studio time...

It's time for me to go in to studio hibernation. I'm finding that I'm sort of longing for the old college/grad school days of barely leaving my studio. Both Chris & I have been recently  asked by a gallery to show some of our "fine art" but they want all new work. Which is great - because we don't really like to show "old" work. However, since starting klt:works (& having Sayer), there hasn't been any time to create "art". Oddly, even with packed schedules- & an insane deadline of 2 weeks, Chris and I said yes. We like the idea of creating out of our comfort zone & showing together outside of the usual faculty shows. So what does this mean for the next two weeks? It means throwing caution to the winds and going for it -along with a constant flow of creative energy circulating the house. It will be interesting to see if I will be able to shift back and forth between my "product" &  "art" minds in a day. Ok, here I go- oh may the thread drawing juju be with me....  

{Fabric Friday} from papercutting to fabric...

The textiles of illustrator and designer, Heather Moore have caught the eyes of many. She is the designer behind Skinnylaminx. Her textiles are often created by drawing or papercutting which is why I respond so strongly to them I think. I love seeing someones hand in their designs.

She has aligned herself with a strong team to help her create wonderful products as well. She has her designs professionally printed in Cape Town onto fabric that is woven in South Africa (which is where she resides). Plus Heather has found an excellent seamstress "with magic fingers" to help her make lots of lovely products with her fabrics. You will find tea towels, napkins, children's clothing and pillows in her shop in addition to yardage of her fabrics. The combination of nature and modern, clean design is what appeals to me in her work. Happy Fabric Friday!   {images via here}

A teeny tiny town...

One of the things that I enjoy most about the blogosphere is seeing little snippets of places all around the world. I find it fascinating.  Last night I saw a video make it's way around my local friends facebook pages and I thought I would share this little piece of Americana. It was made for the La Conner Chamber of Commerce and it made me laugh. I realized that I mention La Conner often- it is where hutch studio is, where my parents now live (& have always keep their boat) and where I lived when I moved back from NYC (grad school). I lived in this red building- but in the back facing the water. My dad used to visit me by boat (his little Boston Whaler) and tie up on the dock out side my apartment. It was a bit of a change from NYC to say the least. Chris and I later lived in one of the apartments in the front of the building (the 3 windows on the left). We carried lots of furniture up those stairs. We even got married  up on the hill in LaConner- in the Gaches Mansion (aka Quilt Museum) across from where the families of turkeys live and roam the streets. 

For the record, I don't know Dan (from the video) or Rhonda the bartender. But it does give you a feel for the little town. 

I took these photos during the Halloween parade a few weeks ago. There were swarms of kids walking down the main street of town. Sayer went as a fireman and his favorite part of the parade was walking down the street and stopping to see his daddy at hutch studio. 
So that is the sweet little town of La Conner. Hope you enjoyed your tour... 

Pillows... Pillows... Pillows...

I know I have mentioned before that klt:works is small business. My son is my star model/muse and  my husband puts on his klt:works hat from around 8:30pm -11pm most nights. But today I had a pillow drop off from another klt:worker bee- my mom. She sews all of  my pillows for me.  I had these screen printed pieces of fabric for awhile but just found this retro, striped corduroy that I wanted to use. My mom got right to work and delivered them today as she picked up my son for their day together. Not too shabby of a deal I've got going, huh? I know, I know, I'm really lucky.

As I was fiddling around with the striped corduroy, I saw this block fabric that I bought a while back. I thought it would be nice to make some retro  & modern pillows. There are just 8 new pillows- 2 of each character- one of each fabric. It's fun to make limited editions every now & then. So, today I have been busy photographing them and now they can be found in my Etsy shop. I have one more hour left before my boys come home. I think I'm going to and head up to the studio and squeeze in some more sewing....

{Puppets} old friends...

Which came first, these puppets or klt:works? Hmmm, I would say that they were both created at the same time. Most people don't really know when or why klt:works came to be so I thought I would fill in the gaps. My studio had been neglected for several years due to life - and a full time job, plus teaching night painting classes at the local college. The daily grind sort of sucked the creativity right out of me. In 2005, during a vocational crossroad, I set up my studio again while I searched for another full time job. The first thing I made were these puppets. I've always loved puppets and I guess I just felt the need to make some of my own.

These puppets were made as sort of an experiment to say the least. I made a plaster mold from clay heads that I created - then poured porcelain slip into those molds to  make many heads. I under glazed them by hand -as a painter it was interesting to use glazes rather than paint. You never knew exactly how they would come out. I utilized the fact that Chris teaches ceramics at the local college (& knows his stuff). He took care of firing them in the college kilns for me. After that, I made bodies out of dressmaker wool and left holes for fingers to be used as the arms. 

Not too much later, I was given a few show opportunities and officially started klt:works. My puppets were my first klt:works products (along with thread drawing portraits) and brought me many fascinating conversations and connections. I later had a solo show at a small shop in Seattle. The shop owner & designer asked me to make some Spring like products for this show. I made my first bird plush & mobiles to exhibit there in the Spring of 2006. So these odd little puppets really started it all for me. When I started making the plush & mobiles, I really didn't know where these puppets fit in- so I carefully packed them away for a time when the perfect fit would present itself.

Last night I rummaged in my closet and found all of my old friends carefully packed in multiple boxes. I felt somewhat comforted bringing all of them back out. Chris has the perfect space in mind for them in hutch studio and I love the idea that they will be back out into the world. Who would have thought that these puppets would send me on such a wonderful & fulfilling adventure? Not me- but they did, and I am grateful to them. They are going to their new home tomorrow and  I thought it  would be nice to send them off in style... by taking some photos. 

{Music Monday} 2 minutes of fun...

This week is going to be busy! Most of the time, my studio music choices are pretty mellow, more acoustic in nature. However, when I need to sew really fast and speed along with my day, Vampire Weekend is an excellent choice.

This video, directed by Garth Jennings, is a few minutes of clever fun to jumpstart the week. If only I had a set of those tracks through my studio... then I could really scoot. On occasion, I do really move that fast- it just depends on how much coffee I've had in the morning. Happy Music Monday! 

{Everyday Inspiration} four fun finds

I see so many fun & cool things each week. I think I may need to start documenting them regularly as to not forget them. Here are 4 things that I have been thinking about. Each one has been bookmarked  on my computer for some reason or another so I thought I would share them with you. 

1. I saw this amazing Paperback Wall System by Studio Parade on sodapopgirl and was totally smitten. I've had dreams of something like this on all of our walls...

2. These great Moveable Paper Dolls by Hollandsworth caught my attention a long time ago and it's one of my "favorite" Etsy shops. I had it bookmarked because I saw that she did custom, family paper dolls and I wanted to have some made of our family for Christmas (including our kitty).

3. If I had a little girl, this would be a frequently purchased from shop. I love these modern dresses by Mette! I just spotted them on papernstitch.

4. This wood sign from, What Wood You Say, was immediately bookmarked when I saw it on Smarts & Crafts a few days ago. This particular saying has been number one on my New Year resolution list almost every year for the last 15 years. It's a phrase that is used often when people give me advice. 

So there are four fun finds . Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Boy did I enjoy that extra hour we gained! What are you using the extra hour for?