ULLABENULLA

New Spring Classes Added To Sidebar!

Look at my sidebar to the right, to see a few of the classes I will be teaching this Spring!  More to come!!!

(Above is my 'Folk Art Valentine' class sample and below is my 'Backgrounds For Art Journaling' sample)

New Years Blessings!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM BEAR HOUSE AND ULLA!

What was the noise Little Brother Bear heard yesterday?  Non other than Santa Bear arriving in style!  His green shoe sleigh is pulled by two white goats, decked in antique paisley finery.  Santa Bear wears a felted wool jacket and holds a huge bag of toys, enough for all the little bears who are now asleep in bed!

Wishing you a most Merry of Christmas' and Many Blessings for the rest of the year!!!

Just for fun, here is a photo of my Inspiration (top left corner), Santa Bear before being costumed, and the antique chocolate mold I used for my paperclay sleigh...

Little Christmas Eve At The BEAR HOUSE!

In Denmark December 23rd is known as 'Lil Jule Aften' or 'Little Christmas Eve'.  It is the day when last minute preperations take place and then everyone goes and wishes Merry Christmas to their neighbors and friends.  Bear House is enjoying these traditions as well!  Here Ms. Bear Cook is busily getting all the trimmings together for the Bears Christmas Eve feast!  One of the resident Baby Bears can be seen in the corner begging for sweets...

Papa Bear is writing his letter to Santa, while nibbling on cookies.  Do you think he is wishing for fish and honey???

GrandMother Bear is admiring the tree, and Grandfather Bear is enjoying playing with yet another resident Baby Bear.  He made this Baby Bears stroller years ago!

Upstairs, Mama Bear is taking a well deserved rest in her bedroom, reading a favorite novel, while little sister plays with her dolls.

Oh my!  Just listen to the  rukus coming from next door!  Little sister runs to investigate...

Seems the rest of the Baby bears, have abandoned bath time and taken to jumping on the bed!  Lil Jule Aften is always full of activity and adventure!

But look, Brother Bear hears something outside - what could it be???  

To be continued...

Bremen Town Musicians Mask...

Here is my latest mask, of the Bremen Town Muscians.  You look through the donkey eyes and wear the rest on top of your head!

I also made this Rabbit mask holding a moon - very oriental in feel...

Winter Solstice at BEAR HOUSE and Other Adventures!

Oh my!  Look who has arrived at BEAR HOUSE today!  Non other than Krampus himself!!!  A few days early, he is here to warn and punish any Bears who may have forgotten their manners...

Krampus was my surprize 'Ornament Exchange Gift' at our annual Castle Christmas Party.  Karima, Queen of the Castle created him with all the love and attention she showers onto the Castle on a daily basis!  Here I am receiving my gift, just look at that grin!  Fortunately for me, my number was high - so no one could steal him away!

Our annual Christmas party is one we all look forward to the whole year.  The highlight is our 'Ornament Exchange' complete with stealing allowed.  The one rule is that each ornament must be handmade! This year I made a miniature winter parade scene, of a Raindeer with Rabbit and Squirrel Passangers - rushing to greet everyone at the party!  Raindeer wears an antique paisley blanket on his back, and Rabbit and Squirrel have 'flower hats' on.

John McRae Won mine early on, and it was stolen twice before it finally found its way home to John again...

And so the adventures continue...

Bear House Christmas...

Years ago my Mother made a 'BEAR HOUSE' that was displayed only on Christmas - a Tudor confection that she crafted from a kit.   As children grew the tradition become lost and forgotton in storage.  I was thrilled when my Mother gifted me the house a few weeks ago, and have been busy updating it for this years holidays.  Below is the house as it arrived, without snow or trees.  Look at all those individual wooden roof tiles!  It also has a backyard, with a white picket fence.  

The first thing I did was take a big piece of white batting and layed it over the top of  the house and then I ripped and tore all the edges to make it appear as if it had just snowed.  Next I found a couple of miniature - but larger than dollhouse size christmas trees for the yard.  These I sprayed with spary-glue and then sprinkled faux-snow on them for that realistic winter dusting.  The out-house (created by my Mother) also received a dusting of snow.  If you look closely you'll see a bird-feeder and 'snow-bear' statue in the yard as well.  Things are getting cozy at 'BEAR HOUSE'...  

More to come...

 

Enchanted Christmas in Yountville!

