We've got Style!

Some selected items in the Bunny with a Toolbelt line are available at the Wood Turning Center in Philadelphia, and I just found out that we were featured in today's New York Times (Style section) in an article about great places to check out in Philly.

more elephants to love...

A British company is producing a limited edition of the elephant furniture sculpture in honor of its designer Charles Eames' 100th birthday. Seems like a great use of the bent-plywood lamination techniques that made him and wife Ray famous with their classic chair. If you're interested in the work of the Eames duo, I highly recommend a dvd set with some of the fantastic films they made that give a glimpse into their work, home, and life.

rub a dub dub

I was searching the web for a picture of a panda bear because I thought it would be a good item to add to my line and needed a little refreshing on how their bodies look. In the process, I came across this interesting picture and had to share. Too bad the kids aren't having a little more fun! Maybe they were expecting something else.

Setting the foundation

I just found this fabulous huge piece of brown fuzzy fabric for my Bunnywood show at the Museum of Contemporary Craft this November. It came from one of my favorite local haunts, SCRAP, which sells all kinds of used stuff that's great for artmaking. I am hoping to get the train and more parts for the foundation in the next week.

magical forest

I made the forest for my upcoming November show at the Museum of Contemporary Craft. Here's the pieces before painting--I plan to make all of the work and then paint it in the weeks prior to installation.

the first of three

I am officially starting work tomorrow on my big window project for the Gallery at the Museum of Contemporary Craft, which will be followed in short order by another window show in December for Guardino Gallery and then the MCC window will move upstairs into their Lab, simultaneously evolving into more of a holiday theme. Phew--just listing that sounds like a lot of work. I have been making some notes for many months, but am really excited to finally have time to get to the real work. Here are some images that will inspire the show. I'll post more sneak peeks as I make progress.

lovebugs!

I recently installed a customer's lovebugs in the family's stairwell. They bought 60 of them, enough to make a lovely loop in the 18' expanse of wall. It was a challenge figuring out how to get up there, but the end result was worth it.

sack full of devils

My Bride and Groomzilla figures were mentioned on a really fun blog called Sack Full of Devils. Thanks!

jet set bunny

I am pleased to announce that many of the items in the Bunny with a Toolbelt line will be featured in a book to be published this fall in Taiwan and Japan about dollmakers. Here are the proofs I received for the inside pages, but word on the street is that we will also be the cover art. Yay!

happy families

I made this special family for a wedding cake. Second marriages for both the bride and groom, and they wanted their kids to be included on top of the all-important cake.

new items!

I've been thinking lately about birds and their habitats--here are some pieces I made which will soon be listed on the Bunny with a Toolbelt site. Enjoy!

cute sushi!

flora and fauna sale, now on etsy!

Hey Beautiful People! I just started my latest sale on Etsy and the focus is birds! Click here to go see what one of a kind pieces I'm offering, some of which are in the image here.

At the HOP!

Hey Beautiful People!

Come join Art on Alberta this Saturday, May 17 for our biggest party of the year--Art Hop! This year we are featuring three artists in our quest to find Synergy on the street. The artists are Adrienne Cruz, Tripper Dungan, and Analee Fuentes. There will be over 150 art vendors, three music stages, sponsored by Siren Nation andGreat Magnet Recording Concerns , and a gospel stage down at the Terrell Brandon Barbershop at 12th Ave and Alberta. At 2:30 our beloved parade ensues, including March Fourth Marching Band, Tears of Joy Theater, a drum corps, a Pretty Dress Bike Entourage organized by Carye Bye, school bands from the Alberta neighborhood and more surprises. Art Hop runs all day from 11am to 6pm, and there's a free after hours shadow puppet show by Tripper Dungan at the Alleyway Cafe (2415 Alberta) at 9:30pm. Click here for more information about the 2008 Art Hop!!!(Programs with the most up-to-date information will be available at the event.)

A big shout out to Combustible Media, without whom this year's Art Hop would not have been possible. (or half as cool!) Thanks also to collage and the Oregon Arts Commission for their generous sponsorship.

I'm even going to have some of my work available for sale from the Bunny with a Toolbelt line--I'm sharing a booth with friends which will be somewhere in the 27th Ave and Alberta block near Bink's. I made a posse of Love Monsters and will sell them for only $20 apiece! (Special Art Hop Price for this weekend only!) Get 'em while they last and you are guaranteed to bring love and happiness into your life.

