burjeune

A sabbatical...

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:31:00 +0000

We took a beach trip last weekend. I spent my time lazily reading in the sun, building sandcastles, and eating really yummy seafood. It was a wonderful trip, but I'm ready to get back to doing & plan on making this coming weekend especially productive. That, and I will be celebrating my 4th wedding anniversary with my partner in crime. We have tickets to see Elvis Costello, and I couldn't be more excited!!!

Gail K

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:03:00 +0000

Here is a little peek into one of my favorite stores in Atlanta: Gail K Fabrics!

I've been shopping around online for fabrics since I decided to take on the Fall Palette Challenge. I have developed a good idea of what I want, but I'm having a really difficult time getting around to ordering the fabrics I have picked out, because, well - it's a risk and I'm afraid to commit! What if I don't like how the texture of the fabric feels? What if I don't like the way it drapes? What if it is too thick or too thin, or feels cheap!? What if the color is different in person than it is on my computer monitor? These are big concerns, people!

So, I went to Gail K today. Where do I begin with Gail K? For starters, it is a very special place. It is (as far as I know) Atlanta's only independent source for apparel fabrics which, when you think about it, is really quite a shame. We have a few independent quilting/craft fabric shops, but Gail K is a completely different animal, and it fills a very important niche. Inside, you have just about every variety of fabric you might need to make any article of clothing, ever. As you can see from my photo - the goods are stacked to the ceiling. While it can be intimidating to take on Gail K as a shopper, (you really should allow yourself a couple of hours to search through the stacks and shelves and bins) there is a method to their madness. Things are kind of organized, even though they don't seem to be at first glance, and the people that work there are very helpful and can usually point you in the right direction if you are lost.

My only complaint: their hours. They're closed Mondays. All other business days they close at 4pm, except for Thursdays when they close at 7pm. So, I think it might take me a couple more lunch breaks before I find all of the exact fabrics that I want to sew with this fall. But, at least I'll have a lot of fun looking for them, right?!

I'm hoping to have a plan up soon of which patterns and fabrics I'll be using for The Challenge. (You know, even if I haven't actually found all of the fabrics yet!) I'm really excited to get to the point where I'm doing some sewing, but I don't want to jump in too soon with a plan that is only half developed. Better to take it slow and be deliberate rather than rush in like a maniac with a pair of sewing shears in her hand...

Introducing: Acute Stripe in Fruit Pie!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:40:00 +0000

I started shopping around online this weekend for fabrics to use in the Colette Patterns Fall Palette Challenge I am participating in. I found lots of prints in my color range that I might use, but my mind kept coming back to the Acute Stripe design I recently uploaded onto Spoonflower. I really wanted to create a color way of Acute Stripe so that I could use it to make a blouse in my fall wardrobe! So, I took a little time out and this is what I came up with...

You can see in the image on the right that I also I updated the scale of the design so that it is now more appropriate for use on apparel. In the larger scale, the triangles are each about 5.5" long which is really quite big and would work best for projects like pillows, upholstery, or draperies. In the new smaller scale, the triangles are about 1.5" long which makes the pattern more usable for clothing, quilting, or smaller craft projects.

I might end up creating a "medium" size somewhere between the two - just to explore the possibilities of the design. The scale of a print can dramatically alter how it reads visually.

The smaller version of Acute Stripe has been added for all of the color ways I had already uploaded. You can see them all on my Spoonflower profile!

2011 Fall Palette Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:07:00 +0000

I follow an amazing blog that is published by Colette Patterns called The Coletterie. They have issued a "sewing challenge" for their readers to create a fall color palette and use that color inspiration to sew a collection of garments for the season. I haven't done much garment sewing since I was in high school, and I figured if I wanted to get back into it, this would be the perfect opportunity!

I drew most of my inspiration from Sessun's fall/winter collection for 2011. I just love the bold jewel tones they used together. The collection reminds me of the color block trend from this spring/summer, only in fall colors!

Now, the next step will be to select the fabrics and patterns I want to use to make my clothes!

Cooler weather, calmer days...

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:46:00 +0000

I spent some time at my local craft store the other day gethering materials for a little project I am trying to pull together. I couldn't help but snap a few photos of plastic gourds, paper mâché skulls (!!!), and Autumn colored faux flowers that were all over the place. There is definitely a high cheese factor in any craft store when it comes to some of the seasonal supplies, but it's difficult not getting swept up in all the hooplah!

