Finally......

Two days of fixing up, uploading, and figuring out. Why does it all take so long. I took my laptop to the local library to upload, etc. Otherwise, I would still be sitting here, 4 days later, still trying..... Dial-up - what can I say? And all for this:

http://www.cafepress.com/kristinnicholas

Here's the link to my new Cafe Press site where you (and the world) can buy totebags and mugs with my illustrations on them. Six designs so far. Some are from my knitting and stitchery books, some personal artwork.

Hope you like. And thank you for the encouragement a couple weeks ago. I will be adding new illustrations to the product line-up as I can. Will obviously keep you informed.

Spread the word!

Back to the Past

I've been digging through some old things, looking for memories of Pat Chew for a little "memory-fest" that is going to happen after the Yarn Group Meeting at the TNNA Show on Sunday night. I didn't have much luck at all finding any photos for the slide show Trisha and Doreen from Soho Publishing/Vogue Knitting are putting together. I never took many photos at work of work events because it was always "work" to me. As I was digging through my boxes of photos, I did find lots of photos to jog my memory of my family life over the years. Things I hadn't thought about, places I went to long ago. Sweaters I can't fit into anymore. Dogs that have left the earth. Photos of my Dad when he was young and loud and so alive.

I only found one little box of stuff left from my office at Classic Elite. It's pretty hard to think about 16 years of my creative life bundled up into one little box of barely anything. But when I left, I was so ready to be done. I think that's a normal thing for anyone when they leave a job and start a new chapter of their life. I just wanted to leave it all behind and get on with doing the best job I could do with our daughter Julia. At that point in her life, everything was very precarious for her - so many surgeries - and we just didn't know how she would do.

Now it is almost ten years since Julia was born and she is thriving in her own little way. Her hydrocephalus hasn't been a surgical problem in many years. We just keep our fingers crossed and deal with the other challenges she has with as much patience and understanding that we can find within us.

I'm going to the TNNA Show in Columbus for the whole weekend. Leaving The Farmer and The Farmer's Daughter to entertain themselves for a few days all by their lonesome. I'll be setting up a section of a booth that the kind folks at Westminster have rented for me to display my wares. It's funny to be going back and doing the whole trade show - dog and pony show - thing again. It's also sad to know that Pat Chew won't be there ever again.


When I was digging through my stuff, I came upon this little gouache I did of socks on a clothesline. For awhile I've been toying with putting some of my illustrations up on Cafe Press to be put on bags or t-shirts. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this and if it is even worth my time. I've got lots of little paintings I've done - some are yarn related and some aren't - and I'm wondering if there is a way to market them on the web. Etsy maybe? Anything to generate a little cash.

I would appreciate any feedback anyone has for this. I don't have a lot of time in my life for researching and experimenting so I'm opening this up for ideas. Thanks so much. You can find my email address at the left.

At any rate, if you will be at TNNA, I'm doing a booksigning Sunday afternoon (I think it is at 2 p.m.). Westminster is giving out tickets for the books and you have to come then to have it signed and pick it up. First come, first serve. Hope to see some of you in Columbus.

Sheep in Massachusetts, Wales, and Spain

Our sheep are looking like they are living in Ireland. The grass is so green and lush and almost electric looking at different times of the day as the light shifts, shines, and fades.


I just finished a fabulous book by Horatio Clare called Running for the Hills. It is about a young boy and his brother growing up on his mother's sheep farm in Wales. The writing is so beautifully phrased and the story is brilliantly told. If you have a fascination for farming and escaping the rat race, I highly suggest it. Even if you don't, you will still love it. I didn't want the book to end. Interesting review here.


These sheep are so quietly grazing somewhere in a lobby of a building. How funny they are constructed of phone cords and rotary dial telephones. There's a whole flock of them here. I think they may be in Spain but perhaps someone can tell me. Via Make:blog.

