I’ve probably gotten at least 20 requests for a tiny dog, and usually a specific breed of dog. I hope this mutt is acceptable!
What is this little guy begging for? Yarn scraps, of course!
Since I just thought up that extremely clever joke, we won’t have a caption contest this week. But do add your caption if you have one!
As promised, here are some more photos from my show at Smallspace Gallery in Berlin last week! I can’t believe it went up and then came down within one week, but I was really happy with how it turned out, and there were plenty of people who came to see it, thanks in large part to the Pictoplasma Festival.
It turned out to be kind of a difficult show to photograph, but I hope this gives you a pretty good idea of how it all looked. Some of the photos were taken by me, and some by my sister-in-law Jenna.
This big guy (about 18″ in diameter) took a few hours and seven balls of yarn to make!
The big scarf that the ball of yarn is knitting supposed to be an asteroid belt, connecting it to the Snowman Planet at the back. The white letters spell “mochimochi!”
View from the back of the gallery.
Snowman Planet (my personal favorite):
Snowman Planet butt:
Planet TV, which is plugged into Pollute-o, the smelliest of planets.
Birthdayville is a cupcake planet, whose aliens are candles eating the frosting…
One more look from the front. The purple comet is being ridden by a few Tiny Penguins!
There are a few other planets that didn’t fit into these photos, but I’ll be putting more up on Flickr soon.
Once again, big thank-yous to Smallspace, Pictoplasma, Lion Brand, and Jenna!
This is like the Hershey Store in Times Square, except it’s all about Ritter Sport (which is way better).
This cafe was so cool, it only had this awesome sign in lieu of a name.
Playground horsey is old but cute.
Street art.
Stairwell art.
I wanted to give this bunny person a hug.
More photos from my show coming soon!
As I’ve mentioned, my show in Berlin last week was part of the annual Pictoplasma Festival, which is an amazing five days of gallery shows, talks, workshops, and more all about character art. It was incredible fun to see how people from around the world were approaching the art of “reduced figuration,” as smart people call it.
My sister-in-law Jenna and I took in a number of the shows, which were all so different from one another. Here were some of our favorites…
London-based French artist McBess was doing a live painting on the opening day of his show. He also performed with his band later the same day, but we had to be at the “Mochimochi Worlds” opening, so we missed it…
Matt JOnes specializes in a cute character named Lunartik who sits in a cup of tea (that’s him crossed out in the sign, not a camera), and he enlisted a bunch of other artists to make amazing customizations. You can see (and buy) the original series from Matt’s website. We also heard Matt talk about how his process for producing and distributing his toys. (It was a looooong process and made me realize that you have to be super patient and super committed to making it happen.)
Ryan Quincy is the head animator at South Park, and he’s also done some very cool animations of his own. We loved his series of paintings that were on exhibit in Berlin. This one was my favorite and I was pretty tempted to buy it for my living room. (Hoping my husband sees this and agrees!)
Inkygoodness produces shows and other projects with artists, and their contribution was a show of totems customized by a variety of artists. The results were very kooky and fun!
Rilla Alexander from Australia was one of our favorite talks and shows. I even bought an original illustration from her! You can get her new (and very special) children’s book Her Idea from Amazon.
There were many more gallery exhibits, all of which were open to the public. It was so much fun, and now I just have to figure out how to go back next year!
For those of us who love seeing daredevil knitting projects that go way beyond sweaters, Lela Nargi’s new book is a new favorite!
Astounding Knits by Lela Nargi is a kind of record book for knitted art, unusual projects, and general yarn craziness. And I am honored that Luvgun is included!
You can find him featured in the “Knits of War (and Peace)” section, along with Marianne Jorgensen’s tank covering, Seann McKeel’s knitted origami cranes, and more.
There are a few patterns in the back, but this is mainly a coffee table book that even people who aren’t ready to pick up the needles can enjoy. You can find it on Amazon and in other bookstores, hopefully including many local yarn stores.
Lela has also started a blog for updates about the people involved with the book.
Many great caption suggestions came in for Tiny Tree and Small Shrubbery—thank you for submitting them!
We had a tough time choosing one, but the winner tugged on our heartstrings a bit…
Little shrub to tiny tree: You said you’d never grow up…
That wistful caption came from Sue, who wins a free pattern from the Mochimochi Shop for it. Congrats, Sue!
Winning caption by Sue:
Little shrub to tiny tree: You said you’d never grow up…
Photo by Brandi Simons
This week’s Tiny Thing(s) is a little bit of a cheat because I actually made this Tiny Tree and Shrub way back in 2009. It was going to be in my book Knitting Mochimochi, but it was cut because of space. (Nothing personal, Tiny Tree and Shrub!)
Maybe you can tell by the discontented looks in their eyes, but this Tiny Tree and Shrub are not exactly best friends, although they’re stuck with each other on their small bit of grass. What soured their relationship? Speculate in the comments, and we’ll choose our favorite caption on Monday to win a free PDF pattern from the Mochimochi Shop!
Look who we met today!
This mysterious yeti was housed in a glass enclosure near the Babylon Theater, where the Pictoplasma presentations are being held. He/she seemed friendly, but surprised me by jumping up against the glass when I got near.
I guess you never know who you’ll find in Berlin…