Lobsters! What Was I Thinking? - Part 3

This is part three of a series called "Lobsters! What Was I Thinking?"

The idea for these postings came from someone I met in Etsy chats who asked, "Why on this green earth did you pick lobsters?" Once I stopped laughing (it was meant as a kind-hearted comment), I started considering the question in a more serious way. This is my attempt at an answer. If you missed Parts 1 and 2, you can find them in the July 2008 and September 2008 postings on this blog.

The photos you see here and in the previous articles are by Liz Grandmaison, a photographer in Bangor, ME. She is awesome to work with, so if you get the chance to hire her for a project, I strongly recommend it. Otherwise, please do check out her website.

Today's featured lobsters evolved over time. As you recall, I started with plain lobsters, then developed vested lobsters and, now, occasionally, I get excited about fabricating a whole scene on the little creatures.



I have started seeing the lobsters not as stuffed toys or pieces of cloth, but as blank palettes on which pretty much anything goes. I am only limited by my imagination.

The older (or, rather more mature) I get, the more I value Maine and its way of life. Living in Maine is rugged and beautiful at the same time. Some of its mountain and ocean vistas are simply breathtaking. The more connected with Maine I get, the more its influences appear in my artwork.



While working on a vested lobster, I realized the actual piece work was very similar to the quilted wall-hangings I make. At first, it seemed far-fetched to quilt a lobster, but then I thought "Why not?" I did a few sketches to see what might fit on an 8 inch long by 3 inch wide lobster (body and tail) and took the plunge.

What is fascinating to me is how the lobster takes shape through the applique and piecing process. The creature comes to life in fabric. I just love how a speck of an idea grows and changes with the limitations of space and fabric. It pushes me to learn about and make the most out of the materials I am using. I have come to see the soft sculptured lobsters as quilted wall-hangings that happen to be shaped like lobsters.



Reflecting the dichotomies of Maine, I enjoy making each side of a lobster different. Sometimes, I choose a city and country theme. Sometimes, I go with a mountain and ocean theme. Sometimes, I think about the hikes I have done in Acadia National Park and Baxter State Park and I try to imagine what is on the other side of the mountain or forest path I have created. I like embellishing the lobsters with buttons and hand-embroidery to add interest or break up an open space.




Almost more than anything else I do, these soft sculptured lobsters feel like art to me. They symbolize a life style and philosophy that is difficult for me to put into words. Quilted scenes on lobsters will have to suffice. And, if people see them as silly or interesting or weird or beautiful that is cool with me. I have grown to love these little creatures and am happy to share the lobsters with anyone who finds a connection to Maine within them.

Lobsters! What Was I Thinking? -- Part 2

As some of you may already know, I worked with a really cool and talented photographer, Liz Grandmaison, at the beginning of the summer. She kindly and compassionately took portraits of a few of my lobsters. If you have not had a chance to check out her website, please do so. You will be glad you did!

I promised, a while back, I would introduce a few of my lobsters to you. So today, I am bringing you one from my "vested" series.



This little lobster came to life as part of the Visual Artists Street Team challenge to make something green.

Green is not necessarily a color associated with lobsters, unless of course you are talking about the tomalley. Some people love the stuff, think it is a delicacy even...not me...it's lobster liver! Blech! What is more, most people only see cooked lobsters on their plate, so naturally, they think "red" not "green." Lobsters do come in a variety of colors--yellow, orange, greenish-brown, grey, blue--(but still, probably not any of the shades I was thinking of for my lobsters). So, the challenge I set for myself was to make "something green" that still looks like a lobster.

My first stop: the thrift store. In the past, I admit, I pooh-poohed thrift stores. All I saw when I stepped through the doors was a dingy bunch of dusty junk. It is still there, the junk, but after a while I started seeing little gems of fabric popping out at me. I read somewhere this is called "getting your eyes on." I think the person was referring to hunting mushrooms, but I am pretty sure it applies to hunting cool fabric as well.



I think it was in a thrift store I started seeing lobsters not as lobsters, but as palettes for...who knows what. Really, I am only as limited as my imagination. So...green lobster? Why not? Quilted lobster? Why not? Vested lobster? A vested lobster! Cool! Let's do it!

I laugh when I make these lobsters. Each stage, each step of the process brings out their personalities just a little more. Sometimes, I have a real idea about what color combinations to use...and sometimes, I just let the fabric guide me (to varying degrees of success, I might add).

