Samantha Hahn

Trust Your Style blog posts portrait icon illustration

MJM portrait icon

I’ve been quite busy lately making a slew of illustrations for Mary Jo Matsumoto (best name ever) of Trust Your Style blog. I’m having a blast working with her, she’s been so supportive, collaborative, and encouraging. Her designs give rise to so many illustrative and fantasy rich ideas. She’s planning a post with my illustrations and her designs as well as a little interview with me when it all comes together at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, I’m doing the finishing touches. She’s keeping them under wraps but posted the portrait icon (above) I did of her on her blog (I’m so flattered).

It’s been very fulfilling creatively to do this kind of work again and made me realize where my heart is artistically.

More to come soon…

DIY crafty sculpture/cake topper

Cake Topper

Maybe craft and art are one in the same? here’s a good essay exploring the age old debate.

Last June I decided to make my own cupcake tree topper for my wedding. It was fairly simple to make and quite fun (my mom made all the cupcakes).

I don’t think it needs to be relegated to the top of a cake, though that’s not a bad place to be. It could be used decoratively in a kid’s room or on a mantle or shelf perhaps?

All you need are:
pom poms (for the birdies), lace and other fabric scraps (to cloth the birdies), beads (eyes), twine, string (to wrap around the bowl to make a nest), plastic bowl (for the nest), tissue paper (for flower buds), hot glue (careful), sticks from nature (preferably ones that have fallen off trees. Be green.)

WARNING: people look at you funny when you take the sticks on the subway.

Since I’m in a grandma mood this week here’s my Nana Sally’s wedding photo, she looks like a porcelain doll.

Dreams of Flying by Jan Von Hollenben, and my own dreams of trampoline flying

dreams of flying Jan Von Hollenben

trampoline 1

The weekend was so lovely. We went to my parent’s place to celebrate my grandmother‘s 92nd birthday. She’s a total inspiration to all of us, a well of wisdom and leader by beautiful example. She does Tai Chi each day, stretches and studies reflexology to mention a few things. (We were lucky enough to be the recipients of her practice). The best thing she teaches us is to live each day with joie de vivre, treasuring every moment.

It was quite easy for my brother and me to follow her precepts since the little school across the street from my parent’s house put a big trampoline in their yard. We flipped and jumped and flew through the air, full of joy and treasuring each moment of weightlessness.

I am so very in love with Jan Von Hollenben’s flying photographs that simulate flying so successfully. But look closely, his children subjects are actually laying on the ground. I love these photos, they’re so whimsical. I think I’ll order the book on his site.

Photos where context is as important as subject

Photos I've taken where context is equally important to subject

Sometimes I take photos where the subject’s environment is as important if not more important than the subject him or herself. In my paintings I always focus on the figure and have to push myself to contextualize them. I wonder why this is? One theory might be that photography is so immediate and easy without the same pressures as painting. There’s always the opportunity to crop in later, whereas with a painting the composition is static once the painting is underway. Anybody else have any theories?

The photos above were taken over the last few years.
1. Meadow gazing on rt. 1 in California, 2. My husband and dog in my parent’s yard, 3. A cow in the Berkshires, 4. My legs in a reflective pool

Have a lovely and artistic weekend! See you Monday.

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