cathy of california

reform school: home ec march class schedule announced and join me for a papier-mache bracelet class on march 23 + 30

 

the march class schedule for reform school: home ec in silver lake has just been posted. please take a peek - i am sure you are going to want to take every class!

i'll be continuing with my series of papier-mache jewelry classes with a bracelet class on march 23 + 30. the class is split into two 2 hour sessions (to allow for drying time in between steps). all supplies are provided. pictured here are some vintage examples and inspiration for what we will be making - at the left is an image from newspaper mache projects by aleene and to the right are some vintage finds from my collection.

for more information and to sign up please go here and scroll down to my class description and hit the "buy now" button. 

flower loom class @ the craft kitchen - saturday february 28

THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO ATTENDED - IT WAS VERY NICE TO MEET YOU AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE CLASS!  ANOTHER CLASS HAS BEEN ADDED APRIL 18.

here's a close up of the board i've assembled with all of the vintage flowers that i have collected. sometimes when i purchase a box of vintage craft supplies (flower looms, how to books, etc.)  there are a few flowers made by the original owners of flower looms. i bring this board with me when i teach classes so the students can see all of the different styles of flowers that can be made with the looms.

and in case you were wondering this is the craft i will be doing on martha!

if you'd like to learn how to make flowers like this i'm doing another flower loom class at  the craft kitchen in santa ana on saturday feb 28 from 11am - 2 pm. you might want to make a day of it and stay on for robert mahar's terrarium class from 3 - 6pm.

you get 10% off when you sign up for 2 classes and 15% off if you sign up for 3. there are lots of great classes scheduled for february.

my flower loom classes cover all the basics for the beginner.  i can also cover more advanced techniques for those of you wishing to brush up on your skills or if you have already taken one of my classes. one of my mini flower loom kits (yours to take home) is included in the class price. i will also have additional kits and supplies available for purchase. we end the class by turning the flowers you make into  brooches or hair clips.

please visit this page and scroll down to saturday february 28 and hit "the sign me up" button to register.

the craft kitchen
2202 1/2 north main street
santa ana, ca 92706
714.547.2787

any questions please contact:
nicole@thecraftkitchen.com

me? really? you've got to be kidding!

a couple of years ago i was out of town for a long weekend and came back to an inbox full of emails. of course there was lots of spam to weed through. there was one from someone at martha stewart dot com. i had never received email solicitations from them before and thought how did i get on that list? i was about to erase it but something compelled to go ahead and open it up. the message was "(a friend) of yours suggested i call you about your work.  i checked out your website..it's beautiful! i'd love to talk to you about our show". i thought it was a joke. it wasn't.

the next day while i was shopping at my crappy but favorite target in eagle rock i got a call from one of her producers. i wheeled my shopping cart over to a quiet corner of the store and we had a very nice conversation. there i was trying to act cool with a cart full of toilet paper while talking to someone from martha.

i then sent some samples of my work and a little audition tape of myself. i kept trying not to get too excited or hopeful about the whole thing. appearing on martha was never a goal or anything that i even daydreamed about. i thought that it was an accomplishment to be contacted by them in the first place - an achievement even it it went no further than that.

finally my work was pitched to martha herself. i'm told she really liked my work. but she thought my projects weren't quite right for the show at that time.  i'd be lying if i told you i wasn't crushed.  but like i said just to get as far as i did was pretty darn cool. the producer encouraged me to send more samples for the following season and to stay in touch.

i sent some more samples last fall. about a month ago not having heard anything i emailed to ask for my samples back. the response i got was that they would prefer that i pick them up in person when i was there for the show - nothing for sure yet but it was looking very good. eek!

then last monday i got word that it was probably on. on wednesday i was working with a client and doing some running around and had just a few minutes to check my email in between stops and there it was - i was confirmed! i would be lying to you if i said that i didn't sit there completely speechless for a few moments. there you have it. who knew that the stuff i make and the vintage crafts i blog about might be of interest to daytime television viewers?

i know the day that the show tapes but not when it airs. will keep you posted. i have so much to do between now and then.

one bittersweet note to all of this is that i will be taping the show just one day short of the first anniversary of my mother's passing. fran was not much of a fan of martha (and by that i mean she was not into reading craft magazines or watching how-to shows) - she preferred to do her own thing and come up with her own craft projects. so i'm not too sure what she would have thought of this whole thing (other than telling me not to wear all black and to hold my stomach in) but i think deep down inside she would have been proud that her kid was going to appear on television and make some crafts.

charlotte patera stitchery at the nut tree, 1975

i was not familiar with the work of charlotte patera until i came across this poster for a show of her work at the nut tree. charlotte was a graphic designer who in the 70s turned to needlework. i would really love to see more of her work from this time period.

