last saturday i married my little sister to jacob, her best friend and partner of seven years. it was a sweet, small affair with family in their dining room. it was the best wedding, ever.

i made them a couple of wedding gifts, and thought i’d share them with you:

1. wedding mobile, made with painted paper circles, and driftwood that i collected on from the lake superior shore while in the upper peninsula earlier this month.
2. wedding box, which matches the wedding book i made them. the book fits into the box, with extra room for any wedding mementos they want to save.
3. detail of the circles used for the mobile.
4. the bride and me!
5. wedding bracelet. i was pretty sure she didn’t have “something blue” to wear, so i made her a bracelet. in the box, i included a photo booth photograph of my grandparents, taken around the time they were married.

congratulations, little sis! i’m so happy for you!

number two in my my stuff series… the first one is here.

is it possible to have an emotional attachment to a salt shaker that was stolen from a restaurant? yes. and that’s all i’ll say.

happy weekend!

detail of portrait of george morrison
perci chester
oil on canvas

i had the pleasure of chatting with perci on the phone a few times at the beginning of the year. while i was getting to know her, i became familiar with her sculpture, but i have yet to see her paintings. she’s currently showing portraits at the woman’s club of minneapolis, which i cannot wait to see. tonight there is an artist talk and reception from 5:00 - 7:00. those of you in the twin cities, stop in on your way home from work!

exhibit hours are 9:00 am - 8:00 pm daily, except tuesday and sunday. the woman’s club of minneapolis is located at 410 oak grove street.

photo credit: perci chester

containers
gineke zikken
oil
2007

when i was in amsterdam for my 30th birthday i walked into the walls gallery and was instantly drawn to gineke zikken’s paintings. there were only a couple on display, but i was fascinated by her work. her geometric compositions are simple, yet the paint is applied thickly to give the paintings amazing texture. at the time, i couldn’t afford to take on of her paintings home, but i still have the exhibition postcard hanging in my kitchen.

over the last few years, i have peeked at her work online. it was while searching for her work that i found the gallery/bed & breakfast artacasa, where i’ll be staying for my upcoming april trip. artacasa has many of her pieces in stock, and i can request to have a few hung in my room during my stay. and i have set aside some money and hope to bring one of her beautiful paintings back home with me.

back in january, i posted about booking my room at artacasa (mentioning gineke and my love for her work), and gineke’s husband found my post. gineke left me a wonderful comment, offering to have me visit her studio! i am hoping that is something i will do during the trip — it would be such an honor. she also mentioned a new series of paintings she’s been working on after a recent trip to new york. while i do love new york, i am still in love with the amsterdam pieces…

so my little sis is getting married this saturday. yay! before i even knew what i was wearing for the big day, i ordered the above valla earrings for the occasion from the susyluxe* shop. i normally don’t wear big earrings, but these were too cool to pass up. and they’re really light, considering the size.

susy has lots of great earrings in her susyluxe* shop, but also check out her fabulous paper goods at her susyjack* shop!

photo credit: susyluxe* etsy shop

my little sister is getting married next saturday, and i wanted to make the future bride & groom something special. so i made them what i know best: a book. a wedding book.

we don’t do things traditionally in our family, and there will be 4 events to celebrate: 1) pre-wedding drinks at an irish pub with friends last saturday, 2) the wedding with immediate family members only this saturday, which would have been my grandfather’s 93rd birthday, 3) a party in minnesota for all their friends in june, and 4) a summer party on the east coast for friends and family on the groom’s side. the book is intended to be present at all 4 events, to allow friends and family write their best wishes for their future together.

a few notes on the design of the cover: red is my sister’s favorite color; the 7 little red holes represent the 7 years j & j have known each other; the daisy is in honor of our mom, who passed away when we were young — daisies were her favorite flower, and she carried them when she married our dad.

all of the papers i used are archival and acid free, so hopefully it’ll last forever. or at least through 4 parties!

bunny-2
carol sonheim
gesso, watercolor and ink on illustration board
2.5″ x 3.5″

i “met” artist carla sonheim last week while poking around in the etsy forums — it was a slow day at work and i responded to one of her threads. her avatar looked familiar, so i took a peek at her etsy shop, and saw her bunny aceo/atc (art cards, editions & originals/artist trading card), which i had actually saved as a favorite a few months ago. i wrote to her that i love her work, and that i have her little bunny saved. carla then sent me a message asking me for my address so she could send the bunny to me, and i told her: don’t be silly, i’ll buy him! (the little guy was only $5.)

and i did buy him, just in time for easter. here’s my little bunny. thanks, carla!