Today I had the special treat of seeing my friend Dolph Gotelli's 'An Enchanted Christmas' exhibit now being shown at the Napa Valley Museum in Yountville.  If you are anywhere near Napa this is a not to miss exhibit of amazing wonder and delight! (It runs through January 23rd, so there is still plenty of time!) Dolph has created 30 vignettes of his favorite christmas collectables.  Everything from 'Santa on a Midnight walk' above, to Grizelda's Christmas Tree - first image below.

My Mother and I spent nearly two hours looking at all the scenes, each one magical and nostalgic.  I especially fell in love with 'Dinner At Willow Hollow' seen first below - depicting a christmas feast attended by a variety of woodland animals.  Dolphs attention to details is supreme and his ability to make our hearts go back in time flawless.  A couple more of my favorites are also seen below.  More information on Dolph can be found HERE.  And photos of all the scenes are HERE!

ENJOY!

 

Masks Galore!

I've been making Masks like crazy these days.  Many of them are now at the CASTLE.  But some will also be featured as a window display at FABRICATIONS in HEALDSBURG over the holidays.  (116 Matheson Street, downtown Healdsburg)  Here are a few of my favorites for you to see.

When my daughter saw the long earred owl and mouse above - she screamed "Oh Mom, thats Scary!"  So I made the mouse detachable with velcro - just in case you feel the same...

The little House Mask below, is my favorite design so far...  Inspired by gnome houses and gingerbread dreams - I hope it brings smiles...

This friendly Dog Mask, was inspired by a pug, but seems to resemble a bulldog... oh well...  Thats a lost red velvet slipper in his mouth - attached with velcro again, perhaps you could hang your extra 'lost socks' there instead...

This lovely Moth Mask is quite large - a real statement mask!  The colors on this one remind me of Venetian Sunsets...

The Swan Mask below, just spoke to have feathers added.  Perfect for one who dreams in ballet...

And who better to partner a Swan, than Jack Frost?  His Icy cold spirals glistening in snow...

Mother Winter's At the Castle...

Last week four wonderful women joined me in creating delightful Mother Winter figures at the Castle! Each and every one of them was a true centerpiece perfect for seasonal display!  The figures featured a glass dome under their skirts, a secret winter wonderland creating magic and joy!

Amazing New Online Drawing Tool!

I just whipped up this little drawing using This Harmony Tool!  Talk about Fun!  Press on image to see it close up.  I think I could spend hours playing with this...  If you want to see what a fine artist does with this tool - take a look at Julia Lundmans post Here.  Thank you Julia for the link!  Click HERE to make a fabulous drawing yourself!

Marionette Magic At The Castle!

Eight wonderfully talented women joined me this weekend at the Castle to create Marionettes!  As a teacher I am always thrilled when my students exceed all my expectations - and this class was no exception!  Truly whimsical and delightful little puppets emerged over these two days, now they only require their own personal fairytale to complete the story.  

Here I present to you:  A Jolly little Tree-Frog; A Nouveau inspired Ballerina; The Mad Hatter Himself; A Wild Haired and Chilly Jack Frost here via Poland; A Jack Rabbit- abit down on his luck; A Delightful little Long Nosed Elf; A Lovely Gypsy Maiden; And a Humble Chinese Peasant.

Enjoy!

 

 

Seasonal Creations...

I am having so  much fun making textile masks.  This woodland deer and a black Krampus have gone to the Castle on approval.  So many ideas are skipping through my head...  I've also been playing with using Alcohol Inks on crepe paper, making lovely floral colored samples, to use for waxed flowers.  More soon... 

Have A Hauntingly Wonderful Halloween!

Here are a few 'discoveries' for today, inspirations perhaps to set your Halloween emotions afire!  Above, a 'Bio-Cycle',  via Black Pudding.  It would be difficult to find a better ride for this weekend!

Below, a Halloween Valentine of sorts.  Romantic and Macabre at the same time!  Available from Dark Knight Armoury.

Or perhaps a real heart is more to your liking, tis ghoulish times afterall...  This one was found on HauteMacabre...

Topping off todays finds are these wonderful Skull Sculptures by JIM of the Skull Gallery.  In his words:  "The inspiration for my work comes from Amerindian and Oceanian cult objects. It also draws from Europe, with ex-votos, relics and cabinets of curiosities. I’ve always been fascinated by death. My art is also contemporary, which doesn’t rule out a spiritual dimension."  Quote and images from an interview with Jim on Build/Make/Craft/Bake.

Happy Halloween All!

Wax Flower Reliquary...

