Where Imagination Runs Free- It's a Beautiful Day

"Hi there! Hannah here!"

"Today, Harrington and I thought you would like to enjoy a visit into Mama's imagination. She's been asked lots of times where she get's her ideas and inspiration for her Folk Art Fusion designs. Well, we can tell you that she get's it from us, music and stories. Her style is like a folk art fairytale."



"Mama is always listening to music in Bunnyville. She likes all kinds of music. That Pandora lady sure does have lots of tunes. In fact, the other week Mama was listening to this song by U2 called Beautiful Day. You can play it if you'd like to listen and keep reading."

"The beginning lyrics of this song say 'The heart is a bloom, shoots up through the stony ground.' This made Mama jump up and run for her pencil and paper. She said, 'I just got the bestest idea!' Then she does the happy bunny dance for a few minutes as she let's the words in the song sink in. She'll jot down little things that have meaning to her."

"Next she gathers some paper and her pencil. She looks at the words she jotted down, looks out the window and thinks about them. Then, she may draw and draw and draw for hours to get a rough sketch. She likes the words to speak to her. She draws everything by hand. Nothing is computer generated. Mama likes to connect to her art through the feel of pencil and paper. She say's that's the only way the story in her head can come to be."

"From here she spends lots of time gathering fabrics and threads that go along with the story. This usually results in a really big mess in Bunnyville."

"Next she starts to work on the piece. As she's working on it, she jots down measurements and notes that she will use when writing the pattern, or putting it in another book. If you have made one of her Folk Art Fusion projects from Briarside Lane, you know that there is lots of hand stitching. Mama really loves to hand stitch. Once the piece is finished, she will spend many hours writing out each step, redrawing the original sketch to a finished design, and photographing the piece so she can share it with you. She say's that being able teach someone how to quilt and how to create something with their own hands is truly rewarding. She say's 'there's an artist in everyone and a child that wants to come out and play. The world needs more handmade and less made in China.' She loves it when people purchase her designs and books and are excited about playing and having fun."

"During it all, Mama always comes over to snuggle with me and Harrington. We always make her laugh and inspire her with our antics. There is great love and kindness here in Bunnyville. It is the perfect place for imagination to run free."

"It's a beautiful day."
xx,
Hannah and Harrington