Mel Gross Designs – the Creative Log

Category: Studio Notes

  • Creative Check In: Cozy Crafts+

    Creative Check In: Cozy Crafts+

    With the temperatures dropping here in the Southern Hemisphere, I’ve been slowing down a bit and focusing on cozier crafts lately.

    Although most of what I’m sharing today is still a work in progress, I did manage to finish one project! This cute cat bed for my babies to stay cozy through the winter.

    It was nice to use up this leftover yarn I had lying around—pretty colors, and I got blessed by the yarn gods by having exactly enough to finish the project with no leftovers. 🙂

    I’m happy to share it’s been approved by my cats of all shapes and sizes. Cat tax below ⬇️

    On the other hand, I picked up this long-forgotten project (I think it had been about a year since I last worked on it?) and tried to make some progress—not very successfully… I’ve had to undo my work a thousand times and I’m having a hard time following the pattern.

    This is my first fillet crochet project, and following the grid is making me a bit crazy. I keep getting lost in the counting and all the tiny squares.

    Since I was already changing the design anyway, I eventually gave up on following the chart exactly and just started chasing the shapes I wanted through trial and error… and more error.

    Tiny stichesss!!
    I decided to start over since writting this post, this is where I am at atm

    Things I’ve Been Enjoying

    Besides my textile work and my ongoing woodblock printing practice (which I share in more detail in dedicated posts), I’ve mostly been enjoying cozy crafts to keep the creative juices flowing without too much pressure. I’ve been enjoying whatever sun I can get, lots of reading, baking and color-in watercolor postcards!

    I tried going back to drawing on my iPad but I ended up having much more fun with colored pencils and a good old sketchbook, just like the old days. I spent well over a decade drawing on paper almost every day, so it’s funny to realize how much I missed it. I’m really enjoying these loose sketching sessions—they’re full of little experiments, happy stims, and the freedom to simply draw without expectations.

    Overall, my creative practice has been a little less structured than usual: Lots of open tabs, lots of half-finished ideas, and waiting for enough energy (or clarity) to move certain projects forward. I’ve also had a handful of digital projects quietly cooking in the background… but those are best kept secret until they’re ready to share.

    woodblock print-zine experiment

    A Little Inspiration

    Although it’s already been about a month, I did take a couple of trips recently, and traveling is always deeply inspiring for me. Spending time with loved ones, seeing new art, people and scenes, trying new things and having new experiences… that always fills my creative battery and they’re an intrinsic part of my creative practice.

    Here’s just a few moments captured from my trip to Pipa, RN and São Paulo, SP; two wildly different destinations in Brazil. In Pipa, a good relaxing beach weekend with my dad. In São Paulo, an odyssey of a nonstop weekend where I saw more than sixteen concerts in one way or another.

    Creative fuel: My favorite Youtube videos recently

    A mix of video-essays and researches about topics I’m interested (mostly tech-related) plus some fun animations and songs/music related content too. I highly recommend them all!

    Creative fuel: More cool inspiration

    I’ve been surfing the internet old-school style – following links and rabbit-holes – more and more (to try and get away from the grasps of late-stage capitalism). Here are a few favorites I’ve stumbled upon. Have fun!

    Books, poetry and essays: plumbum/library

    Explore space: joshworth.com/pixelspace_solarsystem.html

    Philly-based cool-ass zine: philadelphiacitywide.com

    Medieval Beastiary: bestiary.ca/index.html

    Rather than tackling big ambitious projects, I’ve been enjoying the smaller, quieter kinds of creativity that make me want to keep me fueled, sane-ish and that feel right. (Of course there are always a few projects going on the back burner because that is the kinda-crazy I am, but taking it slow with my creative practice recently has been nice. I hope you are taking it easy too!)

    For now that’s it friends,

    Happy crafting! Stay safe & sane!

  • Woodblock Experiments: the Results

    Woodblock Experiments: the Results

    After a couple more weeks of work, I’m finally done with at least the first batch of prints I’ve been working on. I’m really happy with the resulting four series, plus an interesting experiment that I think still has more potential to explore in the future.

    Enchanted Night – the Froggy print

    I never took this piece too seriously. It started as a sketch and a test piece for an exhibition a couple of years ago that ultimately didn’t go anywhere. However, whenever I showed it to friends, they seemed surprisingly amused and drawn to it, so I decided to go ahead and finish the design.

