My latest embroidery project.

I have started embroidering on black and white photos.  The possibilities are endless...

Annie's Studio

THIS IS A MAGICAL PLACE. 

It is the studio of my friend Annie who lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California.  We met online two years ago and have been keeping an art journal together ever since then.  We usually send it back and forth to each other through the mail, but this time I visited her and got to pick it up in person!  We spent many hours working on all sorts of projects together and talked nonstop about our lives, our passions, and our dreams.  Here are some photos of a few of the pages in our journal.

 

  

Visit Annie's Etsy shop here:  oblations.etsy.com

Today's creation.

Today I made this watchband for my new watch by sewing buttons onto a piece of elastic.  One button is shaped like a little pocketbook, another one is from a girl scout uniform, and  there are rhinestone buttons throughout to add sparkle.  For once, I started and finished a project in one sitting.  It was just the right activity for a rainy day. 

But this is how my work table looked when I was finished.  Its hard to believe that anything cohesive came out of such a mess.  I guess it's all part of the creative process. Cleaning up will have to wait until tomorrow, though.  I will just switch to knitting for the rest of the evening!

Embroidered Gloves

This is becoming a signature design of mine; a curving, continuous, meandering line with lots of color.  It reminds me of a dance improvisation that I taught in my classes for many years.  Students were instructed to walk in curving pathways around the space without any sharp turns or stops.  The challenge was always to keep moving and cross each others paths smoothly, without bumping into each other.  It is an exercise to increase kinesthetic awareness and can be surprisingly difficult even though the only required movement is plain walking.  It is wonderful to be able to translate my dance experience into embroidery.

Greening the kitchen for the New Year.

I decided that our kitchen needed some reorganization in honor of the new year and wanted some shelf paper to add to the inside of the cabinets.  My goal this year, as it has been for a long time, is to make as many things as I can instead of buying them.  I had already been collecting brown paper grocery bags to use as wrapping paper for Christmas presents so I  had the supplies handy.  After I cut them open, I ironed them with steam so that they would lie flat.  Then I measured and cut them to fit the shelves.

 

I used pinking shears for a decorative edge.  I kept the first piece as a template and slipped the next one that I cut onto a shelf.  It fit perfectly!  Clean glasses were in the dishwasher awaiting their new home, so in they went.

There's only one problem.  There are more than 25 shelves to go before I finish the job!  Is that really how I want to spend my New Year's Day?

I've decided that I will take a nap and think about it later.  Maybe instead of doing it all at once I could do a little bit all year long.  I'll let you know next New Year's how its going!

Happy New Year Everyone!

What time is it?  Can I go to sleep yet?!

Embroidery

Oh, how I love to do embroidery these days!  I made this for my friend Annie, an email penpal that I met on the internet.  We have been writing to each other everyday for almost two years.  We talk about designing our lives as an artful experience.  I started embroidering regularly after reading a great book about some modern embroidery artists called, "Hoopla" who use embroidery to explore personal experiences, express political views, create graphic design, and facilitate community art projects.  I had already been embroidering vintage skirts with quotes from literature but I wanted to do more.  I have been embroidering everything such as postcards, vintage gloves, a window valance and even the wrapping paper that I used for Christmas presents.  

Here is another work in progress that was inspired by an artist named Richard Saja who uses pieces of toile fabric as his canvas.

Those are two meerkats with party hats, a giraffe and a woman with a tail.  I tried an owl in the blank spot between the tree and the woman's head but didn't like the look of it and took it out.  Now I am going to try a spider web. 

I have also been reading a book by Rick Hanson called, "Hardwiring Happiness," which is about retraining our neural pathways towards positive thinking.  I have been looking at images of neural pathways online and am considering a large embroidery piece using them as my inspiration.  Maybe working on the embroidery will also assist me in changing my own habits of negative thinking and feeling.  

Its all part of designing an artful life.  I'm working on it...

