Year: 2008

Paper Pod Beads

My super-crafty mother-in-law recently made these gorgeous boutique-worthy necklaces from unusual materials: mini cereal boxes (top left), a box containing sweets from Japan (top right), and postcards from the PIT improv theater in New York (bottom).

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(The cardboard recycling pile at the town dump is also great place to find colorful materials, as I learned this past weekend.)

Bonney got the idea from a tutorial on Folding Trees.

Spread the Lead at gallery hanahou

A new show opens this Thursday at gallery hanahou that we’re very excited about!

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October 16 – November 20
Opening reception: October 16, 6-8 pm

What if the history of art began and ended with graphite, and your local art supply store was little more than a pencil outlet? For this group show, gallery hanahou has challenged artists from all backgrounds and mediums to drop their brushes and computer mice and see what they can do with only a B2 pencil and a piece of paper. Just as compelling as the results on the gallery walls will be the visitors’ reactions to so many artistic viewpoints rendered in shades of gray. The pencils the artists used will be included with sale of the artwork.

Participating artists include digital maestro Kenzo Minami, peaceable painting duo APAK, and Robbie Guertin, who plays in the band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and has collaborated with other artists on album artwork.

Here is a small sample of the pieces in the show:

APAK
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Tina Berning
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Kenzo Minami
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If you’re in NY, please join us this Thursday for the opening reception!

Spread the Lead
October 16 – November 20
Opening reception: October 16, 6-8 pm
gallery hanahou
611 Broadway, Suite 730 NYC
[7th floor of the Cable Building, NW corner of Broadway + Houston]
M-F noon – 6 pm, Sat by appt only

Autumnal Boos

By special request from my parents for a friend of theirs who is a Halloween fanatic, I made some Boos in autumn colors last week. I love them!

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In addition to Yahtzee, these Boos are fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The Boo projects up on Ravelry now number 57 and counting! There are so many fantastic pics there that I might have to post many of them before Halloween.

Plush You! Pics

The opening party for Plush You! should be well underway right now in Seattle. Kristen, the curator of the show, has uploaded pics of the display on Flickr for those of us who aren’t there.

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It looks like so much fun!

(Also, I heard that one of my “Snails vs. Slugs” pieces already sold!)

Sheldon Kits from Knit Picks

On Ravelry this week, I spotted an ad for kits to customize your Sheldon (a free pattern by Ruth Homrighaus) that are now available through Knit Picks. It’s just such a clever idea that I had to share.

With the two kits, you can disguise your Sheldon as a variety of animals, including a bumble bee…

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or you can give him a variety of occupations, such as “pirate,” with their costumes kit.

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I’ve never made a Sheldon myself, but these are very cute and funny.

By the way, the career costumes are designed by Brooke Higgins, but there is no pattern credit for the animals kit on the Knit Picks website, though—anybody know who designed them?

Update: Turns out the animal costumes were designed by Ruth Homrighaus herself. (Thanks, Stefanie!)

Plush You! This Friday

It’s time again for Plush You!, the annual plush show held at Schmancy in Seattle.

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This year might just be the best ever, with original plushes from over 100 artists, including some specially recommended by gallery hanahou.

Also, there’s me! You can go see my three “Snails vs. Slugs” pieces in person.

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I so wish I could be there for the opening this Friday. (I’m determined to make it there some day…) If you’re in the Seattle area, please check it out!

Plush You!
October 10 – November 13
Opening party: October 10, 5-9 pm
Schmancy
1932 Second Ave
Seattle, WA 98101