Something's brewing

First of all what's a studio if you don't have an assistant? There's going to be a large window in the wall just beyond the sewing machine with a wide ledge where Jinx will spend most of her time. This pose is merely a reminder to get busy on that window. See my spiffy ironing storage back there? It's so cool even if stinky (that new heat resistant stink, heady stuff) and I can move it around with one hand because of the teflon pads under the feet. Here's the view from the driver's seat behind Big J and you are getting a good look at how the Mob Scene series is shaking out. There are at least six more waiting in the wings, most larger than these. These two on the left side design wall are just waiting for the stitching. Jim set the other design wall vertically for me so that mirror could bring the outside in a bit. Here the mob is up to more than just standing around thinking about it. That vacuum cleaner & TV set are just visiting until I find tiny, stow-able versions of both. What you are not seeing are baskets of unsorted fabrics all over the floor lined up along the walls awaiting their turn. There are a lot more still in the old studio. I never thought I had a stash problem like some fabriholics but the evidence is mounting.

New Studio - new stuff....

OKAY, I admit it - the secret of getting stuff done while I'm in the studio is having the TV on while the Braves sweep the Pirates. I just realized that I am making one per inning.... I won't mention that I should be sorting fabric and putting things away in the closet and a hundred other tiny details of getting one room cleaned out and the new room up and running. Do I think I'm going to "use it all up and then I won't have to store it?" I'm going to scan these postcards individually and put them up for sale on the Hotcakes site in the next few days.

Monkey see, monkey do

I couldn't resist this one. Any site that lets me try on an infinite number of hair colors is going to grab my attention for at least 15 minutes. This is kinda what it looks like since I cut most of it off last week. The woman who cut it measured it at 30 inches before she started hacking away. Cool way to lose five pounds. I wanted to donate it to Locks of Love but they don't love bleached blondes. And of course, I'd love to go to the midnight show when the movie comes out but I don't think I can stay up that late.

Post Card Binge

Even though my stuff is all over the place, making a few postcards after dinner is enough to satisfy my need to put the pedal to the metal. Having the Janome locked into this new table makes it feel like a brand new machine. I had no idea how much vibration and noise I was dealing with when it was perched on a hollow-core door.

From the New Studio

this WIP was on the design wall in my bedroom so it got to go first in the new location. There will be more stitching but I wanted to do some photography with the ambient afternoon light which, unfortunately, in that room, is very green- all reflected from the lawn and trees in the front yard. The afternoon light I used to shoot with in the bedroom had a golden cast that was always something to deal with too. Guess I'm going to have to set up those lights after all. So there's an ongoing discussion on the SAQA yahoo list about RGB and CMYK and I thought I would take a look at those functions in the Paint Shop Pro program that I have been ignoring forever. Mine is V.5 and I think they are up to 12 or somesuch. I "channel split" the original image above into CMYK and then "channel combined" to get the final, large image. I can see the difference but now I have to read up on the why of the whole thing. You can almost see the iridescent paint in the final.

Furniture with history

This piece was given to us before Colin was born and served as a changing table for both kids. Jim removed the four inch maple rail that used to enclose the top and for the last ten years it has been stuffed with "important papers" and holding up the TV in our bedroom. Now I am going to staple ironing board fabric to the top for a terrific functional surface which will also keep me from piling things on top of it. Notice the little Slidey feet so I can move it around easily even after I fill with whatever. I wasn't going to paint this piece but this picture reveals a pretty lousy finish. Hmmmm.

Ta-Da!

Why is Big J smiling?

Could it be his new, custom made table! My husband insists that he can make the cords go away but I'm so thrilled with things so far I hardly notice them. Do you know that I have never been able to use the knee lift before now? What neat thing that is!

almost finished

Cue the Brazilian Jazz.... My part is finished. Tomorrow Jim is going to cut the hole in the walnut top and build the support for the sewing machine. It's hard to back up far enough to get a picture of this thing.

My Legs! My Legs!

arrived all safe and humble via Fedex a mere one day after I transferred payment. Through the great storm last night I dreamed of transforming them! It will only take a minor spell to teach this table to Tango or Samba even though I ran out of gold paint.

Owl Love

Three White Walls

So what would be the point of any pictures. Before anything gets moved into the studio, I'm going to take advantage of the white wall and reshoot some recent pieces indoors with proper lighting. There's a another deadline coming up for a mixed media show that I'll tell more about if I get juried in. In case you thought I was laying on a beach someplace, I spent some time uploading pictures to a rather cool artist's resource - another free place to get one's work out into the public eye even if it is digitally. The Irving Sandler Artists File is a digitized image database and artist registry that is open to the public. The Artists File is not curated and there is no fee to join or use the service... Oh, and by the way, there is no category like textiles or fiber so I listed myself under mixed media which is technically correct anyway. When you click on "artists portfolio" you get a birds-eye-view of up to twelve pieces. I put mine in the order that I made them and the continuity (omg - could it be VOICE?!) is interesting. It makes me realize that I need to redo my main website gallery and do away with the cutesy little cropped images that lead to whole ones and show them in some kind of order created and there are things that need to be relegated to "older works". I'm pretty lucky in that my name starts with LAC. I get listed on the first page of the "L"s. Now I wonder who goes in an looks at this site. Time will tell I suppose.