show and tell: swaps

There are times when I think we should go back to the barter system.   I have yet to trade my art for more practical things, like chickens or grain.  But I have had the good fortune to swap my art for some pretty sweet stuff.  Here's a look at a few recent trades with some talented folks. 

These hexagonal shelves in my bedroom were custom made by furniture craftsman and fellow blogger, Josh Jackson.  Working only with reclaimed wood,  Josh salvaged the wood for these shelves from the living room of an L.A. home.  

I really love how the shelves finish off the room. To see more of Josh's handiwork, go to his website here.  Josh is also a very gifted writer, capturing the beauty and fragility of life on his blog, Jack at Random.  A must read, especially for those who have lost a child in utero. 

This beautiful silk blouse was made by Dani Kishino of Xsilk.  The silk is hand dyed in small batches using non-toxic dyes.  Dani also hand paints on some of her shirts, which can be found in her Etsy shop here.  So comfortable and flattering, this blouse has become my new favorite piece in my wardrobe. 

I've been a big fan of Natasha Newton's handpainted rocks for awhile now.  We connected this summer via Etsy, and we decided to swap painted rocks.  These beauties came from the beaches of Suffolk, England.  That's about a 5000 mile trip!  Be sure to check out more of Natasha's lovely art  here. 

Some of you may recall that I've run a couple of swap-a-thons in the past.  This is where I swap credit in my shop for items that readers make or already own.  It's been a year and a half since the last one, so I'm thinking it's time to run another swap-a-thon.  (And my tea selection is quite pathetic, so I'm really hoping that a winner or two can help me out with this.)

Look for more details and not so subtle hints in the next post. 

Show and Tell: favorite art materials

One of my dream jobs would be an art product tester for an art supply store.  I guess, in a roundabout way, I'm already doing that- just unofficially and unpaid.  Sometimes I think that it would be cheaper if I just opened my own art store!

When I used to teach art, I really enjoyed talking about different art materials- what they were, when they were developed, how to use them, etc.  In the past year, I've featured several art materials on Habit of Art, some that I've used for many years and others that are new found favorites.  Here are a few more to add to the list. 

I like how easily watercolors and oils mix on paper or canvas, but found myself wanting a paint that dried faster on wood panels and would be good for detail work.  I quickly got over my hang up with acrylics when I discovered Golden Fluid Acrylics.  The colors are vibrant, and the paint goes on very smoothly.  I mostly use the fluid acrylics for fine line details, so the small bottles actually go a long way.

Since working with wood panels, I also needed to find a non-spray glue that would bind paper to wood.  Lineco's PVA glue seems to be a favorite among bookbinders, and I can see why.  It's not too thick, and it seems to dry pretty quickly.  And it's acid-free, so it won't yellow with age.  I'm not a huge fan of hot glue, rubber cement glue, or spray adhesives, so this bottle of PVA glue has become a permanent fixture on my art desk. 

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a paper snob.  I don't even like sketching on paper that is less than 70# (a lot of sketchbooks are 55# or 60#).   Local Portland company, Bee Paper, packages 6 x 9 sheets of 90# Aquabee paper that has become my favorite paper to sketch on.  I keep the pile on my desk, so it's easily accessible when I need to jot down some ideas or map out a quick sketch.  My 7 year-old daughter also prefers to use this paper over printer paper.  I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Stack of the Aquabee 6 x 9 drawing paper in my desk organizer. 

Show and Tell: Art in my home

Arthound has a series called Art@Home that I enjoy following.  I love seeing what kind of art people have in their homes and how they display it.  Some of my favorite collections are those are more eclectic and look like they were thrown together in a minute's time.  I might attempt to do something like this in my bedroom, but, realistically, I'll end up overthinking it and spending a good chunk of time rearranging the whole thing.

Since I love looking at other people's art collections, I thought it was only fair to share some of the pieces I've collected over the years. 

The newest addition to my home is this mola (Kuna folk art that is handstitched and embroidered).  I have been wanting a mola for my walls for some time now and, a few days ago, saw this framed piece at a vintage shop for $25!  I absolutely love the design, and it goes perfectly with my red dining room table.

These limited edition prints were created by artist Maria Watt.  I first mentioned her work here.  Having studied printmaking in college, I gravitate towards art that is transferred from one surface to another.  And, like Watt, I am a huge fan of textile arts, which is why I instantly fell in love with these two works. 

I have two large etchings in my living room by Scottish artist David Law (1831- 1901), who is known for his beautiful landscape works.  I bought them several years ago from a frame/gallery shop in Eugene that was closing.  The works are dated 1886 and appear to be in the original frames.  There is some foxing (brown spots) on the prints, so I'm planning on having the works restored one day.

This 1978 etching by Michele Taylor was another piece that I purchased from the Eugene art shop.  It's titled Woodland Garden, and it reminds me of the lush Willamette Valley.  Every time I look at this piece, it makes me want to get back into printmaking.  And that's what I love about the art in my home- it moves and inspires me.

What art piece do you have in your home that moves you?

Show and Tell: vessels

I have a weakness for small, hand formed bowls and vases.   The pieces below are the latest additions to my collection.

On the left is Rainy Day at the Sea Side from Nesting Emily.  It just arrived in the mail today, and I absolutely love it!  The other two pieces came from a local boutique called Una.   The shop is known for their stunning clothes, but they also have a stockpile of vintage and found ceramic goodies- all priced very reasonably.  These two beauties were a total of $16. 

[Shown in the first image are ceramic pieces from Pigeon Toe and Leah Nobilette, both from Portland.]

