Let's make happy
Crafted Things
Geometric Bamboo
Jun 7th
I just had my first real weekend in what seems like months! It included dinner with friends, a day-long scavenger hunt on Governor’s Island (organized by Metro Metro), a movie (part 1 of Angels in America),
and a visit to the Renegade Craft Fair yesterday. That’s where I got this cool necklace made by The Harbinger Co.
The combination of geometric shapes and natural materials is a trend that I’m totally on board with, and I loved the laser-cut bamboo designs by Yvonne Hung.
I also saw Felix & Jayne from Tulsa (I still use a bag made by them for my knitting) and Diane of Cutesy but not Cutesy at Renegade.
My light sunburn that you can see in the photo is from the day running around Governor’s Island. I had never been there before, but I’m eager to go back. It’s pretty fascinating and a great place for biking and picnicking. Our team did pretty well in the hunt, by the way, though we didn’t place.
Model Magic
May 20th
Have you used Crayola Model Magic? It was new to me, but I got to try it out last week at an event with the Girl Scouts that my friends were helping to organize in Tulsa. (I have great memories from being a Girl Scout when I was younger, and it was fun to see the scouts of today!)
I was a bit skeptical at first, but the stuff was pretty easy to work with. I liked how it stuck to itself very securely, and how you could draw directly onto it with markers. (It also has this weird lightness, as if it’s made of foam.) It’s supposed to dry in 24 hours, but I didn’t stick around long enough to make sure.
Here’s a blurry photo of a little squirrel that I made with it.
And I thought this snake that my friend Brianna made was pretty cool.
Of course, things like Play-Doh and other “toy” clays always have their limitations, but sometimes it’s refreshing just to see what you can do with something simple.
Why Does the Sun Shine?
Apr 28th
Last year They Might Be Giants released a cool new video for Why Does the Sun Shine?, which is on their new kids’ album Here Comes Science. The video was animated by Hine Mizushima, who makes the most amazing needle-felted creatures. (You can see her work in Lost at Sea next week.)
So much fun!
I was listening to an old Radiolab podcast the other day, and they pointed out that this song, which was originally written in the ’60s, is a bit inaccurate because the sun is a plasma and not a gas. Oh well—it still rocks.
TV Guy is Going to Watch Golden Girls Reruns All Day Long
Apr 27th
Here’s another little illustration of one of the patterns from Knitting Mochimochi, just for fun!
Embroidery Collage Workshop with Nicole Licht
Apr 26th
I love a low-key workshop where I can experiment with something new and learn from a talented artist. That’s what the upcoming workshop with Nicole Licht at gallery hanahou is looking like to me.
On May 8th Nicole will lead participants in making embroidered fabric collages in a workshop in conjunction with “Lost at Sea” (which opens next Thursday!)—she has led a similar workshop at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, so no doubt it’s something to be a part of if you can. I also got to meet Nicole in person just today and I saw her works for the show. She has such a beautiful, sensitive style in her work, and I love how she plays with three-dimensionality in a subtle way.
Here are the workshop details:
Date/Time: Saturday, May 8, 1-3 pm
Place: gallery hanahou, 611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC
Cost: $45 (includes materials)
Signup: email info@galleryhanahou (space is limited)
