Introducing Lattie

Signs are like road maps to me. I don't mean street signs either. I'm talking about omens, prophecy, extreme cases of chance and intuition. I look for signs like these everywhere. To me, they tell me I'm on the right track, or at least in the ball park.

Take Lattie, for instance. One morning I woke from a dream and in my minds eye I could see Lattie perfectly. I had no idea what a dress form was at the time, didn't even know how to decoupage something or even the term, for that matter. I just knew how Lattie was supposed to look.

That morning I spent hours combing over Ebay--looking at mannequins and dress forms. All seemed too pricy for what I wanted to do. By noon, I gave up and got ready for April to pick me up. We were planning on going to the library so she could study and I could list at Etsy, but I suddenly wanted to take a deture.

I saw a fabric store and a lightbulb literally (okay, just in my minds eye, AGAIN) clicked on above my head. We went in, I ran around the entire building, but there was not one dress form that would work in the building. While walking out, I just happened to glance to the side and saw a going out of business sale. I walked in my my fingers crossed (litterally this time, not just in my mind) and there, lined up in rows like little solder girls were line upon lines of Latties.

Not fate? Not a sign? Not an extreem case of intuition? Okay, well maybe not. But as we left the store with my dress form buckled into the back seat I asked April, "what should we name her." In my mind (yes, AGAIN) I was thinking Lattie, for Latitude, because I knew I was going to cover her in a map. April looked at me, smiled, and said, "How about Lattie?"

I rest my case and am here by introducing you to Lattie. My own personal sign from the stars, maybe. Telling me I'm on the right track to ummm, something. I'll let you know when me or my mind figure it out.

Masquerade Medley

Masquerade Medley is the very first treasury I created for the Etsy Twitter Team. While snooping around team member’s shops, trying to find new additions to this treasury, it dawned on me that looking at the creations of others is a lot like reading a book in that you learn who the artist/author is by what/how they create.

It should not be surprising, I know. After all, art is about expression and connecting the audience to the art with an emotional response. Yet building this treasury was a lesson for me. It’s taught me that knowing oneself is an essential part of the creative process.

I can see now that, in catering to what I felt people in general would want/like, I forgot that my work is more about art than shiny stuff that dangles. I’ve learned that, even when creating functional art as I do, I must be true to myself as an artist and trust that there are others out there who will connect to my work rather than force myself to create to the tune of others.

It’s humbling to be among such great originality and talent. The timeless pieces of 19Moons, the dramatic couture works of the KnittingGuru, and BeadBug’s dazzling “vintage flair,” all remind me that true art is not a masquerade. The real show begins when the masks fall.