Artist Series -- Egilpatr

I love talking to people and finding out who they are and why they create. I have some favorite artists/crafters and will be interviewing them for your enjoyment. I’m going to keep the questions about the same, so that we can all examine the differences in how artists get to the point they are in their art/craft. Have you ever wondered while looking at a piece of art what crossed the mind of the artist, why did they choose those colors, subjects, or mediums? Who they identify with or what is their inspiration? And, the big question what happens when they have no idea what they want to create next?

Our first
interview is with Egilpatr

I met Egilpatr while visiting the Etsy fourms. A topic had begun regarding the critique of shops. She was very helpful and insightful as to what makes a shop appealing and useful to a potential customer. She even wrote a guide on how to critique your own Etsy store. Over time, we have exchanged emails and I have grown to enjoy this artist and her outlook on things. So, take some time to read about this lovely artist and in turn you might want to reflect on these questions….you never know when I’ll be emailing or convoing you for an interview!



1. When did you become interested in art and did you choose art,
or did it choose you?

I think it found me at an early age. I started by making clothes for my paper dolls, and then I made the dolls too. In High School I was in an academic program, but minored in art. I had poems and drawings in the school magazine. I studied at the same time at the Educational Alliance where many famous artists taught. I gave it up when it was time to choose a major in college because I could not believe I would have enough ideas for a lifetime. I was wrong in that, but I made a wise choice; I could have been starving today as an artist instead of being subsidized in my art by my annuity as a university professor But I always thought of myself as an artist underneath, and now I am one.

2. You get to spend one weekend each with three historical figures, an artist, a writer and one of your choice. Who are they and what will you talk about or do?

I would like to spend time with quite a few artists, but Turner for his passion and politics (his painting of a slave ship was an abolitionist icon). I want to ask him about those abstract structures underneath his pieces and what his colors looked like before they fell off. Vermeer to talk and learn about the discipline of composition and color. A writer, would be Robert Briffault, who wrote romantic, anti fascist novels (Europa and Europa in Limbo in the 1930's) and wrote some of the most provocative theories abut the structure of the family from prehistory till his day (Mothers: A Study of the Origins of Sentiments and Institutions, 1927). He stirred my mind when I was in college. I just want to hear his ideas from him, and see what he would say today about the world. And someone else. I would like to talk to the soul mate I never knew and do what we never did.

3. Do any of these choices influence your work? and why?

They all made me be the disciplined maverick I am today; romantic, but detail oriented; a rebel but upholder of rules.

4. How has the popularity of the Internet affected your work?

Oh, yes! It made it possible for me to show my work to the world; to submit online or with CD's; to invite people to a show I am in, with one letter addressed (BCC) to many, many people. And to SEE the images of great art from all the world, and the amazing work of today's photojournalists.

5. Have you discovered any new technique to creating your work that you can share?

Yes. "Tooth" describes the roughness of the painting surface. I was trying to get a blended look for a painting that was to be filled with smoke, and it wasn't blending as I wanted it to. I spoke to a former professor of mine, and she said it couldn't be done with acrylic. (I work in acrylic.) Ugh; so I asked another, and she said nonsense, keep at it. And I did. I learned that I needed to put layer upon layer (actually at least 6) of the acrylic, color on color, until the tooth was gone, and then I got the effect. See photo to the left. It is not on Etsy.

6. How do you overcome artist block?

I only seem to get that after my annual solo show in May. What will I do now; I have run out of ideas. But then I take a trip or an idea pops into my head, or I get an AH HA experience, and I am off. I am then usually able to do a new series, and as I work on that series, other ideas emerge.

7. If I walked into your studio this moment what would you show me first? What would you want to hide?

I only have the piece I am working on in the studio. Finished pieces are on my wall, in a show, or in storage. There is nothing I would hide in any of those places. Lucky, I guess

8. Describe something that comes up in your work because of a life experience.

Well, not to be too grandiose, the WAR in Iraq and Afghanistan came up in my life experience, and I have been wanting to express my protest through my art. How to do that came through to me in August, 2007. I contrast images of beauty and usually peace here at home with images of the war...in the same painting. The series is called "In The World" and I have done nine. They will be in my solo show this May; one is the piece with the smoke; there are three in my Etsy shop (numbers 3, 4, and 5) and all 9 will be on the two sites I have online by the middle of April.


9. Describe what you do, or who you are in a haiku.

Love steals into life
Awakes the soul and turns it
Outward to the world


10. Is there anything else that you would like to share?

That I have found some wonderful women friends on Etsy, and you are one of them.


Thank you for sharing a little bit about your life with us Egilpatr.

