Fun Friday Chalkboard Paint

I found some nice pics of chalkboard paint being used in a fresh way.
Have a great weekend. From flickr- bedroom think cloud from sarah here,
spice rack from rhapsody here, from Martha Stewart, baby night table
from babyblogspot here, and from jkenning here.

Keri Rounding's Wearable Felted Art

I've been coming across more and more artists finding inspiration where I have lately- the sea and especially on a microscopic level. Keri Rounding's felted, delicately colored sea creature have been on my "love to have one" list for awhile. I can see one of her petri dish brooches on a nice white coat.

Keri Rounding is a graduate of Sheridan Institute’s Crafts and Design Program: Textile Studio. There she learned that she had a passion for creating unique wearable accessories made using handmade felt and embroidery. She now strives to create what is new and unusual. Using science and the sea as inspiration, she creates a sense of humor, a story and a personality in each piece. Working out of her home studio in, she is now exhibiting and selling her work in person around the Toronto area and online through Etsy.

www.kerirounding.com

Can you tell me about your latest body of work?
I am currently working on a series of felted pieces inspired by the sea. I am hand making the felt from raw wool using needle and wet felting techniques. The pieces are becoming pins, hair pieces and necklaces. I am experimenting with lots of colour combinations and different shapes.

What inspires you the most lately?
I have always been inspired by creatures from the sea. But lately, I am looking into scientific images and working with images of amoeba, germs, and other microscopic creatures.

Can you describe the best thing you saw on your last walk?
Lately I have enjoyed visiting the local nature conservation areas and taking hikes through their paths. I see so many interesting root systems, trees and plants. Specifically, I came across a tree that was split into six pieces that seemed to have been hit by lighting. I stood there for awhile trying to figure it out.

What are five things that would happen in the perfect day of work for you?
- Wake up early without using an alarm clock
- I would be super inspired to create and new ideas would flow
- The lovely spring weather would not appeal to me at all and I would actually stay inside and work
- I would be packaging up lots of sales
- The studio would stay clean!

Can you describe the best pair of shoes you've ever owned?
I bought a pair of flats that cost less than $20 which were the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned. They weren't pretty and I wore them until they were
just plain ugly. They finally fell apart on a camping trip.

What are you doing this weekend? (May 15 and 16)
I most likely be outside enjoying the weather, possibly a hike.

Chalkboard Paints That Aren't Old School

My art installation for the restaurant, Trafford is taking a turn. A florescent turn. I discovered Hudson Paint Company's line of wonderful chalkboard paints and haven't been able to stop. Using chalk board paint and scraps of wood I've been collecting from a local factory that makes large plywood cable spools, the cost of materials has been very little. Here are the first look at some of the elements I'm working with and piling up. The palette I found around the docks- oranges, blues, reds combined with some greens I love, the project is starting to take shape. I've been combing some vintage books about sea creatures, paying attention to fish tanks and what's usually below the water surface around here. Not sure where it will end up. Won't be another seafood restaurant in white and navy.

Poem for Monday

Is my soul asleep?

Is my soul asleep?
Have those beehives that work
in the night stopped? And the water-
wheel of thought, is it
going around now, cups
empty, carrying only shadows?

No, my soul is not asleep.
It is awake, wide awake.
It neither sleeps nor dreams, but watches,
its eyes wide open
far-off things, and listens
at the shores of the great silence.

~Antonio Machado

-Painting by Yangyang Pan