cLAy: City of Clay-ngels

What if somebody said you could have as much modeling clay as you wanted and you could make whatever you wanted to with it. I would say, "Yes, please!" What if you asked your teenage son that question and he said, "Uh, well, um..." I would take that as a "Yes, please!" and run away quickly to make a timely rsvp before he can protest.



Urs Fischer is a conceptual artist that likes to go big! He once removed the entire floor of an important New York gallery, all the pipes and conduit and veins and arteries that lie beneath the marble and dug a big hole of dirt. Inside a gallery. A. Big. Hole. Of. Dirt. Big sculptures, big paintings, big thoughts. Or maybe lots of little thoughts. And then make them big, like when he made teeny tiny sculptures and made giant photographs of them. Like this (taken from Garage Magazine).

NW: What is the problem in the Problem Paintings?

UF: It’s just funny. It’s just a name. Any problem functions because it occupies the center of your existence, no? It obstructs.

NW: And what’s the “painting” side? There isn’t much paint either, in the traditional way.

UF: But who cares about the traditional way? Problems are omnipresent in everyone’s life; they are everything from the best motor to do something to the biggest obstructer. Problems are amazing.

"Problems are amazing." Right on. One of the things I like to say is, "Everybody's got problems. I got problems. And my problems are good problems to have."

Together with the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Urs Fischer has invited the people of this city to sculpt clay in whatever way they want. The sculptures will be displayed beginning April 21st at MOCA. The clay sculptures will not be fired in anyway. They will dry and flake and crack and break and decay. 

I do not want to make any assumptions about what exactly Urs Fischer will be exploring, but he has made a series of LIFE-SIZE, highly detailed sculptures from wax, that he melts. Kind of like figurine candles of office chairs, Renaissance statues and middle-aged men. The result is macabre, but beautiful in the organic forms. So, I'm thinking Urs Fischer is inviting all of us to play with the idea of things decaying and falling apart.

In addition to playing in as much clay as we wanted, it was such an experience to be a tourist in this grey land of fantasy, realism, humor, tragedy and grace. Like stepping into a 3-D black and white photo.

A horse using a rotary phone.

A giant (myopic?) rat with mice crawling all over it and a tummy chamber full of cheese.

A frog with teeth and a drinking problem.

And speaking of drinking problems. I'm wondering if the artist was sitting there going, "Man, all the good ideas are taken! All that's left is a water fountain!" That thing makes me laugh everytime I think about it.

And this one is social commentary on violence among carbohydrates? Bagels vs. Doughnuts?

Who's the alien in this clay world? He or I?

I like to think this one is called, "Okay, Ishmael, now what?"

Clay, clay, clay everywhere! This disembodied hand grasping from an alternate clay universe into ours.

Clay mop. Clay bucket.

Oh, yes, I made something too. A strange trio:

A cyclops rabbit, with one tentacle and a dragon tail.

A ghoulish owl with tree trunk horns.

And a fairy frog with butterfly wings.



This is cool.



And here's a head that is already falling apart, finding that beauty in the breakdown.




This is "LOVE". Can you still recognize the love while it breaks down? Ever been there? Done that?



And this: This is an enclosed, round igloo-like wall, probably eight feet in diameter ...

... with a tiny little man on a tiny little couch with a tiny little beer and a tiny little expression on his face inside.

And the son, yea, he made a wave with a shaka hand. 'Cause he's Jack, brah. He didn't complain and I think he even liked being there. But that's just between us.

Thank you, Herr Fischer, for all the clay and the chance to be a part of this.

Quick-as-a-bunny and cheap!-cheap!-cheap!-like-a-baby-chick

I said ah hip hop
The hippie the hippe
To the hip hop!

Easter! Am I right? It's just around the corner. I have here a little tutorial for quick-as-a-bunny and cheap!-cheap!-cheap!-like-a-baby-chick Mitbringsel. "Mitbringsel" is German for "little take-with-yous," little presents to give away. Or something to have the Easter Bunny (or Easter Spider) hide? Or wear them yourself!

When I say cheap, I paid about $3 for the materials to make four pairs of ears. And still have plenty of fabric left over.