You can visit Egilpatr’s Etsy Shop at:
Egilpatr.etsy.com

Embroidery 101 – Tools: Needles

It’s time to start our embroidery class! I am planning on posting once per week a series on embroidery. We will of course begin with the basics. After we discuss the tools of embroidery, I will then begin posting short video’s showing you examples on how to do many of the stitches. You may want to choose a piece of fabric to do all of your sample work on, so that you have this as reference in the future –or to make your own sampler to hang on the wall. If you have questions, or suggestions feel free to send me an email. So, let’s begin!

Embroidery 101 – Tools: Needles 

Using the correct needle, as in any other form of sewing is important when doing embroidery. I have listed needle sizes below. Each needle size reflects the type of fabric and embroidery you should use it for. As you can see, the larger needle size equals a smaller eye in the needle. The smaller the number usually means the needle is longer and bulkier.

• Size 10: Used for fine embroidery techniques on tightly woven fabrics. This is a very fine needle with a small eye. One or two strands of floss, silk thread, or sewing cotton are suitable.
• Size 9 and 8: Used for fine embroidery and sewing. Two strands of floss or Perle Cotton thread No. 12.
• Size 7: Used for fine embroidery and sewing. Two – three strands of floss and Perle Cotton thread No 8.
• Size 6 and 5: Used for coarser embroidery techniques on tightly woven fabrics. One – two strands of crewel wool or metallic threads.
• Size 4: Used for other course embroidery techniques worked on tightly woven fabric. Three strands of crewel or perle cotton.
• Size 3, 2 and 1: Used for coarse embroidery techniques worked on tightly woven fabric.

Easter Bunny Chocolate Model

This bunny was on my front lawn, just in time for the video shoot, and reminded me of the chocolate bunnies....whose ears always go first! What do you think...."make me a model" material or not?

Hope you are having a hopping Easter!

Nonsensical typing skills!

Do you remember all those practice exercises in typing class?

fjklel? fjfjfrurufjufj? mnmn?

It would have been a lot more fun to practice all those in typing class if we had been commenting on blogs. Little did I know, I'm not telling you how many years ago...but it was on a typewriter with a manual return, that this torturous exercise would be useful in the future. I probably wouldn't have even given this a second thought, but I began to blog and in turn began looking at more and more blogs. Yes, there were blogs that I followed prior to writing my own, but it was minimal and when that little phrase had to be typed in...I thought ok...I'll just focus my eyes a little harder and it will be fine --no typos! But now...those little pass codes are popping up many times a day torturing me everytime I want to leave a comment...well almost everytime. Some people haven't been hit by spam yet so are letting us off the hook.

Now if the optometrist could figure out a way to help me discern letters that are all run together I could post my comments even more quickly! I'm glad there is a way to cut down on the spam, but in some cases you can't figure out what the "secret" combination is just to leave a friendly comment. Oh, the little frustrations in life!

Spring Green!

I was so inspired by all of the green in the desert this past weekend that I decided to make a green cuff. It's hard to decide what color to make next....since I have so many beautiful choices of felt. I lined this one with a suede-like fabric which gives it a nice shape and if you are sensitive to wool it keeps the wool off of your skin. I could never wear a wool sweater growing up in Ohio --they drove me nuts! Enjoy!

Beautiful Arizona!

Ok, I promise not to turn this into a travelogue for off-roading adventures....but....Arizona is so beautiful right now! If you knew how badly we damaged our FJ last weekend you would be amazed that we got it all put back together for our trip to Bulldog Canyon. DH did everything himself except the final alignment --he's such the engineer and can figure out anything! We didn't plan on going off-roading today, but friends called and it was going to be a beautiful, cool day, so off we went! I had planned on doing part I of my embroidery series, but will work on that beginning tomorrow. I can't wait to put it together and get you embroidering!

So here are my pictures of our off-roading adventure. As you can see we are in Bulldog Canyon. The wildflowers are covering all of the mountains. It was a kind of cloudy day, so the sun was casting shadows across the mountains and the clouds were so white against the blue sky.

Off-roading is such an adventure...sometimes too over-the-top for me and I have to get out and take pictures. I could have handled going over these rocks, but I knew the pictures would be pretty cool. 

Here is a Teddy Bear Cholla. You really don't want to get too close to this...sometimes it seems that the needles just jump out at you. They are very fine needles and so hard to get out. Plus, they have a residue on them which causes skin irritation.