    I’m really happy with how it turned out, especially the second series of multicolored prints. Here are some process pictures from several studio visits. Thankfully, I didn’t have to do any further cleanup on the design after the long cycle of test prints and adjustments described in my last studio log. You can read more about that process here, including all the ups and downs that got these designs to where they are now.

    To achieve these split-color prints, I had to go through quite a bit of trial and error. My first attempt involved using a sheet of paper to mask half of the block while inking, but the results weren’t very clean. Once the masking paper touched the inked surface, it would leave behind subtle textures and inconsistencies, even if I rolled over the area again afterward.

    The best results came from simply being very careful and following the dividing line with the edge of the brayer. It took a steady hand and several failed prints, but the color separation ended up much cleaner that way.

    Untitled portrait design

    Although this design required several rounds of testing, cleaning, and adjustments, I’m beyond excited with the final result. I really like the composition, which originated as a digital illustration and transferred to printmaking much better than I expected.

    I also printed a small experimental series using a deep red ink. Despite my efforts to clean the block thoroughly, the prints came out a little blotchy. In the end, though, I think it created a beautiful rusty texture that adds character to the piece. Another happy accident, I guess.

    Frame Design

    The third print I completed recently is this experimental design that could potentially be used as a decorative frame for photographs, stamps, or other small works.

    This piece wasn’t particularly well planned—there are very few straight lines and almost no consistency in the construction—but I love the swirling elements and the overall sense of movement in the composition.

    I printed the design in both black and red. I think it would work well in almost any color, including gradients, depending on its intended use. That said, the black version is probably the most versatile as an actual frame.

    CIC expositions

    Throughout these studio visits, I also spent time wandering through CIC’s current exhibitions, drawing inspiration from a wide range of multimedia works by local artists. Here are a few pieces that particularly caught my attention, featuring the artist’s names:

    Claudio Salvalaggio Schmitz
    J. Dias (Dão)
    Mousse
    Murilo Leal
    Beatriz Rey
    Susano Correia
    Susano Correia
    Susano Correia
    Claudio Salvalaggio Schmitz
    Karine Abbati
    Andreza Sanchez
    Dalva Romariz e Ariane Antunes
  • A Very Creative Week

    A Very Creative Week

    I’ve been working on a lot of smaller projects recently, here’s a quick look into what’s going on in the studio:

    I’ve decided to work on a little gouache series to improve my admittedly rusty painting skills. I’ve chosen a few analog pictures I’ve taken in college to try and recreate. This first piece is pretty minimalist yet it was still a challenge for me. My trusty studio-helper always by my side of course.

    Another painting I finished (or decided that I did not want to work on it anymore) was this weird experimental piece based on an old figure drawing study. I like it but the bad anatomy bothers me and I’ve been considering cropping up the top part: it’s a stronger composition but I also like the gradient background. Which version do you like better? Full or cropped?

    I’ve also went for another figure drawing meet up this week and I tried somewhat of a new technique: watercolor pencils. It was fun to be able to blend in the colors and play with a paint-like medium without the pressure of using real wet-media. It was a single pose session, meaning we worked on this pose for two 45-min sections. I worked on a quick test first to figure out composition and colors and then moved to the real deal, I even splurged and used some nice watercolor paper. I also did a quick portrait sketch while the main one dried. Not my best work but it was fun 😉

    Another quick diy project I did this week was customizing some old sneakers that are starting to give out on me. I love them and wanted to give them one last chance. I’ve added the hand-cut duct-tape stickers to cover a hole, but the cute stars paired with the new shoelaces made me really happy! I’ve been rocking these and the stars have not fallen yet as I feared!

    I’ve been playing a Pokémon-themed tabletop RPG with some friends and I’ve been illustrating a few scenes from our adventures. Pretty cute and silly stuff.

    Lastly I was getting everything ready for my new ceramics class, which included sowing myself a little apron from some old PJ pants I had. The apron turned out great, the class, no so much. I’ll share more later.

    Life has been very busy with a lot of work, responsibilities and bureaucracies to deal with. However, I’m happy to find the time to sprinkle some creativity and crafty projects throughout the fast-paced routine I’m carrying out.

    Thanks for following along. I hope you’ve been using up your creative juices too!

    Happy crafting!

