I am so ecstatic to have Paulina of Lemmikkiapina at LL&O today, a truly lovely anniversary treat. I am a little lost for words about Paulina’s work, the images really speak for themselves, better than a list of adjectives, where would I start: sublime, heartbreaking… you see what I mean! So, let’s meet Paulina and lose ourselves in her beautiful world.

Tell us a little about yourself, the media you work with and your creative process.

“My name is Paulina Temmes and I’ll be 34 years old this December. I live in a small village in Southern Finland with my partner and my old grey striped cat. I grew up in Helsinki and I studied textile art there at the University of Art and Design.”

“I started making dolls and writing and drawing little animal stories when I was about 20 years old. Most of my older dolls were made from modelling clay, but lately I have concentrated on sewing soft sculpture animals. I love loosely woven linen, paperlike organza and vintage fabrics with signs of their age. One of my favourite materials is little stones and pebbles found everywhere.”

“At the moment I’m working at home and sewing my animals full-time. I rarely draw any sketches before I start sewing. By the time the animal’s face and body are ready, I usually know his character and how he should be dressed. Usually my animals turn out to be quite melancholic and peaceful.”

From where do you draw your inspiration: music, books, people, nature etc?

“I always find inspiration from animals: my own cat, neighbour’s horses that graze just behind our garden fence, the rabbits that come to our garden at night, a patient dog waiting outside a grocery store.
Lately I have drawn inspiration from old mechanical toys and books about medieval embroidery and outsider art.”

If you could talk briefly about the background to one of your pieces which would you choose and why? Please tell us the story behind the piece.

“This monkey holding a garland of forget-me-nots is very dear to me. I made him for a small exhibition I had in Helsinki a few years ago. I think he looks very calm and quiet, a bit like a statue in an animal cemetery.”

Lemmikkiapina Shop

Thank you so much for joining us Paulina, it has been so wonderful to learn some more about you and your creative process. It is my dream to give a home to a creature from Lemmikkiapina next year, keep your fingers crossed for me, they fly so fast! Do you have a favourite from Paulina’s shop? I would love to hear which you would choose, it was hard enough to select the images for this post, *everything* is so beautiful. Sigh!

I am so thrilled that Diane is joining us today, her work is irresistible, a perfect combination of fluffy plush joy and cyclopean monstrosity. I am in love with these guys with the wild antlers and spiral horns. Lets’s join Diane and her creatures now, I can’t wait!

Tell us a little about yourself, the media you work with and your creative process.

I am a full time plush toy designer based in the Philadelphia metro area. I graduated from college in 2005 with a fine arts degree in photography and mixed media and have always been a more 3D oriented artist. I started my company Cutesy but not Cutesy about two years ago and have been stitching my way along ever since. I use felt (made from recycled post-consumer plastic bottles) and faux fur in most of my creations. Everything I do is entirely hand-stitched and I use no machines.

I like the way the fabric feels between my fingers and the way I can build the object from the ground up, it’s more like sculpture to me in that way. I think people can also really appreciate seeing the stitches in my work, it adds to the notion of the object being made completely by hand.

Each piece is one-of-a-kind as I don’t use any patterns. I just grab my scissors and start cutting! I really enjoy working on the larger pieces and pieces made for gallery shows because I can get a little more creative and make the horns and antlers as out of control and detailed as possible.

From where do you draw your inspiration: music, books, people, nature etc?

I’m mostly inspired by people who are doing what they love. People who have started from the ground up and who aren’t afraid to put themselves out there and work as hard as they possibly can to continue to get their creative voices heard whether it be through art, music, writing, etc. The internet makes finding constant inspiration rather easy (and sometimes distracting). I am always following a new blog and discovering a new site for inspiration.

I have always loved the work of Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane. Her blog is a constant source of inspiration in both plush and non-plush related things. Kit Lane is another huge inspiration. She’s incredibly productive and her work is so quirky and adorable which is right up my alley! I also have a not-so-secret obsession with vinyl toys and my collection is ever growing. Non-plush/toy related, I recently discovered the work of Nava Lubelski which nearly brought tears to my eyes. I learned of her on this amazing blog … talk about inspiring! I’ll stop there because my list of inspirations could go on forever!

