs incorporate the stitches not merely as "fasteners" but also as important aesthetic elements. Her stitches feel intentional and thoughtful and necessary and I like that very much.

I've just finished my second Alabama Chanin project. This is my second barn swallow shawl (modified from the "rose shawl" pattern). You can see my first one here and the makings of this second one here. They are made entirely of up-cycled thrift store t-shirts.

This one is a gift. It will soon be packaged and sent on its way. It's an offering of gratitude and thanks for continued love and friendship.

And I tucked a special secret note into the underlining of this shawl. An added reminder that this one was made with love.

I always love to look at the underside of embroidery and applique. Something about the silhouettes of the shapes pleases my eye. How the applique on the front becomes abstracted from the underside--as if the stitch work left a shadow underneath. This look at embroidery and applique always makes me think of Lisa's beautiful work.

Lately, most of my studio time has been spent crafting utilitarian objects. Some for me. Some for the baby on the way. Some for friends. But as we rush around to prepare our home and our hearts for this sweet little babe due to join us in just 6 weeks--I can't help feeling like I'm 6-weeks out from an exhibition or production deadline. The to-do lists, research, websites, shopping lists, and design sketches feel very much like preparing for a big show. Perhaps, this is just the biggest show yet!

Hope you like the shawl. And hope you are having a happy week, friends.

xoxo,
k

Flea Market Marvels

2011-09-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

My heart races when I enter the gates of a carefully curated flea market or not-so-carefully curated thrift store. Antique shops, flea markets, thrift stores, good wills, auctions, and even yard sales have had this effect on me since I was little.

Practically? It's still the greenest way to shop. But mostly? I know there are treasures waiting to be found. And I know that if I look closely and carefully I will be the one to find them. And when I find them amidst the castoffs and giveaways, well, it's just true love forever.

This weekend we went to the Alameda Flea Market. We left the house earlier and foggier than usual and headed over to join the thrifting, junking, treasure-hunting masses. We didn't have much time, but just being there for a bit was worth our early morning efforts.

What I didn't need and didn't come home with is this little box of hand-painted eggs (below). But my pulse climbed when I saw them and I stood marveling at their detail well after I snapped these photos. Aren't they gorgeous? I love their bright colors and folk painted prints. My mother always had an Easter egg tree and these little lovelies reminded me of her treasures.

We did manage to find a tiny bookshelf perfect for the soon-to-be nursery, a large vintage watering can, and a gorgeous glass door knob--a rather practical list of treasures. However, I did not come home with more plaid wool blankets, Pyrex dishes, vintage dresses, or medium-format cameras (photos above).

No, I did not. But next month if I have more time to browse and if the weather is more agreeable, well, I can't promise I'll be able to resist. Those eggs, for instance, are still making me marvel.

xoxo,
k.

Pattern & Color & Texture Too

2011-08-29T22:26:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking about pattern and color and texture. And about how pattern and color fit with minimalism or blank white walls or how too much stimulation fits perfectly against too little. I am not a minimalist by nature. I'm a collector, a gatherer, a fan of too many words and too many patterns and too many stitches. So I need pauses and empty spaces to contrast my collections.

I'm gathering inspiration for some design ideas around our home. I'm amassing a new nursery board over on Pinterest, but I'm also taking to the analog form of inspiration--my beloved design books. I adore the interiors in the photos above and below. (Below from the new-to-me magazine, Anthology. Above from the ever-popular design book, Decorate.)

Through my inspiration boards I've realize that fresh flowers from the farmer's market are part of my regular "decorating" routine. (And, amazingly, they never cost over $10 a pop.) And that my eye is drawn to the same thing again and again whether it's a space designed for children or adults. I like pretty dark floors, crisp white walls, textiles bursting with color and pattern, and lovingly arranged artwork on the walls or tabletops.

As we transform the walk-in closet into a tiny nursery (about 70 sq. feet) I am thinking about pattern and color and texture for a little boy's room. And I am looking around the rest of our apartment taking note of the colors and patterns I've already established.

So, I'm in a gathering phase. A collecting phase. Amassing the inspiration boards on Pinterest and bookmarking pages in magazines and books. Happily tripping over visual feasts that other artists and designers have already concocted. And it's good fodder for creative work--the gathering, reflecting, and arranging of things.

xoxo,
k.

Nesting: Stitches, Quilts, Dahlias, and Muffins.

2011-08-22T19:43:00.001-07:00

Dear friends,

I would venture to say that in my 31st week of pregnancy, the "nesting" has officially set in. A few things I wanted to share regarding stitches and quilts and flowers and baking:

Thing 1: This little blue sweater jumped into my basket at the thrift store and begged to come home with me. I swiftly agreed. And once we were home I dipped into my felted sweater stash and pulled out the means for two pockets on the front and one blue whale on the back. Add a bit of contrasting red thread for the buttons and there you have it-- a crafty cardigan for the future little one. I wonder if other sweaters will jump into my basket the next time.

Thing 2: The quilt fabric is officially cut into strips that are being cut into smaller strips and then sewn together in a free-form pattern. I love working with such bold graphic prints. And I love that this quilt will only measure 54 inches by 36 inches when I'm finished (a crib quilt) so all the stitch-work does not seem overwhelming. Instead, it seems small and manageable and fun.

Thing 3: Muffins and dahlias. Because they are both so lovely to have around. Muffins because I can use any fruit or nuts we have on hand and we have no trouble eating them all week long. (Last week: zucchini from the garden and golden raisins. This week: apples and lemon and walnuts.) Dahlias because I love them. And because I love the range of colors and varieties and petal structures. And because I bought three bunches for just $10 at the farmer's market on Sunday afternoon. How could I resist?

xoxo,
k

A Studio Visit and The Stein-Inspired Dresses

2011-08-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

A bit of exciting news to share with you today. This afternoon I was fortunate to be visited by two lovely curators organizing a Stein-based show in Washington DC in October. Luckily, three of the dresses and the patchwork quilt from The Dresses/ Objects Project will make their way across the country for an East Coast premier. Hooray!

Amazing to think that The Dresses/ Objects Project was just one year ago July. My goodness, time moves so quickly that I have to stop everything and sit very still in order to just catch a glimpse of it. (And a glimpse of me in it.)

Very good to reconnect with the dresses and this show. To remember the many months of preparation and creation and installation. And to know these pieces will enjoy a new life in an exhibition with an entirely new audience soon. Sadly, I will have to let the exhibition photographs suffice for the experience of being there as the show opens about 10 days before my due date.

Perhaps that means it's a double-birth?!?

xoxo,
k

Polaroids and Fantasy Crates of Film

2011-08-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

{one.}

{two.}

{three.}

I dream of someday stumbling upon a flea market or a yard sale or entering an old, small town, dusty photo shop where there is a crate of Polaroid film with my name on it. Yes, an entire crate with my name scrawled across the top and inside there are ample, unopened packages of that marvelous, addictive, and hard-to-find instant film. (Le Sigh.)

My stash of Polaroid film is quickly dwindling. To be exact, I only have two packages left. I am savoring them like the last slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie with that same sadness and blind optimism too. With the hope that next summer's berries will be just as good and yet with the full recognition that this season's rhubarb has already come to an end. (Double le sigh.)

A few recent Polaroid summer captures just for you: Blooming hydrangeas spill over a neighbor's pretty picket fence, a lazy afternoon with my cowgirl boots in the park, and a blue beloved vintage car just around the corner from my abode.

Hello, Oakland, you pretty summer love.

xoxo,
k

PS--Thank you for your sweet comments on last week's post. You sure know how to make a girl beam.

My Big, Round, Happy News!

2011-08-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

I am sixth months pregnant! It seemed high-time to tell you my big, round, happy news. I'm expecting a baby boy this October and for any new friends, this is most certainly my very first little one. My goodness and it's already August!

So perhaps this helps explain why I've been a bit distracted in my studio life the past few months--because most of my creative energy is going towards making a tiny human. It's true. We are thrilled and terrified and mystified and humbled and humored and mostly, we are thrilled.

Don't worry, this will not suddenly turn into a baby blog. But I do imagine that my pending motherhood will make its way into my studio life just as my husband and my garden and my travels and my ramblings make their way into my studio life--because they inspire me the most. My head and heart are bursting with nursery projects and baby crafts that I will share with you as we go.

Phew. Now that was a pretty big secret.

xoxo,
k

Natural Objects as Art and Inspiration

2011-07-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

Source: etsy.com via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: bookhouathome.blogspot.com via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: thelateststory.com via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: corikindred.com via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: ratio3.org via Katrina on Pinterest

This evening I am all things leaves, pine cones, mold, feathers, and stone. You and I both know I have a stack of projects-in-progress on my studio work table but it's so much more fun to show you a little collection of nature-inspired crafty goodness. I can't imagine a time in my life when a wander through the forest or a few hours at the coast didn't reset my inspiration and inspire new projects. Perhaps the two are truly linked for some of us, some of the time.

I love how these artists are not just using natural objects to inspire their work but they are oftentimes using the object to make the actual artwork (as is the case with the leaf prints, crochet stone, and pine cone assemblage too). And they are not just looking at the grandiose landscape or the always-inspired horizon but they are isolating the tiniest object and making it a world all its own.

