You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Fabric Art’ category.
Since today is Presidents’ Day I decided to post some appropriate art for this occasion. This was a felt piece that I did for my art class when I was in the eighth grade and my late mother had saved it among her things all those years. My felt piece is based on the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC.
I don’t remember exactly why I decided to do the Jefferson Memorial but it was probably to fulfill some requirement that my art teacher had for this project. Or maybe my art teacher had some kind of admiration for Thomas Jefferson so I did the Jefferson Memorial as an artistic way of sucking up or kissing ass. (LOL!) It’s one of those rare projects where the back of the piece is just as interesting as the front.
If you look closer you’ll see my name and 8-8. (Which stood for being in the eighth class of eighth graders at Old Mill Middle School-North in Millersville, Maryland.)
If you’re someone of a certain age, you’ll definitely recognize the fact that I made the label using Dymo Label Maker. Those things were the bomb back in the 1970s with the little wheel that contained the letters and numbers that you frequently rotated in order to get the letter and number combination that you wanted. The tape came in a variety of different colors and there were some that had colorful patterns (such as the one that I used on the back of my Jefferson Memorial felt piece). The only disadvantage was that if you made a typo, you had to re-do your label from scratch since this was back in the pre-personal computer era and one couldn’t just simply hit the “Undo” button. So basically you had to work really slowly in order to avoid errors. But the results were so cool. (Or at least they were so cool for young people.) For those of you who weren’t around during Dymo Label Maker’s big heyday, here’s a video demonstrating this device.
I learned about this event through an ad on Facebook. Apparently the St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Silver Spring, Maryland had long held these festivals but I finally decided to get around to attending one when there’s a war in Ukraine.
I ate dinner there and I found that much of the menu is similar to what I’ve seen at a local German festival (such as having bratwurst and schnitzel). I loved the crafts that were on sale. If only I had more disposable income, I would’ve bought one of those embroidered shirts that looked totally amazing.
As it is I purchased only one thing at the festival. It costs $50 but it still looked cool. It was a two-sided sweatshirt. Here’s the front of the shirt.
Here’s a closeup of the front of the shirt, where you can see pattens inside of the main design, which looks really cool. (I don’t know what this design is called but I’ve seen it often enough in photos and videos about Ukraine.)
Here’s the back of the sweatshirt.
I shot a bunch of photos of that festival while I was there, which I compiled into a video slideshow. You can watch it on TikTok, Clapper, Instagram, and YouTube.
Evangelicalism isn’t dying; it’s already dead.
Woman creates exquisite “wearable storybook” dress inspired by a French town.
People stuck at home are recreating famous paintings and it’s awesome.
Nineteen super-interesting details in the lives of old Hollywood women.
Tender embroidered portraits by Ruth Miller are tinged with expressive colors.
Stop forcing workers to stand on the job.
See a scrap of cloth believed to be from Queen Elizabeth I’s only surviving dress.
An ode to the final pay phone in downtown Washington, DC.
Panda daycare is real and it’s probably the most adorable place on Earth.
The last great California hippie commune is still going strong.
First of all I want to say that I was born in the Year of the Ox. When I was in high school some company had come out with embroidery kits based on the Chinese zodiac. I remember my mother purchased two kits—one a dragon for herself (she was born in the Year of the Dragon) and an ox kit for me. Each kit came with these frames that looked like bamboo but they were really made out of plastic. We both worked on our own kits. I don’t know whatever happened to my mother’s dragon embroidery but I still have my ox embroidery hanging in the living room of my townhouse.
I wish the plastic frame had included glass because the fabric in the frame has become yellowed with age and it’s prone to getting dusty. I also noticed that the embroidered trim that lines the bottom of the picture had somehow come apart and you can see the original printed lines that indicated where I made the stitches. Other than that, the picture is still in good shape.
Last month, when I went on a shopping expedition to Walmart, I saw that this store had a whole shelf section dedicated to the upcoming Lunar New Year including red paper decorations, red envelopes, red gift boxes, and paper napkins. It was also how I learned that 2021 is the Year of the Ox. I was so thrilled by the fact that my birth zodiac animal was becoming the animal of the year (and the fact that the Lunar New Year stuff at Walmart was priced so cheaply) that I bought a few things. Here’s a cute Year of the Ox box.
And here’s a matching pack of paper napkins.
Finally, here’s a small stuffed ox who’s incredibly cute (and he only costs $3.98).
I also decided to do something special since my animal is the featured animal of the year. A few months ago I downloaded this free app on my smartphone called Stop Motion Studio. I played around with it using my recent Walmart purchases and I came up with the stuffed ox doing a sort of a dance. It’s not high art or anything. It was basically a quick project.
I initially shot the animation in the usual landscape format that is favored by YouTube and has also been long favored by feature films and television. I transferred a copy of the files to my Mac where I imported it into iMovie. I added a title card and end credits along with royalty-free dance music that I downloaded from YouTube itself. I uploaded that animation on to YouTube.
When it came to other video hosting sites that prefer the vertical format, I did some more editing tricks. I took the copy of the animation that was still on my smartphone and imported it into the InShot app. I pinched the canvas in order to get the animation to fit into the vertical format as much as possible. In the process I cropped out most of the background and most of the animation is still viewable.
After I exported that vertical file, I imported it into TikTok. I paired it with a song I found on that platform that’s called “Happy Lunar New Year.” The title of the song is written in the Latin alphabet that’s used in the English language but the names of the people singing are written in Chinese characters so I can’t tell you who is singing that song. But I found it incredibly catchy and it matched the animation so I used it. You can view the results right here.
Afterwards I downloaded my TikTok file (that has the “Happy Lunar New Year” song) and uploaded it on to Clapper, which you can view right here.