Show and Tell: Korean treats

My mother brings food whenever she comes over for a visit.  Many times it's an oversized jar of kim chee that she made the day before.  Accompanying the kim chee is usually some kind of snack for each member of the family.  Dried fish, for example, is normally given to me, and sweet rice cakes are a treat for the girls. 

I  love the colors of rice cakes, especially the pale pink.  Each color is a different flavor, and inside of each rice cake ball is sweet bean.  Yum.  I've never made my own, but I found this recipe today.

Here's the dried fish that my mom recently brought over.  It's coated in honey and sesame seeds.  If you look carefully, you can see the bones of the fish.  So, there's definitely a crunchy factor to this snack.  Not a fan favorite in the household, but I enjoy it. 

And then there's the guilty pleasure treat- Choco Pies. 

Choco Pies are essentially a Korean version of the moon pie.  They look sweeter than they actually are, but maybe that's me trying to rationalize eating one.

The packaging is classic.  Normally I steer clear of packaging like this in a market, but I am not as discriminating when it comes to international food products.  A double standard, I know, but I can't help but be amused by phrasing like "It's Now."

Show and Tell: new stuff

Here are a few items I got this week that I'm excited about. 

1.  Manimal Fringe Booties.  I have been drooling over these for a long time now.  These shoes are handmade by Kristen Lombardi in her Brooklyn studio.  As luck would have it, I found a brand new pair on eBay in my size! Check out all of Manimal's fantastic styles here, which includes the most adorable baby moccasins.

2.  Embroidered apron. My mother recently took a trip to Korea. She loved the embroidered aprons that the flight attendants were wearing and brought one home for me.  There are straps that cross in the back, and it's a button closure versus a tie.  I like the full coverage, but it'll be sad when the apron gets its first stain.  It just seems too pretty to be used as a grease guard.

3.  Canon A35F.  My vintage camera collection keeps growing.  This is my latest addition.  It cost me $12.50 at a thrift store.  It just needed a little cleaning and new batteries, but it looks to be in great shape.  Currently I have film loaded in four different cameras.  I'm anxious to see how the roll in the Canon A35F turns out.

Show and Tell: Old things made new

1. My friend takes Reader's Digests and turns them into journals.  This one was my favorite.  It's from 1970.  I'm using it to log my hand dyeing trials. . . so far I have one page filled. 

2.  My father bought this wall clock forty years ago.  When my mother gave it to me several years ago, I wasn't too keen on the fake gold gilded frame look.  So I painted it ivory. 

3.  My summer earrings.  I love how the recycled leather strips dance in the wind.

Show and Tell: Keepsakes of my cedar chest

I have a cedar chest that my mother-in-law bought me when I was newly married.  Today, I was reorganizing my sewing paraphernalia, which was all stacked on top of the cedar chest.  It has been at least a couple of years since I've opened the chest, so going through it this afternoon was a joyous rediscovery of old, treasured things. 

I store my wedding dress in the chest, and next to the white satin gown was this little yellow knit dress that I wore as an infant.  I can tell it was loved as there is a nickel size hole near the hem, and the inside tags are worn and unreadable. 

Another keepsake from my childhood was my brother's baby blanket, which I've always adored.  I based the first baby blanket I made for my daughter on the sweet checkered design.

As I dug deeper into the chest, I was thrilled to find this quilted wrapping cloth that my grandmother gave me several years ago.  She was just a teenager when she made it, embroidery and all.

My grandmother passed away a year ago this time, so this piece is very sentimental to me.  I don't embroider as much as I would like to, but it was serendipitous that I had worked on a little piece this morning before finding my grandmother's embroidered work.

While rifling through piles of fabric, I found some sawtooth star blocks that I handquilted years ago.  I thought that I would spruce them up by adding embroidered designs.  This is the first piece I completed this morning.

Show and Tell: Antique shopping at the beach

I find that it's harder to snatch up great finds in antique malls in Portland, seeing that anything retro is all the rage here.  So one of my favorite places to shop for vintage items is the coast, particularly Lincoln City.  It seems like whenever I'm in this small coastal town, I'm able to pick up an item or two that I absolutely love.  This weekend, I came away with a small hoard of items, and all for under $50. 

hand-molded ceramic dish found amongst random children toys and mismatched dishware

i'm crazy about the patterned tree design on the lid and side of the bowl  

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a cast iron sauce pan with lid that I've been coveting since the last time I was in Lincoln City

kitchen ware like this makes me want to cook more

i'm thinking chocolate sauce with pound cake right now, mmm

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couldn't resist this gravy boat

it's the diamonds

Show and Tell, a new series

Today is Show and Tell in my daughter's classroom.  I loved Show and Tell in school, so I figured I would create a new series on the blog.  I'll try to post a new Show and Tell every 2 - 3 weeks of things that I acquired (either bought, given, or borrowed) that I'm really excited about.   Today's post covers three items items that I just got the last couple of weeks.

From left, clockwise:
1. Prairie Underground organic cotton dress (resale find, $30).  Seattle-based Prairie Underground is one of my favorite clothing lines.  I feel like I'm wearing sweats but look very feminine at the same time, which is a hard-to-find combo in fashion!  Their hoodies are a must-have in every woman's closet.  So flattering on different body types, and sooo comfortable.

2.  Handmade zipper sketchbook (birthday gift).  Very retro and very cool.  There are only five of them in existence.  The book was made by hand (cutting, screenprinting, and sewing) by the talented Mareika Weber. 

3.  Little ceramic bowl ($2!).  There is a terrific arts center near our home.  In the lobby is a shelf of donated ceramic pieces, either seconds or leftovers from a class.  The pieces are marked at very reasonable prices, just a few dollars on average.  And all the money from sales goes back to the arts center.  Hurray for art programs!