Two mini quilts (including this one), a puppy, a robot, a bunny, an owl, and a pussycat are going with me -- and my husband, who is the go-to photographer for mini quilts.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Off to another show!
My second show (all new prints, mini quilts, and nice big quilts) opens tomorrow, Friday 25 May, at the Curiosity Shoppe at 4th & South in Philadelphia. I have been toiling quite a lot, even for me. I look forward to maybe reading a magazine or just plain sitting down -- soon!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Mother's Day
I got the words wrong a little bit, but thanks to fabulous mother-daughter duo Keri and Sheila Bas for introducing Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation to me.
My daughter Maya, age 2, graciously colored this drawing for me.
While my husband did his level best to see that I had a wonderful day (I did), I'd much rather see an end to war than a thousand Hallmark card holidays. And I'm very sure my own mom would sign up for that, too.
Mother's Day Proclamation 1870 - Julia Ward Howe
Arise then...women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
"We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace...
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God -
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.
My daughter Maya, age 2, graciously colored this drawing for me.
While my husband did his level best to see that I had a wonderful day (I did), I'd much rather see an end to war than a thousand Hallmark card holidays. And I'm very sure my own mom would sign up for that, too.
Mother's Day Proclamation 1870 - Julia Ward Howe
Arise then...women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
"We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace...
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God -
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
peep
Last year I did a big series of nursery prints about animals and the sounds they make. They were very much geared toward the tiniest of audience members: high contrast, very simple, and unique enough but not very stylized. Today I am thinking of how blissful it would be to design a whole nursery around this new animal-sound-related image, but I think it's maybe too visually sophisticated -- my little girl (age 2) didn't recognize this as a bird when I first showed it to her, and I like her art to be accessible to her.
Still, it's so cuuuuute and springtimey! What do your little ones think?
Still, it's so cuuuuute and springtimey! What do your little ones think?
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Bunny
We've got bunnies on the brain. My daughter was pretty wound up when we put her to bed, and among the songs she sang to herself was this:
Bunnies, bunnies, bunnies, bunnies everywhere
Bunnies in the kitchen, bunnies on the stairs
She conked out pretty soon after that.
I'm gonna take the day off Friday and we're gonna make paper bunnies that look a lot like this. Well, that is my plan, anyway. She may have a different plan. :)
Bunnies, bunnies, bunnies, bunnies everywhere
Bunnies in the kitchen, bunnies on the stairs
She conked out pretty soon after that.
I'm gonna take the day off Friday and we're gonna make paper bunnies that look a lot like this. Well, that is my plan, anyway. She may have a different plan. :)
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Show in Progress
Here's my part of The Curiosity Shoppe show. Some of the quilts were done using the "dryer sheet applique" method (which I feel must be spread like Gospel to every quilter on earth -- I really enjoy it and it's the least cumbersome and least kloodgey applique method I've tried and, really, I've tried them all), and others were done by printing onto fabric and then quilting the contours.
My First Show!
I've been so excited (and so not blogging much) lately because, in addition to my usual load of toil I recently added all the preparation for my first SHOW. It's at the Curiosity Shoppe, 4th and South in Philadelphia, until the end of May; we opened Friday night (a very joyous occasion for me). I also made sure to sleep pretty well this past weekend to make up for all the midnight oil!
Sunday, March 04, 2007
We drew them together
Each "tile" is a 9x12 sheet of newsprint with crayon applied by Maya and yours truly, early this morning. Maya is learning her letters and numbers -- as she colors them she tells me which ones they are. I notice, too, she's interested in coloring in faces but not often much else, which reminds me of me much younger.
A whole lot of stuffin' goin' on
Some old ones, some new ones.
I've really been learning a lot. There's sewing, and then there's sewing from your own pattern on the fly, and trying out the seemingly millions of applique techniques available. I feel like I get better with each one. It's great!
Ali -- the lambie on the left, that's your girl's :) She's waiting for me to stick a little pink flower on her ear.
Little Red Riding Hood (front and center) and the babooshka (to the left of the wizard) are coming to a shop near you this spring. (I'll blog about it when it's ready!) The monster, based on my "Nervous" illustration, was going to head to the shop too, except my daughter loves it way too much! I don't have the heart to take it away.
I've really been learning a lot. There's sewing, and then there's sewing from your own pattern on the fly, and trying out the seemingly millions of applique techniques available. I feel like I get better with each one. It's great!
Ali -- the lambie on the left, that's your girl's :) She's waiting for me to stick a little pink flower on her ear.