Sometimes I want to tackle the grandiose through theory and debate and research and then more research. And sometimes I just want to be very, very quiet and grow intimate with the fragile details of things. The older I get, the more time I want with the details and the more time I want to study the details carefully. Perhaps it's like that infamous Robert Frost quote, "The only way around is through."

xoxo,
k

My Beloved Northern California Coast

2011-07-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

We drove north a few hours and stole away for an entire week on the California coast. We befriended seals and rabbits and frogs and hawks and jays and vultures and fawns and bats and sheep and cows and also goats. We were greeted by waves crashing and reaching and tumbling and lulling along the beaches and against the cliffs.

We passed our days swimming and reading and cooking and dreaming and practicing yoga and then long walks and drives to various little towns along the coastline. We were without cell phone reception or internet access and the modern world just gently slipped away. Sweet bliss.

And now, we are back, and slowly making our way through our beautiful but busy urban lives. I'm amazed, how just one week away can feel like another life was lived completely.

xoxo,
k.

View of My Work Table, Residencies, and Exhibitions Too.

2011-07-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

(My most recent inspiration lines, above my desk.)

(Paper garlands in-progress, mostly recycled security envelopes.)

(An Alabama Chanin pattern, modified by yours truly.)

(A little embroidery tool stash.)

(New summer Polaroids, waiting to be scanned.)

(My poetry manuscript received edits before being sent out to presses. Eep!)

(The results of our recent cherry-picking adventure: a few jars of jam.)

Hi friends,

Suddenly, it is Tuesday. And I usually try to get here to post on Mondays but some Mondays turn into Tuesdays before I have much of a say in the matter. You know? I know you know. So I wanted to show you a few views of my work table. A few views of projects-in-progress. My heart is set on making the quilt I've been posting about, but there are a few other projects swirling around my studio periphery.

I'm also dreaming about these artist residency centers in various corners of the country: Elsewhere in NC, The Wassaic Project in NY, and the Recology AIR program at the San Francisco dump! They all sound magical. And I am swept up in thoughts of large-scale projects I might create as a resident. Projects I might begin. Other projects I might finish. But mostly the time and space and place to indulge in another large-scale craft installation. Yes, someday.

I'm also super excited about these shows close to home: Ratio 3 is exhibiting a Margaret Kilgallen solo exhibition and who doesn't love Margaret Kilgallen? The BAN6 show at YBCA is worth seeing--I thought Suzanne Husky, Allison Smith, Brion Nuda Rosch, and Mauricio Ancalmo took the cake. And the Stein exhibitions are beckoning again and again.

Oh, summer. You make me happy.

xoxo,
k.

Quilt Commitments: Denyse Schmidt Fabrics

2011-07-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

The quiltspiration has paid off. I've purchased eight different fabrics designed by Denyse Schmidt in various shades of blue, yellow, and red. I was thrilled to see her spring collaboration with Joann Fabrics resulting in the gorgeous DS Quilts line of modern, vintage-inspired, eye-popping, summer-affirming stripes, dots, blossoms, and squiggles. (Read more about the fabrics here or here.)

I'm still working out the details of my quilt pattern, but I think it will be similar to the one I've sketched above. Mostly stripes, free-form, similar heights but varying widths, a simple back with one stripe of detail, machine-quilted but the binding will be hand-stitched. Hooray! I've washed, ironed, and carefully folded the fabrics and now I'm ready for the big quilter's commitment: the cutting.

Tonight I'm scooting off with friends for a true 4th of July American tradition--barbecue and fireworks. For my friends stateside, I hope you are enjoying the same. xoxo, k.

So Many Cherries: In Honor of Homemade Jam

2011-06-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

How do you reign in the first heat of summer?

Do you steam up your hot summer kitchen with summer jam? When pounds of produce make their way to our kitchen counters I know that summer has quite officially begun. And I get giddy with all the abundance and aromas and the heat and the chance to make a jam concoction that is just a bit closer to perfect than last summer's.

So we picked 10 pounds of cherries and now our urban homestead is officially aflutter with the season. But how could we refuse? Now we are cleaning and pitting in preparation for many jars of jam. We will make a rhubarb-cherry, a plum-cherry, and then the classic plain-old-cherry too.

I was doing a bit of flavor research and now I'm also daydreaming about this jam class over at Blue Chair. I'm thinking Rhubarb Jam with Plum & Ginger sounds completely divine.

xoxo,
k.

A Treasure Chest of Vintage Photos

2011-06-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

On my last trip to NY I found a treasure chest. And this treasure chest lives at my mother's house and sometimes it makes its way out into the open space of the family room when we all gather together to eat and drink and tell stories and laugh and argue and ultimately remember. And every time the treasure chest is opened there's a slight chance you might leave with one of the treasures in your pocket.

And sure enough, this time the heaping box of family photos was hefted from its space in storage and I was lucky to leave with a pocket-sized treasure of my own. Just one small package from a commercial photo shop and on the back in my father's young handwriting it reads, "Rodabaugh, 8/19/60, 1 each wallet, print regardless". And inside there were 12 tiny packets of photographs-- mostly black & white, mostly from the 1950s, mostly of my father and his family-- tucked neatly into the aged packaging as if waiting to be found.

xoxo,
k.

Seeking Summer and Cozy Hues

2011-06-14T21:28:00.000-07:00

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*****

I am so persuaded by the change in weather. Finally, our cool days have given over to warmer whispers and promises of summer. I am reveling in sundresses and cool mint tea and open windows tossing curtains in the breeze. I'm ready to curl up with quiet shades of peach, sage, and beige while basking in the softest and laziest early summer light. We have been very busy around here. Between travels to the East Coast, big shows, and beloved house guests, I am now officially seeking what is cozy and hushed.

And the farmer's market is an ever-optimistic summer adventure on Sunday mornings. This weekend we came home with heavy bags full of peaches, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, sweat peas, onions, and fava beans. Our own little garden is still finding her footing, but already she's providing the prettiest lettuces and herbs. Dear summer, I cannot wait for your official visit so please do come soon.

xoxo,
k.

Quiltspiration

2011-06-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

Source: flickr.com via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: folkartmuseum.org via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: dsquilts.com via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: ianhundleystudio.com via Katrina on Pinterest

Source: kathrynclark.com via Katrina on Pinterest

What could be cuter than pies and quilts and a group of friends gathering to eat one and stitch the other? Last week was the first "Ps and Qs" gathering at friend's house, complete with strawberry rhubarb pie and blueberry ice cream pie--both delicious. We ate pie and settled about her Oakland apartment with our various fabric projects--hand embroidery, machine quilting, and cutting squares seemed to be most popular.

It might take me several months to finish my not-yet-started quilt project, but I'm going to do it! Now is the fun stage-- dreaming and collecting images and conducting research. I'm telling you, in a former life I was a craft research director. No, I've never heard of this position either but I trust it does exist. Maybe it's another position to add to my long list of in-another-life career options along with florist and interior decorator and marine biologist.

What's your alter ego do for a living? My husband says if he leaves his work as a theater designer he's going to be a forest ranger instead. Or a potato farmer. I suppose my marine biologist and his forest ranger could still be a good match. I hope you enjoy this collection of quilts--what a friend calls, "quiltspiration".

xoxo,
k.

PS-- Lots of talk about this recent NYTimes article featuring yarn bombing. My favorite quote from the article, "Yarn bombing grows out of the larger D.I.Y. movement, which seeks to resurrect traditional handicrafts more typically associated with grandmothers, like knitting, canning, gardening and even raising chickens". On that note, if you haven't heard about craftivism, you might enjoy Betsy Greer's website too.

Just One Week in the Country

2011-05-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

The charm of country roads and weathered barns and dandelion patches just never seems to get old for me. Maybe it's because I was raised in the country and I have that healthy longing for childhood nostalgia. Or maybe it's because I've lived the past 12 years between major US cities and nothing but a country life could seem further from my reality. Or maybe it's just something aesthetic or intuitive that clicks on in me for no obvious reason. Regardless, I am charmed by a sundress and a fiddle and a barn.

A few photos from our recent trip to the New York countryside followed by a weekend wedding in the Berkshires. I mean, doesn't everybody want an accordion player at their spring wedding? A barn with a weather vane in the distance? A smattering of canning jars transformed into lighting fixtures? A roadside ice cream stand complete with picnic tables?

Okay, what about an excuse to wear boots and sundresses just about every day? Le sigh.

xoxo,
k.

Carefully Knotted: A Large-Scale Yarn Installation

2011-05-23T22:54:00.000-07:00

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If I had to guess, I'd say I had over 30 skeins of red yarn in my studio at some point in the last few weeks. My very first set design (shown above) was comprised of red yarn, mostly knotted into an abstract woven web, along with knitted rectangles, found sweater parts, a smattering of small twigs collected from the sidewalk, and a few red doilies. The design was commisioned by Hope Mohr Dance as part of the San Francisco International Arts Festival. (Thank you, Hope.)

The wall measured 17 feet long, roughly 7 feet high, and strung across the back of the stage, suspended between two existing columns. There was also a human-sized nest of red fiber and one lone skein of thread used by the performer to wrap the space. We also tucked a small pair of golden scissors into the yarn wall--a secret tool for the performer to retrieve and ultimately "set herself free".

