Flickr: moesewco
Other...: www.moesewco.etsy.com
After Em spent all weekend working with a soft box, lighting, and various settings on the digital camera, I think she finally worked out how to take some good pictures of her hats. Once she finished yesterday afternoon, I asked her to give me the quick and dirty lessons I'd need to snap some more decent shots of my larger embroidery pieces.
I really wanted to get a picture of a piece I did about a year ago but had never photographed. It's a stylized face done in black on a dark background. My favorite part about the thing, though, is the way I decided to frame it. I was tired of seeing the same old presentations for finished embroidery, so I decided to try something new by framing it with old records.
I carefully cut out the middle of one record, mounted the face on another, and sandwiched them together. Then I drilled some holes around the edges and sewed the records to each other.
I certainly wouldn't do this with every piece, but for this one, I thought it fit nicely. It's got a kind of weird, black sun feel to it, and I was pretty pleased.
Anyway, I posted a picture of it in some Flickr groups I belong to, and this morning I got a wonderful surprise. My friend Beefranck sent me a note saying that my piece was featured in the Craft blog. Craft was a great magazine which I was saddened to see go the way of the dodo, but they have tried to keep the torch burning a bit with Flickr groups and their own blog. Needless to say, I was really excited to be noticed by them, and honored that they featured one of my pieces.
Thanks to them, and thanks to Beefranck for pointing it out to me! (ADAM)
Can anyone out there guess what I'm working on this week? Well, Em was accepted into the One of a Kind show here in Chicago (a big deal about which thee will be more information to come), so I'm working on making pieces for her display. More specifically, I'm working on jazzing up some styrofoam heads.
I made a couple of these about a year ago, but I started with the old flour and water and wet newspaper mess. To save time, and because I apparently hate the Earth, I decided to use a base head made of styrofoam this time. I kept my idea of using strips of finished crossword puzzles as the covering. It has a quirky feel while still having a touch of class. I also like the fact that that the puzzles have been filled in because it gives the thing an extra bit of humanity.
It's been fun, even for a guy who's afraid of mannequins.
Here's a quick picture that I took with the Photo Booth application, so it's certainly not as good as it could be. It's enough to give you an idea, though. (ADAM)
As Adam told you yesterday, we had a great time browsing around the Renegade Craft Fair this year. It really was an amazing event. It was not over-run with owls. That's a good thing.
Renegade is actually kind of a fairly big anniversary of sorts in the family Moe. It was there, at the first show, that we discovered this "new" aesthetic in crafting. From that day forward, we were inspired to dive in to the DIY culture, gradually honing our skills and interests into what we do today. Adam's first embroidery project was a set of Luche Libre dish towels from a pattern we purchased at that show, for his sister for Christmas.
Today I'd like to feature two artists (as in the painter type) that I found particularly compelling.
The first is Ryan Berkley of Ryan Berkley Illustration. His stuff was grand fun for me. Just my sort of absurdity. The bulk of his collection focused on various animals in suits of some sort. Here are two of my favorites:
He also ascribes to the Moe philosophy of giving a bit of character and story to his prints.
"This small town mayor is a bit of a jokester. He's been known to attend town meetings dressed as The Flash and he boasts about his autographed photo of Speedy Gonzales in his office."
I'm also dead fond of meerkats. Not so fond that I'm willing to watch Meerkat Manor more than once (or twice or...). But honestly, how can you not love a meerkat particularly in a flightsuit?
"You might think this guy is just your standard flying meerkat. You'd be wrong! He also plays piano, paints, draws, and he once had the world’s largest model Porsche collection. Ask him about the time he played the keyboard while doing a double barrel roll."
Prints are available from berkleyillustration on Etsy.
The other artist that really caught my eye was Catia Chien. The word that really comes to mind when I look at her paintings is "winsome", but according to my dictionary (attractive or appealing in appearance), I'm ascribing more to this word than it actually contains. A little melancholic. Like a dream that's fading... There are stories in this work, and they are for us to imagine.
There are, in fact, quite a lot of stories for Catia Chien. She has done illustrations for all sorts of media, from children's books Nickolodean. Good onya! How wonderful to find a truly fine artist that is actually making her way in the world.
Her paintings make me want to take a long cool look. And then another.
Catia Chien's work is available from catiachien.com
(Emily)
This weekend was one of the biggest crafting weekends of the year -- the Chicago Renegade Craft Fair. Em and I went on Saturday, met up with beefrank, and hit the booths. We grabbed a lot of cards from a lot of artists that we liked, and I thought it might be fun to spend the next few days linking D.W. readers with some of the things we liked.
First, we were really impressed by Red Velvet Art. According to their extremely well-designed site, the business was started several years ago by two friends (and a younger sister) by selling handmade accessories at music festivals. Now, six years later, they are running a boutique in Springfield, MO as well as an on-line shop. And if this weekend is any indication, they are also traveling to craft shows. It was fantastic to see that someone has found a way to make a life out of craft without having to give up other important things like food and shelter.
We were also drawn to Zooguu, both for their awesome plush creations and their excellent tent display. According to the events calendar on their site, Zooguu is taking its crazy plush monsters all over the country this winter and fall, so you might even get a chance to see their work with your own eyes. I was especially fond of the puffer fish, but there were so many animals and monsters to choose from that it was almost overwhelming. If you are a fan of stuffed toys, or if you like animals with one big eye, I suggest visiting the Zooguu Etsy store HERE.
