Learning from Photographs

When I see photos of my work I somehow see the work differently.  Its a fresh perspective that sometimes is helpful.  This happened recently when I had a series of shadow boxes photographed.  I liked the contents but the boxes looked shabby.  So shabby that I cropped away the boxes from the photos. 

 Yesterday I built a new shadowbox to accommodate this work. There are a lot of decisions left about how to finish the piece.  But my gut tells me it is much improved. 

The most challenging thing about making this box was becoming reacquired with using a router.  There were  several routers that I could have worked with but I choose the one that was most familiar to me.  It's been over a decade since I used a router.  It was scarey.  I had to finish building the router table.  I had to remember how to use the jigs.  I had to change a bit that hadn't been changed in years.  But I did all that and it feels good.  Now I'm ready to try the other routers. 

In other parts of the shop Beth Rogers oiled the pieces of her lovingly made trestle table.

Elaine Fuller painted some details on the tale that I made a few weeks ago.  

Craft Fair Success

The Indie Knit and Spin craft fair was a successful first time event.  There were steady crowds and sales were surprisingly good.  I sold more buttons than I expected.  Joyce Compton also had good sales of her felting kits.  Things went well enough that I will consider doing other craft fairs. 

Knitters and spinners tend to be passionate about their craft.

The displays I built worked well.  I was particularly happy with the spinner display racks that are made from old floor lamps, scrap lumber and PVC pipe.

Small children were attracted to the buttons on the table cloth.  This photo was taken just before the doors opened.

All of the displays were made from recycled materials.

Portfolio

Tom Henkel took photos of the dolls I am currently making.  It took a while to get the images from him but they have finally arrived. The first two characters are from a series of busts made from lamp parts and traditional doll making techniques. 

The girl on the scooter is the same scale and is about three feet tall.

Ethernet Cable Joy

This morning I solved the internet connection problem for my computer.  I drilled two holes in my floor.  One near the router and one near the computer.  Then I strung an Ethernet cable across my basement ceiling.  It took a while to figure out where to plug it in on the computer.  Then the challenge was to learn how to change the computer settings to a local area network.  Now that I've done it I understand the logic of what I needed to do.  But when I was problem solving all of this it was a daunting task.  I'm looking forward to getting back to blogging. 

Today I'm purchasing a tabletop drill press and tomorrow I'm setting it up at the Lillian Street studio!  I'm really looking forward to that!

Branding and Packaging my Buttons

My current task is to work on how I package my buttons.
The theme that runs through my Etsy button shop is that I take old things and make them new.  I'm using old button making techniques in new ways.  I recycle old buttons by dying them. Etc.  I want to design some packaging for my buttons that reflects that theme.

Historically buttons have been sold on cards.  This is a card from the 1920s.  It looks to me like the card designer did the 1920s version of cut and paste.  I think the message is that these buttons are well made and fancy.

I'm not sure when the two cards below were produced.  Perhaps in the fifties?  The message conveyed is that using these buttons will enhance the user's gender role.  The roles portrayed are so extreme that they seem like caricatures to me.  It amuses me that on the man's card the designer has thoughtfully given us specific instructions on where to sew the buttons.     

Contemporary button card designs tend to be simple.  Often they just have the manufacturers logo.  I want to do more than that.  I want my cards to have a lot of personality.  Here is the current version of a card for my buttons.  I like the retro feel of the design and the pattern of how the buttons are arranged on the card.  Its an affordable to make button card.  The design is going to evolve.  I'm thinking of adding historical information about button making on the back and maybe some imagery.  I am also looking for a reasonably priced source of recycled card stock. 

Photographing Art Dolls

Yesterday my art doll collective (Chris Fondi, Joyce Compton & I) met all day to work on our portfolios.  Much of the day was spent preparing dolls for the photo shoot.  When the dolls were finally ready we set up the photo stage. It consists of a small seamless backdrop, an ironing board, two color balanced lights with reflector umbrellas and a tripod.  It doesn't take up much space when we aren't using it. The excellent photographer we had arranged to take photos of our dolls with a high quality camera did not arrive.  Joyce and I decided to have a go at taking our own photos with our point and shoot cameras.

 

In the photo below Joyce is setting up a shot of one of her dolls.

I'm working on a series of dolls that are busts.  This is a departure from my previous work.  The heads are larger and the proportions of the piece must include consideration of the supporting assemblage structures. I found that the photos help me see the proportions and details of my work with a fresh eye.   There is something about photographs that lets me see my own work critically.