I’ll admit that what I did isn’t great animation. It was basically a chance for me to try out the Stop Motion Studio app and I thought the Year of the Ox gave me a great opportunity to do just that.
Your homophobia isn’t a difference of opinion, it’s hate.
There’s a museum in Japan that honors rocks which resembles human faces.
Mount Vesuvius eruption turned victim’s brain to glass.
Artist creates pencil drawings that look like they’re lit with fluorescent lights.
3D printing gives voice to a 3,000-year-old mummy.
Amazing footage of thirty hummingbirds partaking in a peaceful bathing ritual together.
Mount Everest is melting, revealing tons of garbage and human bodies.
How being LGBTQ affected my AT thru-hike.
Wiki has released over 83,500 vintage sewing patterns online for download.
Exposing the myth of plastic recycling: Why a majority is burned or thrown in a landfill.
Ukrainian women bring back traditional floral crowns to show national pride.
I saw some political fabric with symbols of the Republican and Democrat parties on sale at a local JoAnn’s Fabrics and Crafts store recently.
It’s just another indication that the elections will be happening soon.
Today New York Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled a collage that was made from face masks while proclaiming it as a “self-portrait of America.”
If that collage had been unveiled a year or two after the Coronavirus pandemic had burned itself out, it would’ve been a lovely commemoration to those who had served on the front lines of this pandemic. It also would’ve been a very moving tribute to those who caught the Coronavirus. It would’ve been as moving a tribute as the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt (which I’ve actually seen in person the times when it was unfurled on the Mall in downtown Washington, DC).
Unfortunately, not only is the pandemic still ongoing but there is currently a serious mask shortage both in the United States and in many other countries. I’ve heard stories of doctors and nurses having to reuse their masks and gloves multiple times (even though they are meant to be single-use) because the shortage is so bad. I’ve had to wear bandanas as face masks myself because the pharmacies that usually sell face masks have been sold out for several weeks and I’m now required to cover my nose and mouth whenever I have to go grocery shopping.
To use much-needed face masks in an art project at a time like this is incredibly wasteful. Now is NOT the time for face mask art projects, especially if it deprives someone in the medical field of a face mask. Additionally New York City is still a major Coronavirus hot zone with a huge number of deaths. It has gotten so bad that the subway system has to close every night so the trains can be disinfected.
But even that face mask collage project is pretty tasteful compared to what certain social media influencers are doing with their face masks. A few of them are making bikinis out of them, taking pictures of themselves wearing those bikinis, then posting them on social media. Of course this has provoked outrage because there are health care workers who have to literally scrounge around for a single face mask while these asshole influencers—such as Yulia Ushakova, Jade Marie, Yana Koshinka, and Katja—are using them as bikinis. We have a major pandemic that’s literally striking the world and these idiots are using face masks as if they’re competing in a Project Runway challenge.
I’ve already had a dim view of these influencers after having to deal with their stupid Follow/Unfollow Game on Instagram. I even made a video explaining what this game is and how one can avoid getting sucked into someone else’s Follow/Unfollow Game.
Their antics with face masks have not changed my mostly negative attitude towards them.
People really need to stop misusing face masks for anything other than their intended purpose because we are in a crisis situation and there is a shortage of face masks around the world.
For the first two Saturdays in February The Space and Beltway Plaza Mall in Greenbelt, Maryland held joint Valentine’s Day activities. I was there for both Saturdays and I took a bunch of photos.
On February 1, 2020 Cupid and Aphrodite went around the mall encouraging people to check out the activities in the center of the mall and to promote a drawing where the grand prize was a gold heart-shaped diamond pendant.
The Space founder Shaymar Higgs sewed pillows that were used in a free creating exercise.
People of all ages were encouraged to take a free pillow and make it into an Emoji pillow.
I worked on a pillow myself. I customized both sides of the pillow with actual Emojis.
The other activity that The Space and Beltway Plaza co-sponsored was providing coloring papers that people could use to create special Kindness Cards for Valentine’s Day.
I colored one such Kindness Card myself. Here is what I did.
Cupid and Aphrodite did the drawing. The grand prize was the gold heart-shaped diamond pendant and there were also a couple of gift cards that were included in the giveaway.
I filled out a form at the last minute for the heck of it although I didn’t expect to win anything. I rarely win anything in a drawing so I didn’t expect to win this time around. But then Cupid and Aphrodite drew my name and I actually won the gold heart-shaped diamond pendant grand prize. I was thrilled because, like I wrote earlier, I rarely win anything. Here is the box that the pendant came in along with the pendant itself.
I was really eager to wear it immediately even though I was too broke to afford a chain. I went to The Space where I cut a piece of string that’s long enough that I can wear it as a necklace yet is also thin enough that it can thread through the pendant. (Despite what my pictures show, the pendant is pretty small in real life.)
I hope to one day be able to afford to buy a proper chain for it but right now this string will have to do.
I returned to The Space on the following Saturday, February 8, 2020. The day began with a drawing workshop where we drew a variety of still life images with an emphasis on shadows with a variety of provided materials. I drew a bust and a feather with chalk pastels then I drew a toy elephant with markers.
Cupid and Aphrodite returned. This time they arrived on a tandem bike.
Once again there was activity in the middle of the mall where people of all ages could work on Emoji pillows and Kindness Cards.
Aphrodite walked around giving people free Hershey’s Kisses.
Shaymar Higgs and Kimmie from The Space joined Aphrodite and Cupid in a drawing. Once again the grand prize was a small gold heart-shaped diamond pendant and a couple of gift cards. I decided not to participate in this drawing because I had won the pendant the week before and I felt that someone else should have the chance to win that pendant.
After the drawing I went back to The Space where I shot this picture of a wall from an unusual angle.
Sagittarius Dolly 
You must be logged in to post a comment.