yay! made it on the front page of etsy

my clutch set was featured on the front page of etsy today, in a treasury by villadesign !! my sister called and told me...i just missed seeing it live, but she did capture the picture for me! (thanks cary!).  

can't wait to get some more of my work listed after i get back from vacation (and get back to work crafting!).

Natural Kids Team Blog

i am so happy to have found the natural kids team on etsy.  the team also has a wonderful blog, where you can find treasuries of members' work, features on specific natural kids artists, articles about waldorf education, toys, and living, as well as in depth profiles and how-to articles to create your own natural playroom!

these are truly gifted artists who create such inspiring pieces to insight a child's imagination and nurture their development in a natural environment. 

hope you get a chance to check it out!

okay, it's official...i need an intervention.  i've discovered the world of curating treasuries on etsy this week.  i love the build-up, the anticipation...the glow of the computer on my face as i wait for that number to tick down.  experimented with my first on saturday, and two days later i am on my third round and in full addiction mode...terrible. 

here is my latest, "animal magnetism......,"  in the treasury west, featuring irresistible animals from the talent of the NaturalKids Street Team.

i'm leaving for vacation rehab tomorrow, so hopefully i can recover....hmmmm.

grandiaroad.blogspot.com did a wonderful feature on my etsy shop this week!  thanks starr!

i love this necklace of hers too:

featured in etsy treasuries this week

i'm so happy to be featured in three etsy treasuries this week!:

SofT and beautiful BlueS

Quid Pro Quo

Superior Awesome Newbies

Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, 2008!

Well, it is time for me to really get to work!  Just received acceptance into the Renegade Craft Fair here in Brooklyn for June 14th and 15th, 11-7 at the McCarren Park Pool in Williamsburg. Renegade is held four times a year around the country; in Brooklyn, Chicago, NY, and San Francisco.  Very excited to be a part of this wonderful event.

You can also catch the brooklyncraftcollective at the Brooklyn Indie Market on May 24th. Phewwfff, this means I need a lot of stock!  My fingers are already feeling the pain, but it is all for the love of the craft!  Hope everyone can come out and see us for these events; can't wait to see friends and meet new ones!

Here is an example of the process I use when making wall hangings.

For this particular piece, 'Mr. Gnome's Underground Adventure', the scene came to me in a dream.  I actually made myself wake up enough in the middle of the night to concentrate on the image that had come to me, so that I would remember it well enough to sketch in the morning (I didn't trust my 2 a.m. sketching ability!).  

A few days before, I used one of my birthday gift certificates that I have been saving, and bought two lovely new sketch books. There is truly a difference, reaching for a book that I love to hold in my hands, with thick pages to put pencil to paper.  

Creating a scene in my book, and then facing the challenge of contemplating how I will accomplish the task of transferring this image into wool art is daunting, yet satisfying when I feel I have been successful.  After I feel comfortable with a sketch, I then break down the image into pieces, deciding which medium I will use for each part.  I then like to re-sketch each part individually, and lay them out of the background I'm using, adjusting pieces here and there and letting myself become inspired with additional ideas.  

For the above piece, I ventured into the use of more needle felting within the tapestry, although I retained the use of touches of wool felt here in there to create variations of texture and depth. Practicing the use of perspective in a piece is a learning process for me.  I found, through trial and error, that layering twisted pieces of wool roving onto the piece as I needle felted helped greatly in creating the perspective within the birch trees.

Truly an intensive labor of love, such a complex work has a unique satisfaction, yet I also love creating wall hangings in a more simplistic form as well.  I love stripping images to their basic outline in a more abstract approach, such as in Tufted Spring Rebirth. 

I will love to look back, as my work is consistently led in new directions, at the variation and progression of drawings in my sketch book.  I try to always sketch images and ideas when starting a piece, so that I may look back and see where the process began for me.  I hope you enjoy seeing a sample of this process as well! 

