Friday, but not too freaky

This is what I made today....the centerpiece is a Tamara Knight lampwork bead Keith bought for me at Bead With Me a few years ago. Awhile back I incorporated it into a very fancy silver and red necklace I made with big link chain and all kinds of beads. The necklace was beautiful, but not really my style....I'm finding I prefer a much simpler presentation. In the end, I took it apart and set the lampwork bead aside, not knowing what to do with it....until today....

Today's stuff

Today was fun and productive. I got together with my friend Pat, a new beader, and we made a bunch of stuff (I taught her how to make a surgeon's knot, an easy teachnique for closing a stretchy string bracelet). Also, I found a good deal on rattail cord (half off at Hobby Slobby). I made a bunch of other stuff too but all the pictures came out blurry.

This necklace has a very fancy center bead that I bought at a bead show. I have never had an adequate way of displaying it (except that I did put it on a BeadHanger at a couple of points), so I haven't worn it much. Now it is ready to go. If I get tired of it and cut it up, I'm wasting 50 cents worth of cord. Not too shabby. I like the simplicity and elegance of the spiral.

Last night I made Tasja a pretty bracelet with some kind of blue stone beads and sterling fishy links. I wanted to help her feel better because her throat is still really sore. Plus I knew she would like the fishies. She started a club at her school called FISH, and she wears a fish necklace, so I thought it would tickle her fancy. Now I just hope that after she recovers she will enjoy the bracelet and not remember how miserable she was when I gave it to her.

Stuff I've Been Doin'

Here you can see what I've been up to. I've always liked spiral knotting (as in the necklaces at the top). It's very soothing, and I am very pleased with the visual effect of the spiral. Plus I have like a gazillion focals to use up. So I'm making a lot of spiral necklaces, and getting better with practice. They work well as chokers but can also be adapted for longer lengths. They are easy to close with a knot and loop; you just have to learn to construct it correctly. I have also been doing lots and lots of bead and wire link bracelets like the white one. They work well for giveaways and for charity, because it is easy to make a wide variety with a few medium-sized beads and some wire. You really don't have to do anything to fancy to get a nice effect, they are durable, and the silver or copper sparkles beautifully. I like Czech glass best for these, but there are about a zillion options. The best sizes are 6-10 mm. I went through my bead stash today and pulled everything I have in those sizes so I can make a bunch more. The one with the leather and all the round beads is one I'm keeping. The beads are borosilicate, and the leather was tied to just fit if I roll it on over my hand. That's the type of thing that has to be custom-fitted and is therefore not much good for giveaways unless you happen to find the person with just the right size hand and wrist. The last one I'm not sure what to do with. I created it with the idea of packing a bracelet with a lot of dichro and sterling. Not sure I like the result. It looks kind of boring to me. Not sure if I will leave it alone, deconstruct it, keep it, give it away, or dance wildly twirling it over my head. Well, probably not the latter. =-)

Shifting Focus

I've gotten away from posting here, and that's really too bad; it's fun to write and post. I have decided to mix more "life stuff" in with the art stuff. Since my readership currently is really small, and basically composed of people who seem to be interested in my life (i.e. friends), I'm guessing this shift will work okay. If not then I suppose people won't read it, but that's okay.

Well, the last couple of days have been pretty quiet. Tasja had her tonsil surgery yesterday, and seems to be doing okay (she has discovered the wonders of Vicodin). Mostly I have been frantically making jewelry, driving Keith back and forth to work in Woodridge (his car fried and died), and making mushy food. Throw in some laundry and some Internet, with a side order of phone calls and some doggy care, and you've got my day. I'm really enjoying how quiet it is.

My job has gotten to be awfully stressful--but hey, I have a job, so no complaining, I guess. It's just that we are being given less and less time to accomplish more and more stuff. Enough of that. The point is that when I come home, I want to recharge, because more often than not my day leaves me burnt. Those who know me well know this ain't a new song I'm singin'. But it is more true than it used to be. Thus why I'm frantically making jewelry. Frantic, not because I'm under pressure, but because I like working at a fast pace. I find it more challenging. Today I have made two spiral knot necklaces, two stretchy kids' bracelets, and two bead and wire link bracelets (sterling). Now I am making a bead and wire link bracelet to keep....out of borosilicate beads I have had for about three years now and have been trying to decide what to do with. One set is blue and green, while the other is aqua and brown. They don't exaclty match, but that is part of the zing of using them together; they are related, but not closely, like second cousins. Will take a photo when I'm done.

