Slow Day

We drove back home bright and early this morning after all of our Thanksgiving shenanigans.  The rest of my day has been consumed by the never-ending paper writing for my Art History class.  In order to save the small piece of sanity I am hanging on to at this point, I had to take some breaks to decorate our apartment for Christmas.

I loooooove Christmas!! It feels weird to have decorations up when it hasn't even snowed around here yet.

It makes our place seem so much cozier than it usually feels.  So cozy that Rascal took full advantage, watching me work hard on my papers while she just lazed about.

Remember when I used to knit??

Well, I still do!  Even though I don't get much quality knitting time in, I've got something to show for my efforts -- I finally finished the sweater I had started in July when Nate and I went on our road trip out west!

It is made from yarn that I recycled from a (suuuuuper ugly) thriftstore sweater and then dyed with acid dyes.  It is really great to finally have this finished!  When I remember to bring my tripod back from my studio I will make sure to take a picture of me wearing it.  It was knit in one piece, and has simple shaping for the waist and hips.  I have dreams of someday having a closet full of handmade sweaters. :)
I also picked up a few nice things these last few weeks at the thrift store.  First off, I spotted this chair at the goodwill for $10 and my heart skipped a beat or two -- here are my cats posing on it for you:

I am obsessed with mid-century furniture right now, and this chair calmed that obsession, at least for a little while.  It has a couple of small/easily fixable little scratches, and totally needs to be reupholstered, see:

Midcentury furniture + 90's floral upholstery = awful. 

I'm thinking of covering it in a simple grey or muted green fabric, but maybe I'll search through my stash and see if there is anything else that would work.  I'm thinking that just about any other fabric would be a huge improvement!

I also picked up this little purse thinking it might be a cute camera bag, but my camera sits a little funny in it, so I think I'll put it up in my etsy shop sometime this week.  It is sooo cute that I am really tempted to keep it though.

That's all for now.  Hope you are all having a great weekend!

So much to update!

Hello all, sorry for the sparse posting as of late, but it is nearing the end of the semester, and this blog has been put on the back burner.  I've got about three weeks left, and I'm really looking forward to being able to be in my studio full time over winter break.  This last weekend Nate had his thesis concert and both of our families and our friends came out in full force ending with a packer-game-watching-pizza-eating reception at our apartment.  We must stay true to our Wisconsin heritage.  Congrats Nate!!  (I am a little bit jealous of you being done though!)
This week I tried to make up some studio time that I had gotten a little behind on with all of the busy work surrounding Nate's show.  Here's a peek of what I've been up to:




No matter how busy I am, and what time of night I actually get back to the apartment, I have still been making time to cook.  I made these pretties last week:

They were chicken and zucchini potstickers (the zukes were some of the last from our garden)
I've also been taking my Tuesday nights off to get together with my friends Ann and Courtney for our "Grandma Club" which so far has involved sewing, knitting, and wine.  Unfortunately I keep forgetting to take pictures of us - but I did get a shot of Courtney's cute puppies Abita and Remmy:

They keep us company. :)
That's it for now folks, but be prepared for more frequent posting once the semester starts to wind down. :)
--Cassie

Studio Move

I'm in the process of reorganizing my studio after moving into a new room.  Having my own space (with a window!) has been nice - especially with the projects I'm working on.  I'll post pics of my new space once I get my studio space organized.  For now, here is some of what I'm working on:
Drawings of dollhouse furniture:


Under-paintings:


Process Photographs:


As far as my thesis show goes, I'm feeling less intimidated by it as I get more and more work done.  The only thing left that I'm anxious about is how to present things (frame, no frame, mounted, pinned to the wall, etc...).
I'm also thinking about how large of chunk of my show will be the presentation of my art-making processes, and how much will be finished work, and whether or not I will be putting the actual dollhouse in the show, or if I will leave it out and let the photographs, drawings, and paintings hold up the show without it.  Decisions decisions...... 

Delicious Desks

I had a critique last week and we talked about making the dollhouse furniture more specific, and less 'ikea', so this desk is the result of that.  I took a lot more time making it, and made it from balsa wood using a craft knife, sandpaper, and glue.  It stands a mere 2.5" tall, and I am loving it.  :) 
It is modeled after this desk by Paul McCobb, and I will stain it after I get finished with the other furniture. for that room so that the finish is consistent.  
I am almost done painting as well, that is what is taking me longest with the 'rehab' -- I had to cut the brush down so that I could get it into all of the nooks and crannies of the ceiling area.  I also bought fabric for the carpeting and wood for the floors - I've still got to get a coping saw so I can cut the floor down to size.
Painting:

And this is the progress as of last night:

Lets see where it all goes!