Miyuki Sakai’s Incredible Sewing Illustrations

January 26, 2016January 25, 2016 ~ jama ~ 33 Comments

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Somewhere in San Francisco, Osaka-born artist Miyuki Sakai is busy creating yet another gorgeous sewing illustration.

Using only a standard sewing machine, about 200 different thread colors, and a basic straight stitch, she fashions amazing pictures of everyday objects and scenes, from the dining room and kitchen, to the office, street, cafe, garden, and supermarket.

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Miyuki grew up watching her mother make clothes and decided to adopt the sewing machine as her primary tool. After graduating from art college in Kyoto, she worked as a freelance illustrator in Tokyo before emigrating to the U.S.

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Her unique style is characterized by lush colors, meticulous detail, and studied compositions. She works freehand, leaving uncut threads that give her illustrations a charming human touch.

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Back in 2011, she earned a Bronze Medal in Editorial Design (NY ADC Awards) for her “Viva la Tarte!” stitched plates that showcased real food in Martha Stewart Living.

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Her work has also been featured in various periodicals such as Country Home, Vogue, GQ, Seventeen, and The New York Times Magazine, and she’s done ads for SONY, Nordstrom, Microsoft, and Hitachi, among others.

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At her site, she shares photos of her “darling sewing machine” and her “good friends” (BandAids). 🙂 I’m totally in awe.

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Indie Artist Spotlight: Dawn Treacher of Treacher Creatures

September 1, 2015August 30, 2015 ~ jama ~ 19 Comments

Recently, while I was innocently browsing online, this adorable crocheted teddy bear winked at me.

Never one to ignore a mischievous ursine smart enough to get my attention, I knew I had to investigate.

I discovered he was created by plush artist Dawn Treacher of York, England, who designs and makes other Amigurumi animals like the bear, in addition to a wide range of sock animals, fleece plushies, and soft sculptures. Some of Dawn’s creatures are inspired by real animals (foxes, bunnies, giraffes, elephants, badgers, birds), while others represent wild flights of the imagination — brightly colored alien one-eyed monsters in odd shapes with elongated ears and limbs.

Clearly this is an artist with a kid’s heart who loves to play. 🙂

All of Dawn’s Treacher Creatures are lovingly hand-sewn and one-of-a-kind. Each has a distinct personality. Whether sweet, comical, serene, endearing, cunning or coy, they’re bound to make you smile and wonder what they’ve been up to. Not surprisingly, Dawn is also an aspiring children’s book author and illustrator (in addition to being a fine landscape painter) — so maybe someday soon some of her creatures will have their own books!

I’m happy she agreed to join us today to tell us more. You’ll never look at your socks the same way again. Enjoy!

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nine cool things on a tuesday (including giveaway winners!)

March 10, 2015October 18, 2017 ~ jama ~ 21 Comments

1. This lovely poster featuring the words of 14th century Persian poet Hafez by Katie Daisy is available at The Wheatfield Etsy Shop. A nice thought to keep in mind during these crazy times. 🙂

2. Speaking of poets, Kelly Ramsdell Fineman’s very first chapbook, The Universe Comes Knocking (Maverick Duck Press, 2015) will be officially released this Friday, March 13th! There’s a Launch Party at the Daily Grind (48 High Street) in Mount Holly, New Jersey at 7 p.m. Admission is free and there’ll be an open reading afterwards. Check it out if you live in the area! You can read the title poem here. Congratulations, Kelly!

*Illustration by Monica Ramos for Lucky Peach*

3. It’s no secret we’re big fans of dumplings and dim sum here at Alphabet Soup. LOVE this definitive Guide to Chinese Dumplings compiled by The Cleaver Quarterly at Lucky Peach. There are cute drawings, mouthwatering descriptions, and interesting historical and cultural tidbits about each type, and they’re grouped according to how they’re cooked: Steamed, Pan-Fried, Deep-Fried, and Boiled. Happy to see pepeiao from Hawai’i on the list, and I learned about a lot of different varieties I didn’t even know existed. Yum! Pass the har gow!

4. It’s also no secret that I like toys (who, me?), so I was happy to stumble upon Zard Apuya’s site recently. Originally from Guam, he now lives in San Francisco where he’s busy designing vinyl toys and pursuing a graduate degree in Business Administration. Check out a few of his charming “kid at art” creations (some available for purchase):

5. Food memoirs are probably my favorite genre to read for pleasure. Here’s a nice list of “The 50 Best Food Memoirs” at AbeBooks. Since I’ve only read 6 of these so far, I’d better get busy!

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Indie Artist Spotlight: Sylvia of Puffin Patchwork

February 10, 2015September 27, 2017 ~ jama ~ 22 Comments

While looking for handmade Christmas ornaments last Fall, I happily discovered Puffin Patchwork on Etsy and instantly fell in love.

Who could resist the beautifully crafted felt owls, kitties, Airedales and poodles (all with charming names)? Or the quaint little houses and layered hearts? I could tell by the meticulous attention to detail — the lovely embroidery and appliqué work — that everything was made with a lot of love and pride. I like Sylvia’s color sense and how she incorporates vintage fabric scraps and buttons in her pieces. And I like her endearingly neat stitches that give each item a distinctive handmade look.

In addition to felt ornaments, Sylvia makes wonderful wallhangings, coin purses and phone cases. She does all the designing, cutting, sewing, and decorating in her seaside home in South-west Ireland, and draws inspiration from the dramatic landscapes and colorful fishing towns. Sounds like an idyllic setting for an artist, don’t you think?

I’m so pleased to welcome Sylvia (a fellow Beatrix Potter fan!) to Alphabet Soup today. She’s been making and selling handmade for 30 years, and I know you’ll like hearing more about her inspirations and process. Thanks for visiting, Sylvia! 🙂

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creativiTEA: stacy polson’s wild and wooly teapots

February 19, 2014February 23, 2014 ~ jama ~ 18 Comments

Today’s spot of creativiTEA is brought to you by San Francisco-based artist Stacy Polson.

She created these needle-felted teapot sculptures for an exhibition at the Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge, MA. She chose “If Ducks Ran the Circus” as her theme for these beautiful and whimsical pieces.

She initially got into needle felting while trying to re-create 17th century Japanese woodcuts in wool. I love the gorgeous colors and quirky details of her wool paintings. Isn’t it simply amazing what can be done with a needle, some wool, “a little determination,” and lots of imagination?