If you could talk briefly about the background to one of your pieces which would you choose and why? Please tell us the story behind the piece.

One of my favorite recent pieces was created for the Mortal Plush Show at the Art Whino Gallery in Washington D.C. The piece is called The American Dream (above). I created it with a lot of things in mind with one being a reference to the classic American Gothic painting by Grant Wood… my monster interpretation, if you will.

It was my chance to add a much more personal touch to a piece. I like when I can create work with a personal message that people can either get or not get, it keeps things interesting.

You can find diane in these places:
Etsy
Blog
Flickr

Thank you so much Diane for joining us today, it was such a pleasure to find out some more about you and your incredible work. Make sure you click the links recommended by Diane, I was so pleased that I did, some amazing work to be found!

I’m not sure when the next interview will appear, I am going to be keeping a low profile for a few weeks while I try and get some new creatures out of my sketch book and onto the sewing machine. I also need to get going on some new embroidery pieces, oh, I have plans! It feels wonderful to be so full of enthusiasm again. Another side note, I have wanted to write a post about a book I read over the summer, I don’t think I am going to have time but must urge you all to rush out and borrow/buy a copy of Leviathan by Philip Hoare. Really, it is the most wonderful book, so inspiring, my Sea Ghosts sprang from its pages. Go, rush, now!

Please come and join me over at Virginia to find out the answer to this question and four others: “What is the cutest thing in the world?”. This also gives me the perfect opportunity to feature some of Virginia’s beautiful work. Be sure to visit Virginia’s shop too, scrumptious!

Thanks so much for having me Virginia, the questions were such fun to answer.

I am intrigued by Ian Carpenter’s paintings; landscapes that morph into creaturely forms, arresting blocks and swatches of acid bright colour, these works will take you on an emotional journey into spaces where stories are woven. Let’s join Ian and learn some more about his work.

Tell me us little about yourself, the media you work with and your creative process.

“Well I have a natural inclination towards the creative process and I find paintings to be a good outlet, a great medium for myself. I find working with gouache at the moment (I’ve worked with oils and acrylics too) with wood board a spontaneous way of creating and the way the colors mix and react with the wood itself. Sometimes I work without any plan and paint as I go along but lately having a predetermined idea of what I want to do has been my creative guide.”

From where do you draw your inspiration: music, books, people, nature etc?

“Music, so many things, just today I’ve been listening to Tortoise again, great ambient and jazzy sonic textures and now I have some sad ol’ Wilco song drifting through my head, so yes, songs can help out in terms of a painting’s atmosphere when one is painting. Nature plays a part too obviously – I like landscapes, from the Fauves to the American Tonalists to De Stael to various artists of our time. People, well, hm, I’m not much of a figurative painter of late. I’ve studied Classical Drawing and have rendered the human form in many ways (paint, pencil, charcoal), but in the last few years I’ve focused on nature and abstract forms – why is that – I don’t know – maybe just living in New York City I get enough of human beings and human interaction daily, ha.”

If you could talk briefly about the background to one of your pieces which would you choose and why? Tell us the story behind the piece.

“For example Bánh Hỏi Weather (above), I had that Vietnamese dish on my latest birthday and being a foodie (and an artist), just putting that dish into a landscape seemed fun to me – and maybe the thoughts of growing older influenced me to put stormy clouds in there, something greyish and forlorn overlooking tasty sustenance – and again everything is regenerative so nature provides/nourishes the food we eat then we or I live on to experience another day – or more specifically in this case – to paint another day. So looking at this painting again I’m getting that meditation from it and a colorful one at that.”

You can find Ian here:
Blog
Coming soon to:
Artquiver

Ian tells me that he is planning to open an Etsy shop at some point in the future. Do let us know when your shop is up and running Ian, thanks so much for joining us today and sharing a little corner of your life with us. What is it about Tortoise’s music that creates such vivid mental imagery? When I was going through an “I’m going to be a filmaker” phase I plotted out a cinematic journey to Standards. Sadly my film was never made!!!
I have a plush related interview coming up soon, in line with my all new super-relaxed attitude to blogging I can’t say when. But soon kittens!

