Resin and Found Object Jewelry

Every once and I awhile I play around with making jewerly since I teach it at work. I like come up with new ideas instead of teaching the same projects every year. Recently I took a resin jewelry class at Potomac Bead Company, and decided this would be something that my students might like to do.

As a refresher I decided to create a piece this weekend, using objects that I found in my studio and some resin I created this piece.



I crocheted the chain from some wire that I had laying around, cut the pearls off of another necklace that was broken, and just had the round ball To create the piece in the center, I used an old part of a watch, placed a gear, and mirrored bead in the center and then coated it with resin. I then took a piece that I believe was from a key chain and attached it by gluing it on the back to create the finding to attached the piece to the chain. This whole process was a lot of fun and really easy. I"m excited to see what my students make. Pin It

Aurelie Tu, Crafted Systems

I was so excited when I saw this months American Craft Magazine in the mail. One of their articles featured Artist Aurelie Tu, of Crafted Systems, and I fell in love with her work. The pieces are created from felt that are water-jet cut, and are then woven together. I would love to have one of these rungs in my home. Aurelie Tu, also reaches out to the community with her work, which makes it even cooler. To see more of her work and learn more about her, even purhaps purchase one of her pieces, check out her website. http://www.crafted-systems.com/about.php Pin It

Amazon River Scarf

I"ve been working on this piece for awhile. It took me some time to get to the place where I felt like the scarf was complete. I wove with black and red yarn in a broken twill pattern. Then machine stitched in red thread into the scarf. Hand embroidered using the french knot, with the same red yarn that I wove with. The sewed on a few burnt orange beads for detail.




Studio Clean Out:

Projects: 5

Balls of yarn: 8

Cones of Yarn: 4

Spools of Thread: 2 Pin It

Between the Folds

Interesting movie on math, science, and paper folding











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Book Card Holder

The Simpson Ferry Public Library, gave a bunch of old books to our school to use in my art room. My students are having a blast creating out of these books. I folded the pages and created a fun buisness card holder. It's really easy and fun.

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Falling Cirlces: knit and felted scarf

Most of the time my ideas come to me while I’m working in my studio or at night right before I go to bed. I try to allow for some silent time, day dreaming time, before I fall asleep. My mind needs time to bounce ideas around, and this seems to be the best time for it to happen. Ideas can’t be forced, they just have to come, and they come much faster during time periods when I am doing a lot of creating. Most of my ideas stay in my head for a few weeks, sometimes it’s because I don’t have time to get to them, but most of the time it is because I need them to stay in there for awhile to determine if they really are good ideas. Almost all ideas seem good at first, however after floating in my head for a few weeks sometimes, they disappear. If they disappear I guess I don’t even always remember that they were ever there. However, if an idea keeps coming back to me over and over again, almost like an annoying sales person, then it gets created. Once the idea is screaming at me to come out and I can’t ignore it anymore, I address it, and normally by this time I have worked out most of kinks. There are often I few things that I change while creating, because part of the process is listening to the material and working together. Each piece is made up of at least two voices, mine and that of the material, the pieces have things to say, they have an opinion about what they wish to do and what they wish to be. I learn a lot from the listening to the material. When I fight with the medium and ignore its voice, I normally fail.




While using my tube knitter, I had been fighting the fact that the tube twists while it is being created, and therefore I never let them get too long, I would cut the tube and start a new one before it was allowed to become too twisted. However, this last time that I picked up the tube knitter, I thought that perhaps I should listen to it, and that I should embrace the twist and see what it creates. I loved it! The tube of yarn suddenly had a voice and a personality. I loved it so much that as soon as I finished one I started another, and this time I’m connecting two whole balls of yarn as one incredibly long, twisted tube.





Studio Clean Out:

Projects: 4

Balls of Yarn: 8

Cones of Yarn: 4 Pin It

Evy Jokhova

I stumbled upon the work by Evy Jokhova this morning, and I just love this piece. The wonderful movement and layering of fabric makes me want to crawl inside of the tangled web and hide. I even caught myself thinking, how what would this look like if it were a scarf. That may have to float around in my mind for awhile before I can do anything with it, but it does have my imagination running wild.