Now I keep dreaming about how the yarn wall would look strung between two Redwood trees, or hung above the Pacific Ocean tangling in the wind. It seems to want to be installed outside as a public art installation, perhaps with a group of knitters or in homage to the marvelous woven webs of spiders. Maybe one day, it will resurface from the theaterical lights and find its place under the big bright sun. xoxo, k.

Ps--I am back from my trip to NY and will share some travel photos here soon. Dear friends, I hope your May has been delightful.

Greetings from New York

2011-05-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

Greetings from afar!

I am traversing my native New York, spending the week with family and friends and wishing the week was actually several weeks longer. How dreamy to imagine a leisurely road trip through the upstate countryside, absorbing the vibrant greens and yellows and pinks of a heroic budding spring. Then visiting our beloved Brooklyn to discover favorite spots and rediscover old ones--to indulge in New York museums and performances and readings until we've had our fill.

Alas! This trip is short and sweet and will have to hold us over until a longer visit is possible. I've brought along a few skeins of red yarn so that I might continue working on the set installation from afar-- draping the knit work across my lap at various kitchen tables and living rooms and porches. I'll be back before you know it. In the meantime... have a lovely week, lovely yous.

xoxo, k.

Fiber Art Research (that Makes me Swoon!)

2011-05-02T17:09:00.000-07:00

Source: lisa-cooley.com via Katrina on Pinterest

(one.)

Source: mischertraxler.com via Katrina on Pinterest

(two.)

Source: bitrebels.com via Katrina on Pinterest

(three.)

Source: neoimages.net via Katrina on Pinterest

(four.)

Source: mackenziefrere.com via Katrina on Pinterest

(five.)

Source: designspongeonline.com via Katrina on Pinterest

(six.)

*****

I've been collecting images of swoon-worthy textile and fiber art installations. I could spend the better part of each day just amassing images of thread and yarn and fabric and fiber-based art that incorporates surprising use of scale, installation, or complete viewer- immersion. I love this research! And I love all of the above images for their refreshing and amazing use of yarn or thread or fiber. I want to visit each one in person and spend hours gazing at their construction. Oh, swoon!

In 3 weeks I will install my very first "set installation" for theater. I've been hired as the set designer for Hope Mohr Dance as part of the San Francisco International Art Festival at the Southside Theater at Fort Mason, May 20-22. I am configuring ways to make a hanging wall that is 18 feet long and 13 feet high and made almost entirely of red thread. I am stringing up red thread from end to end in my little studio-- configuring knots and stitches and loops and tangles into an assemblage or wall hanging.

When I find myself weeks away from a deadline, I always dream about having a small army of artists and crafters as part of my studio life. I imagine we would be a very welcoming small army-- complete with thread and sewing machines and letterpress equipment and stacks of books and fabric and wood type and also mandatory tea breaks and a daily delivery of fresh-baked scones. Yes, please! In the meantime, I am happily experimenting with stitches and knots and tangles.

Hope you are well, dear friends. xoxo, k.

The Stories in Our Stitches

2011-04-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

(I'm starting a new "up-cycled" shawl project)

(A twist on the Rose Shawl designed by Natalie Chanin)

(It will be a sister to my first Alabama Chanin-inspired shawl)

(Made entirely from recycled t-shirts and many hand-stitches...)

***

I like to have a sewing project that I can flop across my lap at the end of the day and quietly get lost in my stitches. Big sewing projects at the sewing machine are something I also adore, but there is something so simple and satisfying about having a creative project that is quiet, transportable, and also lap-sized.

I used to feel this way about knitting too. There's something meditative about the act of creating without the use of a machine. Don't let me fool you-- I proudly take part in my life via laptop, I revel in the features of my digital camera, and I love my portable Singer sewing machine--but I am equally swooned by the quiet act of a thread and needle. Or a pencil and notebook. Or the way ink lifts from a linoleum block when it's been printed by hand.

I think there's a different resonance in work that's been made entirely by hand. Not that there's a hierarchy, but just a different frequency or story or sound. I like to think the stitches actually hold stories about the lives of the people who made them. I like to imagine the thread marks are like tiny letters or symbols or codes dashing across the fabric, telling us stories without ever saying a word.

xoxo, k.

Spring Studio Updates

2011-04-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

The rain continues to drip and drizzle on the potted herbs lining our front step but the blue skies are putting up a good fight for April's affection. If you ask me, I think the sunny side just might win. There are a few studio updates I wanted to share with you including collaborations on jewelry, theatrical sets, and an upcoming publication. More details...

1.
I am so excited to announce that I am part of Sprout Studio's artist-of-the-month collaboration. I've rounded out designer, Jen Lake's, bakers' dozen and I am smitten with the collection she's created. And honored to have my linoleum printed chairs and sewn bird canvas among the other artworks-turned-necklaces. Such a lovely job, Ms. Jen, and thank you.

2.
I am designing a set! Yes, a set for theater. Well, a set for dance to be precise. After seeing my Dresses/ Objects installation last summer, choreographer Hope Mohr asked me to design the set for her upcoming show at the San Francisco International Arts Festival. So, on May 19 I will debut as a set designer. The set will include digital photograph projections, a huge handmade cotton video screen, and a bunch of red thread. Cross your fingers, please!

3.
I will have an article and photographs included in the upcoming issue of Viz Inter-Arts magazine. I LOVED the first issue and I'm honored to be included in the second. I'll show you images when it's released--such a wonderful poetry publication.

Hope you are happily navigating April--full of promise for the warmer days ahead and all the adventures of summertime weather. Or, for my friends on the other side of the globe, I hope you are cozying up to cooler and quieter months ahead. xoxo, k.

Austin, Texas: Through My Lens

2011-04-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

Austin, Texas: you are absolutely adorable!

From the food trucks, shops, and cafes on South Congress; to the amazing swimming opportunities at Barton Springs Pool (the most beautiful city swimming structures I've ever seen); to the fabulous food and gardens at the East Side Cafe; to the exhibition at the Austin Art Museum; to the adorable little cottages where we stayed (complete with vegetable and flower gardens under a true canopy of birdsong); to the slow spirited days with my husband's family-- Austin, Texas was a sheer delight.

(on the side of Jo's cafe, a love note from the owner's girlfriend)

(our front steps to the garden)

(everything was blooming and blue skies, and roses grew)

(two beloved family members, taking a rest)

(surrounded by birdsong, literally!)

(the vacation obligation: slow sipping caffeine, preferably street side)

(our cozy loft, complete with re-purposed wood)

(dreamy like a springtime breeze)

(hello littlest you, happy to indulge the little ones)

(outside our cottage, just so)

(the east side cafe has chickens! delighted.)

(my favorite food truck: hey cupcake in a remodeled airstream. swoon, swoon.)

My only regret is that we didn't stay longer. But I suppose it is the sign of a vacation well spent when you leave wanting more. It was just four days in the middle of the country with relatives from each end of the states, but it was just enough to reset my daily clock to a slower pace, awaken my muses for a day or two, and remind me that there are so many places I've yet to visit. I used to travel quite a bit and this trip reminded why. (Le sigh. )

Austin, Texas we were grateful for your sweet, southern charm and hospitality. For those of you who have never been, I do recommend a visit. xoxo, k.

April in Austin and Spring is Sprung

2011-04-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

Oakland is aflutter with the promise of spring. The rains have broken and we have been graced with gorgeous blue skies and warm afternoons and reasons to wear skirts without tights or winter coats or fingerless mittens. (To those of you in colder climates, hold on, your warmer afternoons are coming soon, I promise.)

The birds are full of chatter. The neighbors are emerging from their winter caves and we are meeting them for the very first time here. And the cherry, apple, and plum tree blossoms are popping up all over in shades of white and raspberry and pink. Spring is finally springing.

By the time you read this I will be in Austin, TX for the very first time aflutter with my own curiosities of being in a brand new place. I'll only be away for a long weekend, visiting with family and enjoying the sights and shops and eateries around town. I'm so curious... what is Austin like in April? Soon I'll get to find out. xoxo, k.

Three Things: Cardboard, Felt, and Mockingbirds

2011-03-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

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Tap, tap.
Hello? Hi? Is anybody still out there? Is this thing on?
Oh, it is on! Okay, let's start over then.

Hi.
Hi, I'm here and it's Monday evening and I'm here where I'm used to being on Monday evenings. And gosh, I've missed you!

Somehow last week came and went and I never made it to this space to post about the week's inspirations or ponderings or creations. And I'm sorry!
I've been so incredibly distracted. And well, now I'm back.

I'm back. Hi!
Hi, I missed you.

*****

Three Things:

Thing 1:
As you know, we moved to a new apartment in mid-February and I am slowly but surely climbing out from the stacks of boxes. But to complicate the cardboard, I work for an arts organization during the week and last week we moved to a new office! Now, boxes at home and at work. But I have decided to surrender to the boxes and shake hands with the cardboard. And if the rain doesn't stop very soon, I just might build myself a cardboard boat and row myself around Oakland. Honk if you see me paddling.

Thing 2:
The felt flower workshop was amazing! 17 people came out in the pouring, sobbing, drenching rain to join me at the library on Tuesday night. And the participants were so lovely that I floated out of the library and back into the rain, buoyant with their crafty energy and enthusiasm. They made the most beautiful felt flowers and it reminded me how much I love teaching. How happy my hands are to stitch and trim and sew. Put simply: I am grateful.

