Thursday, February 13, 2025

Nest Series: The Seaweed Nest

 

The Seaweed Nest

The winter of 2025 seems to be a time for huddling down and nesting, and here we have number three in the Nest Series.  This organic creation was inspired by a rain walk on the shores of Lake Merritt, Oakland during one of the many atmospheric rivers that hit the Bay Area coast in the past few months. A king tide had created a surge that threw mounds of seaweed and shells onto the lake path. I collected a bunch, took it all home, and created this.

King tide seaweed

Really cool seaweed

I've worked with seaweed before (check past Seaweed Projects), and knew the trick was not to try to stitch or otherwise fasten the raw material together, but to mold it into the desired shape and keep tweaking the molding process as it dried.

Molding the seaweed

Tweaking the mold as it dries

One of the challenges in this nest series is to decide what to house in a particular nest. In this case the decision was relatively easy. I opted for a combination of seashells tossed up by the tide and a few choice pieces from my collection of sea beans. If you have walked the shores of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, or East Africa, you have encountered sea beans — seed pods that drop into waterways or shorelines and are carried away by the tides to travel to distant shores. For those curious to learn more, "What the Heck is a Sea Bean?" is an entertaining post with a sea bean identification guide.

The nest

A clutch of shells and sea beans

On to the next nest!

Saturday, January 18, 2025

Trump-o'-Rama: The Second Coming

 

Smashed Trump Cascarone

In preparation for this inauguration day, January 19, 2025, I have rounded up past work to create this Trump-o'-Rama full of fun-packed activities, fashion, and more to help you rage against the night.

Trump Cascarones



This how-to comes complete with instructions and downloadable pdf to enable you to create these unique, confetti-filled egg shells for your funereal festivities. Go ahead, smash a Trump and feel bitterly better.  

Smash a Trump

Dialogue Pin for Troubled Times: Not My President



These were a hot item the first time around, and the idea is to engage in dialogue with strangers about what is going on — even if their political beliefs differ from your own. I find it is helpful to carry a few extra pins with me so that when someone asks me about mine and we have a conversation, I am able to offer them one to carry on the dialogue with others. 

The "not my president" pin


Make Your Own Orange Man Voodoo Doll



Don't miss this opportunity to create your own ugly little voodoo doll and stick it with pins. Two different varieties! This post offers a complete how-to with instructions and downloadable pdf. Come on, you know you want to.

Trump voodoo doll

Alternate voodoo doll

All the Rage: Voices Against Trump



From the All the Rage fashion line, an upcycled shirt embroidered with quotes about Trump (none of them positive). Time to forage through thrift stores, wield your needles, and start stitching your own protest fashions.

The Voices Against Trump shirt


Bleeding Heart Liberal Pin



Now is the perfect opportunity to break out your political jewelry and wear it with style. But first you have to make it. You will find easy, detailed instructions on how to create your own Bleeding Heart Liberal pins in this post.

Bleeding Heart Liberal pin

All the Rage: Trump Thaumatrope


Here is a nifty little toy you can make in a few minutes and better yet, it comes on a postcard you can mail out to everyone you know. Give it a whirl. This post includes a downloadable pdf so you can launch your own toy business in a matter of minutes.


The Trump Thaumatrope - lock him up with the twirl of a string

All the Rage: Snowflake Shirt



Yeah, you have feelings, you care about others, you believe in fairness and justice and civility. Admit it, you are a snowflake. Turn an intended insult into a badge of honor. Once again, you will need to wield your embroidery needles for the cause (think Betsy Ross). This simple black linen sleeveless top has been transformed into a bold and yet stylishly subtle walking billboard.


Shirt front

Closeup of front

Shirt back

All the Rage: Political Fashion



This upcycled thrift store shirt is embellished with the seven words highlighted in a memo and follow-up meeting at the Centers for Disease Control under the last Trump regime, advising staff members not to use these words in any official documents prepared for the budget. Laurel and Hardy images are interspersed for comic relief. Again, the idea is to take your beliefs or ideas on the current state of affairs, transform them into fashion, and take it to the streets. Simple how-to instructions included.



