nightmares with teeth

this is what happens when you watch the first 15 minutes of JAWS at age 5.

here's the piece of i've submitted to Joetta Maue's Down To Sleep show opening soon in Lawrence, Massachusetts.  check link for details.

TITLE:    nightshift gallery – Act I

DATE:    2012

MEDIUM:   applique, embroidery, garment construction

SIZE:      24” x 30”  [girl’s size 7]

Artist Statement:

Two constants throughout my life have been sewing machines + monsters.

Sewing, is a magical process that allows me to make flat materials 3-dimentional or stitch together any combination of elements.  As a medium, it possesses limitless possibility regarding form, method and application.  Either by hand or machine, I choose sewing because it is my inheritance.

The combination of girlie and non-girlie elements is a particular favorite.   Nightmares, a preoccupation with fear, and an ongoing obsession with horror films and fairy tales are forever present.   I love monsters because they are never what they seem.

new, new, new

the Curio Coinpurse, a handbag with a tiny window… displaying a tiny keepsake trapped inside.  this particular clutch i made for myself, but i've got lots more tiny toys + vintage fabrics to work with here in the Medusa factory.

Pinata Party

i suppose it's a bit crazy to spend 18 hours building a pinata knowing full well it will be decimated in less than 10 minutes.  i think that is what i like best about pinatas, their temporary nature... and watching the candy fly.

halloween printing + stitching

busy-busy trying to finish up halloween projects for my etsy shop. i finally finished these halloween capes. this has been a long term project, but i am most pleased with the end result. the capes are 100% handmade from print to stitch. images original to baking with medusa and screen-printed by hand. wish i had documented the printing process. printing prior to garment construction has it's challenges. perhaps next time.

this is a project idea i've had for quite sometime now. I truly love vintage manufactured halloween costumes and the use of print. in these items the garment contruction is simple, but the costume is made by the printed elements. i definitely hope to do more of such projects in the future.

there are three separate styles in both child and adult sizes. more images may be found here on flickr. capes available for purchase in my etsy shop.

something new

there's nothing quite like making something custom made for yourself or celebrating the completion of a new project. it's been far too long since i made myself a new purse. this one was a year in the making, or at least in the contemplating. that bright red corduroy is from an upcycled shirt i got at the abita springs garage sale last year. i knew what it was destined, it just took a while to become a physical reality. actual sewing time was about a days work though. more pics of this purse + others, can be found here.

Parade Day

a few pics from 'titREX Parade 2011. more images may be found filed away in flickr. wish i had more to say, but i believe i'm still experiencing post-parade letdown. you work so hard for so long to finish everything up for this one moment, then mourn the loss of a project completed. oh well there is always next year.

a few examples of tiny throws. this year i made: tiny beads [as always] - glitterized army men - handpainted dolls, firemen + action figures in 'titREX colors - sewing kits memorializing the Triangle Fire of 1911 [my float subject this year].

my too little, too late float subject was the Triangle Fire of 1911. the tragedy brought to light the inhumane conditions of garment factory workers, which lead to labor reform and nation wide safety standards... but all too late for the 146 lives lost. march 25th this year will mark the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Fire of New York City. i'll have more on that subject closer to the 25th. till then, check out the link above in boldface for more information.

click on images for larger viewing.

'titREX 2011

mardi gras is fast approaching. it's been a mad flurry trying to finish up all things 'titREX. we're counting down the days to the micro spectacle that is 'titREX Parade.

tiny projects*

here's a few pics of the tiny float i made this year for our 2nd annual 'titREX Parade, New Orleans only micro-krewe. this year's theme, la petite mort, [the little death] interpretations varied from float to float. my float title, sugar coma, a chronicle of the euphoria and eminent crash that is my sugar addiction... and that's why, even though i'm a non practicing former catholic, i'm still giving up sugar for lent this year. this love/hate affair has to come to and end sometime. more 'titREX pics can be found here and here.

new pocket notebooks

the advantages of being a self-professed pack rat is never running out of supplies. i love sewing with collected ephemera, in this case old library cards. they make for a nice contrast... the typed word, stamped dates and the handwritten signatures. pocket notebooks coming soon to etsy.

late halloween post*

it was a R2D2 halloween for my nephew this year. it's so fun to rediscover star wars through both my nephews. it was such a big part of me, my sister + brother's childhood. so i'm glad it's been passed along to the next generation. besides, what's cooler than wanting to be a robot? i had the best time trying to make a comfortable, kid friendly R2 costume. you just can't get any better than white corduroy + silver lame.

more costume pics + R2D2 dance moves can be found here.

