Tag Archives: one of a kind

Bee Now And Mini Later.

This week I turned my attention to some smaller “mini” pieces. I think that I mentioned before that HGA will be having another Pop-Up event in May on the Saturday (11th) before Mother’s Day. Though it would be wonderful for visitors to all want to give their moms one of my larger sculpture creations, I am realistic about Mother’s Day gifts. Most mother’s day gifting is in the form of smaller remembrances, flowers, cards, etc. Much like my one-of-a-kind ornaments for the holidays, I sketched up a few smaller sculpture ideas. So far, I have settled on a few anthropomorphic botanicals. I wanted to strike a balance of sweet for mom, but not too “cutesy.”

Meet the Mini Sculpts

From my work table are some small sculptures that would be at home on a book shelf, or desk corner. Meet mini Mush, Morel, and Thistle. They will make their debut at HGA for the Mother’s Day Pop-up. It may be hard to wait for their arrival, but May will be here before you know it. I will be creating a few more of these in the coming weeks, so check back to see them too.

anthropomorphic mushroom figure sculpture , needle felted wool over wire and quilt batting, glass bead eyes, and accents

anthropomorphic morel mushroom figure sculpture, needle felted wool over wire and quilt batting, iridecent bead eyes

Anthropomorphic thistle flower sculpture designed to sit on shelf edge. needle felted wool over wire, glass bead eyes.

Speaking of Gallery Debutants

You met Coronation, my queen bee, a couple of weeks ago. She came into the gallery with me today. She seems to already be making friends. I think that she makes a sunny addition to this front pedestal grouping. There is nothing mini about her presence.

Coronation of Queen Bee (anthropomorphic bee sculpture) at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts — Coronation at HGA

Reminder:

This Sunday at 4pm, HGA will be hosting a performance by Mary Rocap, the singer songwriter who served as a muse for our yearly “It’s All About the Story” show. Me and many of my fellow HGA artists will also be in attendance and can guide you through our inspiration for the visual component of the show.

Update: My piece for the “It’s All About The Story” show, Venus Dances For Herself”, has already sold and gone to her new home. Normally, works in a feature show stay with a red dot until the end, but this was a special birthday purchase, so we let the piece go home with the customer. So, just in case you missed her…

Venus Dances For Herself - anthropomorphic dancing rabbit sculpyure with celestial designs. needle felted wool — Venus Dances For Herself

Sacred Cow?

A cow patterned coat we all might recognize.

I continued my exploration of altering and reenvisioning animal prints and patterns this past week by considering the cow. The cow print is a friendlier, less threatening, less exotic animal pattern. Cows simultaneously hold wholesome (family farm), villainous (deforestation, climate, health), and even sacred reputations. This variability in how bovines are viewed is intriguing. The term “sacred cow” is equally intriguing. Rising from the Hindu veneration of the animal, it’s usage refers to something unreasonably immune to criticism or opposition. Finding that cows are also held as a symbol of Mother Earth inspired this piece as a “sacred cow” I could agree with.

Gaia - Sacred Cow sculpture, needle felted wool over wire and batting armature with globe patterning — Gaia – Sacred Cow

She is inspired by the ancient Greek godess, Gaia, who is the personification of Earth. I replaced the classic black and white patterning of her hide with the blue and green of the globe. Gaia is my first cow figure sculpture, but she may inspire more.

Gaia is needle felted wool, over a wire and quilt batting armature form, with iridecent glass bead eyes. Her horns are felted wool over a pipe cleaner support. The sculpture’s coat was created “coloring book” style. I marked her globe pattern by hand using outlines printed and cut from a simple world map. I then needle felted the green and blue areas with my colored wool. You supplied positive feedback from previous posts where I included process information and images like those below. I will try to remind myself to keep sharing photos and descriptions like these. It also aids viewers in understanding the creation time involved in each piece.

Gaia - Sacred Cow sculpture, needle felted wool over wire and batting armature with globe patterning - marking map outline

Gaia - Sacred Cow sculpture, needle felted wool over wire and batting armature with globe patterning - felting map detail

Though she was quite time consuming, I am happy with the results.

Gaia - Sacred Cow sculpture, needle felted wool over wire and batting armature with globe patterning - close up of sotth pacific

back view of Gaia - Sacred Cow sculpture, needle felted wool over wire and batting armature with globe patterning

Gaia will most likely make her gallery debut this summer for my feature show at HGA. Stay tuned for further information.

