molly irwin

keep it neat

Next up in the continuing kindergarten memory book project:

step # 2: crop it.

If it doesn't fit neatly into that box, it won't fit into any sort of assembled book.  Not that you will use everything, mind you, but if you crop this stuff as you go along it's a lot less work later on.  A little bit here, a little bit there - keeps it managable in the spring to pull it all together.

Even though I'm considering a tall, narrow book I'm not cropping anything to smaller than 8.5 x 11.  I've been known to change my mind and don't want things to be too small if that should happen this time.

Also, I took down a few more notes about school.  Specifically, Joanie is not a fan of the uniform socks.  Each morning it's a struggle.  Remember, it's okay to document the little things that may seem unpleasant now, but she'll remember that with a laugh when she's grown.  Another big deal at school is the chocolate milk.  I never let her have that at home and this is a real treat. 

Okay, keep taking those notes.  It will pay off in a truly personal keepsake for your child.

to love and build

This may have been an apt vow for us twelve years ago today.  Our rehearsal dinner was held in the timber frame shop, with our picture taken under a large, freshly-hewn arch.  The next afternoon we were married, once in a small convent chapel in New Hampshire, followed by a second civil service across the river in Vermont, among friends.  The reason: we loved the soul of the old Meeting House and envisioned our cerimony there, but marriage is a sacred vow for us and that ment with our priest.  The answer: two services. 

Our lives have been entwined with building ever since.  Certainly for Paul, this was true even before we were together.  For me, as a daughter of a visionary designer (with limited means) my childhood was spent in homes of various stages of completion (though they never felt any less a home) and visiting my Father's incredible job sites.  This was a way of life for our family.

On our wedding day, I didn't imagine that twelve years later we would sleep under the shelter of our own heavy timber roof in a new/old home of our very own -- all thanks to a husband with a determination to produce something beautiful and a wife who sees that this is good.

I cherish you Paul and all the goodness you have brought to my life. Happy anniversary today. I love you.

shadow on the steps

These brick steps are inside the National Building Museum. Marty joined his Papa for a quick photo shoot there this morning for an upcoming magazine article. I just love this shadow shot.  There are some really nice images of the museum itself in his flickr set.

work in progress

There's a lot of that going on around here lately. 

This is our closet ... in progress.  My talented husband is building in some custom fixtures for us.  The house has been "new" for almost seven years, but we just occupied our master bedroom this summer.  Long story, which I do intend to photodocument some day soon.  The bedroom is this soft pale gray as well, (Behr - pensive sky), with a charcoal gray flat woven carpet.  I really love it in the morning sunshine.  The feeling is very calming and I can definately use that. 

Which brings me to the next WIP. a really BIG WIP:  the launch of our own residential building company, Pattern Builders. 

The web site is still in the works, but we should have a nice splash/place holder there in the coming weeks.  The blog needs so much work, but you can see the early stages of that here.  Please know that this is the "before" version, if you will.  I have so much design work and written clarificaiton to do there.  I've come to believe strongly in the importance of a blog for a company.  It provides a vehicle from which one can express that companies point of view; a place to share the human voice of a dynamic organization.  It's a constantly updated newsletter at the request of its reader.  Critical now, I believe.

This company is founded on some great principals and it is so exciting to finally be putting this out to the public.  Paul, my husband is a multitalented guy, with a diverse background in construction management, architecture and field experience.  It is a joy to market him/us in this way at last.

Other little WIP around here includes the ongoing desire by our kindergartener to read.  Filling in her daily sheet for school has consumed her.

And, this is the start of a fun mini book I'm doing, entitled seventh summer, for my other daughter who turned eight last week.  It seems she realized so many neat little milestones and experienced some delightful things this summer that I want to put it all in a sweet, pretty (but not precious) package for her to keep.

The color is off in this shot, but yellow is her favorite color and the finish pictures should be more color correct.  These little books are a fun challenge to me and while we have been having our computers moved and re-worked it is a nice bit of hand work.

Whew!  That's a lot. And there's more buzzing in my brain.

It's been great reading about other people enjoying the autumnal weather.  It's cooling off a bit here in DC, but it's still in the 70s.  I'm really looking forward to sweaters, Oktoberfest beers, boots and all the color.  So ready for that change too.

get a box

Okay, I'm going to do a sort of work in progress - tracking my process to create a kindergarten memory book for my daughter this year.  School has just begun and I am neck deep in other graphic design projects (which I'll be showing here soon.)  So the first step (and only step to do right now) is keep everything organized and together.

Step 1:  get a box.

This one is just right.  It is 8.5 x 11, from a recent  Amazon order.  In it I will place all of her little projects and writing samples that come home, a notebook and pen.