happy easter weekend all, eat lots of chocolate-covered peanut butter eggs!

photo credit: carla sonheim

happy first day of spring! even though we received 3+ inches of snow on tuesday, the last few days have been sunny and warmer and the snow has melted. and last night i saw and heard the first robin of the season! spring is slowly arriving here…

in honor of the first official day of spring, i’ve gathered up a couple of plantable cards from etsy sellers. recent online connections with a couple of the featured sellers have renewed my interest in seeds embedded into handmade papers. what better way to celebrate spring?

here are my finds:

1. look out birds - letterpress plantable card by roundrobinpress
2. just 4 u-plantable greeting card by retrowhale
3. plantable paper cat greeting card embedded with catnip seeds by gracegraphics
4. plantable seed cards herb set by porridgepapers
5. lavender seed embedded, leaf embossed organic cards by recycledideas

happy planting!

how lucky am i, to work within walking distance of art galleries, and to have creative friends that also work within walking distance of those same galleries? our art lunches are becoming a 2-to-3 times a month event. leaving the office, grabbing a quick bite, seeing some art… it really helps to makes the office life a little more bearable.

yesterday we went to moose & sadies for lunch, then we went to traffic zone center for visual art, which is currently showing altered books by the artists of traffic zone. the exhibition was put together in conjunction with the library’s altered books exhibition, and featured artists that have studio space within the building. a few names were familiar, and it’s always so interesting to see what they’ve been working on.

(while i wrote my share of art history papers in college, i try not to write reviews of the exhibitions i go to. my opinion really isn’t the point of this blog — the point is to just go see art, and be inspired!)

altered books by the artists of traffic zone will be on display until april 12, 2008.

update: jenn has written about the lunch part of our lunch on her blog, the write ingredients.

spring and circles… and this painting… a few of my favorite things this week.

this week’s etsy find is a painting by julie beck of juliebcreative. titled three trees 5, it is one of four three trees series paintings currently available in her shop. i love the simplicity of the composition, and the colors are my absolute favorite: the slightly muted palette, with a blue-green sky and olive-green ground, is one that i’m consistently drawn to.

julie’s work is not only beautiful, but it’s also affordable, and i’m trying oh-so-hard to resist!

photo credit: juliebcreative etsy shop

something with a little green for st. pat’s day…

i’ve been thinking about doing a series of mixed media pieces on paper, featuring mundane objects in my house. mother-in-laws tongue is the first one. should i continue? or not? sometimes i just don’t know — i’ll create something that i think is super-awesome, then look at it a month later and be embarrassed that i ever created it. yay or nay?

flickr and blog friend smoothpebble has tagged me to reveal items about myself in groups of 4s. here goes!

4 jobs i’ve had: waitress, hot dog slinger at a hot dog stand, bagel baker, auto-cad production person (it’s as exciting as it sounds)

4 favorite movies: serenity, science of sleep, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, metropolis

4 places i’ve been: prague, berlin, paris, st. john usvi

4 places i’ve lived: howard lake, u of m campus, loring park, saint paul

4 favorite tv shows: battlestar galactica, it’s always sunny in philadelphia, firefly, buffy the vampire slayer

4 favorite radio programs: to the best of our knowledge, talk of the nation science friday, car talk, all things considered

4 favorite foods: cheese, bread, chocolate, wine

4 places i’d rather be: amsterdam, a bigger house with a big studio to work in and store my supplies, laying on the lawn smelling green grass and listening to cicadas, in the arms of christian bale

wow. i didn’t realize i was such a science/sci-fi geek until i put my answers together! now i’m tagging some of my blog friends, to learn more about them: sew what, three sneaky bugs, overmilkwood, and the write ingredients. you’re next!

my mobile from the elsie marley mobile swap arrived on monday! made by jess in new zealand, it is perfect for my office/art supply room/upstairs studio. i’ve hung it in front of the window, and it sways gently when the heat turns on. i’m hoping that the windows can be opened soon, so the spring breezes make the little leaves flutter.

jess made the mobile with origami papers printed with chiyogami patterns, which is fitting because i’m on a big chiyogami kick right now. the brown buttons give the mobile some weight, and the mobile itself is a perfect match for what i’m currently working on: my crazy list of projects include paper, fabrics, sewing, and sometimes a combination of all of them.

it’s gorgeous, jess, thank you so much!

happy weekend!

when design*sponge posted the dyi felted nesting felted bowls article a week before last, i was smitten. i put felted bowls on my mental project to-do list right away. buuuuttt… the dyi post mentioned circular needles, which i am scared of and have never learned how to use. and the pattern wasn’t included in the post. poo. that squashed my plans to knit up a storm that night.

