Sunday 8 June 2014

Myself When Young...

I was blessed with creative genes and when I was a little girl (yes that really is a photograph of me, age 6 or so) I did not have a lot of store bought toys.  I often made puppets out of my dad's old socks.  I hand-sewed clothes for my sister's Barbie doll as well as my own "faux" Barbie (a Made in Japan knock-off).  I was handy with an iron (I actually loved to iron--still do!) and my mom taught me how to use her Singer sewing machine to make a pillowcase or patch a handkerchief.  When I entered high school I could not get enough of clothing class in my junior and senior years.  I even tailored a suit!  I made a lot of my dresses.  I wanted to become a fashion designer.  Alas, circumstances forced me to work right after high school and that dream never became a reality.  BUT with the encouragement of the man I would eventually marry, when I was in my mid-twenties I enrolled at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and although I did not land in the fashion department, I did make a wonderful friend who one day encouraged me to use my sewing machine (which had not been used in years) and he said "Why don't you make a doll of Ted?" (Ted is my husband).  The rest is history.  I have been a member of The Illinois Artisans Program for 25 years, juried in as a cloth doll artist, and yes that is a sketch I made of one of my cloth dolls.

To have a peek at some of my creations go here:

www.flickr.com/photos/angienaron/sets/72157603826452727/

The background of my collage is "Colored Alphabet" by Jasper Johns.  I chose it because it reminded me of a lot of childhood things...primary colors, ABC's, building blocks.  It also looks like a fabric patchwork quilt.


10 comments:

  1. Thank you Angie for sharing this lovely 'Vivienne Westwood' story about your youth and life! You've put a lot of effort in this collage, I love the way you surrounded yourself with the wooden spools and the drawing against the 'Jasper John's'.

    I'm gonna check your flickr set now...

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    1. Thanks Josephine! Like Vivienne I did drop out of art school after a couple of years of being a part-time non-degree seeking student and unable to get into classes I really wanted to get I decided to go it on my own. Besides sewing dolls I used to make assemblages from recycled materials, turning them into bookends. These were featured in The New York Times home section and Chicago magazine. The real kick about the bookends is they have turned up in vintage shops around town which makes me smile!

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  2. What an excellent story and a love your collage and it's hidden meanings. So cool!

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    1. Thanks Scrappy! Appreciate your nice comments.

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  3. Wow, didn't know about the dolls! We had similar childhoods with the high school clothes-making BUT you lost me at "I love to iron..."!!!

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    1. I also love to clean my house! Whaaaaaat is wrong with me ; ) !!

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  4. Thanks for sharing your childhood story - it´s mirrored in your collage very well! Congrats, CC!

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    1. Thanks Sabine. It was a lot of fun to make!

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