Macaroons vs macarons. Do you pronounce them the say way?
Anyhoo, I was sketching out ideas for my crochet paintings for the Sweet Tooth show this Friday in L.A. (come say hi! I’ll be there!), and I kept changing my mind. At first I was going to do a series of cakes, and thennnnn wanted to do a collage of bulk candies, and thennnnnnnnn I saw THIS blog entry and knew I had to try making macaronimals with coffee/tea.
First up: my horrible sketch! I wanted the colors on all 4 canvases to look nice together, so sketching it first really helped me to make sure that everything looked relatively harmonious and that I wasn’t over-using one particular color throughout.
I didn’t really know for sure how I wanted to execute the little cookie sandwiches and the sense of perspective I was going for. As it turned out, actually making little sandwiches was looking the best, which made everything really puffy and thick, so I ended up putting two cookies each on the canvases instead of three.
Kuragoma (black sesame) Koala, Strawberry Bunny, Cinnamon Kitten, and Pavlova Panda! Each one is 10 in x 8 in.
I think my favorite are the kittens, since they looked the most realistically biscuity. I made the choice to NOT put a little stuffing in the koalas, which I made first, and I sort of regret this choice, as I think the puffiness would have enhanced the macaron-ness. I intend to make more of these after the show and will definitely add a little puff to the top cookie. Also, of course, HAIR CLIPS.
People have been asking if these could turn into laptop covers or purses. If I ever did that, I would really have to change how I constructed everything, because the 3D nature would make the piece bulky and a little too delicate. We’ll see! 🙂
I’m really happy with how these turned out, even tho each piece took WAY longer than you’d think or I ever expected/planned for. Luckily, I pulled it out!
While making these, I was particularly struck by how people would perceive my work as trinkets or novelties for little girls and babies. I have had a hard time with this for a long time, since I design everything as if I would wear it/use it/love it myself, and I think that shoving my work in the “for little girls only” category is really limiting. I will just keep doing what I do, though, and hopefully all the big girls who still have a nostalgic fondness for the fun, color, and playfulness of their girl magic will also get what I’m about.
And now… close-ups!
