Big Bird
Every year my best friend Jen has a Halloween party with a theme. This year in honor of our friends who are turning 40 she decided to go with 1969, and was I ever blown away with all of the things that happened that year! Moon landing, Woodstock, Manson family, the first draft lottery in the Vietnam war, Nixon, Arafat, Chappaquiddick, Monty Python and Sesame street, and on and on. In keeping with my birds theme from last year and because of some teasing from Oscar the Grouch, I chose Big Bird. From the top down, yellow clown wig, Styrofoam eyes, felt beak, turtleneck, felt, feather and tulle skirt, leggings with faux fur stripes, orange felt feet. The skirt is my favorite thing and really made me want to learn pattern making. Maybe that’s the next thing on my to-learn list. Above, you can see me with Colonel Sanders, John Cleese in the Parrot Sketch from Monty Python, Mary Jo Kopechne and Neil Armstrong.
International Print Exchange Prints
Last month I participated in the first annual International Print Exchange (read the post). Today I opened my mailbox to find an envelope containing the 8 prints that were my reward for participating. I sent them a limited edition set of ten prints, 8 of which they sent along to participants such as myself, and I received 8 in return. The other two are for archives and a possible gallery exhibit. I’m really pleased with the prints I received, quite a diverse group of prints in both subject matter and technique. I’m looking forward to future exchanges such as this. Now I just need to find some empty wall space so I can hang them up.
The trees are the detail, the forest is the trees.
I spent all day yesterday working on a task that’s been on my list of things to do since I moved into my “new” place 2 years ago… Framing and hanging all of the art that I buy. It doesn’t help that I continue to purchase new art, so I had nearly given up on the task as completely hopeless. BUT, thanks to the lovely Seattle summer weather (torrential downpour), I was kept inside all day and therefore nearly completed the task. I like to buy art when I travel, so it was also a trip down memory lane… that piece I got in Portland, Maine. This one in Portland, Oregon. These were presents from friends, those I made. Now I can sit back and try to figure out where I’m going to put that print that’s coming in the mail from tinyshowcase.com.
Night Blind Poster
I intended this blog to be about all of my hand-made art and similar pursuits, but once in a while I get to work on a really fun project that takes me back to why I took up design in the first place. This is a poster I designed for an Independent short film being produced locally. My friend Sean is the producer, so I’ve been enlisted to help with various programs and posters and whatnot in exchange for being his date to the Oscars when they get nominated in the Best Short Film category. (a girl can dream!)
International Print Exchange
A while ago my friend Jessica sent me a link to a call for submissions to an international print exchange organized by a printmaking studio in Derbyshire, UK (http://www.greendoor-printmaking.co.uk/). The deal is that I send them all of the original prints of an edition of 10, and they send me back 8 different prints submitted by other artists. All for the low price of 6 pounds. Can’t beat that for 8 pieces of original art (not including my own). The size of the paper is 5.5″ square, and the size of the print no larger than 3.9 ” square.
Finally, the very last night I’ll be able to create something to submit before the deadline, I decided to pull the trigger (procrastinator!) The prints I created are the first completed works in a series of mixed media pieces of art I’ve been thinking about for some time now. The themes revolve around using weather as a metaphor for feelings and states of mind. Partially because I see a lot of parallels there with my own emotional life, and partially because people here in the great Pacific Northwest (or the GPNW, if you like) are totally obsessed with the weather. If it strays in the summer months above 73 degrees, or in the winter below 42, people totally freak out… so interesting… I love it!
This piece is truly mixed media. Printed on Archival Fabriano printmaking paper. The first layer is a linoleum cut relief print, with a strip of handmade paper at the bottom. Then I used my Gocco printer to silkscreen a halftone screen on top of the blue, then another relief print for the house, and finally the roof of the house is a tiny piece of 22 gage Copper glued to the paper. I’m trying to marry all, (or some) of my skills together. This attempt may be a little expected… but that’s what happens when I procrastinate and have a strict deadline. One of these days I’ll be able to realize what I see in my mind’s eye on paper/canvas/etc.
polka dot ring
anatomy of a ring
Being a maker of things, I feel like while I’m pretty good at some things, really good at others, I’m just mediocre at many… And sometimes when I’m trying to make things I see how my diverse interests make me a jack of all trades and a master of none. I melted several bezels while attempting to make this ring, burned my fingers, and used more expletives than I know I should…. but the 3rd or 4th time is the charm, and I really like the way it turned out. The polka dot bit in the middle is an enameled piece of copper I made in a class a few months ago, and the rest is silver. Making this makes me want to go back and take more metal smithing classes at Pratt!
Figure Drawing – Round 3
Foreshortening plus male model equals very challenging. This week in class, however, I feel I started out strong… my very first gesture drawing was really not half bad! I’m thinking that, while self confidence maybe isn’t half the battle, it is certainly a portion of it. One of my favorite parts of class is walking around and looking at all of my classmates drawings. Everyone has a unique vision, and while some people are more talented, and some less, it’s always inspiring to see every person’s own unique point of view. Meanwhile, while I don’t think I’m going to produce anything in this class that will live to eternity… I do love getting back to the basics and remembering how to see things, and how to put that down on paper. Mostly, I love how when I’m in the moment, I really leave everything else behind. There are so many things in life that are constantly pressing on us. And it’s so hard to just take a step back. So for me it’s been surprisingly cathartic. I don’t often find it easy to just exist in the moment, but am finding I am totally oblivious to everything else when I’m in the process of drawing in this class. I forget about everything, both good and bad because my entire focus is about seeing the figure and putting it down on paper. It’s really been amazing and I’m learning a lot and am determined to keep it up… Meanwhile, being the stuffmaker, I’m compelled to make a bag for all of my drawing paper, pencils and whatnot. So stay tuned for the anatomy of a handbag.
Figure Drawing – Round 2
I keep hearing myself saying that if one can draw the human figure, one can draw anything (boy, how pretentious do I sound?). Does it follow then that if I can’t draw the human figure I can’t draw anything? I’m hoping not. I have these memories of being in the “not half bad” skill level in my college figure drawing class, but I have to remind myself that back then I never used computers and was frequently found with pencil/pen/paintbrush in hand. As of late, all of the “drawings” I do are created using my wacom tablet and Adobe Illustrator with it’s multiple undos. So getting back to basics is an uphill battle. Or perhaps battle is a little dramatic, maybe journey would be more accurate. Today’s class started with gestures and moved on to longer poses, the longest which was 20 minutes. I think I’m showing a marked improvement over last week, but need lots and lots of practice. I’ve read that becoming an expert at anything just takes something like 1000 hours of practice (6 down!). The images above are the last two drawings of the night. The left took 10 minutes, the right 20.
Hello!
July 7th - Class #1
I’ve decided to start a blog in order to both record and share my journey to learn how to make absolutely everything. Lofty goal, to be sure, but I’m optimistic, curious and have a lot of time on my hands so am undaunted.
At present I’ve just started a figure drawing class at Gage Academy here in Seattle. It’s been years since I’ve gotten back to the fundamentals of shape, form and perspective, and feel that if you can draw the human figure, you can draw anything. Sadly, it isn’t like riding a bike and imagine I’ll be needing lots and lots of practice. Let the journey begin!