Temperatures have dipped down into the mid sixties this week in Atlanta which is pretty unusual for us this early in September. Everyone seems to be celebrating the cooler weather by wearing sweaters and boots while we have the opportunity. I have to try and rememind myself not to get too excited by the "arrival of Autumn" though, because there's no doubt that the heat will be coming back before the real thing is officially here. But, not to worry - it will be soon enough!

With these cooler temps I am also finding myself listening to different music than I would during the summer months. At the moment, that means a lot of dream pop and shoegaze with some singer songwriter stuff thrown in the mix. I found this new (to me) band Memoryhouse courtesy of YouTube and am in love with them. This song, Heirloom, is exactly what I've been in the mood to listen to as temperatures have dropped. I hope you enjoy it too!

Do your musical tastes change with the weather?

My first date with Spoonflower...

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:56:00 +0000

I finally took the time to join Spoonflower a couple of days ago after years of dragging my feet! (Funny, how weeks turn into months that turn into years. Oops!) If you aren't familiar with Spoonflower, they are a company based in Durham, NC that allows their customers to print their own fabric designs digitally on demand. You can also order designs from other Spoonflower users, which is an incredible feature - and is so supportive of small independent artists and craftspeople.

I'd be honored if you'd mosey on over there and check out my profile. My first design is this translucent triangle stripe in four colorways that were roughly (very roughly) inspired by the seasons. It isn't available for sale yet, but eventually it will be - hopefully, along with some other work that compliments it!

I'm having a great time doing design work again, and have been shocked that my memory of how to use Photoshop and Illustrator is actually coming back to me after being away for so long. The first time I sat back down in front of the computer to "play" I could barely remember a thing and was terrified that I might have to learn it all over again! Thankfully, so very very thankfully, that isn't the case.

Inspired by Walls...

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:22:00 +0000

My sister-in-law commissioned me to make some pillows for her to compliment a photo by Benjamin Walls that hangs above her sofa. She came down to Atlanta a few weeks ago, and we spent an afternoon digging through my fabric stash hoping to find some inspiration. We were able to come up with a pretty interesting scheme that went along well with her cerulean velvet couch and the photograph.

She wanted to do three pillows that would work separately, and together as a group. It was important to her that we kept an organic feel to the design. I drew a mock-up today to put my ideas down on paper, (or on screen in this case) and this is what I came up with:

The pillows will be made from four coordinating fabrics. I plan on sewing the two "major" fabrics on the top and bottom together, and then appliqueing the darker blue pieces over the seam.

Once the design is approved, I hope to get to work on making these pronto! I haven't done applique in a very long time, and I'm really looking forward to getting back to it!

Summer on the lake

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:37:00 +0000

A couple of weekends ago I ventured across state lines to a lake house birthday celebration with a bunch of my buddies. We had an amazing time - great company, and great food & drink. There was even a boat for tubing and jet skis! Here is where I mention that I am not so cool as to have ever ridden on a jet ski before - so I got to cross that off of my list of things I have never done! Woo hoo! (I love crossing things off of that list).

Now, that I am officially out of vacation mode and have been reinvigorated with rest and fun times, new creative projects will commence!

Blood, Sweat and T-shirts

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:46:00 +0000

I recently discovered a TV series produced by the BBC called "Blood, Sweat and T-shirts". The premise of the show is kind of like "Survivor", only it involves a group of fashionable Brits who are sent to work in India to see firsthand how the clothes they love so much are made.

The show really touches on a lot of issues created by the culture of consumption that is so prevalent in "developed" nations. How we seek out "deals" and quantity over quality which perpetuates the cycle of cheap clothing imports. Our desires support low wages abroad and are a big reason why garment manufacturing was outsourced to other countries from the start. Anyway, it is a very interesting look at a side of fashion that most of us would never have the chance to see otherwise. While researching the show I found one website that stated some of the factories shown were for Zara, H&M, French Connection and Gap. Whether that is true or not is debatable, but it's food for thought.

If you'd like to watch the show, I have linked to segments of one the episodes that have been uploaded to YouTube below. Consider yourself warned: a couple of the participants are incredibly whiny and downright offensive in some instances. Still, I think "Blood, Sweat and T-shirts" does get it's point across in the end.