(poster for charlotte patera stitchery exhibition september 17 - december 31, 1975 nut tree, california 95688)

"dendriform" by jean ray laury from an exhibit of stitchery at the nut tree, vacaville, california, 1978

my friend kim grew up in sunnyvale. she always tells me how much she loves it when i blog about northern california - especially the nut tree. she has very fond memories of going there with her family (i am so jealous - we never went there). she also tells me that she remembers her mom having some posters framed from art shows there.

this poster is for a stitchery exhibit that featured the work of jean ray laury. how much would i love to travel back in time to see that show in person.

(poster for - "dendriform" by jean ray laury, from an exhibit of stitchery at nut tree, sept. 21 - dec. 31, 1978 nut tree associates 1978, ca 95688)

erica wilson in life magazine

for those of you who have followed by blog for awhile now you know how much i love the crewel embroidery work of erica wilson.  wouldn't you just love to have a wall of crewel yarn like that?

(from the life magazine archive - photographed by dmitri kessel)

"nuns turn to modern art", immaculate heart college, los angeles, california 1954

this was also found folded up with the article that i blogged about yesterday. it's about the art program at immaculate heart college where sister corita kent taught during the 50s and 60s.

this was such a coincidence because i just attended a screening of some amazing films about sister corita (shown in conjunction with an exhibition of her work - info below). one of the films features her telling her students how she follows and believes in john cage's rules and hints for students and teachers. i was most struck by this "helpful hint":

                SAVE EVERYTHING. IT MAY COME IN HANDY LATER.

passion for the possible: the work of sister corita

feb 14 - april 4, 2009

california state university northridge

(article torn from collier's for december 24, 1954)

"the old crafts find new hands" - photographed by nina leen for life magazine, 1966

recently a few bloggers discovered some of the cool things to be found in the life magazine image archive. i was blown away by nina leen's photographs for a story on american craft.  i was a little bit frustrated though because while i did recognize some of the people in the photos there was no further information given other than the photographer's name and image size.

anyway, i have been going through lots of stuff around the house here lately. i have the tendency to save things like greeting cards, fliers for shows i attend, magazine tear sheets and the like. i think this all stems from my sentimental nature and that i am inspired by ephemera (not to mention that hoarding runs in my family).

i was so surprised to find the actual article from life magazine. to be honest i don't know how or when this fell into my hands. i never tear articles out of old magazines (new ones are OK) so i must have found it folded in an old book i purchased somewhere along the way. once again this proves to me that i probably already have exactly whatever it is i am looking for.

enough about my neuroses - lets get on with who's in the article:

lenore tawney - "a weaver of shimmering fabrics helps lead a colorful american revival"

paul evans - "a carpenter in steel who gets burnished color with a torch"

harvey littleton - "a glassblower who deliberately creates bubbles and flaws"

paolo soleri - "a bellmaker whose products are set ringing by the wind"

wendell castle - "against-the-grain woodworker who likes furniture to be adventurous"

otto and peggy holbein - "husband-and-wife tapestrists who work with an ancient polynesian technique"

francesca tyrnauer - "a rugmaker who creates sculptures out of knotted tufts of yarn"

alice parrott - "a fabric-maker who creates her dyes out of flowers and walnut hulls"

bill sax and dorian zachai - "a potter who sells to kitchens, a weaver who sells to museums"

peter voulkos - "a foundry worker who uses an old, 'lost' process"

william underhill - "a molder of big pots that don't hold anything"

more images from the photo shoots for this article can be found here.

i've got some good news and some bad news

so sorry for the lack of posts lately - i have had alot going on (will have some big news for you soon).  i haven't even had the time to announce that the new issue of craft is out. my "old school" column is about centerpieces, PTA moms and lollipops.

don't you love that cover? i could barely contain myself when i saw that amy was cover girl for this issue. just a few years ago i would never in my wildest dreams have imagined that some day i would be writing a column for a magazine - let alone one with amy sedaris on the cover!

but i'm sure that you have probably heard by now that this will be the last print edition of craft.  i am so bummed out. but the blog will continue (and i have been asked to contribute).

i am very proud to have been a part of it and want to thank everyone at craft magazine for their support - especially my editors carla sinclair and tina barsegian. and i really want to thank natalie zee drieu for her ongoing encourgement - without her i would never have had the opportunity to write for craft.

vintage flower loom class @ the craft kitchen - feb 28

i'm doing another flower loom class at  the craft kitchen in santa ana on saturday feb 28 from 11am - 2 pm. you might want to make a day of it and stay on for robert mahar's terrarium class from 3 - 6pm.

you get 10% off when you sign up for 2 classes and 15% off if you sign up for 3. there are lots of great classes scheduled for february.

my flower loom classes cover all the basics for the beginner.  i can also cover more advanced techniques for those of you wishing to brush up on your skills or if you have already taken one of my classes. one of my mini flower loom kits (yours to take home) is included in the class price. i will also have additional kits and supplies available for purchase. we end the class by turning the flowers you make into  brooches or hair clips.

please visit this page and scroll down to saturday february 28 and hit "the sign me up" button to register.

the craft kitchen
2202 1/2 north main street
santa ana, ca 92706
714.547.2787

any questions please contact:
nicole@thecraftkitchen.com