  • Back at the Studio – Woodblock Printing Experiments

    Back at the Studio – Woodblock Printing Experiments

    The woodblock printing studio I attend recently open back up after a long summer break, and I am beyond excited to return to my printing practice!

    A bit of context: Last year I spent a few months working on a multi-layered pool print. I love the piece and I almost had it, but I struggled a lot with aligning the layers correctly because of some early decisions(and mistakes) I made in the process. The frustration of spending months without seeing the expected progress, layered on top of communication challenges within the studio dynamic, eventually got the better of me and led to months of inactivity with the craft.

    In the meantime I took DJ classes and explored my creativity in multiple other ways I’ve been sharing here. Enough time has passed now that I finally feel recharged and motivated to get back into the studio, workshop some new solutions and give the big project another try.

    Since the studio reopened in early March, I’ve been working on some simpler pieces I had on the ‘back burner’ from last year. They are experimental, single color, low-stakes pieces. I thought they were a good way to get back into the groove, polish up my rusty skills, and re-familiarize myself with the full process before jumping back into the pool project – pun intended 🙂

    The main challenge I had with the pool print was the alignment of the layers. I had already tried a few registration techniques (systems that help align paper and multiple print layers consistently) but none gave me reliable results. So I decided to use these experimental pieces as an opportunity to test better registration methods.

    Over these first weeks back, it’s been a constant cycle of test printing, spotting imperfections, carving corrections, printing again, noticing new issues, making more fixes, testing again… and yes, somehow still finding more things to adjust. At this point, I’m heading into round four of test prints.

    Each phase often takes an entire studio day, and many steps require drying time in between, so progress is slow, methodical, and honestly a real test of patience. It’s been a powerful reminder that this craft really demands presence. I always imagine things moving faster and smoother in my head than they actually do, so part of this return has also been about accepting the pace, trusting the process, and resisting my urge to rush results. Easier said than done… but we’re working on it.

    Here’s a compilation of process-pictures from all the cleanup work, test prints, revisions, and multiple rounds of “polishes” of the design, along with some insights into my decision-making rationale:

    1. The Designs – Where we Started

    My first day back was a relatively chill one: revisiting my ongoing experiments, refamiliarizing myself with old projects, and deciding what felt most achievable.

    Out of six unfinished projects, three were close enough to completion that they became my priority pieces. I had coffee, learned how to use a fun hole puncher my professor lent me, and checked out the current exhibition of woodblock studio artists.

    2. First Round of Test Prints

    The following week, I came in ready to print. After doing finishing touches and border cleanup both in the studio and at home, I finally tested the designs. Overall, the prints came out pretty well, but of course the process immediately revealed more issues: spots that needed cleanup, small imperfections, and even areas where the wood itself was beginning to lift and needed gluing. So… back to fixing.

    3. Cleanup, Corrections, and Wood Putty

    During that same visit, I spent a lot of time refining the blocks, including adding wood putty in areas where I had made carving mistakes and needed to essentially “reset” sections.

    This meant waiting for the putty to dry, returning later, carving those areas again, and trying to sand everything flat enough that the repairs would disappear into the print surface. Spoiler: I did not sand it quite enough.

    4. Registration Guide Experiments

    At home, I also built a new set of registration guides for all my designs.

    This was a major step. I created upgraded templates with physical slots for the woodblock itself, plus two different paper alignment systems:

    • Outer alignment: paper fits inside corner slots
    • Inner alignment: paper corners align against raised squares

    After testing both, I found that for my medium-thickness paper, the raised-square method worked better. The corner-slot version sometimes let the paper dip below the edges, causing shifts.

    5. Second Round of Test Prints

    Back at the studio, now with my new registration guides and my intended final paper, I was ready for another set of test prints.

    As I printed I kept getting “grainy” results, instead of a solid layer of color. Bebeto, the studio master, helped me figure out that the blocks had gotten grainy after sitting in storage for months. Another issue I noticed was that I could see the border of the wood putty applications. So back to sending and smoothign these surfaces. Hopefully that would be the last fix.

    6. Sanding, Polishing, and More Problem-Solving

    After a few days I went back into the studio to sand my blocks down but unfortunately one or two were still not fully dried. Thankfully a studio friend was around and thought me a cool way to remove the paint and do a fine polishing/sanding to the board using regular printing paper as sandpapaer, slowly removing the ink and then polishing the surface. I was afraid that using actual sandpaper might remove sharpness of details (made that error before) and this was the perfect solution for 2 of my designs.

