Chicago ~ Windowspalooza ~ Oct 18 2011

I'm coming to Chicago on the 18th to teach two seminars for the Chicagoland, WCAA, annual chapter event Windowspalooza.

I'm teaching one of my favorite classes on quick rendering. I teach you how to use simple shapes and techniques to create quick accurate sketches for your clients. Its a super fun hands on class that I know you will enjoy.

My second class outlines my own personal journey of reinvention in my career and how to appl y some of the thing I have done to try to stay current to your own career.

Please come join us if you are in the area, there is still plenty of time to sign up here.

See you in the windy city!

Read More

Getting Back to the Basics

 

 

 

This week I’m working on a series of Angels for Christmas 2012 that will be modeled after antique Santons.  I’ve always loved antique religious relics and statuary so its fun to try to work those images into more contemporary versions.  I decided to start with the basics.

 

 

I want them to be moveable  so I am trying to work out a jointed body for the base.  I made some very rough body parts last night and cut them up to see what poses I could arrange.  My husband saw what I was doing and thought I had lost my mind.  We were watching the premier of Dexter which is about a serial killer who cuts people up and I was busy cutting up tiny body parts of my own.  Hummmm !

 

 

 

Here is the start of something beautiful – little bodies poses in angelic stances.  Soon they will have robes, wings, and halos to dress them up to look like this lovely lady below.

 

 

Stay tuned to see the finished product.

Read More

Etsy ~ Spotlight

Etsy.com is such a great resource for uncommon and unique goods.  I love searching the site for new products and ideas to incorporate into my designs.  This Etsy store has hundreds of great items.  Here are just a few.  Visit the store here.

 

Read More

Great New Products From Rowley

The standout product offering at the WCAA Inspire conference last week was the new line of button borders and button embellishments from the Finestra line by Rowley Company. These innovative products really pack a visual punch with their large scale and detailed profiles. The button borders are built to surround fabric covered centers but I can think of a thousand other uses for them as well.

The button collection comes in a variety of sizes and finishes.

Next on the Horizon – due out in October- are these fabulous grommets. Yes, they are functioning grommets and can be used in a number of innovative ways. What a great idea to add some style to a functional element.

I love the way they have used them as decorative elements on this pillow. Products like this get my creativity going.

They will be available in several finishes.

Can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

What would you do with these great new products?

Read More

WCAA Inspire Conference

 

Just got back from the WCAA ( Window Coverings Association of America) “Inspire” Conference in Louisville Kentucky.  I taught two seminars and had a great time seeing old friends and making new ones.

 

The New Jersey WCAA chapter made a treatment for the show floor using my fabrics.  I was thrilled to see it all put together and the girls did a great job as always. 

 

This particular treatment had some great embellishments including individual chandelier crystals sewn at the center of each flower on the circle trellis pattern they used for the Roman shade.  They gave it a great sparkle.

 

 

I loved the fancy rosettes used to hold the tie backs in place at the wall and the smocked heading on the panels was gorgeous. 

 

 

Thanks so much Kelli and Rosemarie and the rest of the New Jersey chapter for using my fabrics.  The treatment was beautiful.

 

I ran out of battery life in my camera before I could take too many more pictures but I managed to  get some of this creative treatment.

 

 

The Roman shade was embellished with hand sewn flowers and stems crating a lovely garden motif.  I loved how she tucked the fabric in the center.  I think this was done by Lee Tran – If I am wrong please let me know – sorry, I wasn’t paying attention!!!  

 

 

Here is a close up so you can see some of the detail.  It was so creative and shows just how artistic you can get within the boundaries of window treatment design. 

After these shots my camera died so that's all I have to show you.  Next month I will be at the WCAA chapter event Windowspalooza in Chicago teaching an all day seminar and I promise to charge my camera!

Read More

In My New Studio Today

 

 

Working on my first project in the new studio and its fabulous;  although its still technically under-construction.  

I still need:

A TV  ~ ( I am a TV  addict.  I don’t watch it when I work but the sound keeps me company since its mostly just me and the dogs when the hubby is at work.  I am so used to it being on that working in this new room with no sound is creepy.)

A rolling office chair for my sewing table.   (This one would be great)

 

 

A barstool for the work table ~ Just stole one from the kitchen for now, I want this one from Home Decorators Collection . I like the back since I am getting old and hunched over from overwork!  And I love the swivel.  I wish it was on rollers though.

And last but not least flooring ~  I will have to wait on that one for awhile.

 

 

I’m doing rough color studies for a new series of birds and flowers.  For this project I am using a combination of  watercolor pencils and traditional watercolors.  I print out my sketches first on Bristol paper and try to rough out the colors first so I know what I am doing on the final draft.  This saves me lots of time, effort, and paper since it takes me a few tries to get it right.

 

 

When I get a new set of watercolor pencils ( or regular colored pencils for that matter) I usually do a color chart so I can see what they look like after water has been applied. I do a small swatch of variegated color and label it with the pencil brand and number. Most watercolor pencils change significantly once they have been wet and then more after they dry.  This is a good quick visual reference but I still need to do mock ups to be sure about the colors I am using and how they will blend together.

Watercolor pencils are great for me because I tend to do small , detailed images and I don’t have a ton of experience with fluid watercolors.  I am learning though! 

Read More

Diane Gilleland ~ Kanzashi in Bloom

 

I ran across this book on Amazon the other day and was instantly hooked. 

 

It shows endless possibilities for folding fabric into lovely flowers of all shapes and sizes. 

 

You know how my mind works ~ I immediately saw thousands of applications for these pretty posies.

 

I emailed the author the lovely Diane Gilleland to ask a few questions about how she got into this art form.

 

Diane with her lovely book

Jackie ~ How did you first hear about this art form? 

Diane ~  I spend a lot of time looking at all kinds of crafts on the web. Somehow, somewhere I stumbled onto some images of Japanese Kanzashi. I was gobsmacked at how detailed and delicate they were, and I wanted to learn more. If you go to YouTube and search "Kanzashi," you can find a whole lot of interesting video showing the traditional Japanese way of making these flowers. But that process is way too exacting for me, so I set about trying all kinds of simpler methods until I'd developed a process that produced nice flowers without too much specialized skill or equipment.

 

 

Jackie ~  Can you give a quick history of its origins?

Diane  ~  The word "Kanzashi" actually translates from Japanese as "hair ornament." Kanzashi date back to the Edo period in Japan (roughly the 1600's), when there was a rather sudden change in hairstyle fashion. Women stopped wearing their hair long and loose, and started putting it up. All kinds of elaborate combs and pins began to emerge as Japanese artisans invented new adornments for these upswept styles.

Floral kanzashi have always been part of the Geisha culture in Japan. Geisha adorn their hairstyles with these flowers for public occasions. There are specific Kanzashi for each month of the year, too – you'll see Geisha wearing silk cherry blossoms in April and silk chrysanthemums in October. There's just a handful of master Kanzashi artisans left in Japan, but luckily there's a whole new generation of enthusiasts helping to keep this art alive.

 

 

     

Diane has also developed a product with Clover Needlecraft that makes the construction of these flowers so easy it ridiculous!

 

 

Watch this short video to see her demonstrate hoe to use the Kanzashi templates.

 

 

Isn’t that amazing? 

 

I’ve already ordered my book, now I have to track down some templates. 

 

* all pics courtesy of Dianne Gilleland

Read More