I am sure that many of you will recognize those delightful teapots and cups above, as we are joined today by the wonderful Anna of Lilla Lotta. Anna has such a strong and instantly recognizable style, fresh, crisp and homely, inspiring thoughts of cinnamon buns, the smell of freshly baked bread, percolating coffee and cut grass in a spring meadow. Oh yum! In addition to running her amazingly successful Etsy shop Anna is also a mother to five beautiful children, I am in awe of her creativity and feel sure that Anna must get very little sleep indeed! Let us grab a cup of tea and settle down comfortably to meet Anna.

Tell us a little about yourself, the media you work with and your creative process.

“I am Anna. Mum to five young children. Living under the big blue sky in the South of France. Originally Swedish/Dutch, I have lived in 6 different countries in the last 20 years and am still not feeling quite ‘at home’ where I am at. I suppose I am a bit of a wanderer, slightly lost in the wrong era.”

“I am a bit of a fiddler and have a creativity compulsive disorder. A day without creativity, just does not seem like a proper day. I won’t call myself an artist, to me that would imply that I “studied” it at a grand school, in a specific class. And truth is, I have never taken a class in art or any other creative process. I suppose that is why the title “fiddler” suits me better.”

“I have never found a medium that takes my fancy the most. I flitter about, from one thing to another, like a flutter-by. One day I simply must paint in water colour and the next I feel the need to do lettering. Lately however I have been completely inspired by fabrics. I am working on a selection of Lilla Lotta fabric designs, which hopefully will be finished by the end of the year. Needless to say I have very little free time and do without sleep often. Who needs sleep anyways? *smiles* ”

From where do you draw your inspiration: music, books, people, nature etc?

“Inspiration is one of those things that can be found in every day living. It might be loud laughter and a smile that comes unexpectedly. Or those moments where little arms give such big hugs, incredibly warm and loving. It is like sparkle. Magic dust. The only reason you need to wake up in the morning and have a head filled with ideas. Things waiting to be created.”

” My source of inspiration is being the woman who runs around like a headless chicken most of the time and takes care of a large family with lots of little feet. Almost like living double the life and feeling doubly blessed.”

If you could talk briefly about the background to one of your pieces which would you choose and why?

“I would have to choose my recent creation of cotton tapes. By chance I made one to add to a 3D woolfelt house I was making as a Christmas gift and I needed a specific ribbon to go on the top of the roof. That is when it happened. How about making lots of different ones? A creative project where I could combine my love for illustrating with my love for fabrics. ”

“And it has been wonderful ever since! By the Autumn I will be able to finish a whole new selection of highly illustrated cotton tapes. I find myself feeling so blessed to be able to do what I love doing. Fiddling around and raising my family.”

You can find Anna in these places:

Lilla Lotta Etsy Shop
Flickr
Blog

Thank you so much Anna for sharing a little of your life and creativity with us. I feel so inspired by your attitude to the world and the obvious joy you take in creating your handmade goodness.

As I was putting this interview together this morning I began to read Anna’s blog, duh, I hadn’t come across it before, and laughed out loud at this post: 40 Facts About My Summer. I could relate to so many of Anna’s ‘facts’, I am sure you can too!

