click on image to order prints and other goodies
11″ x 14″
ink & gouache on paper
This is the last piece I’m making for the group show starting April 1, 2012 at The Upstairs in Seattle. This piece was inspired by an amazing story told to me by a friend I made only days before leaving Patagonia, AZ. It’s interesting that much of the work I’ll be showing at mt first Seattle show will be so influenced by my time in Arizona.
click on image to purchase prints and iPhone cases
8″ x 8″
gouache on board
This little painting was one of the last ideas I started while living in Patagonia, AZ. I was walking home after dropping my daughter off at school and I saw an eagle and a raven sitting quite close to one another on a branch of a tree. Somehow that experience became this piece.
I will be displaying this painting along with some drawings for the month of April at a group show at The Upstairs in Seattle.
You can also purchase this piece as a print (or iPhone case!) through Society6″.
First….****A reminder! This is post number 194! That means you have a few more days to enter our CONTEST!!! Enter here for your chance to win a $100 gift certificate for Tumbleweed & Poppleswamp!***
Right before Thanksgiving I wrapped up my first ever sewing class, Sew Basic. What a great experience! I had 5 students who had little sewing experience. We started with hand techniques and then started using sewing machines.
I learned to hand sew when I was 6 from my grandmother. When I was a little older my step-mother taught me to use a sewing machine. For most of my sewing life though I have been on my own, figuring things out as I go and mostly making it up. I’m not much of a class person when it comes to creative skills, I just like to jump into it and figure it out. I wasn’t sure this would be to my advantage as a sewing teacher.
In the end I think it worked out to mine and my students advantage. When you reinvent the wheel to learn a skill it seems that you really understand how each minor move or adjustment makes the process easier or more effective. I have spent so much time figuring out these basics that I found myself more prepared than I thought to explain all the details which go into sewing.
With the exception of the classes final project I designed and prepped all of the projects for the class. I really was trying to give students ways to practice a variety of techniques and skills. For the final project I had students go shop for a commercial pattern and fabric and then make those projects in class.
In January I am excited to teach a group of children to sew. I will be teaching them hand sewing and students who are interested may go onto sewing machines.
First….****A reminder! This is post number 193! That means you have a few more days to enter our CONTEST!!! Enter here for your chance to win a $100 gift certificate for Tumbleweed & Poppleswamp!***
Well, we’re back from our Texas adventure and what an adventure it was! We started out Wednesday, November 23rd, the day before Thanksgiving for our 2 day drive through Eastern Arizona, Southern New Mexico and across Texas to Austin.
I found Texas to be way more beautiful a drive than I had anticipated. The landscape changes so much over the course of the drive. The towns were very quiet and a bit depressed but surprisingly friendly. We stayed in the Eleven Inn in Balmorhea, TX which was just divine. The perfect blend of quirky old furniture and a very elegant level of decay. I felt like I could be hanging out with William Burroughs while he wrote Naked Lunch sitting in one of the rooms of the Eleven Inn.
Isadora & I at the Eleven Inn in Balmorhea
The Eleven Inn
Miniature Donkey at Brickner House in Fredricksburg, Texas
We arrived in Austin Thursday night and I had all day Friday to explore Austin with my lovely friends Ben & Meghan.
Breakfast Taco from Torchy's
Ben & Meghan
Storefront in Austin
Saturday & Sunday were almost entirely consumed by The Renegade Craft Fair Austin Holiday Market. I had a great time doing a show again, it’s been years since I did an event like this. I shared the booth with my friend Ben of Luftfield Studios.
Tumbleweed & Poppleswamp with Luftfield Studios at Renegade Austin Holiday Fair
Luftfield Studio Display
Our Signage for our note cards
Can't get enough of that pretty Luftfield Studios displays
Isadora playing at Renegade
Our trip was short though so we had to hit the road Monday morning. We stopped again in Balmorhea, TX to visit their gorgeous state park featuring a massive, spring-fed pool.
Isadora climbing at a Texas rest area
Joel trying to call in reinforcements from a very tall payphone
The pool in Balmorhea, TX
The pool can be as deep as 25 feet! It has diving boards!