I want to jot down Joanie's observations from time to time.  These are to be her memories, not mine.  I want to capture the great little things she says.  She always has some good ones.  For example, the very first day she came home all charged up, telling me about the butterfly box (a reward system her teacher implemented for reading at home). Leaving those things in the box, instead of just my moleskine in my purse helps me stay organized.

Right now I'm considering a 6" x 11" format with a 1/2" spine, folded from a scored and folded cardstock (or manilla folder) cover.   The cover will conceal a wire-bound spine beneath.  Pages would be different widths, and various materials, with touches of colored pencil accents throughout.  I like the idea of repeating a medium that she uses in class.  That's the current thinking.  Two other great ideas that I've seen lately are Lisa McGarvey's and Noell Hyman's interpretations.  There are aspects of both of these books that I love.

This format might change as I turn it over in my mind and talk about binding options with the local kinkos.  This may well be the only post in this category until after January as I don't plan to work on this again until after the new year.  Just containing those papers and notes is all that needs to be done until then.

of the hand

Last night UPS delivered a book that had been back ordered that I had forgotten about:  Fingerprint, by Chen Design Associates.  This book demonstrates, through illustrated example after example, just the kind of blending of handmade elements into communications that I have been thinking about and working towards lately. 

This morning, with both girls away at school and Marty already napping, I am immersing myself in its text.  The essays are wonderful and are themselves handwritten.  Above is just one of the wonderful quotes that I felt compelled to take the time to copy and write out myself and simply let it sink in. 

Also related, the current Sept/Oct issue of Blueprint, features the home, studio and work of the amazing Lotta Anderson.  In it, I was fascinated to learn that she makes all of her beautiful patterns sans computer.  Evidently she uses paper and scissors to free-hand cut and paste the elements of her designs.  Since I first became aware of her work earlier this year, I have been captivated by the rich and subtle beauty of her patterns.  In light of this discovery the appeal is obvious.

I feel a NEED to go make something now.

They're off!

... to 3rd & K!  After a night of restless excitment and a blueberry muffin breakfast we headed out this morning, together.  Joanie happy to join the ranks of her sister and get her own start.   She is so ready to learn, ready to read and take off.  Not a single tear was shed.  Surprisingly, not even from me.  See, here's proof, they are just walking on ahead of me, both knowing exactly where to go.  A good start is a good thing.

september grass

Saturday evening.  A late summer picnic on the national mall, near the Lincoln Memorial.  Simple sandwiches.  Marty kicking the ball.  Joan collecting acorns.  Helen feeding a squirrel.  Finding goose feathers.  We found a patch of quiet among a crowd.  The quiet remains over me this morning.

I put James Taylor's version of this time of year in the soundtrack. Enjoy.

it speaks for itself

How does one explain their interest in a hobby? In a craft?  How can a person explain their rationale to spend time doing something that they enjoy, that provides a constructive creative challenge? And more importantly, why should we have to?

Recently I responded to a blog query about - "why do people scrapbook?" The question seemed to be posed sincerely; not in a snide way.  However, it is apparent that there is an impression "out there" that this hobby is merely a commercial-lead industry, where women convene under a florescent glow to tack down press-on flowers and pastel brads. 

The statements made by a couple of respondents are unsettling, and in a moment where my layout didn't turn out exactly as I envisioned (does this ever happen in your work?) has me questioning my process.  I could have done this entire thing (above) digitally and it would have that "perfect" look to it.  But that's not what I'm going for here. I'm fighting that perfectionist that lives inside me and trying to let the results of the outcome be "okay."  With each new project comes a little learing.

Please, there is nothing wrong with digital layouts at all.  I love them and think they are beautiful.  But part of my goal, my process here is to create with my hands.  Cutting, drawing, anything tactile.  I am focues on creating hand work.  This is not just limited to the paper - memory keeping, story telling.  I think for any of you who have looked closer at the content of my photo albums (save for the one on graphic design) you would find a hand-made approach therein.  Or at least a combination of computer-generated and hand work.  That probably better defines me.

Part of my reason to have this blog was to track my progression of a return to the hand, through painting, sewing, paper crafting, whatever strikes me as something physical that I can enjoy the manipulation and outcome.  My goal is simply to explore this thing in my brain that makes me want to design stuff.

It occurs to me that I would never ask another crafter, or artisan "why do you knit?"  Or, "why do you sew?" based on an incorrect assumption that  - knitting is where primary acrylic yarns is formed into afgans, or that sewing is exclusively for cutting ready-made patterns into cheap apparel.  These assumptions are equally inaccurate to those talents as the earlier is to the scrapbooking communiity.

I think there are as many different reasons why we craft (in any disclipline) as there are crafters.  Let's let our work speak for itself as the answer to the question.  Let's hope that our work improves over time, to our own satisfaction and not to some "industry" expectation.  And if "you don't get it" then you are probably not the right person to "cover it".