Diego in Detroit

I was in Detroit a short while ago taping Knit and Crochet Today at Detroit PBS. While there, I was lucky to find a new friend. Karen Kendrick-Hands, Owner of City Knits in The Fisher Building, became my fabulous tour guide. How lucky was I? Karen knew that I would love seeing the Courtyard of the Detroit Institute of Arts. With barely a minute to spare before going to the airport for my flight to Hartford, Karen and I flew in quickly to look at one of Diego Rivera's famous murals. Wow, was I blown away. This link will take you to the two major walls of the murals. Below, are images of some of the smaller sections of the mural which I was able to capture.

The murals were funded by Edsel Ford and painted between 1932 and 1933. They were very controversial and were almost destroyed. Thank goodness they weren't! Edsel Ford is portrayed in a section of the canvas along with William Valentiner, the Director of the Detroit Institute of Art.

Throughout the murals, there are many famous Detroit industrial leaders captured in fresco including Henry Ford. There are also many regular people portrayed as they worked for the auto, airline, and pharmaceutical industries which were based in Detroit. Rivera believed that art should be for all people and through his painting of murals, his work did indeed reach many people.

The murals were painted in the traditional fresco technique which means that each section was painted with pigments on freshly spread plaster. The painting had to be completed while the plaster was wet so that it would seep into the wall. This makes the frescos waterproof. Rivera's assistants would mix pigments, apply plaster and then he would paint a section at a time. It is said that he liked the pressure that this technique put on him - making him more spontaneous and creative each day.

Here are some of the photos I was able to get on my very quick visit. There was a film which I wish I had time for - maybe next time! If you want to learn more, I suggest this book by Linda Bank Downs which tells about the conception, creation, and execution of the Detroit Industry Murals.

This is one of two images of nude women with their arms full of fruit and wheat honoring the earth and agriculture of the State of Michigan. Evidently, in 1932, these nudes were rather controversial.


This image is of a pharmacist filling pill bottles surrounded by women typing in a typing pool.



An infant in a bulb surrounded by roots and layers of earth. This is said to be a possible testament to Rivera's wife Frida Kahlo and the baby she miscarried while they were in Detroit.



This image shows a surgeon removing a brain tumour.



I couldn't resist adding this lovely image of sunflowers and a crow.


It's amazing how beautiful Rivera could make subjects that would not seem visually beautiful look. That's the thing I came away with most - if composed beautifully and with feeling, almost anything can become a thing of beauty.

Tonight I am going to watch one of my favorite movies Frida and see if there is any mention of the murals he painted in Detroit.

The Detroit Institute of Arts is enormous. There looks to be so much to explore. If I ever get back to this city again, I'm going to try to add an extra day to explore this magnificent collection.

And thank you so much to Karen for making my trip to Detroit not all work but some cultural enlightenment!

Detroit Decorative Painting

More from the Fisher Building in Detroit. The other day I showed you some of the structural beauty of the place. On top of all that beautiful marble, mosaic, and brass decoration, there is an unbelieveable amount of decorative painting. The ceilings, the walls, the archways... it goes on and on - it is all decoratively detailed and magnificent. I hope you enjoy these images and if you are thinking of doing any decorative painting, perhaps you will get some ideas.

These are the elevator doors - in relief - such beautiful Art Deco motifs.


This brass railing was all along the balcony of the second floor of the building. Opposite, you can see one of the curved archways - each had a different subject matter illustrated in the classical style roof with columns. Subjects depicted included commerce, agriculture, peace, and more.



This is what each of the little archways looked like. It must have been gold or metallic paint because the light reflected off it making it difficult to photograph.

Borders on the curved archways - almost everyone was different.

The ceilings were decorated with animals, cherubs, birds, and all kinds of geometric designs. Here are two little sheep superimposed on a heart with a lovely undulating border.

Here's one of the figures. They too were different - all holding something else.

This bold eagle on the patterned background was one of the images above the vestibule for the Fisher Theatre. This was an immense section of painted decoration.


I loved this artichoke looking motif which was prevalent all over the building.

More flora from a section of ceiling.

My tour guide Karen found this little section of torn away canvas. I was thrilled to see it because it gave me the clue that all the painting was done on canvas and then applied later to the plaster walls.