I like this detail shot above because it shows personality and subtlety in the face.  The character has a dynamic gaze,  But in the photo of the entire bust below the face is washed out and dull.  I either have to improve my ability to manipulate the lighting or I must make dolls with more strongly defined detail in the faces.  I also realize after looking at this photo that the collar is simply not big or dynamic enough. This doll is not as close to being finished as I thought he was.  That's OK.  I like to push a design.

This is another doll in the bust series.  This detail shot is less successful than the previous one.  I think the eyes need to be further developed with needle sculpting and the application of eye lids for the doll to have a purposeful gaze.  The interesting thing (at least to me) is that I didn't pick up on this just by looking at the doll.

 I can say exactly the same things about the relationship of this doll's head to the supporting assemblage structure that I did about the previous doll. 

 This impish doll is also a work in progress.  The detail shot looks great. But  I'm not even going to show you the supporting assemblage structure until I rebuild it. 

Finally, there was a photograph that I was really satisfied with at the end of the day.  This is a doll that I made while working through my feelings about my sister's death. This is the first photo that I feel accurately expresses both the detail and the feeling of the doll. I will include it in my portfolio. 

The intention of the day was to generate a lot of photographs for our portfolios.  I didn't end up with a lot of usable photographs but I did find direction for my bust dolls.  I consider the day a success.

Button Making

Anytime I need to sit (riding the Megabus) or want to sit (after work) I do some sort of hand work.  Lately I've been working on learning more about making buttons with centuries old European techniques.  I'm not trying to make reproduction buttons.  I'm exploring the old ways with the resources I have immediately available to me.

I find myself working in series that either explore the use of color or variations of technique.

In this series I'm working a color scheme with needle weaving and crocheting. 

These two photos show Dorset Wheel buttons in color and pattern variations.

This is my first successful star shirtwaist button.  I'm happy to have finally figured out how to make these!

This is an example of a lace shirtwaist button.  It was also a challenge to make.

As I practice and gain experience I expect these buttons will be easier to make and I will be able to get on with playing with color.  It is a lot of fun to figure all of this out.  After learning how complex these buttons can be, I have gained a great deal of respect for all the old button makers who made buttons for a living.  Over the next week I will be adding these and other buttons to my Etsy shop.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/EmilyEckel

Lillian Street Studio

Under the visionary and resourceful leadership of Beth Rogers an old house in the hills of Pittsburgh is being developed into a woodworking studio.  The interior walls have been replaced with beams and a rotten section of the floor has been repaired.  A bathroom and utility sink have been installed.  The roof was replaced and a skylight installed.  The interior is still rough but the electrican should be arriving shortly and then we can close up the walls with some insulation and get ready for winter.  In the photo above Beth is in the middle, Chris Fondi is on the right and I'm on the left.  I'm particularly proud of the glass block windows.  It was the first time I set block.  It was a lot of work but I like the results.  Beth built the door from T 11 plywood.

All of the women working on this project are over fifty so we are being very thoughtful about creating a studio that we can use as we age.  We all want to make art for a long time.  In this photo Elaine Fuller has joined us.  The Lillian Street project is just fun!

Back to Blogging!

Finally I have the time and technology to pick up blogging again! I finished my doctorate this spring. It is such a relief to be done. Now some of the students call me Dr. Eckel. This will take some getting used to because I prefer to be called Emily. But earning the degree allows me to keep my job and that is a good thing! I just got a faculty review committee recommendation for a new three year contract. The “publish or perish” ax has been kept at bay.

Sadly, my home computer dropped dead shortly after I finished my degree. I am quite sure that the old computer was as tired as I was by the end of the program. It was a wonderful old computer and I am sorry to see its demise. It has taken a while to replace the old computer but I now have a temporary solution. Hopefully the purchase of a Mac Mini will soon be possible and I will be able to return the borrowed hardware.

Another barrier to blogging was a need to rest after the push to get done. As I rested I let my thoughts percolate on the artistic opportunities. Slowly and I do mean slowly, I became active with doll making and Beth Roger’s Lillian Street Studio project. More information about these activities will be in the posts to follow. For now it just feels good to be back to the blog.

The photo is a snap shot of my work table and several works in progress.  I'm so happy to be back to the occupation of artist.  Unfortunately I will have to moderate comments because of the porn spammers.