Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Beautiful Polymer Clay and Beaded Jewelry
I found another talented artist on Flickr, Bridget Derc. She makes beautiful jewelry from polymer clay and beading. I don’t know much about Bridget because she hasn’t revealed much about herself in her profile. An Internet search didn’t reveal anything more. All I know for sure is that I love her work. Below is my […]
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Mummer’s Day Parade
Every New Year’s Day here in Philadelphia, the Mummers march up Broad Street. The tradition of mummery started here in the late 17th century with a blend of European, British, and later African-American influences. In 1901, this informal tradition became a city sponsored event and the march up Broad Street began. Marchers used to wear […]
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Hand Dyeing My Own Fabric
Even though there are many beautiful commercial fabrics around, I’ve fallen in love with hand dyed fabrics. For the last few years I’ve been experimenting with different techniques to add color and textures to my own fabrics. Since I don’t have a studio and I live in the city, I try to do most of […]
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Princesses, Foxes, and Other Crazy Creatures
I’ve fallen in love with the work of another artist, Francesca Greco, a painter and artist living in Foligno, in the Umbria region of Italy. Every year, Foligno holds a medieval festival, Quintana, that is filled with pageantry, jousting, and residents in medieval dress. I’m sure many of the patterns and motifs she uses in […]
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Lovely Spun Cotton Ornaments
Jejemae is an artist living in Brooklyn who makes little spun cotton creatures and ornaments. She has developed her own techniques to make them by trial and error. They remind me of vintage spun cotton German ornaments. They are very delicate. You can find more of her work on her flickr and Etsy. I’ve been […]
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Appreciating A Different Point of View
I love handmade things. I definitely don’t want to live in a world where everything is mass produced and every decision is made by committee. I was looking at dolls made by Paulina Feicht, a Polish artist, and I started to wonder why her creations appeal to me so much. I found an art doll […]
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My Newest Toy
This is my newest aquisition. Isn’t she a beauty? There are three things that I love to do: create, encourage others to create, and find artists who create things that I admire. One artist that I recently discovered is Sandy Mastroni, an American folk artist from Connecticut who makes dolls and decorative items like clocks. […]
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More Examples of Embellishing Fabric: Stitching and Beads
This is a shoulder bag that I’ve made from fabric I dyed using the low immersion technique. I made a few using different colors. Not only was I playing with colors and textures that were created by the dying process, but I wanted to add additional decoration to the surface of the bags. I did […]
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Creating Patterns on Hand Dyed Fabric
I love the look of hand dyed fabric. After I experimented with basic low emersion techniques, I wanted to experiment with methods I could use to add patterns to the fabric I hand dyed. I started by using freezer paper as a resist because it is easy to get, it’s safe to use, and I […]
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Why Do We Women Love Shoes?
I’ve always loved shoes. Unfortunately, I’ve always had a difficult time finding shoes to fit my very wide feet. Now I have a bunion on one foot, which makes my foot even wider. All hopes of getting my feet into any of the shoes that I really want have gone out the window. To vicariously […]
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