Wacky Wednesday #7: Fran the Fruit Lady

 

So who knows where I come up with this stuff, but recently I got it into my head that I needed to make a fruit dress and of course, a fruit head piece to add to the fun. The headdress is kind of Carmen Miranda-ish. But Carmen wore fruit on her head only and I don’t want to limit the fruit-accessorizing to one part of my body. Clothes with something unexpected on them are just so fun to wear. Anyway, I’ve been having great fun sewing these fruit shapes. I’ve been coming up with fun names, too: Fruit Frau. Fruitenstein. Fruitopia. Fruity and Loopy. Fruit of the Loom. Any other ideas?

 

When I make these wacky creations, I often just start with whatever I have on hand in my studio. It’s fun to see  what kind of inspiration comes from supplies I already have. I had enough green fabric to make a skirt (a good background color for my fruit buffet, I think). But not enough for a dress. Of course, I had a green tank top I could wear along with the green skirt. The tank top had been in my “deal with later” pile. (As the name suggests, this collection includes projects that I’ve started but that haven’t gone as planned. No need to throw these projects away. Save them for future projects. Months ago I’d dyed the tank top green but it hadn’t turned out as I’d hoped. So this week I dyed it again, and now it makes for a good backdrop for my fruit shapes.) Trash to treasure. Voila!

Shoes seem like such a minor part of the equation but shoes that keep with the theme really tie the whole effect together. This pair of shoes has fruit on it today but that is a temporary effect. This is the third WW when I’ve used this pair of shoes.  

As for the headpiece, I knew I could buy plastic fruit shapes, but I prefer the challenge of making my own. I decided to make some grapes from plastic Easter egg halves and (of course) hot glue. I like that the effect isn’t 100% realistic. The whimsical nature of it appeals to me more than something realistic. I made other fruit shapes  out of felt and Styrofoam balls. Bust out the hot glue and some rhinestones. Let’s get our craft on! Here’s the bird’s eye view of my hat. Fun, fun, fun, with a cherry on top.

This morning I did my weekly volunteer work at my daughter’s school. I collect money that the kids bring in for their savings accounts and I bring it to the bank. The kids liked my costume and one girl offered to eat my candy gummy earrings for me. And then she offered again. And then she insisted. Thankfully, the school bell rang and my earrings were saved from digestion. The checkers in the super market loved my costume and my friends at the gym were also amused. Someone hadn’t eaten before his workout and threatened to nibble on my hat.

For anyone who is interested, here are the supplies I used in this creation:

·         Cotton fabric

·         Fabric pens

·         Sharpies

·         Styrofoam balls

·         Felt

·         Cotton batting

·         Plastic Easter eggs

·         Elastic

·         Hot glue

·         Humor

·         Gummy cherry candies (as earrings)

Just a random (ish) thought on the kind of costumes I like making: for now, I get a lot of satisfaction making something I know most people will recognize, rather than something more obscure. And I like that you don’t have to speak English and read my lengthy descriptions to understand what I’ve created. People from different countries and who speak other languages recognize a parrot, or fruit, or a nest, so I can amuse people even if we speak different languages. I’ve said it before: funny is the universal language!

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I’m now putting photos of some of my creations on Instagram. I’ll still be blogging here as well, because I have lots to say and this is a great place for my stories. If you have any chores you’re putting off (hee hee), you can check out additional photos I’ve posted at https://instagram.com/sarahconleyartist.  You won’t be procrastinating. You’ll be supporting my artistic endeavors. Win, win!

 

Insta-Gratification

As of last week I’ve tiptoed onto the Instagram bandwagon. Not sure if I’ll run with it but I’m testing the waters. For me, trying Instagram isn’t about being trendy. It’s a way to show my art and costumes to others and to share my humor, too. I also have some ideas for public art this summer and I think this will be a good way to show photos. If you’re on Instagram, take a peek at my profile:

https://instagram.com/sarahconleyartist

If you don’t have an Instagram account, you can still see photos at their site (but you can’t comment on them). I’m not trying to find millions of followers all over the world—I’ll leave that to rock stars and reality show folks. But I’m making a lot of art these days and it makes me really happy and I want to share the fun. I’ll still post photos and stories here on my blog, of course. My friends and family are waiting on the edges of their seats for the next Wacky Wednesday post and I don’t want to disappoint. In fact, another WW post is just a few hours away…

Open Season

This gorgeous coral-colored epihyllum gave me a delightful surprise just now when I was outside and caught sight of a huge explosion of color where yesterday there was a closed blossom.

Isn’t it amazing? It’s the first time this plant has bloomed so I’m extra giddy. I didn’t even remember which color the bloom would be, as I bought this plant a couple of years ago and it takes that long for it to produce its first bloom. (See, my forgetfulness is an asset when you consider how much I like surprises.)

I didn’t have as many epi blooms this spring. Last year I had at least a dozen and this year I think I’m getting three, so I really appreciate this bloom. They only stay open and fresh for a short time (literally a day or two) so you have to enjoy the show while it’s happening. With that said, I’ll sign off to go gaze at my epi a little more…

 

Ready? Set? Open!

