For as long as I can remember, I've had an intense sense of "I can make it myself" whenever it comes to textile goodness. On my fourth Christmas, my father gave me my first sewing kit and taught me how to sew little blankets for my model horses. From there I moved onto outfits for the cats, raiding my mother's vintage fabric stash for bedroom decorations, and restyling thrift store clothes into new, more "interesting" fashions (it was all in the eye of the beholder...). In college I bought my very first sewing machine and signed up for a textile class, where I began creating stitched and printed fabric art pieces. Almost two years ago I had a flash of inspiration (probably around midnight and after a double Vivacé cappuccino) to try turning those flat fabric pieces into a usable, three-dimensional object. And that night, the textiles that UmberDove is know for were born.

Many of your projects are inspired by nature. What thematic elements tend to find their way into your sewing projects and how do you begin the process of "sewing together" an idea or inspiration?

I try to live with eyes wide open and am convinced I might die if I don't spend time daily in nature. I find myself constantly noting the colors of the sky, the gradation of autumnal leaves, the pop of brilliant rocks on the grey beaches. When I return home, I recall those colors and reinterpret the combinations using fabric. My sewing table faces out to a few of my favorite trees, and the waving leaves (as well as the feathers from a multitude of songbirds) continually find their way onto my pieces in the form of appliquéd wool and free-hand stitched shapes.

How long do your sewing projects normally take? How much have you honed down the process since you first began?

Those first couple pillows were serious labors of love! I'm very much a learn/invent as you go type of artist which sometimes translates into pure brilliance, other times into intense disaster! More than once I've walked out on my sewing machine after an argument with inanimate objects. (Confession: I've spent so much time making up my own patterns, that I never use commercial ones. Ever. I'm not even sure I would know how to follow a pattern....) Since those early days I've streamlined my process quite a bit, and at any given time, will have up to eight pieces all in the works, each one taking from one to four hours to complete.

What kind of fulfillment do you find from sewing as compared to your other artistic endeavors? (For example, you call painting your "soul work" and the "true backbone of my artistic life.") How is sewing uniquely satisfying for you?

I have very busy hands and more ideas than I can ever keep up with. In my painting studio, the work I create takes an intense amount of soul searching, visual research, time consuming detail work and technical process. Sewing has truly become my "relaxing" art; I'm able to make decisions based purely on color and composition so the pieces come together quickly (read: super satisfying). I'm also able to sew in my home, which translates to [being] able to sew into the wee hours of the night, when that second wind kicks in (some call it insomnia), and there is so much artistic energy pouring through my fingertips that I just have to create,

Any notable DIY or sewing communities/events in Seattle?

Stitches on Capitol Hill is hands down my favorite local fabric joint. Amy, the owner, couldn't be friendlier, the fabric selection is well-edited, and they host great sewing and knitting events. I also love hitting up the monthly I Heart Rummage arts and crafts for fantastic, functional, local art.

Favorite places in Seattle?

For being outside, in nature, while still in the city: Discovery Park in Magnolia, Golden Gardens in Ballard, Interlaken Park. All around favorites: Vivacé Espresso on Broadway for cappuccinos, the Ballard Sunday Farmer's Market (and the whole strip of fantastic boutiques along Market Ave. swoon!) for a shopping outing, Portage Bay for breakfast and Chez Gaudy for intimate speakeasy dining, the Triple Door for music and burlesque shows, Kobo on Roy Ave. and Gossamer Collective on 18th Ave. for amazing handmade gifts and art (and UmberDove textiles...). I could go on, Seattle is just so fantastic!

What is the secret to having such nice arms?

Solo midnight dance parties with lots of arm waving. It's true.

Kelly can be contacted for questions or custom orders at kclarkstudios@gmail.com

I was born in Seattle, in the Madrona area. Both my parents are artists and teachers, and I started drawing all the time when I was really young, pretty much as soon as I could hold a crayon. I went to the Seattle Waldorf School in North Seattle/Lake City for K-8 and the curriculum there is VERY art-based. Then I went to The Northwest School, did a lot of art there, and started to kinda figure out what types I liked better then others. I graduated from NWS spring 2009 and I'm going to Western Washington University for now, and I really like it so far. I'll be trying to get into the art program as soon as I can so I can figure out where to go next!

What gave you the idea to start drawing on slips?

I first got the idea because I had this kinda weird slip lying around at my house that had gotten nail polish spilled on it, and I was trying to figure out how to wear it/fix it. I just got out the Sharpies and started turning the nail polish dots into flowers and it just kept going until the whole bottom was covered in Sharpie flowers and designs. I think like a year and a half ago or so, my sister and mom went into Pretty Parlor and my sister was wearing it, and they decided that they wanted to carry them, which was great.

Image courtesy of the artist

It takes about 5-6 hours to do the regular full slips and anywhere from 3-5 hours for the shorter half slips or tops. Pretty much the process is: sit down with a huge box of sharpies and start drawing. I don’t sketch or anything, because a lot of the time the style of a particular slip will change as I work on it. I just put flowers of vines or whatever in the places I think it will look interesting and flattering. It’s basically a process that makes slips wearable as more then slips which I think is fun and interesting.