Queen Bee.

My thoughts this past week have turned to spring. I know it is a tad early, but living in the south provides this transplanted yankee with a bit of a head start. I have been patiently (ok, not really) awaiting the opening of some of the early blooms in the garden, so I can create some new botanical gell press prints. While those buds have stubbornly stayed closed, I turned my attention to a queen bee sketch I had recently created.

Coronation of the Queen

That sketch is actually the second or third incarnation of this figure in my book. Initial attempts taught me that a more biologically accurate figure might not be wise. For example, insect mandibles make a sweet smile difficult. Likewise, the last pair of legs that should also be attached to the insect’s thorax appeared gangly. So, I settled on a bit more anthropomorphication than usual, even if against my former biology teacher inclinations. The result is my queen bee, Coronation.

Queen bee figure. Anthropomorphic needle felted sculpture with copper, glass bead and crystal embellishments. — Coronation

Queen Bee Construction

Coronation is decked out all her finest regalia. Her crown is felted wool over wire with hand sewn beads and crystals. Her scepter is a painted and wire wrapped dowel with a wire and bead honeycomb head. The hive orb she holds is needle felted wool over batting with crystal embellishments. The bodice of her dress is a metalic trim with a pattern that appears hexagonal when stretched. Her wings form a “robe” over her shoulders. I created these by nuno-felting white wool fiber over a fine tule mesh, and “veining” with metallic thread. The wings are sewn on to the copper wing wires, and then finished by pressing with spray starch. The bottom of her gown’s fitted skirt, is slightly flared and ends in a “stinger” train which allows her to stand upright.

I took process images while I created this piece. I personally enjoy seeing how an artist gets from point A to B, so I thought you might appreciate it as well.

coronation sketch
coronation armature
coronation armature – wing wire, batting, and arms
coronation armature – weighted feet detail
coronation armature – batting form complete, yarn wrapped legs
Coronation

Instead of holding this piece for my featured artist show this summer, I think I may bring her in to the gallery as a herald of spring. Who know’s, perhaps she is the perfect Mother’s Day gift for someone’s own queen bee.

It’s Not All Springy

This past holiday season taught me a thing or two. One lesson was that people seem to appreciate my one-of-a-kind felted ornaments. A second lesson, was that I could hardly keep them in stock. As a result, I’m trying to spread their creation out over the year a bit. I already put a couple away, but thought I’d share the one that was still sitting on my work table. It is somewhat different from what you may be used to, as it isn’t a figure, but instead a ball that uses a wool dryer ball as its base. It is just the third of this type that I’ve created, and titled Winter Twilight #2.

needle felted holiday ornament over wool dryer ball — winter twilight #2

More Dancing Rabbits?

Yes, more dancing rabbits.

Happy New Year! Now that the holiday season has past, it is time to turn attention to shows for the new year. Currently, at The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts there is a show featuring the work of past member artists titled, Past To Present. It is definitely worth a visit to check out, and will be up through February 18th.

What about the Dancing Rabbits?

Opening in February, we again will be presenting our “It’s All About The Story” show. This year, we are partnering with a local songwriter and musician, Mary Rocap. We have created work in response to her music, and yes, I have again turned to dancing rabbits. Actually, just one rabbit this time. You may recall the pair of dancing rabbits I created in response to Jaki Shelton Green’s poetry last year. This year’s representative of the family Leporidae is titled Venus Dances For Herself, and she was inspired by Mary’s song Jupiter and Venus.

The song is a reimagining of the myth based on the December sky conjunction of the two planets. My sculpture is a reimagining of Mary’s song. She tells the tale of Venus’s yearly plea to Jupiter to accept her and Mars’ love child. My Venus is dancing to please herself, and doen’t care if she has Juputer’s approval. She is dancing with her own joy.

Venus Dances For Herself is needle felted wool over a wire and quilt batting armature. Her black coat is patterned with swirls, stars, and a sylized Venus “tattoo.”

Venus is further embellished with hand sewn crystal and glass beads. Her eyes are irridecent glass gems that are glued and felted in position, and her whiskers are fashioned from fishing line.

I will remind you about Venus, and the story show again as the date approaches.

Ornament, Ornament.

No time to waste, here’s a couple more ornament offerings.

