Obama and McCain: Two Puppets Seeking Attention!

Crocheted Obama and McCain Finger Puppets

Right around election time, I got a package in the mail from my dear friend Diane, the Yin-Yang Knitter. "Hmmmm....." I says to myself, "What's this?" Opening it up, I find these two guys, political finger puppets, one of the funniest things I had seen in a long time! "Oh, Diane... You are something else!"

Backside of the puppets.

Note the detail of McCain's bald spot:

(Cackles like an old hag....)

Diane got the patterns for free through Lion Brand Yarn Studio. They rate the pattern as easy, although to me they look anything but easy!


I kept forgetting to photograph them, but finally got my act together. So, what to do with these guys? I guess you are supposed to play with them... For your entertainment, here is a little fun with the puppets:

McCain and Obama present their pedigrees to the world.

McCain and Obama pledge to run a clean campaign...


The candidates pontificate, debate, and repeat their key phrases
over and over and over and...


Obama wins!

But, McCain is still around, waiting for his turn...

Diane sent a couple of other links to projects she thought looked like fun. She is a regular contributor to Fiber Focus (Past articles). Click on the photos to visit the sites:

We can poke fun and roll our eyes, but finally, we must remember that people have died for this right and continue to fight around the world today for a voice in how their countries are run. Let us just hope that our elected officials take to heart the trust they have been given by their positions of power and leadership.

(And, FIX this broken mess!)

Obama and McCain: Two Puppets Seeking Attention!

Sarah's Artwork and Her Traveling Muse: Australia, Mexico and Africa!

We have this little gadget on the front page of our Fiber Focus Group that pulls images from Flickr tagged "fiber art".  Last week this cute guy with a red face and wings popped up:

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

Sarah is prolific and diverse in her work.  The soft sculptures are heavily embellished and expressive.

Woman by Sarah's Artwork

King by Sarah's Artwork

She also draws, filling space intensely, creating wonderful environments of chaotic order:

.

The Embrace by Sarah's Artwork

Sometimes the sculptural and figurative become combined into the functional:

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!

Guest Artist: Alena Stukavcova Dolezalova of Gurumina

Alena bought some textiles from me on Etsy and I took a look at her shop. Her dolls caught my attention. I have a small collection of ethnic and folk art dolls. I'm not sure why I love them so much, but together they represent the wonderful diverse world out there. I also tried to make a couple of dolls at one point- they looked like they had been in a major car wreck! So, I appreciate the technique and how difficult it is to make them. Alena's dolls also look distinctly non-American to me. Now that I know a bit more of her story, I realize that this difference is rooted in her interest in anthropology. Alena is from the Czech Republic. I hope you enjoy her dolls as much as I do!


It took me a relatively long time to begin creating dolls. Originally, I studied book graphics and illustration in Secondary School, then conceptual arts at the Academy of Fine Arts, Theatre Anthropology and finally stage and puppet design at the Theatre Academy of Performing Arts. My greatest desire was to make puppets and follow alternative theatre. But, it all fell through as I followed another way.


After my three children were subsequently born I moved with them and with my husband from the capital city Prague to Jablonec nad Nisou. This is a small but wonderful town in the mountains with an old glass bead tradition. I thought about what I would pursue next and my choice was making dolls. I had made them before for my eldest daughter and used them as mannequins in some performances. A doll has a certain advantage over a puppet. While a puppet lives only in the actor’s hands, a doll has its own life.


I am making two sorts of dolls – partly dolls for children and dolls for collectors. In them I project my main interests – anthropology, preference for aesthetics of the 20th Century, interest in other cultures, etc. I like using body typology as defined by Ayurveda. I started with papiermache and then moved to wood and now work with fabric, which I prefer. I especially like using second hand textiles that retain the energetic traces of its previous owner.


I set up my Etsy shop to expose my work in a wider international context. I am selling on Etsy both of the above mentioned types of dolls. Now I have begun making bags, too. I am attracted by the idea of carrying a creative work on one’s shoulder for the whole day.


My real name is Alena Stukavcova Dolezalova. You are welcome to contact me through my shop Gurumina on Etsy.

Guest Artist: Alena Stukavcova Dolezalova of Gurumina