Christmas, circa 1962

I will never forget the Christmas that Santa brought me this toy kitchen.  I have kept it carefully packed and stored away for years.  Today I brought it down from the attic and set it up on a shelving unit that Jeffrey made for my studio using old picket fencing.  I can't believe how evocative it is of that time in my childhood and how much I love it.  There is a turkey in the oven that used to rotate with battery power, and the dishwasher and sink both have containers in the back to hold water that can actually run through the faucets.  I have dishes and food too, but I think I will save them to use in some future artwork.  I gathered a few other childhood inspired items and added them to the shelves above the toy kitchen. I have been happily working in my studio all day on a variety of projects.  There is so much to do in the new year and I think I am ready!

A Dickens character, perhaps?

As many people do, I browse through magazines when I am waiting in line at the supermarket   Most choose to check out the tabloids, but I go right to the fashion rags.  The December issue of Vogue has a great spread of Dickens inspired fashion.  I couldn't wait to go home and design my own version using what I already had in my closet.  I reconstructed this pinstripe suit by shortening the legs and adding eyelet ruffles to the bottoms.  The day before during one of my regular thrift store junkets, I had picked up the plaid cumberbund and bow tie, never worn, in their original box.  Since I am a lover of all things red plaid, I already had the hat and bag in my collection.  The striped button down shirt and black ankle boots completed the outfit for me.  But was I all dressed up with no place to go?  Heck, no!  Jeffrey and I had a lovely night out in Cape May attending an art coop holiday gift fair and  going for drinks at the beautiful and cozy bar at Congress Hall.  Even a night out in little old Cape May can be divine when you are wearing the right outfit!

Gifting

Recently, I have been having a great time giving small gifts to people that cross my path each day.  I have even been thinking about it as some kind of "calling."  I love to see the smile on people's faces and the surprise in their eyes when I just give them something unexpectedly.  Often times I don't even know the people who I am gifting.  One time, a waitress admired my handmade earrings and I left them for her with the tip.  Another time I took little pieces of art that I made, put them into gum ball machine capsules, went to the local bagel shop, and handed them out to everyone who was there.  One of my neighbors was recovering from a back injury so I gave her a bluejay feather that I had found that morning for good luck.  Today I put a lavender sachet in my purse made out of a vintage handkerchief and gave it to a receptionist at a doctor's office.  And now I am imagining what I can do tomorrow and in the days to come - it is so much fun!

After two months of being a shop keeper I decided to close the doors.   I found out that the retail life is not for me.  Too much sitting around - I don't have the patience for it.  (At one time I was excused from jury duty in NYC by claiming "chronic impatience" as a medical condition!)  Having my own store has always been my dream, but this was not the right time or the right place for me.  I also discovered that people don't really want to buy handmade things these days.  They like to look at them and think they are very creative but don't choose to spend their money on them, especially when they are made out of recycled materials.  I will probably continue to make them anyway and maybe someday I will stumble upon something that will sell better.  If not, I will have lots of wonderful gifts to give to all the wonderful people in my life.  And of course I will continue to be an artist - maybe the art of fishing will be my next step.  I already made earrings out of fishing lures, so I have the appropriate outfit.  What else could I possibly need?

Article in the Cape May Star and Wave newspaper!

There are four color photos too, but unfortunately I couldn't download them from the internet.  Here is the article:

 

MAKING CRAFTS IN SUZY'S GARDEN IS A CAKEWALK FOR PENELOPE CAKE

By CHRISTOPHER SOUTH

Cape May Star and Wave

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

WEST CAPE MAY – Many come to the shore and end up leaving with a souvenir – often a T-shirt or a knick knack; sometimes a sunburn or a jellyfish sting. 

Penelope Cake, who runs Suzy’s Gift Shop at Emilia’s Garden, likes to help people create a memory they can take home with them.

Cake is a visual artist who is currently specializing in creating art from recycled items. She is also running an arts and crafts program open to kids, teens and adults. 

“A lot of the things in the store are made out of recycled materials – but not everything,” she said. 

Cake, who retired as a dance instructor after 35 years, said that is now her principle interest as an artist. She said she takes an item such as a tossed off button down shirt and tries to use every part of it. She takes the shirt collars and makes collarettes for dogs, obviously for dogs who prefer to look more formal than a crew neck or boat neck provides. 

She will also take the cuffs off a shirt and make reusable wraps (or heat guards) for coffee cups. 