Thing 3:
There is a mockingbird in our new neighborhood and I am falling head over heels for its erratic songs. The shrills range from poetic to electronic to a hushed tweeting to an operatic showdown. The song is part every-other-bird-in-the-neighborhood and part video-game-sound-effects. Reminds me how much I love birdsong. Reminds me that the simplest pleasures are never very faraway, sometimes I'm just too noisy to hear them.

Happy Monday, lovely yous. xoxo, k.

Day at the Park & Felted Flowers Workshop

2011-03-14T19:23:00.001-07:00

I should remember this every time: follow the sun and head outdoors to the greenery and birdsong and welcomed pace of the woods.

My husband and I spent several hours in the sunshine at Tilden Park on Saturday afternoon and, simply said, I'm just so pleased we did. The rains came swiftly on Sunday morning and the Sunday Farmer's Market was humid and wet, and then cold and wet, and then... well, you get the picture. But Saturday afternoon was luscious and green and full of early spring's promises for tulips, ranunculus, and anemones.

As always, I returned a little calmer, a little clearer, a little more like myself than when we left. Dear friends, I hope we never know a world without public parks and preserved green spaces. Never. Ever. Ever. It's long been the sanity to my urban living.

I wanted to tell you about an upcoming craft workshop I'm teaching in San Francisco on Tuesday, March 22. As requested by a friend, I will be teaching Create Felt Flowers for Brooches or Barrettes at the West Portal public library. I've long been intrigued by the various methods of felt-making and this workshop is providing a good opportunity to study-up while unpacking my threads and firing up the glue guns.

Join us for some felted flowers if you're nearby, won't you? xoxo, k.

Home is (Not Yet) Here

2011-03-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

Sometimes life is just an exercise in good old fashioned patience, you know? I imagined that by the third week in our new apartment I'd have the artwork hung, the furniture carefully arranged, and the studio would be my oasis of natural sunlight, well-organized shelves, and ever-dreamy inspiration boards. (Now, that actually makes me giggle.) Well, needless to say, this is not quite yet the case.

Instead, I am posting this blog while sitting on my living room floor amidst haphazard arrangements of furniture, boxes with the most stubborn items, and the new spaghetti of wires that promise to clean-up once we've established a wireless internet connection. But today is actually one giant leap for humankind as it's the first day we have internet pumping into our apartment at all. (Imagine a small crowd cheers!) Le sigh.

I have been so busy between my day job and my life-in-and-out-of-boxes that I haven't yet unpacked the studio. I have a deadline on March 22 so I will have to unpack it very soon. But thank you, dearest readers, for sticking it out with me here in blogland. Soon enough, I hope to be back to a better "art+life" balance or at least my new balance will suddenly re-emerge, a bit off-center from how I left it.

PS--I have recently joined Pinterest and I think I'm in love. The Selby is in Your Place is my newest art book read; I adored the chapbook, "The Man Who Lost His Head" by new-to-me poet Zach Savich; and I hear the BAN6 talks at YBCA are lovely. xoxo, k.

Almost Spring and Summer Dress Dreams

2011-02-28T13:33:00.001-08:00

I want to make a dress like this one. Something like this from the front side.

Like this from the backside.

Like this from the front and back sides.

I will use these two designers and these two books to refine my sketches.

I will use this fabric.

And, oh, how I love the African Ikat patterns on fabric. And how these colors remind me of the blue sky and tan fields all along the hillsides in the summer in Northern California.

And then I start thinking of girls in fields in dresses.

And I want to make this dress because February is promising spring and spring is always promising summer.

And it's all a result of just a few sunny days in Oakland that make me dream of summer dresses and bright summer sunshine and girls twirling around in frocks in imaginary forests and fields. So...

As soon as I can dig my sewing machine out from the unpacked stacks in my studio I am going to sew. And I am going to make some new prints on fabric. And I am going to make this dress.

And I am going to make a new inspiration wall to hover above my desk, full of patterns and prints and postcards and dress design sketches. I keep imagining where the inspiration wall will be, like it's just under the fresh layer of paint waiting for me to peel back the edges.

My best friend is visiting from Michigan and we are spending our time chatting and giggling and going to performances and giggling and chatting and watching the Oscars and taking a long Sunday hike and also giggling and chatting. Maybe our photo shoot from a few summer's past is inspiring all this dreamy summer dress thinking.

Or maybe my hands are just ready for thread and needle, ink and linoleum blocks, like the sun shines and suddenly the world needs more Polaroids and love letters and summery dresses. xoxo, k.

Mini Artists Retreat: Tomales Bay

2011-02-22T09:56:00.000-08:00

Sometimes a girl just needs a getaway, right? That's what we thought too. So this weekend I was part of a mini ladies art retreat just north of San Francisco. I joined forces with a handful of Bay Area artist bloggers and we took to a cottage on Tomales Bay where we cooked, rested, giggled, painted, beaded, strolled, adventured, and otherwise sat on the dock overlooking the bay and marveled at the birds and sunsets.

I haven't been on a proper art retreat since I spent a month at the Vermont Studio Center in summer 2005. And there's something so special about surrounding yourself with other artists as you carry out your daily activities. There's a true sense of community and communing when we tend to gravitate towards the same things, just in individual ways.

It's kind of amazing to look out at the clouds changing colors and realize the person next to you is grabbing her camera too, putting her beads down and resting her paintbrush to pull on her coat and head out to the dock before the light changes. To remember that our instincts are shared by other like-minded folks, it's just the individual view that changes from lens to lens. Le sigh.

I hope you had a lovely weekend too, friends. I wish every one of you could have joined us on the dock for just a few days. If we do it again, maybe we'll get more organized and figure out how to integrate more artists. Imagine the possibilities! xoxo, k.

Please, Pardon My Mess!

2011-02-15T11:05:00.000-08:00

(the front door, where the nest begins.)

(the front steps, lined with potted plants.)

(the front window, full of raindrops.)

We have moved! The final boxes made it into our new apartment this weekend and I am elated with the possibilities of our new space. Yes, I dare say "elated". Though, the feeling of elation is not yet evident when you walk through the front door and enter the stacks of boxes and bags.

I'm certainly not ready to give you a tour quite yet but in a few weeks, I promise. (Oh, the excitement of having my studio unpacked, my kitchen ready to bake muffins and scones, the bedroom ready to provide a cozy retreat.) After we moved it started raining and became very obvious that we should stay inside and deal with our sweet mess.

I wanted to show you the bits of the garden that made the move with us and now line our front steps. We will mostly use "container gardening" until spring when the backyard can demand our full attention, but the herbs are happily stationed for now. I'll be back next week with a non-move related post and will return to posting on Mondays. Oh, dear friends, please pardon my mess!

PS--I am loving Just Kids by Patti Smith. It's her biography of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and as the publisher says, "Begins as a love story and ends as an elegy". So, so good.

Moving and Unearthing Things

2011-02-07T14:15:00.001-08:00

*one*

*two*

*three*.

Dear friends,

Our move is now just days away. As you can imagine, the boxes are stacking up and towering all around us. We now have to leave paths to get from the kitchen table to the refrigerator and from the front door back to the kitchen table again. We have to be careful not to stub our toes and bang our elbows as we navigate!

In unearthing stacks of journals from the studio I was struck by my earliest artwork and writings. A bag of journals written by a-very-young-me revealed the difference in my intuition and my "attempts to be a poet". The same was true for the visual artwork. I finally took a stack of lifeless paintings on canvas to the recycling bin while treasuring the early botanical sketches, dress designs, and photographs. It felt liberating! In short, I kept the work that looks like me but I purged the work that looks like I wanted to be somebody else.

An art teacher in college told me, "Fight like hell to hold on to your style, they'll try to take that away from you, but you'll ultimately realize how much you want it back." So true. This purge felt like I was honoring her advice from 15 years ago: Hold on to the parts that are yours, disregard the parts that aren't. And very soon, dear friends, we will be moved into our new nest and the boxes will be emptying instead of filling. Oh, what a promise.

xoxo, k.

PS-- Some favorite annual events are coming up in the Bay Area: The SoEx Monster Drawing Rally, the White Elephant Sale, and YBCA's Bay Area Now... just for starters.

A New Place to Nest!

2011-01-31T20:16:00.000-08:00

(From the Feb 2011 issue of Elle Decoration UK)

(From Apartment Therapy's Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces.)

(Also from Big Book...)

(Detail of above living room, love the double-sided pillows.)

(Quick sketches of our new rooms.)

(From Oct 2010 issue of House Beautiful. Blogged here.)

(From Recycled Home by the Baileys)

(My notebook: Doodles & lists & dreamings.)

Hello friends,

I'm *so* excited to report that my husband and I have found a new apartment in Oakland and we'll be moving in just two weeks. Eep! I can't stop squealing with delight.

We've been in our current place for 5 years and I'm thrilled to start the next adventure in nesting. We are spending our off-time purging, packing, and painting. The new place was a kaleidoscope of brown, cream, white, sage, and purple walls so we are taking this opportunity to paint the whole darn thing white. We might add more colorful walls as time goes on but for now, all white.

