Birthday Quiver

This past August, I was struggling to find the perfect gift for Darrell's birthday and realized something useful and related to his music would be perfect. I researched a bit and embarked on a wonderful project of crocheting a quiver for him. His was black and green (and definitely not as bold as this one), but it was made with love and he still uses it, so I'm going to go ahead and say he's a fan. In case you didn't know, a quiver is used for bassists as a "holster" for their bows when they are not using them (I've included a photo of a standard one below). Anyhow, I guess word got around to his friends in the music department and some of them asked me to make a quiver for another bassist at the school for his birthday!


Project requirements included making a quiver (obviously), but also using neon colors and a fun/creative pattern. I ended up drafting my own pattern based on the dimensions of various websites that sold quivers. As for the stitch, I used the "Catherine Wheel Stitch," which I am a huge fan of and just learned for this project!

Judging from what I've heard about this guy's colorful personality and affinity towards bright colors like neon green, purple, and yellow, I think he may like this. I'll update to let you know if he does! :)

An Oldie but a Goodie, Plus Some Upcoming Goodies

Untitled, 12"x18"
This is the first and only linoleum print I've ever made.

I made this both as a demonstration for some 8th and 9th graders I was tutoring and as the final project for my VIS22 class. It was an art history course and we were studying greats like Van Gogh, which explains why the waves are abstracted into so many lines that (hopefully) seem to move. I wanted the ocean to look like it was alive, and that the boat was being enveloped by its vastness. By experimenting with surreal elements, I was aiming to create a sense of indefinite time-- the sky can be considered night or day. I would love to work with this medium again in a similar manner!

Some backstory: when I was working on this piece and trying to meet the deadline for showing it to my VIS22 section, I went to Sierra Summit early in the morning to try to get some carving done and ended up stabbing my finger pretty badly by the awl. Later in the day at the school I was tutoring at, I was doing a demonstration and unknowingly began to bleed all over a chair. When a student brought my attention to the bleeding, I freaked out and moved my hand up quickly, flinging blood onto the poor guy. All the girls in the class screamed, and I had to be escorted by the littlest kid in the class to the nurse's office. It was kind of awkward afterward because I don't think anybody knew what to do. I was trying to promote how great it was to try linoleum prints, but at the same time I was bleeding profusely because the very same project. Oh life and it's ironies.

As for upcoming projects, I.O.U. (you as in the blog and its lack of readers?) pictures from the show that happened months ago, updates on a performance/durational crochet piece I'm working on, and some other projects that I've worked on since last posting.

<3

Working on the Show

My first art show is opening in less than a week and I'm extremely excited, not to mention incredibly stressed. I thought I had a lot of work to show, but the space is even bigger than I expected, so I've been working non-stop to get more done before the exhibition. I'm so thankful for such supportive friends, especially my roommates. You guys are so helpful :)

T-minus 4 days before the opening; 6 before the reception

EEEEEEEEEEP,
Rosie

Pictures from the show to come! Good ol' Chippy is going to be my show's photographer :D

Striped Fingerless Gloves

I fell in love with the multi-colored light blue/sea green/lavender yarn from the yarn self-portrait and as a result have done a slew of projects using it (if you haven't noticed already from the previous recent posts). Believe it or not, I used to hate this type of yarn because I guess it really turned me off that I couldn't control how the pattern would end up looking if the colors were changing at their own rates. I think awefully blotchy colors could end up looking bad... Anyway, now that I've gotten over that, I've started to buy more multi-colored yarn! Haha


I referenced a few patterns, but ended up just creating a simplified version of my own. The top of the glove doesn't have separate sections for fingers, and some shaping was done for the thumb and in the wrist area so it wouldn't be too loose. Fun and easy project that I finished while watching pick-up basketball. FYI, that's when Austen beat Loryn at Horse. Yea, I saw it happen.

<3, Dada

Crochet for Pay

These were made for people who offered to pay for my work. They're my first commissioned pieces of work! Colors and patterns were chosen by the customers.


Puff stitch slouch cap with a simple edging at the rim


This should be very familiar-- it is a copy of one of the first broomstick lace scarves I ever made. This look is pretty popular and I'm glad because I've been getting faster at making them!

:)

Love for my Roommates

Here are the scarves I crocheted for my roommates over this past Winter Break. I had done so much work related to art and sculpture the past quarter that I just wanted to get back to doing more practical projects. Oh, and of course, I wanted to give my roommates some gifts to celebrate the holidays!


This particular scarf uses the same pattern I had in the scarves I previously posted, but adds some fringe and a few inches of length. I love using this stitch because it's quick and easy and at the same time has such beautiful results! I'm glad Jane chose a beautiful shade of dark brown. Unfortunately, the pictures don't do justice to the richness of the color.


Next, Lindsey's scarf uses the puff stitch, which creates thickness, warmth, and texture in a scarf that otherwise would have been too thin to provide any protection from the cold (I know, I know, where's the need for a scarf in sunny San Diego? Well, it gets windy sometimes...). I used three colors which I alternated and varied so that each block of color would be shorter in length as they got closer to the ends of the scarf. I tried to take into account the different autumn and summer colors that Lindsey tends to wear in her everyday wardrobe, complimenting it with a little bit of brightness in the Salmon-like color.


Finally, for Karishma's incredibly long scarf, I utilized her favorite color and made up a pattern inspired by one of Natalie's scarves. Natalie's had 2 rows of simple flowers set on a background of crocheted mesh and outlined with 2 more rows of double crochet (in other words, a thick solid band). I simplified Karishma's scarf by using one row of similarly made flowers, keeping the mesh background, and outlining it with a thin band instead. I think the result is a scarf that looks pretty different, but at the same time retains the qualities of something that looks delicately made.

Writing this blog post felt as if I were writing descriptions for products for a catalog, but I really didn't know any other way to do it, so thanks for being interested if you were! It's been a while and I'm slow with posting, so I might make another post on some other projects I worked on during the break. Stay tuned, 9 followers! Hahaha

Happy New Year,
Dada

Yarn Self-Portrait

This project reflects an exploration of the idea of representation. While painting is a laborious approach to depicting a subject, crocheting offers an even more complex opportunity to create an image based on a subject. In that the traditional sense of crocheting has to do with creating a shape or form stitch by stitch, this piece utilizes self-representation through thoughtful and meaningful stitches that have been carefully planned to possess the color changes of the human face. The use of texture and some volume furthermore enhances the material quality of yarn, juxtaposing such qualities with photography, painting, and other forms of representation.

The process of creating this piece began with a photo of myself that I redrew onto a large sheet of paper. I then tracked tonal variations by coloring different blocks which corresponded to the lights and darks in the picture (I matched these with the limited colors I had in yarn). After crocheting as close to the "plan" as possible and finishing every color block, I ended up with an unsatisfactory project. I knew that with yarn there would be limits, but I was incredibly unhappy with the results as I was aiming for much more realism. After a couple of days, I ended up going back and crocheting free-handedly over the eyebrows, nose, lips, and hair to create more volume and 3-dimentionality. I also smoothed some areas where colors changed too dramatically from light to dark.

So where does this piece stand now for me? I'm not even sure anymore. I've worked on it for so long and have gone over it too many times. I know I may not ever be happy, but I feel like I can always do so much more. For now, it's "finished," but chances are, I'll go back over it once again. We'll see in weeks or months to come.