Nasty Little Women's Wear: An Evolving Textile Piece



This interactive piece was done for a gallery show. Participants could write their reactions to Trump's first term on scraps of cloth and safety-pin them to this hand-stitched dress for a 5-year-old child. The bodice of the dress is embellished with embroidered lines of the word, "not."

Nasty little women's wear


Going Forward 


Now, as we find ourselves on the brink of what many think may be the end of democracy, a new Dark Ages, or the collapse of civilization, we each need to follow our conscience and do what we can. In my case that means art, needlework, and installation pieces. What does it mean for you?

Sunday, December 22, 2024

The Daffodil Nest

 


In November of 2024 I began making a series of nests. Why nests? Perhaps it was due to the darkening skies, shorter days and colder weather. Maybe it was a way to indulge my love of playing with unlikely materials and figuring out how to put stuff together. Or maybe it all started with a bargain bunch of daffodils from Trader Joe's. Who knows? I've learned not to question these urges.

This is not the first nest I've created. The first was called Weaving a Metaphor, and that nest, created to hold a wounded ceramic bird, was composed of eco-dyed cloth, native grass roots, broken jewelry bits, and scraps of coffee-dyed paper notes. I thought it was a one-and-done, but the nesting itch continues.

The woven metaphor nest

The nest that kicked off this current series was spawned during the Easter season when Trader Joe's sells lovely little bunches of hopeful daffodils at ridiculously low prices.

The birth of a compulsion

I vaguely remembered seeing posts by a charming young woman living in rural England who forages the forest for plants, including daffodils, and proceeds to make string and baskets from it all. I thought, hmmm..., and hung my Trader Joe's bundles up to dry.

Drying daffs

Having absolutely no idea what I was doing, I launched into making I-know-not-what by boiling the dried daffodil flowers in hopes of producing a dye. Which worked, sort of. A bunch of linen strips added to the daffodil dye bath resulted in a pale shade that an optimist might call "pale daffodil".

Daffodil-dyed linen strips

By now I'd decided to make a nest, largely because it is hard to be judgmental about a nest. You feel whoever made it, whether creature high or low, put in their best effort. I knew I'd need something to weave together with the daffodil stems, and the daffodil-dyed strips were one solution. Adding a dried ivy vine I happened to have on hand was another.

Soaking daffodil steps and dried ivy vine

The next step was to relax my chattering brain, work through my fingers, and build a nest. Note the aesthetic decision to leave the daffodil bulb heads arching out from the top of the nest. That seems to point to a meaning none of us will ever know.

Weaving the daffodil nest in a water glass

And the end result is the daffodil nest, the first in a series of four unless I can't stop myself.

The daffodil nest (with mamey seed inside)


Sunday, December 15, 2024

Holiday Onion Kits

The original Holiday Onion: December 2020

I created my first Holiday Onion in the beginning of the Covid pandemic, and it charmed my heart enough that I have decorated an onion every year since. (You can find my original Holiday Onion post here.) This year I decided to spread the joy by distributing Holiday Onion Kits. Most folks got a flat mailer, complete with instructions and decorations, and had to supply their own onion. A few recipients who live close enough to allow an easy hand-off got the full kit complete with onion.

"Maybe the best package I have ever received." - Cici, age 13 


The feedback has been enthusiastic and included requests to copy the materials and use the idea. I have always believed ideas are free, so I've decided to make it easier for Holiday Onion enthusiasts and post the how-to with links to PDFs of all graphics and copy. Enjoy!

Materials:
• Paper lunch bags
• Tissue paper for wrapping onion
• Decorations (Google "decorative paper fasteners" on Amazon for a range of options)
• Onions (Either make a complete kit and include onion, or mail kit and have recipient supply the onion)

The Gift Bag


Front of Bag (click to enlarge)


For printable PDF for front of bag, click here.




Back of Bag (click to enlarge)


For back of bag printable PDF click here.


