theatre work

I'm sorry I haven't posted much about crafty stuff! I've been busy this summer with theatre work, and so my crafty sewing time has been being spent out in the hot sun painting sets. I love it.

Here are some pictures from Taming of the Shrew, which I designed(and painted) the set for at Shakespeare Orange County.


That's Shrew so far. I'm scrambling to paint it before opening next week.


All the stuff that might look somewhat scaffoldingish is intentional. The set build actually is complete.


Walls. With plants.



My really cute paint assistant, Katie.


A couple bannerish drops



This is me and a doughnut.


The best thing about working outdoors is shirtless carpenters.




I love summer.

alien! bunny!

Hi guys, I made an alien bunny.



He has a nubby tail.

Playing the Saw - part 1

So, I got my bow today, and thus begins another possibly tragic musical journey. For anyone who isn't aready privy to my musical background, I'm a terrible musician. I have attempted to play five instruments, with formal classes in three of them(organ, classical guitar, drums), required classes for another(the recorder) and a somewhat involuntary assignment in a marching band for the last(the melodica). Perhaps it is only normal for a pair of chinese parents to really want their kid to play an instrument well, thus my parentally enforced affairs with numerous musical instruments, but I sorta, kinda, really do want to learn how to play something. They did give up on me eventually, and besides a half hearted stab at the violin, my brother didn't turn out to be a musical prodigy either.

Oh, and to throw something else into the mix, I'm slightly tone deaf. Not badly. I put in two years as a sound technician, with some freelance stuff afterwards, and I don't recall ever being cursed off the board during a sound check. So, I'm a bad musician, but I haven't given up hope.

So, why the saw? Well, first, it seemed interesting, and watching/listening to Irina Bjorklund play it was pretty rad. Secondly, it wasn't much of a monetary investment. Third, if I really fuck up, I'm still left with something with purpose. I mean, it's a saw. It cuts wood.

After reading a couple articles, I decided it was unnecessary to purchase an actual musical saw until I was capable of soliciting some sort of sound out of a ordinary tool. So, for now, I am armed with a 26 inch Stanley handsaw, a cheap cello bow and a chunk of rosin.

So, things I've managed to do so far in regards to my new hobby.

- I got it to make noise. It's not a terribly pleasant noise. It's relatively high pitched, and prolonged. I'm working on this.

- I stabbed my left thumb and scratched the top of my right hand. I then decided that taping the side of the saw with teeth would be a fairly wise move.

- I trimmed the edge off a shelf. No really, it needed to be trimmed.

More updates as time permits.

Tim.

This is Tim. I'm not certain what sort of creature he is, but he has tadpole-esque qualities. Made from a couple recycled sweaters.

CRAFT Magazine.

I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of CRAFT magazine - and it's pretty awesome. Given, I also typed up most of this post, forgot about it for a couple months, and now the magazine is on shelves at every bookstore worth your time, so go read it.

CRAFT is by the same folks who gave us MAKE Magazine, and while MAKE still satisfies my tinkering compulsions more, CRAFT acknowledges my inherent need for some sort of non Martha artistic domesticity. My favourite project in this issue is the electric tank top - a tank top with programmable LED's. Other spiffy projects include an underwear wallet and an embroidered skateboard. Like MAKE, the best thing about CRAFT is that while it provides detailed instructions on how to recreate their projects, the ideas behind them are inherently interesting and novel enough to teach the ingenious crafter a bunch of easily adaptable ideas.

So, yes. CRAFT rocks. Check out their website for a bunch of craft related news and exclusive projects!

Estella!

Estella is the bear that I created for the Morphe II show in Australia! It was put on by the very awesome Carly of Nest Studio who makes very charming stuffed toys with some of the most delectable fabric I've ever seen.

Estella is made from felted cashmere and really likes gelato.







Estella was sold at the show, but you can buy some of the other Morphe II toys at Carly's Morphe store!

In non-bear related news, here's are a couple picture of my most recent scenic design. It's for a show called The Cannibals. It was definitely a change from things like...making bears!




I always find it interesting to see art in other mediums from artists that are generally known for working with fabric. It is always fascinating to me to see how much or how little of their fabric sculpture aesthetic passes through.

heart cards!

I sent in 25 of my heart cards to the October Sampler!



If you're a lucky subscriber or fellow contributor, you might get one! Otherwise, you can just buy them from me.=)