Sunday, December 14, 2008

Hat-tastic




HATS HATS HATS, I have an all consuming drive to produce hats out of recycled shirts and other material. Here is my fave to date

Felting extravaganza



Well, due to extreme cold, this whole week end was dedicated to crafting. I finally dyed a bunch of wool that I have stashed in anticipation of a felting idea-explosion, here are the chronicles...First... Boil a pot of cool-aid and food dye, let the wool simmer for about 15 minutes or so, then drain, rinse and let dry. Beautiful and non-toxic. Next I experimented with wet felting, agitating with my hands, hot water and glycerin soap. Then I went crazy and sewed the felt with my sewing machine, needle felted, ripped apart, etc. This was my final product for tonight...

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Re-use, re-make, re-cute-ify

Calling all friends.... nows the time to put in your X-mas order!


I've been really having fun setting up a little sewing corner, and these cute little hats have been my main product of late. I take old shirts... old patagonia long underwear work the best, cut them up and turn them into these darling lightweight little hats. They wick sweat yet are cute enough to go out on the town in... well at least in Montana...













....so my latest exploit has been ransacking my dresser looking for boring old t-shirts on the cusp of salvo donation status. I've been cutting out the necks and reshaping the sleeves and then sewing with a zigzag stitch...pulling the fabric out as I sew to make the edge ruffle. I think they are super cute, what a good use for an old t shirt, especially those with the tight, boring, style squelching neck line.

Monday, November 24, 2008

L.M. A legend. (he didn't actually have an afro)



This piece was a memorial to my little dog Tim. I actually made it years before he passed away. He had the uncanny ability to keep on living and living deep into decrepitude. He finally passed away late in his 17th year, and even then he went down fighting. He was truly an angel.

Yellowstone Horn Hunters



I once heard this story , set in the 1970's about these horn-hunters who would x-country ski accross the Park boundry by cover of night and smuggle out huge trophy antlers to sell for a preemium price. Of course this is breaking a federal law that says you may not remove anything from Yellowstone, especially if your going to sell it on the black market. Anyway, the park came up with this brilliant way to spend taxpayer money to combat this smuggling... plant trackable transmitting chips in the biggest antlers to catch the wrongdoers. Well, this may be a myth, I'm pretty sure it's true though, and it sure inspired an interesting painting.

An acylic and mixed media of my favorite impish little horse