To see more of her work visit her website http://www.evyjokhova.co.uk/#310012/Distopic Pin It

Bathroom Throw Rug

We've needed a new rug in our bathroom for awhile now, but I just hadn't gotten around to it. I had some thicker yarn in my studio that I wanted to get rid of, so I decided to use it to create a throw rug. I"m not in love with it, but it does the job.




Projects completed: 3

balls of yarn: 6

Cones of yarn: 4 Pin It

Mustard, crocheted and felted scarf

I have fallen in love with this color. I"m normally not much of a yellow lover, but I seem to be drawn to this color, however I am not out of this color yarn.

To complete this piece I used three balls of Patons Yellow yarn. I crocheted the piece free form using a combination of single crochet, double crochet, and the shell crochet stitch. After the piece was crocheted I threw it into the washer with warm water, a bit of soap and a few tennis balls. The tennis balls help to create agitation and aid in the felting process.




Project clean studio:

Two pieces complete

Used 6 balls of yarn Pin It

Moss: hand knit and felted Circulare Scarf

I started this scarf along time ago and then for some reason never finished it.There I go again with not finishing things. This is my first completed project since I decided that I am only allowed to create with the materials that exist in my studio, instead of going and always buying more. I haven't given myself a time frame for this project, just until most items in my studio have been used.

For this piece I used three balls of Patons forest green yarn.

I used my knifty knitter, that creates tubes, and then I felt them. Normally I don't allow the tubes to get too long, as they begin to get all tangeled together, but I decided I do one whole ball as a tube this time. I actually really like how it worked. It twisted in itself and created a really intersting piece to work with.

So three balls of yarn down, who knows how many more to go until I go can shopping again.
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Eunsuk Hur Textiles

I was browsing the internet yesterday and came across this amazing work by an artist named Eunsuk Hur. I just love staring at her work. I'm really interesting in the pieces that start as a blanket draped over a piece of furniture and almost melt into the floor or the wall.

To see more of her wonderful work, check out her website: http://www.eunsukhur.com/#/nomadic_wonderland/recent_project:_about_normadic_wonderland/normadic_wonderland
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Studio Clean Out

I’ve never been one for finishing things, I always leave just a little bit of water of coffee left in my cup, I never close doors, I will put all of my laundry away except for one or two stray pieces of clothing. I’m not really sure why I do this, I just do. Perhaps it’s because I’m more about the process than the product. Anyway, I’ve had to work on this a lot, as I used to also never finish any of my artwork. I would complete a scarf but not ever finish tying the ends, or do all but the last few stitches. Part of my never finishing problem, is that I also rarely put things away, I like to have everything out around me, and putting things away seems to be a waste of time. However, it’s been awhile since I’ve put things away in my studio, which has resulted in a pretty messy studio, I can’t seem to bring myself to take the time to clean, so I decided that I’m going to try use the supplies that I have, and not buy any more for awhile. If the supplies are used, than they don’t have to put away, odd logic I know, but I’m thinking that it might work for me. So over the next few months I’m going to be working on emptying out my studio. I will continue to post what I make, and what I was able to use up to create the piece. I also think that this process will be a good challenge. I will have to come up with the designs and creations that can be made with the things that I already have. We’ll see how long I can go without making a purchase.

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Delicate handwoven and emboridered Silver Scarf

Remember when you were in school, and woke up to snow, and then even better found out that you had a two hour delay? Well when you become a teacher, you get to keep on having that experience. I went to bed last night gitty with anticipation of a two hour delay, and was really hoping that I wouldn't be disappointed. When I awoke this at 5:00, I was nervous, there was snow on the ground, but none falling from the sky. But, I got my two hour delay, which means two extra hours in the studio, and means that  I was able to finish this piece.

I've been wanting to make  a scarf like this for awhile and just hadn't gotten around to it. This piece is woven with a plain weave, with very thin yarn, making it whimsical and delicate, not something to wear in a snow storm. I then did some hand embroidery, and am really happy with how it came out. What do you think?

This piece is now for sale in my etsy shop http://etsy.com/shop/amberkane

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