40 Facts About My Summer

1. The weather in the South of France is hot. I mean it is really hot.
2. Being a mother to five kidlets is exhausting. Especially during the Summer.
3. I am drawing and painting every spare minute in front of a fan.
4. New banners for my blog and shop in the making. Everything will be brandnew and fresh in the coming Autumn.
5. Lots of highly decorative cotton tapes being made for the new season.
6. Only 7 days before my mother arrives.
7. Husbands work throughout the Summer.
8. I work throughout the Summer.
9. My head is exploding with ideas.
10. I have no real appetite during the Summer months.
11. Thai food does not agree with me and is returned within an hour.
12. I am already thinking about Christmas.
13. I am tired all the time.
14. There is absolutely nothing on the telly (and I am not even a big telly fan).
15. Bed linen is changed more often during the Summer.
16. My washing machine broke down about two weeks ago.
17. My children only want to eat ice pops.
18. Home made cake does not taste as good as it does in the winter.
19. I am still in love with my hot chocolate.
20. I am going through hand soap like there is no tomorrow.
21. My hoover is used about 4 times a day.
22. Paddling pools for little children are great!
23. Long trips in a car are not recommended.
24. I worry about the new school year and my children.
25. I still have not learnt any French.
26. I am totally behind with all my emails and visiting my favourite places online.
27. I spent very very very little time behind the computer. And if I do, I have to wrestle someone off first.
28. Sitting in the garden in the evening is like recharging your batteries.
29. France has some freaky insects.
30. I am not even mentioning the snakes and the lizards.
31. I don’t sleep during the Summer, I just pass out.
32. I am still totally lost.
33. I love being productive and being able to run my shop. It has saved my life.
34. I am grateful for meeting new friends. It means a lot.
35. Husbands are grumpier when it is hot outside.
36. My to do lists are taking on monstrous proportions.
37. I have to remind myself to drink less coffee, and more water all the time. It makes me really ill.
38. For some reason I have started biting my nails again.
39. I am doing my best.
40. I am a rubbish blogger.

He, he, he, excellent!

Thanks so much again Anna.

I discovered Sawako’s work via a twitter comment from Kit Lane telling the world that they had to click over and visit an amazing new Etsy shop. I found the most beautiful and original work at Alleluja, Sawako’s shop, I hadn’t come across anything similar anywhere else, an astounding combination of kawaii, colour and exquisite skill. Really it is so hard to convey just how perfectly made these tiny porcelain creatures are, you need to hold one in your hands, feel the smooth, glassy glaze next to the warm and fuzzy felt. I am a rhapsode for Sawako’s Kigurumi pincushions, oh and you can wear some of them as pendents as well!

Tell us a little about yourself, the media you work with and your creative process.

“My name is Sawako Hayakawa. I live with my partner and two cats in the suburbs of Tokyo, Japan. I work as a transcriber at my home office. In fact, I don’t know how you say my job in English correctly. It is to convert the oral conversation into the reading ones. I keep typing almost everyday. I began to go to the ceramic workshop of the neighbouring town ten years ago. That was my first experience of ceramic work.

“Also, I started to do the needle felt in my own style a few years later. In after years, I combined them with my work as the pincushion. I think it is the natural flow, because I like the wool as much as the clay. Now, I make the ceramics in my spare time. I formed porcelain soil in my home and do the glazing and the firing in the ceramic workshop.”

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From where do you draw your inspiration: music, books, people, nature etc?

“I like movies and music. Also, I like science fiction novels and manga. My work is sure to have all those influences. Usually, I draw rough sketches before making ceramic works. Every time I find any cute thing, I make a simple sketch of them in my notebook.”

“I always listen to music while making my work, and I’m an iPod user outdoors. I like music such as alternative rock, indie rock and folk music. This music uplifts my feelings and it surely leads me to better work. And I like cats. I find the “kawaii” in their casual gesture day by day. I am inspired by their cuteness.”

“Above all, I like movies very much. My screen name “alleluja” was taken from the hero in a spaghetti western movie titled “Heads I Kill You, Tails You’re Dead! They Call Me Hallalujah”. I’m a movie lover. I am dedicating my work to the movie as a hommage in a somewhat strange way.”

If you could talk briefly about the background to one of your pieces which would you choose and why? Please tell us the story behind the piece.

“I want to talk about my Kigurumi pincushion. I have begun to make this works recently. At first I intended to make Kigurumi doll of the porcelain. “Kigurumi” means a stuffed-animal suit in Japanese. I have been interested in the animal suit long before and I tried to make it with the ceramic art work. I molded an animal suit doll with clay and laid it prone. That pose of the tiny animal suit doll reminded me of a scene in a well known movie.”

