Day Two, Princess Project

I spent 5 years studying art, struggling with basic elements such as proportion and perspective.  Coming back to drawing even after a year's absence, it's painfully clear that it will take a while to get my mojo back.  Even with such rusty skills, the fun factor has been overwhelming.

Today I played around with sketches for my foam core cut-out princesses, which will become part of my Kat Green Store booth at Seattle's Cup Cake Camp next winter.  I'm focused on this small detail because I can't imagine anything more fun than a paper doll big enough to be a live child, and an outfit actually sewn from real fabric, but strictly for decoration.  (It won't have to withstand any of the stresses of a real ball gown, since its wearer will never take a step, far less a spin around a ballroom.)

My daughter observed that a large cut-out princess might be a fun thing for little girls to color, too.  Great idea.  It is percolating.

Here, I am deciding on the size of the cut-out.  The foam core cut-out will only go down to the hips.  The rest of the princess's body will be suggested by the skirt of the ball gown.  That will make it much easier to transport, store, and install. You will see at a glance that her arms are too bulky.  The proportion will be improved by making them more slender.   The sketch on the right is a better size.  The life-size drawing on the left is too big for the format-- I would have had to cut her arms from a separate foam board and attach them.  Way too much hassle.

Stay tuned.  Can't wait to paint the cut-outs and make the gowns!!

Fresh-squeezed creative juice

Here are Sadie's and Alyssa's sweaters, as ordered:  hot pink with sparkles, and bright orange and fancy.  I couldn't find any hot pink yarn with sparkles so I knitted the pink sweater using two thicknesses of metalic silver specialty thread along with the yarn.  It definitely appears to be sprinkled with fairy dust, although the sparkles don't show in the photo unless you view it full-screen.  The fancy orange sweater has lace panels along the button placket, with hand-stitched shiny orange beads (lined with twinkling silver) following the pattern of the lace.

Next up:  Big Sister Abby.  I am excited to find out what she will choose for her sweater.  She is very original.

In addition to finishing Alyssa's sweater, I worked on the first drawings for my princess cut-outs (see the post below) today.  I am so stoked for this project!  The cutouts will be a cross between life-sized paper dolls and dress-up gowns with insane amounts of girly/royal foo-foo.  I am seeing glittering fake jewels in my sleep.  Miles of shimmering organza!  Ruffles that Scarlett O'Hara might have envied!  Lace!  Beads!  Glitter!  I am hyperventilating.  Drawings to come.

Into the Woods

My fairies and princesses are beckoning, once again.  With all due respect to Mr. Sondheim, I'll be back in my natural habitat, drawing pictures and painting fairies as of Wednesday, July 13.  I have three immediate projects I'm itching to get onto my easel; I am going to draw a "buddy book," which will be a collection of 11" x 17" drawings cut into two 8.5" x 11" pages, so two buddies can color the two halves of the larger picture, then tape them together into a fabulous poster-sized collaborative creation.  I hope these will be an interesting summer project for best friends or siblings.  I have been told some of my little customers like to color their fairies with their grandmothers.  That sounds like so much fun, I was inspired to create buddy books just for them.  These pages will not be bound.  We want to make it easy to tape the two halves together and get the finished product up on the wall to admire.  I'm considering larger posters, designed for four or six kids to work on and assemble.  That would be a fun party project for guests who like to color.  A photo of the whole art team with their assembled poster would make a great party souvenir.  I can picture this activity with cute matching smocks and washable poster paint. That would have been my idea of a party, as a little girl!

Projects number two and three are preparations for Carrie Middlemiss's fabulous and famous Cup Cake Camp in Seattle next winter.  I plan to rent a vendor table at the event, and throw a princess party for all the little girls and their moms who attend.  Of course we will serve cupcakes--as many as our guests can eat.  We'll also show off our princess and fairy party favors, which are miniature coloring books, our princess and fairy "make your own" bookmarks, and of course our Princesses and Fairies coloring books.  For this project, I am going to make foam core princess cut-outs with real ball gowns, to decorate the table.  Behind the table will be a painting depicting the best princess and fairy party ever.