I figure, if I keep the walls mostly white then my love for bold patterns, bright color, and sumptuous textiles can be focused towards pillows, curtains, rugs, blankets, artwork, and other found treasures. Seems logical, right?

So, while I should be packing, instead I've taken all my interior design books off the shelf and I'm turning corners of magazines and slipping bookmarks into favorite pages left and right. My notebook is filled with new doodles and lists and dreamings. I cannot wait to move in!

The thing is, this doesn't just feel like a new apartment. It feels like a whole new beginning. And how I adore new beginnings: full of promise and sunlight and stories waiting to be told.

But mostly? Mostly, I'm excited for the worn hardwood floors, the pretty claw foot tub, the overgrown yard just waiting for us to sculpt a garden this spring, and the smattering of windows ready to let the sunlight into every single room.

xoxo, k.

TTV Photos & Dreamscapes

2011-01-24T23:46:00.000-08:00

I thought I would mostly keep quiet today and let the photographs do the talking. Though I'll mention that "dreamscape" is the word that keeps coming to mind. Something about these images makes me feel like time has been collapsed or altered. Like place and time and waking and dreaming have all been collaged together here in film.

More soon. xoxo, k.

Inspired by Slow Design

2011-01-17T20:46:00.000-08:00

I recently received Natalie Chanin's second book, Alabama Studio Style, and it's just as inspiring as the first. And the designs and photographs are just as beautiful. Her sentiments about returning to her hometown to work with local artisans to create contemporary clothing based on traditional crafting techniques... Well, it just about breaks my heart in all the right places. I'm not only inspired by her design and her use of materials, but I'm also inspired by her philosophy and her cultivation of that philosophy too. Swoon, swoon.

In reading through her second book my heart raced with her mention of Slow Design. Living in the Bay Area, I've known about the Slow Food movement but I hadn't heard much about the theory of Slow Design. It's one of the things I miss the most about graduate school: the study of creative theory and the space to gather around a large table to hash it out. So, I've taken it upon myself to do a little research and I'm happily basking in a few new-to-me sites: One, Two, and Three. I currently can't read enough about this movement and its thinkings and principles. I'm inspired-- my heart's aflutter.

I'm staying cozy in these first few weeks of the New Year, glad to have a little time between art deadlines to read, bake, research, and daydream when I'm not at the office. I'm also excited for a few events this weekend: EmSpace Dance, The Companion Piece, and Alison Pebworth at the Smiths storefront. Between dreaming and reading, I'm trying to pencil in the time to get out and about too. Soon February will be here and everything will be full of frenzy. Le sigh.

(PS--The winner from last week's giveaway is posted in the comments section of last week's post. Thank you very much for your feedback, you're a blogger's best friend, you know? xoxo, k.)

My First Tutorial: Simple Prints on Fabric (And a Giveaway)

2011-01-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

Today, I want to try my very first blog tutorial. I'm not going to show you every single step, but I want to see if you get the idea by these 10 steps. Okay? I'll be so grateful if you play along. Actually, if you leave me feedback in the comment section by 8pm on Monday, January 17, I'll pick one of you for a giveaway of either of these new fabric goods. Sound good? Here we go...

Tutorial: How to make simple prints on fabric and then turn the fabric prints into either lavender sachets or zipper pouches. (For beginners, I strongly recommend the lavender sachet as the zipper pouch was very difficult with the lining, though much easier without a lining.)

Step 1: Draw a simple shape you want to print on fabric. I used the bottom of a spool of thread to create a circle, then drew the pointed star sides away from the circle, making a somewhat symmetrical but organically-shaped star burst.

Step 2: Cut out your simple shape with any craft scissors, part of the charm of block prints is their imprecision and proof of "the hand".

Step 3: Trace the outline of your simple shape onto a MasterCarve block--available at most art supply stores. (I usually use linoleum blocks for printing, but these blocks really hold up to their promise and "cut like butter". Use linoleum or MasterCarve blocks.)

Step 4: Using a Speedball Lino Cutter carve your shape out from the block. This material is much easier to carve than a linoleum block, but it won't last nearly as long. If you decide to use linoleum, chose a simple shape until you're used to carving. If you chose the MasterCarve, be careful not to crack the edges of your design as you carve--it's very soft and can tear with too much pressure.

Step 5: Now your shapes are carved, hooray! Select a fabric print such as Jacquard Screen Printing Ink. I've tested several fabric inks but I like this one because it's thick enough to use for block printing.

Step 6: I didn't show you this step, but you'll want to scoop out a dollop of ink and roll it smooth with a brayer. I usually use a piece of glass or marble for the ink and you can find these at most art supply or hardwood stores. Roll your brayer in the smooth ink, then coat one side of the carved shape. Flip your shape over and "stamp" your fabric but leave the shape face-down.

Use the back of your hand to press the shape into the fabric or you might want to use a rolling pin or the bottom of a canning jar. To avoid smudges, be careful the block doesn't move while you are applying pressure.

Step 7: Voila! You have printed on fabric. Now, you'll want to let the ink dry, iron to fix ink if necessary (your ink should indicate if heat-setting is needed) and then cut your fabric to desired shapes. If you have a specific project in mind, you can design your prints especially for the project.

Step 8: I decided to follow this wonderful zipper pouch pattern, but I had a very hard time with the lining. Every time I would finish a pouch, the zipper would catch in the lining when trying to open. So, I resulted to making the pouches without linings so the zippers wouldn't catch. Much easier.

Step 8 detail: You can see how I altered the pattern to make my pouches without a lining so I could trust them to zip and unzip.

Step 9: A simpler sewing solution is the lavender sachet. Simply cut two pieces of fabric the same size, place them right sides together and pin. With your sewing machine sew three edges together and then sew just the ends of the fourth side. (Make sure you do not sew the fourth side completely or you won't be able to turn the fabric back to the right sides.)

Then, flip the fabric back to the right sides, fill with lavender buds, pinch together so the buds don't spill (I used binder clips), then sew the fourth side by hand using a simple blind stitch. (For more detail, use this pattern.) Voila! Now you are truly finished.

Step 10: Enjoy your handmade goods. Stash vintage buttons in your zipper pouch or add a lavender pillow to your sweater drawer. I keep a lavender sachet on the desk in my studio and it makes the whole room smell wonderful. (I also have pouches and sachets in my Etsy shop if you'd rather purchase one than make one, but I do hope you'll make your own too!)

PS--What did you think? Could you follow the steps that were missing photos? And were the tools obvious even when not shown? Eep! So exciting. Would love your two cents and I'll pull a comment on January 17 to win either one lavender sachet or one zipper pouch, as seen here. Happy 2011, friends. And thank you for your feedback. xoxo, k.

Dear 2011, My List.

2011-01-03T21:36:00.000-08:00

Dear 2011,

Our trip down the coast was quite magical and full of reflection and pause and gratitude and my favorite slow easy mornings. Now we are inching back to the day-to-day and I'd like to put in my requests and resolutions. There are a few things I'd like from you so I've written all the things down and then edited all the things down to this more manageable list of 10.

List of 10:

Make another quilt, even if it takes all year.
More yoga and then probably more yoga.
Take photos on film with my old cameras.
Wear the blue silk dress.
Wear the blue silk dress twice.
Draw with pencil, just because.
Plant sunflowers along the back fence.
Be brave!
Learn to screenprint and try to work with stencils.
Make a 3-minute movie about love. (Make this movie with my mister.)

My fingers are crossed that you and I are going to get along just fine. As you know, I turned a year older on New Year's Day so, please 2011, let's get off to a good start and fill January with some sunshine.

xoxo,
k.

A Moment of Winter's Wondering

2010-12-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

When you read this it will be Monday evening but as I'm writing it, it's actually in the early hours of Sunday morning. The house is quiet and the sun is streaming through the front window, catching the Christmas tree branches and ornaments and then the edges of furniture, tumbling those odd shapes and elongated shadows across the cool hardwood floor. The celebration and bustle of yesterday's Christmas is now over and the house feels especially spacious, quiet, still.

Christmas Eve crafting resulted in a half dozen fabric ornaments, a shared bottle of white wine, and several hours of conversation with an old friend. Christmas morning was full of giggles and awkward pauses over speaker phones with families too many miles away . And Christmas dinner was the continuation of a double-date that started twelve years ago and will, with any good luck, continue in sporadic double dates for years to come.

This morning I have a few moments of solitude with the scarce winter sun, a cup of black tea, and a disappearing pack of Polaroid film. We are headed down the coast for a couple nights of winter vacation. At some point, I will stand at the cliff's edge and toss my wishes into the great Pacific. I'll shed the lingering moments of a full 2010 and stand in the wonderment of a nearing 2011. I hope to set my intentions and wishes with all the force of those great waves crashing, tossing up against the cliff's edge with hope and wonder.

xoxo,
k.

Renegade & Merry Winter Solstice

2010-12-20T21:46:00.000-08:00

***

****

Thank you to my lovely visitors who attended the Renegade Craft Fair despite the soaking, sobbing rain. Like any big show, this one was certainly worth the effort and I can only hope that the planning process will get smoother as the fairs go on. (Fingers crossed.) Sadly, I forgot my camera so I can't share any photographs of my booth. Drats!