1/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 5/5

A small step: one print at a time

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 13:34:00 +0000

Lately I've been focusing a lot of my creative energy on my living space. Do you ever have the urge to just drastically alter your place? Well - I am very prone to urges, so last weekend I painted my kitchen and bathroom and have been doing a lot of organizational tasks to make our little place more comfortable.

While I was imagining how I wanted to design the space, I kept thinking of the at-home print gallery that I have always wanted. All of the art in our home right now is our own, which is fun, but I really feel the need to bring other artists into the mix! Especially prints! I love hand pulled prints because they are so accessible to people with all types of budgets. (Read: my budget! ha!)

With my future wall of prints in the back of my mind, I saw this darling image on Melinda Josie's blog...

I loved it instantly - something about it just charmed me. Of course, part of it was the subject: a kitty, in a dress, drinking tea. But, I also love the color palette, and the sweet, but somewhat grumpy expression on her face.

I posted a comment to see where Melinda got the image, and she said it was one of her own prints! Awesome! I was familiar with her drawings and paintings, but hadn't realized that she also did hand pulled prints and even fabric! So, I bought it! Now it is somewhere between Toronto and Atlanta on it's way to me! Yay!

Carrots and radishes

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 29 May 2010 11:47:00 +0000

I am thrilled to share with you: MY FIRST CARROT!

I have opted to leave the rest of them in the ground to mature a bit more, but when the time is right I am going to pull all of 'em and try an idea one of my friends suggested: pickled carrots! I'm thinking of maybe getting some baby okra at our farmer's market to pickle along with them! Maybe I'll add some fresh dill from my garden... we'll see. It's nice to have an occasional plant growing victory. It gives me an extra little bit of motivation to keep working at it, despite the failures I have along the way... (see below)

These are my four viable radishes out of the whole bunch. It was my second time growing them, and this crop actually faired better than last year's. Still, I have some things to learn. The hard part for me is getting the actual radish to develop. I get lots of beautiful greens, but no radishes! I think I need to amend my soil more - or add some key nutrient that I am missing. I had the same problem with my beets too - which is why I am so happy that the carrots are so determined to grow! I adore so many qualities that radishes have: the cute little seeds, their foliage, scent, and of course - their taste! I can't give up on growing them!

On to a couple of plants that are growing vigorously: Feverfew (pictured above) and Echinacea (shown below)! I started the Feverfew from seed a year ago, and now it is four feet tall! It flowered the first year, so if you want to start a perennial from seed and actually have something to show for it that year, this plant is a good choice. Of course - it gets big, so you need to have plenty of space for it to spread out!

The Echinacea I started from seed the same time as the Feverfew, but this is the first year we will be seeing it flower. The baby petals furthest from the center have that subtle purple tint to them which means it is just on the verge of brilliance. I really can't wait to see what it is going to look like!

Recycled style from Etsy sellers

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:05:00 +0000

In a recent post, where I discussed reclaimed materials, I promised to share some of my favorite Etsy sellers that make things using found or recycled supplies. Well, here is a little round up of just a few shops that feature creations that use found materials in an interesting way.

YAVA G l a s s specializes in taking recycled beverage bottles with screen-printed labels and converting them into decorative glassware. These particular glasses are made from IBC cream soda bottles. The style of the IBC logo and simplicity of clear glass add a bit of classiness to these that is really fun. Whoever thought trash could look so good?

Bodhicitta also has some really beautiful work made from recycled glass. My favorite of theirs are these tumblers that they make out of old wine bottles. Each one is a slightly different earth tone, which makes a great-looking set!

Isn't this little wooden whale made by William Dohman sweet? William gathers wood scraps from construction sites and uses what he finds to create hand carved signage, toy whales like this one, and even toy robots!

The pillow pictured above comes from Velvet Bean. She makes cushions and ottomans using reclaimed coffee sacks. I love how they are graphic and still so rustic! Velvet Bean was recently featured in Real Living Magazine Australia. Check out how great this room featuring one of her ottomans and pillows looks!

The lovely cushion above is from Ply Textiles. It is made using wool from recycled sweaters. The 100% wool sweater material is fulled in a hot washing machine to create a dense, strong, but soft fabric. The combo of beautiful colors, the texture of the fulled wool, and the graphic herringbone design can't be beat!

