Calamity Kim

spinning art yarn

attack of the orange octopi bag

attack of the orange octopi bag, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

sometimes things just come together, as if they were meant to be. Like this yarn that I made during Jacey Boggs workshop this summer. It was weird and I adored it as a skein but finally I wound it up in a ball and knew it would be a killer bag so I started knitting it with some help from Debra and suddenly I had a killer bag!
when I came home tonight to try to find the right lining fabric (that can flummox me sometimes for days) I looked on the shelf and lo and behold there was the perfect fabric!
i bought it a while back on Spoonflower. it is called Underwater Friends and was designed by  Taraput. here is the link. 

I have to go line this bag while the sap is high and inspiration has me enthralled!
swim away you lovely mermaids!
the octopi and whales are coming fast!
;)
calamity

Saturday Morning Inspiration

Waking mind full of holding a baby in my dreams I sit up and my husband puts the blue tooth head phones on my ears, music begins to play in the space between. I gasp and smile, mumbling thank you, my mouth not yet awake.

Seeking out the computer where I drink morning coffee I find myself at a site full of beauty. Tabatha A Yeatts has Art Thursday  with much to see and experience. Lovely images and thoughtful themes soon command me to stop treading water and dive deeper to expand my vision of artful expression.

Each summer I seek out water and it's cooling properties and this one is no different. So, naturally my focus has been on water creatures as well.

I've spent some time working on my mermaid altered box this week as well as spinning some new yarn from Batts in the Bellfry Batts by Kim Perkins. The altered box is a cigar box that I cut down with some advice from my teacher at the Venice Art Center, Joanna Coke. I used a coping saw and then painted it black and then cream and sanded it after it all dried. The shelf is made from the one of the side sections and I covered it with map paper and dry brushed it with the cream acrylic paint. I am attaching a large piece of mica today with rivets and will be gluing the mermaid and bottle in place. The letter inside the bottle is from 1932 and inspired me to find this piece's story.

"The mermaid had found a note in the bottle and fallen in love with the sailor who wrote it. She was falling more and more in love with the idea of him in her mind and soon found her heart had become chained to this mysterious man. Sadly, though she swam for many years in search of him she never found his ship or any sign that he was still at sea. Eventually her unrequited love gave her the anger and strength to break her chains of love and it was at this very moment that I caught her in my altered box theater to be able to share her story with you."

I've also been sketching out and water coloring some larger paper art dolls.

I work on them at night and am trying to get lots done for Atomic later this year. I may put some in the Etsy shop, I just am going slow with them and enjoying the process.

Here's a photo of the "tea and sympathy" yarn I spun from Kim Perkin's batts she made using wool, bamboo, silk, lace, linen and fabric.

Usually I just want to spin, but I can see this yarn in a bag with other browns and pinks and am going to knit it up soon.

Yesterday I gave my new Ashford Country Spinner wheel a few coats of polyurethane and am going to try to get it put together today.

It's made for spinning bulky art yarn and has a 2 lb bobbin! Needless to say I am dying to get it put together and it looks to be a nice day for it- the sun is shinning and there isn't any rain yet.

I am awake and ready to get busy- thanks for stopping by and sharing a morning cup of inspiration...

see ya soon,

calamity kim

True Blood by Mornings Light

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