Meet Elliot the Elephant

Everyone loves an elephant!

The Price of the Poke

With the current "economic downturn" that we are experiencing it seems that a lot of prices are falling. Generally this is a good thing. I'm happy that I can buy cheaper toilet paper and eggs and soap. Maybe the only time this is not so great is when you are an artist and the falling prices mean that other artists are dropping their prices to a degree that is simply ridiculous.

Needle felting is a relatively new craft that has only recently gained the kind of momentum as other fiber arts. When I started felting I couldn't find books on it. I had to order needles online and the wool I used was being sold for spinning. Now in any yarn shop there are books and supplies for felting. This discovery of the medium by the crafting public also happened to coincide with the boom that hit Etsy. The result is that there are a large number of needle felters selling their wares on Etsy now.

I would not be disappointed about this if it were about having more competition. I belong to several groups and enjoy seeing other work and bouncing ideas and techniques around with other artists. The problem is that a lot of these very new crafters who are also inexperienced Etsy sellers price their felt work so low that it makes the rest of us look like we are grossly inflating our prices. Whenever I show people my work if they are unfamiliar with needle felting they ask why something so small would cost so much. I kept a log while I was working on the Sleepytime Pip for an example. It took me over 7 hours to complete that piece. Selling him for $69 is not really a profit! I do it because I love it and I hope some day in the future that I might be able to cut back on my "real" job and make my art a more substantial part of my life.

People who are selling little needle felted pieces for $15 are damaging the work that the community has done in establishing the medium as a fine art. Other types of art dolls and artist bears don't sell for that cheap regardless of how small they are. I understand the lure of pricing items really low on Etsy to make more sales. You simply have to understand the value of your work and realize that selling something hastily thrown together at a very reduced cost it is hurting all of us. It makes needle felting look like something that is fast and easy (which it is not) and it makes those of us who are really taking the time to learn and perfect this craft look like we are just price gouging and pulling the wool over our customer's eyes, which we certainly are not.

New Mouse in the House

Perhaps you noticed my darling little mouse up there in the corner? Well I decided that I needed a professional logo for the new shop. I put a request on Etsy's Alchemy and got waaaaay too many bids! There are so many talented fine artists and graphic designers there. If you've never used Alchemy before you basically request whatever you are looking for (say a tuba cover knit in green mohair) and shop owners put in bids to do the project for you.
It was very hard to decide who to go with but I finally settled on Jade Nellans after seeing her portfolio here http://www.jadefrolics.net.

The fact that we share part of our name and an infatuation with cats kind of sealed the deal. Unfortunately I got it done just as my good friend Emily was finishing a drawing for me so I ended up with two little mice. I am going with Jade's for now because it fits in the avatar and banner space on Etsy better. I might use Em's for some packaging (thanks Emmy!). Check out Emily's portfolio too. She's been my dear friend forever and I've seen her art progress from crayons and markers to the fantastic pieces she does now. www.Moth-and-mouse.com

I discovered some other amazing artists and since I am still in the process of decorating the "new" house (we've been here for eight months!) I am going to have no problem filling some of this white wall space. Here is one of my favorites. It was so difficult to choose, let me tell you.


Another artist I fell in love with was Jenni Phillips. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5762710 shop ID LucaJenn on Etsy. Her girls are so simple but expressive, sweet, and magical- kind of what I strive for in my felties.

Somebunny I Love

This is Susie Rabbit and her doll Annabelle.  She's named after my sweet mom.  At MousePants.etsy.com now! (the rabbit, not my mom)

Help Homeless Felties

While I'm in the process of moving my Etsy shop to mousepants.etsy.com I am having a 25% off sale (pre-shipping) just for my blog buddies.  If there is a piece you have had your eye on send me a convo mentioning my blog after your purchase but before paying on Etsy and I will send you an adjusted invoice.   You can shop from the old address at mjkeeton.etsy.com or the new one.  I hope this can get some of my felties into good homes!  

The Birth of MousePants

For a while now I have been trying to come up with a name for my "studio". Something that embodies my felties. Something charming, playful, sweet, and most of all just Me. I've gone through a couple and they just didn't prove to be the perfect fit. Well, I believe I've stumbled on my final choice. MousePants. Yep, Mouse + Pants. This all started with my little cat Maggie. She was a feral cat my mom rescued and gave to me. She lived an anxious life mostly under my bed and in my closet. I tried everything with this cat. I tried treats, leaving her alone, forcing her to interact with the other cats, snuggling her. Nothing could really tame that little beast. I bear the scars to prove it.
Eventually Maggie started waking me up in the morning peeping out from under the bed and chirping. I found that if I sang to her softly she would come out and tiptoe around a bit and give me a little affection to start the day. It was a nice little ritual for both of us though my singing leaves something to be desired. Not knowing Maggie's taste in music I started making up songs for her and one had to do with "little Maggie mouse wearing little mousy pants". She seemed to enjoy this one the most and MousePants seemed a fitting nickname for the skittish, tiny cat who slinked along the baseboards. Shortly after we moved to the new house Will accidentally left a window open and Maggie got out. I have seen her around the neighborhood but we haven't been able to catch her even with a livetrap. Little Miss MousePants has returned to the wild.
So, for some reason MousePants just seems the perfect thing to call my studio. When I was doing some basic searching to see if anyone could possibly be calling something else MousePants I did find some Mouse Pants. Thankfully, I do not think anyone will get confused between my felties and knickers with a keyboard in the lap, a mouse to use on your thigh, and speakers in the crotch. I love you little MousePants, wherever you are.