This is the tiled bathroom floor in the basement.


I wish there was a book I could have bought to keep as a memory. The original cost of the building was 9 million dollars. It's out of another time and it's very unlikely that something like this will ever be built again.

I want to thank Karen Kendrick-Hands, owner of City Knits, for giving me such a fabulous tour of this great landmark. If you ever go near Detroit, I highly suggest a visit to this magnificent landmark.

The Detroit I Never Knew Existed

Detroit PBS is located one block from one of the most amazing buildings I have ever visited in my life - The Fisher Building. Not only is the building incredible but it also houses a fabulously stocked yarn store called City Knits. On Monday night, I did a talk at City Knits and tried to inspire the knitters and crocheters who came. Needless to say, an enormous amount of inspiration was just outside the brass doors of the yarn store.

Friday morning, after my PBS responsibilities were over, Karen Kendrick-Hands, the owner of City Knits gave me a special guided tour of the building. How lucky was I? It was built by The seven Fisher Brothers between 1927 and 1928 and designed by Albert Kahn, who offices are still across the street. Thank goodness they finished it before The Great Depression. It's decoration is mind-boggling. The marble, brass, mosaics, and more are worth a special trip to Detroit.


There are several mosaic tile pieces in the lobby.


Here's what the enormous lobby looks like from above.

The marble floors are remisicent of a patchwork quilt.

If you ever get a chance to visit Detroit, don't miss City Knits and The Fisher Building. And if you live in a suburb of Detroit, make sure you make a special trip to this great yarn store and fabulous building.

Another of Detroit's Crown Jewels is the Guardian Building. I had an evening tour of that building but wasn't able to snap any photos. Here you can see that one for yourself. City Knits has a small 220 square foot satellite store especially for downtown Detroit knitters in the former smokeshop in the lobby of this building. How lucky are those knitters to be able to go out at lunch time and snag some yarn.

Deadlines Make You Work, Don't They?

This is a painting done by my neighbor, the artist Alicia Hunsicker. I thought it a perfect image to add here considering eggs are on the minds of many of us this weekend with the Easter holiday. Alicia is having an art opening at UMass on April 4th. She has been working on her current series of oil paintings intensely for the past few months. Every once in a while, I stop into the studio to see how it is going and in what direction the paintings are going. I particularly like this small painting because of the egg and nest motif which resonates with me since I raise chickens. Alicia takes her artwork very seriously and spiritually. I’m not quite sure I ever quite understand what she is talking about when she explains it all. Everything she paints has a symbolism which is cool. And she is incredibly talented on top of it all.

Alicia has been painting for years and her work is so fine and detailed. She can work on a particular 4 inch section of canvas for days. It’s been fun to watch her develop this new body of work because she has had to speed up her painting and really crank it out. It is no less beautiful than the other past work, just different. She has a lovely sense of color. If you are in the vicinity of UMASS/Amherst, stop by to check it out at the Hampden Gallery. You can read about it on her blog here.

Me, I’m a total deadline person. If I don’t have one, most stuff just doesn’t get done and materialize. I think this habit began when I was a young girl – working on a school project until the last minute. Then when I was in 4-H, I made so many projects for the County Fair or some kind of special contest.

Today, I am no different, unfortunately. I am totally deadline driven. This past week, there was a photo shoot at our house and I had to have a couple projects done for it. I was down to the wire, once again. I just love a deadline – it gets my juices going and I can always feel the creativity rising to the surface. Most times, I am never sure where my work will go but it’s always a fun experience riding the deadline wave. But then this week, I also had to clean the house on top of it all which is really totally impossible during mudseason. Thank goodness the people who were shooting knew me and didn’t care if the floors weren’t waxed (that's an understatement). We just moved the stuff around to make the photos work. Here’s a cute photo of Julia having her make-up and hair done by the woman who was doing this at the shoot. Julia was eating this up.