    For the design with the wood putty I had no other choice but to actually file it down, very carefully. Hopefully I didn’t mess it up :}

    After giving the ink time to dry, I returned to the studio planning to sand everything down.

    Some blocks still weren’t fully dry, but thankfully a studio friend showed me a brilliant trick: using regular printing paper like ultra-fine sandpaper to gently remove residual ink while polishing the block surface.

    Honestly? Game changer.

    This worked beautifully for two of my designs and avoided the risk of over-sanding delicate details with real sandpaper.

    For the wood-putty-heavy design, though, I had no other choice but to actually file it down, very carefully. Hopefully I didn’t mess it up :}

    Where we are at and future steps:

    At this stage, I can already see clear differences between test print rounds one and two, which is encouraging.

    I still need at least one more full round of test prints to see whether these latest fixes actually pay off — and I’ll also keep experimenting with paper smoothness, thickness, ink quantity, and alignment consistency.

    A bit of an exhausting process of trial and error. However, one that continues to teach me to be patient and mindful of my process.

    I hope you have been patient with yourself as well.

    Happy creafting!

  • Back Into my Creative Routine

    Back Into my Creative Routine

    With summer coming to an end and fall beginning I’m feeling inspired and rested, ready to go back to creating even more things this year/cycle – maybe I’ve got a bit carried away by this feeling and have started more projects/hobbies and classes that I can sustain long term. If that happens and I need to prioritize some interests over others that’s ok and part of the creative process. But enough intro, I have lots to share!

    How’s the Dj life going?

    I finished and recorded my first set! I was super nervous about it but thought I did pretty well. However when hearing back the audio recording I realized I had made a repeating mistake in my transitions: I was bringing in the coming track in a very low volume for a couple compasses before coming in with it. It works when we are listening on the speakers but the raw audio just sounds messy. I was bummed about it for a couple of days but I was able to come back around and learn from it instead of letting this keep me from continuing this hobby (even though I have been dealing with a lot of self-daubt and shyness about performin gin front of other people). I will practive my set with a few imrpovments, until. figure out a better way to transition some lyric heavy songs and then try recording again. This time probably at home, on my own controller (did I tell you guys about this purchase! so exciting! It is the DDJFL4) with my own stylistic voice comming through instead of recording at the school studio where I lack control and the support I need at this moment in my learning journey (no shame on the school, this is about me).

    2026 Classes & Workshops

    I might have overdone it this year by deciding to go back to the woodblock prinitng studio regularly, signing up for a ceramics class and also deciding to attend more figure drawing meetups… all this on top of all the other projects I describe in this post! It is quite ambitious for such a home-body like me, but that is exactly the point. I wan to keep active both creativelly and socially and thse classes are good excuses to practice both. I am beyond excited to have been selected for this ceramics class! It is free workshop offered by my local culture foundation, CIC, where the woodblock open studio is at as well. I talk a lot about this space, the gift it is to have access to it and the lack of care and funding that goes into it systematically/by design.

    I am excited to be beack into a active schedule and to have as much creative time as possible built into my routine. Of course I’ll share the whole journey here and keep you posted on how managable it becomes on the long run.

    Check out my recent Figure Drawing and Woodblock Printing posts/practices.

    Current W.I.Ps

    Office space: I’ve finally achieved a good setup of my office (after almost 2 years!). I love the way I can be carring out multiple projects at once and all the possible sitting (and even laying down?!) option I have. It is the optimal space for the way I work -> in short spams of time, rotating between multiple projects and positions.

    Paint revival: I fell for the muchi jelly guaches back in 2020? and of course they became little colorful pebbles… I spent a few days reviving them and to my surprise, with enough patiance, they came back to life! I am excited to give them another try, which leads me to my next project in progress:

    Paintings: I decided to practice my painting skills by recreating some of my favorite analog photographs from my experiments with the media in college. I selected 6 photos to try and I have already staerted with the first one. I am not very skilled at paiting, specially with guaches, but I think having physical reference images will help me. I’ll report back on my progress and learnings.

    Crochet: I am working on a rolly-polly plushie for myself and it proing to be quite complicated with many small and moving pieces. I am excited to share this project with you soon!