I get the slips or tops or whatever from pretty much anywhere. I get a lot from Value Village and Goodwill. Anna, the owner of Pretty Parlor, sometimes gives me plain slips from the store; I draw on them and then give then back. They can pretty much come from anywhere, which is cool because that makes them all different and it allows me to price them differently.

Do you take custom orders?

I have never done a custom order except for friends. I would be totally interested in doing that though; it would be fun if someone had something in mind that they were looking for, or had something they wanted the drawings on. The only problem for me is that it is sometimes hard to find slips.

Can your slips be seen anywhere else besides Pretty Parlor?

I have had them sold at another store in Madrona called Jaywalk for about 2 years or so before they went to Pretty Parlor, but they didn't sell as much there because there isn't enough of a sorta high-end client base and not enough young people. So right now the slips are only at Pretty Parlor.

For more information or to place an order, you can contact Julia at cylenceisavirtue@aol.com

Paul Norlén: By now I've translated 10 or 12 books. Most of the time I've been asked to translate the books. When I first started playing around with translation, I would work on something that interested me and then try to get it published. That's not an easy process.
I first thought about translating one of Selma Lagerlöf's books 12 or more years ago. Nothing happened then, which is probably a good thing, but about three years ago I started thinking about Lagerlöf again, especially the fact that she's not very well known in English, although she's still one of Sweden's most widely-read authors. And just about everyone in Sweden is familiar with The Saga of Gösta Berling and can quote the opening sentence.

S: So at what point did everyone realize that a new translation would coincide with the 100-year anniversary of Lagerlöf’s Nobel Prize?

PN: Well, to be honest, I saw that centennial on the horizon and thought it would be a good selling point for the book.

S: What was your process for translating this book? How long did it take to complete the project?

PN: The first step in the process for this book was deciding to do it in the first place. I did sample translations of two chapters, then put together a book proposal. I feel very fortunate that Penguin Classics was interested in the idea. They've been great to work with, and I've really enjoyed working with my editor, as well as with the copyeditor and marketing people at Penguin. They are a class act. Once we decided to go ahead, I spent about six months on the rest of the translation.

S: You have translated modern texts as well; Amberville, for example, is a contemporary detective-noir novel. How did your experience differ here from your work on The Saga of Gösta Berling?

PN: It is somewhat different to translate a contemporary author's work. When I translated Amberville and two follow-up books by Tim Davys (a pseudonym, by the way), the author ended up making some changes to the original Swedish version of the book based on the translation. There was some interesting give-and-take.

S: Selma Lagerlöf used a very unique writing style for The Saga of Gösta Berling; it’s a dramatic, romantic, sort of magic realist approach to telling a story. Did this - due to difficulties with transforming the Swedish language into English - create any unique challenges for you?

PN: Some of the challenges in translating this book have to do with the differences between Swedish and English. Sentence structure is different, and passive constructions are used much more frequently in Swedish than in English. In the time period for Gösta Berling, the way people spoke to one another was also incredibly formal, especially from an American perspective. For Selma Lagerlöf's style, in this book in particular, she often writes very simply and directly which, believe it or not, is really difficult to translate convincingly. Some passages are very lyrical, others are melodramatic, and she often directly addresses the reader. It always takes a little time to adjust to a particular author's style, maybe 50-100 pages.

S: Going back to your earlier comment about your desire to put this project together - can you be more specific about your appreciation for The Saga of Gösta Berling?

PN: Having spent a lot of time with this book — I'm not sure how many times I've read it — I find that I admire it even more now than when I started working on it. It's good to remember that this was Lagerlöf's first book, and it's very passionate, almost wild in certain respects. It's also an unusual novel in the sense that it follows a basic story line, but also makes frequent detours, with short chapters about minor characters that can be read as stand-alone short stories. Those are some of my favorite chapters in the book.

S: In the foreword to the new translation you say “[you have] tried to convey the author’s distinct voice in English and produce a narrative that is a pleasure to read - as it is in Swedish.” In what sense do you feel your version is an improvement on previous translations?

PN: Obviously I hope that this version is more enjoyable to read than the previous translations (both of which came out in 1898, by the way). The older translations left some parts out, and sometimes even added things. The language comes off as a bit stilted as well. I do hope that this new translation will encourage other translators, and publishers, to re-introduce Lagerlöf's work in English. She has a lot to offer.

S: Have you seen the film version? What are your thoughts?

PN: It's a marvelous film in many ways — the scene where Gösta Berling and Elisabet are in a sleigh being chased by wolves is incredible. The film version covers less than half of the contents of the book, so even if you've seen the film, there are still plenty of new stories to read in the book itself.
By the way, film versions have been made of many of Lagerlöf's works, including some of the most successful and important films in the silent era. She was very interested in how her works were adapted to film.

Northwest Film Forum Screening // Friday, October 16 at 8:00 p.m. // 1515 12th Ave. // $10 NWFF members, $12 general