2.03.2008

no idle hands.

My little Moleskine notebooks are somewhere on me all the time. I find it very hard to sit still without having something in my hands. When my pen is out I transform into an obsessive sketcher and list-maker, so when I was invited to join 365 Sketch, I had to say yes. Here is a peek into my sketchbook from the past two days...

Sketch :: Day 3
Sketch :: Day 2

Charcoal Grey StudioIf my hands aren't busy drawing, painting, or doodling, you'll most likely find me knitting. When I first learned to knit, I was immediately fascinated by how simple and complicated it was at the same time. In my search for more information, I found a book about the social history of American knitting titled, most perfectly, No Idle Hands. No idle hands is how I think of myself sometimes.

Over the next few months I'll be keeping my hands busy, working on creating more artwork and new designs, and hopefully with more frequent updates on progress over here. To help make that possible, I plan to take a little break from setting up at craft shows. It'll also give me a chance to get to visit shows which is something I rarely get to do when I'm setting up my own work.

If you're in the DC area, today is Craft+Kisses, a valentine craft fair, organised by the lovely Moira of Bookish Lady. Sean and I won't be setting up, but there will be lots of awesome vendors there, and be sure to look out for Craft Mutiny friends!

I hope 2007 was a lovely year for all of you, and 2008 is even better.

1.31.2008

new. new. new.

Over December I branched out a little bit with the Moleskine notebooks and began printing some of my illustrations on the larger cahiers. I started with two of my favorite designs, the Magnolias illustration, and the Shadow Pods:

Shadow Pods XL Shadow Pods L
Shadow Pods
Purple Magnolias XL Etched Magnolias L
Magnolias
The black notebooks are large [5¼" x 8¼"], kraft notebooks are extra large [7½" x 9¾"]

Thank you to everyone who emailed me requesting the larger Moleskine formats. I'm really delighted with the way they turned out, so much that I gave them a special corner in my shop. As always, new illustrations are always in the works. I hope you're enjoying the notebooks you already have.... I think they look better once they're filled with your writing and drawings, so please use them! [yes yes, I'm talking about you!]

11.29.2007

more moleskine.

Here are some of my latest illustrated Moleskine notebooks:

Knit Buddies & Ghost Writer:
Ghost Writer Moleskine CahierKnit Buddies
Runaway & Imaginary Friend:
RunawayImaginary Friend Moleskine Cahier
Benjamin's Bubbles:
Benjamin's BubblesBenjamin's Bubble Moleskine Cahier
Sunflowers:
Sunflowers on KraftSunflowers on Black
Shadow Pods:

Shadow PodsShadow Pods
Each one is a lovely, hand printed original on a Moleskine Cahier Journal. I print them one by one, layer by layer, in small batches at a time on both plain and ruled Moleskine Cahiers. And then post them to my Etsy shop. Recently I also started printing on squared Moleskine cahiers, and soon, very soon, I'll be introducing new sizes as well!

11.20.2007

gift help.

Need help shopping handmade? Check out the Gift Guides on Etsy, they just appeared today! I'm so very excited to have my work featured there, and the added bonus is my artwork appears right beside Sean's.
Etsy Gift Guide Feature
[Thanks mlee for letting me know!]

Just last week, Sean and I also appeared together in the sidebar on poppytalk! One of my knit paintings is the current icon for their affordable art guide, and one of Sean's pieces was their Etsy Pick of the Day!
Poppytalk SidebarPoppytalk

Lots of great news happening over this way, but I'll save the gushing for another post. I'll leave you with a screen shot of my knit paintings on Etsy, where I discovered today that I've almost got a whole page of them. I don't think I've ever had this many posted at once:
Paintings on Etsy
Some days I wish I had an Etsy shop that only featured my paintings, and then other days I love seeing all my work mixed together. And if they were separated, what would stay under shoofly, or goshdarnknit, or would I just post it under my real name? See, too many decisions to make, might be best to just keep it the way it is for now.

11.18.2007

bloomingdale art market.

...at Big Bear Cafe!
Bloomingdale Art Market!
Sean and I and the Big Bear Cafe have put together our very own holiday art market that is set to take place on Saturday, December 1st, 3-9pm. Arts + crafts + hot cider + fun! We're really looking forward to our very first handmade art market in the neighborhood and hope to see you there!

Start your holiday shopping early, and buy handmade from DC artists! Have you taken the handmade pledge yet?
I Took The Handmade Pledge! BuyHandmade.org

11.09.2007

art whino.