At least I can share a few of my favorite vendors instead. While it's always hard to narrow the sprawling list down to just a few favorites, this is my best attempt: the necklaces of Muak, the plates & pitchers of Rae Dunn, the fabric ornaments of Rebe, the hats of Mosey, and the cashmere fingerless gloves of MODify/d. I have three words for these crafters: Swoon, swoon, swoon.

Now that Renegade is over I'm turning my attention fully and completely to the nearing holidays. (Dear holidays, I'm sorry I've been neglecting you but I'm about to make amends.) I have a tradition of crafting on the day of Christmas Eve with a dear friend; last year it was handmade stockings and a knit hat, this year it's either a tree skirt or a batch of stuffed fabric ornaments. Regardless, I hope my fingers are still willing to stitch.

Happy Holidays to you, my friends! May your winter solstice be very merry and bright.

xoxo,
k

Almost Ready: Renegade Craft Fair this Weekend.

2010-12-13T20:50:00.001-08:00

Hello friends,

I've finally finished my new booth banner. It's heavy white cotton with brown felt letters, brown binding, and an up-cycled striped denim for the backside. I took the extra time to sketch and cut the letters by hand, but I didn't take the time to make my own binding. (Instead, I used an extra-wide double-fold bias tape--such a quick finish.) I love the current trend in paper and fabric garlands and I double-love the festive use for recycled bits of paper and fabric.

As you know, I'm making the final preparations for the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend. (And I'm so close--woo hoo!) I'll be selling letterpress cards and prints, paper garlands, new block-printed fabric goods, and a handful of photographs too. If you're near San Francisco, please do come say hello. And if you're not in the area, be sure to check my Etsy shop where I'll be listing a few of my new products before and after Renegade.

The details: the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale in San Francisco on December 18 + 19, from 11am – 7pm in the Concourse Exhibition Center at 620 - 7th Street. I'll be in booth #202 with spout studio where we'll be surrounded by over 200 vendors sharing their artful wares. Okay then, back to the studio. Wish me luck.

And Happy (almost) Holidays.

xoxo, k.

Sew, Sew, Sew: Paper Garlands from My Stash of Scraps.

2010-12-06T22:29:00.000-08:00

I am happily sewing my crafty heart out. This weekend I finished 18 paper garland strands made completely of recycled paper. I picked up a very old book at a local thrift store and it's enjoying its new life as the main ingredient in this season's wintery paper garland. Using kraft paper scraps, vintage book pages, letterpress offcuts, and other colorful odds & ends, I was able to make the garlands entirely of re-purposed material. Hip, hip, hooray!

The garlands remind me of snowflakes or shooting stars or raindrops. They remind me of something small and fragile and seemingly faraway that just can't be held in the palm of your hand, though you want to cup your fingers around it and hold it up to the light. They are so delicate, so full of movement, so full of promise and shape and just a little bit of romance and sparkle too. I am liking them very much.

I hope you are happily crafting your way through December. If I wasn't preparing for Renegad e, I'd make several sets of fingerless gloves and scarves out of thrifted sweaters, or maybe I'd start a patchwork quilt. Perhaps that's what my January will bring. xoxo, k.

Insisting on Daydreams

2010-11-29T17:46:00.000-08:00

The trip was beautiful. The NY winter countryside is still dappled with all my favorite blues and grays and browns just like I imagine. The bird feeders continue to promise flocks of House Finch one moment and sets of Chickadees the next. The overcast skies storm with flurries and then with freezing rain and then with chilled winter sunshine peeking through in stripes and strands.

My trip was restful. It was lazy. It was full of homemade pie crusts and butternut squash soup and apple cider doughnuts. It was full of family and friends and family friends, comforting and casual with familiar hugs and sighs and glances and giggles. It was full of sweater tights and knee socks and legwarmers and hats and mittens. It was full of black tea and hot toddies and red wine. It was full of idealized daydreams and rich strange night dreams and the moments between seemed to roll out and slow down without much worry. My trip was restful, it was full.

I'm going to restrain myself from telling you all the things on my studio to-do list. I'm going to resist the deadlines and headaches and stresses. Instead, I'm going to soak in the blues and grays and browns, the pie crusts and apple cider, the quiet echoes of familiar hugs and sighs and giggles. I'm going to insist on the idealized daydreams, my own personal protest of sorts. I'm going to nestle down, make cozy, breath deep, continue to give thanks. xoxo, k.

Travels for Thanksgiving Day

2010-11-22T18:00:00.001-08:00

***

By the time you read this, I will be exactly 2,758 miles away from my cozy home in Oakland, CA. Instead, I'll be in a rural town in western NY preparing for a Thanksgiving feast with my dear mama. I'll be hours from any major city, marveling at starry skyscapes and barren winter fields and listening for the final flocks of geese heading for warmer weather.

I'll try my very best to shed my quickened urban pace while comparing pie crust recipes, scouring the rural grocery stores for one beloved Tofurkey, stockpiling mushrooms for vegetarian gravy, and fine-tuning our Thanksgiving menu until it promises to sing. (Oh, just sing!)

I am thankful for so many things. Every year, it seems I am more thankful than the last. I can only imagine how my old heart might just burst into 1 billion pieces in another 40 or 50 years. I think I get more tender as I go.

For my friends in the States, I send you warm wishes for a memorable and even magical Thanksgiving Day. May your pie crusts be perfectly flaky, your potatoes whipped to your satisfaction, and your stuffing packed full of fresh sage and thyme. For my friends everywhere, may you find a good reason to bake one delicious pie. I'll see you soon. xoxo, k.

Art Barn Dreams

2010-11-15T21:29:00.000-08:00

***

I love this place. I mean I really, really, really love this place. There's something about Pierce Point Ranch and the Tule Elk Trail at Point Reyes that just nestle right into the coziest chamber of my California heart. Perhaps it reminds me of the barns behind my childhood home where the lawn mowers sheltered nests of mice for the winter, and once upon a time, the chickens would cluck and coo under the huge willow tree.

Or maybe it's not the hushed whisper of the past but the quiet promise of the future. Or the big pretty dream. Maybe the collective urban artist dream for a well-ventilated, well-lit, rustic space to convert into an art studio. The dream for so much square footage of potentially messy space and storage space and creative space that we just might lose track of the extra inches that we are currently counting. Oh, sigh.

I love this place. Did I mention that? I really, really, really love this place. If I could, I'd move there and start an artist residency center and create community arts programming and figure out how to get the most artists the most studio space and I'd happily print, and sew, and take photos, and write poems from a good-sized barn studio of my own. I imagine looking out to the elk and quail and barn swallows all passing by in the tall beige grass beyond my studio window.

And I'd add a big shaggy dog and a few sweet cats and probably half a dozen clucking and cooing chickens too. Maybe a few sheep or some goats after I settled. And all of you could join me there too. Yes, every last one of you. And we'd live happily ever after. Yes, we would. We'd live happily ever after in our well-ventilated, well-lit, rustic space converted into an art studio. We'd live happily ever after. The End. xoxo, k.

My Very First Renegade Craft Fair

2010-11-08T21:57:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

I have a good news. I'm going to be a vendor at the Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco this December. Hooray! I am simultaneously thrilled and terrified by the tasks of making oodles of products, finding eco-friendly packaging, and designing and building my booth displays. I am about 70% thrilled and 30% terrified, so let's hope the percentages stay steady as the craft fair approaches. I imagine this will feel something like preparing for an exhibition with the addition of a few dozen biodegradable cellophane bags and several stacks of business cards. (Note to self: I can do it!)

In preparing for the fair, I'm trying to organize my thoughts now so I can spare myself a bit of the "almost-there-keep-working-stop-sleeping" jitters that will inevitably descend about one week before the show. So, I'm making lists of new products, old products, packaging needs, display needs, and collecting materials too. I'm torn between creating new products while also wanting to streamline the creation of old products too. What's your vote--focus on old or new?

I've attended the SF Renegade fair a few times but I've never been a vendor. I'm always so inspired by the talent of the artists and artisans, so I'm honored to join them this winter. AND... if you've ever been a vendor at Renegade or a similar-sized craft fair, please do tell your tips! And if you've never been a vendor but you've been a happy buyer, please do tell your insights. I'm all ears and will be grateful for ever and ever and ever. Now then, wish me luck and ample black tea. xoxo, k.

TTV Adventures with Hula70

2010-11-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

one,

two, buckle your shoe.

three,

four, close the door.

five,

six, pick up sticks.

seven,

eight, lay them straight.

***

Recently, I had the divine pleasure of taking a Through The Viewfinder (TTV) workshop with the lovely and talented Andrea Jenkins, aka Girl Hula. I love Andrea's photographs and the insights and humor she shares through her gorgeous blog, Hula70, so I jumped at the opportunity to take her workshop while she was visiting San Francisco.

I used to take TTV photos quite a bit, but I've fallen out of the habit so this workshop was just what I needed to pick up my strange but beloved TTV contraption again. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon: following another artist's thoughtful lead; wandering the streets of the Mission District dodging the unfortunate and insistent rain; toting my cameras with more courage for portraits than I can usually muster; snacking on cupcakes and sipping hot chai. What could be sweeter?