The Ornaments


Ornament Packet

Ornament packet unwrapped reveals instructions


The ornaments

For a printable PDF of the ornament wrapper, click here.

click to enlarge


The ornaments are decorative paper fasteners. I just happened to have a bunch in my overflowing maker stash when Covid hit. I have discovered since that if you google "decorative paper fasteners" on Amazon you will have a variety of options to choose from. As shown here, you'll need about  13 - 15 ornaments per packet, depending on size of ornaments.

Mailing the Holiday Onion


Since it would be downright stupid (barring exceptional circumstances) to mail an onion, for mail recipients I created a mailing packet, sans onion, that slides into a mailing envelope. The recipients then supply the onion at their end. To help them comprehend what is going on, I have created an added "What the Hell is This?" sheet.

The mail version

For a printable PDF of the "What the Hell" insert, click here

click to enlarge


The End Goal


My dream is that, a century or two from now, people across the nation and the world will be decorating holiday onions each year without an entirely clear understanding as to why. The might have some vague idea that the tradition grew out of the great Covid pandemic of 2020-21, and that it has something to do with making do, being grateful, and the healing nature of tears. 

To this end, encourage your recipients to save their onion ornaments each year. I keep mine inside of an old caviar jar.

Ornament storage



Saturday, November 23, 2024

Couture for the Reality Wars: Where Chaos Becomes Style


A Faux Fashion Line with a PR Pitch Created by AI

In a world where the boundaries of reality shift with every scroll, tap, and algorithmic nudge, fashion has found its ultimate muse: the breakdown of communication itself. We’re thrilled to unveil our bold new couture line, Asemic Elegance, a stunning fusion of art, rebellion, and commentary on the fractured state of modern discourse.


Hand-stitched embroidery on linen


This collection uses Asemic writing—marks that mimic language but carry no specific meaning—to craft garments that speak volumes without saying a word. Think flowing gowns adorned with swirling, glyph-like patterns, sharply tailored suits etched with cryptic loops, and accessories that turn symbols of confusion into dazzling statements. It’s a celebration of ambiguity, proving that even as meaning slips through our fingers, beauty remains undeniable.


The Designer wearing an Asemic scarf


Asemic Elegance isn’t just couture—it’s a movement. In an era of competing truths, echo chambers, and fragmented narratives, this line invites wearers to embrace the chaos and transform it into something powerful. The absence of fixed meaning in the designs mirrors the complexities of modern existence, encouraging conversation, curiosity, and creativity. Who decides what a symbol means? What stories do we create when language breaks down? With Asemic Elegance, the runway becomes a battleground of ideas, where every piece is a wearable manifesto for resilience and reinvention. So step into the swirl, and let your style speak the language of the future: one of infinite possibility.



The Original Instructions to Chat GPT Used to Create the PR Pitch

"Write a two paragraph blog post introducing a new line of couture designed for the reality wars. The design uses Asemic writing, marks that look like language but lack meaning, in response to the breakdown of communication as our realities fragment. The tone should be upbeat and enthusiastic."

---------------------

Postscript:

I became fascinated with Asemic writing  and proceeded to create this hand-stitched linen scarf using my own stabs at this challenging practice. When it came to writing the blog copy, I figured getting Chat GPT to come up with the PR pitch was appropriate given the musing that went on during stitch after stitch.

Friday, October 4, 2024

The Chatterbox: Brain Mapping

 

Materials: paper towels, linen, embroidery

How to capture the ongoing, incessant, inner workings of the brain? I think the trick is to catch it unawares. Happily, it turns out a habit I've indulged in for decades offered valuable clues.

A lifetime of random doodles

For decades I've been in the habit of always having a glass of diet ginger ale at hand, and to avoid condensation from the glass hitting my work table and oozing onto whatever I am working on, I always place a folded paper towel beneath the glass. This means I always have a handy scrap of paper to use for random doodles, phone or zoom recommendations from others, fleeting thoughts, and inspiration on the fly.

A pile of random thought processes

A few months ago it suddenly occurred to me that these meandering notes and doodles offered an uncensored peek at the subterranean level of my own thoughts, and I started saving them. Ultimately they became this piece - "The Chatterbox."

The Chatterbox framed - 24"x24"

Here are a few close-ups:





Related Posts with Thumbnails