The adorable fabric baskets above were made by Tuuni. She creates home decor using recycled vintage fabrics and lace. They are beautifully simple, but the lace adds a bit of charm and character!

Last is this yarn from Auracauna Designs. It comes from an old sweater that the seller unraveled, washed, and line dried. It has such a unique look - and provides a chance for an old garment to be something greater!

Checking out beautiful work by other crafty folks always gets me inspired to go make something... now, I'm off to get to work!

I kind of love this...

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:43:00 +0000

Image courtesy of Jessica Swift.

Open studio w/ Ink and Spindle

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 18 May 2010 14:47:00 +0000

Ink & Spindle, a fabric printing studio in Australia recently posted this lovely video showing their studio and bits of their print and design process on their blog. I love that they are so open in sharing their experience as makers with their customers. It's a side to fabric design that most people never get to see! Part of the beauty of hand printed fabrics is in the process in which they are created and the human element involved. This video illustrates that wonderfully...

Arabia Mountain pt. 2 - the beauty

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sun, 16 May 2010 13:19:00 +0000

I've read that a few of the plant species on the mountain are endangered, and one or two only exist in a few places in the United States outside of Arabia. I would have loved to have a horticulturist on the hike with us to tell us about all about it! I suppose I'll have to go back some other time so that I can get the specifics. I am fairly sure that the shrub in the photo below is Hawthorne. It is a native to Georgia, and is a foundation shrub in a lot of yards around our area. The ones on the mountain were different from the Hawthorne that I was accustomed to. The were incredibly old, had gnarled trunks, and were covered in moss and lichens. It is really impressive seeing how a plant can adapt and thrive under very difficult growing conditions!

My darling friend Leuwam, who I mentioned in Arabia pt. 1, told me that the little red plants below are a type of Diamorpha. Based on that, I did a little research online and found that one common name for this variety is Small's Stonecrop.

Arabia is the perfect place for lichen lovers! Once you hit a certain elevation they just start covering the rock everywhere. So beautiful!

All of the colors and textures were just incredible and got me really inspired. I have one color scheme in mine that I'd like to pull directly from the tones I saw on our trip!

Arabia Mountain pt. 1 - the oddness

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:16:00 +0000

My husband and I both had the day off from work Wednesday, and it was beautiful out, so we decided to finally go visit Arabia Mountain. The nature preserve that surrounds Arabia is only about 20 minutes from downtown Atlanta, but we had never been there before! It is similar to the (in)famous Stone Mountain - minus the Civil War relief sculpture, crowds, laser show, and theme park pageantry. Actually, I suppose that the only way it is like Stone Mountain at all is that it too is a granite outcrop.

I get really inspired when I break my routine and take little trips like this. Especially when it's to such a strange, special place.

It is really an impressive concept to try and grasp that when you're out Arabia - you're actually walking on one gigantic rock! The quiet of the park also really adds to the mystique. We didn't see a single other person when we were exploring! (Of course - we were there on a Wednesday during the middle of the day - weekends are probably more eventful).

My friend Leuwam put it perfectly when she commented that walking on Arabia is like walking on the moon. It even has "craters" that make it feel rather moon-like that, for the most part, are filled with water or odd little plants.

These little man-made masoned stacks of stone marked the trail up the mountain for hikers to follow. They also left some feeling with me of the supernatural. Phenomenon like crop circles and Stonehenge came into my mind, even though I know there is a park ranger somewhere who can take credit for this. It's still fun to imagine the fantastic - even when you know what you are thinking it isn't real!

Patchwork Pattern Maker

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:31:00 +0000

I found this incredible feature on the Victoria and Albert Museum's website thanks to Melanie Bowles over at makeitdigital. It's an online program that let's you upload an image and turns it into a pattern that you can use as a guide to cut out pieces for a quilt! It seems to work best for abstract images or bold geometrics. Here are a couple of my favorites from their gallery!

New blooms...

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Mon, 10 May 2010 02:21:00 +0000

We have some incredible things going on in the garden. Yeah... things other than my slug and snail death traps. For instance: foxgloves!!!