Photos shoots are a lot of smoke and mirrors. (At least everyone I have ever been on.) You can look at one of the photos of our house in a magazine (like on this page on my website) and it looks like total perfection. But if you were to look behind the camera, on the other side, you would of course see all the kid, yarn and book clutter piled up. Then it all gets moved back after the photo happens. I’m assuming most shoots go like this although I probably have more stuff than most. This photo shoot had the extra added danger of the sheep being thrown in. All in all, it went off without incident and the sheep looked fabulous. Luckily, Mother Nature gave us a brand new lamb that morning. Baby lambs are incredibly photogenic, aren't they?


Happy Easter and Spring to All!

Mrs. Gardner's Egg

Last week while Julia and I were in eastern Massachusetts, we took a day trip to Boston with my sister Laurie. We went to one of my favorite places in the world - The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. This is only the second time I have visited this lovely place and it was just as wonderful as I remembered. It was great to show Julia around.

Built at the turn of the 20th century, the building resembles an Italian palace. There is a large courtyard in the center full of plants all year long. There's a lovely mosaic in the center of the courtyard. As you look up to the glass ceiling you view the four floors of the building full of windows and little porches. In April, blooming nasturtiums cascade down the walls of the courtyard.

The museum is full of paintings, sculpture, decorative art including furniture, ceramics, silver and more. There's so much to look at and it is all so accessible. It's a big place so the thought of living there doesn't enter my mind but I could move right into one of the large rooms! There are lovely stone columns all over the place carved from different kinds of stone.

The rooms and hallways are painted in dark colors that really speak to me - a dark royal blue, crimson red, and deep green. The art and furniture looks wonderful against it. There are no lights on the artwork so it does make it difficult to see everything but the atmosphere far outweighs this. In 1990, thirteen works of art were stolen from the museum. They have left the spaces empty with little cards explaining what happened. It is kind of eerie and odd. Needless to say, the guards are very cautious of each person who enters a room.

If I am not mistaken, Mrs. Gardner left specifics in her will that everything should remain as she placed it. Her collection from all over the world happily co-exists together in this lovely place. I read a wonderful book about Mrs. Gardner and how she collected all these things. "The Art of Scandal" is sadly out of print but you may be able to pick up a used copy. It's a fascinating look into a very interesting woman's life with art.


In one of the glass cases, Laurie spied this wonderful ostrich egg covered with silver. It's quite bizarre and fabulous all rolled up into one - kind of like the Gardner Museum is itself! Makes me wonder about who made this!

Put this place on your list if you ever come to Boston!

More CREATIVITY from The Reynolds Family

A few years ago when my book Kids Embroidery came out, I did a class and booksigning at The Blue Bunny in Dedham, MA. (The illustration here is one I did for the book and it is shows children from around the world in embroidered costumes.) Owned by the Reynolds' family, the store is all about creativity and learning for children of all ages. The kids who attended made a little bookmark and learned quite a few stitches. It was a fun afternoon.

When I go to present these events, I usually learn more than I teach. I was fortunate to spend some time talking with Janet Reynolds and she shared with me her family's needlework traditions. The timing was perfect - it was just before the photography for Colorful Stitchery.

She told me about her favorite aunt who lived in New York City. The aunt, who was quite prim and proper, had a special tablecloth which she used for every dinner party she hosted. The color was a lovely shade of silver grey. Before each guest left the table, she asked them to sign their name on the cloth with her special graphite pencil. After the dinner party, she stitched over the signature in a matching silver grey floss to help her remember her friend and the meal she shared.

When Janet and Paul began throwing their own dinner parties, Janet carried on with her aunt's tradition. She purchased an off-white cloth and started building her own dinner cloth memories. I boldly asked her if I could share her idea in my book. She volunteered her cloth for photography. How very exciting for me to be able to share their special tradition with my readers! Here's a shot from far away.


As you can imagine, Janet and her husband Paul have many friends who are illustrators and artists including Paul's twin brother Peter. What you can't see from this photo is that lots of the signatures have little quirky illustrations next to their names. Janet stitched the names in many different bright colors and it is so lovely. She says the only downfall is she can't wash the cloth until the signature has been stitched! Janet stitched the signatures in the simple outline stitch which works nicely for swirly cursive lettering.

