Rugadoro Handmade Carnival Masks

While exploring the streets of Venice two weeks ago, I came across the most fantastic of mask shops: Rugadoro. All the masks in this shop were handmade with a patchwork of colorful fabrics. When I visited, the artist was in working on a mask. She uses a craft past to adhere the scraps to a basic mask mold. The shapes range anywhere from traditional human faces to those of animals (rabbit and pig below).

I was completely captivated by the beauty and originality of these designs. I already regret not claiming one as my own, but with prices of 50-80+ euro perhaps it is best that I wait until I'm no longer working with a student budget! (Photo Credits: Image 3 below by Brian J. McMorrow.)

Singer

I started, at the end of 2009, an exploration in hand stitched designs. I loved how my Wedding Invitations turned out, but the amount of hours put into stitching each stitch isn't practical for mass production. (Can you imagine a bride ordering 500 of those?! I would curl up and cry.) This year I wanted to continue my exploration into this facet of design, but needed to research alternatives to the embroidery needle and thread (at the very least, for the sake of my poor bruised fingers). I considered creating one piece then scanning the design and producing multiples that way or using a quality varnish or embossing job, but both of those ideas strayed away from the whole point of the piece: that it was Hand Stitched! and had actual threads of colorful embroidery floss worked in! So I went on the hunt for a sewing machine. My mother's machine is dated which does not rule a machine out... but it has 'tension' issues, and those of you who have tension issues of your own understand the machine needs a break. Thankfully my dad came across a 1951 Singer Featherweight in his explorations and graciously allowed me to use it on this project! It still runs like a dream 59 (yes I am shocked too!) years later. (I wonder what wonderful things have been crafted on this sewing table... if needles could talk!) I am thankful beyond words to him for his generosity and cannot wait to experiment and share my findings with you all here.

Gorodets

A beautiful new typeface from myfonts.com! Gorodets is extracted from Russian folk art. Designed by Alexandra Korolkova, Gorodets provides a whimsical tool for designers. Below is a sampling from the glyphs. This face provides filled designs for capitals and negative space designs for the lowercase glyphs. The above images are posters designed by John Collins.

Artsy Personality

Marcy Gaudin- Bourgeois of Eclectic Orchid

Marcy assembles beautiful accessories from fabric and jewelry.

Must See

The Craft and Folk Art Museum in California is a great place to visit for new inspiration and a glimpse of world crafts. Check the hours before you go! I was unfortunate enough to find myself outside the 5814 Wilshire Boulevard shop on a Monday... they were closed. The building fits right in with the shops crafty vibe, and wide store front windows allow passers by a peek inside. Hours: Monday: Closed; Tuesday through Friday: 11 am - 5 pm; Saturday & Sunday: 12 pm - 6 pm

Make One

Over the past year I have been working on bottle cap magnet collages. I first saw this idea in a cute boutique where bottle caps were used as frames for photos from magazines. I wanted to take it a step further by creating decorative collages using paper, jewelry, buttons, etc. The composition is placed in a bottle cap and the cavity is filled with clear resin.

This set was created for a friend whose kitchen is teal with red accents.

As the resin hardened on this Canine set, the paper became blotchy. For the most part I don't like the look, but on the bulldog piece the type showing through on the reverse side adds another element of interest.

Wedding Invitation

This semester's final project is a synthesis of graphic design and hand stitching. I chose to create wedding stationery (invites, reply cards, etc.) These hand created pieces would be fabulous for the crafty couple wanting to communicate their personality to each guest.