sneak peak from @arthouse Sketchbook Project

I finished my sketchbook for the Art House Co-op/Brooklyn Art Library. And I'm SO HAPPY with it! I really departed from style and made it much more illustration-ish. But I feel like it's very successful. It will be so cool going to the exhibit... or as they like to call it, World Tour. The exhibit will be in Atlanta August 29th thru September 1st. It will also go to Toronto, Los Angeles and Portland Maine (to just name a few).

My theme is I remember you. I choose to tell little stories of people I remember thru my lifetime. Some are funny. Some are sad. Some are rather embarrassing. But it was actually quite cathartic to get them out like this.

I had the whole book scanned and will eventually post the whole book. But for the moment here is a sneak peak.

learning to batik

I've been calling this technique faux batik. Mostly because the pin which pointed me to the website I got the information from called it faux batik. But then my sister (an artist whose major was fabric design) pointed out to me that batik is simple a dying process that uses a resist. So I'm now thinking of this as "non-traditional" batik.

All that aside, it's just plain fun!

My first time out I got beautiful results! I was so happy with it I thought I was an expert. I didn't plan my design for project # 2 but just sloppily painted on my crayons and dye. And the results were DISASTROUS!!! Lesson learned. A clear design idea is a must for this project. I think with more practice a bit of abstraction would work. But I'm going to go slower and get comfortable with the basics first. Thankfully I'm working on muslin so it's only $0.99 a yard worth of mistakes. Plus I've been needing small squares of colorful fabric for another project so I'm not really out any materials. You know my mantra.

No such thing as waste in the Artist Studio.


To begin this process you melt crayons. CRAYONS! How easy is that? I first melted them in the oven but they cooled too quickly. So then I set the muffin tin on the skillet I use to melt my encaustic medium. This worked perfectly. It kept the crayons melted so I could paint with them.

Sorry, I didn't take step-by-step photos. But the full process is shown on this blog. The only thing I did do differently is at the very end. On the blog they removed all the wax with an iron. I used an iron to heat-set the pigment in my crayons. Then I went back to the more traditional batik and boiled away the rest of the crayons and dye. Lastly, I took a stiff bristle brush and scrubbed off the rest of the dye. Boiling the fabric makes it much softer then only removing the crayon wax and dye with an iron.



Here's a picture of my fabric after I removed the fabric dye. Dig my pink pajamas. :)


Sunlight House.


Moonlight House. This is my favorite side!

I'm very happy with the finished project. I sewed the 2 long sides together and made a gift bag. The bag is currently in the mail with a bottle of wine inside for a birthday gift. I hope they like the bag (though of course liking the wine is a given!)

Fallen

I can't believe I never posted this. I completed this one... hmmm.... 3 months ago maybe? This is one where I really fell in love with the process. In fact I loved making the wings so much I've gotten a series in mind which revolves specifically around wings. I LOVE wings. If i could get away with it (and convince everyone i really was a fae) I'd wear wings 24/7!!!


Here's my Fae with her crown; half of a vintage belt buckle. Doesn't she look pissed?


A close-up of her wings. I built the skeleton of the wings from wire and then skinned them in used tea bags. Tea bags are my very favorite kind of paper to use in art projects. They are excellent in taking color from acrylics (paint or inks), watercolors or even gouache. But even without color they're just beautiful in their natural tea-stained state.


She has a shriveled peach pit for a heart. No wonder she's pissed!


The piece in it's entirety.

The Unlimited Potential Of The Mind

Here's another one I did for a Christmas present. All things brain-related are good presents for The Man. I had this idea for a while but my original idea was for a painting. But I had a few of these interesting shaped cigar boxes that I knew would end up in an assemblage eventually.

Then about a week before Christmas it just hit me. This came together quickly but I'm real happy with the results. Funny. Sometimes a piece will take months and months. Other times it seems to come together all on it's own.

This is one of those pieces.

the year of the pendant

Got some of the pictures off my Droid!!!

This year for Christmas presents I made a few necklaces. My friend Joy taught me how to make these beautiful pendants using glass tiles. So easy and so pretty!!! So I made a few for friends and family members. I'm happy with how they came out.

Hello Art

To look at my blog you would think I haven't done anything creative in a while. That's actually far from the truth. I've been extremely busy in the studio. The problem was most everything I worked on was meant to be a Christmas present. So I couldn't post it for fear of ruining several surprises.

But I did take pictures.

Oh yes... the pictures. Well, let me tell you a little story. I've gotten very good at documenting my creative process. I enjoy posting things on my blog so I always make sure to have several pictures of both the work-in-progress and the finished item.

This Christmas I really tried to stay on top of things. So as I finished projects I photographed them, wrapped them and packed them up and shipped them off. Then 2 days before Christmas my 3 year old Droid (cell phone) decided to become a paperweight. I went and got a new phone; an iPhone 4 which I really really love.

