If you live near the Chicago area and would like to try stop-motion animation with me as your guide, now is your chance! I’ll be leading workshops at the Ela Area Public Library in Lake Zurich on July 14th and 28th. See the library website for more information and to sign up! Total beginners of all ages are welcome!
(Thank you to Erin Helmrich of the Ann Arbor District Library for the photo!)
I just enjoyed a long weekend at Vogue Knitting LIVE Chicago! It’s been over two years since the last one here, and also over two years since Mochimochi Land was unfurled in public.
I was lucky enough to be placed near a ramp entrance to the marketplace, so I got this nice overhead shot thanks to that!
Many new mochis and scenarios joined the world, and this time I focused on referencing some of my animations within it. I hope people had fun checking it out—I think it was the most detailed version ever!
For most people, VK LIVE is about classes, lectures, and shopping for yarn. For me, it’s mostly about sharing Mochimochi Land and seeing knitters face-to-face for a change! On Sunday, these lovely faces found four-leaf clovers and let me take their picture.
Yes, there are only seven people, because three clovers went rogue! I hope they are bringing luck to whoever now has them.
With my limited extra time, I chatted with Nicky Epstein, picked up yarn from Handspun Hope, and got acquainted with the Committed Knitters, who knit with women in the Cook County Jail.
Thank you to the VK LIVE people and to everyone who came out and said hi!
Vogue Knitting LIVE is returning to Chicago March 9-11, and Mochimochi Land will be there! See the world of mochis in person, pick up kits and books, and hunt for tiny clover on Sunday for prizes.
This will be my first in-person event in over a year! I’m looking forward to breathing that nice hotel air again and seeing all your lovely faces and handknit apparel.
Last month it was my pleasure to lead a stop-motion animation workshop at the Ann Arbor District Library. This was my first time trying such a workshop, and I was lucky enough to have a big group of enthusiastic would-be animators of all ages attend. (I could tell from the start that they would be jumping right in, because it was a beautiful July Saturday in this beautiful college town, and they had chosen to spend the afternoon in a basement with me!)
After a presentation of my various animation projects, along with some examples of approaches that were very different from mine, everyone broke up into teams to make their own animations. The library supplied iPod Touches loaded with the Stop Motion Studio app (yes, this is the coolest library, and it’s totally worth becoming a card holder even if you don’t live in the area), and they also had plenty of models and craft supplies for people to use. Many participants came with their own materials, from paper to Legos to knitted mochis!
As people finished up their short animations, we gathered around the devices to see the results, and I was impressed by just how different everyone’s projects were. The animations were both narrative and non-narrative, things shot overhead and against the wall, scenes with backgrounds and at least one that incorporated a self-portrait.
A couple of people have shared their results with me—here’s a short one starring knitted patriots that Sara made.
And here’s a cool origami animation shared by a participant named Kevin—he made this after the workshop, based on what he experimented with at the library.
Is it bad to say that this was way more fun than teaching a knitting class? Well, fortunately knitting and animating are not mutually exclusive activities. I do hope to have the opportunity to do this again soon at another venue.
Thank you to Erin at the Ann Arbor District Library and to everyone who came to the workshop!
Opening tonight (6/22) is Sweet ‘n Low, An International Show of Cute at Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek, CA.
Here’s a peek at my piece, a community of global gnomes.
From the previews I’ve seen, this will be an exciting exhibition. And cute!
The show runs through August 23rd. Details at the Bedford Gallery website.
People of Ann Arbor, come take a stop-motion animation workshop with me on July 1st at the Ann Arbor District Library!
The workshop is 2-5pm and is open to everyone from 6th graders to adults. I’m going to talk about a bit of my animation work, and then we’ll all try our hand at making fun animations together as teams. We’re going to use a free mobile app, so that means you can take your skills home with you and continue making more animations on your own if you like.
Get the details at addl.org.
Hope to see you there!
If you’re going to be anywhere near NYC this weekend, I hope you’ll get yourself to the Marriott Marquis in Times Square for Vogue Knitting LIVE.
Here’s the rundown of Mochimochi Land goings-on:
• You can join me in a group knitting project—we’ll be making as many FellowSheep as we can all weekend, sponsored by Lion Brand!
• Check out a small display of classic Mochimochi characters and animations!
• I’ll be in the art gallery area of the marketplace all weekend signing books and selling kits at a special price, including exciting NEW kits that you can’t find anywhere else yet!
• On Sunday there will be a tiny ninja hunt in the Marketplace! Each person who finds a knitted ninja will win either a copy of Adventures in Mochimochi Land or a tiny ninja kit.
• My mom’s gonna be there too!
Free event alert! Come knit tiny pumpkins with me at the Chicago downtown library on October 24th.
You can bring your own yarn and needles (if you’re new to knitting tiny toys, I recommend worsted-weight yarn and size 5 DPNs), or you can purchase a kit from me containing yarn, needles, and stuffing at the event. I’ll also have my other books available for purchase.
Check out the full information here!