Thanks so much to Janet for sharing this project with me. It was so nice to see her again last week at their store The Blue Bunny in Dedham, Massachusetts.

p.s. If you live with young authors and illustrators, be sure to check out this link to The Hutch, the Reynolds' new literary and art magazine for children. They are accepting submissions now!

The Blue Bunny and Peter H. Reynolds

Last week was Julia’s winter school vacation. We headed off to Dedham, MA to visit my sister and her family for a couple days. It’s nice to have family close enough to visit. When in Dedham, we always try to visit a wonderful children’s book store called The Blue Bunny. It is owned by the Reynolds family and managed by Janet Reynolds. Janet is the mother of three boys and she juggles her family and store amazingly. The store is packed to the gills with books for kids of all ages and lots of fun toys – both educational and silly. They have a lovely studio room where they teach classes for children and adults.

Janet is married to Paul Reynolds who runs the company Fablevision, an educational and media company dedicated to learning of all kinds for people of all ages. Check out their website – there are lots of activities that are fun for everyone – young and old. Paul is a wonderful personality full of ideas and enthusiasm which seems to just bubble out of him. Fablevision is located atop the Children’s Museum in Boston which we have to explore. His twin brother is Peter H. Reynolds, author and illustrator of The Dot, Ish, So Few of Me, The North Star, along with illustrator of the Judy Moody books and a staggering number of many more children's books. His books have been translated into many languages - he is a giant in the children's book world.

Julia is a persistent kid and she had decided that she was going to meet Peter H. Reynolds on this visit. She marched up to Janet and asked about him. Janet said he was in the local area and she left a message on his phone for Julia. She looked at all the books - and kept hoping Peter would appear. Her persistence paid off and Peter arrived happy to talk with Julia. He was wonderful - he whisked her off to a little table at the back of the store and sat and talked and drew with her. She was mesmerized. I was overwhelmed at his generosity. It was such a great day and treat for both of us.


Do you know Peter's book “The Dot”? It is a kids book about a little girl named Vashti who thinks she can't draw. She goes on a little journey and learns a lot about herself and what she can do. When I teach knitwear design, I often hear similar comments from knitters - I then try to help them realize that yes, they can design too. I think I'll bring my copy of this book the next time I teach. The Dot was followed by Ish about a little boy who thinks he can't draw. It's a lovely story. We picked up the last of the trilogy of books in this series - So Few of Me and Peter signed it for Julia. I love these books - they speak to so many people - young and old - and if you haven't seen them yet - check them out.


Thanks so much to Peter, Paul and Janet Reynolds - this visit was the highlight of Julia's school vacation. And thanks to Paul Reynolds for taking these photos with his cellphone and emailing the memories to us!

Cold and Frosty mixed with a little Shameless Self-Promotion

The holidays are getting closer and I can feel the tension beginning to build. I haven’t bought a gift yet and hopefully will get to some decorating this weekend. I don't like to do things too early - I prefer waiting for the real hustle and bustle.


Outside, we have a few inches of snow which is a pleasant surprise. The weather feels like January and keeping the house warm is a full time job. We have a combination oil and wood burning furnace and The Farmer is trying not to burn any oil. It’s a big job keeping the furnace stoked though and every morning the house is frightfully chilly. I’m starting to feel like a pioneer woman although I think I may have just dropped dead if I had to do what they did way back when. It still amazes me that this house has been here since the mid-1700’s. If only the walls could talk.

The big yarn giveaway is coming up – if you haven’t entered, don’t forget. We’ll be drawing the winners on Monday.

Thanks to Siri over at Knitting Iris for the lovely compliments on my Julia Yarn. Over at the new winter issue of Knitty, there's a nice book review about Kristin Knits. Thanks Jillian and Amy. Ardeana Hamlin writes a wonderful craft column for the Bangor Daily News and she put Kristin Knits on her list of Warm and Fuzzy Holiday Gifts. Thanks Ardeana. I really appreciate all the support I am getting from all of you on the web. Thank you to all of you including those who wrote about the Yarn Giveaway on their own personal blogs.

