the view from here

21 Buttons - 21 Days (DAY 15)

My friend's blog inspired this button. Thanks, Jenn.

21 Buttons - 21 Days (DAY 14)

I'm hoping we're about to wake up from an 8-year nightmare.

21 Buttons - 21 Days (DAY 9)

Every election cycle a certain demographic segment comes to the fore: Hockey Moms. NASCAR Dads. Jai Alai Sisters. Knitting Cousins. Football Nieces. You get the picture. No demographic segment is too small or too insignificant. Now you can customize your pin and show support for Barack Obama. Or leave it blank and keep 'em guessing.

21 Buttons - 21 Days (DAY 6)

You gotta love that folksy charm.

21 Buttons - 21 Days (DAY 5)

Why should plumbers get all the attention? Electricians are voters, too!

21 Buttons - 21 Days (DAY 4)

This button was inspired by the 2008 Vice Presidential Debate. 

"Maverick" is word that's bandied about quite a bit. You think you know what it means and then The New York Times publishes a story about The Mavericks. If you're a Maverick (with a capital "M") or you just march to the beat of a different drummer, this button might just be for you.

21 Buttons - 21 Days (DAY 3)

Sometimes the buttons are inspired by the news cycle. Exhibit A: Joe the Plumber. I'm not going to weigh in on whose tax plan benefits said plumber more, but I thought that since the United Association of Plumbers, Steamfitters and Service Mechanics support Barack Obama, it would be fitting to design a button that shows their support. 

As someone whose water heater tank recently gave out, I have enormous respect for the talented tradesmen and women who make civilized life possible. I'm talking to you S & S Plumbing and Heating. I love you guys!

21 Buttons - 21 Days (DAY 2)

When I was listening to one of Barack Obama's speeches I remembered a quote from Ghandi: "Be the change you want to see in the world." It's a riff on "Do unto others..." but I like the idea of BEING the change, and also the idea that an ordinary individual can be a catalyst for change. Besides, who says "unto" these days?

For my part, what kind of change do I want to see in the world? I want more civility, more exchange of ideas, more understanding. As part of BEING the change, I resisted the impulse to create buttons that were negative, offensive or demeaning to the opposition. Just look around any site that sells or displays political buttons and you'll find no shortage of buttons that specialize in the art of the put-down, that demonize the opposing candidate. I understand the impulse, but I made a conscious decision to take no part in it. I had a few less than flattering ideas that I toyed around with but in the end decided they said more about my fears and my frustrations than anything about the opposition. So I shelved the ideas and concentrated on how I could create political buttons that would have a message, be fun, and be maybe, if I'm lucky, provide some sort of social commentary -- kinda like an op-ed column that fits in a 2.25 inch-diameter circle. Talk about an economy of means!

21 Days - 21 Buttons

It's 21 days before the 2008 Election and in the spirit of the times, I am featuring 21 original button designs. Here is the first button:

The image I used in this button is a scan of a cross-stitch embroidery pattern I designed (oh so loosely) based on the Shephard Fairey Obama poster. I manually plotted the image onto graph paper before I actually did the cross-stitching. The graph paper had 10 squares to the inch but my Aida (basketweave) cloth was 14 squares to the inch. I just hoped that when I completed the embroidery, it would have a pleasing resemblance to the distinguished senator from Illinois.

I then scanned the finished project and reduced it so make it fit within the button maker specs. I'm happy to say I've sold a few in my Etsy store.

A Passel of Pocket Mirrors

About two months ago I purchased a button making machine and also supplies to make pocket mirrors. It's just another one of my quixotic ideas. I have since been been buttonizing and mirrorizing a multitude of printed items in my studio.

This featured collection of buttons is made from a promo poster I received in a shipment of envelopes from a paper company. The images are cute, frightening, strange, and marvelous. As mirrors, they amuse me to no end. My favorite is the cleric (Father Stabby McStabberson, I call him) who is pounding a wooden stake into what I'm guessing is a member of the un-dead.