This picture is absolutely awesome...the colors are so rich and vivid. See how green it is...can you believe that this is the desert? The rock formation in the next picture is called the Superstition Mountains. Within these mountains is the Lost Dutchman gold mine...people have been looking for this lost treasure for decades. We have hiked on the trails in that area, eight hours of rocky, up to 3,000 feet elevation and back down, worn out but exhilarated!

If you love off-roading and hiking come to Arizona and see all of the beauty! --but bring plenty of water and sunscreen!

And, Just in case you are worried about off-roading and the environment --we practice Tread Lightly and come back off every trail with a bag full of litter.

Deep, Deep Red

I just finished a new felt cuff. It's a lovely red...deep, deep red. I used black and shades of grey to embroider the flowers, scrolls and leaves. It has a really sophisticated look and would look great with jeans or a great suit. I finished the inside so that if you are allergic to wool it won't make you itchy! 

 

In the next couple of days I'm going to start a series on embroidery....embroidery 101. With a few basic stitches you can make beautiful accessories, or embellish some of your own items. I am now bleary-eyed...and think I'll go rest my eyes!

Vintage Topical Bark Cloth

I made these a while ago, but thought I would share them with everyone. I have these three narrow windows that look out into my backyard, but the windows don't open. They face west, so it will be rare that I need to open the shades.  I fell in love with the texture of vintage barkcloth many years ago and decided that was what I wanted to use to make Roman Shades. So, of course, I scoured the internet looking for just the right design. I found this beautiful yellow hibiscus pattern.... on...shhh....the other E site and was lucky enough to get it.

Three beautiful panels that I cut to get the design centered properly on each panel. Then I used the Dupioni silk that I had made my other window treatment with  to

edge the panels. I've also been collecting various seashell beads and used that to make the bottom trim. I found the cute wrought iron tie backs at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I was extremely intimidated about making these Roman shades since I've heard such horror stories about how hard they are to make. I proceeded carefully...following the measure twice, cut once golden rule. They turned out perfectly!  

On one of my thrift-store treasure hunts I found this lovely flamingo!

Bloody Basin Road Arizona

What an exciting day...Arizona desert, cougar, sheep bridge and a big rock!

We have a Toyoto FJ Cruiser and we love it! Yesterday afternoon and for the first time in serveral weeks we decided to go for a spin on the back roads of Arizona. Now these aren't really roads, unless you have an off-road capable vehicle. 

Bloody Basin (exit 259 off the I-17) was named such because of a notable indian fight in March 1873. The fight was between the army and the Apache Indians. It is an absolutely beautiful area and yesterday it was filled with spring flowers. All of the hills are green (for Arizona) because of all of the rain we have had over the last few months.

While traveling to the Sheep Bridge, coming up the trail was a group of people on sports utility vehicles pulling a flat bed trailer. Since everyone has to move to the side in order to pass on these narrow trails conversation began and we found out that just earlier at the Sheep Bridge their grandson had been clawed by a cougar. If it hadn't been for a quick thinking grandpa and a handy gun there would have been tragedy. The little boy is fine, but the mountain lion was killed. It was so sad to see the mountain lion lying there. She was young, hungry and trying to survive. 

We traveled along being jolted by deep ruts in the road, crossing streams, and manerving over a few obstacles while heading for the Sheep Bridge. The Sheep Bridge is a suspension bridge located within the Agua Fria National Monument Lands and crosses the Verde River. The bridge was built in 1989 replacing the old

bridge which was built to allow the Basque sheep herders a safer way to herd their sheep from the low country to high country, rather than crossing the hazaradous Verde River.

It was getting close to sunset on our return so we were trying to hurry since we had about 20 miles to travel to get back to civilization. We were blazing along and at the very last moment all I could yell was, "big rock right!" Too late. Our right, front tire hit hard and threw our alignment so far out that the tire began rubbing, then the brakes weren't working properly. All I could think about was being stalked by cougar and snakes. Luckily there was another family off-roading who came to our resuce. We broke down around 6pm and we didn't make it home until this morning at 2:30am. What an adventure!

Felt Connoisseur

Most of the items in my shop currently are made with felt. Rather than being a connoisseur of wine, I'm a connoisseur of felt! (See this Wikipedia article for everything you ever wanted to know about felt) I'm always on the hunt for really nice felt. I have found Spanish wool, wool, hand-dyed, made with recycled plastics, and craft felt. Of course there is also the felt that you can make from wool garments... I found yards and yards of felt at a local thrift shop, but I'm going to use that when I get around to making paper --to absorb the excess water between layers of felt. Don't hold your breath for paper in my shop, it could be years before I get around to that project!