Finally today, I was drawn to the work of illustrator Brian Gubicza. His deceptively simple portraits of famous writers, literary characters, and monsters were fantastic, and can be found at his Etsy shop. I was really fond of his Poe, but frankly, if I had to choose I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favorite. Check out his shop for mummies, vampires, and even the Queen of Hearts -- all in his own, unique style. (ADAM)
Those of you who have been following our blog know that Em recently made a hat for British wit Stephen Fry. It has been a while since she sent that hat to London, and we found out late last week that it had been held over in customs because of some unpaid fee or other.
Mr. Fry's assistant, the patient and talented Jo Crocker, was able to pay bail on the package this week, and we received word that the hat (and the embroidered tie I sent with it) arrived in the form of the following note and picture from the man himself:
Dear Emily and Adam,
My package arrived today! One hat and one tie. Both gorgeous beyond imagining.
I am wearing the hat as I type this and the tie is around my shoulders (proof enclosed)
Thank you both SO much for such generosity. I really am very touched by your kindness and very staggered by your skill, design flair, wit and perfectionism.
A great big, slobbery, grateful thank
With love from
Stephen
To say we're happy is a bit of an understatement. In the words of one of Em's Facebook friends, we have achieved some sort of nerd apotheosis with this one.
I've been shopping around Etsy this past week. I must admit, I'd fallen behind in my wanderings (if that's possible). Anyway, it's fun to browse around Treasuries and let your fingers do a bit of a saunter.
I am, of course, still completely obsessed by the tango. I haven't been actually physically present there either. I'm gearing up for my glorious return somewhere after September 15 (payday). I think these two items here would look absolutely stunning in the dance. Check em out.
Rodarte inspired knit fishnet thigh high stockings are for sale from MisoPervy on Etsy
Flora Tattoo Thigh High Stockings are available from post on Etsy
(emily)
Especially with the return of Project Runway, my mind is running toward couture fashion in a most intense way. I crave the glossy pages of Vogue and Elle and Harper's (which even has fantastic writing, proving that fashion consciousness and intelligence are not mutually exclusive). My hands crave fine fabrics. I'm desperate to indulge in some serious retail therapy, and now I could even justify it as economic stimulus!
(And don't think I'm not aware of the irony of writing all of this, unshowered, in jammy pants and an accidentally bleached t-shirt.)
Apparently I'm not alone in having fall fashion on the brain. I'm thrilled to say that a lovely Etsyan, CecilandCo, has included my work in a Treasury entitled "Couture".
What a lovely word. Couture.
Here's a screenshot, but you should definitely go and visit in the next couple of days before the treasury vanishes. Visit all of these beautiful sellers. Go ahead and indulge in a little Etsy retail therapy. You'll be very happy you did, and you'll make an Etsy seller very happy too! (Emily)
It actually started many months ago, maybe even a year ago, when I saw this article about creating moss graffiti in Craft. I thought that was about the coolest thing I ever saw, but I thought that a lot about things in Craft (I still mourn the loss of the magazine). The deal was this, find some local moss, wash it off, stick it in the blender with a beer and a little bit of sugar, then paint it wherever you like.... spritz frequently.
While I think moss graffiti is cooler than hell, I had no hankerin' to actually graffite. I did, however, wonder about making moss. You see I've got this courtyard in my condo building. It was a lost and sad place, smelling strongly of pee on a humid day. I've been on a quest for a couple of years now to try to green up this place. I'd love to remove the concrete, but alas, it is not to be. So I'm all about containers. This year I planted a whole bunch of containers with grass. They've been very popular, if being very popular is that friends in my building have commented on them.
The place is entirely shady. It's really hard to persuade things to grow, and I want more than anything for it to seem more friendly and more green.
My answer may lie in moss.
This weekend, Adam and I went on a moss hunting expedition. We snuck about the neighborhood, with bucket in hand, asking people if we could "have their moss" in a forgotten corner down by the river. Digging it out from between the cracks in the sidewalk (that moss is fair game), scraping it from under a fence. Ok, so I was much more enthusiastic about this than Adam, who only wanted to go home and hide in the air-conditioning. But I still thought it was pretty fun. An urban scavenger hunt FOR MOSS!
Gather Square Moss Ring is available from AdornJewelry on Etsy
Since I was more into getting my hands dirty than he was, I washed it all out in the bucket. I was amazed at how very quickly what was sort of brownish went almost fluorescent green. It was almost instantaneous. I got more excited. This could be the answer to a lot of our gardening/grass woes!
Adam was much more enthusiastic about the blending process. Probably because it involved beer. And he likes sliding in at the end of the project for the most exciting part. And lets not forget the beer.
We spread our "moss-shake" on a bed that I'd recently de-lettuced, and now every time I pass, I look closely at it to see if anything's happening. There might be some greening going on, but I really can't be sure.
I'll have to keep you posted.
Mini Moe (!) Terrarium is available from dewgardencrafts on Etsy
(Emily)
This post probably won't matter at all to those of you who aren't into textile arts. You guys will have to wait until tomorrow, because today I'm focusing on some of the nicest looking embroidery floss I've ever seen.
Cymberrain has an Etsy shop full of hand-dyed floss, and it looks fantastic. I have always used plain old DMC flosses for my work, but I'm already thinking about how I might use Cymberrain's extra-special flosses in a piece.
I should also mention that I actually found her shop via Flickr, where I found photos of some of her embroidery work. That work, too, is pretty amazing, and I would suggest that you spend a few minutes checking it out.
Here are a couple of pictures. First, just two of the many colors she has dyed her floss. The last shot is a photo of one of her pieces, titled Small World Sleeping Moon. Feel free to click the photos for the appropriate links. (ADAM)