“I will make a pillow out of the rest of the shirt,” she said. 

Cake said she will incorporate hardware into her art; also using keys for jewelry, flatware and ceramic plates for wind chimes. She has also been using T-shirts to make into rugs. The T-shirts are cut into strips and then the strips are pulled into spirals. She rolls the strips into a ball, like yarn, and then is able to crochet a rug. 

She also uses items like soda can tabs and elastic to make fun bracelets. 

Cake said she lived in the Tribeca section of Manhattan since she graduated from college, but now lives in the Cape Woods neighborhood in Lower Township. After retiring from dance she has engaged in the visual arts. 

“I’m now busily pursuing my interest in visual arts, and in merchandizing and crafting. I like seeing how much I can do with that,” she said. 

She said doing arts and crafts is something she has done most of her life, and she likes teaching the arts and crafts component of her business.

“I do it whenever I am here. I have about six projects to do for $10 each. It allows people to experience their own creativity while they are here,” she said. 

Right now she probably has more kids doing crafts but she wants to encourage teens and adults to try it as well. She said the other night she was teaching some girls to knit. 

Knitting and crocheting are each an aspect of the crafts she teaches. Anyone can decorate a picture frame with a variety of natural and man made items. She will show people how to make a snake-like decoration from an old necktie, she helps them make collages, or make a bag out of an old T-shirt without any sewing – just cutting and tying. 

Cake showed a bag with a print from Flying Fish Studio in West Cape May. Her fiber art crafts do not require sewing but she does some hand-sewing on site. Cake makes totes of recycled canvas that are hand-painted. The ones on display in her shop have a “CM” for Cape May but she can make them with a person’s initials – given a day’s notice. 

You can reach Penelope Cake via email at penelopecake@yahoo.com or by calling Emilia’s Garden at (609) 435-5710, or visit the garden and gift shop at 479 W. Perry, West Cape May.

Christopher South

Managing Editor

Cape May Star and Wave

600 Park Boulevard Unit 28

West Cape May, NJ 08204

Tel: 609-884-3466

Fax: 609 -884-2893

---

Hurray!

When I was 12 years old I had a little room in my basement where I "sold" beaded jewelry and other handmade creations.  It has always been my dream to have a store.  Well now

I finally have one!  It is housed in a quaint little shed in the garden of a restaurant called Emilia's at 479 Perry St. in West Cape May where I am selling jewelry and handmade creations once again.  I opened on Memorial Day weekend and have been busy being a shopkeeper since then.  I also offer Walk-In Arts and Crafts for children and adults and Art and Story Time for young children on Saturdays at 9:00 - I connect the story, the art project, and my outfit, all around the same theme.  It is everything that I have always wanted to do and now I will spend the summer finding out if it is really what I want to do.  Only time and experience will tell.

Especially for the birds.

Its that time of year.  Out with the old and in with the new.  Spring cleaning.  New beginnings.  Nesting.  Creating.

I have been collecting scraps of thread, yarn and fabric all winter long and saving them in this suet container.  It is a wonderful wad of color.   The birds will pluck from it to make their nests and I will be watching and waiting.  Watching and waiting for spring.  The colors will appear in their nests and I will have become a part of their lives.

Good morning.

 

In the morning, I find myself, over and over again - or maybe I find myself anew.  Maybe, each day, I am a different person, just born out of sleep and dreams.  I never tire of the mornings, even when I am tired.  Sleep does not come easily for me but mornings do.  Possibility is alive and percolating, like a morning cup of coffee.  Dark and rich and hot - until the sun rises.  I am usually awake then.  It is rare that the sun rises before I do.  Afterwards, I can sometimes go back to sleep.  I have witnessed the dawn of another day and am content.  I made it this far….

Thinking Spring!

Though the temperature today is only in the 20's in Cape May, it's already spring at the dollar store.  I went in this morning to stock up on some glue sticks and saw these bright and cheery place mats - well obviously, I couldn't resist.  I guess that is what is referred to as an "impulse purchase."  At least it only cost me $4.00.  When I got home, I realized that I already had some orange place mats.  So I decided to make the old ones into a laptop case and call it an "impulse craft." At least that was free!