Ostern! Richtig? Gleich um die Ecke. Ich habe unten eine kleine Anleitung für das Basteln diese Häschenöhrchen -- Ein super Mitbringsel, schnell gemacht und zudem günstig. Oder vielleicht als kleine Überraschung, die der Osterhasen (bzw. die Osterspinne) versteckt? Wenn ich günstig sage, habe ich etwa drei Dollar ausgegeben und vier Paar Öhrchen gemacht (und noch reichlich Stoff übrig). 



Supplies:

You will need

• Some poly fleece fabric in contrasting pastel colors
• Snap clip hair clips
• Hot glue
• (Sewing machine and sewing thread, of course)

Du brauchst

• Etwas Fleece in Pasteltonen
• Klick-Haarklemmen
• Heißkleber
• (Nähmaschine u. Nähgarn versteht sich, nicht?)

Create a bunny ear pattern piece. The bunny ear should be approximately 3 inches (7.5 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide and rounded on top.

Schneide ein Schnittteil für das Öhrchen zurecht.  Das Öhrchen sollte in etwa die Grösse 7,5 cm x 5 cm haben und oben gerundet sein.  

Stack two squares of poly fleece in contrasting (pastel) colors. Cut the ear inner and outer at the same time so they are even.

Zweit Stückchen Fleece auf einander stapeln und das Öhrchen-Innere und das Öhrchen-Äussere gleichzeitig zuschneiden, so daß Innen und Aussen genau passend sind.



Stitch the ear inner to the ear outer only along the sides and top.

Die beiden Öhrchenhälften die langen Seiten entlang und über die Rundung zusammensteppen.



Turn the ears right side out.

Die Öhrchen wenden.



Trim the bottom edges of the ears so they are perfectly flat, if necessary.

Nach Bedarf die Unterkante abschneiden, so daß das Ende flach ist.



Put a bit of hot glue at the bottom edge between the two layers. Put a bit of hot glue on the edge of the ear inner. Pinch the bottom of the ear and keep pinching the few seconds it takes for the hot glue to set.

Etwas Heißkleber am Öhrchenende zwischen den Lagen anbringen. Etwas Heißkleiber an der Unterkante der Öhrcheninnenseite anbringen. Das untere Öhrchenende bis der Heißkleber setzt zusammenkneifen (paar Sekunden). 



Place a dollop of hot glue on the top of the end of the snap clip.

Ein Klecks Heißkleiber am Ende die Klicksklemme anbringen (und "Klecks Heißskleiber auf die Klicksklemme" drei mal schnell sagen).



Position the bunny ear on top of the dollop of glue on the snap clip and hold in place for the few seconds it takes for the hot glue to set.

Sofort das Häschenöhrchen auf dem Heißkleiberklecks setzen und so lange halten, bis der Heißkleiber setzt (paar Sekunden nur).





Add crystal sparkles or other doo-dads. Or leave plain! That's it ~ all done!

Das war's eigentlich! Oder klebe je nachdem doch ein paar Straßsteine oder andere kleine Trüddel drauf.






And for those of you too young to remember the Sugarhill Gang...

Und wer noch zu jung um die Sugarhill Gang in Erinnerung zu haben ist...



You can finish up a pair of these bunny ears by the time Rapper's Delight is done.

Bevor Rapper's Delight noch zu Ende ist, haste sicherlich mindestens ein paar Hasenöhrchen fertig!

International Women's Day

Celebrating one-half of the world's adult population.

High time to put an end to violence, human trafficking, child brides and the rest of what keeps us from soaring.

Rincon Springtime Shirt (English & Deutsch)

I've got "Project Runway" streaming on hulu as I write this, so forgive me if I call this shirt a "make-it-work" kinda shirt. But that is what this "Rincon" shirt is.

"Rincon" is Spanish for "corner" or "angle" and it also happens to be the name of one of the all-time best surfing spots in California. It is a point break located behind a gated community and overrun with other surfers, so to surf there, you really have to wait your turn and take your chances. Same goes for this shirt.

"Project Runway" streamt gerade während ich dies schriebe, von daher bitte verzeihen, wenn ich dies ein "make-it-work" Projekt beschreibe. Aber das ist dies Rincon Frühlingsshirt.

"Rincon" ist spanisch für "Winkel" bzw. "Ecke" und ist auch der Name eins der Bestes Surfecken Kaliforniens. Rincon befindet sich hinter einem exklusivem Wohngebiet und überrannt mit anderen Surfern. Von daher, um dort surfen zu können musst du's wirklich wollen und die Risiken eingehen. Auch so mit diesem Shirt.

