old projects and new

I've been, er, busy for past few weeks. My unusual amount of productivity is catching up with me in the form of mild exhaustion, but before I fall asleep and an impenetrable forest of nettles grows around me which can only cleared by the laser cutter of my dreams, I thought I would share with the internet all my progress.

I've updated my portfolio website with my new professional, independent and craft projects from the past year. I even managed to dig out the source code for my project browser and updated that too. Yay data visualization!

When I was at home for the holidays I finally managed to photograph the remains of my childhood projects that were littering my old room and basement. Behold, the flickr set of my childhood:

I'm trying to get my mother to fire the large bust and mail it to me. I've been wanting to display that thing since I made it in 10th grade.

And, drum roll, I have made an etsy store! A keen observer may have noticed the link I added to the right a couple days ago. I am now selling three whole different types of things! Someone should buy one! Possibly you?

Etsy Buy Handmade jftesser

In any case, please wish my fledging entrepreneurial venture luck.

audacious

I visited my family for the 4th of July. A couple of friends (who are a couple, and one of whom comes from hometown) were going back so I hitched a ride. While at home, I reconnected with my childhood stuffed animal-lizard, Bodacious. A little backstory here is probably necessary.

The Tale of Bodacious

In first grade, and every grade thereafter, my school ran a D.A.R.E. anti-drug program for a couple months in the fall. This particular year, we had a cute little frog mascot/puppet. The police officer who came in every week would have conversations and do role playing with it. That must have been really embarrassing for him, but we all loved the frog. Then, one day, the program was over and the frog went away. We were heartbroken. So I, in a fit of I-don't-know-what, volunteered my mother to make us a new frog.

My mother, who in addition to being a fine seamstress is also a wonderful person, agreed to make the frog. However, the fabric store did not agree to actually carry patterns of frogs. They did have a pattern for a lizard, so a lizard I was going to get. Along with my childhood babysitter and "adopted" grandmother, my mother sewed and painstakingly assembled my lizard out of stretchy gold lame (my favorite fabric at the time). It took them half an hour to turn each toe.


And thus Bodacious was born. Named for the old fashion Southern slang term and not the word (don't ask me why I knew about this at six, living in Pennsylvania), she was my friend and companion for many years and has mellowed to a faded copper color.



Anyway, during my stay at home I decided to bring Bodacious back to NYC with me. This gave my mother ideas, and, shortly after we all got back from our Florida vacation, she mailed me the original pattern. So, of course, I made a new lizard.

This one's name is Audacious (yes, cheesy, but it goes with the -acious theme). She's constructed from a layer of knit lace over top of raw muslin. I decided to use wooden balls for eyes as one of Bodacious' plastic ones has gotten gouged. Pics below:




And I discovered Find Edges. Finally, a Photoshop filter I don't immediately hate.