Little Red Riding Hood (front and center) and the babooshka (to the left of the wizard) are coming to a shop near you this spring. (I'll blog about it when it's ready!) The monster, based on my "Nervous" illustration, was going to head to the shop too, except my daughter loves it way too much! I don't have the heart to take it away.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Bibiane (and her dog Pickle, who has one blue eye)
Thanks in large part to inkyblack I have a new gig drawing other people's adorable children. And their adorable dogs :)
I hope you can tell, by this picture especially, that I'm as giddy as a piglet in poop! This particular child is cuter than cute and her parents so sweet and gracious.
If you would like a similar drawing of your adorable child, email me (keet [dot] leibowitz [at] gmail [dot] com).
I do suffer a bit of guilt though in that I have yet to draw my own little barefoot shoemaker's daughter. So this is why, whenever I need a break from drawing, I whip her up a little something, like Miss Fluffleberry, or Mr. Floppy. She's been very happy with this setup so far.
I hope you can tell, by this picture especially, that I'm as giddy as a piglet in poop! This particular child is cuter than cute and her parents so sweet and gracious.
If you would like a similar drawing of your adorable child, email me (keet [dot] leibowitz [at] gmail [dot] com).
I do suffer a bit of guilt though in that I have yet to draw my own little barefoot shoemaker's daughter. So this is why, whenever I need a break from drawing, I whip her up a little something, like Miss Fluffleberry, or Mr. Floppy. She's been very happy with this setup so far.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Its fleece was white as snow
The fleece I used for this chubby lamb softie is the most wonderful fabric I think I've ever worked with. I've made a few softies out of fabric with pile to it and I'd always found I had to pin and baste the bejeezers out of them to keep from slipping. I approached this one loaded for bear but there was really no need. It was so easy and so forgiving.
I got the idea to make a lamb softie from a drawing I did a few weeks ago (Ali Had a Little Lamb). As with anything lamb-related I thought of my teensy-but-bold friend Maddie and her family. They're really into lambs. :) And now that I've made all my little mistakes with this one (for example, using fusible webbing to keep the face in place -- no need for that), I can make her one that is just perfect.
I got the idea to make a lamb softie from a drawing I did a few weeks ago (Ali Had a Little Lamb). As with anything lamb-related I thought of my teensy-but-bold friend Maddie and her family. They're really into lambs. :) And now that I've made all my little mistakes with this one (for example, using fusible webbing to keep the face in place -- no need for that), I can make her one that is just perfect.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
At last!
So, my friends may remember that around the beginning of January I was very excited and busy working on something big which I could not yet reveal.
This is it!
Baby announcements, printed on scrumptious linen, for a scrumptious baby of Chinese-American heritage. It was the family's idea for me to draw a puppy to record her Chinese zodiac sign, and I tossed in the lily for Lillian.
I still spend many happy moments staring at her perfect pink fingers and thinking that, now that I have done the baby thing once, I could do it a second time so much more confidently (although adoption would be our best and preferred method of expanding our family). Then again, I also spend many happy moments being glad that my days of coping with an infant's schedule (or lack thereof) are behind me!
P.S. -- How do I articulate what a profound honor it is to take on the job of announcing someone's birth? All I can say is that being chosen for this project made me feel incredibly special.
This is it!
Baby announcements, printed on scrumptious linen, for a scrumptious baby of Chinese-American heritage. It was the family's idea for me to draw a puppy to record her Chinese zodiac sign, and I tossed in the lily for Lillian.
I still spend many happy moments staring at her perfect pink fingers and thinking that, now that I have done the baby thing once, I could do it a second time so much more confidently (although adoption would be our best and preferred method of expanding our family). Then again, I also spend many happy moments being glad that my days of coping with an infant's schedule (or lack thereof) are behind me!
P.S. -- How do I articulate what a profound honor it is to take on the job of announcing someone's birth? All I can say is that being chosen for this project made me feel incredibly special.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
"Doghead, you good dog, you."
Quote from a wee relative of my friend Lisa. He had a dog called Doghead whom he loved a lot.
This is my way of saying goodbye to the year of the dog! I'm sure to draw a pig for the new year soon.
This is my way of saying goodbye to the year of the dog! I'm sure to draw a pig for the new year soon.
Monday, February 12, 2007
One-Eye and His Treasury of Best Loved Poems
1. This is for a wonderful little boy whose parents, perhaps without knowing it or meaning to, have helped so many preemie and micropreemie parents through what is an awfully scary time.
2. I had my idea of what this was going to look like and then my husband had his. He sent me to futhark.com to study some runes. It was a good idea.
3. I think I'm pretty obsessed with these misty blue-grey backgrounds. I would like to say it is the influence of winter here in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, but actually our winter is this seemingly endless expanse of grody, frozen brown. So, these misty blue-grey backgrounds are what I wish winter would look like. And then I wish winter would dump some good sledding snow on me and go away really quickly.