“It is Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. At the outdoor party scene, a flock of birds descended on the children and attacked them. One girl who was running away fell prone, a bird stopped on her head. She was struggling to escape from the bird. She fell down on the ground and fluttered her foot. It was a very impressive scene. I felt sorry for her, and even more, I was instinctively fascinated. It was really cute! So, I decided to make Kigurumi dolls fall prone and make pincushion in their back. By such a process, the Kigurumi pincushion was completed.”

“I received a lot of responses to my Kigurumi pincushion at Etsy and Flickr. It’s wonderful! It makes me feel really happy! I want to thank KitLane who encouraged me when I was hesitating about having my Etsy shop. And thank you, Lisa! I could think deeply about my work and myself through this interview.”

Find Sawako here:
Flickr
Etsy

What a joy to learn some more about Sawako and her beautiful work. Thank you so much Sawako. I adore the story of the inspiration behind the Kigurumi pincushions, I must watch that scene again. Good bird phobia aversion therapy. Do you lovely kittens have any unusual sources of inspiration? I would love to know. I will let you into a little secret, my pieces for Plush You have been made with memories of Battle Of The Planets swirling around my head, do you remember that cartoon, I was *obsessed* with it is a child?!

I am so very happy to have Belinda with us at LL&O, on a grey & rainy day her work lifts my heart. I want to bathe in those beautiful, rapturous colours, float and spin in the air amongst abstract shapes that are full of joy, somehow! Grab your comfiest chair and say hello to Belinda, a treat indeed.

Tell us a little about yourself, the media you work with and your creative process.

“I live in an inner city suburb of melbourne {Australia} with my husband and our two little boys. I like to be close to great cafes and galleries and walk to most places I need to get to {I don’t have my lisence!}.”

“My work is mainly mixed media ~ a mix of drawing and painting, drawing and collage, painting and collage, block printing and drawing! I work with whichever medium appeals to me at the time. they all have their different attractions to me {physically and aesthetically} and it usually depends on my mood as to what I go with! Sometimes I have a clear image in my head as to what the piece might be, but most often just a vague inkling or feeling. I love to make quick sketches as I work ~ often the best ideas come from working. Sometimes the sketches form part of a new series or the next piece. I like to work on a few pieces at once or have a few in progress.”

From where do you draw your inspiration: music, books, people, nature etc?

“I draw inspiration from reliable sources like magazines, galleries & the internet and incidental sources like: colour combinations that I see in daily life that pop out {an almost fluro orange cup floating in a white bath tub, a vermillion flower against a dark grey wall with soft chalky green leaves}; landscapes ~ a memory of the Swiss Alps from a boat on a lake, cane fields, the ocean ~ especially on an overcast day; a blurry background; watching my kids draw & paint ~ they have no self-imposed limitations or judgement stopping the flow of ideas. They use colour and shape indiscriminately.”

If you could talk briefly about the background to one of your pieces which would you choose and why?Please tell us the story behind the piece.

“I chose ‘Late Night Mist’ because it’s pretty new and I’m happy with it! The ‘mist’ paintings are my favourite pieces to work on ~ I find it really relaxing to paint the shapes of the mist and to see how the different levels of transparent white turn out over the other layers of colour.”

“It has a very brief story: this is an imagined landscape in the deep of night when the light is misty and the individuals who live in the hills have something important to say!”

“Thanks so much lisa for having me on your gorgeous blog.”

You can find Belinda in these places:
Gretchenmist Etsy Shop
Blog
Flickr

Don’t you feel a little happier looking at Belinda’s lovely work, those colours really sing don’t they? Thank you so much Belinda for joining us, it has been such a pleasure learning some more about you.

Hooray, I’m so glad the interviews are back, they really are such a joy to work on. Who will be up next week kittens, a little clue, we will be looking to the east.

