Heavily pregnant and with delivery day quickly approaching, it should come as no shock to my readers that I am experiencing a change of direction in my studio practice. My creative mind space seems to be full of all things baby and nursery these days. I've been working on some nursery décor ideas which involve imaginary characters that will become part of an environment that promotes interactive play between us and our little newbie - I mean once their motor skills have been full developed and all that. The photo here is my digital sketch for my and my husband's idea for the nursery. The wall would be painted with the jagged mountain silhouette; the tree will be cut out of MDF board - my husband had the fab idea of drilling holes in the tree so we can feed fairy lights through so it can double as a light feature (something the baby can enjoy even before those motor skills are ready to go!) The sun will also be cut out of MDF and painted. I'll transform the other little critters into cuddly toys that will be Velcro-backed so they can be taken down, played with, and put back in a different order. And hopefully more critters will find their way to the wall as well - so it'll be a bit of a work-in-progress. Very exciting!
I've started working on the transformation of these critters from flat, 2D drawings into 3D cuddly toys. I'm not a textile artist, but thankfully I have a mom who is a tremendously talented sewer and she taught me a lot about the craft when I was a child. Because I can be a bit impatient when tackling a sewing project, I've had to tell myself to calm down and take my time. I quickly realized that there would be no rushing this project - there are a lot of layers to consider. Or to quote the Dude from the Big Lebowski: "you know, a lotta ins, a lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous." This snapshot gives you an idea of my work-in-progress. It's challenging but thoroughly enjoyable. And it's really nice to think I'm making something special for the baby which they'll hopefully enjoy for years to come!
The new creative spurt doesn't end there! Oh no, my friends. I've accidentally come up with some new design ideas; my focus for these designs were initially sparked by ideas for a vintage nursery theme. But soon the ideas started to extend beyond that to quirky designs that I thought adults would enjoy. So far I've got as far as printing blank greeting cards featuring the designs. But I could easily see them as screenprints on fabric - I'm thinking bags and cushions. So many ideas - so little time!
I've only posted one image from that series, but you can see more on my website.
I've only posted one image from that series, but you can see more on my website.
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