another dolly came home to my disheveld dolly sanctuary. a rescue from cabinet #16 at whistlestop antiques. i felt so sorry for her as she stood naked and hairless right next to a doll fully clothed. ...oh the injustice! once home, i made quick work of clothing her...hat from a recycled wool sweater, pants from a recycled casmere sweater and a vintage 1970"s doll sweater spare. she will be home for the holidays.

all those doll stories about dolls wishing for better circumstances pulling at my heart.

...hoping this is what she had in mind : )

unfoldings that began in june have finally emerged.

my winter collection found it's way to the ark last week.

that brings my crown grand total for the last 10 years to 1989.

wow! that is a lot.

loving all their evolutions but loving the materials of my current collection the most ever. so many of my handmade details, including the beeswax floral tape (for the foundational construction) hidden under recycled, wool sweater wrappings.

new this winter you will find tiny ceramic cups and saucers (some with pure silver accents), tiny silver plated spoons and ceramic buttons all compliments of my adorable little kiln i was able to purchase in march of this year. a truly liberating piece of equipment for me and greatly expanding my worlds of possiblilitea.

pictured is one of my favorite crowns of this collection. a simple circlet with a bronze butterfly set with a tiny stone and sewn to a simple band wrapped in silk sweater.

ahhhh simplicitea : )

not liking to make garbage, i have been stuffing all my tiny, unsuable, wool sweater scraps into a giant 2 gallon jar for the past couple of years hoping to eventually felt them all and convert them into stuffing for a pillow. the day has come. a pillow is the perfect celebration of rest for all my mental and physical work with sweatering possibilitea.

i could just lose myself mentally in the combination of color and whimsical forms in the felted confetti-like stuffing :)

the who, what, why, when, how? of the salvation army's collected works is one of my favorite things. and their 50% offedness on fridays is one of my other favorites : )

imagining the placement of a tiny world inside the coffee pot's viewing glass.

a garden or a winter wonderland?

teeny tiny adornment for the "o".

o how i "must" with those small things!

a tiny snip of vintage tulle gathered and hand sewn to the tags of the vintage lace crowns.

so many layers to discover in this collection.

photographing today for winter collection pieces that will journey to the ark at some point this month.

love lives in each and every corner of my work this season. not ready to let it go yet but some of it left today for

flora grubb gardens

http://floragrubb.com in sf.

inspiring trip for me, shifting my programed vision of what container gardening looks like.

plant ponder-rama today including the Banksia? whose leaves look like they had been cut with pinking shears. i felt instant kinship : ) cutting leaves with pinking shears?.....

i can totally relate!

pondering today what the heart sees vs. what the camera sees and what is really there to see anyways? Mystified as to how to train the camera to see like my heart as i try to capture images of the layers of details i love of my current collection.

vintage laces, silk embroidery floss, homemade starch, silk satin, teadye, hand stitching and ceramic buttons cast from things found in my great grandmother's button box.

it has been a pleasure. winter has finally come together.

can you spot the tiny bronze worm wiggling by? this tiny handmade attachment, celebrating fellowship with this companion upcycler, can be discovered on most of my needle felted mushroom adornments this winter season along with a heart shaped dot on the cap.

salaam, our little dolly llama (ie. stuffed with llama fur) turns one this month. once a traveling ball of yarn.... knitted on 3 continents, his parts and pieces journaling and amazing trip outside my everyday world. he sports new duds in vintage/upcycled textiles as he hangs out in the lilac awaiting new adventures.

my "year ago" travel journal journeying me here today. looking more of a movie set than reality via my daughter's camera eye. all things gigantic, including still tender feelings of vulnerabilities in this country unlike any, carving a new place of understanding, compassion and gratitude for all our opportunitea.

a very stormy, windswept visit atop the rim of an ancient caldera in the aegean.

rental car, road signs in greek and metric?

currently loving my travel journal's windows into memories of vulnerablilitea of one year ago today.

ohhhhhh...the view!

my first sunrise outside of north america. one year ago today. wishing i could do this first all over again but one can never experience a first again. new sensorys forever change the inner expectations and landscapes. awe, nervousness and God's bubbling delights all met me in that first and today i just want to cry over my deep feelings of gratitude for it's possibilitea.