Sabine and I decided against making this shirt a pattern, because the neckline requires some judgement on the part of the sewist. You gotta know your fabric, its elasticity and recovery. Otherwise, this shirt can just hang in all the wrong ways. A centimeter more or less here or there is important. You'll need to do a couple of fittings. Because you really can depend on just being able to just grab a Farbenmix (or Fledge) pattern and some fabric and go for it, we didn't want to set you up for disappointment, if you misjudged the fabric or missed the chance to fit for the shoulder straps or something. 

Sabine und ich entschieden gegen einen eigenen Schnittmuster für das Shirt. Frau kann sich wirklich darauf verlassen, einen Farbenmix Schnittmuster und etwas Stoff greifen und damit ein Erfolgserlebnis haben. Für Rincon, jedoch, muß frau doch den Stoff, dessen Dehnbarkeit und Rückfederung einschätzen können, sonst kann's schief gehen. Im wahrsten Sinne: So hängt's um die Schulter nämlich schief. 

On the other hand, there has been a good deal of interest in the shirt, so I have uploaded some instructions for you and I'll let you take your own chances.

Anderseits haben genug Interesse gezeigt und hier biete ich eine Anleitung an.

I have used the Farbenmix favorite ANTONIA pattern is a starting point for the  Rincon Springtime Shirt. But any basic, well-fitting shirt pattern will do you fine. I've just given some instructions to help with the details, like these lace-up cuff. 

Ich habe mit den Lieblingsschnittmuster von Farbenmix ANTONIA angefangen. Obwohl du kannst mit fast jedem Basic-Shirt-Schnittmuster anfangen. Die Rincon-Anleitung zeigt dir wie frau zB diese Schnurärmel nähen kann. 

My tween girl just isn't quite jumping up and down squealing with joy anymore when I exit my atelier, dark circles under my eyes, hyped up on coffee, covered in thread snips and lint, with anything with ruffles and bows and gnomes and fairies anymore. ("Um. Thanks." translation: "I-love-you-mom-but-really-O-M-G-not-in-eight-thousand-billion-years-like-really-I'm-in-middle-school-for-real-and-I-am-my-own-person-so-I-want-to-wear-what-everbody-else-is-wearing-and-no-I-do-not-see-a-contraction-there-because-there-isn't-one-in-my-world-and-right-now-I-am-in-my-world" Yup, pretty much.). But we sewing moms can still delight our tweens with fashion-forward looks and cool details with the right ideas (take that Hollister: you can't have her completely. Maybe one day, but not yet). My girl likes this shirt. And so do all her friends. And my girl has decided I am going to sew all her friends all shirts like this. So they can all be all alike totally unique together. That's how it was explained to me, anyway. And all those uninvited sewing orders could also be another reason not to sew Rincon.

Mein Mädchen ist nicht jedes mal gerade begeistert wenn ich nun stolz und erwartungsvoll aus dem Nähatelier herauskrieche--dunkle Ringe unten den Augen, von zu vielem Kaffee aufgepuscht, abgeschnippelte Fädchen in meinen Haaren hänged--mit irgend etwas mit Ruschen und Schleifen, Zwergen und Feen überdeckt und vertrüddelt. ("Ähm. Danke?" Übersetzung: "Dich-habe-ich-lieb-Mama-aber-wirklich-Herrgott-nicht-in-Tausend-Milliarden-Jahren-ich-bin-ja-auf-der-Mittelschule-und-ich-bin-meine-eigene-Person-geworden-und-von-daher-will-ich-das-was-alle-andere-tragen-tragen-und-nein-ich-sehe-da-keinen-Widerspruch-denn-in-meiner-Welt-ist-da-kein-Widerspruch-und-momentan-bin-ich-in-meiner-Welt-ja-so-isses.") Nichtsdestotrotz, können wir Nähmamas noch ab und zu eine Freude für unsere Tweens und Teens aus der Nähecke schöpfen. Mein Mädchen mad das Hemd. Und ihre Freundinnen mögen's auch. Und entschieden würde, daß ich alle der Freundinnen genau dieses Hemd ihnen nähe, so daß sie alle zusammen und gleichzeitig individualistisch sein können (so wurde es mir so erklärt). Diese unerwünschten Nähaufträge wäre ein weiteres Grund, das Rincon-Shirt nicht zu nähen. Aber wenn doch, unten die Link zum Download. Und wie immer, mein Deutsch, ähm...im Voraus wird um Verzeihung gebeten... 