Now for the shameless self-promotion –
If your husband, daughter, boy or girl friends are looking for gift ideas for you this Christmas, I am still taking holiday orders for my books and postcards. I’ll be happy to autograph any of my books to you or whoever might like to have a signed copy. There are Pay Pal buttons on my website now so hop on over to the books page or drop some subtle hints to your loved ones. I love going to the post office – Tony, Alice, Jim and I are becoming very good friends!

Another gift idea for knitting and fiber friends is my postcards. The images are below. You’ll also find them here on the Artwork page of my website. Although a pack of assorted cards isn’t an option on the website, I’ll be happy to send 2 of each design (there are 5 designs total) for $7.50. Just add a note in your pay pal invoice. And make sure there is a note to whom the book should be signed to also!

Back to the regular chit chat tomorrow, I promise.

Yarn in Egg Cups

Yarn Eggs

Yarn Balls

Sunflowers in Cloisonne

Sheep in Autumn

Love Lies Bleeding

I am very in love with a plant called "Love Lies Bleeding" also known as Amaranthus caudatus. I've grown it off and on for years, buying plants when I can find them. Once in a while, I pick up other colors including chartreuse and orange. There are many other related plants that give similar effects and I am crazy over all of them. I've got to try to plant some next year at the sunflower field because they blend so nicely with the yellow shades of sunflowers.


I plant my Love Lies Bleeding in my vegetable garden and then let the plants go without picking them until the end of the season. The flowers sometimes get big and gnarly and drippy. Some years my flowers have thinner tassels. Whatever the look and variety, they are spectacular in a vase at this time of year.


The Victorians were also crazy over Love Lies Bleeding and by looking at it, you should be able to tell why. What a totally decorative, showy, dramatic flower. I have it arranged here with my wacky Chinese Foo Dogs, some bottle gourds from last year, and an unmatched pair of cloisonne vases. I love how all the colors play together in this photo.


William Wordsworth wrote a poem about the plant.

Love Lies Bleeding
by William Wordsworth

You call it, Love lies bleeding, -- so you may,
Though the red Flower, not prostrate, only droops,
As we have seen it here from day to day,
From month to month, life passing not away:
A flower how rich in sadness! .........

Read the rest of the poem here:

In years past, I have used the blooms from my garden in oil paintings. It's fun to see how I portrayed the flower in the painting and what they look like in my garden this year. I hope I get to paint this year's crop this winter.




I'm off to Boston today for a talk and a class on Friday morning at the Boston Knitting Guild. Hope to see some of you there. The talk is at 10:30 at the College Club at 44 Commonwealth Ave.

Inspiration from Friends

Visiting Sally's house is so much fun for all of us. Her home is full of decades of creativity. It has been in her family for several generations and the mark of everyone is here. The walls are decorated with little watercolors done by Sally as a child. Sally's mom's was an oil painter and her paintings fill the walls. Several of their friends were and are artists and everyone who visits leaves a painting to add to the creative chaos. I remember The Farmer's comment about the place after our first visit. He said it was the most perfect house in the world - cozy, creative, layered, and perfectly situated. It is also a place you never want to leave - just what every home should be but most never are. I strive for this feeling in our home but I honestly think it takes generations of the same related people living in a home to make it really happen.

On my first visit, I brought a piece of handmade Damariscotta pottery as a housegift. I didn't really know Sally or her dad and so it was just a guess that they would like the pottery. Luckily she did. Here are some other pieces she has collected over the years. They look beautiful with zinnias in them.

I met Sally through knitting originally and we quickly discovered we had many more things in common including love of fabric and art, Scotland and England, India, color and much more. A few years ago, we visited Charleston Farmhouse (the creative home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant) and Monk’s House (the home of Virginia and Leonard Woolf) together along with a few days antiquing and shopping in London. What a great trip. It was the first year Julia was born and I really needed a break from all the hospital and doctor visits. My wonderful Mom came and helped out with Julia and I had five days away. How lucky I am to have such a great friend and to have taken such a great trip with her.

