The Stern Workshop

This has been a busy week in the Stern household.

Izzy is experimenting with food coloring and various foods for his science unit (we are studying cells).

“Hey Mom, why you taking my picture?”

We also have an upcoming show at The Plains Public Library, in addition to the two shows I already have work in, so it is up to the studio we go:

Izzy at his clay station.  We spent a good half hour earlier this week cleaning up the old clay. He couldn’t be happier to have the extra room to work in.

A different angle.  You can see the many plush creatures I’ve made from my own patterns as well as a few from Ravelry and books.  My hats are off to the right, and that is a mini quilt hanging from my design wall above them.

Izzy wanted me to take a picture of him demonstrating how to make a bead.  He uses Sculpey III brand polymer clay.  I supervise the baking process.  Izzy has been sculpting for nearly 8 years now, and I am amazed at how detailed his work is becoming.

Here he is decorating an earring part with Pearl Ex powders.  I was watching him while I was seated at my sewing machine.

Not to be left out, I have been creating, too.

Yellow strips in process.  I was having a tension problem and had put this piece aside while I figured it out.  Finally I managed to dislodge the lump of lint which had made a home in my bobbin case and all was well. 

Here is a closeup of the big yellow base.  I added the ten long strips I pieced between yesterday and today.  I am very happy to have my sewing machine working again.  To the right is “Day of the Cichlids” in process and to the left are the completed White Queen and Frog Prince.

The family who creates together stays together!

Check Out This Site!

There is a profile of me and my work today at Layers Upon Layers . We have been hit by the big snow/ice storm that travelled through the midwest, and I have not had electricity at home since 5:30pm yesterday. Days like this I am glad I am a mixed media artist, because I can knit even without power! (My poor Pfaff, I had just started sewing something new on Tuesday, too). I hope to post again soon with pictures of the fairyland the area has become. It is really beautiful, but you don't realize how many trees there are until they become dangerous.

Stuffed is Here!

Carl, plush alligator, patchwork, crochet, machine embroidery. He's about 30" long and is one of the plush featured in the following:




















Stampington & Co's new publication, Stuffed, just hit my mailbox yesterday, so it should be on a newsstand near you soon. I have an article on three of my plush, Carl, Ally and Olivia, they are on pages 76-79. This publication is full of lots of cool plush, well worth finding.

What Came from FedEx Today

Plurtle and Swanson are on page 100! Very nice book, lots of great work from lots of fun artists.

Skully Stella and Friend

While preparing stuff to take to Wholly Craft tomorrow, I came across this unfinished giraffe mini quilt, which was crying out to be finished. So after I found the proper machine threads, I embroidered him right up. I am unsure whether he is a stand alone or a part of a multiple component piece (after the dream I had last night I think I have an idea...)

And then I made Skully Stella, friend to Skully Stan, also machine embroidery. Both pieces are on my own hand-dyed twill (ie twill I dyed myself, not purchased myself). What is the proper terminology for that? Artist dyed cloth?

Details of each image are at my flickr.

Ok, I Was Wrong

Carl has been sitting in the studio for maybe 7 months, waiting for me to get brave enough to give him eyes and legs. After my success with Tiki's eyes (which will have to wait for another post) I decided it was time for a gator.

Here he is in all his glory.

Here I am, thrilled as all get out that the eyes worked even better than I'd thought (I was planning on pancake eyes lying on his face, but they wanted to stand up, which is what I'd originally intended and which I didn't think I'd be able to pull off).

And look at the delicious little alligator piggies. I had no idea how to do these until after I'd finished his eyes. Of course having made an elinor peace bailey pattern about seven years ago did help (the chicken shaman has two part legs and I used that concept). They are so cute. They are so gargoyle-y and ogre-y and I think I may need a bigger box (of stuffing).

And finally, a view from above, to show off the lovely soft sculptured nose. His face is made from the most yummy dupioni silk I bought from Becky at St Theresa Textile Trove, and many of the fabrics that make up his body also came from there. His legs are my hand-dyed twill.

I am so happy. Now I think the dragon can be finished! :)

Miss Nancy's Midnight Parlor

In process, I finally got up the guts to actually put the back on and start quilting. The white lines are actually very pale sage and are the base for Miss Nancy's web. I am unused to wrestling something so large on my sewing machine, several items in the vacinity went for an unplanned trip. I am still pondering how to create her visitor. Flies used to come in all kinds of colors when I was a kid; I remember bronze ones and green ones and deep blue-violet ones. I want to pay tribute to that memory, and working out the best way to represent the colorful fly. I already have the most wonderful "fly eye" buttons..... :) I'd best hurry, Miss Nancy is going to Donkey in a week.

Upcoming Books I'm In

I designed two projects for this one, both beadwork and both very cool:



And I am not sure who will be in this one, Chauncey the alligator, Plurtle the turtle, or Swanson the fish.

They both look really cool, I can't wait to see them!

