metamorphosis part 1

well folks, in a month or so there will be yet another public place hosting a greenstarstudio creation. this time, it's the towson chamber of commerce , and just what are they hosting? glad you asked... this sketch and stark white fiberglass butterfly will soon merge into one 3" x 3" collage & paint covered butterfly beauty! if all goes according to plan, that is. stay tuned...

how we embroider

I'm juggling quite a few projects these days (which, in order to maintain sanity, I am only discussing one or two at a time... Conversely, I am working on them all at once. And I wonder why I had a migraine last night?). Anyway, todays highlighted project is rebuilding the sadly diminished knitimal collection. For months the pieces have been knit but balled up into little "pre kinitimal" packets... Like knitimal sushi rolls, waiting to be sewn. Yesterday I managed to sew up 2 dolls (have I mentioned before that sewing all those seams by hand takes HOURS? And why did I have that migraine last night?). Today, however, I'm embroidering. Yet another entry for the softies, this little guy is (as the category requires) "embroidered to death!).

Little mason has taken up residency on my lap (he's not feeling well and was up all night crying. And WHY did I have that migraine last night?!?), SO this is how we embroider today.



Stay tuned for new project updates like: painting the butterfly, mocking up the mural color and new coloring books.



Oh, also, if you're local... You can pick up a drawing of mine, entitled "at the door" at the MAP (Maryland art place) "out of order" silent auction this evening. Tickets are $40 and serve not only as donations to this wonderfully necessary organization, but also get you music, food and open bar! Plus a chance to bid on and take home some local art!



Xo, danamarie

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The verdict!

Well, she watched me sewing this little guy together for hours, and as soon as he was all stitched up she said "I can see it you made it, please?"... And has been drawing while holding him ever since.

This is Quaid the plaid quail, and he's going to be entered in the "pink or plaid" category of the 2nd annual softie awards (which I will keep you posted on, of course... I can't figure out how to include links when I'm doing posts from the mobile... I'll just owe it to you, or you can follow the link to the left, in the side bar.

Alright, more new knitimals to sew up!
Xoxo, danamarie
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Pencil dog

Well its not perfect, but its only the second dog sweater I've ever made, and this one was without a pattern. This is, most likely, mason's costume for the costume contest at the March for the Animals in 2 weeks. I mentioned a "storm" coming... I barely even have time to write a post, its so insane. I have a number of shows coming up and maybe 7 knitimals on hand (eek!); i'm starting a new mural for Baltimore city in 2 weeks and designing a butterfly for the Towson Chamber of Commerce and going to Florida to teach another workshop. And that's just the next 2 weeks. AND just what I can remember off hand. Sigh. Busy is good right? And I just remembered the folders of digital pictures on my desktop that I've been setting aside to post for, oh, I don't know, 3 months? I will. Soon. I promise. On that note, there's only a few days left to add your donation to the pack! The March is April 20th and mason and I would love to walk up with a huge check. Please click on the link to the left and make a donation. Thanks! Wish me luck... On second thought, I'm heading to bed. Xo, danamarie

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Calm before the storm

This is the calm. Tomorrow, i'll show you the storm. xo, danamarie
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the aforementioned storm

... and when the calm is over... yes, the storm. so, mason's destruction of this poor innocent ladybug is a perfect visual analogy for the way my head feels. literally, my allergies are wrecking my face and all of its interior parts. figuratively, my brain is swelling with good & wonderful (but no less pressure inducing) projects on the horizon. "what projects?" you may ask... stay tuned.

so nice

hello friends! happy friday! well, i did the big drawing and am happy to announce that Hello Pineapples has won herself a sweet little tooth fairy Knitimal! thank you ALL so much for dropping by... those stories of nice were SO nice, and i love that you all posted so quickly and freely. let's keep that going. if nothing else, let's make the greenstarstudio blog a hot bed of "nice"!

you know what else is nice? everyone who subscribes to the mailing list (the one on the top, left side of the blog) is going to get a secret code, which they can use for 20% off any purchase on etsy, from now til July!!! yep. that's nice.

also nice, puppies who sleep with their butts in the air.

xoxo, danamarie

a wonderful letter

hello friends! i hope you are all having a "nice" day. i certainly am (despite the fact that i had my taxes done yesterday and left feeling very sad... why oh why do the small businesses suffer? hence, my friends, you MUST buy handmade... but i digress... this is supposed to be about NICE things). I got this wonderful e-letter a few weeks back and just keep forgetting to share it with you all.

enjoy.
******
Dear Danamarie,

I have a story to tell you.

My partner, Sheila, and I live in Nashville, Tennessee, with our two little boys, Trenton and Sean. Sean is 2 and Trenton is 4 1/2. They both attend {a daycare}, where the teachers are not only loving and kind but also celebrate diversity.

Yesterday morning, Trenton asked if he could take The Different Dragon to "school" and we said yes without hesitation. His teacher read it to the class and a spontaneous discussion ensued about different types of families, including protagonist Noah's family with two moms. Several of the kids said that they wished they could have two moms too and how special that was. The kids enjoyed the story so much that they have asked for it to be read again and again.

I don't know about you, but Sheila and I did not grow up in this kind of open, loving environment that celebrates being different. It touched us so deeply that The Different Dragon was embraced by the children and teachers at our daycare. Thank you so much for illustrating The Different Dragon. Your beautiful, whimsical artwork truly brings the story alive.

Through your art, you are helping to create a more loving world for our children.