It is a happy, happy day indeed here at Lou Lou & Oscar as we are joined by one of my favourite people, Chris aka avoir etc…, who is going to share a little about her life and work with us. Chris was one of the first people I met over at Flickr, I instantly fell in love with her delightful Amigurumi and soon discovered that a super lovely and intelligent person lay behind the work. I became smitten with a certain little cloud who has featured in these pages many times before, Cloudie of course! I contacted Chris and soon my Cloudie travelled across the sea to accompany me on my wedding day. Cloudie exudes love and sweetness, she helped calm my nerves as I held her inside my coat pocket before the ceremony. So, obviously Chris and her work are very dear to me. As if being a stellar maker of Amigurumi weren’t enough, Chris has recently published a book containing 25 original patterns, spreading the crochet joy across the world! Let’s get comfortable and say hello to Chris now.

Tell us a little about yourself, the media you work with and your creative process.

“I’m Christelle and I’m 35 years old. I live in Auvergne, a beautiful part of France surrounded by lakes and mountains, with Vincent my sweet lover and our two cats, Crapouille and Oby. We don’t have any children and we hope we will know this joy soon.”

“I crochet, I began when I was a teenager, but it was secret. I recently decided to break the silence when I opened my blog “à voir etc…”. At first, this blog was just an excuse to take breaks because I was very stressed by a terrible examination and after few months all the hidden creativity reappeared. Amigurumi-those kawaii (i.e. cute in English) crocheted toys- were a real shock when I saw them at first.”

From where do you draw your inspiration: music, books, people, nature etc?

“I was born in the South and I think it’s a big part of my work influence: something to share, something warm, something with light. Before going to University I didn’t know if I would like to study “Fine Arts and Architecture” or French Literature. I chose French Literature because reading is a passion even if Art is a huge part of my life but I always regretted Fine Arts. I do love poetry as well. I’m a big fan of Jean Cocteau. I love books like Le Requiem or  Le Journal d’un inconnu and movies like La Belle et la Bête or Le Sang d’un poète and his drawings/paintings too.”

“Images, photos, drawings, paintings, Japan, the universe of children influence me a lot. I like Flickr for this reason, I can stay on Flickr for ages, choosing many favourites from everywhere, from artists or crafters. In fact, I’m contemplative. I can take a coffee in a bar and look at people on the street for hours, sometimes listening to what they say and imagining a complete story. I always take my notebook and write.”

“I listen to a lot of music too which in a way is included in my work; from the Smiths to Belle and Sebastian and Sigur Rós. I recently discovered Fredo Viola, a complete artist who explores different ways always with style and accuracy. You could ask what is the link between all of these things and amigurumi? Well, I just need music and images to create and to realize crochet plushies or crafts.”

If you could talk briefly about the background to one of your pieces which would you choose and why? Please tell us the story behind the piece.

“For the Amigurumi book, I worked very hard. And for the first time since a long time, I began with little drawings, because to draw is quite like something close to intimacy. My father has painted for as long as I can remember and perhaps I think I can’t be better than him. It took a lot of joy, like a child, to think about all the characters. My favourite is perhaps the Kilometre marker with a lil’host.”

“At first, I wanted to make a house. But, I had problems with the roof and little by little with all the corrections it became a little house with a bird in a nest. When I showed the characters to my friends, Séverine found that this house was no longer a house but a kilometre marker. So, it became totally clear. It was not a house but a Kilometer marker. Thanks Séverine!”

“And thanks a lot Lisa for giving me the chance to speak a bit about my work!”

You can find Chris in these places:
Blog
Amigurumi et cie Book
Flickr
Etsy

*Credit for the super sweet image that heads this post belongs to Marie, Chris’ partner in crime at Happy Friends.

Thank you so much for joining us today Chris, it is so sweet to have good friends here at LL&O. I have so many inducements to learn how to crochet, I must admit that I am a little frightened to begin. My mother tried to teach me to knit and I just couldn’t get my head around it, perhaps age has loosened up my brain and fingers, if I pluck up the courage I will be sure to share the results with you!