I was out of town a few days last week, and I have just gotten back in the studio. My inventory of ornaments for the holidays was in need of a boost. So, here are a couple of new additions for you to check out. If you are looking for them, I probably will not get them into HGA until tomorrow. As I’m writing, it is already afternoon, and I haven’t even printed their labels yet!

Cephalopoda Adorno

This octopus ornament may be my favorite of the season. Cephalopoda adorno (decorating octopus) is my own new species of cephalopod. This tiny magenta octopus wears a Santa cap, and has several mini Christmas ball ornaments grasped in various tenticles. He seems quite excited about decorating, and with so many arms will certainly make short work of it.

Cephalopoda adorno is needle felted wool, over a quilt batting core. I did not create an internal armature for this ornament, but rather chose stitch or felt his limbs into their positions. The green sparkling eyes and mini ornaments are all created from large glass beads. Each of the little ornaments I created from the bead, a small eyelet, and a small solid jump ring.

Mouse Musician

Mousician is a white mouse with a red sweater and a matching cap. He carrys in his two front paws a tiny felted lute. Both rodent and instrument are needle felted wool over quilt batting. This piece also features metalic thread strings on the lute, and hand sewn glass beads for his eyes and the lute’s tuning knobs.

Mousician is a one-of-a-kind needle felted anthropomorphic mouse holiday ornament with a lute — Mousician

He appears ready to ask for requests for the next carol to sing. In fact, he may be an inspiration for next year’s edition of my caroling mice.

Well, I must be getting back to the work table, just a few more days of holiday themed work left!

Last Minute Change!

Pop-up Date Change

Just when you think you got it all figured out… Nature steps in and says,” Not so fast!”

The Holiday Pop-Up at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts has been pushed up to this Saturday, December 9th from 12 – 4pm. The one day shift is due to predictied rainy weather for Sunday. We hope that you have time to change your calendar and stop by to see what’s happening on Saturday.

As I wrote last time, I’ve been busy creating special new items for the Pop-up. and I have several new One-of-a-Kind felted ornaments to share.

Moose auditions for Santa. needle felted 1-of-a-kind holiday ornament

bear gets a tree. needle felted 1-of-a-kind holiday ornament

Knit. needle felted 1-of-a-kind holiday ornament

emperor bubbly. needle felted 1-of-a-kind holiday ornament

Camel heads north. needle felted 1-of-a-kind holiday ornament

Santa Pig. needle felted 1-of-a-kind holiday ornament

Hockey Fox. needle felted 1-of-a-kind holiday ornament

Snow Fairy. needle felted 1-of-a-kind holiday ornament

They are: Moose Auditions for Santa, Bear finds a Tree, Knit, Emperor Pop, Camel Heads North, Santa Pig, Hockey Fox, and Snow Fairy. All but “Hockey Fox” are still available and will be at the Pop-Up event Saturday. I have been making a single One-of-a-Kind ornament available in the gallery as a teaser for the Pop-up. They have captured attention, and several of the ornaments shared last time already sold (Gallina Nix, Cozy, Deco-deer, Cocoa 2.) But don’t worry, I still have most of them here in my studio, and there will be a varied selection available on Saturday!

Also in the Gallery Now

I created a second nordic patterned sculpture specifically for our small side window at HGA. The gallery elves decorated that side widow in an extra special way for the season in cool hues of blue. I created Winter Stag for that window display. You can stop by and check him out, or even take him home.

Winter Stag. Nordic patterned white stag sculpture. Needle felted wool over wire and batting armature — Winter Stag

Winter Stag features fine line needle felted wool patterns reminicent of embroidery. I create this effect by drawing out thin threads of twisted wool fiber, and then felt that down on the surface. In essence, drawing on the surface of my sculpture with the wool. This piece is needle felted wool over a wire and quilt batting armature. His eyes are iridescent glass beads, and his antlers are wool over wire and wrapped and secured with silver thread.

You will also find the gingerbread house HGA is hosting for the town’s tour and competition in that same window. After your visit, you can vote for the gingerbread house on the Hillsborough Chamber’s web site.

Mice!

I have created a new set of caroling mice again this year. “Caroling Mice ’23” are belting out their carols in a full throated way just for you. They are already at HGA, and would also be happy to find thier forever holiday home.

Remember, Pop-Up Date Change!