4. Yes, this does make me feel like unpacking flat boxes of unassembled furniture and cursing over Allen keys. We got the Sverker series of shelves when we were first married and Sverker became an expletive in our home. It's still handy.
5. I went scrounging after some Swedish music too and the best I had was a-ha (Norwegian). I loooooooooved a-ha when I was a youngun. Forget "Take On Me," the other stuff is lovely and dramatic and totally 80's and I think my friend Keri should put it on loudly and write novels to it.
6. Speaking of writing and books and best loved poems, I miss my friend Julie so much, and Julie never says no to a good book.
2. I had my idea of what this was going to look like and then my husband had his. He sent me to futhark.com to study some runes. It was a good idea.
3. I think I'm pretty obsessed with these misty blue-grey backgrounds. I would like to say it is the influence of winter here in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, but actually our winter is this seemingly endless expanse of grody, frozen brown. So, these misty blue-grey backgrounds are what I wish winter would look like. And then I wish winter would dump some good sledding snow on me and go away really quickly.
4. Yes, this does make me feel like unpacking flat boxes of unassembled furniture and cursing over Allen keys. We got the Sverker series of shelves when we were first married and Sverker became an expletive in our home. It's still handy.
5. I went scrounging after some Swedish music too and the best I had was a-ha (Norwegian). I loooooooooved a-ha when I was a youngun. Forget "Take On Me," the other stuff is lovely and dramatic and totally 80's and I think my friend Keri should put it on loudly and write novels to it.
6. Speaking of writing and books and best loved poems, I miss my friend Julie so much, and Julie never says no to a good book.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
shoo shoo boogie boo
1. Nathan has taught me the love of penguins.
2. One of my goals in life is to leave many zany stories behind. Here is a zany story about my late grandmother: when it was REALLY cold she would bundle up her sons and use the term "shoo shoo boogie boo" to emphasize just how cold it was. I am not really sure where the term comes from. My uncle has a theory that it has to do with the perils of having to tinkle in an outhouse in frosty wintertime (we're Polish American and shoo shoo is a Polish kid's term for tinkle... although my generation of the family never actually used that term and I suspect my father's generation didn't, either). Who knows.
Anyway, it is for damn sure shoo shoo boogie boo cold here. I feel like it's been below freezing since 1819. We've had very little precipitation, though, so instead of a winter-white wonderland and !!!getting to sled down my awesome sledding hill!!! it's just this frozen-stiff, grey-brown BLAH out there.
If it must be this cold, I would really rather be sledding down my awesome sledding hill with all the kids. We could all use a snow day.
2. One of my goals in life is to leave many zany stories behind. Here is a zany story about my late grandmother: when it was REALLY cold she would bundle up her sons and use the term "shoo shoo boogie boo" to emphasize just how cold it was. I am not really sure where the term comes from. My uncle has a theory that it has to do with the perils of having to tinkle in an outhouse in frosty wintertime (we're Polish American and shoo shoo is a Polish kid's term for tinkle... although my generation of the family never actually used that term and I suspect my father's generation didn't, either). Who knows.
Anyway, it is for damn sure shoo shoo boogie boo cold here. I feel like it's been below freezing since 1819. We've had very little precipitation, though, so instead of a winter-white wonderland and !!!getting to sled down my awesome sledding hill!!! it's just this frozen-stiff, grey-brown BLAH out there.
If it must be this cold, I would really rather be sledding down my awesome sledding hill with all the kids. We could all use a snow day.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Ali had a little lamb
Happy birthday wishes to the beautiful and courageous Ali. May all your dreams come true.
(Ali is dave_graham's prettier half and their daughter's nursery is allll lambs and so cute. And she calls her girl Lamb, too, as an endearment.)
(Ali is dave_graham's prettier half and their daughter's nursery is allll lambs and so cute. And she calls her girl Lamb, too, as an endearment.)
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
I get a little closer every day
When I grow up I want to be a fairy godmother. I am working on it. The only part of the picture that is real (so far) is the handbag -- which is my actual factual handbag, and which goes with approximately none of my present outfits but really, what the hell, I carry it everywhere anyway. I will have to get my lovely resident photographer to photograph it.
Incidentally, my daughter and I like to sing "Bibbity Bobbity Boo" (the fairy godmother's big number in Disney's Cinderella) and what is really charming about that is that neither of us knows the words.
Incidentally, my daughter and I like to sing "Bibbity Bobbity Boo" (the fairy godmother's big number in Disney's Cinderella) and what is really charming about that is that neither of us knows the words.
