wise craft

turn an old book into a sketchbook/journal

Not sure if I am much of an "art journal" person, but I thought it might be fun to try altering a book my own way. I have been buying and using spiral bound sketchbooks for my daily sketches because they stay open, but I like the idea of having a full spread to work with too. A duplicate I-Spy book I found in our basement was perfect for this project... it's large (10" x 12"), stays open and flat, it will give me a surface to play with my carved rubber stamps, and another book to draw my daily sketches in.

february 2013 desktop wallpaper

I am handpainting the monthly desktop wallpapers for each month of 2013. We can all enjoy a peacock feather, no?

Download the file here. See all the previous wallpapers here.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

in my father in law's studio

There is lots of art created and given on Peter's side of the family during the holiday season, we've done this for years. So long, in fact, that I think we would all feel cheated without getting something handmade by each other. Plus what do we really need? What's fun about giving art in this family is that everyone gets excited, and there is a so much appreciation for every type of art and everyone's unique style, medium, and talent.

In my father-in-law's home art studio in their home in New Mexico, he has created a family art gallery space in one area. There are many stories in that corner.

There's work from Kurt's mother Marjorie (Peter's grandmother), who was a fashion illustrator and a wonderful watercolor artist (we have 2 of her illustrations in our own bathroom, above the tub, which you can see a bit of here).

- from Emma (this painting was done a few years ago). The painting you see underneath was done by Kurt himself.

 

from Peter (I really wish he would pick up a paintbrush again)

 

watercolors by Kurt

 

from my sister-in-law Jen, who is a printmaker and also does gorgeous bontanicals

 

even the ojo-de-dios I made as a housewarming gift for them over the summer

We've yet to get art from Ian up there, he insists he works only in 3D, Lego primarily.

 

For my in-laws this year, I made a new painting, a New Mexico quilt star, to celebrate their new home. I challenged myself to work with earthy colors and, even though I had my doubts the composition and color scheme I used was working early on (I used a page from an old Anthropologie catalog as inspiration for the colors). But I came around to like it a lot and think it really fits in their new home.

My father-in-law, and Jen are both doing the year-long daily sketching with me. I love how different our styles are. The daily sketches can sometimes take on a daily journaling aspect, which is kind of fun since we are scattered all over the country.

I have begun listing some of my original paintings in the shop. I went back and forth with creating a whole separate shop just for the paintings, but decided not to. I kind of like everything being housed in one place. I figure all of it represents what I do as a maker, so why not have it all together?

january 2013 desktop wallpaper

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a great holiday. We spent a week in New Mexico with Peter's folks and I fell in love with the whole area, so very different than my normal day-to-day surroundings. We visited a few museums, ate some really good food, walked among the 200,000 year old petrogliphs, and laughed plenty.

I am going to continue on with my monthly images, but I'm going to change them up a bit. Instead of a photograph of what's inspiring me that particular month, I thought I would do an illustration. January's painting is of a little glass bottle I found last summer at Goodwill. I believe it's an Avon bottle from who knows when, for Pennsylvania Dutch Patchwork Foaming Bath Oil, and I really love the extent of the packaging.

And I am just the kind of person who would find pleasure in a patchwork bath.

You can download the high resolution image and use as your desktop wallpaper here. As always, for personal use only. Thank you!

I'm back tomorrow posting about my simple resolutions for the new year.

I know, I know, posting on a Saturday, the idea of it!

quilt study this saturday

I am just popping in to say I won't be posting much this week. The last photoshoot for the book is this Friday (YAY!) and my paintings for Quilt Study are going up at the end of the week at Drygoods Design. There will be a reception there on Saturday night, 12/8, from 6-9pm to unveil their brand new Make*Do*Mend space and I will be there to help celebrate (read the details here). I will have about 11 new quilt-inspired pieces up by then, both acrylic and watercolor. I'm so thrilled to be asked to hang my work in their space. Some folks asked if the pieces will be available on their website and I'm not sure yet. Once all that is finalized I will let you know.

And the December inspiration image soon, if I can ever get enough light (such a rainy week). In the meantime, I will be popping around Instagram here and there.

I hope you guys are doing well! Back to regular programming soon.

lone star

Lone Star, 8" x 8" acrylic on wood panel.

I'm in love with star quilt blocks these days. The Crazy Star started the whole thing.

This is another piece for the Quilt Study show at Drygoods Design on Saturday, December 8th from 6-9:00. If you're in town I hope you'll drop by. I'll be the one over the corner, sweating bullets.

By the way, Drygoods is having a huge sale right now.