Sally's house is where I discovered I could paint pictures (that is pictures beyond grammar school). Here’s a photo of the first painting I ever did in my adult life many years ago. Our mutual friends Yola and George who are official artists were visiting and Yola suggested I try to paint a picture of the fish we were going to eat for dinner. I did this painting using gouache with her encouragement and I left it with Sally because she liked it. She found a fabulous tramp art frame for it. After that experience, I have painted lots more in both gouache and oils. I have Yola, George and Sally to thank for egging me on and telling me they liked my work.


On another visit, I did some decorative painting on Sally’s walls to cover up some nasty leaks that had ruined the wallpaper. She cleaned up the walls before I arrived and put on the base coat of light turquoise. I painted the overblown flowers and leaves using artist acrylics. So nice to have a friend to let you experiment.


Now when I visit, I try to bring something I make to give as a house gift. One year I brought these embroidered and handpainted pillows. You may recognize the vermicular motif I wrote about a few months ago. I also made a dotted version to match. The fabric was a blue linen.


This year I made a pair of pillowcases for a bed. I embroidered the name of the cottage and added a cat (there is always a resident feline) and some lupines. They were a hit, thank goodness.


That's it for the Maine adventures this year. We're on to other things here as life is quickly speeding by.

Poiret and Dufy

In New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, there is a wonderful show called Poiret, King of Fashion. It’s on now until the 5th of August. If you are visiting NYC, I highly suggest taking it in. Mom, Julia and I went a few weeks ago for a quick visit and loved it. Besides the beautiful clothing, the sets the Met staged them on were phenomenal. Jean-Hugues de Chatillon, a scenographer for the Paris opera and ballet, hand-painted them and they really added to the beauty of the show.

Paul Poiret was a fashion designer from the beginning of the twentieth century. They claim he was the first designer to work with rectangles of fabric and turn it into fashion. Poiret did take some amazing fabrics in silk, wool, and linen and turn them into works of art. He is credited with inventing the sheath dress. Many of the coats and dresses were covered in intricate embroideries done in the embroidery ateliers of Paris. The New Yorker has a great article by Judith Thurman and slide show if you can't see the exhibit in person. Here's another fun website on Poiret.


The fabrics steal the show here. Without beautiful fabrics, incredible clothing wouldn’t exist. Raoul Dufy, an artist whose work I have long admired, worked with Poiret as a fabric designer. His work is unmistakable. Dufy worked in many mediums including painting, watercolors, engravings, ceramics, murals, stage set design, and fabric design.


Whenever I visit a show like this, I always return inspired. Although the demands on my time do not often allow it, I think it is fun to do a little art just after the visit to see what I turn out. I’m trying to inspire Julia in this way too. One afternoon back here at home, we sat down and did some painting and drawing. I dragged out my massive art book on Dufy by Dora Perez-Tibi to jog my memory of his work. Then I tried to show Julia how you can take one element in someone else’s work and change it into your own work - like the vase in the Dufy painting below. (All the photos except my paintings are from this fabulous book.)

She told me this was copying and then I explained that the paintings were being “inspired” by the other person’s work. She proceeded to do some cute little Beatrix Potter inspired Peter Rabbit paintings. I'll try to find them and post them another day.

These are the quick little paintings I did. The first was an experiment with some water soluble crayons and pencils. Although I didn’t enjoy working with them, after the paper dried, it didn’t look half bad. I added some black lines later to sharpen the design.


This second one was Julia’s request. She said the first didn’t look like a “Kristin Nicholas” piece and that I needed to re-do it. She was happier with these colors.

Mary Azarian, Children's Book Illustrator and More!

Mary Azarian is an artist whose work I have admired for over twenty years. I first stumbled upon it in Middlebury, Vermont at a small American handcrafts gallery in the early 1980's. I purchased a few of her beautiful woodcut cards, intending to send them on to friends. They are still in my notecard drawer - I could never part with them. Since then, I have found Mary's work featured in many children's books including Barn Cat, A Farmer's Alphabet (her first book which has been continuously in print since 1980), The Man Who Lived Alone, Symphony for the Sheep, Here Comes Darrell, and the Caldecott Winner Snowflake Bentley. Her work has been featured in over 40 books! What a career! The photos here are from our copy of Symphony for the Sheep written by C. M. Millen (Houghton Mifflin, 1996).