Going to the Art Whino opening last month was really refreshing. For once I was at a gallery exhibit where there were so many pieces I wished I could own, and so much to be inspired by. Here are some of my favorites:


Mary Spring on the left, Scott Musgrove on the right,


and Kelly Vivanco.

See more images from the exhibit in Sean's art whino flickr set, and maybe we'll see you at the opening tonight! [Please check the Art Whino site for details!]

11.08.2007

poppytalk handmade.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
I've got a little table set up at poppytalk handmade for the month of November!

From the web site: Poppytalk Handmade is a monthly online street market curated by Poppytalk to showcase, buy and sell handmade goods of emerging design talent from around the world.
Poppytalk Handmade!

10.05.2007

more crafty.

Here are some more pics from Crafty Bastards for those of you who couldn't make it. Sean and I had booths right beside each other so we kept the space between us open and used it to show off our tees! Lots of new prints were made in the weeks leading up to Crafty, some were even conceived just a day or two before.




The weather was perfect all day long, all nice and sunny and breezy. And everyone who came though seemed so happy to be there. It's always fun to see old friends and make new ones, thanks again to everyone who came out to get awesomized! You guys rock. And the organisers, you guys are amazing. Liz, Kim and Sarah, thanks so much for putting on another fabulous show!

My only wish would have been to have some time to walk around and see everything, I didn't get a single break all day long. But other people did, so for more pics from the day, be sure to check out the Crafty Bastards flickr pool!

10.02.2007

brand new.



My series of knit paintings is changing and growing and I'm so thrilled with the latest pieces. Even better, I finished some just in time for Crafty Bastards!






I really hope you made it over yesterday to check out the best day of the year in DC. It ended over 24 hours ago, I'm still completely in awe of what an amazing show it was.

Thank you so much to everyone who came out, visited, hung around to chat, and of course to the fabulous organisers who put on an absolutely perfect show. Also, thank you dcist!

9.20.2007

arts on foot.

This past Saturday was Arts on Foot and it turned out to be an awesome event. Here are some pics from the super windy day! The hardest part of setting up was making sure everything stayed in place, and the artwork was hung straight!





Sean and I each had our own booth and were set up right next to each other. It turned out to be a great test for our Craft Bastards set up where we'll also have neighboring booths. Yay! It's only 10 days away!

I've been making like crazy and have slowly been adding the new stuff to my store. Hope to still post photos from Adams Morgan Day, and my trip up to visit Etsy a few weeks back. And of course my new paintings and illustrations! Yes, time is moving backwards here at goshdarnknit. Anyone got a time machine I could borrow? :)

9.13.2007

sunflowers.


Yes, new work.

I've been hiding out in my studio these past few weeks, rearranging, drawing, painting, moving stuff upstairs, then back down again. And of course gocco printing like crazy. Last Friday I spent hours with the gocco, so I'll have more to show here very very soon.

Thanks to everyone who came out to Adams Morgan Day this past Sunday, and to the ArtRomp 20 show opening at the Warehouse this past Friday. This coming Saturday is Arts on Foot, hope to see you there!

8.20.2007

opening.

Thank you thank you to everyone who came out to Sean's opening on Saturday at Black Rock.




The show runs through September 7, so you've still got time to visit. For hours, please check the Black Rock web site.

Whoa. Third post in three days. Hooray!

8.19.2007

maybe sparrow.

Thursday night I finally got to see Neko Case live. She was absolutely amazing. Her voice is just unbelievable. How does she do it? Is she even human? Just wow. I could gush some more, but you'll probably find the dcist review more coherent. If you ever have to chance to see her, please go. go. go.


artwork detail from nekocase.com main page

In case you didn't make it, here's a little bonus gift:
Last year when she played at the 930 club, npr recorded and posted it for download here. yay.

8.18.2007

metaphor. time. truth.

Sean has been a busy busy artist. He already has two shows up this month, and a third one opens tonight at Black Rock!

Black Rock Center for the Arts
metaphor. time. truth.

August 15–September 7
Reception tonight: Saturday, August 18, 5:30-7:30pm
12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown, MD 20874

From the curator: Metaphor. Time. Truth. Strands that weave through the works of Sean Hennessey and Joanna Knox as they strive to find the mythical, the abstract in our lives. Using diverse media- Sculpture and Photography- they lead us down paths that open our minds, that explore the intangible, that inspire fresh thought.



You can also see his work at....
DCAC
Wall Mountables 2007

July 20–September 9
2438 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

Touchet Gallery
Moving Beyond Craft: Artists of the Washington Glass School

August 3–September 8
536 S. Ann Street, Baltimore, MD 21231