I will keep the sun warm for you
My friend Amy is immortalized as a... whatever I am calling these things
Monday, January 22, 2007
I will smite you with my deadly carrot
...or my impressive facial hair, whichever.
When I was a little kid (different I here. Please be assured I do not have impressive facial hair) we used to play Dictionary. We didn't have Google back then but, what with my parents being English teachers, we had some hefty dictionaries. Anyway, drias was a memorable Dictionary word (meaning "deadly carrot"), and it cracked me right up. All the time. Allll the time.
When I was a little kid (different I here. Please be assured I do not have impressive facial hair) we used to play Dictionary. We didn't have Google back then but, what with my parents being English teachers, we had some hefty dictionaries. Anyway, drias was a memorable Dictionary word (meaning "deadly carrot"), and it cracked me right up. All the time. Allll the time.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Bus Stop
I love little babcias.
This picture has several meanings for me:
1. My mom is friends with a Polish Ladies Action Prayer Task Force and whenever there is big trouble, the Polish Ladies Action Prayer Task Force kicks into high gear. Such was the case when my tiny daughter was born. Those babcias do good work :) They also send me very tasty desserts around the holidays.
2. My own Polish grandmother loved pink (my other grandmother loved blue, and that was how I told them apart when I was very small).
3. I have two other de facto grandmothers. A grandmother and a great aunt. We adopted each other. For my birthday they are always sending me "to my granddaughter" and "to my niece" cards and I am always so thrilled with it. They used to keep a tiny chihuahua named Pitzeleh. He was like a little punting dog, but they loved him so much. They have another little tiny dog now whom they dress in little sweaters.
This picture has several meanings for me:
1. My mom is friends with a Polish Ladies Action Prayer Task Force and whenever there is big trouble, the Polish Ladies Action Prayer Task Force kicks into high gear. Such was the case when my tiny daughter was born. Those babcias do good work :) They also send me very tasty desserts around the holidays.
2. My own Polish grandmother loved pink (my other grandmother loved blue, and that was how I told them apart when I was very small).
3. I have two other de facto grandmothers. A grandmother and a great aunt. We adopted each other. For my birthday they are always sending me "to my granddaughter" and "to my niece" cards and I am always so thrilled with it. They used to keep a tiny chihuahua named Pitzeleh. He was like a little punting dog, but they loved him so much. They have another little tiny dog now whom they dress in little sweaters.
A bumblebee for inkyblack
Inkyblack, who shoots the most luminescent portraits of children, and who is also an astonishingly sweet person, requested a bumblebee from me. It was a joy to comply. I am all giddy.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
x and o
I was able to leave my office on time today. Twilight. But then there was a traffic jam on the way home. The good thing about a traffic jam at twilight in the wintertime here is that there is plenty of time to study the trees and the sky behind them. I had plenty of music to listen to (Jennifer Kimball, Peter Mulvey) and I wasn't hungry and I didn't have to pee. It was nice to sit and watch.
My favorite kind of tree to see is a tree that has new baby leaves on it, in daylight right after the rain. There is a sharp contrast between the wet bark and the new day-glo leaves. But the silhouettes of skeletal trees at twilight are a close second.
My favorite kind of tree to see is a tree that has new baby leaves on it, in daylight right after the rain. There is a sharp contrast between the wet bark and the new day-glo leaves. But the silhouettes of skeletal trees at twilight are a close second.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Foooooooour Colors!
We are not halfway through January and I've made one of my big goals for the year (draw in 4 colors or fewer and like it)! Now I need to learn how to silkscreen this onto a bazillion t-shirts. My daughter would probably love wearing this buggie. I would, too.
I actually have been doing many creative things wherever and however I can but I haven't been too too much at liberty to show them off yet. One reason is because some of the new creative things are waiting for the birth of a friend's baby, and how honored I am to do a special project for this family! Another reason is some of the creative things are not digital in nature and we have not struck upon a happy coincidence where "free time" meets "adequate light for photography". Another reason is I'm in major crunch mode at my day job, working lots of late hours, and so most of my drawings are on scrap paper in the margins of meeting notes as I try to keep myself awake and alert.
I actually have been doing many creative things wherever and however I can but I haven't been too too much at liberty to show them off yet. One reason is because some of the new creative things are waiting for the birth of a friend's baby, and how honored I am to do a special project for this family! Another reason is some of the creative things are not digital in nature and we have not struck upon a happy coincidence where "free time" meets "adequate light for photography". Another reason is I'm in major crunch mode at my day job, working lots of late hours, and so most of my drawings are on scrap paper in the margins of meeting notes as I try to keep myself awake and alert.
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