Anais, Anouk & A Little Show
Wow, this week just flew past! I can’t believe it’s Friday already and that we’ve hit the middle of February! There’s been a little crafting here and there meaning Woodland Girl Anais is finally finished:
Complete with a sweet bird button by Shoko Sugiyama :-)
And the plan was to make a patchwork owl, but somewhere along the way I got completely distracted with the idea of merging bits of some of my softies together (a distraction which happens very often I must admit). In this case, it was merging a Woodland Girl with a Bunny-chi, so Anouk the Woodland Girl-Bunny was born:
Here’s an idea of her size:
I’m happy with the way she has turned out but there are certainly a few pattern improvements to be made on future Woodland Girl Bunnies.
I had a rare child-free-and-day-off-from-work day today (yipee!) so this morning, Anais, Anouk and a few other critters accompanied me to Nikki’s awesome shop, Hudson Clothes, in Balaclava. Nikki wanted to see some of my work up close. It was the first time we met in person and she was really lovely. The other reason for the meeting was to discuss something I am really excited about and have been bursting to tell you since late last year:
I will be having my first little exhibition of softies and artwork, which will be at Hudson Clothes in September!!!
Never in my wildest dreams did I think that this opportunity would come my way but Nikki has been so kind and supportive in making this happen. To say that I am excited would be an understatement. I’m pretty certain of the theme and there will definitely be owls, Woodland Girls (and a Boy or two?), Bunny-chi’s and Bears – and perhaps more merging of various softies :-) Now comes the large task of sketching ideas and making them come to life.
My goal is to make about 4-5 pieces every month for the next 6 months for this show so please excuse the inconsistent blogging and lack of shop updating that will inevitably happen :-) September is certainly many months away but given the amount of artwork/softies I am planning to make, I very much welcome the long lead-time!
After visiting Nikki’s shop, I also popped into Mikes where I picked up a lovely vintage mug from Japan from their “Mug-seum” :-) and then dropped into Zakkaya and Robio for a bit of a look-see.
When I got home, I had a little time to enjoy some goodies received in the mail this week:
The latest issue of MixTape zine – seriously so much good stuff in this issue.
I must admit that the main reason I bought it was to read the profile on Christina Gordon (aka Jamfancy) and I was so happy to receive a postcard of one of her prints with the issue. Here it is right in the middle of my inspiration board:
Some Kokeshi dolls also landed in my mail box for my newly started collection.
The one on the right is an Usaburo kokeshi doll from Japan and was sourced from eBay, and the tiny vintage sister/brother Kokeshi are from here.
It’s been such a lovely and refreshing day and I am inspired to be quite productive this coming week so I hope to be back soon with more softies – and perhaps a Kokeshi or two :-)
February 15th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
OOOh! i want a girl bunny…she is so beautiful. and she looks so huggable.
I love Kokeshi dolls too. I’ve ordered some for the shop.
Should have popped in to see me, i’m only just down the road from Hudson.
xx Cintia
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February 15th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
loving this new direction with your dolls. The painted faces are just amazing. Congrats on the exhibition!
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February 15th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
The woodland girl bunnies are beautiful. What a fab merging idea!
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February 15th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Oooh Anouk is adorable and such a wonderful size to snuggle with. Congrats on the exhibition – that is really wonderful!
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February 15th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Wow Jhoanna! Congratulations on the Hudson Exhibition. That is wonderful. And your woodland creatures are fantastic. I love their faces. Just gorgeous.
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February 16th, 2008 at 5:40 am
Congratulations on the exhibition – well deserved I think!!!
I love the printed faces, so beautiful (you need to update your shop at some point over the next few months – I’m on a mission to buy one!)
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February 16th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Terrific news about your exhibition!!!! Wahoo! I wish I could come see all those nifty softies in person.
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February 16th, 2008 at 10:12 am
wow … wonderful news! Congratulations! I am looking forward to the exhibition :)
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February 16th, 2008 at 10:40 am
You have been very busy indeed! Congratulations on the exhibition-it will be awesome!:)
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February 17th, 2008 at 2:40 am
I love Anouk! She is so pretty.The faces are amazing did you print them onto fabric?You are so clever.I can’t get my head around printing onto fabric I get scared that I’ll jam the printer!
Can you email me your address as I have a Kokeshi girl that I would love to add to your collection.
xxx
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February 17th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Congratulations are in ordder big time for you! What a wonderful thing Nikki has arranged with you. It is sure to bring good luck for both of you :) Bunny girl looks very furry :) The rabbit and deer fabric on Anais is excellent! In my traditional symbols (from my grandmother) deer and rabbits are the protectors of family relations and also of children :)
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February 18th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
CONGRATS! I can’t wait to see how kokeshi inspire you. I love them, and have picked up several at the flea markets here in Japan.
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February 19th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Gosh,how adorable are they! I love the exquisite details.
They’re awesome Jhoanna! :)
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February 20th, 2008 at 8:18 am
oh Anais and Anouk are adorable and the workmanship is amazing!!!!! I also love your japanese dolls and am kicking myself I didn’t buy any in japan as now I have a thing for them
Corrie;)
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