The Skull Quilt Project

One of my projects this year has been to contribute to the Skull Quilt Project coordinated by Noah Scalin who runs the Skull-A-Day blog. I have had a few months to finish this, but of course my procrastination leaves me being creative at the last minute!

Details of the project are simple: create a 12'' x 12'' fabric quilt block with some type of skull imagery. Does not have to be all fabric--it is an art quilt. Mail to Skull-a-Day by May 28th, 2011. Quilts will be put together and displayed for a month in Richmond, VA celebrating Skull Appreciation Day on June 4, 2011. These quilts will be auctioned off and all proceeds will be donated to DC charity Becky’s Fund, which helps survivors of domestic violence. Full details about the exhibition can be found HERE.

So, my quilt square started out back in March. I tried some new technique of bunching and gluing fabric pieces. Didn't turn out like I wanted, so I scrapped it and started over....this weekend. hehe. Luckily, I can perform under pressure. Here's some not-so-great process photos and the final piece before I send 'er away! Enjoy!

I can sew! (sort of). I painted some hemp twine and super glued it to the fabric. The flower vines are supposed to represent and follow the basic paths of the arteries. I could have added more, but I also wanted it to stay simple.

"Untitled"
VIOLA! But it really needs a title. What would you title this piece??

CHI to NYC!

Over the weekend one of my friends had a going-away party. She will be leaving the windy city of Chicago for the Big Apple that is New York City! And of course I felt like being creative, so while I had found some Chicago Cubs paraphernalia and a retro 1950's era Chicago CTA map, I still wanted to give her something handmade.

I placed all of my gifts into a brown gift bag, and got a great idea! Paint a Chicago skyline on it! Well, the idea evolved into a more elaborate project than I originally thought! We were alittle late getting to the party because I was still finishing it! But it was a great afternoon project and she absolutely LOVED it!!

1. It started out as just a bag...

2. Splashed some paint on it...

3. And it became a tale of two cities!
CHICAGO WILL MISS YOU, JUDY!!!
[be prepared for some NYC visitors!]

Skull Beads!

Over the weekend my husband and I discovered an amazing bead shop in my neighborhood called Caravan Beads | http://caravanchicago.com/. They offer classes and a super large selection of beads and jewelry-making supplies! I did not plan to purchase anything when I first saw the shop, but I walked away with a great find!

SKULL BEADS!

I think these will make an interesting and conversation-starting bracelet! I will definitely be going back to this shop! If this doesn't fall into your "must-have" jewelry category, what sorts of things do you like? Any inspirational / tutorial websites out there that you recommend?

Corky Name?

While we were shopping this weekend, I spotted a few inspirations. Anthropologie had some interesting decorations using wine bottle corks to celebrate Earth Day. They were large designs hanging in the windows with clothing. Some corks were dyed and others were layered. Really cool effect!


I thought I could take the concept and do something smaller. (I also like to think of things for Christmas gifts!) Plus we have oodles of corks around our apartment...

Framed family names have been popular in the past few years, whether they are crocheted or photographed objects spelling out the name, so I thought why not corks? I took all the corks we had and spelled out our name on a random piece of fabric. Not the best choice of color, but it's all I had. Then I mocked it up in photoshop as if it were framed. I think there is a lot of potential and variation for a project like this. I really want to play around with layering the corks and painting them, but that's for another day. For now, here's my quick idea:

What do you think? Would you hang something like this in your home?
(Sorry, not the best photo)_____________________________________________________________________

On a totally separate note, I'm really ready for summer and continuously enjoyable weather to be here. This rainy, icky junk is starting to get on my nerves....
We were lucky enough to have a few sunny days this weekend while my parents were visiting Chicago. We took a trip to our local Home Depot and picked up a few supplies for my "Porch Garden!" Our landlord had agreed to help us create a rooftop garden, however the access to the roof is too difficult to attempt every day and can't be done easily by one person. So, I think its back to the porch idea, which will hopefully prove successful!

We don't get a ton of sun since our porch faces north, but I put the pots on the west side, so hopefully they will get enough sun to grow. I'm excited to have some working space on the porch now since we created this little bench! I think the grill will have to be moved once I start planting though!

One last photo for inspiration. Easter Sunday ended up being a really nice day, but the Cubs failed to take advantage of it. I do believe they lost this game in the very first inning. Ugh...

Lungskulls [a rainy day doodle]

Lately I have made numerous attempts at creativity, only to be stopped dead in my tracks by that colorful demon called laziness. I will try to blame the weather that has been quite gloomy, but also my kitties have been super cuddly, and those cuddles often end in naps.

A quick update on my projects. The altered book journey has hit a few road bumps. I have not yet received a book to work on!!! There has been communication and an artist will be withdrawing, but still no book. I hate being a pain in the arse, but I really want to get started on this!

The T-shirt quilt. I have gotten out the sewing machine and shirt squares a few times, but just cannot bring myself to sew more than one square at a time. (if that!) Perhaps I am not a sewing girl...who knows. I am afraid that with summer approaching this project will not see progress unless there is a long stretch of rainy days.

But there is some good news to share! On one of the latest rainy days, I got out my trusty sketchpad and just started doodling. The TV was on and I was too lazy (surprise, surprise) to mute the commercials like I normally do. One of those asthma commericals came on with an animation of lungs showing how the medicine works. Somehow, that lung image must have stuck in my head and a few minutes later I had produced this lovely piece.

"Lungskulls"

It is just a rough sketch/doodle, but I intend to work on this some more and have fun with it. The hubs said it looked like an anti-smoking ad! He suggested I add a cigarette hanging out of one of the mouths! I have a few other ideas, so we shall see...

Question of the Day

If you saw this in my living room, would you:

a) Un-friend me and run away
b) Call a therapist for me
c) Slap me a high-five
d) Try to steal it for yourself

A Chair with Guts
http://www.cultofweird.com/art/a-chair-with-guts/

"A chair with guts hanging out. Though it appears to be a part of an art exhibit, the exact origin of this photo is unknown. It may not fit your feng shui, but who wouldn’t want an eviscerated chair for their home or office?"

I want one. :-)

6:30am Vitrectomy

I might be slacking in the creative department lately probably because work has picked up slightly. For example, me getting up at 4:45am this morning to be at a suburban hospital at 6:30am. I got to observe a pretty neat surgery (Vitrectomy) where they remove all of the fluid inside the eye. They also repaired a detached retina. But I realized I am not that much of a morning person!! I got home around 1:00pm, collected and organized my notes, then snoozed for a good solid hour before my next meeting. The working-from-home gods were smiling upon me today.

Here's a YouTube example of what I got to watch today, minus the scleral buckle (i think).
Warning: video is graphic. Enjoy!