Oh possibili-tree. the tree is found. joys to my heart. my favorite imaginative escape as a child ... the swiss family robinson treehouse (both dineyland attraction and movie magic). what a life that tree has known. kevin kidney's blog, my favorite of the spring and summer. so much happy, innocence in a world of archival disney things. my son learns to play the swisskapolka on the piano as a result of older swiss familie posts via:
http://miehana.blogspot.com/

details of the heart that can come to life.... my favorite story: )

details and textiles waiting for months to be expressed/explored have finally come out to play.

winter is officially underway in the world of miss t.

recycled textile flowers and leaves, vintage lace, tiny ceramics and needle felted things all await my attention during my 8-9 weeks of production.

i don't think i could find a better visual metaphor for the world of miss t and all her creative entanglements : )

fluffy study #3 complete in tea dye-ish color nylon chiffon along with the unexpected and spontaneous birth of a tiny companion fluffy study

(study 3a ; )

made from the leftover ruffles.

aching to move back toward natural fibers though. the float and bounce of silk chiffon sounds refreshing. hmmm....? but production of miss teapot's winter collection will displace any future fluffy studies until further notice : )

a few rewards of my summer studies.

a tiny treasure box equipped with handmade bronze clasp and findings via metal clay.

inside a pair of silver earings (set with peridot) cast using a mold of a vintage button from my great grandmothers's button box.

all in celebration of my mommy's birthday today.

her yearly gift of handmade marshmallows gets a new adornment : )
happiest birthday wishes mommy!

and then there is the marigold, speaking tutu inspirations : )

the zinnia, my favorite summer unfolding

such soft lime green beginnings

all those orderly petal scrolls

gradually unfolding into bright colors of happiness

and each stage a new celebration with surprising detail

refreshing my desire to capture flora via textiles in new ways.

another item on my summer list of creative wonderings. an old chair from my grandmother's collection that was in desperate need of retied springs and new coverings. not sure my grandmother would like it's new clothing but to me it has the perfect look for it's home in our backyard playhouse. chair hat? or chair cozy? covers the back. the largest hat i have ever made : ) knitted from old t-shirts and jersey sheets that have been cut into long strips of stretchy knitting joy.

retying springs in the seat was tricky business. i have been nervously wanting and thinking of how to experiment with that for years. sometimes you just have to go for it and not have thought attacks that keep you from trying : )

it was mostly successful although it is a bit vocal with creaky sounds like the strained timbers in the rocking of an old ship. the striped linen covering was supposed to be an under covering until i found a delightful upholstery fabric but... i like the fresh linen stripe. fini

posting pictures of a fairy house built by my daughter at a fairy house sculpting workshop this past weekend. She has since decorated it with a few tiny furnishings and accessories from our own personal collection : )

So wonderful it is in it's form and natural materials even without furnishings. it is a magical and artful addition to our home and a happy place for my imagination to play.

i musn't forget to mention the link to the fabulous fine artist, sharon eisley, who guides and teaches this whimsical and imaginative art form. You can visit her at http://when-in-home.blogspot.com/ for a post with more results from that fairy house sculpting workshop and information on previous and upcoming.
it is so interesting to see so many different outcomes using similar materials and how independently each views the world of fairy architecture.

it's official...i love ruffles. so soft and sweetly feminine and innocent. pink portion finally in place on the blue/pink pettiskirt i made for my daughter's birthday. tricky times finding the correct soft pink to meet the soft glacier blue.

study #2 complete!

on to study #3 in a tea dyeish color with an adjustable polka dot waistband: )

tiny knitted silken slippers for salaam (the knitted doll of post 10/28/09) begin to help me find my creative footing this summer. rest up for my winter production?... or get to the countless studies/experiments of creative ideas on all my back burners?

i made myself a list and a calendar to orderly get to all those ideas. but then i began to feel a bit uncomfortably asthmatic...feeling suffocated by the pressure of my self discipline? or the summer allergen of privit in bloom? hmmmm...?

i throw away my companion calendar to my list and leisurely begin to tick a few things off my list of summer studies. all is less asthmatic as a result and summer feels more restful.