Kicking off the event is a special fundraiser for Art on Alberta--Cork, the wine shop at 29th and Alberta (who also sells beer and amazing bulk olive oil) is having a 2nd anniversary wine tasting on Friday the 16th. The cost is $10 per person and all proceeds go directly to Art on Alberta and all the hard work we do to preserve this street as the only arts-identified neighborhood in Portland! The wine tasting is from 5-8pm. Please come and help support my favorite nonprofit organization!!!

Indie Goodness Giveaway!

Hey Beautiful Person! Want to get in on a big bunch of free goodies just in time for Mother's Day? I was invited to take part in Scoutie Girl's "Indie Goodness Giveaway" along with 23 other top independent designers. I thought my love monster would be the perfect mother's day gift, so that's what you can get from Bunny with a Toolbelt. And did I mention this stuff is FREE???!?

Now here's what you have to do: go to the Scoutie Girl website by clicking here.

Visit one of these indie designer's websites by clicking on the links or images, browse around, find something you like, make a mental note.
Come back to Scoutie Girl, make a comment on their post about what you liked and where you saw it (no hotlinking necessary, just the website's name).
That's it! You're entered.
Repeat as many times as you like for each designer listed, make a separate comment for each one, and you're entered each time. There are your 24 opps to win this incredible bounty of handmade goodness, valued at $547!
To make it even easier, I'll break the big group down into more manageable, bite-size pieces...
Each day, for the next 6 business days, I will post a grouping of 4 donations, and you'll be able to enter on that post as well.
The Scoutie Girl Indie Goodness Giveaway ends Wednesday, May 14th at midnight. All entries must be rec'd by then to be eligible. One winner will be drawn - selected by a random number generator.

silly spoons

Great idea for a thing to keep people from sticking your pens in their purses from a Portland sushi restaurant--someone drew funny faces onto these plastic spoons and taped them onto the pens. I loved the way the looked all sitting in the cup.

here comes the bride!

I received a really fun special order recently from a regular customer who have some friend getting married and wanted a bride and groom set. The thing is, this couple is from India, and the traditional wedding outfits are very different from what we're used to in the Western World. She sent me these two images, showing how the groom wears an off-white suit (not pure white, which is a color of mourning in India) and the bride wears red with a gold detail.
I was up for the challenge, and did a drawing for the customer so she'd have a good idea of what to expect. I wanted to keep the figures simple, yet discover the most important elements in their outfits to use in my design. I really loved the beautiful brocade down the front of the groom's jacket, and decided to make a subtle dot pattern down the front of my figure, and of course a simple turban was going to be another key element.

The bride I usually do has a subtle raised dot pattern on her dress, but in this case I wanted it to be real metal so I found the right size brass nails to make her dazzle. The raised dots replace the fuzzy flocking I usually use, but I do not flock the wedding cake figures in case someone wants to use them on their wedding cake. The paint I use is foodsafe and cleanable, so they can be displayed in the home following the wedding as a memento of their special day. A matching brass bindi on her forehead completed the bride figure.


Here's the finished pieces! I really love their simplicity and it was a really fun challenge!

bunnylicious!

My friend Anita just sent me this image of this cute little bunny necklace she bought in Las Vegas when she was there for the "Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender." Anita is a great artist herself who goes by the name of "Miss Artypants"--check out her work by clicking here! I bought a great apron with an Elvis impersonator she designed named "Elvin" from her Cafe Press store before the Presley people threatened to sue her! Now he's named Reno Reynolds and all is well.

special orders don't upset us!

I wanted to share some images from a recent commission I got to recreate the two beloved kitties Bunsen and Goose, in the manner of the Fat Purple Cat in the BWAT line. First is the image of the fat cat, and if you click here to go directly to its listing on the Bunny with a Toolbelt site. The owner of these furry felines (or do they own her?) sent me these images to work from:

And then here's the final result. Ta da! I love them and it makes me want to expand the fat cat line to include some more breeds.

on the dot!

Bunny with a Toolbelt was mentioned today in a sweet little blog called On the Dot which is all about....you guessed it: polka dots! Julie updates her blog every single day with new polka dotted goodies, which are definitely near and dear to my heart. Her etsy site features her fun dotty desktop designs that allow you to showcase your own personal images. Click here to check it out!