I am a visual artist working primarily on paper, but I like to get my hands dirty and do something more sculptural from time to time. I've worked with earthen clay, polymer clays, and concrete to make garden sculptures, toys, and street art. I am a mother and artist so I make toys, Halloween costumes, and all sorts of artsy things for the person I love most!
This usually means toys made of felt and wire! I have made my daughter little folk people, fairies, goddesses, and animals. I also made her a landscape play mat with flower medow, 3-D rocks lining a river, yarn grass fields, and stuffed 3-D hills. Then I made removable parts like a mountain that can transform into a volcano, a bear cave, and trees.
I made this fairy house for my daughter several years back for her birthday. It was constructed with wire, burlap, paper maché, and paint for the main structure.
The floor is made of river rock and grout. Then all of the moss and garden was hand cut and sewn from yarn and felt. Stems for the plants were created from wire that I wrapped in floral tape and painted. The front door is painted cardboard with a wood bead for a handle and scrap leather hinges.
Inside I crafted a bed from sticks with yarn "moss" at the joints. I sewed the bed linens from vintage clothing scraps. (My first ever quilt project! And probably my last.) A little candle sits upon a turned up acorn cap... a perfect reading light! I decorated above the bed with some drying herbs made of felt and string. The sink is made from bark, shells, and hot glue. I made the kitchen furniture and painted the small plates and bowls too. I wanted to craft a woodburning stove but I ran out of room. The rug was woven on a diy cardboard loom.
My daughter has created a whole backstory to the house. This is Blossom's home but most of the fairies use her home and garden as a gathering place. The river rock floor was made when the neighbor, a grumpy toad, consented to Blossom taking from his cache. Acorn, the sassy acorn gnome, naps on the yellow mushrooms. (He is one of her favorites from the group of handmade toys I've made for her. You can tell he is well-loved by the chips in the wood and fuzzyness of the felt!)
This what I get up to when I'm not working on a painting. It stretches me creatively to work on something like this when I am in an art slump. I hope you enjoyed the little "home tour"!
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