NY craft show in Chelsea!

In a few weeks I will be selling my wares at this wonderful craft show in Manhattan. Come out to check out all the cool stuff, or just to say hi! Hope to see you there!

http://www.thenewnewny.com/CraftsInChelseaF10.html

Fun with Embroidery

Lately I’ve been really inspired by some really cool embroidery projects and sites. I love subversivecrossstitch for it’s surly-ness and humor. I know a few people that are deserving of these for their next birthday or housewarming gift. Or better yet, how else could you pay tribute to your favorite teen heartthrob besides embroidering his face onto some cloth so that you can sew him onto a pillow and keep him besides your bed…forever! Rob Pat design by floresita.


So, in trying to figure out how to translate some of these fun embroidery ideas into something with clay, I decided to buy a couple embroidery rings from Michael’s Craft store and cast them in clay. My first thought was how cool could it be pierce holes into the discs and then actually sew designs or sayings into them with thread. I love that combination of materials.

Hella Jongerius, one of my favorite designers has been doing it forever.

This little tribute to Brooklyn is what I came up with for my first attempt. Whew! It took forever drilling out all those holes to spell that one little word – not to mention the huge risk of breaking the unfired clay while drilling. I quickly realized that this was not something I would want to reproduce over and over – unless I wanted to go crazy.

I had to come up with a Plan B. Instead of drilling the holes, I could try silk screening the faux- embroidery onto the clay. So I ordered one of those DIY silk screen kits online and got to work on the graphics I wanted to print onto the embroidery rings. These are some of the final results I got using different underglaze colors. Now to figure out what to do with these…

Cable knit tableware

I've really been interested in ceramics with texture lately. I love the idea of creating an object that in reality is hard and unyielding, but visually appears to be soft and cozy. I've seen some really interesting things made from lace impressions on plates, and cups etc, but I wanted to try something that was actually cast from fabric itself. To get the most texture I could in the mold, I chose to use a cable knit sweater that I cut and sewed and wrapped around a bowl or cup form. Here's a process image of the mold being made - I warn you, it's not too pretty, as the only sweater I could find was bright hot pink! Either way, in the end I am very happy with the results!

Here are some other textured ceramic items that I really like and find inspiring.

This is from a NY ceramicist, Hidemi

There are so many amazing textured objects in Wapa studio

Spotless tea set: a design for the germaphobic

This project originally started as part of my senior thesis in college on how to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in the home, through the use of therapeutic products integrating exposure therapy principals. For example, if you were germaphobic, the idea of using a cup and saucer with lipstick stains and dirty fingerprint would probably creep you out, right? But through repeated use of this cup and saucer, one may become desensitized to the anxiety, and eventually get over their fear of contamination. As time has passed, I realized that this project had more applications than just the therapeutic realm. It has morphed into something funny and unique that could really appeal to anyone, not just those with OCD. What do you think? Does the thought of pouring tea and milk through a spout that was cast from an actual human mouth make you giggle or gross you out? I think the former, and that is why I am currently making more of these tea sets in my ceramic studio today. They are currently available for purchase on etsy.

Welcome to my new blog!

Finally I feel like I'm pulling it all together. Just got the website done, then the etsy shop up, and now this! I just hope I can keep up with it. I would like to share with you all the wonderful projects I have worked on up until now, and hopefully document the things I plan to work on in the future. I also want to post about things - beautiful things - designy things - inspirational things! All things worth mentioning in the "design" and "handmade" worlds because these are the things that deserve the credit and attention, not the objects coming out of the "big box" world. Hope you enjoy!