Hasta La Ideas

Tiny ink-inspired tapestries from a needlepoint ace

Passing her needle through cloth instead of skin, Ontario-based artist Ursula Thompson creates tiny sewn canvases inspired by classic tattoo designs. The self-taught Canadian “Thread Wizard” hand embroiders bright red roses, ships, anchors and skulls, creating beautifully shaded needlepoint tattoos sure to make even Sailor Jerry proud.

Thompson sells the needlepoint tattoos online through her Etsy shop. Just like tattoos, prices vary depending on complexity, but typically span $60-100.

Our video inside a workshop reviving the lost art of Turkish tiles

by
Gregory Mitnick

A celebrated Turkish art form dormant for more than 300 years, Iznik tiles play an integral role in Turkey’s Ottoman Empire history and the production of them today is a labor of love.

In 1993 economics professor Dr. Işıl Akbaygil visited some of Istanbul’s historic buildings and noticed that some of the tiles were as bright and clear as new, while others were dull and deteriorating. Research soon confirmed that these tiles were indeed special, though they hadn’t been made since the early 1700s and there was no historical record or documentation of how they were made.

Dedicated to reviving this lost art, she founded the Iznik Training and Education Foundation. It took around ten years for the Foundation, along with a host of government, preservation, research and university partners, to determine what made the tiles so unusual, to recreate the lengthy handmade production process, train local artisans and construct a manufacturing facility. Today the Iznik Foundation creates tiles for repair and restoration of historical buildings, pubic works (including large murals in Istanbul’s subway stations) and for private use.

The secret to the tiles is their composition, primarily ground quartz, which also makes up the bright glazes that adorn them. Quartz brings many purported health benefits, such as improved circulation and shielding from radiation, but they also have some practical features such as being temperature neutral (ideal for warm environments) and durable—these tiles are engineered to last 1,000 years.

Our video features Istanbul-based architectural historian Gökhan Karakuş, who takes us through the history and modern-day labor-intensive process of making these beautiful tiles.

Get crafty with a new book by San Francisco’s leading lady of printmaking

Founder of San Francisco, CA design studio Yellow Owl Workshop, crafty woman Christine Schmidt knows her print-making. Her new book, “Print Workshop: Hand Printing Techniques and Truly Original Projects,” embodies her icon status as a hand-printer while offering artistic recipes for other creative-minded souls.

The book, billed as a tool for “low budgets and high expectations,” offers a variety of printing guides that are a serious attraction to someone who has spent years secretly fantasizing about printing subversive t-shirts in his basement, like me. From relief to sun printing, Schmidt covers a range of fun and creative tasks that can be tackled in a weekend or drawn out into long-term projects.

While the range of projects is impressive, the real beauty of the book is its comprehensive nature. Each section begins with a description of the specific tools necessary for each topic, followed by straightforward directions on execution. Schmidt offers an immense amount of details for all the different categories, and the utility of having a single-source of tried-and-true design at your fingertips is invaluable.

Schmidt’s language is casually encouraging, and in true DIY spirit every paragraph makes you feel more confident in your ability to complete the task at hand. While the book won’t tell you how to rubber stamp the Mona Lisa, it’s an excellent launching pad for imaginative minds.

As a bonus the last 15 pages are a collection of templates from the Yellow Owl Workshop that you can use for inspiration. The book comes out 28 December 2010 but can be pre-ordered from Amazon or directly from Crown Publishing.

Craft photos by Thomas J. Story for Sunset Magazine