I absolutely love those flowers. We have had this particular one for about three years, and my husband is so nuts over it he started a bunch from seed this year. And when I say "a bunch"... I mean A BUNCH! I can't wait to see all of these blooming in a year or two.

Our hydrangeas are also starting to flower. We have an Oakleaf Hydrangea and a couple of Endless Summer Hydrangeas in our shady backyard. That is something that I find fascinating about Atlanta - and also something that many in-town gardeners have to contend with. LOTS of shade. Fun fact: Atlanta is sometimes referred to as "the city in the forest" thanks to our abundant green canopy.

I'm also trying a couple of varieties of eggplant this year. This is an adorable little flower I found blooming on one of my Ichiban Eggplants. It's little surprises like this that really give me a thrill when I check up on progress in the garden.

Say hello to my little friend...

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:13:00 +0000

It is really amazing what little creatures can take shelter in urban gardens. I found this little guy hidden amongst my strawberry plants. Even though he is now deceased, I like to imagine what his life might have been like before he met his maker... slithering around under the oak leaves in autumn, sunning on a rock in the summertime. Eating bugs. (Would a snake his size eat bugs?)

Actually, we have a lot of wildlife in our neighborhood even though we are well within the city limits. I once caught a fox running away from our street with a squirrel (previously the victim of a hit and run) in his mouth. I have seen plenty of hawks, and heard stories about them making off with cats and small dogs (!!!) and have also heard about coyotes doing the same. Those unfortunate types of events are evidence of the conflict between nature and urbanites and how we cope with it and it adapts to our presence. On one level it is very, very sad that people are losing their pets, but another side of me also sees it as hopeful because these wild creatures are learning to adapt under the most challenging of circumstances.

It makes me wonder what this little guy's circumstances were. How did he survive for as long as he did? How did he die? And most importantly: where are all of the other snakes!? I'd like to catch a glimpse of one that is living sometime...

Life grows on...

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:26:00 +0000

The garden is coming along a little bit each day. We were outside all weekend working (and playing softball!) and have the sunburn and sore muscles to prove it. Did some hardscaping, planted some new green friends and moved others to places where we thought they would be happier.

This is the first year I have ever grown columbine (on the left) and I am a big fan. The flowers are so unique I can't recall any others that look quite like them. They aren't very showy, but are special in their own way. Pincushion Flower (on the right) has some adorable qualities also. I think each flower was designed to be the perfect little landing pad for a bee or butterfly. How can you not love that?

By far though, my favorite plant in the garden right now is this Silver Sage Salvia. The leaves are enormous, and have the most wonderful fuzzy texture. I like to imagine that this variety comes from a magical dewy forest full of unicorns. (In reality - it probably originated in a sunny, arid environment- but oh well!)

We built a little garden path this weekend leading from the street to our patch of grass. It makes the whole layout a lot more welcoming to our friends and neighbors. I'd like to plant a bunch of creeping ground covers and low growing flowers around it eventually...

Practicing a new print

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:41:00 +0000

I really wanted to do some screen printing today, and because I didn't have access to the screens that we have burnt in my class, (that I still haven't printed with!) I decided I was going to get some printing done another way: with an extra (crappy/old) screen I had laying around my house, and my friend: clear contact paper.

Now, contact paper isn't in any way a decent substitute for using photo emulsion on a screen. If anything, playing around with contact paper cut into a stencil today reminded me of all the positives behind printing with an emulsified screen despite the tedious process involved in getting your screen coated, dried, and your image burnt into the emulsion correctly.

For one, the contact paper does not hold up to moisture well. You can't wash one color of ink off of your screen after you are finished with it, because the stencil would just fall off - so you need to carefully blot it with a rag to tidy it up as best you can before pulling another print or changing ink colors. It is also difficult to keep the bottom of the screen (the part that touches your fabric/paper) clean from excess ink which can result in marks from stray deposits of ink getting onto parts of your work where you don't want it. You can probably get 10-12 one color prints out of your effort - and some of those may not even look decent... (I knew this... I just forgot somehow).

But, I was feeling impatient, and I wanted to print! So, I cut a simple shape out of the contact paper, stuck it to my screen and began printing!

I use a water based inks which I really love because they are translucent, so when you layer colors you get a really nice effect - it's a little bit like mixing color by layering. They are also biodegradable and don't contain any nasty chemicals or plastic like some of the other inks used for printing on textiles that are currently on the market.