I can hardly wait.

Kids, Science and Autism

Following the recent flap over Andrew Wakefield's fall from grace, I am reminded again of the fact that science is an ongoing investigation.  There can seldom be an absolute conclusion; especially in medicine, which is part art, part magic and part human cussedness.  I am convinced that in a distant future our offspring will look back upon chemotherapy as insane barbarism.  But for now, it's our best shot, and a therapy, though imperfect, that has saved many thousands of lives in spite of the wretched side effects.

Speaking of shots, what about childhood immunizations?

Wakefield is defending his position.  As a recap, his article in the British journal Lancet with 12 other authors, linking autism to the MMR vaccine, has been retracted; and 10 of the 13 authors have recanted.  Brian Deer, writing for the British Medical Journal, calls the article deliberate fraud.

Wakefield insists that the backlash is spurred by big pharma, who don't want consumers to know how dangerous their vaccines are.  I read The Pandora Prescription by James Sheridon about the mafia-like drug makers' conspiracy to keep diseases from being cured,  and Jodi Picoult's book House Rules, about an autistic teen.

I understand the strong emotions surrounding the autism debate.  Who can resist Jenny McCarthy?  It becomes moot whether she is on to something or she is dead wrong, deluded by her love for her child.  It is her love that is true.  And it is our love of truth that should underlay our pursuit of science.  The science in this case is as frustrating as science always is and always has been.  We have a theory, we test it, we prove it under as many circumstances as possible, and eventually we have to revise our earlier thinking.  I have read that fully 40% of the information in most prestigious medical journals is proven false within ten years.  That's the main "truth" of science.  It's always progressing.

I love children, and loved being a mother.  I don't love quarreling, but I am a huge fan of discussion and discovery.  I would love it if Wakefield, Deer, McCarthy, and everyone who has cause to follow research on autism, would think of their quest as a mutual passion for answers and not waste time denouncing each other.

Here are two recent drawings for Kat Green Store, celebrating trial and error in science.

Benign Explosives for Boys

My daughter said little boys will love to color explosions.  I agreed, that sounds like something every little boy would relate to; but in our current troubled times, I wanted to make sure these were fun, exciting, positive explosions.

Corine, my daughter in law and web designer, suggested baking soda volcanoes.  Perfect!  Here are the two drawings for the exploding volcano.  I hope both the little boy and his mom will enjoy these. Watching the Santa I, II and III movies last night, I was also inspired by the rocketing elves.  This book will have operational individual jet packs too.

Back to the literal drawing board.  I need thirty drawings for this custom book in time for Christmas. 

City of Hope

"Hope" is my theme tonight.  I just bundled up a "Princess Party in a Box" and sent it to my friend, who is managing a fashion show and auction to raise money for City of Hope, a charity she has been deeply involved with most of her life.

1)  I hope one of the generous women who will attend the event with the intention of bidding on something will consider my Princess Party.

2)  Even more, I hope the little girl who will be the guest of honor will love the princesses and have a grand, memorable party. 

3)  Further still, I hope she will love coloring the pictures in her Jumbo Book for Girls, and that her guests will enjoy coloring the four small princess pictures in their mini-book party favors. 

4)  I hope everyone will enjoy their princess book marks, and will be excited to choose a new book to read, so they will have a place to mark with their new do-it-yourself princess book mark.  (The princess on the book mark is holding her own book, of course!)

Included with the "party in a box," just for fun, are two dozen fancy Princess Print cupcake wraps by Bella Cupcake Couture, the brainchild of Carrie Middlemiss, who recently won a prestigious award from Martha Stewart for entrepreneurs.  Also included:  beautiful sparkly ribbon to thread through the book marks, glitter glue and colored pencils.  If I were going to a party, I would love to color princesses and glam them up with glitter and ribbon.  Now that I'm a grown-up, I love providing the princesses!