Merry Go round

Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women as they link hands around the world and tell you a little about their lives and art.

We are group of 10 women from all over the world. We choose a question and all of us have to answer it in our blogs. It will be very interesting to read what each of us
has to say, taking in account how much our lives and crafts differ.


-This month we are taking a look at our sources of inspiration: notebooks, pinboards, scrapbooks, pictures, sites, books, etc.
I already mentioned in the previous merry go round a couple of books and websites that I like to check out quite often which are also a source of inspiration, not only knowledge.
When it comes to pinboards or journals I must admit that I have failed to keep them neat and up to date. I do yank pages out of magazines and cut out pictures. More than shapes what inspires me is ussually a certain color combination. If I cut out a magazine page with a promotion of Sardegna's beaches, it has more to do with the colorway depicted there (and an immense wish to go to the ocean, and Sardegna wouldn't be bad at all...).



I have three notebooks with sketches, little drawings, lots of notes in different languages which would make it very difficult for other people to read! Although it looks as if I was writing in code, it isn't done on purpose, it's just how my head works these days.
We buy a lot of books every month and art, photography or design books are always on the list. Even though I might not do something that directly relates to something I saw on a book, it just adds information to my head, I think.
I do take a lot of photographs, macros ussually, and I have lots of folders in my computer which I think would be my digital pinboards or scrapbooks. Example: I cooked some red beets a while back and as I was peeling them under running water (they were hothot!), deep red water filled the sink. Immediately I started to shoot that...silly...it's just red water... I know... but I came up with this:


Without a doubt, of all these pictures I'm constantly taking - mostly of my own garden; flowers are quite often my models. There is an appeal, from the design point of view, in staring at nature with it's wide range of regular patterns, shapes and bright colors. The challenge is there: try to reproduce those designs-




So, that's it. Books, colors, nature. I can not wait until I have my own studio (which miiiiiight happen next year) and I can have a whole wall with papers, drawings and photographs pinned to it. A dream! hahaha!

Do please check the posts of the other girls who take part of this merry go round:


Lily at http://lilypangart.blogspot.com

Jenny at http://designjennykarlsson.blogspot.com

Wendren at http://thewrendesign.com

Sara at http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com

Agathe at http://lebarduvent.blogspot.com

Fabienne at http://easterya.blogspot.com

Charlotte at http://fancypicnic.blogspot.com

Nikki at http://beadedzen.blogspot.com/
Ruth at http://insidetheartisan.blogspot.com

Coming soon

Coming soon
Originally uploaded by Marian Florcita

Seed pods yellow green merino seed beads yarn hand dyed hand spun felting, water wool linen fibres blue bamboo shine yarn spinning wet felting florcita.... new.

Soon.

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: seed pods

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: seed pods
Originally uploaded by Marian Florcita

Seed pods...
As I've told you before, we keep a rather large veggie patch... well, large for a little house in a little country :) We also try to keep our own seeds so we can reseed the next year. We do a bit of natural selection by letting on the plant those fruits that have the best size and color so they later become seeds: peas, pumpkins, beans, etc. I also keep some flower seeds from zinnias, lilies and others. Seed pods have given me an idea... like a light bulb suddenly went on in my head. I did some sketches where we were on vacations and i couldn't wait to get back home to try them on...and since then I've been working like a maniac towards some new felted useful art inspired in a seed pod. But that will come later this week. Today, Flickr favorites... seed pods.

All the creit to the photographers who took this pictures. Click on the msoaic to see them larger and visit the artists.

If you want to join the mosaic fun, hop to Mitsy's : blog

Vacations in Noord Holland

Vacaciones
Originally uploaded by Marian Florcita

We are back.
It was cold and it rained almost everyday. Windy especially by the sea where I especifically asked to go because I miss swimmig in the ocean. Thing is... I don't think I wore a short sleeves t-shirt more than once! hahaha
Well, it wasn't all missery. We had fun. I managed to start and finish a book. I took my drop spindle and some cotton and bamboo in case I got bored and well.. I did on those hours inside the tent hiding from the rain, so I even managed to spin some.
I took a load of pictures. I'm glad I was carrying the macro and tele lenses, although they were quite heavy. Not very easy to move around with all of that, but otherwise I wouldn't have been able to take the pic of the yacht and the swans, or the windmills way back in the horizon lost behind the furious sea on that top left picture.
Clik on the links if you want to see them bigger.


Well, lots of things coming up. I hope everybody is doing ok.