With warmest regards,

Lisa, Sheila, Trenton, and Sean
Nashville, Tennessee

******

isn't that wonderful!?
i am very proud of the different dragon and i'm thrilled to know (because i hear stories like this all the time) that others are enjoying it as well.

i'm off to work on some applications, but i'll check back in soon (i have a lot to tell you about!). remember, this Friday is the last day to leave a comment and sign the guest book to win a little Knitimal Tooth Fairy! Until then, let's all play nice, ok?
xoxo, danamarie

Happy

Now THIS makes me happy! xo, danamarie
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on being nice... (karma in the form of free)

so, it's spring. there are daffodils popping up everywhere and i've been thinking about "nice" a lot lately. i have very clear memories of being in 3rd grade and my teacher having a list of "trash words" written on pieces of crumpled up paper and falling into a cardboard cut-out drawing of a trash can, stapled to the wall of our classroom. her most hated "trash word" was nice. ok, so maybe "nice" isn't the most attractive looking word, but mrs. wexner's (hi mrs. wexner!) reason for putting nice on the list was that nicedidn't say much. it wasn't descriptive enough; it wasn't specific enough in feeling or meaning. it was just nice

at the time i just took note of the word and reminded myself to never use it. instead say things like: kind, giving, sweet, warm, loving, generous, affectionate, friendly... just not nice. but what's wrong with that, really? don't we have plenty of descriptive words for generic unpleasant feelings? on a daily basis i run into: ugh, blech, blarg, hmph! and grrr... i'm desperate for nice.

i spent years in art school learning how to talk about artwork, how to critique and most important, how not to say nice. apparently, a piece of art can be: moving, quiet, comforting, gentle, light, airy, open & welcoming, but never nice.

well, sometimes i look at a painting and all the elements click together and i feel like i'm looking at a picture of home, and it smells good and it's just the right temperature, and nothing is threatening and its just nice.


i've had the wonderful fortune of raising a puppy (as you all have no doubt gathered from all my obsessive "mason eating, mason sleeping, mason with his paw up, mason almost sleeping, mason eating again, mason in any-number-of-sweaters" posts) these last couple of months since shiloh passed, and one thing i have felt more and more in tune to is the idea of "nice". when you're crate training, you have to be nice to your neighbors; it's niceto sleep in (when puppy sleeps in!), it's so NICE
to have a friend to go running in the park with again; and for a toddler and an infant pup, estelle and mason really do play so nicelytogether. and look how NICE he looks!

i've been putting nice out more and more, and as i do, i find myself pulling in more and more nice. it's not hard to be nice. estelle, who's only just turned 2, says "please" & "thank you" (unsolicited and with out reminder, and accurately, EVERY TIME) as well as "bless you" whenever she hears a sneeze... and if you don't respond, she'll walk right up to your face and say "bless you" again. a few months ago, i was driving downtown (leaving whole foods, harbor east, and turning onto president street,for you visual learner locals) and got stopped at a red light just before a blind turn. up ahead there was a MASSIVE "puddle" (i think tiny lake is more accurate) in my lane just beyond the turn (which i couldn't see from there), and the man in the car next to me, to my left, beeped his horn and flailed his arms and did everything he could to get my attention, (which as a woman in the city, i've learned to ignore), and when i finally acknowledged him and rolled my window down, he shouted "to you want to pull in front of me when the light changes, so you don't have to drive through that water?!"

?!?!?!?!?
who does that!?

even more recently, i was in the mood for peanut butter and jelly... i mean, serious PB&J cravings. i only had enough jelly left for one sandwich, but that was all i needed. i had bread, in the freezer, not usually an issue, but there was a chance it would be freezer burned (oh, because my freezer and cabinets are like "non-perishable goods" graveyards... seriously, if there's ever an earthquake or whatever, just come over, i got you covered). i made the sandwich anyway and was SO looking forward to it... but the first bite proved my freezer burn theory to be correct and i swallowed it and then pouted, turning to AJ (who was looking on with hope) and said "it tastes like freezer". wouldn't you know that sweet boy o'mine left the room and came back with 2 slices of his own bread and then painstakingly scraped the PB & J off the freezer bread with a butter knife and spread it onto the new bread, as carefully as possible, while i sat there, staring at him, in amazement.

nice!


well, i'm gonna do for nice, what J.T. (that's justin timberlake y'all) did for "sexy" (that's "bring it back" for those of you who wisely do not listen to top 40 radio). i've decided that i am going to reward those of you nicefolks, who regularly read this blog (though maybe don't comment) and those of you i've met online, at shows and in other random ways, who regularly support me, encourage me and are generally NICE to me!



these are brand new items to the greenstarstudio line... tooth fairy pillows (or "small versions of knitimals with mini pockets on their backs for whatever purpose you see fit" pillows!). each one is about 5-6" tall and has a little pocket sewn on back-- perfect for collecting teeth (if you know me you're probably wondering how i brought myself to even type that, as normally the crushing weight of my mouth-phobia would have caused me to have an anxiety attack... i'm thinking about nicer things, that's how). they retail for $40 and come with a penny in the pocket (because it's bad luck to give someone an empty pocket... and if teeth might be involved, you'll want all the luck you can get". they are, like the Knitimals they are based on, hand knit without patterns, so they are 100% unique.



I will be giving away TWO of these little guys to two lucky readers who do two things:
1.) post a comment below about something NICE!!! (it can't hurt to have so many positive thoughts in one place, right?) and
2.) add your name to my mailing list (there's a handy button along the side now--- if you're already on the mailing list, do it again please! i am trying to consolidate and clean up the 7 different places i gather info from!).
*make sure i can tell by your comment who you are, so i can contact you if you win one of these little guys.
** if you don't "win" (and really, aren't we all winners?) one, there will be some for sale on Etsy starting this coming Friday.
You'll have until noon, NEXT Friday (April 4th). I'll put all the names in a hat and draw 2 winners.
Best of luck! xoxo, danamarie