Primitive Uncle Sam

My friend Melissa made this Uncle Sam. Isn't he fantastic?

He is 14 inches tall and attached to a wooden base so he can stand up on any shelf. She needle felted his beard and hair out of wool. Needle felting is a method of attaching the hair so it is woven into itself on the other side of the fabric and will not come out! "Look Ma, No glue!"

She has him for auction on ebay, so you can click on the link I made, down below, to go and see him there. You can see more pictures and read a complete discription without having to bid, or, of course, you can bid and hope you win him. Wouldn't he look great for your 4th of July Decorations?

Melissa has an online store too. It's called Skunk Hollow Country Store. If you click on the link I made below, you can visit. You don't need shoes to go in, and you can take your coffee, or drippy ice cream cone. Parking is free.

Click here to see the ebay auction for Uncle Sam

Click here to see Skunk Hollow Country Store






Click here to see my website

Work in Progress

Here is a floor cloth I am working on. This is new for me, and batik on 10oz cotton duck is very different. The duck is a woven canvas and it's pretty heavy, so the wax has to be really hot to penetrate. It takes a lot of wax to go through, and the wax loses a lot of heat to the fabric as it goes on. It takes shorter brush strokes, and even then, it only completely penetrates at the very beginning of the strokes.


The tjanting was not good at all, it dispenses too fine of a line of wax to keep the heat long enough to penetrate the fabric. I gave that up in the first five minutes.

The design you get is really different, and definitely one sided, since the wax doesn't go all the way through. With a lighter fabric, there is still a difference between sides, and in the end you can choose the side you like best. Not so with this canvas.


There is definitely something interesting and cool going on. I am removing the wax on this piece and another one, and it is very exciting! It may take a while before I really get the hang of the partial penetration of the wax, but then again, I may like it this way. I will know when I am further on in these two pieces.

Not being able to make fine lines also influences the design, and in the designs in my book for future cloths, I have incorporated this. It may be an opportunity to really go prim, something that has been difficult for me. Maybe it I can get really prim, I will be able to keep the prim and not-prim separate. Sometimes I worry that I muddle around in middle ground too much.


The Relay For Life gets underway today. It's a pretty big event in Milpitas. Maybe I'll stop by. I can't believe it's Friday already!

I finished Riven. a most amazing feat. Less so because I used walkthroughs a couple of times. Now I have started Darkfall. The graphics are much less intense in this one, and the panning is a little abrupt, but each turn seems to take you 90 degrees. Riven was not always 90 degrees, but the cursor would change to indicate how far you would turn, and you could actually see the scene sliding by. In Myst, it was not always the same and hard to figure out since it cut abruptly from view to view. Darkfall also has the abrupt cut, but you can rely on 90 degree turns.

click on this little picture to see my website

they had a sale..........

Ebay had a sale on listings on Tuesday, so I listed something. Not because of an increased need to sell something, but because there was a SALE! Those sale genes come from my Grandmother Muz. Mostly they lay dormant.

Like Opus the penguin says: "Buy more and SAVE!"


This is a sweatshirt, size 2XL. It has never been worn, but is made to look old, according to the Primitive Folk Art style, referred to as "Prim" by artists and collectors.

You can veiw the ebay listing and read a more dtailed description by clicking here.

I have the shirts that need to be printed with the HIP HOP logo I designed for Ms. K's hip hop class performance. She really liked the prototype I made. It is screen printed, which is new for me. As you may recall, my new years resolution was to try a new material or process each month. Silk Screen was February, I think.

April's thing was water soluble resist, and I am working on a prim project with that right now. I may list it on ebay next time there is a sale.


To see the ebay offerings of other members of Beneath The Attic Eaves group of primitive folk artists, click on this house picure


I have more sweatshirts made up. You can see them by clicking on this sign.

BTAE Spring Ornie Swap

Here are the spring ornaments that I received in the BTAE swap. Aren't they cool? These were made by Sheila of Primkinfolk. For anyone out there who is unfamiliar with Primitive Folk Art, this is what it looks like.

The idea is to make it look like they are old, really old, and made by people who wanted to have nice things but had to make them themselves, no store to go to and buy them.

