Show me your handwork art and hobbies

[MMtwo]

Care to share your art, crafts, needlework homemade things?
What do you love doing to reach that personal Zen place? Pictures welcome.
I am a painter/dabbler.

 

[amc80]

I don't really have the time anymore, but for a while I was really into crocheting beanies. I bought the pattern for the giraffe and taught myself how to crochet...then I made the rest without any pattern. I was making them for friends' baby showers, but I've since switched to baby blankets (which I can make in under 30 minutes). I am in no way a seamstress, btw, and the blankets only look good from a distance

 

[stepcutnut]

amc-those are adorable!!!

 

[amc80]

amc-those are adorable!!!

Thanks! I've had a lot of people ask me to sell them, but I'm not good enough to where it would be a money maker.

 

[stepcutnut]

How challenging would they be for a beginner?

 

[MMtwo]

amc, thank you for posting and sharing - those are adorable! So fun to let the whimsey go and create with your hands.

 

[amc80]

How challenging would they be for a beginner?

Not at all! I was a 100% beginner when I made the giraffe. It's a matter of following the pattern instructions. I did have to google some of the lingo and I watched a few videos when I got stuck. But once you get the hang of making different shapes it is pretty easy.

 

[kenny]

About 15 years ago I took three art classes at a local college, Beginning Drawing, Beginning Watercolor Painting, and Intermediate Watercolor Painting.
All five of these were done for those classes.
I think I've posted these before, but since you asked ...

Charcoal drawing of a photo in National Geographic.

Transparent Watercolor painting of our old wrought iron front gate, and the picture it was painted from.

Transparent Watercolor painting of another pic from National Geographic.

Transparent Watercolor painting of another pic from National Geographic.

 

[kenny]

I love transparent watercolor because it glows like light coming through stained glass.
Actually that is what's happening.
The light goes through the transparent paint, hits the white paper and bounces back.
There is no white paint (rather, purists don't use it because it is opaque and is sort of considered cheating) so we have to be careful to leave the white of the paper, because you can't remove it once you put paint down.

Transparent watercolor painting of the glass doorknob in our old house, 22" x 30".
IIRC, this project took six months.


Detail.


Detail.

 

[MMtwo]

Oh kenny! You have so much talent! I enjoyed all the pictures, but the first charcoal and the doorknob especially caught my fancy. The dark tones against the clear glass handle...just excellent!

 

[amc80]

Kenny, those are awesome!

 

[Calliecake]

amc80, The beanies are adorable!!!! You most certainly could sell them. My niece had her first child last week and loved the picture you posted.

Kenny, The pictures you posted are beautiful.

 

[amc80]

amc80, The beanies are adorable!!!! You most certainly could sell them. My niece had her first child last week and loved the picture you posted..

Aww thanks! If I could make them in an hour or two I'd definitely sell them...but when it takes me 3-4 hours it just doesn't make sense.

 

[MMtwo]

I dabble in painting and photography. I do not do much at all but I need to try to do it more often. I keep meaning to pick up the pencils and/or brushes. I don't have a favorite medium but work in oil, acrylic, Prismacolor.
The lady's head is a study of another artwork in oil pastel.
The painting of the Shenandoah Valley...I look at it and want to start all over again.
Anyhow, live and learn.

 

[redwood66]

amc those are so cute! Kenny those are wonderful and you should be doing this all the time! I love the charcoal one with the horse. Maybe I need it.

Beautiful MM!

 

[ckrickett]

Kenny! WOW!!!

I am a painter for a living. I usually dabble in pop culture icons and wildlife. But I have been diving into the world of pop surrealism. Here are a few oldies and goodies.




I get a lot of commissions, it is usually for wildlife like big cats, pets and a lot of barn owls.

 

[MMtwo]

ckrickett, your work is fabulous and fun. Is that gold leaf surrounding your owl, or yellow?

 

[luv2sparkle]

Wow you all are so talented! Kenny and Ckrickett, I LOVE your work! I would gladly buy any one of those paintings! I am so very impressed by your work!

