Monthly Archives: September 2012

I Could Make That — 1 Comment
25
Sep 12

I Could Make That: Fabric + Canvas Wall Map

I remember the first time my dad went away to Alaska for business; finding the spot on the very top of a map tacked up to the wall of his office, almost off the print and onto the painted wall, and tracing my way back home.

I remember the first time my sister went away to Spain; searching online to figure out exactly how big the world was and mapping flights with my mouse, there and here and there again.

I remember the summer of junior year, when I started collecting dusty old atlases from a local thrift store. Piling them in my closet and taking them out to ponder over the new editions printed each year and how little and largely the world seemed to change.

I remember that same summer; crafting my own map from fabric and glue with the same sister I’d trace the flight pattern of before the end of that year’s vacation.

That was a good summer.

The Project: Canvas and Fabric Wall Map

The Inspiration: A variety of world map collages found on the Internet. Primarily this one:

Louis Armstrong told us so by Bianca Green

The Materials: Pre-stretched canvas from AC Moore. A variety of colorful fabrics. Glue. Gold paint. Wax paper. Permanent marker. Scissors. Pins.

The Steps:

The first step was to create the world outline. An extremely talented friend drew mine with pencil directly onto the canvas.

Next came the tedious part. Using wax paper, my sister and I traced each individual country and cut them out. We pinned each to the different fabrics to be cut again. We went continent by continent in hopes that it would keep us from getting confused during reassembly. (It worked some of the time.)

Little by little, we glued each fabric country to the canvas using the pencil outline as a guide.

Once the puzzle process was over, we left the canvas alone to dry for a full 48 hours.

When it was done, we went in with a soft eraser and removed any visible pencil lines.

After the canvas was all cleaned up, I took gold paint and added a very light layer over both the fabric and the canvas to give it an antique feel. I used a rag in some places to remove the paint, while leaving it heavier in others.

48 hours, plus an entire summer and many memories later, I had a new piece of wall art to hang up in my bedroom.

Blog Introduction — 5 Comments
18
Sep 12

It always starts the same way.

It started a couple years ago, probably slipped into a conversation while pondering overpriced artwork or soaps or baskets at one of the random craft shows we used to frequent.

It followed us on shopping trips, while we balked over spending $80 on a pair of jeans with holes already in the knees and home to the study while we looked at knit scarves and patterns on the Internet.

“I could make that,” whispered while laughing into ears, sighed while we watched people cash in on projects, and hissed with indignation over those same jeans when they turned into studded shorts during summertime.

It followed us to thrift stores, art stores, and home improvement depots, as our house filled up with paints, canvases, wood, and fabric swatches—as project upon project flowed from fingertips and brains once they found their way into our lives.

Now we are spread out across a state and across an ocean, my mother, at home on the edge of Bucks and Montgomery County, my sister, at school in Barcelona, Spain, and me, in my dorm room in State College, all connected by our creativity and crazy desire to “make that.”

My mom shows me her knitting projects over video calls, while my sister hangs her art on walls and can boast over the fact that she has taken every one of my Facebook profile pictures.

So here is my contribution: straight from my dorm room.

“I could make that” and I will.

About Me — 1 Comment
11
Sep 12

Hello, my name is Lauren.

I come from a creative family.

My mom is a florist. She spent years working in a flower shop, filling vases upon vases with ease—always knowing the perfect combination of flowers and colors, and always knowing the names of each and every one she used.

My sister is an artist. She can paint, draw, or sculpt anything—but I think she was born a photographer. She spent her years in high school shooting photo upon photo, some crazier than others. (She once painted me green with eye shadow, but that’s a different story altogether.)

My dad is good with his hands. He put up all the woodwork and installed all the hardwood floors in our house—something I’m sure was a lot harder than he made it seem.

The youngest in the house, as I grew up, I got to experience the best of each.

I was my mom’s assistant while she put together arrangements for holiday centerpieces or friends of the family.

I was my sister’s model—and sometimes her lackey—as we ventured around; me sometimes in old prom dresses and other times carting whatever crazy prop she planned to use that day.

I was my dad’s audience and personal bringer of water bottles. Hard wood flooring and crown molding cutting is not the specialty of a 10-year-old girl, but I always wanted to find some way to help.

Now I am older, but things are still very much the same.

I love to help my mom with her flowers. I love to help my sister with her photos. I love to help my dad with whatever project he has undertaken that week.

I come from a creative family, and they have created a creative me.

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