Ms Spider

I may call her Nancy. She is bigger than the other creatures I've been making , primarily because I wanted a large area to explore the lovely purple fur I used for her body. She'll be lounging in her web soon enough, chatting with a friendly fly who stopped by.

And closeup of body and head.

I am skipping out on a bra meeting at the moment. It's too cold to be sociable. Grr.

Quilt Sunday

Cleaning the house for company, everyone has to go back to the studio:

And today's work in the studio. Two months til I hang the Donkey show and then I also have a group show at the Athens Public Library with my local art group so new things need to be completed:
Detail of single sun and various greens pieced together.


So far today I managed to get the green upper-ground pieced and applied to the sun quilt base. It measures approximately 40" H by 45" wide at the moment. I am thinking reverse applique flowers to fill the ground. Lots of oldies but goodies, including several greens in the Lunn Fabrics Pointillist Palette.

It's a very warm sunny day out, what am I doing in here?

Journal Page Fun

I got to go to Donkey and spend an hour realigning with an iced latte, slice of gingerbread cake (so good, wonder who made it? ;) and my paper and pencils.

Colored pencil on Fabriano paper, Souffle pen outlines and details.

Closeup of gator.
Close up of flower.

And from a few weeks ago, a study for red shoes. Scrapbook paper cutout shoe, magazine images of shoes and flowers, base of Golden Paints Pyrrole Red and highlighted with Souffle pens and oil pastels.

Etsy Update

I just put a bunch of animals and the turtle handbag up at my Etsy shop. Thanks for looking!

Fiona, Freddy, and Olivia

In between cleaning and organizing the studio (a major week long undertaking so far), I managed to finish a few things that had already been in process. Fiona and Freddy had bodies, eyes and mouths, they only needed fins and a tail to feel complete. They are made of the usual mix of commercial print and commercial hand dyed cottons, Freddy's head is made of silk dupioni. Their features are crocheted, and their fins and tail are made of stretchy swimsuit material.

Fiona, looking happy to be here.

Freddy, swimming with purpose.

And Olivia got her wings and beak yesterday. The wings are appliqued and quilted before being attached to her body. The beak is felt that I sewed with a fancy stitch on my sewing machine (double thickness of felt) and then blanket stitched.

All three will be on my Etsy shop later this week, along with some butterflies (they still need legs).

Show Opens Today!

Opening today the Medex Show, at the Push Skate Shop and the Stupid Creatures Toy Company of Asheville, North Carolina. Over 70 plush pieces by more than 50 artists (including moi). Show dates March 17- April 18, 2007.

Owl in Process

Well, I can't call him Woodsy, even though that song keeps going through my head (the old PSA, "help Woodsy spread the word, never be a dirty bird, in the city and in the woods, trees keep America looking good") Whatever did happen to ol' Woodsy anyway? Is he hanging out with Smokey and McGruff and Timer? (I know Smokey's still working, McGruff too, occasionally. I say it's time to bring Woodsy out of retirement).

Anyway. I am making an owl, and this is what she looks like so far:

Full body shot, hand-dyed twill (by me), shibori dyed cotton by Lunn Fabrics, commercial cotton prairie points, crocheted features and scrapbook ribbon trim.

Detail of the prairie points. Took more than I thought, but was worth the effort.

Detail of the eye, bullion crochet in Koigu Painter's Palette, commercial button.

Next up, wings for her and the butterflies.

Butterflies with Faces

Shiny happy faces, machine embroidery on peltex, and felt lips. Fabric glue. Part of the "trying to simplify construction to make them more affordable" experiment. Wings are still going to be fancy though. Simple wings just didn't look right.

I Love Burt Bacharach

It must be the colors of what I'm working on, and the weather, but I have "I'm Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" running through my head. Mom got these Reader's Digest music books, one was lime green with purple flowers, and I think the other was orange. I learned a lot of lyrics reading through those books. Imagine if they made them for some of the music out there now. Of course, being the little kid I was at the time, there probably were entendres that just went over my head.

Anyway, I am making a batch of smaller butterflies to upload to my Etsy shop later this week. Here they are in process:


Stash fabrics, commercial hand-dyes, each body is about 14" long.

Side view of one, lots of fun color and visual texture.

Later, after I spend some more time in the studio, I will post features (eyes and mouths, maybe wings)

Making Softies

I have been madly making animals this week.

Belle, cotton and synthetic fabrics, crochet features and legs, silk flower and button decor. Belle brings a bit of sunshine to a cold winter day (we are still talking windchills here and got an inch of snow yesterday morning). She is the follow up to Flo.

Flo, the alligator who dreamt of being a flying nurse. Flo is also made of cotton and synthetic fabrics, with crochet features and nurse cap. She is embellished with rhinestones on her scales. Flo is off to the Medex show in Asheville, NC.

And a little older, Ally is from an animal making rush in December. Being that she is not used to Ohio's colder climate, she asked for a scarf and I kindly obliged. Cottons, African batiks and crochet make Ally a real charmer.