I like using bits of "found" fabric. The limited supply forces me to be creative. There are no matching dye lots. There is no purchasing extra material just in case. Once the shirt or skirt or yardage is gone...well...it is gone. And, unless I want to get all pouty about it, I am forced to use what I have creatively and then head back to the thrift store to see what new treasures are waiting there. This limitation expands my imagination and my excitement for making lobsters. I always go shopping with the idea that the "perfect" fabric is out there somewhere. If I had an endless supply of the same type fabric and thought I had to make each lobster exactly alike, I would lose interest very quickly.

I like that the fabric I purchase has had a life before me (for the most part, anyway, some of the stuff I find is brand new). I like making lobsters from pieces and parts. I like supporting my community by making purchases at thrift stores that, in turn, make donations to people less fortunate than I am. And, every once in a while, I like pushing the boundaries with a lobster that is purple...or pink...or gold...or green...

Lobsters! What Was I Thinking?

I recently had the opportunity to meet and work with Liz Grandmaison, a photographer in Bangor, ME. She kindly and creatively made NotYerAverage Lobster portraits for me. I'll be introducing the lobsters in a series I am calling, "Lobsters! What was I Thinking?" I love the results of Liz's work and encourage you all to visit her website to see more of her delicious photographs.



Someone asked me of my work, "Why on this Green Earth did you pick lobsters?" Once I stopped laughing, I realized this was actually a very good question. What was I thinking? Why had lobsters--and particularly the making of my own version of these--dare I say it?...ugly and homely looking creatures--become so important?

The superficial answer: a customer asked for one. Lobsters are kind of a Maine cliche--and tourist shops are loaded with the little creatures in one form or another. Mostly, these toys and ornaments and hand-puppets are made in countries outside of Maine and outside the United States. Locals scoff at the idea of toy stuffed lobsters. In my humble opinion, these creatures get a bad rap. It is not the lobsters' fault they have been reduced to...well...bottom feeders on kitschy tourist shop shelves.

I admit (being a Maine-iac myself) my first reaction to this customer request was a resounding, "NO!" Then, okay, I started fiddling with a pattern and came up with a lobster I liked. The process took a while. I struggled with how to make this creature look at least a little...cute. I wanted the design to be simple, too. And relatively user-friendly--no sharp edges or eyes that could cause injury to anyone. I was thinking toys, then, not pieces of art...but I am getting ahead of myself...I'll talk about this evolution in a little bit and in subsequent postings.

Anyway...after several rounds of too skinny, too small, too fat, too strange looking lobsters, I came up with something that looked like the Red and Black NotYerAverage Lobster pictured here.



Through the process of designing my first lobsters and thinking about what materials to use for them, I started growing fond of the little creatures. After weighing the pros and cons for fabrics, I settle, primarily, on flannel. This fabric is also commonly seen on people from Maine. It gets cold here in the fall and winter...and much of the spring. Flannel makes great, cozy shirts and pajamas and sheets and all kinds of good stuff like that.

Then, me being me, I started thinking about breaking from the "traditional" red lobster scene. Lobsters are not naturally red. They get that way when they are cooked. Many people only see lobsters baked or steamed on a plate. So, many people, understandably want red lobsters. But, how boring to work only in one color! I looked to lobsters' natural colors which turn out to be various and speckled reds, oranges, greens, blacks and blues not always all that interesting or exciting if you want one as a toy or decoration or collectible. That is when the name "NotYerAverage Lobster" was born. I made a conscious decision not to get locked into any particular color or style.

As an aside--I now enjoy haunting the local thrift stores for flannel and wool clothing with interesting colors and designs. I can feel good about my purchases, too. The money I spend in these shops goes to help my community and my products are made (to the extent they can be) of recycled materials.

Though red continues to be the most popular color, I also sew lobsters in purple, green, pink, yellow, leopard and more. Here is a Slate Blue NotYerAverage Lobster.



After weeks turned into years of working with the lobsters, I made a connection with these cuddly crustaceans in surprising ways. For those of you who don't know, the name of my business is Sojourn Quilts. A "sojourn" is a "resting place along life's journey." Making the lobsters, bringing the idea to life in fabric, gave me the opportunity to think about Maine and my place within it. I realized these works, simple or complex, really do tap into something deep inside me. They symbolize a way for me to honor Maine, some of its traditions, and how this place has played a profound role in shaping the way I think about and interact with the world.

Since I began making lobsters in 2006, I have added What a Character Lobsters and Soft Sculptured Quilted Art Lobsters to my repertoire. I will talk more about them in other posts. In the meantime, you can see more of my lobsters in my shop on Etsy if you'd like.

Thanks for checking out my blog. Feel free to look around and read the interviews I have done with other artisans: jewelers, card makers, doll makers, and painters. I'd love to hear from you!