Colin's Creatures, Sheep made with tenderness... |
Geek Redhead Girl by Yermit |
My Eyes Are On This Crazy Beautiful World |
Dragon House of Yuen supports efforts in hare rescue. |
Colin's Creatures, Sheep made with tenderness... |
Geek Redhead Girl by Yermit |
My Eyes Are On This Crazy Beautiful World |
Dragon House of Yuen supports efforts in hare rescue. |
The TAFA Team's Catalog of Shops: Art Dolls and Animals
The Tarahumara Race is On: Woven Destinies
Merman by Sarah's Artwork
I quickly clicked on it as I wanted to know more about it. I knew instantly that this was a piece that would be close to my heart. And where there was one, there would probably be more.
I was right! Merman led me to a treasure trove of wonderful work! I am especially attracted to work that is influenced by ethnic art, yet twisted into something new. If you visit the Sarah's Artwork blog, you will find this to be true in this case. The blog is loaded with images of inspiration and how they become translated by Sarah into something new. For example, take this piece from her series, My Tribe:
Source of inspiration: Africa!
Other My Tribe pieces all recall Africa, although Sarah said that she is also inspired by the immigrants she sees in Melbourne, often wearing tribal tattoos or henna designs from their place of origin.
But, Merman, looked distinctly Mexican in flavor to me. Hmmmm.... Sure enough, Sarah has been to Mexico and fell in love with it!
And, where does this well of creative juices spring from? AUSTRALIA!!!! It's A Small World After All started playing in my head... Sorry. It's all that childhood indoctrination...
Its A Small World (After All) - Disney
I have found that artists who fill their artwork with detail and texture, like Sarah, tend to also decorate or fill their work spaces in the same way. This is true with her. Sarah's former studio was an altar to life. Walls, even the ceiling, celebrate the world, bringing cultures together into a collage of color and texture.
I contacted Sarah and told her how much I liked her work. We exchanged several e-mails and she turned out to be as interesting in cyber-reality as her work. I don't expect much when I contact people out of the blue like this. Many never respond, people are busy, whatever... but, Sarah was enthusiastic and shared quite a bit about what is going on with her. She packed up her studio and is in the process of crossing the ocean to start a new phase in her life: Montana, USA! She has friends there and eventually wants to make it back down to Mexico. Montana is a long way from Kentucky, but it gets my hopes up that if we are at least in the same country, there is a tiny chance that we could meet someday.
Meanwhile, visit Sarah at her blog, leave some comments here about how wonderful she is, and from us all, we wish you "Happy Travels, Sarah!"
Click on this short bio to see a larger image:
Sarah's Artwork and Her Traveling Muse: Australia, Mexico and Africa!
Erin with Azucena in Nov '07.
In August of 2007, a local orphanage was raided here in Guatemala, and political tensions surrounding international adoption were running very high. Agencies began suggesting that fostering parents, like us, stay inside with our kids until things calmed down. Rumors abounded that the police were going to question any gringos they saw with Guatemalan children. So for close to two months, I only left the apartment with our daughter, Azucena, a handful of times.
Market in Santiago Atitlan
As one would imagine, being confined to apartment grounds with a toddler for that long was challenging. Eager for something to do while Azucena napped or played on her own, I started looking at craft blogs for inspiration. I hand-sewed about 20 stuffed animals and little dolls out of Azucena’s outgrown baby clothes and, later, felt. It was a fun diversion from the stressful reality of our situation.
I had long thought something really pretty could be made from the embroidered collars of huipiles. Once I got the sewing bug, I started visiting a shop here in Antigua that frequently had used collars and other huipil scraps for sale. The first things I made were some pillows that featured collars from Chichicastenango; I embroidered Spanish words like “esperanza” (hope) and “amistad” (friendship) within the circle formed by the collar.
For my next project, I purchased several small of bags of huipil scraps in order to make Christmas ornaments for some family members back home. Afterwards, I posted photos of the ornaments on my personal blog, and the next thing I knew, I had people leaving comments saying they wanted to buy sets for their own families. An online friend who was coming to Guatemala kindly offered to transport any items I sold back to the US for shipping through the USPS. I accepted and was thrilled to have the opportunity to earn some money to help with the many expenses we were incurring by having to maintain households in both the US and Guatemala. Largely through word of mouth throughout the online adoption world, I ended up selling about $2500 worth of Christmas ornaments over the next couple months.
After Christmas, I began making new items from the huipil fabric, including animals, simple baby dolls, fabric magnets inspired by Semana Santa street carpets, and personalized art for children’s rooms. Lately I’ve been doing more collages. This spring, I moved the craft items from my personal blog to a separate crafts blog and opened a shop on Etsy. I hope to continue making and selling arts and crafts from these beautiful used Guatemalan textiles; they are too lovely not to be re-purposed and enjoyed. Maybe I’ll even get a sewing machine when I get back to the States!
Guest Artist: Erin Stoy of La Chapina Huipil Crafts
"We are Direct Importers and Wholesalers of Handicrafts, Musical Instruments, Jewelry and Clothing from the Andean Countries of Peru and
Over 300 Fair Trade Organizations in 70 countries form the basis of our network and membership is growing steadily. Approximately 65% of our members are based in the South (that is: Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America) with the rest coming from North America & the Pacific Rim and Europe. We are truly international!
Our mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society."
Is it Green or Fair Trade?
Guest Artist: Alena Stukavcova Dolezalova of Gurumina
Guest Artist: Inese Smelters of Monkey House