Hands

This is a collage I made.

Art-o-mat

Several years ago I discovered an old cigarette machine at the Whitney Museum that vends art, instead of cigarettes.  It is in the gift shop and requires the purchase of a special token for $7.50 to use it.  After pulling the knob, you receive an original piece of artwork the exact size of a package of cigarettes.  These machines are located in arts institutions and museums throughout the country.  Last year I submitted these small assemblages in solid color tones for consideration in the program.  They were accepted and I became an official Art-o-mat artist!  This is a photograph of the fifty finished pieces that went into the re-purposed   machines all over the country.  Each one was packaged in a box that was labeled "Object Lessons" by Penelope Cake.  They are all sold out now, so I plan to make a whole new batch but I need more solid colored random pieces of junk to finish them.  Any donations would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Making a doll

Sal Lomanno, a childhood friend who I haven't been in contact with for about 40 years, invited me to visit her in Cape May, NJ.  It was an amazing and inspiring experience.  We talked for hours.  We revisited ourselves as children and renewed ourselves as adults.  We decided to create something together - to make a doll.  We went hunting in thrift stores and junk stores to find the right materials.  We didn't know what we were looking for, but found some things to start with.  A soft maroon sweater is becoming the body, some toy oars will most likely be the legs, a vintage aluminum jello mold will be a hat, we'll use buttons for eyes, rick rack for a mouth and are hoping to make some wings out of a lace table runner.  The process of creating a doll and recreating our friendship has begun.  I  look forward to the adventure!

Journal

I  keep a handwritten journal about this blog.  I made it out of random pieces of 8 1/2" by 11" paper that I had put together into a spiral notebook.  Most of them are blank or with very little writing on them (to leave room for my own, of course) but are interspersed with pages made from pizza parlor menus, children's doodles, pages cut from discarded books, an out-of-date atlas and photocopies of my hands.  I saw a journal like this one at a stationary store for about $25.00 and was inspired to make my own.  Once I had assembled all the pages from different colored paper, stationary and all the other miscellaneous pieces that I had collected, I took it to Kinkos and got it made into a spiral notebook for about $5.00.  I like the way the detritus of everyday life intersects  and connects with my creative musings...

Exchanging Sleeves

This morning  I was weeding through some of my clothes when I came across two shirts that I like but don't wear very often, so I  put them in my giveaway pile. They didn't stay there long (nothing ever does).  The red flannel shirt had these unusual gathered sleeves that I really liked so I wanted to use them for something.  I decided to cut the sleeves off of the flannel shirt and exchange them for the short sleeves of the puppy t-shirt to make a whole new shirt.  I also cut the collar off of the flannel shirt and tried wearing it loose around my neck at the same time.  With scissors, pins and sewing machine I put it altogether and have been happily wearing my new creation all day!

In Jacksonville. FL

I am in Jacksonville, FL visiting my dear friend Annuel.  Yesterday we took a long walk on the beach and then hit the thrift stores in town.  This is an outfit that I got at the Salvation Army - a black polka dot skirt and a red polka dot top - one of those one piece shirt/ vest combinations - very vintage.  I changed in the car so that Annuel could take my picture in front of one of the best Salvation Army signs that I've ever seen!

Alice in Wonderland

     Dressed for the movie in a set of teapot and teacup earrings, lots of frills and pink and black striped tights!

Pippi and me

These are some new tights that my adorable husband, Jeffrey, gave to me that I am wearing  with a pair of leather boots that I got at a Goodwill in Northampton, MA for only $3.00!  Pippi insisted on being in the picture too...

Buttons

Buttons are an essential part of my creative experiments.  I put them on  everything - from shoes to dog collars. Over the years I have amassed quite a collection.  I find them at thrift stores, yard sales and junk stores.  But the best way to get buttons is to have people give them to you.  When my acquaintances see how many things I do with them they often remember an old tin full of buttons buried in a cabinet somewhere and offer it to me.  They are happy to have them used for something and I often make a bracelet or pair of earrings in return.  If you let people know that you need them, the buttons will come...

For the shoes, I glued all the buttons on with Amazing Goop and for the dog collars, I hand sewed them on with a heavy duty needle and thread.

Sunday Brunch

 

Dressed for Sunday brunch at Pecan in Tribeca.  I made the skirt and the earrings.

Pockets

I bought this plain bag on sale for $15 at Urban Outfitters but I desperately needed pockets for organizing keys, glasses, cell phone and lipstick.  I cut the back pockets off some old blue jeans in a random shape and, using embroidery floss, I stitched them onto the bag in a deliberately irregular style.  The fraying edges just add to the "folk art" charm.

 

Here is another bag that I added pockets to.  I cut off the bottom border of an already embroidered velvet scarf and hemmed the edges.  After folding it in half I used a sewing machine to divide it into two pockets.  Then I hand sewed the top edge to the bag.

Rick Rack

I collect rick rack.  It makes me smile.  It comes in all different sizes and colors and is easy to sew or glue onto anything - it even goes around in circles with ease.  Traditionally it is used as an edging, but the best thing that I ever did with it was decorate this acrylic cardigan.  I used two colors of the same size and sewed it on in a swirling meandering pattern all over the front and back of the sweater.  It reminds me of those diagrams for ballroom dancing, but without the footprints.  Whenever I wear it,  people comment on it.  I take that opportunity to ask them if they know what it is.  The over 40 crowd usually does, but the younger crowd needs to be educated.  I consider it my cause to enlighten them on its delightful moniker.  Rick rack.  Its also a good name for a cat!

This is my collection of rick rack that I glued onto a table runner and a pillar candle.


                     

Egg wrapper shoulder shawl

Our grocery order from Fresh Direct arrived this morning.  The eggs are always wrapped in this cool corrugated cardboard accordion thing.  A creative challenge for the day: create an outfit wearing it!

Denim Key Skirt

To my dismay, metal keys are quickly becoming a relic of the past.  And not just the antique skeleton keys of centuries ago but even car keys are becoming superfluous. In this age of electronic scanners and plastic keycards we probably won’t hear the familiar jingle of keys quite so often anymore –our children won’t know what they are and they will go the way of the rotary phone and the typewriter.  Luckily, I have always saved any key that came my way and have a box full of them.

Which brings us to today’s creation.  I recently bought an Old Navy denim skirt at the Salvation Army on 8^th Avenue and 21^st St.  Denim is like a blank canvas to me – it just begs to be made into  art.  I went through my key box and found six that could hang right underneath the zippers on the front pockets and tried using small gold safety pins to attach them instead of sewing them on.  It worked!  The pins actually add to the industrial look and were much easier to use for attachment than sewing.  Then I found a smaller key and used a short piece of ball and chain to hang it from the front zipper.  Using Aleene’s OK To Wash-It glue, I added some brown flowered trim to the bottom edge of the skirt and was finished in less than a ½ hour!


Does anyone want the denim key skirt?  It is an Old Navy size 8 and I would love to give to someone who would wear it and enjoy it!

One of the keys on the denim skirt came from an old hotel -  I  used the vintage tag and made it into a necklace.