Costume Creating

So it was another week of sewing for me.  Two of my boys needed costumes so I was busy working on those.  I made a cherry pie... out of felt, that is, for my oldest son.  I also made an outfit for my youngest son.  He has a Japanese day coming up at his school where he is supposed to dress in a japanese outfit, so I thought I would double up and make his outfit for school and for trick or treating this weekend.  He decided on going with looking like Aang from the movie, "The Last Airbender".  It has a japanese warrior feel to it.  They were more than thrilled with there costumes as you can see by the pictures.  What a joy it is to make things for my children who can enjoy them so much!  Killian's japanese outfit was a lot of work from the shirt to the shoes, but it was worth all the work.  I even experimented with dying the linen fabric with tea for the trim on the shirt.  This was the first outfit I have ever made and it was challenging, but I really enjoyed doing it!  This week coming up it is back to fine art.  I am putting the sewing machine aside for the next few weeks and getting into my studio.

A slice of Pie and All of the Above.

So it has been over 3 weeks since my last entry.  I have found that studio time isn't necessarily happening, but I am still creating.  I have not been able to work on the fine art that I intend to work on.  It has been more practical ways of creating.  Within these three weeks I made all kinds of different things.

First I made my best friend a gift for her shower which entailed me making an asian Mai Tai baby sling, a pouch for it to go in, two pairs of baby shoes and a pouch for them.  I really enjoyed sewing and trying something new.  It turns out the the shoes were a hit at the shower and I already have orders to make some for people! 

Then I was asked to make posters for my kids school open house.  I don't do much to contribute to my children's schools, but whenever there is an artistic need I am on it.  It is nice to serve in a way where I can use my gifts and passions. 

Lastly, I made my son some artwork for his walls in his bedroom.  He has a cowboy themed bedroom and the walls were bare so I decided to make him some art to fill them.  I made fabric panels that have different silhouettes from different fabric sewn onto them... a cowboy and cowboys riding horses.  He was thrilled that I made them for him and he appreciated them so much.  The look on his face was worth a hundred hours in my studio. 

My creating seems very practical at this stage, but I am trying to notice what I am doing as part of my life as an artist, even if it is not truly what I have envisioned.  I know I will eventually get there, but I am not willing to sacrifice doing these other kinds of artistic things to do so.  This week I know I will be making a costume for my oldest son for Halloween.  He is supposed to team up with a friend and their costumes have to go together.  He is in love with pie, so he wants to be a slice of pie and his friend is going to be a fork!  So off to the fabric store I go today to figure out the beginnings of a pie.  This is my life.