I will have several other items available in our Pop-Up Shop tent and inside HGA on Saturday, stop by and see what they are. I hope that we made our change of plans early enough for you to change yours!

Holiday Calendar…

Where did the time go?

To the untrained eye it appears to be the beginning of November. For someone, who creates hand crafted art items, it is holiday crunch season. Over the next two weeks, the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts hosts the preview show for the Orange County Artists Guild’s – Open Studio Tour. When that show comes down on 11/13, HGA dons its holiday attire!

Each year I create new holiday/winter themed original pieces, and bring back items that have been favorites over the years. This year, I have a bit of both, and something completely new, for a special event.

Pointing North

Polar bear anthropomorphic sculpture with snow motif. Needle felted sculpture — Polar

Polar is the latest anthropomorphic figure sculpture to step off of my work table. He follows several predecessors, both as a polar bear, and my recent series of figures with patterned surfaces. I captured this bear mid-step as he looks up to greet his viewer. His coat bears distinctive markings of swirling snowflakes. Though he is definitely a denizen of the north, I think he’d be happy to be around all year long. Polar will be arriving at HGA on November 13th.

Holiday Pop-up!

I mentioned a special event earlier. This year, along with our usual array of art and gift ideas for the holidays, HGA is planning a special event for Sunday December 10th. This event is so new, the details are still coming together. So far, we are planning extra new and interesting items, some available just for that day. Some artists will be offering specials. We will have holiday treats on hand, and are planning a gift card giveaway. Keep checking back here, and I will update you as the plans solidify.

One thing I’m doing for the Holiday Pop-up, is making some one-of-a-kind ornaments. If you’re a regular reader, you know I make needle felted puffins and polar bears each year. And, yes, I will be bringing in several of each when we install the holiday show on 11/13…

But, this year, for the Pop-Up on December 10th, I will bring in these one-of-a-kind mini-sculptures.

polar bear on skis. needle felted 1-of-a-kind ornament

Ballet dancing bunny. needle felted 1-of-a-kind ornament

Chicken with snow shoes. needle felted 1-of-a-kind ornament

Donkey with winter blanket. needle felted 1-of-a-kind ornament

Baby emperor penguin with scarf. needle felted 1-of-a-kind ornament

Reindeer with ornament and lights. needle felted 1-of-a-kind ornament

ice skating racoon named for the Roman god of winter. needle felted 1-of-a-kind ornament

Mouse with cocoa. needle felted 1-of-a-kind ornament

Please meet: Ski Bear, Sugar Plum Bunny, Gallina Nix, Domin, Cozy, Deco-Deer, Aquilo, and Cocoa 2. Each is a unique design created just for this year. They vary somewhat in size and complexity. Don’t ask now, they are not priced yet, and they will not be available until 12/10.

Old Favorites Too

As I said, I will bring in some of my “old favorites” for the holidays as well. Some of these will be available in the gallery starting November 13th.

A selection of Lynn's holiday trees. needle felted wool with glass beads, or upcycled denim with felted embellishment

needle felted Lantern houses and Christmas trees

Rabbit, Rabbit (or, Hare, Owl?)

No one seems to know exactly why saying “rabbit, rabbit” on the first of the month is supposed to be good luck. To be honest, I never really followed the tradition… But, it is the first of the month, and one of the pieces I’m sharing is a hare. So, I figured, why not?

Boho Bunny (rabbit, hare, lepus)

I mentioned that “Finding True North” sparked a series of patterned figures in my sketchbook. Florian started as one of those sketches. I have produced a number of rabbit figures, and Florian takes them in a new direction. Seems he would be equally at home hiding in your flower garden, on the edge of a meadow, or on the pages of a storybook.

Hare sculpture with boho floral patterning. Needle felted wool - wire and batting armature - rabbit — Florian

I tried to capture Florian in that moment of rabbit stillness deciding if he should remain motionless or bolt. Looking more closely at him, I think he still is a work-in-progress. I see that I want to define his feet a bit more, and want to tweak his position to depict a bit more tension.

Evening Star

Hesperia refers to the direction of the setting sun, or the evening star. I did a search of owl names online, and Hesperia jumped out at me. She looks at the viewer with piercing clear blue eyes that are a similar hue as her distinctive circular and star like markings.