For the last week the Gladiolus in our back yard has been hinting at a show. Well, she has decided that the time is right and now she has opened. It’s a show that’s even prettier than I expected.

The story starts months ago, when a friend from the community garden left me a few bulbs as a gesture of thanks after I shared some Canna lily bulbs with her. She told me what the bulbs were but I half-forgot, which was actually a good thing because then I got to enjoy a surprise once they grew. What’s especially fun is that my friend doesn’t know how obsessed I am with bright pink and she happened to give me a Gladiolus that blooms in white and dark pink. Yipppeeee!

When the gladiolus flowers start to peek out of its green sepal jacket, their ruffled edges look like a closed parasol. And when they’re ready to bloom the parasol opens up to a beautiful pink blossom. Excellent timing, Gladiolus. You knew San Diego would be getting rain today and your cheerful umbrellas are have opened right on time.

 

Wacky Wednesday #6: Feathering the Nest

Check out the surprise in our apricot tree.

 

There are apricots on our tree. Oh, and a nest!

The nest has two darling eggs in it. But wait, there’s something unusual about this nest.

 

It's a hat!

Yep, it’s Wacky Wednesday, folks, and that means I’m bringing the silly fun to a computer screen near you. Yesterday I busted out the hot glue gun, some scraps of felt, and began gathering sticks outside. (I’m environmental—I’m reusing old sticks. And plastic Easter eggs.) I’m not sure how I got the idea for a wearable nest. But the idea popped into my mind and after an hour with the hot glue gun, the nest popped onto my head.

I’ve worn my nest hat for several hours today and people seemed to get a kick out of it. I wore my hat to the gym, and it stayed on. To ensure nest balance I made sure my posture was good, so there’s actually a benefit to wearing a nest. Who knew?! At the supermarket a man asked to take a photo of my hat. Of course, I said yes. At the checkout, the checkers loved it. I don’t think they get many weird hats coming through the line, so something unexpected gives them a laugh. The kids at school were surprised and intrigued. But the best reaction came from my friend’s daughter Julia, a first-grader. Julia spotted me at pick up. She whispered to her mom, who turned around, spotted my hat and said, “Julia was talking about you this morning. Once she realized it was Wednesday she said she couldn’t wait to see what Sarah was going to do for Wacky Wednesday.” I bent down so Julia could see my hat at her own eye level, and I gave her a high five. I was so touched that Julia had noticed my Wednesday creations and looked forward to them. I hope I don’t run out of wackiness and disappoint people. (What am I talking about? There is no limit to wacky possibilities. There is no chance of running out of ideas. I think I could do this for years!)

As you know, summer is coming. I have wacky costumes planned for the remaining Wednesdays in the school year but I’ve considered taking a few Wednesdays off this summer, while the kids aren’t in school. But there seems to be a small following of WW fans at my gym, too, so I may not take the summer off from wackiness after all...

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go work on next Wednesday’s wacky fun. It’s coming along quite well and I’m excited about it. A hint, you ask? Never! I can’t ruin your surprise. Oh, all right. A small hint. It’s colorful. Oh, and of course, wacky!

Art In Progress

Been in my home art studio a lot lately, working on several art projects and listening to Weird Al. Most of these projects are in my new favorite form: wearable art. So many art ideas. So little time. I won’t tell you much about what I’m working on because the element of surprise is so fun for me. The big reveal works best if you haven’t seen a lot of the earlier stages.

There are dozens of tiny scraps of fabric on my art studio floor right now. But I’ve decided to embrace the fact that sometimes I make a big mess. For me, slowing down to clean up as I go would completely extinguish the momentum of creation and the joy it brings me. So I’m going to be messy. I won’t even hide the evidence. (Mess can get out of hand, yes. And not all places should be messy. You don’t want an operating room to be messy. But a messy art studio is a sign that the artist is inspired! Turning ideas into art! Busy! Happy! Productive!)

I think I’ll be uncharacteristically brief today and leave it at that. I’ll let the pictures do the talking:

Wacky Wednesday #5: Polly the Parrot is Back!

It’s Wacky Wednesday once again, and rather than whip up a costume from scratch (which I love doing, but it takes some time), I decided to bring back a costume from a few years ago. It's a costume I created for Halloween and after all the hours I spent with my hot glue gun to make it, this costume deserves another day out in the sun. This is Polly the Parrot, y’all. She’s colorful, she’s squawky, she’s loud and loves to bring some fun wherever she goes.

She did the weekly banking with the school kiddos this morning. She has no fingers but can count all the way to 1,000 on her feathers.

Polly likes to roller skate, because even parrots need a break from flying once in a while. A bird really shouldn’t have upper body strength only, so Polly works her legs out, too.

 



 

All that roller skating builds up an appetite. Does Polly want a cracker? Squawk! (Yes!)

Have a wacky, wonderful Wednesday, everybody!