Bio
I have always been fascinated by needlework and grew up
doing crafts of
all
kinds. My mother taught me how to do the basics of knitting at age 11
and
have tried all those crafts that were popular in the 1970s. But with
all
things at that age, I never stuck to anything, jumping from one venture
to
another. I graduated from a liberal arts college with a B.A. in Art
Studio
and have used many media. As for fine art, my current preference is
watercolor, pencil, and pen and ink. But I still had that urge to do
some
really fine needlework.
It wasn't until later in life I found a true calling with my artwork.
I
never realized what I was getting into when one day I asked my mother-in-law
to show me how to tat. It was 1986, six months before Kim and I were
to
be
married, and was over at their house visiting while helping with the
wedding
plans. My wife was at work and I was just watching tv, with my mother-in-law
busily doing something with her hands flying back and forth. I had to
ask her what she was doing. From that point on my life as an artist
changed. She showed me the basics and within the same evening I was
starting my first project. A snowflake. She was making tatted snowflakes
as a Christmas gift for my future wife, and my first project actually
made
it in the package! We still hang it on our Christmas tree, but in the
back
;) From there, my mother in law, seeing my potential, asked me to design
the tatted lace that was to go on Kim's wedding dress. I still was not
polished enough to put stitches to help in making the lace, but the
designing I enjoyed. So there is another factor in my life I didn't
realize
would make a difference.
I didn't pursue tatting fully for a couple of years, except an occasional
small item for a gift. But in 1989 when I finally landed a job as a
graphic
illustrator at a band uniform company, I found a couple of others in
the
office that tatted. That sparked some new interest since I have found
someone to tat with. During my breaks I would tat and chat along with
them.
This was all before the company had computers. And when they did, that
changed everything. Even my workspace. I was getting into computer
graphics and developing skills and now can utilize it to make my diagrams
and pictures that I like to do. The computer also opened up a wealth
of
info when stumbling across Tatchat and other groups online and I got
familiar with so many people over the world about tatting. I fiddled
around
with computer graphics and came up with my own website to showcase and
share
my knowledge with others (www.tat-man.net).
Also have a personal artwork
page connected that shows the fine art that I occasionally allow myself
to
do (www.tat-man.net/marxgraffix/index.html)
and also a family website
(www.geocities.com/crafts247@sbcglobal.net)
As time went on and after some encouragement from fellow tatters, I
embarked
on a large journey of publishing some of my designs that so many have
enjoyed from my website. The book project started in 1999 and in 2001 "Tatted
Gathering of Angels" came
to fruition! It was an experience to
learn from and hope to do many more. Currently I am involved in my second
book project that I hope will not take two years to develop. But one
never knows. ;)
In the many years Kim and I have been married, we both had a love for
needlework, before and during marriage respectively. We combined our
talents and made a small business out of it and did the craft show
circuit,
selling craft items and tatting and other needleworks. We finally got
burned out of that phase after 10 years and exclusively work on items
we
love to do. For me it is tatting and bobbinlace and for Kim it is silk
ribbon
embroidery and quilting. We now only do demonstrations at heritage shows
across the Illinois and border states. I found publicly that I really
enjoyed teaching it. I have taught several over the years, one on one
and
also to groups at local needlework shops. But with the use of the
internet,
I am able to take my teaching skills abroad. Still a rooky at the tatting
workshops, I have taught at the Hector Tat Day (2003) in NY, at a tatting
guild gathering in Ft. Wayne, IN (2003), and the first Palmetto Tat Day
in
SC (2003). And I look forward to coming to the events and meeting many
more
tatters out there in this big world!
Online Messengers:
AOL Instant Messenger: tat99man
MSN messenger: tatmantats
Yahoo messenger: tatmantats
Long Class
Daisy Picots Technique: Using
a split ring technique with 2 shuttles
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Pre-requisites/Level: Advanced
Intermediate folks and Advanced
Objectives: Discover all endless
boundaries using the Daisy Picot Technique developed by Gale Marshall
of "Tat's
All". You can turn
out little flowers, motifs, etc. into creations that give normal
tatting that "punch" it needs. With just the manipulation
of two shuttles/needles using two different colors it will give
you new ideas. In this class you will learn how to make simple
flower motifs and two shuttle/needle tatting to create a set of
earrings and necklace, or create your own project if you like.
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Supplies:
*two shuttles/needles
*two different colored threads(of your choice and size)
*hook (if shuttle doesn't have one)
*scissors
*earring findings
*necklace clasps
~Hands......ready to accomplish anything
~Heart......to give that special gift
~Mind.......to give extra attention to detail
~Smile......to brighten everyone's day Any extra inquiries, don't hesitate to contact Mark, aka Tatman
Short
class: Inverted Tatting
Project: 3D Flowers and Leaves
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Pre-requisites/Level: Intermediate
Objectives: Learning inverted tatting
can open a lot of ideas and creations to what you already have
accomplished. By using just a shuttle
and ball and using intermediate skills you can create flowers,
leaves, abstract designs that give a filled look with not much
effort. When working inverted tatting, I prefer to use two shuttles
for ease, but it is not necessary. But using two shuttles opens
up many more possibilities in designing.
Supplies:
*shuttle
*thread of your choice in size and color
*hook(if shuttle doesn't have one)
*scissors |
Other Samples of Inverted tatting:
Special 1
Sharing Original Designs (Friday Morning)
Special
2
Tatting with the Net (Friday Morning)
Special
3
Needle and Shuttle Comparisons (Friday Night Owls)
Special
4
Geometry and Terminology: The Numbers and Letters Behind
the Art (Saturday Evening)
Samples
of teacher’s
work:
| Click on a picture to go to Mark's website. |
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