Eloole!

Eloole is a handcraft studio based in Barcelona (Spain), and was founded in 2004 by Lluis Campmajó and Eloisa López. Obviously I like their felt pieces but they have loys of other cool t's and toys.

Vintage

Okay, I will now stop playing (in photoshop) with my toy soldiers.

As I go through all my assemblage materials (junk) I keep finding flash bulbs!

'Tis the season for Vintage on Etsy.

Today I am trying to stay focused on posting some of the wonderful finds I have found.

Winter Flowers

I have been hand sewing a lot these days, in between painting the wall unit and organizing my overwhelming button collection. As I have had fabric and felt flowers on my mind for over a year now I kept some wonderful buttons out and attempted a few different floral objects. I think I finally came up with one that I find interesting. I have two or three others in the works, but this lovely necklace is available on Etsy now. I am trying to get some fingerless gloves posted too, so check out my shop when you can.

Allen's Toronto Exhibit

Allen is one of four artists in the Koffler Centre of the Arts' group exhibition titled how good are your dwelling places. Brilliantly curated by Cyril Reade, the exhibition runs from Thursday, January 14, 2010 to March 14, 2010 at an off-site site located at in downtown Toronto - actually a former residential space. The

home/art space is located at the heart of Jewish life, where daily ritual for the observant or the annual celebration of holidays transforms the domestic in symbolic ways.

The works in the show attempt to trace cultural characteristics within a unifying context, using the home, figuratively speaking, as a screen.This exhibition does not ask what the Jewish home might look like, given the impossibility of defining a monolithic group identity, but gives the viewer the opportunity to question their own dwelling spaces and the potential meaning and cultural information held within them.

The exhibition brings together four artists, Rita Bakacs, Susan Lakin, Ross Racine and of course, Allen Topolski. The work in this show examines architectural and domestic environments, attempting to decode cultural specificity within a homogenizing context. Although not Jewish, the artists were invited to reflect on the fluidity of Jewish identity in North America, taking as departure points the shared experiences of community, individuality, displacement, continuity and assimilation to examine connections and differences.

Allen's work specifically acknowledges his "diaspora" of moving into a Jewish home. (I am still not sure when to use the word "diaspora" but I really like it). The house we live in now was built in 1960 and owned only by Sylvia Weinthal and was a Jewish home until we purchased it from her in 2005. For the exhibition, Allen created an installation of the wall paper and carpet that we ripped out the first week we owned the house. He also created a time based piece (animated video) of his some 800 drawings of cooking pots that are projected in the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets. He also has a few of his well known found object appliances strewn throughout the house as if they had never ben removed (pictured above).

This image was taken during installation, and there is a space heater in the room that was removed for the opening. The house has no running water or heat - so if you go to see the show wear your long johns!

No kidding, this wall paper and carpet was in what is now the guest room of our house! Behind the cartoon people there is text in sort of framed boxes that reads "If dissatisfied, speak to the management."

Bedroom Makeover

My big winter project is our Bedroom. The lovely wallpaper has been removed (one sheet of it is actually in Allen's installation in a show called How good are your Dwelling Places. The exhibition opens in Toronto tonight).

First, and long ago, I bought a lot of Amy Butlers Dandelion Field.

The fabric has white, turquoise blue, tan and peridot. I will probably make curtains, a dust ruffle and pillows with the fabric and then I am using those colors to paint a wall organizer/shelving unit.

I had the incredible opportunity to shop today at you know where and I bought the knobs and other things to make it really special. I will post a picture when it is completed.

not telling

I have been working long hours at my new job. Although the long hours are pretty much over now. I asked, and I am not permitted to blog about it but the store at which I am now employed is here. there is a new store opening at East View mall next Friday, January 15th. Please come by on opening weekend, hundreds of people have been cutting, sewing, glueing, painting and cleaning to present an unimagined experience, and I know it will be breathtaking.

Orangettes

I finally made them - I'll be over today Lucinda!

Orangettes

Ingredients:

6 medium navel oranges

6 cups regular old sugar and 3 cups granulated sugar

water

Using a paring knife, make six shallow cuts in each orange from top to bottom, cutting through the rind but not into the fruit. Use your fingers to gently loosen the six sections of rind off each orange. Use a longer, sharp knife to carefully slice off any extra white pith. Slice rind sections lengthwise into 1/4-inch to 1/8-inch strips. Place strips in a pot, cover with cold water, cook on high heat just until the water starts boiling. Drain & rinse rinds, return to pot, cover with cold water again, repeat the boil/rinse/drain steps, set aside.

Combine water & 6 c. sugar in a large, wide-mouth pot, cook over medium-high heat until mixture is boiling and sugar has completely dissolved. Carefully add sliced rinds into pot, turn heat down to medium, leave on a rapid simmer for about an hour, until rinds are translucent. Remove pot from heat, use tongs or a slotted spoon to fish out all the slices from the syrup & arrange in a single layer on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet or old newspaper. Pat a couple of paper towels on top of rinds to lightly blot up any excess syrup, but don't go overboard. Dredge slices in extra granulated sugar until well coated, return to wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Happy New Year and Happy New Me!

Sunday I start a new job. It came out of the blue and I may or may not talk about it here. But I am excited and curious. This year has been a rocky walk in the wrong shoes, but I am looking forward and taking one day at a time until everything makes more sense and allows for plans to be planned and work to be done.