p.s. the silken slippers were not on my list...but spontenaity should be : ) salaam

my current seasonal collection of crowns found it's way to the ark on 4th street in berkeley today. such a wonderful feeling of having a creative outlet in which to let all my skills collide. but home feels empty upon return without them . my crowns are like little cheerleaders egging me on to study harder and try new things and when they leave....it is a mixture of relief and boredom and aggitation that feels so unsettling at my center.

repurposed wool sweater flowers, dyed cultured pearls, vintage fabrics, hand dyed textiles, needle felted birds and mushrooms, handmade copper and bronze charms and buttons, beaded dangly things, 40 angora pom poms, plantable paper...all found their way into this summer's collection of 66 pieces. While unsettled at my center i am feeling also so grateful for the opportunity to share my creative work in this way for the last 10 years. 1905 crowns and counting : )

my upcoming summer collection delivery to the ark toys will include this new adornment. it has been inspired by one of my daughter's sweet creations. tiny acorn pouches with a few personally designed and handcast fairy coins of copper and/or bronze tucked inside. there is a bit more room to tuck in a few more tiny treasures or a message perhaps? they are just the tiny scale and detail i love to work with. i have only assembled 10 for my summer collection (with a few different fabrics) and depending on how successful they are i may do another 10 for my winter collection. enjoy!

the blue portion of the cotton candy-like fluffy was completed in time for a birthday celebration extraordinair at the happiest place on earth.

pink portion... still at large.

having a lots of trouble with my materials order to dreamspun kids at the etsy site previously mentioned. creativity is a challenging place for me to find patience and understanding. i am always overly eager to see the alchemy of inspirations into physical form : )

plantable papers are my newest favorite exploration in the world of paper. using a heavy weight one in my paper tags for my summer collection so that the paper tags can be composted or planted instead of discarded. tiny sproutlets pop right out of the paper if kept well watered and in the light.

check out san diego based, greenfield paper's other treeless papers too. super neat. hoping to explore more of their earth friendly offerings in collections to come : ) http://www.greenfieldpaper.com/asccustompages/products.asp?categoryid=11

another inspiring, creative side trip to "castle in the air" in berkeley for a vintage, spring song bird class. i was curious about the creation of birds out of cotton batting and feet of wire. another instance of using someone elses "how toos" and materials i have not yet worked with, such a nice break for my brain. and i got to use lots of glue : ) something i don't let myself use much of for my seasonal collections. pam byars, the previous owner of the ark, once said to me, "anything that is glued on falls off". i took this to heart and as a result i sew or wire most everything and use glue sparingly... like gluing the tiny knots from hand sewing so they don't come untied.

the song bird class was very good and just may help me formulate feet and legs for my seasonal numbered flocks of needle felted birds.

thinking of a beautiful, recent, may 5th peony post from detours around the loom http://detoursaroundtheloom.blogspot.com/ as i piece together a very fluffy experiment passed to me by my dear fuloflyfe http://fuloflyfe.blogspot.com/ . hoping to see her magnificent photographic eyes capture it's wonderous fluffy nature one day when complete.

it is the most feminine, delicate little thing i have ever worked on and it is beautifully theraputic to have orderly, prescripted instructions for it's how to.

100 yards of cut lengths i have gathered into this tiny toddler sized pettiskirt http://www.etsy.com/listing/47755070/diy-pettiskirt-kit-includes-pattern

my daughter now wishes one for her birthday in the cotton candy likeness of light blue and pink, in the big girl size of course : )

a very mushroomy day as i began these caps. each have a hidden heart shaped spot. a sort of seek and find aspect to my mushroom crowns. tomorrow i will sew handmade bronze butterflies to them and add in a stem. summer looms... closer today than yesterday : )

and so it begins... the construction of the parts and pieces of the summer collection. so many unknows still as i navigate my way through new ideas and visions. i feel so antsy in this part of production, so hard to let go of constantly working to try to figure the hows of everything and i am only halfway there, more antsyness to come... 65 or so pieces will arrive at the ark mid june.