The problem? They couldn't get my pictures transferred from the Droid to the iPhone. They're still on the Droid but I have to buy a cable to download the photos. le sigh...



Remember me? This piece was done for a Round Robin Journal I worked on. I really liked it and thought it would be good to do on canvas.



So here she is on canvas. I don't really dig her. I guess I should have stuck with the original pallet (which I like much better). I also didn't exactly capture the same look in the face as my 1st drawing for the journal

Welcome 2012

2012 is finally here! We had a wonderful New Years Eve. We spent most of it sitting at the firepit. We did a releasing ceremony to leave all the crap behind in 2011. We baked apples in the fire and enjoyed them with a little vanilla ice cream. We had a bit of Baileys with decaf coffee. It was a great way to welcome in the new year.


ready for the firepit


releasing bundles


a little Bailey's, a little decaf, a little Billy Idol


tending the fire... with help


Welcome 2012!!!!

SouLodge by Pixie Campbell - Winter session

Hello Winter Solstice. We bid you welcome on December 22nd. And so starts a preview to the winter session of SouLodge with the Mother of All Releasing Ceramonies.

From Pixie's website:

SouLodge: Winter Session 2012
SouLodge Winter Session will cover the season in which we are typically withdrawn and resting, the time we embrace recharging, stillness and wisdom, and with a strong emphasis on Restoration. We will also be reflecting on the light that's making it's return and the celebrations associated. We will work with the post-holiday and New Year energies as the old has been shed and the refreshed is ready to be birthed. We'll be exploring the Upper World this term, with its associated guides, as well as journeying into the Lower World to commune with our animal guides, messengers and medicine companions.

roaming art journal

I just completed my next page for the Round Robin art journal I'm taking part in. For this one the art journal owner requested we use the theme "Love". I didn't use any words like the other artists in the book did. But I think I still conveyed a strong meaning.

And I dig her :) In fact I might transfer the idea over to canvas.

a few new paintings - from Serendipity retreat

I haven't blogged or painted much since I got back from Serendipity retreat in Nags Head, NC. (which was fabulous btw!!) In all honesty that could be because I've been sick for about a week and a half. Sneezing and a horrible hacking cough and fevers followed by chills. It's been horrible and I'm so glad I'm over it. I didn't make it to the gym for almost 2 weeks! Talk about stir-crazy!

I did find a perfect sick-day-craft though. I made felt in the washer machine using 100% wool sweaters I purchased at the Goodwill! I don't know what exactly I'll use it for but I do have a few ideas. Things we don't talk about until after Christmas. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Last night I painted for the first time since getting home from retreat. I really miss it when I don't paint or sculpt every day. Sadly, I can't. My schedule just doesn't allow it. But if I go more than a few days without it, my head explodes.

Seriously. It does.

I planned on painting all weekend but somehow got sucked into video games. lol So by Sunday night I packed away the computer, pulled out some acrylics (heavy body, fluid, acrylic inks), Adirondack alcohol inks, Stabilo graphite, oil pastels and a large sheet of watercolor paper and got to work.

The first three pictures below are ones I did at retreat. I did them in the class I took from Tim's sally aka Mindy Lacefield. What an awesome class! I have loved her paintings since the first time I saw them. She has such an interesting way of doing figures. Hints of my favorite artist, Jesse Reno, but much more whimsical.

So here are mine:
This is the first one I did in her class. We worked on several at a time. Well what we actually did was start several backgrounds. We worked on those all morning, applying multiple layers of paint, ink, paper, etc. Then we went to lunch. When we got back we started doing figures. The above is the first one I completed. She's cute :)

This is the second painting I did. Mindy demo'd how to use her techniques to paint an animal and I really wanted to paint one. Walking to the class that morning I had my own Zen moment as I stood quietly and watched a red fox trot down the street before running off into someones back yard. So the fox was on my mind when I painted this.

This is the last painting I did in her class. At first I told myself this wasn't complete. Duh, no hair!!! But the more and more I looked at her (him? it?) I heard a voice saying "Finished". I like the naive look on it's face with the bald head. It speaks of rebirth to me.

So that's what I call it: Rebirth.

Last night I wanted to take Mindy's techniques and paint something in my style. I'm not 100% convinced it was successful but I had fun doing it. I still need to pick up some GAC 100: Universal Acrylic Polymer. It's on my shopping list for my next Dick Blick's fieldtrip. I had to use a matte medium instead.

There are certain things I do that don't lend themselves to Mindy's way of doing faces. Mainly, my cheeks. And I'm in love with my cheeks so that might be hard to adjust. well, maybe.... I do like my face shaded using Mindy's color palette. In fact I really dig it. The eyes could use some work. It also needs more definition between the face and neck. I do love the background (well, all except part of the upper right; too busy. Need more resting spots). And of course crows are acceptable in ANY painting.

So the verdict? It needs work but I'm not unhappy with it. :)