Top Ten Tuesday -- June 26, 2012 -- Owls for All

The mysterious nature of owls is endearing to most everyone, and in my opinion, their eyes are a big part of this appeal. The pensive, yellow-eyed stare of a Great Gray Owl makes them appear to be thinking or perhaps even plotting a sinister next-move. This spine tingling reaction I have toward owls is one reason I've collected this week's top ten favorite owls. Most of the owls in this collection have big round eyes with goofy looks on their faces! Much more relaxing, don't you think? If you are an owl fan, this week's collection will give you all sorts of ideas about how you can add more owl-love to your life! Enjoy...

DIY Felt Owl  --  A fun sewing project for your household

This friendly owl can be easily hand stitched using the simple whip, running, and simple straight stitches. This would be a great project for you to introduce basic stitches to an owl-loving 10+ year old. Lupin on Etsy can provide you with this fun pattern and all the instructions you will need. Your young girls will be so proud to show off their creation!

Owl of Blodeuwedd -- Wool Felt Brooch

This handmade wool felt brooch is meticulously made using 7 layers of felt with an average of 400 tiny hand stitches. The brooch measures 3" x 2" and features a charming embroidered feather on her wing. Love that part! FoxOwlRoad on Etsy tells us the "Blodeuwedd" is the oldest of creatures and she calls this owl the Bird of Wisdom. This fiber jewelry would be perfect most every season of the year on a jacket, scarf, or coat. This is a treasure for the grown-up girls.

Owl Slippers Hand Crocheted in 100% Cotton

These fun house slippers will be great fun for folks of all ages. FrancescasToyChest on Etsy will hand crochet these Little Pea Shoppe pink/green/blue pair in any size or you can request a brown/orange/tan pair for a more realistic colorway! Machine wash and dry on low heat, these slippers will get softer and more beloved over time.

Beauty in Every Shadow by Dolan Geiman

I'm a big fan of Dolan Geiman who creates original mixed media works with wood, paint, printmaking and collage. This acrylic and found paper collage on wood features a majestic owl and a gorgeous tree trunk, which I also love! Dolan's art is appreciating in value and I highly recommend that you check out his many terrific art assemblages.

Needle Felted Owl Family

I am a fan of the charm that St. Paul's artist ScratchCraft has added to these 3-D wool felt owls. The four owls actually look like a bonded family unit to me, and I would have guessed they loved one another even without the red heart that tells me for sure that they do! Perched on a tree branch and measuring 4" wide and 2" tall, this hanging fiber art is a beauty.

 Pleased as Punch -- Recycled Chubby Owl

I like this owl's attitude! This lamb's wool-stuffed friend stands 7" tall and would add a fun, graceful note to your home decor. The body of this owl is made from up-cycled, felted wool and the eyes are hand sewn. This owl from ForMyDarling on Etsy has so much personality, I think you will want to give him a name!

Mid-Century Modern Hootie Owl Needlepoint

This 14"x15" needlepoint pillow certainly takes me back! If you were alive in the 60's and early 70's, you probably remember the Sunset Needlepoint Kits that helped us learn needlepoint on a printed canvas. This bright red and coral owl is a great example of a charming home made decorating style that is newly popular and still colorful! This fun vintage pillow is being made available by Call Me Anytime Vintage and will bring a pop of color to your mid-century decor.

Hand-Knit Felted Owl with Tufted Ear

The talented folks at Woolly Something have created this wool hand-knit sculptural owl that they then felted and stuffed for standing display. It stands about 7" tall and has poly-pellets in base for easy standing. It looks so soft and fluffy, and while it may not be a toy, I'm sure that the young people in your life will have trouble keeping their fingers off the soft ears and wings! The stitching around the eyes is simple and dramatic: I love it!

Recycle Wool Owl Tote Bag

This handsome owl is ready to give your fashion statement a fun boost! Handmade from brick red recycled wool and reinforced with pellon interfacing, this fun tote bag is ready to be a playful and practical addition to your wardrobe or a favorite gift for a young owl lover. I particularly like the use of the wool plaid fabric in this piece. You can find it at the popular Grannies Raggedy Bags on Etsy!

Funny Animal of the Week -- Good Morning Owl!