spent the morning in a newly errected playhouse in our yard, sitting on an old army cot, beading dyed fresh water pearls for the dangly center of crocheted flowers. so therapudic to be in a small wooden space removed from my living space of distracting responsibilities and just hanging out with my children. though not yet finished, the 8x10 play house has become quite a multi use space (mother's day brunch pavillion, reading room, music practice room and now beading room : )

my little copper world du la teapot is finally finished. so many times in the kiln and so many parts and pieces broken along the way. the original flower that was at the top in a previous post has long been discarded for it's shatteredness. one side, north and south america and the other europe, asia, africa and australia. it has just the aged copper penny look at last. loving it for it's long tricky road to the finish and set stones honoring miss t's current location and the location of my ancestoral roots.

such generous offerings this week as the world of miss t toured bouverie preserve in sonoma county via her metal clay instructor maryneuerlee
http://maryneuerlee.blogspot.com who is also a docent at the preserve. a private hike and wildlife informant all to myself and my children. So many beautiful sights and sounds. and i got to hold my first newt : ) pictured above is the pygmy redwood grove of bouverie, so sweet. we felt like giants in this miniature land of small very old redwoods.

also this week... a class at "castle in the air"

on fourth street in berkeley ca.
http://www.castleintheair.biz/ to make small boxes from walnut shells and acorn caps. so unexpected were the generous offerings of vintage and new materials for our creations. it felt so free and extravagant to create there. a full day in the classroom studio of "castle in the air"? so lucky to hear, all day, the often cuckoo chimes and laughter from the shop downstairs. what a magical place for my heart's creative places. pictured are my creations from the class. creations inspired by the very grounded, tinkering, inventive creative spirit and instructor john b. mcrae of "castle in the air". such luck to be under his wing for this class adventure.

gratitude times infinity for all the sensory and creative experiences of the week.

happiest may day wishes as i am off to a day of making metal clay butterfly buttons for my upcoming summer collection.

swishy fishy is officially scintered, pure bronze metal and finished although i just may tarnish him a bit more to make him a bit more sunken treasure-ish. and yes sono-ma he was made to honor my passing swishy fishy of late. i miss him terribly, he was always so glad to see me.

today was my last open studio for metal clay. i learned so much about tools and the how too's of putting metal clay pieces together. now i am welcoming the time to process what i have just learned and put it to good use in the world of miss t. how will i find time for this new layer of my work sitting amongst the already complex layering of materials and ingredients?

ps. i tried yet another recipe from the below mentioned food revolution cookbook. sizzling beef with scallions and black bean sauce was simply divine: ) and i will be adding it to our monthly menu options. jamie oliver rocks!

jamie oliver is my culinary hero. he has always seemed so genuinely passionate about feeding people well and has used his stardom to educate and make changes to people's modern day feeding habits. so good.

the premise of his most recent above pictured cookbook is to help others by learning the recipes inside and then passing them on to others via show and tell. not only is the the book's premise lovely but what is inside is inspiringly delicious, simple, approachable, non fussy and...oh my goodness...a photographic treat. photographs of and quotes from the very real people he has helped to make changes in feeding themselves . i have loved every recipe i have tried especially all the curry pastes and curry recipes. yum.

jamie oliver says that he "wants to be the catalyst for empowering millions to make proper homecooked affordable meals from scratch again", the state of health and cooking so close to his heart in this era of cheap fast food and staggering health statistics.

tonight jamie oliver's new series begins on abc at 8pm and i am so excited to see his determination in action. he is like a culinary supernanny : )

my swishy fishy of the previous week had some trouble in the kiln during firing and did not scinter. it remains more brittle clay than metal. the metal in the clay does not melt in the kiln but the metal particles in the clay fuse together instead, which microscopically would be porous and more matrix-like than solid metal. so swishy fishy's metal particles did not fuse together for what ever reason, mysterious, and his tail piece broke. he is being fired again and i am keeping my fingers crossed that he will scinter and i can find a way to keep his tail as a free moving piece.

in the mean time i am working on the above pictured in copper clay.
the world of miss t : )
will it scinter? will that free moving flower stem piece hold up? larger and hollow pieces tend to be problematic. oh dear....feeling much less free moving and competent with metal clay today.