Pimp Your Television Set

Still trying to figure out how to handle flat screens, but here are a couple of pimped out classic TV sets. I find unadorned appliances irksome. Sorry about the photo quality—these are scanned snapshots.

Flamingo TV

Flamingo TV: Iteration 2

Forbidden TV (loosely based on the "Forbidden China" exhibition at the Oakland Museum)

Doodad Scarf

What if you strung a whole lot of little beads, charms and doodads onto your ball of yarn and then started knitting, every once in a while incorporating one of the doodads into the work?

Note the importance of stringing on all of the doodads before you start knitting—no way to add them later!

Repurposed Shirt #5

Modifications to a man's shirt bought second-hand for a $3 include: collar removed; sleeves shortened and open slit added to top of sleeve; right front of shirt shortened to create asymmetrical shirt front; buttons switched out and replaced with red buttons; material from sleeve used to create second pocket on lower left shirt front.

Upper sleeve slit.

New pocket from old sleeve.

Rain

First rain of the fall/winter. Here's a pin from railroad scrap metal and old jewelry findings that I've always thought of as rain.

Ecoprint Experiments

I've been having lots of fun with ecoprint experiments, inspired by consummate eco dyer India Flint and her book on botanical dyes called Eco Colour. Here are some results using bundled repurposed silk and steamed eucalyptus leaves, rose leaves, and carrot tops along with a little tea.

I find silk too hot to wear, so I used some of the eco dyed silk overlayed on a hand stitched linen top I made a few years back. Again, the silk itself is repurposed, salvaged from silk blouses scored at bargain prices from a thrift shop.

Close-up of upper pocket (recycled silk blouse cuff) with rose leaf print

Close-up of lower pocket with eucalyptus leaf print

Found: Mystery Door Number One

A flea market find in a pile of rubble. It's now displayed on my office wall as a piece of found art. Submit your guess as to what it was originally by posting a comment below.

Jersey Shore Scarf

Hand-sewn from black silk and light black netting, this scarf incorporates seashells, bits of driftwood and seaglass from the always wonderful and recently much maligned Jersey shore.

Colorado Pumpkin House

Here's a very simple little pumpkin house I just made at my sister's house in Colorado. She's going to use it as the centerpiece for a party she's giving for a bunch of visitors from Thailand (sort of a pumpkin spirit house). For how-to instructions on making a pumpkin house see the post below or go to this link: Pumpkin Houses.

While it was sitting out on the deck, a starling kept showing up and popping his head in the window to inspect the interior of the house. Looking to move in?

Pumpkin House Manual

A Halloween gift for all you makers out there—go wild! You can download the complete Pumpkin House manual as a free PDF at the following link: Pumpkin Houses. See a sample pumpkin house here.

Railroad Rubble

A few pins made in part from rubble picked up alongside the railroad tracks in the good old days before Homeland Security found an artist walking along the tracks a suspicious activity. Top pin incorporates an old razor blade. Bottom pin utilizes a couple of Chinese coins placed on the tracks and flattened by a passing train.

Have a Happy War

Today is the 9th anniversary of the U.S.-Afghan war (with Iraq coming in at seven years and counting as of March of this year). On the first anniversary of the war I produced this art mailing, inspired by the war, the Patriot Act, and the loss of basic constitutional rights on the home front. Who knew this would all still be going on nine years later? Have a happy. You can download the PDF (for free of course) and print out your own little Happy War booklets by using this link: Have a Happy War.