I am so excited about this new class to be offered next Spring at Castle In The Air!  (Saturday April 16th) I will teach a variety of crepe paper blossom techniques (a number of them are my own invention) and then we will dip our blooms (as well as dried flowers and such) into wax and create lovely Wax Flower Reliquaries reminiscent of Victorian ladies art.  Pure Alchemy!!!  Photos just do not give these flowers justice.

When I first began my process of creating a sample for this class, I wanted to use as many crepe paper colors as I could.  The first sample ended up having a real Midsummers garden feel, but I felt it was a little too much.  I also made a gold box-frame, that ended up looking 1950's shmalzy - LOL...  (Bottom image)  It worked much better to stay with either 'cool' colors or 'warm' colors.  I am really looking forward to what my students will do with this fun technique!

 

 

Brain Storms and Such...

 

Sometimes absences are due to too much activity...  It's been crazy busy here at Ullabenulla.  I've been creating new samples for Spring classes (YES - Spring 2011!)  where does time go???  (Image above by Charles Grogg)  I will be doing Valentines classes at the Castle, as well as a Mardi Gras 'Mask' class.  I had so much fun creating these 'Firebird' and 'Greenman' samples, I'm itching to make some more - especially with Halloween just around the corner!

I also designed and made a new Lizard pin to go with my Chinoiserie Fish pin...

I am working on re-doing my popular 'Backgrounds Class' in a new format. Using a large Moleskine Japanese Foldout journal we'll spend a day creating beautifully detailed and multi-layered pages for a really artful journal experience!

More class samples in the works - the Castle hopes to have a new schedule available by early to mid November.

Just for fun, I've been playing with the idea of creating a 'Haunted Necklace', inspired by the season.  Its still in progress, especially after Teenage Daughter said:  "Oh Mom, it looks so Marie Antoinette!"  Not quite the reaction I was hoping for, but I'll keep trying.  I used cotton spider webbing as the base, and made 'beads' from Antique silver ribbon.  I also added old torn lace, pearls, hand-stitched baby cap pieces and a wonderful wavy yarn.  Haunted it may not be yet - but at least its keeping me occupied...    

Another project got started when I pulled out a wonderful old Joan Vass navy knit skirt that I purchased in 1986 in New York, the year I met my husband!  (We are big-time into recycling here at Ullabenulla!) Discovering some nasty little moth holes I decided to do some creative patching - 'slow stitching' for those in the know...  First a bird, then a flock, and finally an oak branch. Now to find time to do some 'slow beading' as well...

Fashion Refashion Inspiration!

This Blue economy has sparked my daughters and my fashion inspiration!  We've been cutting, sewing, embellishing and refashioning our wardrobes.  (images to come)  With this in mind I've created a new Tumblr account called 'FASHION REFASHION'  to house our inspiration.  Have a sneak peek HERE!!!

Don't you just love this combo of Burlap, knit and lace???  And check out these be-ribboned and slashed leggings below!

Chinoiserie Fabric Fish PDF Now Available on Etsy!

 

I have just listed my 'Chinoiserie Fabric Fish' brooch as a PDF on my Etsy.  This is the perfect project to use those tiny little bits of precious fabrics you have been saving for something special!  Inspired by a Chinese Baby Hat in my collection, Fish are symbolic for 'Abundance', 'Plenty' and 'Surplus' in China.  Wear one of these pins, or place it in your home, and you will surely attract thse traits!

To buy, use Etsy side bar to the right on this blog or Go Here!

'Intensive' Studio Classes Planned for September, October and November!

Heres your chance to take a few of my classes as 'Intensives' in my studio here in Santa Rosa, California.

First I will be offering 2 classes, for 2 days with 2 students in Soldered Jewelry and Reliquaries.  Here is your chance to learn all of my tricks of the trade for these popular classes in Soldering jewelry.  Come spend a weekend in my studio and learn how to create one of a kind jewelry!  Classes to be held on September 25 & 26  OR  November 13 & 14.  See sidebar for more details.

Second I will be offering both of my popular fabric jewerly classes as a one day Intensive on October 23rd. I will teach you a variety of fun techniques including, cutting, burning, embellishing, sewing, and twisting of a variety of fabrics to create amazing fabric flowers and insects.  This should be a fun-filled whirlwind of a class!  See sidebar for more details.

These classes are sure to fill quickly so sign up now!!!

  

Mothtales Delights!

I've been quite ill the last few weeks, and hope to heal soon.  But while in bed, I have slowly added new treasures to my Mothtales Tumblr blog.  Have a look and let me know what you think! 

As always, when on Mothtales, press on the photo and you will see the image completely, press again, and you will be taken to its source!