What I've Been Up To Lately

In which I make myself Birthday Presents and think a lot about the circus.

 The pattern for this hat can be found in Rachel Henderson's Animal Hats book

After I finished the mountain of Christmas presents I made last year, I realized that I don't make stuff for myself very often.  This realization, along with the optimism I have for 2016 (that's a positive alternative to saying what a soggy bandaid 2015 was again, right?) inspired me to make myself a bunch of Birthday presents.  This pink bear hat (above), matching cabled scarf and purple leg warmers (all pictured below) were kind of perfect.

Sidenote: safety eyes on a hat are not a great idea.  Those things are pokey in the back, but the hat turned out crazy baggy, so it's not a huge issue.

Reversible Cable Rib Scarf pattern from Yarnspirations

Leg Warmers (I pretty much just free-styled this, working 2x2 ribs in the round.)

In an attempt to model the leg warmers, I inadvertently captured the little socks I crocheted for my chairs so they would stop scratching the hardwood floors. 

Unicorn Hat pattern via Repeat Crafter Me

I made my friend Drew this subtle, classy unicorn hat, as she has the same birthday as me, and we made plans to spend it together.  Unfortunately, our birthday was full of snow and misery, as I mentioned before, and we weren't able to hang out until Valentine's Day.  We had a nice little (unsuccessful) adventure looking for some giant, damaged presidents' heads .

Self Portrait, Colored Pencil and Micron Pen on Paper

This is the project that I kind of half-heartedly chipped away at during my three month yuck at the end of last year and didn't actually finish until January 2, so it totally belongs here with my other January stuff.

The Original Circus Girls from 2012

I talked about updating the circus girls that were my first creative ventures after a lengthy, post-art-school hiatus in an earlier post, and now they're done! I am so happy with The Dancer and The Knife Thrower.  It feels really good to make something that I like this much.  Those two pieces are currently hanging in Larkin Arts' satellite gallery (Pegasus Gallery) in the Golden Pony in Harrisonburg as part of their juried show, (more on that next week).The Animal Handler fell flat for me (you can read a little more about that here).

I'm super proud of myself for the progress that I've made over the past few years.  I no longer rush through my work or settle for less than what I want it to look like (with the immediately apparent exception of The Animal Handler, but I'm also proud of the progress I've made giving myself a break).  My style has developed, I've incorporated a lot more detail, and I use a lot more reference material, which I avoided for a long time for some unknown reason.

The Dancer

The Knife Thrower

The Animal Handler, Copic Marker, Colored Pencil, and Micron Pen on Paper