ULLABENULLA

Tea Towel Purse...

Hannah Lamb
Having always loved the textile work of Hannah Lamb, I picked up some purse frames Online a couple of years ago. I must have spent days trying to figure out how to sew a purse that not only would fit into the frames but also open up wider then a fingers width - with NO success. Well yesterday, my dear friend Judy and I decided we would put our heads together and 'figure it out'! After about two hours of feminine swearing and fiddling with patterns Judy went on line and found This LINK! We knew the solution would be easy, we just didn't know it would be that easy to find on line. I decided to use a wonderful PINK French Tea Towel that I bought from Quel Objet a while back to make my first purse. It went together with ease, once we had the pattern-drafted. The most difficult part of making the purse was attaching the fabric to the frame. Rather than gluing the fabric into the frame (didn't know what kind of glue to use?) I bought a small rubber mallet to gently pound it together. It slipped quite a bit and I had to re-pry it open a few times and re-hammer. I think this is something that one perfects over time - at least I hope so. I made a small stuffed handle but wanted the option to add a long strap later, so I attached the handle with buttons on either side of the frame. I'm quite happy with the outcome, and look forward to playing with lots of different shapes and fabrics in the near future!!!

Here is a photo of the purses made by Hannah Lamb that inspired me...

Marie And The Golden Bough

Barbara Willis, cloth doll maker extroidenaire and good friend recently asked me to contribute a special paper doll to be part of a new book she is working on! I was thrilled about the invitation. Her instructions to me, included a lovely victorian image and the words 'Make Her Pretty'! I immediately thought of THIS DRESS that I created for the Bloglandia Ball! If you know Barbara, you know she takes 'Pretty' very seriously, and she has a true LOVE of anything French! I decided on the sophisticated colour palette of pink, brown and tan, and a theme of Marie Antoinette. After digging through piles of papers, baskets of ribbons and a box of lovely fabrics I pieced together her skirt. The under-layer of a beautiful calligraphy (see last piece to far right, and piece just under her hand pointing down, was completely covered by the time I finished! I hadn't planned on adding the music paper panier, but felt like the skirt needed something to 'hold it together, when I reached that point.

Her blouse was created from a lovely bright pink tie-dyed silk that I had ironed onto fabric. I then added hand-painted silk flower petals for her sleeves, with music paper cuffs. For her hair, I decided to 'needle felt' white wool on top of a piece of white felt. I love the realistic look it gave! I then sewed on the ribbons, trim, and pearls and added feathers on top. The 'Golden Bough was an afterthought... she needed something to hold. I fiddled around with some Dresden antlers and came up with a branch like shape that I liked. The idea of Marie holding court with a Golden Bough in hand appeals to my romantic sensibilities!

This last photo shows the image I started with. THANK YOU Barbara for letting me PLAY with you!!!

Easter Projects...

We are a few years beyond 'Easter Egg Hunting' in this house, much to my disappointment... (perhaps I'll hide some just for me...) I still wanted to do something with a Easter Flavor the last few days, so I made these two pillow tops. The one above started with a wool sweater that shrank in the dryer. I've never needle-felted before but thought I'd give it a try. I definitely don't have 're-fined' needle felting down, but it sure was fun! The one below started with some garden inspired screen printing on linen. I then cut out some rabbits of flat felt and needle felted over that. After I finished I realized that I could have gotten the same look by just cutting the rabbits out of faux fur, but then I would have missed out of the fun of felting - right? It's all about having fun in the process and seeing what comes of it!

I hope you all have a joyous holiday!!!! BLESSINGS!

Paper Carousel Class Sample!

Here is my sample for the upcoming CASTLE class PAPER CAROUSEL, to be held Monday April 14th! Students will create a 'Woodland Animal Carousel' that spins on a 'lazy susan'. I've used some fabulous vintage hand-colored animal prints that came from Germany, as well as a combination of other paper-theatre images, gold dresden and green metallic crepe paper. The little gold saddles are actually dresden crowns - turned upside down! This should be a wonderful class, and I am already thinking of other 'themes' to use for future Carousel's!!!

For initial inspiration I found this wonderful 'Paper Circus' print-out online! As easy as it looks, it still took me about 2 1/2 hours to cut and assemble, and I didn't like how the spinning interior functions. Great idea, but hard to make it look good. (I'd recommend stiffening all your paper before you cut the pieces out.) Still, if you want to make your own 'Paper Carousel' and can't take my class, THIS is a fun one to try!

Ulla's Painted Doll Head # 5!

I've finished another porcelain head, this one with a 'Summer' theme. She has butterfly's and other little insects flittering around her bodice, and a bright morning sun as hair. I added gold to her hair-band and earrings. Imagine walking through a garden on a warm day, with little winged things flying every which way - SUMMER!!!

Tree Maiden

Last winter I lost a small Kumquat tree to the frost. The roots were so beautiful that I kept it hanging in my studio for months. Then one day, a few months ago, while playing with Lea, this little maiden came to life... She litterly just appeared under my fingers, yearning to be seen, as I quietly sculpted... Her arms reach high and her legs hold firm. Her expression is slightly un-defined, but then most nymphs prefer illusion to reality...
(sculpted of Apoxy-clay, directly onto branch, just as I found it!)

A Little Salt...

This was a fun small piece to do... Standing about 1 1/2", four wee children spell out the word SALT, while their marmalade cat follows behind... Now to finish PEPPER..!

Pillow For A Friend...

I decided to get my silk-screens out and make a pillow for a dear friend whose Birthday is tomorrow. Its been almost a year since I last printed on fabric, so it took me a few hours to get in the grove... I used a nice linen on the front (bird cage) side, with a combination of 6 different screens. Can you count them? I also added a vintage Mother Of Pearl Button to the center of the circle image. The back (coral and turtle) is a lovely silk like cotton plaid and has 5 different screens. A wide green ribbon closes off the opening. I love using lots of small screens to make a bigger image, and am happy with the results of this little (16" square) pillow!

Late Saturday Blues...

Porcelain that is... I had a couple of hours to play today, and decided to start another doll head. (She's 4 1/2 inches tall) This one, as you can see, is inspired by Japanese Export Porcelain. I wanted her to look like she has tattoo's all over. There is a little shrine and bridge on her front side, and big trees with a meandering fence on her back. The cresent moon was an impulse, but I kind of like it... I still need to do her face and hair, (I'm thinking of putting chop-sticks in her hair) but think I'll fire her first. Slowly but surely I am getting better at making fine lines - Practice makes Perfect!!!
Oh, and can you tell I LOVE detail???

Stealing Some Time...

I feel like I am finally coming out of my Winter doldrums, the holidays were not easy this year - but I won't go there... Over the weekend I decided to clear away my 'jewelry' corner in my studio and make space for 'porcelain painting'. Although my kilns are not set up yet, at least I can try to be productive painting...

I am in the midst of a huge project for the Castle, but try to catch a few moments each day to sit in my new found corner and paint. When my Mother gifted me her paints she also gave me boxes and boxes of blank porcelain. This lovely shaped vace spoke to me and has inspired a little fairytale in the round. How to begin? With one color, a soft brown - the earth awakening to a brighter Spring...

See the barn-owl? That came after yesterdays posts... The little house's remind me of quaint European village town-homes. And every fairytale needs frolicing rabbits don't you think? It's harder than it looks - to paint little thin lines on porcelain - but the rewards outweigh the difficulty! More soon - I hope!!!