Cassie Stephens: latin american art

Starting A-new Monday: Since all things Dot-astic are now behind us, we are now onto our new learning adventure: Latin America! To celebrate, I decided to wear some Latin-America duds this week. embroidered people sweater and Anthropologie dress: thrifted (I know, right?!); shoes: Frye, found on the cheap at Marshall's; necklace: Anthropologie; bangles: gifts from the fam

Hello, there friends! Welcome to my Brand Spankin' New Blog Layout! Y'all, I'm so excited about this. You see, I'm one of those lazy types that absolutely hates tackling new and (seemingly) overwhelming projects. My ole blog has needed an update for, like, ev-errrr. But I dreaded the thought for a coupla reasons: 1. I had absolutely no idea what I wanted and 2. I had absolutely no idea where to start. So after spending a couple of weeks scouring etsy for graphic designers ("a couple of weeks?!", you say. Well, yes. I get easily distracted by all the vintage clothing on etsy and may have purchased a dress or three whilst perusing graphic designers. Ahem), I found Rebekah of Le Charmed Boutique. She had the most glowing of reviews and was so affordable. I have to brag on her as she went through countless ideas and changes with me until I was totes thrilled with the result. Seriously, y'all. If you ever need yourself a custom graphic designer for design services of all types (she's working on a postcard for me now, thanks, Rebekah!), she's your gal. I'd love to know what you all think of the new layout. Once I get those tabs working, I'm hoping it will be easier for you to find whatever it is your looking for (even if that is to find your way outta here!).

On a different note, now that we've finished our adventures in all things dotty, we're moving on to our cultural theme of the year: Latin America! I thought I'd share with you just some of the inspiration for our upcoming projects. What are y'all up to now that the dot dust has settled? I'd love to hear!

Over the years, I've managed to score several arpilleras de adorno of Chile at thrift shops and garage sales. I've always been drawn to them because I love textiles and colors are so happy and cheerful. After a little homework, I discovered these pieces actually have a dark past. You see, on September 11, 1973 there was a coup in Chile. May of the men were arrested, imprisoned, exiled or simply never heard of again. This left the women to raise their children alone without a source of income. The Catholic church formed an organization to help these women find a way to make money. One was by creating these arpilleras (which means burlap as the original designs were stitched on that surface). Many of the original pieces serve as a narrative to show the hardship of these women. These works of art were often never signed for fear of being found out. These days the pieces are proudly signed by the artists that create them.

It's Not Easy Being Green Tuesday: I found this sweet vintage skirt and blouse a while back but it had yet to make it's debut. That is until a buddy gave me an apron that matched it perfectly. I feel like I outta be workin' at some 1950's Mexican diner. skirt, blouse, apron: vintage; belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing; shoes: Crocs

Located near Mexico City is the little town of Metepec. Because of the rich clay deposits near the town, Metepec has long been home to many utilitarian potters. My fave, however, are the decorative pieces like the suns and the ceramic tree of life candle holders. Many of the pieces are actually created from molds (you can see this especially in the flowers and leaves) which I love. As an artist and an art teacher, you're lead to believe that molds, templates and stencils are bad and inhibit creativity. I think the work of Metepec does a good job of arguing that theory.

Stitched Skirt Wednesday: Knowing what they do know about stitching from this project, my fourth graders were super curious how this skirt was created. I ain't ashamed to admit that I flipped the hem of my skirt to show them all the painstaking work that went into this number. sweater: Betsy Johnson, Buffalo Exchange; top: Target; skirt: one of my fave etsy shops, SassySenoitaVintage.

Amate is a type of paper that has been produced in Mexico since pre-Hispanic times. This paper was produced for communication, record keeping and ritual during the Aztec Empire. During the Spanish conquest, the paper was banned and replaced with European papers. In the 1960's the Nahua people began painting their elaborate pottery designs onto the bark papers as it was easier to transport. They call these paintings "amatl". Each Nahua village has it's own style of painting making each unique.

Puffy Skirt Thursday: I would have to say that most days are better in a puffy skirt with a crinoline underneath...that is unless you are covered in chigger bites (like, even between my toes covered, y'all) and then every swish of that skirt brings on a cascade of itchiness. If you don't live in The South, count your chigger-less blessings as having these little bites on you is a scratch-tastic nightmare. top: Banana Republic, garage sale; skirt: vintage, thrifted

Xavier Castellanos is a Swiss-born, Mexican raised artist whose bright and colorful work I love. I love his "Mexican Landscape" series and can't wait to share this contemporary artist with the kids. This looks like a great inspiration for another mural project, dontcha think?

Mystery Machine Friday: So Friday we hit the road and got a jump start on our Halloween celebrating. To normal folk, it's still mid-September but for us, it's haunted-house, get-chased-by-crazy-people-wielding-chainsaws time. We hit Universal Studios in Orlando a little bit before their big Halloween Horror Nights event so we could hit the Harry Potter area and ride Gringot's Vault. Y'all. That ride was uh-mazing! dress: Anthropologie; sandals: Target