I didn't get the best quality prints that I would have liked, but I am happy with how my experiments with the colors I mixed up turned out. I want to try and get together a few color ways that I can reach for when I am looking to print a design. Right now all of my color inspiration is coming from looking forward to warm, crisp weather. I want to call the salmon/taupe/azure color way "summerscape" or something there-abouts. I forgot how much fun it was to play with color because I haven't done it for so long! Amazing!

Today was such a great day. Sometimes just having ten hours free to work on creative projects is all it takes to really get on a roll. It really makes me nostalgic for the days back in school when I would wake at seven and work on art until I went to bed at night. What a life! I would love to be able to fill my days with creativity again... and that is exactly what I intend on doing. Someday. Hopefully soon!

I have been listening to Pandora while writing this post, and the most perfect song just came on... "This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)" by the Talking Heads. I'll leave you with that. Enjoy!

In the garden of good

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:18:00 +0000

I am not a big fan of all grass lawns. Ours was looking horrible thanks to Georgia's three year long drought, and we knew something had to be done to make the yard a place where we would enjoy spending time again. While we knew we wanted more space to plant fun things like not-grass, we also wanted to have a little patch of green to play games on and maybe enjoy a picnic every now-and-then.

This was where we started. All of the grass that was remaining was tilled under along with the weeds. We mapped out an area where we would lay the sod, and then added a thick layer of organic matter and compost to our entire yard that we mixed into our unforgiving red clay.

We layed the sod, and then planted some shrubs and perennials in our newly created beds. We also took all of the grass out of our side yard and covered that area and the planting beds with mulch. This is what the front and side of our yard looks like now that the majority of our work is complete...

I am loving the transformation! We are going to be working on this for years to come, because ultimately this is the type of garden we are going for:

I know. We have a LOT of work ahead of us!

I would love to have a garden that has loads of bio diversity and attracts all kinds of birds and bugs. I have already seen a dramatic increase in critters since we have added a larger variety of plants to the space which I am incredibly excited about. I am also still carefully monitoring my veggie garden that I sowed seeds for back in February. We're making progress!!!

Now that the bulk of the work on the garden is complete, I am hoping that I can settle down and take the time to enjoy it... that, and take the time to rev up my sewing machine again! I do have five new bags in the works - it is just a matter of getting the time to finish them!

A visit down to south Georgia

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:54:00 +0000

I love the way small towns look, and I like to imagine that I'd love living in one - though in reality I'm not so sure. I wish that more of America's little towns were like they were before the nineteen sixties when the concept of the chain franchise really took off and the importance of the railroad declined. My mom tells me wonderful stories about what downtown Waycross was like when she was a kid. Bustling department stores, cafes, soda fountains, and movie theaters. There was even a beautiful high rise hotel - currently boarded and vacant.

I get a kick out of this little snippet I read about Waycross on Wikipedia: "During the 1950s the city had a tourist gimmick. The local police would stop motorists with out-of-state license plates and escort them to downtown Waycross. There they would be met by the Welcome World Committee and given overnight lodging, dinner and a trip to the Okefenokee Swamp. The tradition faded away after the interstates opened through Georgia."

Now, Waycross has a mall and a Walmart along with a number of other big box retailers. The majority of businesses people patronize are located away from downtown, isolated in seas of parking lots. Still, there is an effort to rehab the historic buildings and homes that have been neglected for so many years, and I think a lot of progress has been made in reviving them. I hope it makes a turn around. I definitely have a special place in my heart for this little town.

One of my primary motivations behind taking photos around town was to capture some of the architectural details on the buildings. Architecture translates easily into pattern in my mind and lately I have been searching out interesting elements to turn into repeat print designs.

Stephanie Anne Blair

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:15:00 +0000

I went to Athens a few nights ago to attend the opening reception of this year's Lamar Dodd School of Art MFA Thesis Show at the University of Georgia. One of my very good friends, Stephanie Blair, is about to finish the graduate program in Fabric Design and I had to go see what she has been up to since I left her behind in Athens (boo hoo!) when I finished the BFA program.

I knew I wanted to share her work on my blog, and in an attempt to be as true to her intentions with this work as possible, I decided to do a little question/answer session with her. You can read our exchange below:

Me: Can you tell me what the primary motivation behind your thesis work was?