Owl sculpture white with blue patterning. Needle felted wool - wire and batting armature — Hesperia

I tried something different with this bird’s talons. For most bird feet, I “felt” yarn that I have wrapped around the wire armature all the way to the end. This creates a challenge of getting the ends tight enough to not allow the wire to poke through. This time I stopped the yarn at the claws. The claws themselves I fashioned by layering black tissue paper and glue. The result is a more solid end cap that also secures the yarn wrapping of the foot.

Both sculptures are needle felted wool over a wire and batting armature. They also both contain internal elements for ballast and balance. In Florian, I used stuffing beads. Hesperia has strategically placed fishing weights in her tail, and legs to allow her to stand.

Show Installs 9/25, reception 9/29

Hesperia, Florian, and many of their friends will be at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts starting on September 25th. The reception for my feature show, Reciprocus, with fellow HGA artists Ellie Reinhold and Pat Merriman is that Friday, September 29th. I hope to see you then!

needle felted anthropomorphic animal figure sculptures with patterned surfaces — Patterned series

Paisley, Prince, and Prints…

That’s a Prince Frog, not a Frog Prince

Every once and a while, a single piece sparks several more pieces in a slightly new direction. That happend recently with Finding True North. I like the surface treatment of the nautical “tatoos’ so much, that I found muself sketching other sculptures that incorporated interesting patterning or symbolism on their surfaces. The first of these new sketches to be realized is Prince Frog.

Prince Frog - needle felted anthropomorphic purple frog sculpture with paisley pattern and raspberry beret — Prince Frog

He is a little purple three toed tree frog. I captured this anthropomprphic amphibian waving hello, or perhaps giving a piece sign? It’s hard to tell the difference with only three fingers. He wears a distinctive little raspberry beret set to one side, and has distinctive paisley pattern on his back.

Prince Frog is needle felted wool over a wire and batting armature. He has iridescent black glass bead eyes. This art doll sculpture looks up and waves from a squating position on his hind legs. I will let you know when he becomes available for purchase.

Prints, Prints, and Cards

I received a request to wholesale some of my monoprint cards. Many artists bristle at anything that feels like production work, and I am definitely in that category. I don’t even like making batches of my own holiday ornaments (puffins, polar bears, and baby seals, oh, my!) but, they are so darn cute and popular. I was torn by the request, especially since my prints aren’t even my main artwork. They weren’t looking for hundreds, (though they may in the future) so I figured I give it a try. I made more than the order, so they can choose, and any left over will be available to take to HGA. I will let you know where they are headed after I deliver them next month. The price will be slightly higher than the $10 I sell them for at HGA. I have no control over retail markup.

One-of-a-kind mono-print botanical cards

One-of-a-kind mono-print botanical cards detail view

Each of these cards is hand-pulled on a gell press using acrylic paint and plant materials. Almost all are comprised of two layers of paint, one with the forground image and the other background color. Some feature additional overprinting, and watercolor enhancements. Each card is a unique and one-of-a-kind original art work on paper and is suitable for framing.

Finding True North

It is defined as getting on the right course, and proceeding in the right direction.

My latest sculpture, Finding True North, is a white sperm whale. I depict him breaching far out of the water, and spouting from his blowhole. It is, of course, an obvious nod to Moby Dick, but I hope he is a bit more. My white whale is adorned with a variety of nautical “tattoos”. Some of these images are navigational symbols. I hope he suggests finding one’s way for the viewer rather than serving as a symbol of singleminded obsession as Melville’s whale did.

Magnetic North

Finding True North is needle felted wool over an armature of wire and quilt batting. Several points of sparkle are incorporated in this sculpture through the use of hand sewn glass beads. Iridecent black beads are used for his eyes, clear crystals for the stars of the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor dipper constellations, and blue seed beads accentuate the spout spray. The symbols are truly wool tatoos as the colored wool is applied through repeated needle sticks to the surface. The piece also features a bit of metalic thread to highlight the constellations that indicate the location of the North Star, Polaris. Additionally, I used some of the synthetic quilt batting I mainly use in my sculptures’ interior form as a fiber source for the bright white of the water spray.

Though my whale is baring his one row of large teeth he doesn’t appear menacing. He will be smiling and providing guidance and navigation soon at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts. I will let you know when he is available for purchase.

Wartski Art Dolls and Sculpture

Art dolls and mixed media sculpture