{Creative Process} How the new klt:mobile was made…
There is a new mobile design at klt:works and I am just thrilled about it. This idea has been kicking around in my brain for quite a while now- so it is very gratifying to finally have a finished product under my belt. This is just one of the many ideas in the works right now. My mind tends to move at a much faster pace than my fingers. Most of my studio time is spent filling orders, but every now and then, I sneak in new stuff to keep me excited. My hope is to offer a list of thread drawing characters to choose from – so a person could choose their own story in a klt:mobile. I loved the idea of using my thread drawing for the floating images for a number of reasons. But having a mobile that is both high contrast (b&w) and modern in color & shape, is a big one (babies are said to see in b&w until they are 3 months). Maybe it is the art professor in me, but I thought that the creative process of how this mobile came to be might be an interesting thing to share. So here we go….
It all starts with drawings in thread. I know that I showed this video before, but it was in my first post and I really think it was just my mom who read it. Besides, it is the best way for me to describe how I draw in thread. This was a demo that I did for hutch studio. Most of the time, a drawing would take a little longer (and I wouldn’t have an audience either), but you get the idea. So this is how I created the squirrel, bird, owl, & nest for the klt:works tees, pillows, & now mobile.
Once I have the images drawn, I take them to a local screen printer (that is 5 minutes away from my studio) and have them screen print my designs for me. It is Chris (not my husband, Chris) that is printing above- he is the one that has worked on a lot of klt:works projects in 2010. I have been going to the same place for the last 4 years and consider the three of them, part of the klt:works team.
Then comes another fun part of the process, I get to pick out the fabrics for the back of the critters. You might remember me mentioning my love of Ink & Spindle fabrics in one of my Fabric Friday posts. I knew the minute I saw their fabrics, that I wanted to use them for my woodlands mobile (which I fondly think of as the Northwest mobile). I found this video on the Ink & Spindle blog and loved it.
The last step is something that I really can’t leave out. Chris makes all of the wood mobile structures in his little teeny shop area in the garage. He is literally wedged between piles of stuff & the car, when he works on his various house & klt:projects. He then heads upstairs to the klt:studio and methodically strings all of the critters on the mobiles – weighing them carefully with his gram scale from the ceramic studio. He puts the finishing touches on every single mobile that is made. I must pay tribute to those working hands above. Because without them, the mobiles would never be completed.
And that is how the new klt:mobile was made. Hope you enjoyed your creative process tour! All in a day, right?