 

[ckrickett]

ckrickett, your work is fabulous and fun. Is that gold leaf surrounding your owl, or yellow?

Neither, although I am working on several pieces with gold and sliver leaf!

That is this amazing gold paint from Golden! Looks very similar to gold leaf (and about as much )

 

[pregcurious]

I am floored. There are all such amazing examples of talent!

 

[ksinger]

I haven't done anything of this type in a while, but here is an Etruscan style chain I made - two-way loop-in-loop, fine silver, every link made by hand by me from 22 gauge wire. Sterling hook and endcaps, also made by me. I estimate about 50 hours of work in this...

 

[MMtwo]

ksinger ...how in the world!? That is fantasic! Where did you find instructions?

PS: I love the opal in your avatar

 

[MMtwo]

Ohh, I like the specialty stuff in the paint aisle. I haven't tried any of the textury goop, or metallics, or other curious things, but I think it would be fun. Yeah...the cost part slows me down.

ckrickett, your work is fabulous and fun. Is that gold leaf surrounding your owl, or yellow?

Neither, although I am working on several pieces with gold and sliver leaf!

That is this amazing gold paint from Golden! Looks very similar to gold leaf (and about as much )

 

[Jennifer W]

PSers are a talented bunch!

I work in silver when I have time, but mostly these days it's fibre I'm playing with. I like to spin yarn, and knit, or weave and sew. A sort of related craft-ish hobby is collecting and restoring antique and vintage sewing machines and spinning wheels.Here's one of my best loved machines.

eta Sorry - I tried to post a few photos of actual garments, but for some reason I can't upload photos taken with my new camera. No idea what I'm doing wrong. I'll try again later. In the meantime, well, just picture stuff made on that machine? Sorry! If it helps, I made the drapes in the background.

Kenny, I love the watercolour of the gate detail. I had to look closely to tell which was the photo. It's really beautifully done.

 

[ksinger]

ksinger ...how in the world!? That is fantasic! Where did you find instructions?

PS: I love the opal in your avatar

Thank you and thank you!

I used the book "Classical Loop-in-Loop Chains" by Jean Stark. It's a very detailed resource on how to make the old chains. I'm fairly adept at learning stuff on my own, and the book is really good, so I was able to do it without instruction. I just looked but can't find: I had a folder of pics showing the process, but I can't for the life of me, find them right now. Of course, I've had no coffee either, so that could be part of it. Suffice to say, the only things you use are fine silver wire and a mandrel to wrap it on, a set of fine embroidery scissors(cuts 22-gauge fine silver quite easily and well) a butane micro-torch, several sets of pliers, a couple of dental tools picked up at a tool shop, and a good dose of insanity wrapped up with a load of patience. Several jewelers I know have been mightily impressed while at the same time telling me that I'm nuts.

And yeah, I'm pretty pumped with that opal too. I got it on the interwebs! The design was by me mostly (with a bit of help from my dear friends at Naifeh's Jewelry) and executed by a jeweler named Elizabeth Ryle, a master of gold granulation and of exquisite and intricately engineered handmade bails.

 

[MarionC]

I do lots of different things as the mood strikes...these are kind of fun

 

[MMtwo]

Jimmianne..I love your fun spirit of creativity. The deer...HA I love it! I could sooo enjoy hanging out with you all with a bottle of wine and a doodle board

The cabinet is beautiful on the old sewing machine. Some of the old metal models from the 60's and 70's are fantastic machines. I see that beautiful old singer to the side too. Always wondered how it would be to sew on one. Have you tried?

ksinger, you have inspired me to check it out a little more as a possible project....tho I cannot imagine it turning out as well as yours.

 

[Catmom]

I got into quilting many years ago I especially love doing baby quilts. I machine piece but I always hand quilt. I also have an embroidery machine so many of my quilts now include embroidery.

Some of my larger quilts:

 

[Catmom]

Here are some of my baby quilts:

 

[Jennifer W]

Catmom, they are truly wonderful! <3