More Fantasy Figures

As promised, I am working on some new needle felted fantasy figures. New little Olly gnome is listed on Etsy (Sidney gnome went to his new home!). Like Sidney gnome, Olly was also named by a friend who associated his little face with someone. It is great to see that their personalities are coming through! I also just completed this new wizard today, and will list him soon.

Our website, brooklyncraftcollective.com, also has a new look, thanks to the very hard work of Cary! A new collective blog has also been added, and will include news of our work, where it is available for purchase, our upcoming craft fairs, and also great info. on local craft related events and stores.

I also want to thank Aunt 'Laine', Cary, and Wendy for your incredible support. To be surrounded by such a great support system from family, friends, and our wonderful craft collective is truly a gift. Thank you.

Sidney Gnome

My two year old niece, Sidney, named one of my new needle felted figures today, "Sidney Gnome."  She apparently saw herself in this little gnome!  I can sort of see it now in the cute, chubby little cheeks, but the green curly beard prevented any earlier associations between the two.

I have also listed a new needle felted grandmother witch on etsy.  My first attempt at needle felted people figures came during the Christmas season, when I made a handful of Father Christmas figures and tree top angels.  These figures materialized fairly quickly and gave me much joy, but I've been unsure how to translate this joy outside of the Christmas season. Several ideas have been swirling around in my head the past few months:  fairy tale collections such as snow white, fantasy figures such as witches and wizards, and little woodland figures.  I have been afraid to try my hand at them.  

The mood struck yesterday, however, and my little hands began to fly in anticipation of who would emerge.   I thought I was making a wizard to start, but after seeing the face that was appearing, I knew that she was in fact a 'she' and a witch.  After her completion, I proceeded right into making the little gnome companion.  It is such a thrilling feeling of anticipation to discover who these figures will become.  They each have such a unique personality.  My hands will often not move fast enough for me!

I have such excitement now to see who will emerge next.  I think you will be seeing quite a few more of these figures on etsy from now on.

I have also joined two etsy street teams this week:

The {NewNew} York Etsy Street Team-  a team of crafters and artists in and around the New York City Area.

NaturalKids Street Team-  a team devoted to creating all natural items for children.

I hope you will check out their blogs.

wind in the willow- it sold!!

i sold my wind in the willow wall hanging on etsy yesterday!!  such a huge barrier to overcome, and i am so grateful it was purchased by the person who always helped encourage and nurture my art through the years.  this is also the same person who taught me the beautiful song, which inspired this wall hanging.  it is always sad to see a favorite piece, created with love (and often the frustration of finding the right path to take it!!) leave your hands, but in this case it was absolutely perfect.  

today, i replenished my etsy page, adding four new items.  a few of them were wall hangings, which i hope will have equal success in finding good homes.

Spring is here at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

signs of spring are slowly beginning to appear here and there in brooklyn. viewing all of the first blooms of spring together in beautiful compliment at the botanic gardens, however, provides a unique renewal of spirit each year.

today, our craft collective honored the beginning of the spring season by taking a trip to the brooklyn botanic gardens (www.bbg.org) for renewal and inspiration. the trees and plants are recognizing the new season as well, despite the chilly temperatures. we began the day by visiting the steinhardt conservatory, with large glass greenhouses containing refreshingly warm desert and tropical climates and plant life. living in an urban environment, it is exciting to visit the bright abundance of color in the conservatory anytime of the year. there is a unique and wonderous beauty, however, in the subtlety of the start of spring. the contrast of the twisting outlines of numerous enormous bare trees with the soft touches of very detailed color throughout is inspiring.

i realized today that this gift of early spring has been influencing my current crafting projects. i will be listing some new wall hangings soon on etsy, featuring the use of similar contrasts by combining simple wool felt outlines with small bursts of colorful detailed needle felting. i hope they capture the wonder of the rebirth of life that I saw today through the eyes of my two year old niece, sidney.