T'anta Wawas*

this is the bread baking portion of the T'anta Wawas baking project i've been working on for snippets. like i mentioned before T'anta Wawas are an Andean traditional Day of the Dead bread. they are left as offerings to the dead in cemeteries and enjoyed by living participants during the Dia de los Muertos celebrations. T'anta Wawas are special breads baked into the shapes of children or pets. They are similar to the Pan de Muerto traditions of Mexico. the bread are often baked with plaster face masks very similar to babydoll faces. i was very interested in trying to make my own T'anta Wawas. i mean how could i resist, it's craft + baking all rolled up into one delicious project. here are a few visual examples of traditional T'anta Wawas of Peru.

i made my own face masks from a flour based clay days before starting the bread portion of this project. you may find my tutorial here. now this was my first try at yeast bread baking. to my surprise it was quite simple. i've always avoided recipes that called for yeast, fear of the unknown i suppose. i basically followed this recipe for Pan de Muerto, but doubled the portions. i also added one tablespoon of vanilla to the milk mixture + a generous amount of cinnamon to the flour mixture. instead of forming the dough into traditional cross-bone loaves, i made simplistic baby forms. below are a few sketches i made from traditional examples i found online.

since this was my first attempt at yeast bread baking i found a few helpful tips online as well. this tutorial from chanit in israel was a big help. it's not for Tanta Wawas, but it gives good visual examples of creative bread shaping. this post on "the fundamentals of making yeast bread" was also a huge help. i should have taken photos of my bread baby making endeavors, i just got to involved. basically i just made it up as i went along. one helpful tip i found was, to divide your dough with a sharp knife or dough cutter, instead of trying to pull it apart. also, be sure to prick the dough with a fork in thick areas.

i brushed an egg wash on the finished bread babies + sprinkled them with a cinnamon/sugar mixture as well as colored sugar crystals. i'm really pleased with the results. they taste pretty good, too. i will definitely be making more of these in the future.

be sure to keep a look out for the Day of the Dead issue of snippets. you may find more of my T'anta Wawas photos here.

baby shapes sketches

finished T'anta Wawas

babyface*

i've been working on a baking/craft project for snippets online craft magazine. they are working on a Day of the Dead issue that is soon to be released. i decided to make T'anta Wawas or bread babies. T'antas Wawas are an Andean day of the dead baking tradition. it's quite similar to Pan de Muerto, but formed in the shape of children. many of these breads have plaster masks baked into them. for the masks i used a flour based baking clay recipe. click on this link and follow baking clay #2 recipe. this is a completely non-toxic clay recipe, that's why i chose it. you could prolly eat them if you wanted, but i don't think they would taste very good. i meant these masks to be purely decorative. below i will show step by step examples of my mask making process.

follow recipe instructions. when all ingredients have been combined you should have a nice clay base to work with. if your clay is too tacky to work with, add more flour.

take small bits of aluminum foil and form into balls. smash one side flat against the counter.

take a small bit of clay and roll into a ball. press it flat between your fingers to form a flat circle.

take your circle of clay and place it centered over the rounded side of your aluminum foil.

form into a face + add hair or headdress.

be sure to prick holes in the back of thick areas. this will keep your clay form exploding in the oven. a fork works nicely.

place your babyface masks on a foil lined baking sheet.

bake your masks for 30 minutes instead of a full hour. the masks will finish baking with your bread for the remaining 35 minutes.

once they have cooled down, paint details with food coloring. i also used water based inks for those hard to mix colors.

there you have it, babyface masks ready for the bread baking part of your T'anta Wawas.