    Digital: I have been brewing some digital project experiments as well but these are top-secret and I will only share when it is ready much further down the line… I guess this was just o make you curious, sorry.

    Collage Making: I wish this blog had more interesting imagery and I have been thinking about incorporating more collages into them instead of just image galleries. I am testing out Shuffles, Canva and good old Figma for this but I am not super sure when and how I should do these… We’ll see soon when I start incorporating some of them into my posts. Let me know what you think and if you have any tips please.

  • Creative Check In #03

    Creative Check In #03

    Creativity has been spilling into every corner of my life lately — new ideas, new hobbies, and a surprising amount of travel. It feels like I’m absorbing everything around me and letting it spark something new. Which brings me to my next little adventure.

    Cultural Curitiba: Concerts & Contemporary Art

    I recently went to Curitiba — one of Brazil’s great cultural hubs — to see Linkin Park on their From Zero tour. My partner is a huge fan, and over time I’ve grown more and more into their music after learning about their history. Seeing Emily live was incredible; her voice is stunning. Mike was sweet, charismatic, and effortlessly talented.

    I was also pleasantly surprised by the opening act: Poppy. Back in 2020, I liked a few of her hyperpop songs like Am I a Girl?, and only recently found out she had gone “metal.” Her performance was amazing — the way she switches from delicate high notes to flawless screamo is wild.

    Nothing revives the soul like a good concert: shaking, jumping, screaming, and absolutely destroying your feet (RIP to mine, who walked 30 minutes in tight heels to get there).

    Another gem of Curitiba that I had to revisit is the contemporary art museum MON (also known as “Museu Oscar Niemeyer”), designed by Oscar Niemeyer, one of Brazil’s most iconic architects. The museum has a beautiful permanent collection of African and Asian artifacts — musical instruments, ceremonial objects, textiles, prints, paintings, fabrics, jewelry. Every room feels like stepping into a new world.

    From the special exhibitions on display, my favorite was ‘Pure Gold – Upcycled! Upgraded!‘. It showcased chairs, stools, and couches made entirely from recycled or upcycled materials. A few pieces that caught my attention:

    • a chair made completely out of compressed wool (I’m so curious how sturdy it actually is — wool can get really dense, especially when steamed)
    • a stool made from pineapple skin-paper/material, glued together sheet by sheet
    • stools built using dismantled washing-machine drums, decorated in that charming “country” embroidery style

    Some works were more conceptually interesting than pretty or practical, but I really enjoy seeing how the upcycling movement keeps evolving. There’s a cool article digging deeper into the exhibition here, in the ‘Design Do Bom’ blog if you want to read further (you might have to translate it to eng.). There were a few other special exhibitions I’ve stopped at to gather some inspiration but did not dig to deep into:

    1. Através by Mariana Palma a trippy, floral, painting collection that incorporates sheer fabrics and colorful patterns
    2. Trilhos e Traços by Poty a centenary celebratory collection from the important Brazilian artist, and
    3. Afeganistão a collection of rugs with imagery surrounding themes of war and peace.

    Below are some of my favorite pieces from the museum, along with translated captions from MON.

    Camel (burial object), Tang Dynasty. China
    Handle, 2008. Fernando Brízio from ‘Pure Gold‘

    Frankfurter Mélange #2, 2015. Silvia Knüppel (ALE) from ‘Pure Gold‘
    Knit-Knacks, 2012. Junk Munkez (LIB) from ‘Pure Gold‘
    PA. BACO Chair, 2010. SUWAN KONGKHUNTHIAN (TAIL) from ‘Pure Gold‘
    Metal Print by Poty in ‘Trilhos e Traços‘
    Drawing by Poty in ‘Trilhos e Traços‘
    Rug from ‘Afeganistão‘ exibit
    Rug from ‘Afeganistão‘ exibit
    Detail from ‘Através by Mariana Palma‘
    Detail from ‘Através by Mariana Palma‘
    Front of the MON museum, featuring ‘The Eye’ structure

    Finding My Footing as a Baby DJ

    I’ve been invited to a couple of techno parties recently, and — very differently from before — I’ve started paying attention in a whole new way. Suddenly I’m noticing the transitions, effects, pacing, how the DJ interacts with the crowd… all the invisible details that shape the energy of a room. Something in me is shifting.