There will be no interview next week as I need to bank some time to complete my submissions for Stitch Wars, I had a little wobble in confidence a couple of days ago but feel much more happy with the work I am planning to send off to Florida now. Comparing yourself to others is the devil, much better to get on with your own thing and enjoy the process. See you soon lovely kittens!

I was so nervous about asking Kit for an interview, she was one of the first artists I hearted on Etsy (via my secret account!) and I suppose I was a little in awe. Silly right (not the awe part obviously)? I am so glad I plucked up the courage to ask and was delighted when I received an extremely thoughtful and intelligently written email in response to my request. Kit’s beautiful work has a still eloquence, her creatures are so expressive and soulful they transcend cute. It is no wonder that the adoptive parents of the Jacabobs and Bunnies, Ursabobs, Burbles, Nudipeds and Pods become so besotted. Hold onto your hats, let’s enter the fantastic world of Kit Lane.

Tell us a little about yourself, the media you work with and your creative process.

“I live in a wee house smack in the middle of the cultural wasteland of Western Minnesota. Much of my life has been spent out of the country in Germany, Mexico, Haiti and most recently New Zealand. I share my abode here on the windy tundra with my only child, the great love of my life who is my 16 year old daughter soon heading to University and a soft-hearted tiny Pomeranian fur beast who earns her nightly ice cream by reluctantly donating her hair to top the heads of the Nudipeds.”

“I’m quite loath to speak about myself, shy even, although outwardly my life has been quite bold and gregarious for the most part. Today I live the life of a recluse, choosing to do what truly makes me happy, making art, crafting and writing.”

“I began felting about two years ago after seeing a demonstration by Jenn Docherty on-line of her cupcake teddy bears and chicks. It was cute, syrupy sweet, benign and physical, all things of which I had no experience. Although I paint and draw, the majority of my art exists in the realm of 3D digital navigable virtual realities which I create for both corporations and entertainment. Those realities tend to be rather dark and somewhat dangerous. The sweet faced Jacabobs and their ilk help balance out the monsters which reside in those digital realms )”

“My creative process is maybe a bit strange. I start every morning with a cup of stiff coffee at 6:00AM then read my mail as most is more palatable when I’m half awake. Then it’s off to wander the interweb to some my favorite painters, Dan May, Chris Ryniak and Mark Ryden til 6:30 when the rest of the denizens begin to stir. My wheels are cranking by the time I hit the shower, walk the dog and take kidlette to school. Then with any luck I can head to my work room which is filled to the brim with my favorite things; little pieces of art, hand made widgets and doohinkies, bits of bone, small carvings, thick pads of paper, sharp pencils and pens, great heaps of wool, boxes of buttons, and tools for all occasions. I shut the door to the world at large and begin tinkering.”

From where do you draw your inspiration: music, books, people, nature etc?

“I have, over the last many decades worked in male dominated professions as a therapist, forest fire fighter, welder, training real estate salesmen in the art of thumb screws, trade lobbyist, public speaker and 3D multiuser world developer. But what has captured my attention and my admiration are the women I have watched and some I’ve met these last couple of years.”

” I love their art and their crafts but more importantly I am inspired by their courage and perseverance, their own quirky and often humorous creative sensibilities. Tobiah Mundt, Melissa Stanley, Allison Sommers, Jessica Fortner, Loopy Boopy, Kate Savage, Karna Erickson, Astulabee, Liz McGrath and you Lisa, all inspire me to strive to be a better maker today than I was yesterday. There are too many more to mention but most (not all) can be found in my “favorites”. I get lost in their work sometimes in awe, wonder and admiration.”

If you could talk briefly about the background to one of your pieces which would you choose and why? Please tell us the story behind the piece.

“People have identified me with the Jacabobs and their ilk which live at the far end of my garden, a mostly sweet group of dear wee creatures who populate now the far reaches of the planet, some living solo but most congregating in groups of 3 or more on desktops and shelves of their adoptive and often times addiction prone parents. I adore my patrons and give them what they want/need in the best way I can as up until two years ago I had never created a smidgen of anything “cute”. With a smile of warm satisfaction, I send the wee Bobs affectionately off to their new homes.”