 

 

Something fishy...

I made this today.  It started out as an idea for a mobile with some chimes, but after playing with lots of different materials and ideas I settled on this.  I love the process of discovering what I am going to make and how it takes me by surprise sometimes.  I found the fish barbecue rack at my thrift store, brought it home and just started attaching metal things to it.  Only certain pieces worked.  There are keys, single earrings, random hardware, a tin whistle and a jingle bell. This is not a haphazard arrangement - it is a very deliberate one, but I love that it looks like it just washed up on the beach as it is, all weathered and messy.  It was fun to use things from my stash that I have had for years - I finally figured out why I have been saving them.   The creative process is so satisfying - it nourishes my soul.  I laughed when I finished it.  I think I'll have fish for dinner to celebrate!

Deconstruction and Reconstruction

Used to be:  a man's size XL shirt.

Now:  Cup cozie, dog collarette, and skirt.

Voila!

Article in the Press of Atlantic City!

Posted: Wednesday, January 9, 2013 12:00 am | Updated: 8:31 am, Wed Jan 9, 2013.

By Michelle Post

Penelope Cake, of Cape May, once danced “Red Checked Life” in an empty storefront in New York City’s garment district.
She decorated the window and store in everything red-and-white checked. Then she danced, “of course dressed in red-and-white checked clothing,” she said. It was all visible to passersby.
“It was one of those great (city) things where you don't know if what is going on is real life or art,” Cake said.
Cake, 56, moved to Cape May about a year ago after a 35-year career as an artist and dancer in New York. She is the volunteer artist-in-residence at VIMspirations, the new thrift shop benefitting Volunteers in Medicine of Cape May County, at 600 Park Blvd., West Cape May.
At the shop, Cake gives impromptu craft lessons using donated materials. She can tell you how to make new clothing from donated apparel.
“You can take the sleeves from one sweater, and put them on another,” she said as an example, while teaching this reporter to make an origami gift box from recycled holiday cards.
Her art is based on upcycling — using materials that might be thrown away to make something of value. She makes jewelry out of hardware and game pieces, art journals and boxes from books, collages from varied items, and knits and crochets using yarn made from T-shirts and plastic bags.

“My goal is to encourage people to be creative, especially through the reuse of things that might otherwise end up in a landfill,” she said.

No ordinary bunny...

Aromatherapy, heat therapy and cuddle therapy all in one!

This should get me through the winter blues...

STEP INTO THE NEW YEAR!

We took down all the Christmas displays at VIMspirations yesterday and decided to "put our best foot forward" for the new year.  This is the window display that I designed.  Drop on by for a pair of shoes!

Christmas Crafting in My Studio

Happy as a clam, in Santa Land!

Home Made Bookcase

Jeffrey made this bookcase for me to put in my studio.  Now I have a new home for some of my books too.  It feels like having old friends back in my life - I love it!

New Bag Out of Old Jeans

We are having a 50% off sale on women's jeans and pants at VIMspirations this week so I made this.  I used a teeny tiny pair of jeans, a necktie for the bottom and the strap, a button down shirt for the lining, and finished it off with some buttons and a pin. Come on over and check it out - its for sale.  Or buy a pair of jeans for $3.00 and make your own!

As artist-in-residence at VIMspirations thrift store in West Cape May (which raises money for Volunteers in Medicine) I often do the store and window displays.  Today an animal outreach center opened up next door to us, so I set up our store window in celebration of dogs and cats.  I had some paw print wrapping paper which I put down on the ledge, cut out pictures of dogs and cats from magazines and put them in some of the many photo frames that have been donated to us, found some books in our collection to add, and also included samples of my dog collarettes with copies of the article that I wrote for Bark magazine on how to make them, available as a handout for interested customers.  It was a good day, and most of us in Cape May are very fortunate to still have our homes, food, water and heat after the ravages of Hurricane Sandy, unlike so many many people just to the north of us. We will help them, and continue helping them for a long time, in whatever way that we can. Go to this link for information about evacuating with your pets.
http://www.capemaycountyherald.com/article/storm/court+house/87546-evacuation+ordered+shelters+readied