    To be honest, I resisted this shift for a long time. I already consume visual art in such a technical, analytical way that I wanted music to stay pure — something I could just feel without needing the vocabulary to dissect it. But curiosity won (as it always does with me), and now I’m diving into the musical side of things too.

    In the last few events, I met some DJs, got tips, saw things I want to try (and things I definitely don’t), and started discovering subgenres I might want to explore. One that surprised me was dark forest techno, which I heard at this witchy, high-BPM party played by DJ Cerridwen. In the middle of her set, she dropped some wild experimental blends — and even a full-on samba — and the crowd absolutely devoured it. That moment made me realize how much freedom there actually is in a well-built set.

    Around the same time, I went to Baile dos Gêmeos, the iconic local twin DJ duo, and their set was everything people promised: energetic, playful, technically sharp, and full of personality. It left me buzzing with ideas about what’s possible behind the decks.

    All of this — the parties, the classes, the conversations — is pushing me out of the passive listener role and into something more active. In our last DJ class, I brought a few harder-techno tracks I wasn’t sure would land, but my classmates were super into it. It was such a small thing, but it gave me a surprising boost of confidence.

    Which brings me to now:
    I’m preparing for my first real set. And even though everyone else will probably play house (of course), I’m feeling pulled toward something darker, heavier, and a little riskier. I don’t know if it’ll be the perfect fit, but I’m excited to try — and excited to keep finding my own sound, one experiment at a time.

    Mini Playlist:

    1. Cut the Bridge – recent song by Linkin Park
    2. Negative Spaces – latest Poppy album
    3. Coisas Naturais – song by Marina Sena (summer is here!)
    4. Europaträume – song by Brutalismus 3000 (a little techno for ya)
    5. One Kiss – Dua Lipa & Calvin Harris (my favorite from her)
    6. Caetanear – album to get to know Caetano Veloso (see below)

    A Pop-Powered Stop in São Paulo

    This trip was mostly to see Dua Lipa — which was very exciting — and to visit some close friends. The concert was energetic and fun, and she kept the whole crowd dancing for the full two hours. As expected with large concerts, there were a few annoying moments with overly excited fans claiming too much space or screaming in your ear, but honestly that’s part of the concert ecosystem at this point. It wasn’t enough to spoil the night.

    Her voice, outfits, and song list were great. The production was incredible — it felt like every song had its own mini music video. And the highlight of the night? The guest appearances by Carlinhos Brown and Caetano Veloso, my childhood #1 artist. It was surreal! Dua sang beautifully in Portuguese, and her choice of guests and songs was perfect.

    Dua is one of those rare mainstream artists I’ve come to like more over time. Hopefully I won’t be betrayed — I’ve been disappointed by public figures too many times to trust anyone easily anymore. If you want to check out the videos I made of the concert (and of Linkin Park and Poppy’s concerts too!) check out my tiktok @queer.on.a.beer.

    The rest of the trip was spent wandering around Liberdade with my partner, hunting for Yugioh cards to finish our decks, and eating delicious Asian snacks. (Any other players?)

    Seeing my childhood friends was so healing, as always. There’s nothing like being with people who truly know you — the version of you that can say anything, without filters, and feel understood. Best part of the trip!

    I also managed to squeeze in a visit to MASP, São Paulo’s most important art museum and one of my long-time bucket-list stops — and it was absolutely worth it. I explored:

    1. The Permanent Collection Gallery, a fascinating open-concept experience where artworks are mounted on transparent easels, layered through a wide, fluid space that lets you wander and discover pieces (and people) in your own organic path;
    2. Ponto sem Retorno (Point of No Return) by Clarissa Tossin, a multifaceted solo exhibition with works exploring nature, the body, time, and the relationships between these themes; and
    3. Histórias da Ecologia (Ecology Histories), the museum’s major exhibition at the time, spanning six floors of the newly opened building and presenting a wide range of ecological concepts through diverse mediums and artists.

