Tending to the Pilot Light - Yarn Wrapped Wreaths

This most recent Tending to the Pilot Light Session was a trial run for the Craft Workshop I'll be teaching at the Lawrence Public Library in the third week of December... Yarn Wrapped Wreaths for the final session of the Thrifty Gifter Workshop Series

Great flyer design by Mandy Stos of IamtheMandy

Although I'm not completely satisfied with the pipe insulation material we used, my students made the most amazing and cute and beautiful wreaths!  I just love to see the creative gears working away... and the conversations we have and the connections made - I am so grateful for the community we are forging.

Here are some snapshots of these beauties... and apologies, R. for the blurry pic... it's sub par, but at least the detail came out great!

Here's the pinky I completed on Tuesday night...

This week we will be making hand-made stationery sets as gifts!
Check back here next Sunday for pictures of those creations...
Have a great week and I hope to see you here for Tending to the Pilot Light!

Liza

October Dress-up Catch-up submission!

You'd think that since I'm the hostess of the Dress-up 2011, I would be able to keep up with all the other fabulous participants... alas, this has not yet proved to be true!

However, I have just completed October: Steam Punk and have more than half the month to finish November: Classical or NeoClassical....can I catch up with you guys?

I borrowed some style from the impeccable Mr. John Peacock (again) and modeled my dress loosely on this illustration:

Next, I checked out this fantastic book from the Lawrence Public Library on the history of clocks and time keeping devices through out history:

Have I mentioned how much I love my job? You'd think that I just now discovered the riches a library can hold... more like renewing an old love I suppose... It's just as exciting to search and discover information as when I was set loose to roam the Boulder Public Library when I was very young.

But I digress, back to the project...
Here are just a few of the 20 or so pages i bookmarked for the project:

So much artistry and engineering and precision went into the completed pieces - even the illustrations are stunning.

I had great plans to incorporate steam engines and clock works and all sorts of steam punk/sci fi stylings into this dress, but became enamoured with just the clocks and filigrees and gears and wheels....

She's about 17 inches tall; white colored pencil and white acrylic paint on black craft paper.

I hope you like her!

Have a great week
Creatively yours,
Liza

Tending to the Pilot Light Day of the Dead Shrines

As requested, we made Day of the Dead shrines AGAIN!  A perfect activity for this time of year.  Here are a bunch more pictures of the AMAZING work my students have produced in just a few hours!

Notice the stamp on the inside left panel... perfect, eh? Thomas Howe, do you read this blog? You always use the most interesting stamps on your mailings (and I save every one)!!

  

Here is the outside of the same Pirate-themed shrine made out of an Altoids tin!

This is a large piece, full of details and color....

And look at this happy fellow basking in the shade on top!

This is a great composition, two halves of the whole, split twice... lovely arrangement.

A close up of the side...



Another petite composition assembled in an Altoids Tin, complete with roses, tea cup, pearls and pretty bows 

  

Here is the outside of the tin, decorated with layers of tissue paper and hand written music.

Check out this splendid tower - multi levels of creativity and imagery

Even more decoration and sparkle on the back side

These calm images grace the inside of a slender cd mailer tin



Beautiful work from beautiful people.

Here's a new shrine (to fashion?) I made during this week's classes and a few original skeletons made of pipe cleaners....

Here's a Frida Kahlo Skeleton to go with my costume for work on the 31st...

Here's one more skeleton

See her cute bustle?

Here is what I've been designing agonizing over this week:

The Holiday Art Fair poster... I wanted to make something evocative of winter shopping... that chill in the air, that cozy shops beckoning you inside, that downtown Lawrence Feel... here is the first stage...

I designed it with white paint on black to A. save money on printing, and B. because I have finally started my October Dress Up Challenge (Steampunk) and was really happy with the way my clock details were coming out on the black paper...

Here is a pretty close to final version... It will probably be tweaked some more, but at least I am past both the staring-at-the-blank -page phase... AND, the I've-worked-allllll-day-on-this-and-it's-garbage-phase!  Thanks to Elsie, Brennan and Amanda for your excellent feedback... SHAZAAAAAAAMMMM

This week in Tending to the Pilot Light, we will be making Yarn Wrapped Wreaths!  Join us for some crafty fun!

best to you

Liza