Fresh Paint!

The Fresh paint show in Everett last weekend was fantastic! So good to be back to doing what I love!
We moved back to Seattle in late July, so I had about 4 weeks to prepare for the show...that's when I wasn't getting a bank account, buying a car, gettin a home loan and a million other little things you have to do when you move back from being out of the country for 3 years.

Copenhagen was a great experience and we got to see so much of Europe! I will miss my time there and the connections that I made with folks both locals and ex-pats. I must say, though, that it's good to be home and the biggest thing I learned from living abroad...everything here seems so easy now! I know where things are, I understand all that I see and read, and I know where to get a good cupcake! :-)

New show!! August 15-16

We are back in Seattle and I have my first show of the year at Fresh Paint in Everett. I'll be in booth 94 with lots of new work...including cupcakes!!

The Cupcake Sewing Factory

Baker's Dozen - the first cupcakes fresh from the Cupcake Sewing Factory!

The Cupcake Sewing Factory presents... Baker's Dozen! The first 13 cupcakes fresh off the sewing machine! As with any recipe, there are variations in the end product as we perfect our technique. These cupcakes are available "as is", but we will also soon be offering custom cupcakes. These measure between 7 and 8 1/2" square and come with a hanging loop on the back.

You can have a cupcake of your own from the first batch for 25.00 USD, plus shipping. #1 and #7 have been sold as of May 13th. Please contact me at sharonleebenton at gmail.com (please copy and paste the email address, replacing the word "at" with the @ sign.)

March Madness

March Madness has a whole new meaning for me now. The days are getting longer now, but the weather is still crap. So that means more daylight so you can see more crappy weather. Absolutely no sign of spring yet and probably not for two more months. Yeah, I am kind of bitter. The only thing keeping me going is the sun lamp and re-runs of "My Name is Earl".

However, there have been spurts of creativity here and there. Art-o-mat pieces are fullfilling because I can create so many of them in so little time. Here's the latest batch:



And I've also been busy formatting photos for art show submission. I submitted to two shows -Art in the Pearl and Inland Craft. I should hear back in April if I am accepted.

Here it is at home

Here is Let's Hyggelize at home. A nice bright accent for Dark Danish December Days.

Project Blehm becomes "Let's Hyggelize!"

Project Blehm was delivered 21 November, just in time to be hung for CPH Thanksgiving! Heidi held a naming contest and the finished piece is called "Let's Hyggeilze!"

Nanda came up with the winning name - very appropriate considering the very Hyggelig** time we had celebrating an early Thanksgiving with our CPH friends.

**Hyggelig is a Danish term that loosely translated means cozy, comfortable, friendly.

The Tale of Two Backings

Tuesday: The plan for hanging this quilt was to add a second backing into which I could slip a piece of foamcore, then add a hanging wire. Well. For many reasons that did not work out. Tuesday eveing I put the quilt down. I knew what I had to do, but was not prepared to do it until Thursday.

At this point, I was rolling the quilt into a tube and hefting it over my shoulder to stitch the back and binding on:

Adding the velcro strip that was to be used to secure the backing after the foamcore was inserted:

Wednesday: Uncovered the quilt, looked at it, covered it back up. Considered my options.

Thursday: I knew I had to remove the existing back and binding and opt for a traditional hanging sleeve instead. I worked on this for about 3 hours, then took break to meet Heidi, Nanda, and Karine at a La Glace for the world's best hot chocolate. (Mmm) Back in the studio late afternoon to continue the work.

Friday: Finishing touches - added the last binding strip and finished hand-stitching the hanging sleeve. I made a sandwich of two pieces of foamcore with the quilt in between and wrapped it all in two layers of plastic and taped it securely. It has begun to snow - the first snow of the year - and I was delivering PB by train to Any and Heidi's. Probably a 5 minute train ride and 15 minute walk and man were my arms tired by the time I arrived!

Project Blehm. Completed November 21, 2008. Tomorrow I will take pictures of the artwork in it's new home!