but then i decided to try to make a bowl using a hat pattern heather gave me a few years ago. after a couple of modifications and prototypes, i’ve come up with a really easy pattern for a felted bowl for beginning knitters, or those who are scared of circular needles, too!

pattern and instructions after the jump…

(more…)

doors: brugges, belgium
polaroid transfer created 2003
photo taken 1998

with the news that polaroid will stop making film after they’ve got enough in stock for 2009, i wonder if i should start stockpiling film? i still like taking photos with my polaroid camera, and even though i haven’t made polaroid transfers in a few years, it’s something i’d still like to be able to do. i recently found some great slides from the 70’s.

i won’t detail instructions on creating polaroid transfers here, because it’s been so long since i’ve done it. essentially, you take a slide and project it onto the polaroid film using a vivitar or daylab daylight instant slide printer. then, rather than allowing the polaroid to develop, you peel it apart and transfer the emulsion onto the paper of your choice. the result is watercolor-like, but with amazing detail. and you can use almost any photo: i rarely shoot with slide film, so i chose my favorite photos and have slides made.

it’s definitely not a cheap hobby. slide printers can be hard to find, and can cost a couple hundred dollars. the film is expensive as well: a pack of 20 is around $24, and i’d imagine the film cost will go up as the supply dwindles. your best bet is to find a class and utilize the instructor’s equipment, expertise, and film.

for those of you in the twin cities, the minnesota center for book arts has a polaroid transfer workshop in april. i’d love to go and brush up on my skills, but will be out of town. for now, i’ll continue to contemplate whether or not i should go on a film buying spree.

is anyone else stocking up on polaroid film?

summer houses in a row, originally uploaded by -syko-

when i got my partner’s name for the mobile swap, i was giddy, because i recognized it immediately: kajsa of syko. i was already familiar with her wonderful etsy shop — i’ve been a fan of her work for a couple of months now. i was so excited to make a mobile for her! and i’m so happy to have her work as today’s etsy find.

kajsa recently uploaded a new batch of house ornaments for summer. i couldn’t pick just one for this post, so i grabbed her recent group shot from flickr. everyone needs a house ornament!

photo credit: syko

on saturday i drove out to my childhood home and visited birdie & ed. birdie lives a mile down the road from where i grew up. i used to babysit her children. she was my mother’s friend. i haven’t seen her for about 15 years, but we exchange xmas cards every year promising to get together for coffee. last saturday we finally did.

we spent the afternoon catching up, and talking about families and life. i learned that birdie keeps 8 sheep on their hobby farm, and i was so happy to hear that raises them purely for their wool. she has her sheep sheared and then cleans, cards, and dyes her wool for her own use. i was so excited that she’s crafty and raising her own sheep that she sent me home with a big bag of her wool!

so now that i have this wonderful wool, what should i do with it? does anyone have any fun little wet felting projects to share? any tips on how to work with it?

balloon
alexandra rozenman
oil on door panel
2007

i was first introduced to alexandra rozenman’s paintings when jenn and i took a painting class at minneapolis college of art and design a couple of years ago. over the years, i see her work here and there: the st. paul art crawl, a gallery or two.

alexandra’s work is playful and colorful, and her paintings contain a magical narrative. i remember first seeing her work, and comparing it to dream imagery. i’m looking forward to her new show, life is a theater, at gallery 360 (one of my favorite places in the twin cities!). gallery 360 will also be featuring work from laura stack, felice amato, lindsy halleckson (etsy : danger pro studios), and sabrina dechert (etsy : green lantern glass).

opening reception is saturday, march 8, from 7-10pm. 50th & xerxes.

happy weekend!

photo credit: alexandra rozenman

yesterday, jenn, anna, and i took a quick jaunt over to the gage family art gallery at augsburg college to see the faculty exhibit for lunch. jenn had received a postcard about the exhibit from artist/faculty member tara sweeney while taking a class at the loft, so we decided to check it out.

the gallery was small, and the exhibit featured 1-3 pieces from 8 faculty members — perfect for viewing over the lunch hour. lunch afterward at seward co-op:

spinach and sun dried tomato soup, chunk of brie, and mini whole wheat baguette

the only thing missing is a glass of wine! but it was still a perfect lunch after art!

my purchase: fold cuff in dark orange. soon we will no longer be hiding our arms within jackets, sweaters, and long underwear. i can’t wait to wear this with short sleeves!

photo credit: uniform studio