Tagged: Whales

June 24, 2012

strawberry picking: perception vs. reality

Last weekend, I decided to go strawberry picking.

pick your own strawberries

I drove through the country side with high ambition: I’d bake a pie, definitely. And I planned to make more awesome granola to top with the freshest strawberries. And maybe throw together a jam, you know, if I just have too many strawberries to deal with. Mmm.

tiny strawberries in a box

I headed into the fields with my giant cardboard crate and began to look for strawberries.

tiny tiny strawberry!

They were all so cute! So tiny! So organic and genetically unmanipulated!

But they were also so close to the ground, and so far apart, and soon I got tired of flipping over the perfect looking ones to find a squishy, bug-laden underside. Plus, I think I like the genetically modified strawberries… sorry, but these just weren’t the greatest.

my haul of freshly picked strawberries

Without shame or regret for my ambitions, I weighed my meager haul and headed back home. No pie, no jams, not even fresh granola, but I did have some great strawberries on my cereal that week :) And it was a good adventure, with fresh air and cool breezes and bright sunshine. I even got the ghost of a tan during those 15 minutes in the fields!

And the trip was fruitful in a different fashion: I found a fabric store! And they had a whale knit – an orange-bellied whale knit. You don’t find that every day.

Don’t get me wrong – I love picking fresh fruit. But I think I’ll stick to apples and peaches: things that grow on trees.

February 1, 2011

get stuffed! SPACES art gallery exhibition

I’m sure some of you are wondering how the adventurous whales have been doing at their art gallery home! So I’ll let you know… they’re awesome.

adventurous whales at spaces gallery, cleveland, ohio

adventurous whales - friendly seas; spaces gallery, cleveland, ohio This is the first time I’ve ever had my work featured in a real gallery. Heck, this is the first time someone has referred to my plush as art! But I like being thought of as an artist, and I definitely like being able to put my creations in an open space for all to see.

SPACES gallery is a small contemporary art gallery located in Cleveland’s West Side. It’s definitely an interesting place. They tend to focus on unusual, highly modern, and highly interpretive forms of art, and even with this untraditional viewpoint they’re one of the most highly respected galleries in Cleveland.

There I was, little Sam, walking into a small art gallery with creaky wood floors and white walls bedecked with paintings. I turned the corner into the next room, and there they were– my whales and jellyfish suspended from the ceiling, floating against the bright white wall. It’s impossible to describe the wonder of the feeling. These are my creations, my pride and joy, put on display for everyone to see and marvel at and respect. Quite simply, I was overjoyed.

narwhal & arthur rouge at spaces gallery, cleveland, ohio

spaces gallery opening - photo by brenton pahl

photo by Brenton Pahl for SPACES gallery

get stuffed! plush exhibit at spaces gallery, cleveland, ohio - photo by jerry mann

photo by Jerry Mann for SPACES gallery

I’ve never truly considered myself an artist. I’m a maker, a doer, a creator; but not an artist. It’s the engineering side of me, the practicality, that tells me to make things that people will use or hug or give, not things that people just look at. But to be told that I make things that are nice enough to be just looked at? That’s incredible! And the fact that I got to show my work next to the work of some ridiculously talented plush artists? What a privilege.

adventurous whales - friendly skies; spaces gallery, cleveland, ohio

So I understand, now, where artists come from. They want to see and be seen; they want to impact the world from inside the minds of the people. They want to make a difference just like anyone else. And I completely realize that there isn’t anything earth-shattering or symbolic about my adventurous whales… but all the same, I hope my art brought a few extra smiles to the world.

(this exhibit ran from November 9, 2010 to January 21, 2011. but i’m sure they wanted to keep the little guys there forever!)

April 22, 2010

greetings from narwhal-land!

velour plush whales I have begun to refer to my room as the Narwhal Factory (others may argue for One-Woman-Sweatshop), considering that besides homework, eating, and sleeping (in that order), narwhals are basically what I do. I’m not complaining. I’m almost complaining. It’s stressful at times. But this is an awesome college job.

My craft show Saturday went well, for my first one. It was a slow day for all of us, but I got to make friends with some Cleveland crafters and learn tips from people who have done far more customer interaction than I have. It was wonderful to get real-life opinions from people… online, there are plenty of people who stop through the site without buying anything. Do they like, dislike, hate my products? But in real life, nobody can walk by a whale without commenting on its cuteness. Which always helps the ego get a little boost.

I also had lots of fun brainstorming. First of all, I would love to do more craft shows. It’s hard to find shows in Virginia that aren’t super-folky, but I’ll be on the lookout this summer. And I want to build a nifty display setup; you guys don’t get any pictures because the room was dimly lit and, while I had a decent setup for my means (ie Dorm Room and dishracks), it wasn’t picture perfect. Next time, promise. And I realized that I don’t have anything that boys, especially boys in the “can still get dragged to crafts shows age”, can buy. First order of business once school’s out: boy ipod cases. That’ll be fun.

I did sell something. Two somethings, actually. And since there weren’t too many people coming through, I was happy. And I made friends, so you should check out their stuff:

Judy of Modern Pixie
Stephanie of Stephie Lou
Jessica of Jewelry by J
Jen of Jeneration Design
and Nelleeta, but she doesn’t have a website…

Today I was thinking about going for a walk through Little Italy and exploring the little art galleries… but the skies are alternating between bright blue and drippy gray. A good day for staying in and sewing, which is just what I’ll do – once I get my room to be less of a mess.