On Sunday, Julia, The Farmer and I went to hear Mary speak at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. She did a quick demonstration of her carving and printing process of the wood blocks. She shared her book making process - from book dummy to finished wood-cut for her most recent book From Dawn to Dusk. She showed her printer's proof of her upcoming book due this fall - Tuttle's Red Barn and told us that the book went through over 40 re-writes and almost as many tweeks to her illustrations before she could actually carve her blocks. After she carves and prints the woodblocks, she then paints on the colors with acrylics. What she ends up with is an illustration which is a combination of both techniques which is very distintive and perfect for children's book art.

Mary was very funny and down to earth, telling various tales of disaster and how she developed her work and business after moving to northern Vermont with her husband and three children in the early 1960's. She went to Smith College in Northampton, studied with Leonard Baskin there, and fell in love with printmaking. She's been at it for over forty years and just keeps on carving and printing. I liked the advice she gave - just sit down and do it. The more you do, the better you will get at something - whether it be drawing, painting, carving, stitching, or knitting.

I found Mary's no nonsense attitude refreshing in our world today of everyone wanting to be successful immediately. She confirmed my belief that it takes time, practice, and plain hard work to build any artist's or business' reputation. The lonely toiling-on develops style, techniques, talent, and skills which sometimes (but not always) turns into success on a commercial level. Love what you do and keep doing it, having faith that someone, somewhere will recognize your talent. Try not to get discouraged if success takes longer to obtain than you would ever have thought it would.

If you are interested in other recent writings on this subject, see Greta's recent post (March 20, 2007) on Middle of Nowhere and this article about Harry Bernstein becoming a published author at the age of 96. One of my favorite books to re-read is Donald Hall's Life Work - it always reminds me how much work there is to becoming successful. The Farmer calls it "stick-to-it-ive-ness" and he has more than me - I tend to go floating off to other subjects and genres at the beat of a hat (but I eventually return to what I know best).

If you have the opportunity to visit the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, take it. It's only about 10 minutes off of Route 91. The exhibits change frequently. There is an art making room for kids which is open all day to visitors. There always seems to be some kind of interesting event going on.

Snowy, Slushy, Seussy Day

Today it was a messy weather day. School was cancelled so Julia and I confined ourselves to the house. She was upset not to be going to school because Friday is art day with Miss W - one of her favorite days of the week. I thought it would be best to give her some art activities to fill the Miss W void. Recently I discovered this great Crayola product called Model Magic. It is easily manipulated and you can really make some amazing little sculptures with it. The best part is it is quite clean - no little bits break off and get ground into the rug. We rolled, blended, and played with it and generally had a fun time.


Today is the 50th birthday of Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat. We celebrated the crazy guy making some sculpture to bring to school next week along with a poster which Julia colorfully decorated with her favorite Sharpie markers.


Tomorrow we are going to surprise the librarians at Cushman Library with their very own poster too.

We've all been enjoying the movie version of Cat in the Hat this winter. I was skeptical, to say the least, but now I am so into it - the colors, THE CAT, the talking fish, slimy Alec Baldwin, and those two adorable kids and the colorful adventures they go on. The art direction of the picture is amazing - that is what sells a movie to me - beautiful , colorful, thoughtful art direction. This one has got it hands down.

Isn't it hard to imagine being a kid without The Cat? Thank you Theodor Geisel.

p.s. In Springfield, Massachusetts where Dr. Seuss was born, there is a Seuss sculpture garden. Huge characters from the book were cast in bronze. Kids can climb all over them. What fun.

Soup in the Mail

Yesterday in the mail, Julia received these 3 cans of soup from our artist friends George Singley and Yola Shashaty from NYC. It was a late Christmas gift. What a funny gift you say, for