The beautiful water at the pool.
Me and the pool
This trip was a great change of pace but also gave me lots of new ideas and inspiration. There is nothing like a road trip to help me focus. My handsome and talented husband, Joel, took most of these pictures.
Post a comment to be entered into a contest! Read the post for details!
So I’m approaching the 200th post mark on this blog. While 200 posts may not be a ton of posts compared to bloggers who blog every single day of the year for me it is a big milestone. I’m like the serial monogamist of bloggers. I have intense periods of blogging and then one day I feel my blog no reflects me and I delete the whole thing. With this blog some how I have managed to change my focus and intentions a bit but continue blogging on this same blog.
Just to remind you how much has changed since this blog started I’m going to give a quick Put Your Hands to Work history lesson. When I started this blog I still lived in Brooklyn, NY. I had a renewed focus on my drawing and wanted someplace to share my work so I started this blog. I really only shared drawing at the beginning. I was taking a break from clothing design at this time as well.
Soon, I was offered a job in Patagonia, AZ. Desperate for a change from city life I took this job and started working full time for someone else for the first time in 10 years. This, was obviously a slow time for the blog.
Almost exactly a year ago now, I decided being self-employed was the only way to be and I opened Tumbleweed & Poppleswamp. This is my studio and boutique in Patagonia, AZ. This also marks the time of most activity for this blog. I have really enjoyed sharing my creative work, recipes and occasional opinions with you all.
I’ve decided that to mark the 200th post I would like to give some prizes to say thank you! In honor of my 200th post I’m going to distribute $200 worth of gift certificates for Tumbleweed & Poppleswamp! First place will receive a gift certificate for $100, second and third place will each receive a gift certificate for $50. These gift certificates will be valid in my brick and mortar boutique and on-line. I will mail the winners handmade gift certificates.
To enter please leave a comment below. I will choose a winner in the 200th post. In aach post prior to the 200th post I’ll give you a countdown as I am not sure what day that post will actually fall on so stay tuned!!! Please share this contest with your friends!
Tumbleweed & Poppleswamp is going to the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Market in Austin!!! For people in the Austin area this show will be an amazing opportunity to support artists and crafters directly with your holiday shopping.
I will be sharing a booth with my talented Christmas Twin, Ben Blanchard. Ben will be selling his art and other lovely creations. I will be bringing handmade clothing and note cards.
If you come to the show and mention this blog post I will give you 20% off of any of my items you purchase at the show. Hope to see you there!
….but I got my face painted by Aleksandra while showing my drawings last night at the Niagara bar as part of the Antagonist Thursday event. I took this when I got home at 3:30 am, I was a bit tired.
I had a great time. I think the mounted drawings looked good, I’ll take a picture of them mounted soon. I used really colorful fabrics in the mountings this time and really liked it. It is great watching people look at the art and get excited about it. Hopefully I’ll do the event again!
I’m going to be doing this Thursday night at the Niagara Bar with the Antagonist Collective again! I’m very excited, I’ll be bringing five pieces so be sure to come out to see me and my work!
Niagara Bar
Avenue A and 7
Thursday (3/19/09)
9 pm-2 am
One of the pieces I’ll be bringing:
Come see what else I’ll bring!
Thursday night was great. The space was the first thing I was surprised by. I had seen some pictures from earlier events and it looked like the space was small. Apparently they had recently renovated a back room and it looked great.
The woman, Michelle, who helped to organize the event was really so nice. There was another person who helped but being me, I forgot his name. He was really good at taking whatever curve was thrown during set-up though!
The event was really well attended and it was great to see people really looking at the work and discussing it. If given the chance I’d definitely do it again!
As I mentioned in an earlier post I will be participating in a one night event ANTAGONIST Thursday One Night Show at Niagara Bar on the corner of Avenue A and 7 St in NYC. That is this Thursday (2/12/09) starting at 9 pm.
I’ve finished prepping the drawings and thought I’d give a sneak peak.
Please come and check it out!
