The Blog is Moving

By going through a proxy server I will be able to continue to post from China, but I am not able to add photos, so I am moving the blog to http://alichtenstein.typepad.com/alone_in_the_studio/

I've posted a couple night photos taken from my new, and radically different, "studio."

Let's hope that typepad stays online and unblocked!

Greetings from China!

It's taken me several days to figure out my way around the "great firewall of China" (as it's called in the blogging and internet world) to be able to post this. I don't know if I'll be able to consistently access my blog, in part, because I'm not exactly sure how I finally got in (broke in?) to begin with. It's a learning process, and I'm a novice at navigating censored or blocked sites.

It seems all blogspot and wordpress sites are blocked to users in China, unless you have an additional anonymous server, which is how I finally figured out a way to login (with help from friends in the states who were able to get online and do some research). I can view my blog, and other blocked blogs, but it took me some time to find a way to get to the dashboard to post this, and I'm not confident I'll be able to get back. Consider this a test--of the system and my skills.

Hopefully I'll be up and on my way soon. Today I intend to purchase an iron. Until then (and for the past few days) I've been making little felt people to give to children I meet along the way in this beautiful country.

Some of the bells and whistles are different (for instance, there's no "view all" record of previous labels to use for posts, so I'll have to recreate them) so please bear with me.

More soon! I hope!

Chinese Lanterns, Part II

Orange wool, black floss on 6" hoop

Step two: Play around!  Lacking crewel wool and impatient as ever, I found scraps of wool and embroidered this outline (free hand) as a sample of sorts.

Ritan Park, Beijing

Ritan Park is about three blocks from the apartment.

Kokeshi Inspired

After making some kokeshi dolls from the Melly and Me pattern, I decided to alter the embroidery design and doll shape to try and make a Chinese doll from the Japanese model.  Cultural appropriation aside, with apologies, I think I'm getting there.

  

My move to Beijing is fast-approaching and I would like to have a few dolls in hand to give to children I meet and also to use as samples for possible workshops.  I've found Japanese doll patterns and manufactured dolls aplenty, but next to none for Chinese children.  Perhaps I'll be able to educate myself a bit more once I'm there and able to explore.

I changed the original pattern to put a base on the doll.  Maybe it's just me, but I like my dolls to stand or sit on their own.