“There are times though when my personal oddities come to the forefront demanding to be acknowledged and made physical. I share those moments when I think they might be palatable to more people than myself. My most recent piece, “Alien Albino Space Peas with 20/20 Hindsight” is a result of that process in wool.”

” On the surface it’s quite sweet but lurking behind the pink cheerful Peas is a deep gazing eye. It might suggest that not everything is always as it first appears, that sometimes there’s more to a thing if one takes the time to really look, or we could make certain conclusions about a being that always prefers to look away from the world staring into dark corners while presenting a pink wide smile to the audience. Or…it’s just some peas and a strange eyeball. You choose. )”

“I’m quite struck by the number of Jacabob parents who have suggested I cobble together a book for children. The truth is that there’s a story in the works albeit convoluted and disjointed from all the editing, rending and tearing and the occasional rescue from the yard after tossing it out the window. We’ll see.”

You can find Kit here:
Etsy Shop
Flickr

Ah, that’s my boy, Lindt, you see above, I haven’t met him in person yet but I know I am about to become a besotted Jacabunny Mummy! Ok, so I am still in awe of Kit, her work, creativity and seemingly boundless imagination. Now, I also know a little more about the woman behind all that creativity and I am so honoured that Kit agreed to share a part of her world with us here at LL&O. Thank you so much Kit for your words and for being such a sweetheart.

Yipee! Wasn’t that amazing? Hmm, where will we fly off to next week I wonder, let’s meet again soon curious kittens?

Captivating is the first word that jumped into my mind when I began to think about Pola’s beautiful handmade dolls, illustrations and paintings. There is a touching ‘knowing’ quality to her girls and young children, they would tell us their stories if they could. Let’s imagine ourselves in Argentina and enjoy spending some time in the company of the amazing Pola.

Tell us a little about yourself, the media you work with and your creative process.

“I live in the middle of Argentina, in a little town full of green with my little daugther and my husband, Cooper and Toto (my dogs) and Juno (my black cat).”

“I love painting as much drawing with ink, watercolors, pencil, acrylics, oil…ok! everything you can imagine. I have been drawing since I was a child so for me it is very natural.”

“Also, I studied Arts Sculpture and I enjoy creating art dolls so much, with papermache or air clay, which is now my favourite medium because it is super fast, clean and you could do anything with this material. My creative process is quite simple, I’m always sketching.”

“I have a lot of notebooks and I use these to keep all the things which cross my mind. About my dolls, I made the first steps with the sketches, then color comes along with the idea and the personality comes when I finish the head and the eyes. I love old fabrics, so delicate and soft, the little embroidery, I always try to use recycled fabric and I dye it myself, with herbs.”

From where do you draw your inspiration: music, books, people, nature etc?

“All you named! My little one is so special, she is a great inpiration when I draw. People too, stories and works, how they look in a photo, eyes… from there I start to think and imagine.”

“I love music but when I work I concentrate so much that I don’t listen. So, maybe I spend all the day with the same record and I didn’t know! Yes, I live in a bubble all day up in the sky!”

If you could talk briefly about the background to one of your pieces which would you choose and why? Please tell us the story behind the piece.

“I have a special love for my last dolls, Elo and the little ones Julia and Carolina. Elo is different to the rest of my dolls and is the start of the new dolls to came, because she is more elaborate in the articulations. The process was diferent because I used Ball jointed parts in the arms and legs, she is not a Ball Jointed doll, but has some elements of BJs. The most important is the hair, usually my girls have painted hair and Elo has sheep hair…real!”

“About Julia and Carolina, they are my first animal girls and I love to make a little doll you could hang on your walls.”

Find Pola in all of these places:
Holli Etsy Shop
Flickr
Blog

Oh, and if you look to the right you will find a direct link to Pola’s wonderful Etsy shop!

Thank you so very much Pola for delighting us with your words, how fantastic it would be to come and join you in your sky-bubble for a little while.

Next week we are going to meet someone whose work inspires incredible devotion, it is fantastical and quite wee! Any guesses?