Free Falling

One thing I have tried not to do with this blog is talk about my health issues. The reason is that I have a lot of them and a large part of my day revolves around pain management, doctors visits, labs trips, and dealing with insurance. I thought I could keep all of that separate. The problem is that it is such a substantial part of my day that a lot of the time I can't compel myself to sit down and write without mentioning it and so I just don't post anything.
I have had a new diagnosis that has shaken the foundation of my life. The C word. It's treatable and I will probably be just fine. Nonetheless it has changed things for me and made me feel totally ungrounded and unsure about everything. I was bobbing along- moving into our new home, planning a wedding, trying to put more time into my art, and POW! Life changes in a few short days so drastically.
I have been very busy with moving so I haven't had a lot of time to dwell and pity myself, thankfully. I am finding it hard to keep my mind focused on doing anything artsy though. I have a Christmas list of gifts to make that's as long as my arm and I can't bring myself to just sit down and invest a couple of hours each day in knitting. While moving everything I flipped through a book I bought some time ago on freeform crochet. I got out some vibrant Noro sock yarn that I know one of my girlfriends will love and sat down with a hook and just started making a scarf with loops and bobbles and following along wherever it seems to want me to go. It has been the one thing I can sit and do for hours. I love knitting and I will always love knitting but right now when all my plans and the path I have tried so carefully to pave for myself has been blown away it makes more sense to my scrambled mind to NOT follow directions or a pattern. It seems fitting to just sit and watch the colors flow through my fingers and put lacy bits and bumps and turns wherever they seem to fit instead of where they "should go".
If you've actually read this far you deserve a treat. Here's a free pattern from Berrocco for an interesting star sprocket crocheted thingy. http://berroco.com/exclusives/celestine_crochet Knitting (and crochet) are one of my most beneficial therapies. I will be sure to write more about that in the future. I hope that if you are facing challenges of your own be it your mental or physical or spiritual health, you can find something as positive to bolster yourself up. It might even make you more popular with all your friends when you get good enough to knit them all socks. XOXO

Moo To You!

Please do me the honor and come visit my little felties at The Wooden Cow Gallery in Albuquerque, NM if you get the chance. It is a great, unique art space dedicated to promoting artists rather than pandering for profits. Sorry about my absence. Many changes in my life. I hope to return with a bang! XOXO

Feeling Green

Why make a panda in black and white when you can go green? This is Shandy- he's on Etsy now!

Meet Orly

I'm still here! I've just been having a hard time with the juggling act of life as of late. All that water did inspire this little otter though.

Unhappy Hands

Margot the Moth Girl. I haven't had the hand stamina to do much felting lately. I have a little pile of heads sitting on my felt board waiting for bodies. Margot the Moth Girl finally came to life tonight after a long time flitting about in my head.

Brown Eyed Girl

#3 in the Bikini Bunny series- Brown Eyed Girl.

Q&A

I had the opportunity to do a little interview with a fellow Etsy crafter for her blog that was published today.
While you're there you can check out her shop too (bendawndavis.etsy.com). It's great when we can help each other out like that. It's easy to put so much energy and focus into promoting yourself and your artwork that you overlook other people's. The thing that keeps me from doing that is my good old hardcore addiction to shopping. I have to remind myself on Etsy that I'm there mainly to sell and I gotta keep my head in the game. Otherwise my credit card bill would be growing like an overfed goldfish and my felties would be languishing and collecting dust.

I have had a lot on my plate recently. I am debating whether I ought to just spill my guts here or not. There are people from so many facets of my life that read this that I have to consider. I do feel that until I can put more of myself here and be honest it's really just a photo album of my art which was not the original intention. So I have to work that all out on my own. Until then I apologize for having bored you in the past few weeks. I'll go get the cats some clothes or get something pierced for your enjoyment.

A Mouse in the House

Mena the Mouse Ballerina. A new piece finally on Etsy. It's been a busy week but she came scurrying out of my head at last.

Wee, wee, wee

Penny the piglet in her little red pants!

My Little Pony

That nice person I met a few weeks ago turned out not to be so nice. As usual, this means that I am once again putting all my energy into making stuff. It is disappointing that things did not turn out the way I had hoped. Dating is a complete drag. I guess it gives me some "angst" to pour out in art. Needle felting is good for that since it is basically a whole bunch of stabbing. Here's my newest- Luna the Unicorn. She's pretty happy considering I am not in the happiest of moods.

Slimy Things

I've been on hiatus because I had surgery on my nose and sinuses. During my convalescence I started thinking of snails for some reason. I think it might have had something to do with the interesting things that have been coming out of my nose since the procedure. This little snail here is much cuter than those things. I promise. Don't dare me to put a picture of that on here cause I just might do it.

At Last

Frida and Zapato are all done. What's next?

The Orderly Chaos That is Me

Remember when I started Little Frida in Felt? Well here she is, nearly finished. I decided to make her monkey friend out of paper clay which I have only just discovered. It is quite fun to work with. I think her little monkey is named Zappato but he actually looks more like a bear or a cat. Maybe he needs some big monkey feets. I went out on a limb here and decided to give you a look at part of my desk where all the magic happens. Actually, it happens all over my apartment so the whole dang place looks like this. As you can see, I keep things nice and clean but Martha Stewart would definitely not approve of my organizational skills.

In Bloom

Sprout!