    Below are some highlights from the visit:


    Piante vagabonde: famiglia Asteraceae, Roma [Ervas daninhas: família Asteraceae, Roma] [Weeds: Asteraceae Family, Rome], 2025. Ckarisa Tossin [Printmaking Ink on Canvas]

    A natureza da matéria (queda de cabelo) [The Nature of Matter (Hair Loss)], 2025. Ckarisa Tossin [Printmaking Ink on Canvas]

    Future Geography:


    The Five Galaxies of Stephan’s Quintet, 2022. Ckarisa Tossin
    [Used Amazon cardboard boxes, inkjet print on laminated photographic paper, and wood]
    Death by Heat Wave (Acer pseudoplantus, Mulhouse Forest), 2021. Ckarisa Tossin [Silicone, black pigment and tree bark]
    Spent, 2009-2011. Ckarisa Tossin [Porcelain and waste ashes]
    Del otro lado, 2024. Daniel Correa Mejía
    Sample of ‘Berlin Wool Work’ Needlework Stitches, 19th century. Unknown author
    Untitled, from the series Envolvimento (Entanglement), 1968. Wanda Pimentel
    a few Monet’s among the collection
    Nudes, 1919. Suzanne Valadon

    Couple Walking among Olive Trees in a Mountainous Landscape with Crescent Moon, 1889. Vincent van Gogh’s
    Retrato de Maria Auxiliadora, 2022. Panmela Castro
    Quadro ferido, 1994. Adriana Varejão
    Okê Oxóssi, 1970. Abdias Nascimento & Afro-Brazilian Flag (in dialogue with David Hammons – 2nd version), 2020. Bruno Baptistelli
    Faun sculpture by Victor Brecheret at Park Trianon in front of MASP

  • Creative Check In #01

    Creative Check In #01

    Hi there crafters!

    It’s been too long! I’ve missed you… This past month has been a bit of a whirlwind — lots of emotions and a very chaotic creative process. And when that happens, it’s hard to sit down and post, because I’m too busy living the process to be able to distill it into words here. But I’m back with some creative updates for you!

    Lately, my energy has been all over the place: reconnecting with gouache paints, starting to learn filet crochet, finishing an embroidered notebook for my mom, and… spending way too much time playing Minecraft. Yep — I’m 28 and playing for the first time, and somehow got completely hooked.

    I’ve been diving into Redstone engineering (basically an electrical system inside the game) and building automated machines, pretty houses, and — embarrassingly enough — catching cute Pokémon, since my friends and I are playing a modded version. It’s nerdy, but honestly, it’s been fun. Not my usual outlet, but still a creative one. So I am trying to embrace it instead of being too hard on myself.

    I think I’ve been low-energy from a touch of seasonal depression (it’s the end of winter here) and because it was my birthday month. In Brazil, we call the month before your birthday “inferno astral” — “astral hell” — when everything feels off and internal challenges show up. It’s not always true for me, but this year I definitely felt it. So it’s been a slower season. Even working in a less focused way, though, I never fully stopped making. Here’s a look at what I managed to create these past couple of months:

    Filet Crochet: Textile Pixel Art

    I decided to try filet crochet because it kinda feels like textile pixel art. Fun, right? Except… it’s also so much counting and precision. No mistakes allowed. Of course, I complicated things by making a custom design. To make it manageable, I bought a pattern for the top so I’m not counting every single stitch blindly.

    The plan: a vest/top inspired by this Pinterest post, with my custom abstract/cybersigilism design worked in. I might add red embroidery on top to give it some color contrast, like the reference piece. Here’s the design template from Stitch Fiddle, and the pattern I’m following for the base is by Isabella Madsen.

    Counting these is the real challenge here…
    My cats are the best crafting companions
    In my Minecraft era, clearly

    Gouache Experiments

    I’ve also been slowly working on a painting over one of my figure drawing studies. It had a strong composition, and I wanted to play with layering gouache on top.

    My usual struggles showed up right away: color composition. The anatomy and volume came out well, considering I wasn’t using much reference, but the colors are muddy and blending together too much. I’m also trying to avoid leaning on line-art for contrast, which is my comfort zone, so that’s a challenge too.

    It’s not there yet, but it feels like it’s heading somewhere, and I’m enjoying sneaking in a few minutes of work on it when I can.

