Dancing Crow Designs

that was fun!

My friend Sarah Buttenweiser has the best ideas. This time her idea was a craft fair in her living room. Which, I might add, is a really lovely space, along with the dining room and the kitchen and the sunroom off it and the study at the end of the hall. The whole space was wall to wall creative people with amazingly beautiful things, and really charming people coming to look at those things.

 I was sharing the front room with Crispina ffrench and Caitlin Bosco, both working with recycled clothing in really different ways. Caitlin makes skirts from t-shirts that I yearned after (and I never wear skirts!) they were so humorous and so chic. Crispina makes astonishing sweaters out of other sweaters, as well as other things out of sweaters like, say, baby blankets. The description does not do the end result justice - these are works of art. Warm, soft works of art. I have a sweater of hers now, and she has one of my chickens - we are deligthed with ourselves. 

My new sweater is made of pieces of other cashmere sweaters: there is a center panel, and side panels, and a soft, mushroom brown hood, and two colors of sleeve. I'll try to get a reasonable picture of it soon. I love it. Alice loves it too: when I got home she hugged me and then started rubbing her face over me like a cat, humming about softness. 

oof. horse blankets and chicken ornaments

Well I did kind of drop off the map! I am simultaneously recuperating from the last Craft Fair, prepping for another Craft Fair (in a friend's living room, which seems like a brilliant idea!) and getting a horse organized to go live at a different barn. Which involves a lot of blanket trying-on.

There was a giant (GIANT!!) pile of blankets in the closet in the garage, and I was looking through it for a couple things for Kaboose, until I realized that I couldn't go by size on the blanket I'd have to try them all on. So I put her in a stall, and dragged all the blankets out, and started putting them on and taking them off, just like being in a dressing room with a large toddler. She had the same look too: mildly interested in the cookies I was bribing her with, but really yearning to be free.

The trying on results looked like a toddler too - some things barely made it over her rump, but the vast majority were from a Very Large Horse and they hung over her tail and well down her legs in amusing ways. We found most of what we'll need, and we can borrow the last thing as necessary. Which, along with leaving all the rest of the blankets inventoried, folded and stacked neatly, makes me feel very virtuous.

I am working on a handful of chicken ornaments for the Sunday craft fair ina  living room. Pictures of those when they are photographable.

there and back again

I returned safely from Ipswich lighter by all the chicken cards, some landscape and horse cards, and one original chicken (the big Black Jersey Giant hen, I think she was my favorite, so I am delighted someone else liked her as much). 

I have been invited to a friend's house for another, very local, craft fair in her living room. I am looking forward to that a lot - local friends, lovely people, all kinds of good things. I have to get more chickens printed, stat! 

packed up and ready to roll

I can show you nothing but things in boxes: cards, chicken originals, some random other pieces that will travel easily, some other random small stiched things, and one Christmas Tree. All I need is a partridge and/or a pear tree.

If you are in Ipswich, stop by the museum and say hi -

 

 

cool colors

The second dozen ornaments, in assorted cool colors. 

Ribbons tomorrow, and packing. 

 

ornaments, the warm colors

I brought these down to show Alice, and she was running them through her fingers and cackling. "I'm rich in ornaments!" she giggled. So I giggled too. A great concept, being rich in something in particular.

These are about 2" across. They still need ribbon hanging loops to make them properly ornamental. Until they can hang, they are just large fabric coins. Which is a nice enough concept, but hard to keep on a Christmas tree. 

Because Aerin was home sick today I got to spend some quality time with the computer updating things. As a direct result of that, the Bigcartel link (above, see Large Works For Sale) has something in it. The reproductions of the pond pictures are there. If the chicken originals don't sell at the craft show, then I'll post them there as well.

The cards will go on Etsy. If you click on the grid of things on the left there, it should take you to the Etsy store. Alternatively, there is a button on the top bar (Cards and Small Works) that will take you there as well. 

everybody needs somebody, sometime

What I am realizing more and more about this artist gig is that while I am capable of doing everything, it isn't necessarily the smartest thing for me to actually do everything. 

Case in point - printing cards from photos of the artwork. I can do it. There are special papers for it, and better inks, and there are also paper jams and the art not centered and all kinds of other glitches that make my head hurt just thinking about them. So I trundle off to the best copy shop EVER, and voila, cards, accomplished. From start to finish: cards, scored, folded, envelopes, packaging, everything.  

Plus, I get compliments too. 

craft fair scrimmage

The week before a craft fair seems to consist entirely of trips to the copy shop and moderately frantic listmaking, in between concentrated sewing machine time as I work to finish one-last-thing. Of course, once I finish that thing I start the next one-last-thing, so there is a distinct Sisyphean aspect to the process.

Today was dedicated to transforming the chickens, horses and pond pictures into cards. These will be folding cards instead of postcards, with pretty envelopes and everything, packaged into sets of six. 

The tins of circles that have been haunting me are perfect for ornaments, so those need ribbons for hanging. The other tins of squares and rectangles are interesting, and I'll bring them along.

And of course, I need a check list. 

Christmas trees

Inspired by a pair of Christmas candle holders (imagine red candle holders on the ends of the biggest branches, and one on the top) I tried my hand at these three dimensional pieces. I guess technically they are two 2-dimensional pieces at cross purposes, but they stand up, which feels like a triumph. 

I get to decorate them now. I have my choice of beads, or fabric, or embroidery. I suppose I could use all three, but it feels like they aren't really big enough for too many mixed metaphors media. 

These are for the Ipswich Museum Craft Fair coming up this weekend. Next up is a couple sets of ornaments in tins. 

the organizational scrimmage

I've gotten photographic reproductions from my local print shop.

Paradise Copies is right around the corner from me. They are kind of amazing. Every time I ask them if they can do something, they say yes, and it is cheaper and easier than I expected. This time I had to make reproductions, mount them on foam core and shrink wrap them. With a  short break in the middle of the process for me to make labels, sign them and attach them to the back of the mounted pieces. 

That process is well underway. The last piece is framing the big guys. Al says fall and winter should go, but that I should make more too, because he wants to see spring.