January30th
This is going to be a gift for someone! I just had a notion and did this tonight, free form. In most cases I think I would sketch out the parts first and then construct, but at the moment I just wanted to start jabbing things with sharp needles. I think I only stabbed my hands twice, this time.
Needle felting is a pretty fun, beginner-friendly craft. It just takes some barbed needles and some raw wool and/or bits of yarn. I added beads for Cthulu’s eyes.
January17th
For the past few months I’ve been working at a yarn store, and I’m pretty terrible about giving into temptation there. I’ve been covetting the many needle cases that we sell there, but with my small employee discount and school loan payments to make, it seemed I would have to contend with my ziplock baggies to hold my needles. It works well enough for straight needles, but if you’ve ever tried to find a matching set of double points out of one of those it’s just terrible. Unable to afford the $60 roll up case, I made my own. Without a pattern. On one day off, in one sitting. I’m just a little bit proud of it. Total cost? $1.50 for the bias tape to edge the thing.
December31st
I did this tonight, and it was fun! I’ve been trying to make more things lately, and once I get my stuff back from the pop-up shop, I’ll have pictures.
I’m trying my hand at selling things in the craft fair scene…sort of. A coworker spearheaded a “pop-up” shop in downtown Eugene for the month. She graciously invited me to sell my screen printed posters, ties, and those fireflower seed packets (seriously I have like 200 more of those things hanging around). I’ve made some sales, and it’s bolstered my confidence!
I may make a go of selling some things on etsy once I get me act together. My advice? Don’t get mono right after graduating. It just kind of killed any momentum I had going there.
New Year’s resolution? “Make epic shit.”
The underwear is for me, and the tie is for a relative’s boss.
December12th
It’s been awhile. A long while. I’ll be posting some things very soon!
October3rd
So the idea of chalkboard paint has been taken to a new level, white board paint. I could imagine painting the walls in a room with this, and spending a couple of days working out an elaborate hand-drawn wallpaper. Only to decide I hate the design, and start over again. It would be wonderful.
When I have walls to paint, I’m so painting with this.
October3rd
I was doing some reading around Core77 today and this totally made me miss the BFA group at the White Stag. I think they miss a few key types of students in their breakdown, but it’s still fun.
Here’s the link to the article:
and here’s an example:
“The Dude”
Yeah, everyone knows he should switch majors. Maybe something like…glassblowing? He’s always hungry, looks perpetually sleepy, and laughs a lot, even before you tell a joke. He’s always late (given he makes it to class) and makes many a professor furious. But somehow, he always manages to slip on through with passing grades. He’s talented and creative but perhaps a bit too laid back. This particular course of action isn’t recommended, but his ultra chill attitude does come in handy during stressful times like right before finals or when he’s being publicly humiliated, yet again, for tardiness. Calmness is a virtue. Take a “breather” with him around 2 a.m. if you plan on working all night ’til class starts.
October3rd
This mug is gorgeous.
and also 15 bucks that I don’t need to spend on more mugs…I love mugs.
I have to wonder…is it accurate? Will it fade over time? The pantone swatch poster at work used to give me this anxiety as well. Even the best inks and papers fade. If I had a room to spare, I think it’d be fun to do a pantone swatch wallpaper. It’d be pretty fun on a studio wall that doesn’t get hit with the sun.
But for now, my “studio” is the room I sleep in. And that room doesn’t really belong to me either!
October2nd
This is Mrs. Weatherbottom. She’s married, but has no children. She makes her living as a nanny. When the ocean currents change she flaps her fins and is off to tend to other needy sea-dwellers.
So I had an interview with a local yarn shop! Part of the interview involved me bringing in every knit/crochet/spun yarn project that I had. Wanting to be extra-prepared, I quickly made this up to accompany some of the other toys i’d made. I sketched out how I wanted it to look, and made up my own pattern as I went along. I made it all in one piece since I dislike sewing things together. At first I thought about making one you could take apart, but decided against it since I didn’t know if the people at the interview would appreciate knit brains! I know I would be impressed, but not everyone is like me.
September20th
I really want to go to this!
First off the poster is absolutely adorable. And then the extra creative lady from Bakerella is going to be there! I’m really thinking about taking the painting on fondant class. I think it might be a totally awesome application of my painting skills into something absolutely delicious. I think i’d also want to take the class solely dealing on using fondant in decorating, but that is likely beyond my unemployed-art-school-grad budget!
In other budgetary mishap news, I purchased a pressure-washer. For my screen printing “kit”. I am so excited! Instead of arm-buffing scrubbing and lots of chemical solvents, a nice and easy pressure washer like I had in studio.
September16th
Tentacle shark…form of shirt! Go!
Aw. I made a run of seven shirts, various brands and sizes. I also did the print run solo, which went smoothly! I’m finding a shirt needs about three passes of ink to ensure no faint spots. A few shirts have the faint spots, but all read very well, and I didn’t end up with any nasty folds or double images. I supposed I should incorporate my name into my designs, but I always feel like i’m distracting from the illustration. Does anybody else feel this way?
I also did some shirts with my brother in law for his inter-office triathlon, at Buzz Monkey, which taught me a few things:
My name is Kate Sessions. I'm a current student in the University of Oregon Digital Arts BFA in Portland, Oregon.