    One Finished Project (Finally)

    Among all these experiments, I did actually start and finish something: a beautiful embroidered notebook with Australian binding, made as a gift for my mom. That one I’m really happy with — a challenging piece with plenty of learning, but worth it. I am already working on a detailed process post all about this baby, so stay tuned for that. Here’s a sneak peak:

    Reading Fuel

    One activity that isn’t exactly “making,” but definitely feeds into my creative process, is reading. I’ve been trying to read more and even decided to double the number of books I’ve read this year. To help with that, I pulled a few titles from my to-be-read pile and went on a little book haul for extra motivation. Since taking this TBR picture, I finally finished a book I had been putting off forever, and I’m already a third of the way through Clarice Lispector’s ‘Perto do Coração Selvagem’ (Near to the Wild Heart ). I’m feeling good about my goal, my progress so far, and this renewed determination to keep reading. And of course, I’m always open to book recommendations if you have any!

    That’s it for now. I’ll share more progress on the crochet and the gouache piece in future posts. And hopefully, I’ll manage another check-in sooner rather than later.

    Until then, happy crafting!

  • Creative Projects of April & June

    Creative Projects of April & June

    These have been a pretty crafty couple of months! Here’s a round-up of all the projects I’ve worked on recently:

    1. Portable Loose-Thread Catcher

    I saw this project on social media and followed its blog post to put it together. The instructions are very clear and I love the results. Shoutout to ‘Thread Therapy’. I like that it is portable and practical; I bring it along when embroidering or doing other craft projects out and about. For next time, I would make sure to sew the cardboard ring really tight in there to prevent it from moving.

    2. Pins & Needles Pillow

    To match my thread catcher, I created this little (or not so little) pillow for my pins and needles. I made quite a few mistakes along the way – including sewing my Sashiko design inside out! Thankfully, it’s beautiful on both sides lol. It is also a bit too big, but that’s not necessarily bad. It still came out cute and functional. I’m thinking of working on an improved version of these couple of items to gift my mom soon.

    3. Cat’s bed

    I’ve crocheted a cat bed for my 3 cats a while ago, and they love it so much that I thought I should crochet a few more. It’s nice and easy, as well as pretty mindless. However, I did try to improve on my first design a bit: instead of crocheting 2 circles and one doughnut shape and sewing these together, I shaped the bag as I was crocheting it this time. Growing the walls up from the edges of the base circle, then cornering out and back down, building the top of the wall, and finally connecting back to the bottom edge of the circle. I stuffed the wall up with soft filling material as I crocheted this last step. I think this design is better because there’s no sowing, but the bottom/pillow of the bed is not as soft or structured as the first design. Also, I made this bed too small. My cats have tried it out a couple of times, and honestly, they fit fine, but it is a bit of a tight fit. I have more of this yarn, which I’ll use to build another one, bigger and more structured.

    4. Scarf

    Another easy crochet project: a very long pink scarf! Oh, this thread was so beautiful at the store. I could not help myself. First ,I thought of making a vest out of it, but I wasn’t too sure on the design, and I’ve been wanting a pink scarf. I super love the results, and I have been wearing it quite a bit already! I think it’s the perfect length (even though it felt way too long when crocheting it!).

    One problem I have with it is that ir curls up. I’m not sure if it has to do with my technique (like perhaps my tension) or if it’s just a matter of blocking the piece out. Either way, I’m probably not going to do anything about it.

    5. Clothes fix up

    Since I got my sewing machine, I’ve been slowly fixing up a bunch of my clothes. I’ve recently split this dress into a two-piece, took out a patch from a sweater, made some pants shorter, fitted a skirt, and a dress! Here are some of the results

    6. ‘Indian-Thread’ Scarf

    I was gifted this beautiful, soft, and shiny thread by my mother-in-law from her recent trip to India. As a way to show my gratitude I crocheted her this scarf with some of the thread. It turned out a bit shorter than I was hoping for, but I think she will like it. It is way softer than I expected.

    7. Figure drawing meetups

    I recently started going back to my local figure-drawing meetings. Read more about these past two events here:

    Long-poses day
    2.5hr pose

    8. Woodblock printing progress

    I’ve been consistently working on my Pool project and documenting it all in my “Xilo Diaries” series. You can read more about it through these links:

    Check all woodblock posts
    See my latest studio visit

    9. Discarded: Sweater and scarf

    There were a few crochet projects that were started and discarded for multiple reasons. I might come back to them eventually with improved ideas.

    I split these yarns into thiner portions to make it more usable for projects – due to the low quantity I hae and to improve versatility

    Stay tuned to see what I create next…

    Until then,

    Happy crafting!