It's a style that can grow on you.

This is what we call a "swap" where you make something according to a theme and send it to someone else that signed up. The organizer decides which way the exchanges go. There are any ways to decide.

This is the ornament I made to send to Sheila. We were only supposed to send one. Sheila cheated.

This swap was among Beneath the Attic Eaves, and ebay group of primitive folk artists. I'm not primarily primitive, but I like the group. They are nice people. The theme for this swap was Spring Ornaments.

To see everything currently offered by this group, click here.

vIgajbe' pIch--It's not my fault

Well, the trip to Golfland Arcade with the Easter egg hunt tokens yeilded 1500 prize tickets for a giant stuffed bear. I took a picture of the bear, but haven't uploaded from the camera yet.

I also finished my Spring Swap ornie and need to take a picture of that. It came out so primitively grungy, I'm pretty happy with it. I'm not very experienced at grunging primitive things, but I got the queen of grunge as my swap partner and I think I did OK.


I also made this Klingon shirt for Joseph's Museum Project. His 5th/6th grade class is making a museum of languages for the open house. They have been working on it all year. Each student is researching a different language and maiking a museum display. Joseph is doing his on Klingon.

The students voted and chose to do it in costum. Of course, a Klingon costume is a big trekkie item and would be major $$, and not really nessesary, but a trekkie T-shirt should do. So I made this one. It says "vIgajbe' pIch" which is Klingon for "I didn't do it." or "It's not my fault." or "I don't posess blame."


It should be "pIch vIgajbe'" but I messed up. I don't think there are enough Klingon speakers in Milpitas that it will make a difference.

Easter is Here!

Happy Easter!

This morning, a small but growing person got up, he asked "Am I having an Easter egg hunt?"
I reply "I don't know, ask Dad." Yeah, right, a notorius sleeper in, not an option.
"But... am I having an Easeter egg hunt?"
"Dad will know."
"But I already saw an egg....."
So, of course, I answer "So it's a dumb question then."
and we heard the woosh in the plumbing that indicates Dad is awake.
The hunt is on.
There are 46 eggs, 4 have chocolate, one has cat food, one has a horse treat, one has a rock, one has a screw, one has pennies, the rest have 110 arcade tokens, unevely divided.

I am participating in the spring ornie swap with BTAE. This is my ornament in progress. I am behind schedule. I am sending this ornament to Sheila of Primkinfolk.

Beneath The Attic Eaves is an ebay group of primitive folk artists. To see all that they have on ebay, click on this picture. Many also have ebay stores, so you can search that also. in the search, search for BTAE in ebay Stores.

Primitives Strawberries

Here is something for people who like to make their own projects instead of buying the already made ones.

These are pretty cool, just in time for spring. Bowl fillers are for decoration, in bowls or baskets. These would be fantastic with a springtime table runner.

The best part is that you can make them yourself. This e-pattern is available on ebay, just click on the picture to go right to the listing.

E-patterns are great, because the pattern can be e-mailed to you immediately upon payment. All you have to do is print it out on your computer!!

Jenny, of Columnhouseprimitives made the pattern herself, so you can't buy it in a store. If you don't want to print it out on your computer, you can "contact seller" and ask if she can snail mail it to you. It will probably cost an extra thirty-some cents in postage.

I think it would make a good mother/daughter or troup project, just in time for spring! The grunge is optional.

Jenny has some other really to-die-for things listed, one of which I bid one--and I'm not telling you which- 'cause I want to win it!

Primitive Bowl Fillers

Here is the stuff I got in the Beneath The Attic Eaves exchange! Remember I posted a picture of what I sent?

Bowl fillers from Mr Als Primitives!

Bowl fillers are made to put in a bowl or basket as a casual centerpiece or shelf decoration.
I couldn't decide how to photograph them, and then I saw the daffodils that have come up in my yard.

They are 'primitive' which means they are made to look old, like something found in the attic, left over from Grandmother's day.

Beneath The Attic Eaves is an artist group that specializes in Primitive Folk Art. My work isn't exactly primitive, but I like them, they are a friendly bunch, and their great stuff has influenced my own work.


Click on this picture to take you to all the art they have listed on Ebay.