While traveling the Pacific Coast Highway last fall, I stopped at a quilt shop, Forget-me-Knots, in Brandon, Or., and found the felt that graces the cuffs that are in my Etsy shop, Waterrose.etsy.com . It is hand-dyed and absolutely beautiful! My current felt discovery was found in an Etsy shop, MissSewItAll.etsy.com . Her shop carries beautiful fabrics from some of the major designers. You can see by this picture she also has (only one collection left!) some beautiful felt. It's sitting on my design table at the moment. As I pass it I have to reach out and touch it...the colors are rich and just waiting to be made into something beautiful. I have to stay away from this shop...it is a fabriholics worst nightmare! When you talk with Miss Sew It All...you can tell that you would love to have her as your next door neighbor if you collect fabric --not only is she funny, but I'm sure she knows the best tactics for getting fabric into the house without anyone knowing....except the dog!

I love making the cuffs that I began designing a month ago. I haven't been embroidering much over the last year, at least not until I began making the embroidered rings. I've been busy with the quilt that I posted about earlier this week. I'm also working on a book that I've been writing for quite a while about quilting. 

So, when I began sitting down to embroider these cuffs the design ideas came pouring out of my brain. I had to sit and draw some of them, since I can't make them as fast as I think them up. So, if I don't stop playing on etsy ...I'll never get around to making them all! With that...I will bid the computer adieu and get busy making some new cuffs for your enjoyment!

Waterrose

Long ago and far away a young man from the land of tulips and windmills made his way to New York. I try to picture the journey and what may have been crossing his mind as he neared this distant shore. Fear, excitement, trepidation? 

Did he leave the ship even knowing that he would stay in America? There are no clues now where he went first, or if there was someone here that he already knew. What was he searching for? 

I romantically think about my grandfather who I never knew, except through the stories of my mother. Not even a picture exists that I'm aware of. Since our DNA holds the secret to our past....why can't just a little of that DNA show us what came before? So I dream. I make up stories. When I was younger, he was a pirate, the captain of the ship, a stowaway, or just a normal nondescript man. Are there clues to the shape of my eyes, my nose...the freckles across my face that mirror his? Or, my just plain stubbornness?

Waterrose is the name that he brought to this country. However, when I happen across someone who is Dutch and talk to them about this name it rings no bells. They say, "well perhaps it was spelled differently....vateruse..." I have gotten closer to the past held by my grandmothers family, his wife. But can't get past the edge of our eastern shore to find out more about this man who began the first generation of Waterrose's in America.

Waterrose is a beautiful name and one that I choose to honor in the absence of knowing this person whom I never had the chance to call grandfather....

If...

If I had known when I joined Etsy that there was no turning back when choosing a name then I wouldn't be recreating my shop a year and a half later. What? Why did you wait so long? Well, I thought for sure that Etsy would realize it's mistake and very soon allow shop owners to fix their mistake --well at least one time! Has it happen yet you ask? Well, no.  That's why I'm here to announce my new shop Waterrose . 

As of today, I have only moved over three of my items. I decided that new pictures were warranted...so during daylight hours you can find me scurrying back and forth between picture taking, editing and posting. But like the rest of you I have other activities that keep me busy --laundry, dinner-making, reading the etsy forum, waiting for a treasury to open  ...the crucial things in life! Oh, and I'm also a quilt maker, so I'll leave you with my almost finished, newest creation. Let me know what you think

...oh are you wondering where I came up with the name Waterrose....I'll tell you later...

Last night

Last night I was looking at a book that I picked up at Hospice of the Valley Thrift shop in Phoenix. The book was written in 1926 and this is the 1927 edition of  Later American Writers, Part Two (I wonder if I can find Part One --well I'm sure that Powell's or Abe books will have a copy) of Selections from American Literature, b y Leonidas Warren Payne, Jr --that is a name to grow into! Well there is a story by James Gibbons Huneker (1860-1921) called Poe and His Polish Contemporary. In this case Edgar Allen Poe's contemporary is Frederic Francois Chopin. They were both born in 1809, a month apart and died in October of 1849. I would have never thought to compare the two, or imagine them as friends --would you? Huneker states that his love of Poe came early in life, since his father had been a friend of Poe's in Philadelphia in the "roaring forties." The writer goes back and forth with the idea of what it would have been like if Chopin had come to New York (he had been on the verge of doing so in 1831) or if Poe had moved to Paris. To quote Huneker, There's a marvelous combination for you of fantasy, moonlight, rotten nerves, hasheesh, and alcohol!

Now what does this have to do with my new blog and shop ---absolutely  nothing! But I had to begin somewhere and fate stepped in with a most charming book!

So, welcome to my blog --stay a while and relax --I'll try not to bore you!