You've been warned.

echo star

First as a painting, now as a pillow.

november inspiration

You didn't think I'd forgotten this month's inspiration image I hope. I have been down with a head cold all week, a functional but slower and more forgetful Blair does not get much done. Today I will take it slow, have lots of tea, and rest up. Its quite dreary outside, a really good day to sit with some handwork.

I have listened to the news all week long about the damage from Superstorm Sandy and I hope that everyone on the East Coast is getting all they need and are recovering.

I took a walk this morning to gather these leaves, I knew they would be my inspiration image this month and I wanted to grab them at their most colorful. As I reached out to tug at the leaves on my Japanese Maple in the back yard (the ones on the left), they came off with barely a touch. It seems my nature walk was not a minute too soon. What are you inspired by this month? There was a time I was not inspired in the least by Fall colors, but there's really something about how they glow here in the Northwest, against the rain and the mossy rocks. They are beautiful here... but they are beautiful everywhere.

Download your full size inspiration image here. See all of 2012 inspiration images here.

Couple of things to note:

- There will be some exciting new things added to the shop next week! Honestly I can't wait to share them! I think the sketchbook project sketches I've done spawned the idea of this new collection, in a way, but then again its something I've had in my head for a very long time. You can always sign up for my newsletter and get news of when the shop is stocked for the holidays.

- My quilt pieces are hanging up at Artstream for their small works show entitled "Home". There is a reception this evening and if you are local to them I do hope you'll stop by. I've said it many times by now, but I am honored to have had my paintings travel across the country to hang for this show. Thank you Susan!

- I am working on a new set of paintings that will be part of the Ballard Artwalk and hanging at Drygoods Design in December. I had a dream about what I wanted to do for this show the other night and got so excited I almost got up to start painting at 2am! More soon. (Does this mean I'm an artist??)

- I will be doing a craft workshop at Urban Craft Uprising this year. More details on that soon, but I can't wait. This show has lots of good energy, great place to holiday shop for some handmade unique gifts.

- I am still working on my book, it is very much alive and kicking. Writing a book is such a labor of love (I thought I had some idea, but who was I kidding). I am excited to share details with you as they emerge, but if I ever disappear for a few days from the blog and am NOT sick, I probably have my nose deep in book writing. Right now the publication date is set for Spring of 2014. That's a long ways away so I won't bore you with book talk anymore for a while.

I was going to leave you with a list of links, but I think I may go rest now.

Have a great weekend everyone! Stay safe!

 

4 paintings

(From left to right: Neon Navajo, Morning Star, Flutter Wheel with Toile, Turkey's Delimma.)

I finished the Morning Star and Flutter Wheel last week, soon they are all four headed to Artstream Gallery in New Hampshire. Its fun to see them all together. That second picture up there shows the sides of the pieces, which has some smudges of paint. Should I paint the edges? Leave them as they are? What do you think? A part of me likes the layers and layers of paint just seeping over the edges a bit, but not sure if you'd want to see that when the piece is hung on a wall.

The rain returned over the weekend, after a record stretch (near-record? record? I can't keep up) of no rain in Seattle. I missed it, I'll admit. Was quite happy to curl up in my chair with my crochet hook and watch it drip outside. Finally gave in and started watching Downton Abbey, almost through season 1. Yes, I love it. Peter's watching a 24 episode documentary on The Cold War. Emma is making more clay dragons and Ian is making stop motion animation movies. Gracie is napping. Tonight is baked potato night.

That's how we're rolling. 

Getting some interweb inspiration for Halloween. We need to focus on costumes this week and next. I always make this process way harder than it needs to be.

Simple, Blair...simple.

Take care for now friends.

new paintings

Turkey's Dilemma, acrylic and gouache, 12" x 12" wood panel

 

Neon Navajo, acrylic and gouache, 10" x 10" wood panel

These will be going to New Hampshire in a few weeks. I am still very much in love with painting quilt squares, and as you may have guessed, that's what these are. The whole process is enjoyable to me. To start with a sketch, then move to a painting, and perhaps even eventually to a physical quilt. Or not.

I have been working on these pieces for the past few weeks. The process went from love... to hate... to love.. to loathe... to love, with each of them. Which I have discovered is part of the process. I never felt those polar opposite feelings on quilts or other projects I've done. With my quilts, it either works or it doesn't, and I tend to know that early on. Pushing past that moment of total loathing is somewhat new for me. (You would be surprised at the number of projects that get discarded.) Usually, I hate wasting time on an idea that just isn't clicking, I have no patience for what doesn't feel like its going anywhere. But something about painting and the process of adding the paint layers, over days or even weeks, doesn't make it feel like a hopeless cause in quite the same way. Usually, when it starts looking awful, I know its time to rinse the brushes and call it a night. It always looks at least a little better in the morning sun. And sometimes a lot better.