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: tents

Flickr Favorites Tuesday: tents
Originally uploaded by Marian Florcita

We were supossed to go camping this week. Last thursday the car broke down, ended up in the shop the whole weekend + monday. Today we got it back with a huuuuuge bill obviously...
In the meantime, something got in my eye, couldn't get it out... this morning I went to the doctor to find out I have an eye infection...antibiotics and sun hypersesitivity...yay.
So, out teepee tent, the green one in this mosaic... is still packed waiting to be opened. My husband's vacation days are running out so we better shape up or no vacations at all!

All the credit to the photographers whom took these pics. Click on the mosaic to see it larger.
And if you want to join in the Flick favorites fun, visit Mitsy's blog! : http://artmind-etcetera.blogspot.com

balls for Seba's Birthday

ballssebs
Originally uploaded by Marian Florcita

Sebs is my son (short for Sebastián).
This week he turned 3 yrs old and this found me a bit shocked at how fast time passes but also juggling with a variety of task: birthday parties (at his kindergarden and at home), dinner with the family, preparations for our vacations and work. Anything else?? oh yeah, at the last minute the car broke down so, even though we should be leaving tomorrow on vacations...we won't be doing so until wednesday or so... hopefully.
It is tradition here in The Netherlands that when your birthday comes, you have to treat your friends with a cake or treats, little presents in the case of kids. Tired of all the cheap plastic stuff my son has received in these past months from some of his friends, I decided to make something myself. I do understand that not most parents are crafty and that it is indeed cheaper and faster to go and buy a bunch of plastic little cars or something like that (which will break within a few days and just add to the plastic waste in the world...) but I had no excuse. I could and wanted to make something.
For 3 yr old kids you don't have to go to extreme lengths. I made a batch of about 30 wet felted balls. Each with a different color combination and pattern. It was actually quite fun to make them and easy... it just took a couple of days...especially because wool has to dry and it does not stop raining here!

The balls were a success. Kids with eyes wide open rolling their colorfull balls and looking amazed at the swirls, dots and stripes. The teacher said to me that she hadn't seen this much excitment from the kids when treats were given, in a long time. Even happier.

I also made a few simple paper bags and labels with my son's name on it and an inscription on the back:
100% wool,
100% biodegradable,
100% enviorementally friendly...

We all have to work towards that, right?? what better opportunity to do so than on this ocassion, celebrating the life of my little son, who - I hope- will receive a better world...or at least I will try to make it better.

Whimsycal Ceramic bottles

Whimsycal Ceramic bottles
Originally uploaded by Marian Florcita

Unfortunately the ceramics studio where I go every week, is closing down. So we are all trying really hard to use up all rests of clay that we have with us so we can fire them up. I still have kilos left so I don't think I will be able to fire everything considering next week will be the last one.

These little bottles here, are some of the things I've been doing lately.
They were painted with slip or engobe and later glazed with transparent glazing on certain areas, so the texture of the surface changes. If you click on the picture it will take you to my flickr where in some of the macro pics of these bottles, you can see better all the cracks on the glazing. Pretty nice me thinks :)

While I was gone

I was interviewed by Sara from Sara's Texture Crafts for DIY city mag, an online crafts magazine which always has lots of info on new artisans, suppliers and do it yourself stuff. It is worth your time to surf around its pages.
In the interview I talk a bit about what I am already working on for the next season, a new line called "Retazos" which in spanish means "scraps"... other things ...you have to go and read it.

Thanks Sara for making it happen....


We did go to The Hague and later to Wassenaar to the beach. Lovely day we had under the sun and even though we used up half a bottle of sun protection, we still woke up the next day in colors ranging from red to...bordeaux! My skin always gets brown immediately but that is the latin gen speaking, my husband was fluorescent red!
It was great to swimm in the ocean again. I'm half fish half human :)


Anyway, interview here... have a nice weekend!

Sand, salt and water. And sunscreen...

I have to go visit the Argentinean Embassy here in The Netherlands today, which is in Den Haag (The Hague)...by the sea! If we survive the long and mean traffic jams and all the paperwork at the Embassy, we are spending the rest of the day at the beach. Sand on my feet, salt on my face.
Mr Husband is officially on vacations so I might be a bit gone. We have a few little trips -just around here- planned and naturally we have an agenda full with appointments and "things to do" for the next 3 weeks. Stressful vacations!
Oh yeah, I've been doing a whole lot of felting and for my son's birthday next week I'm planning to felt about 30 balls to give away as treats so... there is work being done after all! :)
Anyway, it might not be the pacific ocean or the caribean, but I'm going to the sea today. Sometimes you just have to wish for it, and things happen!