14 June 2010

Inspiration


Last week I had a little extra time and plenty of stock made so I decided to do design work, which I love. I made a new doll. This one is a different pattern for the head. It is much more 3 dimensional and I was excited to see how it turned out.

It turned out pretty cool. There are some things I learned for next time. It seems that cotton knit fabric does not hold the tiny filler fibers entirely. I have an endless supply of tiny strings of lint pushing through the fibers of the fabric. I use quilt batting inside the arms and legs and that isn't causing the same problem so I think I'll just line the belly and back with that from now on.

As far as the face is concerned I learned an interesting technique I'll try next time. I first make the head and stuff it. I then take thread and wrap and anchor it around the face creating indentations for eyes and chin etc. After this I am to take a stretchy fabric tube and pull it over the head, hiding the threads and hopefully keeping fluffing lint at bay.

This isn't the final outfit for the doll. This is practice set #1.

My favorite part about this has been deciding his facial appearance and hair. I used felted wool sewn into little tubes to create the dreadlocks. I tried several mouths before I settled on this one. I loved making these eyes. I'm not sure I like the combination of fabric glue and stitching I used to attach these.

I love how every little detail effects the feeling of the doll so much. I have a lot to learn and I like that.

07 June 2010

Art and Science

If you know me it is redundant for you to read that I am artistic rather than scientifically minded. But maybe you don't know me, so there it is. This morning I was solicited by a bank I do business with to start investing. I've never invested. I have no interest in the stock market. I have very little interest in 'business savvy'. This is, of course, why I have spent my life at the back of the big money train.

Since I've begun to travel the path of being a business owner I have nudged myself forward in this caboose. I'm looking out the door. I'm thinking about crossing the hitch to the next car. I'm trying to stretch my capacity for business science and it feels weird. Should I borrow, invest, seek advising? Do I need a retirement plan? Insurance?

When I was in 7th grade earth science class it occurred to me one day that even if I may be interested in the big picture of this subject, the tedium of sitting through the vocabulary and slooooooooow repetitive hypothesis, experiment, provingness of lab procedure made my eyes glaze over. I like science because it proves cool things. But I inherently believe in these cool things. Life is magic and I don't need to spend my time in a lab to prove it. Likewise, I am of the opinion that money is magic and with the proper creation of a welcoming space it will come. It will fill the space. When I see 401k I like the way it is framed with a 4 and a k because they're both triangular. I haven't planned for retirement. I don't have a timeshare.

I always disliked 'The Count' as a kid. I thought his counting was slow and tedious. But I loved designing this costume for my friend, Randy, last year.





I am art and light
I wake to this every day-
sun casting shadows through tree branches,
a crow feather in my cat's mouth,
woven layers of this moment's music move me.
I walk to the doors of science with my question.
The door then opens, welcoming me in. But my question, wanting a simple yes/no answer, must wait outside because
science
takes
time
and

patience.
My questions come too quickly, before one is answered another comes up.
Instead I guess.
I intuit the answers and I am sometimes wrong.
I like the shape of wrongness.
I like the way it melts over a fire, and changes hue.
I like the psychedelic swirl of smoke over a Bunsen burner and beaker.
It makes me want to go write poetry.

I am aware that my approach to making money is not a proven one. It's probably not even a good one. I am willing to learn more traditional methods, I'm just taking the tiniest baby steps through this remedial class I am making up as I go along.