It is important to end my Top Ten Tuesday post with a funny animal, and this little guy gets my vote! He looks a lot like some of the other owls I've shared with you today, and he may even stand about 7" tall like some of the handmade versions of his brothers and sisters! I know he will grow up to have the yellow, piercing eyes that make my spine tingle, but for now anyway, he couldn't look more cute and friendly.

Thanks for stopping by,

Georgianne

Good to Know ... Insights for the Creative Life

ARF, 2008 © Susan M. Hinckley, 8.5" x 6"

In this week's Good to Know post, I'd like to introduce you to Susan M. Hinckley of Small Works in Wool. I just love Susan's design aesthetic and how she cleverly combines colorful wool fiber art with a fun sense of humor! I first saw Susan's work in one of Colorado's premiere fine craft galleries, Show of Hands, in Cherry Creek. Her work that I saw in person that day just thrilled me, for as a fellow fiber artist, I felt like she was representing her peers in such a smashing fashion in this high-end gallery. But beyond that rather self-centered reaction, I was also thrilled with her craftsmanship and originality. I hope you will take a few minutes to click-through to Susan's own website so that you, too, can see her complete gallery of current work.

I had a chance to ask Susan a few questions, and the answers are good to know if you also love to hear about beautiful success stories in the fiber arts. Let me share her replies with you...

GREENSONG, 2008 © Susan M. Hinckley, 7" x 8"

Georgianne Holland  Have you always sold original work and reproductions?
Susan M. Hinckley  I started offering prints of my work only because I produce such a limited number of pieces (about 12 - 15 per year) and never make the same piece twice. But I'd never been completely happy with the way my wool pieces reproduce -- they are so textural, and somehow even the best photos do not do that aspect justice. In order to re-visit some of my most popular ideas/images, I started offering some collages, which consist of fabric hand-sewn to watercolor paper, and also drawings. But I am truly not in the reproduction business at all. My interest really lies in one-of-a-kind, process-oriented work, and try as I might, I don't think I will ever be a mass producer or merchandiser. To thine own self be true!

GH  Do you have the text for your piece in mind before you create the image, or is it the other way around?
SMH  Yes. That's the best answer I can give you. Sometimes I have an image in mind, sometimes I have words, but it's always amazing to me how often my original sketch for a piece has different words on it than those on the finished fiber version. For some reason, my characters seem to take on a life of their own once the eyes are added -- it's as if they come alive, in a way, and unfortunately they often bring their own set of ideas! I just try to listen.

SKYWINDOW, archival print on Etsy, © Susan M. Hinckley, 12" x 22"

GH  You've had an Etsy shop since 2008. What is its most useful benefit to your work as an artist?
SMH  It's true I've had an Etsy shop since 2008, but I don't really consider myself to be using Etsy for anything but low-cost publicity. It's another showcase for my work, requires very little in the way of maintenance or expense, and can introduce me to a much larger audience than retail shows or my website or blog. I also like the flexibility of being able to offer drawings and paintings -- things I do not feature when I do retail shows, but things I enjoy creating. Actually (and definitely in part as a result of my neglect!) I sell very little from Etsy. But I derive tremendous benefit from being part of the Etsy community (the TAFA team on Etsy, for instance), and from spending time looking at the trends among other artists. For inspiration/eye candy/unusual and vintage supplies, it just can't be beat!

Thanks to Susan for her inspirational work and her words of wisdom. And thanks to all of you for stopping by,
Georgianne

My new favorite things...

I stumbled upon two new favorite things this morning and I want to get to know these Etsy artisans. I think we have similar passions.

I create only 2D work with wool, but I do like this folk art bird pattern from Cheswick Company in Connecticut. I especially like their button eyes and the feathers on their heads! I like that this is a pattern, not the finished item for sale. I think Etsy is a great source for those who make things, as well as a source for those who want to buy things. I know I look at other artists to be inspired. I have a few patterns in the works of my own designs, which is fun. I never thought to clamp the soft sculpture like this. Love it.

I also found a great bright green tote bag (and how many tote bags do I need... unending urge to collect them). I like this Love Languages tote by Buck Toothed Bunny in Boston because I am entranced by the best way to add words to art. There is silk screening, iron-on transfer, printing directly to fabric, decoupage, applique...can you think of any more techniques? I most recently embroidered words by hand and that is very time consuming! My particular OCD comes out when I do hand embroidery of words as my stitches are never as even as I think they should be. I really like how the words on this tote form a heart.

What has caught your eye already today? What will be your favorite thing this week? I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne