Allison Gryski

480 squares is a lot!

2009-07-10T15:46:00.005-04:00

Picnic Quilt Top!
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Nearly a year after I finished the back for my picnic quilt, and I've finally finished the top ... all 480 squares of it. Yay! Now to sort out how I'm going to quilt it ....

New cards in shop!

2009-06-20T13:27:00.003-04:00

new cards
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

I've been working away on some new cards and I've started listing them in my etsy shop. There's some completely new designs, like the zen set and a mix of old-and-new like the choose-your-own cupcake set. And I decided to make a few of the romantic skulls cards. So far I've just listed one on white, but I also made some black-on-pink ones. I've also got some more of the stamped little city cards made, but not listed. I'll continue listing things in the next little while. Custom requests are, of course, always welcome.

Rather a lot of cakes

2009-06-12T16:54:00.005-04:00

pretty cakes
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

One of the strange things about engaging in a creative activity, is that sometimes, I feel inspired and compelled to make something without really knowing why or where it's going (if anywhere). Of late, I've found myself rather obsessed with drawing little fancy dessert spreads. I have NO idea why or what I'm meant to do with these drawings. Dear mysterious mind, please enlighten me as to what's going on in my subconscious!

more pretty cakes
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

I tried painting one in watercolours instead of colouring it with pencil crayon. Still no answers. Maybe I should try painting one in oils? I'm feeling intimidated by my oil paints. Perhaps starting with something frivolous like a lot of fancy jellies and cakes is the way to go? So far, this inspiration is highly confusing.

fancy cakes and fruit
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Any other creative types reading this have any idea how to channel apparently random inspiration into something more directed? In the meantime, it's starting to make me crave a fancy afternoon tea...

fancy dessert buffet
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

A card for the morbid romantic?

2009-06-08T13:09:00.003-04:00

skulls in love
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Some dear and unusual friends recently got married and as they have rather non-traditional tastes (their wedding cake was black and red and decorated with skulls), I decided that a shiny white wedding card wasn't going to really be quite right. So in order to make them a special card, I carved a new stamp... a skull with hearts for eye sockets.

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out and I hope the card made them smile. I now, however, have a stamp that isn't quite in my usual style. I'm debating whether or not I should make some similar cards for my shop or if it really was for an audience of two. So here's the question ... would YOU buy a card with a skull that only has eyes for love? You'll find the poll in the sidebar.

Shadows and light

2009-05-30T13:55:00.002-04:00

shadows and light
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

In thinking about the word "shadow", I was really fascinated with things we don't usually think about as "shadowy"... like glass and water. I did some sketches of the light and shadow patterns coming through a drinking glass and then took some photos. I shifted some of the hue of the photos, but didn't otherwise alter them and because I removed the context of the glass, they came out looking like strange xrays. To be honest, I didn't spend as much time working these ideas out to a final end as I should have, and I think of these pieces as more of the exploratory part the process rather than a finished product.

shadows and light
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

In the past couple months, I did have several picnics with friends and some visits with family, not to mention reading several books, so I can't say as I really feel that I wasted the time. However, I've been struggling of late with finding enough creative energy in balance with my job. I'm sure it's something that everyone who's trying to be an artist "in their spare time" struggles with. And so I came to the realisation that NOW was the time to pursue my dream of being an artist and writer. I don't want to put it off until I am older, just because I have a Good Job™. So I've quit my job, to follow this dream. This is one of those decisions that takes a lot of time and thought (and a very supportive husband, family, and friends), but once it's made it feels so Right, that it almost seems like it should have been easy. It wasn't. It still isn't. I have doubts and fears, and having been reading a fabulously topical book(*), I see that they are utterly typical and so I'm trying hard to work on them and around them and through them. And the doubts are complemented by this beautiful feeling that I've been describing as a "happy bubble of excitement". Wish me luck on this journey ... it starts in just a week now!

*Make Your Creative Dreams Real: A Plan for Procrastinators, Perfectionists, Busy People, and People Who Would Really Rather Sleep All Day by SARK

Of books and shells and empty shelves

2009-05-21T18:08:00.006-04:00

bookshelf arrangement
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
I got some new bookshelves and finally (temporarily, I'm sure) have enough space to make some pretty little arrangements. The above is my very favourite one. The shelves are just the classic IKEA Billy shelves with glass doors. But I did replace the knobs with some pretty blue ceramic ones that I've had since I bought them for an apartment I lived in during university which had no knobs on the drawers.

pretty shelves
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

I haven't been creating much lately and thus, the lack of blog entries. Hopefully there will be more to share soon. I have my "shadow" project to complete this weekend, along with getting some gardening done. And with new shelves that allow me to tidily store all my fabric, surely that will just make me want to pull it out and make a mess!

library wall
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Quilting projects

2009-04-19T13:23:00.003-04:00

quilted pillow cover
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Over Easter, I had a lovely visit from my Mom, who helped me select quilt batting and taught me how to actually quilt (not to mention add borders and sew on binding). I recently made the above cushion cover out of this:

pretty thing
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

with some borders added and a piece of vintage sheet for the back:

pillow back
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

This was my second quilting project, with the first being this table hot mat (recognize that fabric?):

quilted table mat
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

And the other side of it:

quilted table mat (other side)
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Burst, a new word, and cupcakes

2009-03-23T19:28:00.004-04:00

Burst
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

I finished my work entitled "Burst" this weekend. It's bubbles bursting into sunbursts. It's mostly pencil crayon and water colour paint. There's all sorts of sparkly glitter, but most of it didn't actually show up in the picture. I had a lot of fun with this piece, though it was nerve-wracking to cut into the large bubbles that I drew/painted since I'm terrible for being afraid of "ruining" something I'm working on. It's good for me to push myself outside my comfort zone though and I'm pretty happy with the result. (see the wordplay copycat pool for everyone's pics).

Burst
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
Even though I think perhaps my friends were less into this than me, I am going to announce a new word, since it's a good way to motivate ME to try something new. So, a new word. When this idea first occurred to me, I made up a little list of words that I thought would make interesting themes, and the next one on that list is ... shadow. I think 2 months was enough time to both let the ideas percolate and fit in a little procrastination without getting stalled, so I'm going to aim to be done for the end of May. Play along if it pleases you.

Burst
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
Artsy-fartsy or not, my gal pals are definitely into cupcakes. My real deadline for finishing my Burst piece was actually Sunday, not the end of the month, since we had a cupcake baking party. Cupcakes were made and mostly eaten up right away (with a few to take home for lucky sweeties). We had a surprise visitor from Portland. My kitchen was turned into a disaster area and then cleaned up. Songs were sung in the kitchen, icing was eaten out of the bowl, sugar highs were had. It was excellent fun. I highly recommend filling your kitchen with cheerful friends baking yummy things.

pretty cupcake papers
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Painting ... a wall

2009-03-18T18:33:00.003-04:00

flowers for the house
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

I've been busy lately making my home feel a bit loved. I bought some more flowers, this time from the grocery store. I'm finding myself drawn to pink and white lately. I always make up my own mixed bouquets from the 2-for and 3-for buckets since I find the grocery-store-prepared bunches are always a bit random in terms of colour and flower type.

new wall colour
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

This past weekend, I also painted a wall with the beautifully named colour "Ocean Air" (Benjamin Moore 2123-50). This wall had previously been a bright spring green (you may have noticed it as a backdrop during green week). I liked the cheerful colour, but it was so bold that I noticed it all the time and consequently I was ready for a change. A bit of paint, a few coats painted while listening to some fun music, and it's a whole new space. Definitely worth the time involved.

burst idea sketching
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

And for those of you wondering what I've been doing for the Burst wordplay challenge, um, well, I've mostly just gotten ideas. I've done a mind-map kind of brainstorming, but I still haven't done my finished piece. I think it's a classic case of "student syndrome" ... waiting until the last possible minute before it's "due".

Flowers to beckon Spring

2009-03-09T08:39:00.007-04:00

office flowers
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Spring doesn't really show up properly in Montreal until mid-April. We get teased by March with a few nice days here and there, but there's always another snowstorm and chilly day up its sleeve. March is also usually filled with dirty humps of melting snow ... not at all reminiscent of the the velvety soft white it once was. To hold me over until Spring, I buy myself flowers from this little corner shop near the post office. It's not a fancy florist's, but their flowers are reasonably priced and they must be fresh as they always last well. Daisies are one of my most common choices as they're $6.99 for a huge bunch, and they'll last for 3 weeks. This week I splurged on 2 bouquets... a mixed bouquet of purply-pink daisies and a bouquet of some mystery spiky white flowers (I love the texture, no idea what they are).

march house flowers
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

So all this is from $15 worth of flowers ... 2 large vases (one in living room, one in kitchen), 3 small vases on the coffee table, 1 small vase in the office/guest room, and 1 small vase on my sewing desk. If you're feeling impatient for spring, treat yourself to some flowers... even the cheap ones will cheer you up!

studio flowers
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Green Week - Day Five

2009-03-06T17:44:00.005-05:00

green books
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

The last day of green week is going to be a bit random for me. I decided to raid the bookshelf again for some delicious green books since I had a lot of fun with books during yellow week. And this morning, without even thinking about it, I tied a green ribbon in my hair. I was tidying up the tray on my dresser and rather than putting it away with the other ribbons, I decided to make a headband out of it. So in that spirit, here is an arrangement with the ribbon and some other crafty bits that were scattered about:

green inspiration
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
Some other green I saw this week, but not through my camera lens... the green copper roof of the cathedral next to my office building (It's a funny coincidence, but both offices I've worked at in downtown Montreal have had beautiful old churches next to them.), a telephone pole with a strange green hue, the pipes in the metro, and various shades of green stair railings in my neighbourhood.

I've gotten the sweetest comments from visitors to my blog this week and it has really made me smile. Thank you for making it so much fun to play along with everyone.

And I'll finish with the kind of green that I'm dreaming about ... leaves!. These are some pictures from last spring and summer...

hiding under a leaf
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

green
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Have a lovely weekend!

Fruity green

2009-03-05T18:29:00.002-05:00

green grapes
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Fruity green for today! Not much to say, though it's having the same effect as Yellow Week did ... I'm noticing green particularly. I only wish there was some outside to notice.

vase of citrus
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
And a close-up on the luscious grapes:

green grapes (closeup)
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Little green things are everywhere

2009-03-04T17:52:00.003-05:00

green arrangement
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Moving right along in my green house tour ... above is an arrangement of green things found in my bathroom. And below is a green birdy clip on the string of cards by the door (it's currently overloaded due to 2 birthdays and valentine's day in the last month).

green bird
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

In case you're wondering what all the green is about ... it's Green Week.

Green in different textures

2009-03-03T19:15:00.005-05:00

green chair and wall
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
So today, I found green in my living/dining room. With a green wall, it's hard not to see green, but the chair is also pale green. And there's some peacock feathers stashed in a vase beside a bookcase... I bought them for some crafty purpose (they're a bit beat up and consequently they were extremely cheap), but the final inspiration has yet to strike. Maybe a flashy hair accesory?

peacock plume
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Squeaky Clean Green

2009-03-02T18:13:00.004-05:00

dish soap (aka "green")
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

I decided to start the week in my kitchen, at the sink. We actually call the dish soap "green" as opposed to referring to a particular brand-name. It's not "we need more dish soap", it's "we need more green". It somehow got dubbed that by some roommates in university and it's stuck ... so we wash our dishes with "green".

The bottle is a lemonade bottle that we shoved a pouring spout (from the restaurant supply store) into.

green dish scrubbies
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Bursting with flavour ... I mean ideas

2009-02-27T17:55:00.004-05:00

strawberries
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Remember the wordplay challenge that I issued? Well, I haven't started anything yet, but tomorrow's the day for me. So far, I've done a bunch of brainstorming of words and phrases that come to mind with the word "burst":

bursting with flavour, ideas
burst my bubble- balloons, soap
burst of laughter, burst into tears - begin suddenly
burst into song
burst open, burst forth- open, hatch, eggs
bursting with news - full, excited
starburst, sunburst
burst of speed
bursting her stays, bursting at the seams -exploding
burst pipe - leak, opening, break

Also, apparently granting the wish of some commenters, next week is Green Week. I'll have to see what I can do....

A Milestone

2009-02-23T18:25:00.004-05:00

half quilt top done!
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

I'm glad everyone enjoyed Yellow week so much! It was fun, but not something I can keep up everyday... there are other projects afterall. For those not watching my flickr stream, you may have missed that I've completed HALF my quilt top! I must apologize for the rather terrible photo of this momentous half-way mark. But with my laundry line out of commission until her ladyship Spring graces Montreal with her presence, I have no very good place to photograph such a large piece. Wishing you a sunshine-y cheerful week!

Yellow Week - Day 5

2009-02-20T18:19:00.003-05:00

All week I've been noticing yellow in a way I wouldn't usually. It's a good feeling to see the world a little differently from normal. A girl walked by in bright yellow rain boots. A man in a yellow winter jacket. My pale yellow post-it notes at work. The cheery yellow toys out at a friend's house. Yellow signs and labels in the metro. The amazing number of food products that come packaged in yellow. And my daisies are slowly growing more yellow. I took a quick snap this morning.

more yellow than monday
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

And as a close to this yellow week, I pull a picture out that I took several years ago, but is so perfect.

yellow door
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Yellow Week - Day 4

2009-02-19T22:49:00.002-05:00

Shortest little month
Wind whistles with rain and snow
Sing us into spring

-- 18 Feb 2009

It has been snowing and snowing here and it looks all pretty again! It's soft and fluffy and the good-for-snowmen type of snow. It's snow like in the movies, when it's all clean and blanket-y and quite warm out. And the world is again a lovely magical place. This impression was much helped by the sleight-of-hand of my multi-talented sweetie in making a chocolate heart wrapped in pink foil magically appear in my cardigan pocket this morning (while I was wearing it!). Such a delightful surprise.

We were out all evening having supper with some dear friends, so this is the only picture of yellow for today...

afloat on a sea of blanket
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Yellow Week - Day 3

2009-02-18T17:58:00.002-05:00

Having to take my photos at night has encouraged me to pull out my tripod and I've been getting some good practice and sorting out what all the twiddly knobs control. Today I went looking for yellow books.....

dreaming in yellow
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

eating in yellow
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

mystery solving in yellow
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Yellow Week - Day 2

2009-02-17T19:40:00.003-05:00

teacup and daisy
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

I sure wish I could be taking my photos during the daylight as we've been having some lovely sunny days, but evening is when I have time for this little exercise...

star in wooden bowl
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

lemon with your tea?
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Yellow Week - Day 1

2009-02-16T19:31:00.004-05:00

I'm joining in on Yellow Week and here are my first two pictures.

daisies with a touch of yellow
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
Having an assignment with limitations is always a good sort of motivator. Yellow is not on my preferred end of the spectrum, so I thought I might have a hard time finding yellow things, but carrying my camera around the house this evening (boo, no natural light for me!), I saw quite a number and already have some ideas for upcoming days. Today I went for tiny bits of yellow.

yellow pins
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

A Fabric Scrap Drawstring Bag

2009-02-09T08:28:00.003-05:00

My quilt generated quite a lot of little bits of fabric (not to mention the tiny leftover bits from my bunting) and I was storing them in a little box. But it was not very convenient to store, nor very pretty.

So, I turned this:

scraps
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Into this:

fabric scrap bag
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

Sitting in front are my remaining quilt squares. I used 3 long strips of fabric out of the scrap box to make the drawstring bag to hold the rest of the scraps. Much prettier!

Beautiful birthday bunting banner and a Dare

2009-02-08T09:24:00.000-05:00

birthday bunting
Originally uploaded by allisongryski

With all the birthday celebrating this month, it's not very surprising that I got inspired to make a quick birthday-related project. As if I needed another project on the go ... but this one was done in a few hours over a single day, leading to immense satisfaction.

After much searching this morning (just for this blog post) I found the first tutorial that I was inspired by (which I didn't follow aside from using ribbon). I saw this picture at decor8 shortly after first coming across the tutorial and it just seemed all too cute and easy.

The idea percolated and on Saturday, I pulled out a bunch of bits and pieces to make up a "rainbow" (no new fabric purchased!). I cut out some pairs of triangles with pinking shears and sewed each pair together so that my garland would be double-sided (more fun when hung outside or across the middle of a room). Then I sewed them all to 3m worth of ribbon (though bias tape is another good option), made some loops in the ribbon ends, and hung it up to admire.

Fabric bunting or garlands have been all over the internet. I suspect it's because they're easy and fun to make and are fabulous for using up small bits in your fabric stash. I could see making pretty ones out of all florals or dots or stripes, or whatever pattern or colour you (or your kids) like and having them up all the time. Or making special Christmas ones, or adding letters to add a name or message. Or how about making a long string with buttons and a bunch of triangles with button holes so you can mix and match your garland depending on the occasion or your mood! Lots of fun possibilities! Go create, I dare you!

Breath in, be inspired

2009-02-06T08:38:00.006-05:00

crafty
Originally uploaded by allisongryski
February is a short little month and many of us feel down-trodden by the weather, so the remedy for me is to celebrate! With lots of February birthdays, I get a good start. This year I'm adding in a creative afternoon with some of my crafty girlfriends on the very last day, which conveniently happens to be a Saturday. (I used the pretty invitation above, available at pingg.com).

in.spi.ra.tion
[in-spuh-rey-shuhn]
.noun

an inspiring or animating action or influence
something inspired, as an idea.
a result of inspired activity.
a thing or person that inspires.
Theology.
1. a divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul.
2. the divine quality of the writings or words of a person so influenced.
the drawing of air into the lungs; inhalation.
the act of inspiring; quality or state of being inspired.

Inspired by this wordplay project that I followed on some artsy blogs last year, I've created a similar challenge. It's neat to see how different creative minds interpret the same single word and how varied the final creations are.

If you'd like to play along, I've set up this wordplay copycat flickr group for everyone to share what they create. There are no rules about what media you use or what the final format of your creation is (you can even upload videos in case your creativity runs to dance, music, or other performance art). But whatever you make, it must be created during the specified time period (in this case February-March) and be inspired by the word assigned.

So without further ado, the word is "Burst".