Artistic Artifacts

I am going to be heading up to Virginia this February - to an wonderful mixed media fiber shop called Artistic Artifacts.
I am teaching a two day book making class called "Bound By Heart, Made By Hand".
Someone ask me why I call the class this so I'll explain here.

A lot of my recent work (the last three years) has revolved around the death of my mother.
When I was cleaning out her house, I found so many keepsakes type things that I had forgot about, had never seen or couldn't remember the story attached to them.
There was a lot of vintage linens from my grandmother as well...she was a doll maker and a quilter.
Oh, and also a doll doctor. She had been certified to do "reconstructive surgery" on all types of dolls -wooden to ceramic.

I found myself the owner of a ton of family keepsakes.
And not an idea of what to do with them but store them like my mom did.

But, a couple of things kept nagging at me.
I didn't want my son to find all these things after I died and wonder about them...or throw them out.
And I just didn't have the storage space to keep them all.

I made the decision to use them.
Not in the intended manner but in an artistic manner.
I put aside the ones that held special meaning or were in the best condition.
Then I began using them as art supplies...yep, cutting them up, adding them to books that I made, attaching them to fiber wall art...just generally enjoying them.

And I found that all of the pieces that I added to artwork held more meaning to me.

They began to bind my heart to the work that I made by hand...
Hence "Bound By Heart, Made By Hand" was born.

And in my classes, I show everyone how to use those vintage linens (whether hand-me-downs or not), old clothing, copies of hand written letters and anything else they choose to bring in their artwork.
The books are so textured with all of the different linens, homespun and hankies inside (and outside) of them.

The books have so much more meaning and sentiment when you use personal items.

And you can bet that your kids won't throw these away when you're gone!

I've had women create family recipe books, wine tasting books, memory books for family or friends, and art journal books.
Sketchbooks.

Here's a few photos of the ones that I have made.

I love painting the pages inside then going back and sketching or writing in them.
But I also love viewing the book as a piece of art in itself.

The class will be held at Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria Virginia.
It's a two day class and almost everyone goes home with a completed book!
Sometimes two books if you've planned ahead.

Contact Judy Gula at the shop for prices and payment options.

Oh - class dates are Feb. 24 & 25.

My buddy Liz Kettle is teaching a one day workshop the very next day (Sunday Feb. 26) called "Metal Magic".

Judy is offering a $10 discount on both (either or) classes if you sign up now!

We could make a weekend out of it...just think - hanging out with me, Liz and Judy all weekend!
A girl's weekend...with great art making too!

Treasures

Those of you who read my blog (and/or know me in "real life") know that my mom passed away in February of this year.
You could understand that, to say the least, it's been a gut wrenching journey since then. Besides all the standard probate checklist, I've had to try and deal with family members that have not always been upright and honest in what they're doing.
I'm not going in to that (aren't you glad?!) but did want to share a couple of treasures that going through my mom's things have turned up.
I crocheted for years and years - my mom and great grandmother taught me the standard grannies square when I was about 10.
I laid it down for a while but picked it back up when I was pregnant with my son (who is now almost 21).
I didn't want to do the regular yarn crochet and found myself drawn to the white cotton thread doilies that you find in antique shops.
So I began the loving journey of teaching myself this type of crochet.
Needless to say, my mom loved the lace that I made and all she had to say was "Oh, Callie! (my nick name) I love that!" and it was hers.
Those doilies that I so lovingly made for my mom have come full circle.
Below is a picture of a few of them...
I loved ( and still do) the intricate lace patterns and worked with some little bitty thread back then! My eyes are not good enough to work with such small thread now.




Again, I've said this before but I'm saying it again...My grandmother was a doll Doctor and a maker of dolls.
She and I must have been so much alike in some ways - always making things with our hands, sewing, quilting, drawing...you know - just being artists.
I found a copy of her "Doll Doctoring" manual.
I looked and looked and couldn't find a date on or in the book. It is about 3 inches thick and a veritable cornucopia of knowledge.
Everything one would need to know about fixing up a damaged doll baby...
And look at this box that I found - my mom's handwriting.
"Very Old Doll".
Indeed.

Look at her! My grandmother had evidently began the restoration process - you can see that she has had some "re-do" work on her beautiful head.

Look at those buttons that make the movable arms and legs...

The fabric of her body is so old that it's falling apart.

The clothes that were inside the box were too small for her - they may have been her clothes when she was younger.

But they are just as old as she is. Teeny tiny crocheted lace on one of the dresses.

Silly Floppy Headed Heart For A Nose Bear

I've been playing with the new camera here at home.
These are "candid shots" of one of our house mates.
This silly old bear came to live with my family
several years ago, after being created by loving hands
at my old sewing machine.
I had a stack of fluffy brown fabric
that I "inherited" from my grandmother
that was constantly bugging me
to take shape...
this silly bear is the shape it took.
Gotta love a silly old bear with the floppy head...
and a heart for a nose...

The Rust Bug

My husband has caught The Rust Bug! Ever since I made the first rust fabric, he has been collecting rusty items for me (or for himself if the truth be told).

A few days ago, we gathered up our growing collection of rusty tid bits, armed ourselves with our secret mixtures of Rust Energizer and got to Work.

We layered.

We spritzed.

We pondered over placement.

As he was studying over where to place each particular piece of treasure, I was itching to just throw all of it on the fabric.

His engineering brain was very methodical...

My Crazy Callie brain was running here, there and yonder.

He added one fat quarter of fabric...

I added a piece of vintage lace, a wadded up kimwipe, a bit of cotton string, a torn piece of loosely woven fabric.

He added a beautiful old gear from a meat grinder...

I added 10 rusty nails, a bolt, a washer and 5 pieces of an old bent & broken tin can.

So (and I say this with laughter in my eyes)you can see how well we work together.

Each of us appreciate and even envy the others creative spirit.

I stand back and watch him work in his exacting way,

my mind screaming,"Hey, try this! Try that!".

He moves out of my way

even as his mind is screaming "Stop!Stop!"

and, in the end both of our ways work,

very nicely I might add...

Very nicely indeed.

That must have been one of the pieces that I could no longer stand it on...I tossed a handful of rusty nails in for good measure!

If you look on the bottom left hand side of this fabric, you'll see the image of a beautiful old key. It wasn't rusty but it acted as a resist for what was under it. In the next picture, you'll see the other side of this fabric...

The key image is now in the upper left of the picture. It is shaped kinda like the key, but you would not recognize it as the same image, now would you? There must be some chemical action or reaction that causes each side of the fabric to look different. One side had the outline of the pieces that you use...while the opposite side of fabric will have the entire image appear as solid rust. Hmmm. it makes for some really interesting pieces!

Look at all the awesome shapes and colors in this piece. This is PFD fabric from Big Horn Quilts.

Vintage lace from my Grandmother's stash, kimwipe, cotton lace and a torn piece of loosely woven fabric.