Spring Green Earrings

I've been experimenting with new colors of fabric for my twiggy flower earrings. I'm really excited about these ones -- the combination of light green fabric and pearl beads makes me think of the first snowdrops of spring. I'll be rolling these out at SLAM at the Burren next weekend for their Easter-themed craft fair on April 23rd. Hope to see you there!

Somerville Museum "Artist's Choice" Exhibition

I am again participating in the Somerville Museum "Artist's Choice" exhibition this year, in conjunction with Somerville Open Studios. There is an opening tonight (Friday, April 15th) from 6-9pm, which should be a lot of fun. Each artist participating in Open Studios was invited to submit one work, so the show is always very varied. I am showing "Sunset Parks", which is pretty much my favorite map. I can't wait to see how the show looks!

Papercut Map Cards

After my cutout map experiments, I've been thinking about the idea of making one-of-a-kind handmade cards with map imagery. One way that's been successful so far is three-layered handcut map cards. The cards are each a piece of thin paper folded in four; blocks are carved out of the top layer, and houses are carved out of the second layer. When the card is closed, the writing layer provides the background. I suppose that if you were to write densely enough on the card, the writing would show through in the houses.

I'll be showing a few of these cards at SLAM the weekend after next, and if that goes well there should be more available at Somerville Open Studios! They are also currently available on Etsy, if you're not in the area.

Crocheted Flower Necklace

After making some earrings with crocheted flowers (see this post), I wanted to experiment with using them for a necklace. They seem to "curl up" and get less flower-like over time, but it's still a very comfortable necklace. I challenged myself to make an asymmetrical design, and I think it worked out fairly well.

Inside-Out Gallery

The windows of the Davis Square CVS always display local art, and have been named the "Inside-Out Gallery". The display is currently various artists who will be participating in Somerville Open Studios. I'm showing two map drawings there this year. If you're in Davis, you should check them out!

Woodblock Prints

When I was studying in Japan, I took a class in traditional woodblock printing and really enjoyed it. I realized recently that map forms would probably translate really well to that kind of printmaking technique. It was great to try it out again after a few years. I cut a small 2" x 2" block, and printed a few small envelopes to use at craft fairs:

I like the way that every print comes out completely differently, based on orientation and ink density. I'd love to do some larger ones for the paper shopping bags I give out, as well!