Dear Creative Friends, We are there! well maybe almost there…Spring is hovering and teasing us here in Southern Oregon with a stunning, warm spring day here and there. In anticipation of Spring, I have been in ‘Nest mode’ for a while. This is a new piece (right) I enjoyed making. I love combining natural materials with fabrics and other found bits from my stash. The ‘eggs’ are small painted houses. The bird is made from mens shirts. This interest in  making my own nests started with the variety of great sticks I would find on walks with the dog  earlier in the year…..Here is a link to my new article in the local newspaper on making your own nest: http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110428/HOMELIFE/104280332/-1/HOMELIFE03 As you can imagine….It has inspired MORE nests of various kinds  and sizes. NEST INSPIRED DESIGN- A collection of pins using fabrics and bits of treasures from my sash. This egg-shaped tote bag is very fun. The first design layer is stenciling and fabric pens. Next, I partially assemble the pieces. Now I am working on the surface ‘weaving’ together bits of fabric and threads to complete the nest. To take a look at my stencil collection, here is a link: http://www.dianeericson.com/c/STENCILS/STENCILS.html All of this nest/bird focus has me thinking about my sister, Kris.She is a very talented musician and craftswoman. I know she can do anything…and inspired by her rural lifestyle, one of the  things she builds are fabulous, whimsical birdhouses! This is one of them. Here is the link to her online collection: http://visitreno.com/birdhouse/index.php It is so important to explore our creativity in  various media….from cooking to decorating and sewing and beyond…exploring materials and themes  outside our normal circle can be like hitting the reset button on the computer: everything shifts and so much more is possible. I am continuing to explore my attraction to nests: What is coming up is a very  sculptural collar…and surface design that includes various nest /circular images. Nests on sticks like this one are for my flower pots out onto the deck and ready to go for spring and summer. I hope you enjoy the morning and your own nest building,                                                                                                                                                                     Diane

Dear Creative Friends: Happy Spring! I hear it is just around the corner now….. I am in the studio  enjoying on e of my favorite techniques: Brush painting and printing on   fabrics. My product of choice is DYE-NA-FLOW, by Jacquardproducts.com. It has the best hand on fabric  when I just want to open the lid and start painting.  Working  with sponges and brushes, I usually work on several pieces( and types of fabric) at one time. This way, if I am not excited about the results on one piece…I just continue working on the others. I like working on smooth silk pieces-shirt weights are great. This close-up on the left, is on raw canvas -one of my favorites. On this vest, and the Red Feathers Vest below, I have worked back into the painted images with Tee Juice pens, also by Jacquard. there are 3 sizes and I use alot of the fine and medium tip pens with accents of the jumbo. the jumbo pens make great poka-dots by the way! I work with several basic vest shapes- I used my Vest Collection #101 pattern for the basic shape o this garment. the pattern has 3 fronts and backs that all mix and match plus darted and non-darted versions to give you lots of design options.  I used a strip of striped knit fabric for a ‘trim piece close to the edge…and some silk fabric. I draw back into the images with the thin line and medium tip  pens  to pull the design together and give another scale of detail to the piece. I am very happy with the results! New Solo Show in the Art Center- This Red Feather vest is part of my new show in the Ashland Art Center, in Ashland Oregon for the month of March. The theme is about New Mexico Inspirations-from my travels and time in that magical part of the country. Come by and visit the show and my studio if you are in the neighborhood. From Canvas to  silk… Here is another brush painted piece: my Dragon top. Every year for my birthday, I create a garment to mark the change and where I am. I am a dragon and enjoyed creating this piece: recycling a shirt and replacing the collar and cuffs with ones I made from blue, pleated silk. I find when I am painting on fabric…I like the addition one or two other techniques or materials to give a more finished dimensional  quality to the piece. Think about what those techniques in your ‘toolbox’ that might lend more depth and interest to your work. I have added some hand embroidery stitching to finish this image. It was the perfect think…the stitches are applied like drawn marks…and are very complimentary to the painting, silk collar and mini grey elastic frog at the neck. It is spring! and I love persimmons as a design element. Everything about them shape, color, branches they are hanging on too. I painted some cotton/rayon blend pieces that I folded into a Torrii Collection Pattern #100 shirt. I let the painting suggest the colors to repeat in the collaging of the garment.  The lining is a crisp green apple green- with bound buttonholes and knotted ties going through to close the shirt. If you are feeling intimidated to trust your painting… I suggest you start with a large piece of fabric than you might need- and just have a good time painting…(maybe with your favorite music on) It is easier to cut out your garment piece from your favorite area…than it is to cut it out first and HOPE it will look good! Interested in coming to Ashland for a class? I will be listing spring classes on my next blog. Happy Painting, Diane  

Art can always cross into fashion…..so much more fun to wear a piece that shows not only your sewing ability, but also your design eye. So lets play with the Design Eye for a bit. Here is one of my newest SnapDragon Jackets (My Pattern # 117 (link:http://www.dianeericson.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ReVisions&Product_Code=Pattern-117-SnapDragon&Category_Code=PATTERNS). I must admit, my eye tends towards the more subtle combinations-so this collaboration with my friend Ann (she threw in the idea of the red and white lapels-which make it so fabulous!) was invigorating for me to create. Here is my starting place…my pile of materials, inluding the pattern, fabrics and  the stitching ” thread” which brings it all together. That ‘thread’ is 100%bamboo and feels like a soft rafia. It is by Habu (Habu.com), who has the most delicious and artistic collections  of fibers to play with. I also added some vintage black rayon tape to the red lapel. Since the lapels in the pattern snap on and off with one of my favorite notions: snaptape- they can be looped in sculptural ways or removed all together. Here are lapels looped up to make a cowl …as you can see the snaptape (alvailable on my website), becomes a design element as it peeks out here and there. My everyday SnapDragon Jacket is this grey, melton wool one.You can see another variation of snapping and looping in various ways  to create a sculptural front. There are some great ideas in the pattern for making multiple lapels and changing them out…This design is a felters dream and these lapels can be a way to showcase felted pieces. The sleeves can also snap on and off for a vest layer. Be on the lookout for great fabrics to  incoporate into your SnapDragon Jacket. I found this  beautiful piece of wool (below) with the felted yarn design at marcytilton.com (which doesn’t surprise those of us who know her…she has a GREAT eye for fabulous fabrics! I have made it into a scarf piece to wear with my jacket  and have enough to  add snaptape to a set of lapels too. I shaped the edges with my scissors and added the bits I cut off back into the surface and tendrels…this definitely bumps up my jacket! PLAY-PLAY-PLAY…that is the name of the game. If you are inside for the winter, take out your one favorite pattern and make it 3 times:Collage it from recycled clothes, work in that great piece of wool you are hoarding…do what it takes to get yourself going so you can wear it out tomorrow! Every winter, I make some scarves…this ones could be another lapel idea for the SnapDragon. I like to collage with silks, mens suiting and wools. The hand-stitching reminds me of a drawn line and gives a more personal touch to each scarf. Slits can be faced, sewn and turned to either side. Pockets can be an inventive detail in a winter scarf. It is all about the fabrics..so get out your favorites and make something cozy for yourself and friends! All the best as you create your Holidays and cruise into the New Year, Diane