RINCON ENGLISH 

(Lots of pix, so wait...wait...wait for the download...)

RINCON DEUTSCH

(Warte... warte... es sind viele Bilder, also warte auf das Download...)

I hope you like! If you post on klickundblick.de or on our flickr groups, well, that would be great!

Have fun!

Ich hoffe es gefällt! Ich freue mich auf das Mitteilen Deiner Rincon-Shirts auf klickundblick.de bzw. unsere flickr-Gruppen!

Viel Spass!

Malibu

It's been forever, right? This is my first new pattern in forever. It's like this: I don't set out to design sewing patterns. If I put my mind to it, I could do that. But my mind is other places these days. What happens is, I work on things I think my girl will like. And she's getting older. Just last year, she was head-to-toe in all our own designs. This year, she's preferring jeans and All-Stars and her soccer team warm-up jacket. And that's fine. That's good, in fact: She's her own person.

But once in a while, she and I can agree on a new idea, that just isn't out there yet. And this idea this time is Malibu.

Malibu is a wasp waisted eight-gore suspender skirt in two lengths. The patch pockets stand out a bit and create an architectural element. There is a lot of seaming, so that offers lots of ideas for bold topstitching. Accentuate the vertical lines. Or the horizontal ones. Or both! If your girl like belts, add the belt loops and this is a great skirt to show off your favorite belts.

It is reminiscent of the 1950s and like 1950s designs, this pattern has darts, a zipper, buttons... Yeah, it's more of an intermediate sewing pattern.



Fabric: Cotton/Linen mix - courtesy Banberryplace.com



Lange her, nicht wahr? Der erste neue Schnittmuster in ewigen Zeiten, nicht? Es ist wie folgt: Ich versuche nicht, neue Schnittmuster zu erstellen. Ich versuche, neue Ideen zu finden, die meine Tochter gerne tragen würde. Sie wird älter. Und der Geschmack änderte sich; nach meiner Kalkulation, innerhalb eines Augenblickes war sie nicht mehr mein kleines Mädchen. Vor einem Jahr trug sie nur die selbstentworfenen Kleider; heute lieber Jean und die Fußballtrainingsjacke. Ist auch gut so: Sie wird die eigene Person. Ab und zu jedoch erfinden wir doch etwas, das es nicht im Shopping-Mall gibt. Zum Beispiel dieser Rock Malibu.

Malibu erinnert an die 50iger Jahre und ist ein Wespentaillierster Trägerrock mit acht Bahnen. Die etwas nach außen stehenden Taschen ergeben einen architektonischen Effekt. Hat Dein Mädl coole Gürtel im Schrank, nähe doch die Gürtelschlaufen an. Der Rock kann in zwei Längen genäht werden, oder auch in Beiden als doppellaggiger Rock. Mein Girl bevorzugt die kürzere Version. Die vielen Teilen erlauben viele, viele Stoffmixmöglichkeiten. Ich werde demnächst auch ein paar Anleitungen online erstellen um z. B. ein Kleidversion zu nähen und andere Taschenvarianten. 

Demnächst bei Farbenmix.de!





Fabric: Rayon suiting tartan



Fabric: Rayon





Fabric: Cotton percale and cotton twill -- Banberryplace.com

Happy New Year! Happy New Day! Happy New Minute!

I made good on my End of the World resolution and I got me and my big self out more. I met up with a flickr Meet Up group, which planned had a lovely hike in the Sierra Madre. This group was pretty hard core photographers: Some came with costume changes.








Hard to believe this is Los Angeles, right?









My son came along. He wanted to come. He even grabbed my camera for most of the hike and took most of the images.



I really love spending time with my son. I think we have a similar sense of humor and I think we "get" each other. There was a moment, when he walked ahead and found a spot to hang his feet over the edge of a small dam. I saw him there and sat down next to him. It seemed like the perfect spot for me to remind him of this:

"Son, you can never do anything to make me stop loving you. You are becoming your own person more and more and I am so proud of you. But I will always be there, if you need me."



To which he answered, "Okaaaay. Whatever, Mom."

Which is fine. He got the memo.