If I had an unlimited budget for art supplies then I would buy heaps and mounds of Polaroid film, settle on a new medium format camera with a much fancier lens, and I'd have a dozen or so of my TTV images blown up really, really big. (Le, sigh.) For now, I'm thrilled to have met dear Andrea, taken her inspiring workshop, and to ease back into the TTV ways again.

My friends, I hope you are having a very lovely week. xoxo, k.

Hello, Halloween.

2010-10-25T21:14:00.001-07:00

Each year, there are two reasons that I insist on driving down Hwy 1 along the Pacific: picking strawberries for strawberry jam and collecting pumpkins for Halloween. Growing up in rural NY, there is still something confusing about bundling up to wander around a pumpkin patch overlooking the sea. Somewhere in my childhood heart the ocean still conjures coconut-scented sunscreen, plastic tools for sandcastles, and over-sized umbrellas. In this same thinking, pumpkin patches conjure tumbling golden leaves, itchy wool hats, and high stacks of firewood. Here in Northern California, oceans and wool hats and pumpkins all go hand in hand.

My husband effortlessly selected a near perfect storybook pumpkin--light orange and round with a curly stem--while I paced the rows blissfully considering shape, color, and texture as I strolled. Ultimately, we packed the farm's red cart with our selection, drove until we found pumpkin pie, and then chased the setting sun back up the coast. The two large pumpkins are now proudly positioned by our front door, keeping the wilting purple mums good company. The smaller collection of orange, beige, and yellow gourds are nestled in a large bowl on the kitchen table, awaiting the Halloween brunch we'll host on Sunday.

I love this time of year. All the brightness of summer still lingers and the promise of winter is still just a few weeks out of reach. Dear friends, may your Halloween costumes be inspired and your candy very sweet. xoxo, k.

Clear the Dust: Shop Update!

2010-10-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

Sweet friends,

Clear the dust, sweep out the cobwebs, toss on your favorite party dress (or bow tie), and then sound those pretty tiny trumpets, please! (Okay, you don't really have to wear a fancy dress but you can if you want to.) I've updated my Etsy shop with a new batch of letterpress goods and a few original works on paper too. My dear little shop was in poor shape by the summer's end, but I've recommitted for the fall season. (Yes, I pinkie swear.) In the shop, you'll find letterpress cards, limited edition prints with brief poems, original art on paper, and in the coming weeks you'll find more fabric goods and maybe a few photographs too. Here's a peek:

***

Take a stroll on over, if you like. Imagine silver bells clang as you push through the shop door, the smell of ginger peach tea wafts through the air, the whir of my sewing machine spills out from behind the heavy vintage cash register, and perhaps I am the one in a party dress, after all--that 1950s, below-the-knee, teal prom gown of my mother's that I just adore. Sigh. A girl can dream... xoxo, k.

Interior Design & Methods of Inspiration

2010-10-11T21:45:00.001-07:00

(My new living room arrangement.)

(The inspiration: Oct 2010 House Beautiful.)

(I love to combine various patterns, colors, and prints.)

(If I had my way: dark wood floors, soft white walls,
and all the textiles would be bright bold prints.)

(This week's farmers market flowers: dahlias.)

(I love this wall arrangement SO much.)

(From an old favorite: Domino March 2009.)

(My own wall arrangement inspired by Domino.)

Hello you,

A few weeks ago I took the better part of a Sunday morning to rearrange our living room. It is always such a relief when I make time for some nesting. Lately, I'm taking comfort in a bit of calculated inspiration. I used to believe I had to fully imagine the idea, object, or concept on my own or it wasn't completely "authentic".

But I've changed my view. After all, is there really any intuitive or "authentic" image that wasn't somehow influenced by my own life experience? And isn't my life experience a collage of the people, places, conversations, dreams, images, books and even color palettes around me?

I think so. I'm going to try to follow this calculated inspiration and see where it takes me: I want to collect a series of ideas and images and then create artwork based on that collection. Ideally, I'd like to combine concept and intuition; thinking and feeling; knowing and not knowing; research and impulse; heart and head, I suppose.

xoxo, k.

One-of-a-Kind Necktie

2010-10-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

I've been commissioned to make a one-of-a-kind necktie for a very special author. I've made a bunch of dresses in my day, a smattering of handbags, a stack of pillows, a pair of quilts, one (and only one) pair of pants, batches of fingerless gloves, but nowhere in my list was there a necktie. I thought the ever-dangerous thought, "How hard can it be?" and that's where I slipped. Argh! As it turns out, the point on a necktie is a tricky little point, indeed. Hmm...

I've chosen mostly muted hues but I couldn't completely put my penchant for print and color aside. I love this fabric so much that I had to use it for the lining.

Otherwise, the necktie is mostly gray, plum, and lavender with just that peek of orange.

This fabric makes an appearance again, from The Dresses/ Objects Project, as he wanted a Gertrude Stein necktie after he saw the show.

I only had a few panels of the printed fabric left, so I used Denyse Schmidt's book, Quilts, as inspiration to make a patchwork, or rather "patch-stripe", necktie.

In my opinion, sewing patterns are best used as paper for handmade books! I have such a hard time reading sewing directions. I appreciate the size templates, but then I pretty much have to abandon the pattern and figure it out on my own.

Once I had the pieces for the front sewn together, the biggest challenge was getting the point of my tie (right) to look like my husband's tie (left) including the lovely shape of that lining.

Eventually, after watching this video on Threadbanger and reading this post on Purl Bee, I took matters into my own hands and used a hand stitch to get the effect I wanted. Finally, it's starting to look like a necktie! Now, I just have to stitch the two sides together and then I'll be finished.

Oh, and this week's flowers, you ask? Those are orange Diablo cosmos from the farmer's market in Oakland. One of my greatest farmer's market pleasures is an armful of fresh cut flowers wrapped in newspaper print for the amazing price of just 5 dollars. Yes, yes, please.
xoxo, k.

P.S.--I just came back to show you the finished tie. (See below.) I think it turned out okay in the end. Thank goodness!

xoxo, k.

Zinnias & Louise Bourgeois

2010-09-27T23:45:00.000-07:00

Hello there friends,

Two square feet of my living room has been quite the source of inspiration the past few days. At the end of the couch, atop a small wooden table is a large yellow pitcher full of zinnias, just next to my new "LB" book full of images by the amazing Louise Bourgeois. Not to mention, the cover of the LB book is the prettiest shade of pale blue and it's a striking contrast to the fiery orange, plum, and scarlet of the zinnia blooms.

With a very busy week ahead, I can already imagine I'll want to crawl back into this space: nestled quietly at the end of the old blue couch, zinnias perched by the armrest, Louise Bourgeois images to pour through, while a stash of thread, pencils, and film wait very nearby as the kettle starts to purr and I rise to fix another cup of tea. Sigh! Saturday, you are going to be quite the temptress amidst a busy week.

"LB" is a delight. I'm particularly interested in the fabric drawings, fabric books, and works with text. Makes me swoon.

The zinnias are intoxicating! What we didn't know, was that they were also carrying several of the tiniest snails I've ever seen.

I tried to save them, coaxed them to one broken zinnia blossom, waited until the temperatures cooled and moved them to the backyard. I hope they make it through the heat.

I *love* this drawing by Bourgeois. The blue ticking stripe against the brighter blue stripe is breathtaking. I might try some of my own.

And I love this shape she created in another fabric drawing. I loved it so much that I incorporated it into a collage. Look under the embroidery, over the chair on the left, you'll see the LB swirl with the word "shine".

In progress: inspired by the pink zinnias, the cool blue cover of the book, LB's thread swirls, and my daydream corner of the living room.

Detail of the new collage. It reads, "My mother taught me to sew/ shine/ I believe in love/ too."

Even as the zinnias begin to fade, they are still a welcome surprise each time I enter the room. It's like the air circulates around them more freely, perhaps remembering the sunlight and soil, not just adding color and texture, but bringing memory of light and earth too.
xoxo, k.

My Review of Portland's Time Based Art Festival

2010-09-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

(PICA's TBA festival #10: mostly in the rain. )

(Installation by Storm Tharp: view 1.)

(Storm Tharp, view 2.)

(Storm Tharp, view 3.)

(The legendary Portland view, base of the Burnside Bridge.)

(A trip to Portland's local coffee haven, Stumptown.)

(The perfect brunch at Bijou Cafe. Yum!)

(Another trip to Stumptown. We just had to.)

(One afternoon we managed to take a nap between shows.
Otherwise, we ran around ragged in all that rain.)

***

We took a long weekend and headed to Portland, OR for four days of total art immersion in the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's 10th annual Time Based Art Festival (TBA10). As many of you know, my husband is a designer & director for performance & dance and he's had his eyes on the TBA festival for years now. So, we decided this year was the year and we made the trek north to the crafty oasis of Portland. (My gosh, that city is so darn cute.) Luckily, we also took a few hours here and there for coffee breaks, meals, window browsing, and long walks across the city.

The festival was amazing! I was prepared to be totally saturated in edgy performance, film, and dance but I wasn't really prepared for the intensity of the work or for the way my heart and head would threaten to explode after seeing several shows each day. I'd have to write several blog posts to fairly cover all the work that was meaningful, powerful, or knock-my-socks off professional, so instead I'll just expand on my favorites. (For just a few minutes, let's pretend I was there to review my favorite shows as an art critic. Eh hem.)