Stephanie: Well, let's see. Initially, I think realizing I couldn't afford my groceries at Publix while an angry teenager stared at me started the whole premise for my thesis. I got really angry at the cashier and wrote an angry unsent letter to her about how I wasn't happy about not being able to afford groceries either...anywhoo...this was combined with -one- I had recently acquired some family photos and -two- I was trying to find commonalities between both sides of my family. The thing that occurred to me first was the poverty both sides grew up in. The Mexican side, on the border of Arizona and Mexico, and the hillbilly side in the mountains in Ohio. That kind of rural anti-government anti-civilization DIY ethos seemed to have been passed on to me, so I decided to showcase the hellfire and damnation part of my personality/childhood. On both sides of the family the women have been crafty and always worked on some kind of kitsch craft hobby, so naturally I wanted to work in the techniques inherited to me from them. Mostly embroidery and fabric piecing in this case. The word "pobrecita" means "poor little thing" - kind of like someone would say to you after you fell and scraped your knee. I split the word into "pobre" (poor) and "cita" (quote/quotation) to add another layer of meaning to the installation. The supporting text throughout reinforces these words. Lately, I have really been into Mexican blackletter fonts and the history of the typography so I used those strong gothic letters for the main phrase. To me, the Mexican backletter reminds me of latin gang tattoos and at the same time the handpainted signs and advertisements that are all over the border where my family is from. To use the font made me think of tattooing myself as "pobrecita" and also advertising pride in the way I grew up.

have you learned anything about yourself - or figured out anything new about your familial relationships by doing the work?

Hmmm. I think that more commonalities in life philosophy became more obvious- the whole "rural anti-government anti-civilization DIY ethos" thing. I think more than anything it made me feel more like a whole than two halves to see the whole piece pulled together in the end. Like if the work could pull together two cultures into one piece I could feel less fractured myself. And, it pointed out to me some of my own stereotyping of my own backgrounds. Makes me think less in cultural iconography and more in a person to person basis. But the religious/cultural iconography is what I tend to use as a visual communicator to the viewer, so it'll probably take me a while to stop putting zapatista virgin marys in my stuff. Hahaha.

Speaking of zapatista virgin marys - do you have a favorite symbol that you like to use? Also, what do you hope viewers take away from what you have to show them?

I guess lately my favorite symbol IS the zapatista bandana. I also want to use the guns with white ribbons - another zapatista reference meaning guns that wish to be silent. Hmm. I'm always bad at the what-viewers-take-away-from-it-thing. Because since my work is about me I guess they're most likely just getting to know me better. I would love to change their attitudes about stereotypes or judgments they make based on where people are from. But mostly, my favorite reaction is when someone identifies with what I've made or gets inspired. I like art camaraderie. watching other people work is what keeps me going too.

Have you thought any about work you would like to do in the future? Anything you are dying to accomplish now that your graduate career is nearing an end?

Actually, I am really obsessed with handweaving and feltmaking. I am looking to buy a 32" kromski harp rigid heddle loom. They have warping boards built into them AND are portable. Amazing. I want to get into natural dyeing too. I think weaving is getting pushed out of programs and is kind of the underdog. I like underdogs. But, most likely I'll keep embroidering.

Thanks for letting me share your work Steph, and congrats again on achieving your MFA!

(Stephanie on the left, me on the right)

Screen printing class!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:45:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I signed up for an advanced screen printing class through the Atlanta Printmakers Studio. I figured that I really could use a brush up on technical info related to screen printing (I feel like I have forgotten a lot after a few years off!) and also wanted the opportunity to work around other artists again!

Tonight was our first gathering and I am incredibly excited about the course and think I am going to get a lot out of it. The instructors run a printing shop of their own (Danger Press), so they have a great amount of experience to share with the class. All of the students have a variety of projects in mind, and I'm really looking forward to watching everyone work and seeing where their ideas take them.

Below are a few pictures I borrowed from the APS website. They have a great setup and have a lot of equipment that would not be affordable for the average printmaker to invest in all at once. (See the letterpresses below!)

Next class I will get up the nerve to take a couple of photos of my own. I was a little too shy meeting everyone for the first time to step outside of my comfort zone! Doh!