Let's start with Storm Tharp's "High House". Wow! (See photos 2-4 above.) I've long been interested in seeing how artists combine various mediums to complete an installation, but this was one of my favorites for so many things including the careful combination of mixed media: illustration, objects, plants, photographs, video, painting, and various ephemera. I think the beginning of his artist statement sums it up perfectly, "The placement of things/ The breeze from an open window/ A clear day/ A still life/ The re-assurance of what is joyful." I want to write the last line across my forehead, "The reassurance of what is joyful". Wow, heartache in the very best way.

However, this joyful sentiment was in the minority at the TBA festival. That's not to say it didn't exist, that's just to say that a prevailing angst was much more palpable than a promise of joy. The themes of the work seemed instead to tend towards irony, satire, cleverness, boldness, anger, and anxiety. Of course, there is a place in art for all of these things. And of course, there were several shows that also brought tenderness, levity, wit, beauty, and humor:

John Jasperse Company's incredible "Truth, Revised Histories, Wishful Thinking, & Flat Out Lies", was so full of wonder and strangeness and beauty and surprise that my husband and I started to compare everything else to this careful balance of feeling/ thinking. It was truly and utterly inspiring.
I'd long wanted to see the Nature Theater of Oklahoma and their clever interpretation of "Romeo & Juliet" had the audience roaring with laughter through the entire first half.
The Wooster Group shared a mind-bending 360 degree film installation "There is Still Time..Brother" where the view was actually controlled by one chair in the center of the room and the other viewer's were at that one viewer's mercy. (I know, it's complicated.)
I keep thinking about the delicate, yet arresting, life-sized piano print in the installation "Children of the Sunshine" by Jessica Jackson Hutchins and it was even more meaningful that the original piano was in the room.
I loved the bright, cheerful, hanging soft sculptures at the Blanket Project Space by Danielle Kelly though I didn't get to see the corresponding dance.
"The People's Biennial" still has me thinking about inclusion and which artists are included in international art shows and which artists aren't and, sadly, knowing this is somewhat based on geography, culture, and education.
Lastly, I adored "Hard Edge, Hard Work" films by Maya Deren and Kate Gilmore, Deren's historic work paired gorgeously against Gilmore's contemporary films. (If you haven't seen Gilmore's films, watch this one!)

So...what's my summary? Well, It's taken me years to build my confidence as an artist and to trust my instinct for what I like and what I don't like and when I'm on the other side of the canvas, camera, page, or stage I try to employ the same instincts as I go. I've learned to allow myself to scan the work that doesn't really grip me and trust that there will be other work that will bore itself under my skin, quicken my heart rate, shorten my breath, and make me stand there gazing powerless for quite a long time. Luckily, this festival had a number of pieces that quickened my heart rate and kept me gazing. xoxo, k.

Red, Brown, & Gray and Other People's Art.

2010-09-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

Finally, I finished this adaptation of Natalie Chanin's Rose Shawl. I took the pattern from the Alabama Stitch Book and substituted the rose stencil for my trusty barn swallow stencil and then added a few brown leaves. I've been cozying up with this shawl at the end of our chilly San Francisco days and I just love the weight of the double t-shirt layers (the front panels are backed with matching panels) and find it ideal for that needed autumn warmth. It's also super satisfying to wrap up in so much red hand stitching after months of working little by little.

I took a few photos to show you the finished results. Now I'm wondering if I have it in me to commit to another shawl for a friend. I can't seem to commit to another color scheme and would want them to be unique. Do you have suggestion for a 3-color shawl like this one? (The main color is gray, the leaves are brown, the birds are red, and all fabric is "upcycled" from thrift store t-shirts.) Color combination advice is very much welcome-- I'm stuck in red, brown and gray.

As I was leafing through my photos I started to notice the other photos that also keep with this favorite of gray/ red, or brown/ red, or red/ brown/ gray combination. The more I looked, the more I giggled at my own fascination with this palette. I was kind of amazed that I could find this palette in our food, our clothes, and even our landscape too! I suppose every color combination is waiting for us to notice, we just have to hone our color-noticing skills to see it. Here's a mini sample of my red, brown, and gray photos from the digital archives.

Now that The Dresses/ Objects Project finished this summer, I'm feeling a bit of waffling and waivering in my studio life. Certainly I did other shows and wrote other poems and took a zillion other photographs over the three year period, but having that larger project in my creative background made it easy to find direction when I was waffling between smaller deadlines. As I sway to and fro this month trying to enjoy the post-show tilt before fully committing to the next big thing, I thought I'd point to a bit of the work around me that I've been attending around town. Here's my short list of August & September, before and after my trip to NY.

Short list:

1. Spin by my sweet friend Mati McDonough and her co-conspirator, Jennifer Judd-McGee at the always lovely Rare Device co-owned by the talented, Lisa Congdon.
2. A benefit for the poetry reading series The New Reading Series at 21 Grand, complete with some of my favorite poets in town.
3. A new performance by local theater wiz, mugwumpin, this time focused on our belongings and the psyche of possessions.
4. The Intersection for the Arts and Recology exhibition, Art at the Dump, where they showed highlights from 20 years of the *amazing* artist-in-residency program at the San Francisco dump. Such an inspiring show.
5. Most recently, the film screening of Sarah Klein's Stop & Go Rides Again where Klein's animation totally made me swoon.

It seems I won't get grounded quite yet as the mister and I are shoving off to Portland, OR for a four-day weekend soon. He's going to the PICA festival for work and I'm tagging along for a few days of fun. Seems like a good excuse to stay in a downtown hotel, cart my manuscript around to cafes for editing, and join my mister for a handful of performances by night. My best friend once told me, "But this is what you do. You ruminate between projects until you're ready to fully commit to the next one. Then once you've committed, you don't look back again". Perhaps she's right, wise friend. xoxo, k.

I Heart New York.

2010-09-06T22:41:00.000-07:00

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Hello friends,

We have returned from our two-week trip to NY. With one extra week to readjust to our usual schedules (returning to the office & studio, attacking the laundry heap, assembling some groceries, and reminding our little garden that we do still love it very much) I think we are just about back to normal now. Well, as normal as normal gets around here, you know?

Our trip was packed with visits to family and friends. We met our newest family member at just 13 days old (hello, newest nephew you), we visited parents on all sides and ends of NY state, we attended a gorgeous (so gorgeous) wedding in the Catskill mountains, we dipped in and out of Brooklyn for just 36 hours of 90 degree heat, and we spent an entire week helping my dear mama heal from a recent knee surgery (she is plugging away like the champion that she is, thank goodness). Even two weeks was somehow too short to see all of our friends and beloveds in NY but it was a good start, at least.

The time away from the day-to-day proved to be meaningful, reflective, and important, as always. I found myself staring out the car window thinking about final edits to my poetry manuscript, reflecting with new insights to the recent Dresses/ Objects Project, and the whispers of new art dreams started making themselves heard. So while vacation wasn't quite long enough, it was also just long enough to feel like I stepped away and came right back again. And it's good to be back because, honestly, I missed you. xoxo, k.

Greetings from Afar!

2010-08-16T20:14:00.000-07:00

Guess what? I'm finally on summer vacation! For two whole weeks I'll be visiting family and friends throughout various corners of New York State. With a very busy June and July behind, I've happily tucked my unfinished to-do lists into a drawer in my studio where they can wait patiently for me to return. In my haste, I've managed to make an even more important wish list for my summer trip...

Dear Upstate NY,

I'll be visiting you very soon and I'd like to put in my request for 70-89 degree weather with the exception of one dramatic thunderstorm-- no fog needed, we've got that covered in CA. Also, I'd like a roadside ice cream stand for a chocolate vanilla twist, a handful of fireflies dotting about, and a swim in a rather clear lake or at the base of a waterfall.
Thank you for managing this request.

I've tucked a new swim suit, too many books for light travel, a favorite sketchpad, and my camera amidst a suitcase full of warm weather clothes. I promise to take too many photos and share them with you when I return. See you back here on August 30th. xoxo, k.

Letterpress, Oh, Sweet Letterpress.

2010-08-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

***

Hi friends,

I want to show you a sneak peak of another project I've been working on this summer. Some of you might remember that I used to work as a teaching assistant in the Book Art Studio at Mills College while finishing my graduate work in poetry. I loved working with the letterpress and bookbinding students to incorporate images and text into paper and fabric projects. I also loved having access to all that gorgeous letterpress equipment including drawers of wood type, stacks of ornamental borders, and an assortment of movable metal type.

So, this summer I was given the opportunity to print alongside a dear letterpress friend and I wholeheartedly leaped at the chance. I've only been able to join her a handful of times, but it's been such a sweet homecoming. Here's a tiny peak at some of the projects I've been designing and printing, complete with an ink stained apron and a bit of afternoon sun.

It's been so satisfying rekindling my love affair with letterpress that I think I need to have regular access to this equipment in my studio life. Perhaps I will remedy this, this fall. I can't imagine a better way to bring in autumn than with some fresh new printmaking kicks. (Okay, so homegrown pumpkins and hand knit scarves and warm apple cider might also be quite nice, I admit.) So, as soon as the prints are done I promise you'll be the first ones to know.

And happy August to you. xoxo, k.