Tomorrow I am getting a big box of wire in the mail. The best part? Completely free! I had about six years worth of scrap wire, plus some wire in gauges and shapes I didn't want to use, so I sorted it (hours of work), bagged it, boxed it, and sent it to Rio Grande. I included a note to them telling them what to send me back, and in what proportions (by percentage). Turns out the stuff was worth well over $400! Who knew? So I have a big box of wire coming. That ought to keep me busy for awhile. The moral of the story: always save your sterling and gold-fill scrap.

Hijacked!

As some of you know...long ago I made jewelry. Lots of jewelry. Lots and lots of jewelry. I sold most of it, took some of it apart, and gave some of it away. Then I painted for two years. Then a colleague at work had me restring some old beads for him and WHAM! The bead bug bit me again, completely sidetracking me. Sigh. This is one of the side effects of having ADHD with a slight side order of OCD. So now I am obsessively making bracelets and necklaces again. Not selling them though, mostly, and not keeping it as I have already gone through my ridiculous cache of jewelry and thinned it out....so what to do with the sparklies? I've started keeping a RAK bag in my purse and giving them to random people just for fun. I've also started giving them to some charities for their fund-raisers. Occasionally I keep one....at least temporarily until I talk myself out of keeping it (if I do). Will try to take some pics soon. Will I go back to painting? Certainly. When? Dunno. Maybe later this week I will do some of each, but for now, I'm plying my pliers......and clipping my wires.

Horsin' Around

Things have been.....interesting. I'm studying to take the GRE tomorrow (woe betide me, it's been 20 years since I did most of this math) so I've been studying for that. But in between memory hiccups I've been painting and playing. I have some new abstracts coming along, plus a couple more watercolor crayon drawings. Front and center I've been working on some model horses. The gold and white one is a rescued wooden statuette I bought for less than three bucks at a resale shop. I gave him a wire tail and am now adding mohair. His mane is going to be pearlescent paint (partly done). Clearly he is not intended to be realistic, but he is fun, and a good learning project. The white one is a Breyer plastic model horse which I've modified by sanding off the mane, cutting off the tail, etc. I added a horn, making him a unicorn. I think he is going to be dark blue with a black mane and tail. Why models? Because I used to collect them and have always loved them, and because I am having fun painting 3D objects. I am also continuing to work on my containers, albiet slowly. Between the trip to England we took and the GRE, my art time has been pretty limited. After I take the GRE tomorrow I plan to reward myself with some real art time.

Abstract Fun

This one is called Wave Form. It's on an 8" X 8" canvas board. To be honest, it's much more interesting in person because it has some slight 3D aspects that are not apparent in the photo.

I am also working on painting some containers. Starting with paper mache boxes, I am using layers of gesso, paint, and gel medium to add color and durability. I hope to photograph some soon. The first one I did was the color of my daughter's dog, Sharky, so I put silver letter stickers on it to spell out her name, sealed it, and gave it to my daughter to be a memory box. I also did one in black with interference paints that turned out pretty. Now I'm working on a blue and gold, a lipstick pink, and another black. I'm also working on two wooden boxes with handles, both black, with interference paints. Will try to photograph soon.

Finally, I am on a major horse kick. In addition to the winged horses I am (still) cranking out, I have started painting model horses and little horse statues (wood and plastic). The one I am working on now is wood and will be painted/haired as a palomino (though the color is too bright to be realistic, it is intended to be more decorative than representational). My mom just asked me to paint her rocking horse that her grandfather made for her when she was little, and I am really excited about what is sure to be a very involved long-term project. I still remember and very much love my great-grandpa, and have several treasures from him, but to work with something he made with his own hands will be an unprecedented privilege. So my current work can be practice for this much greater project.

Flying High

Well, I think they are improving with time, don't you? Last night I pulled out the old horse books and started studying anatomy in earnest, and that is sure to help some more. My brush work is shaping up as well. I have some more abstracts, but didn't get good pics last night (must try again today). It's true what they say.....put more miles on the brush, and you're sure to gain skills! So back to my brushes I go. I sure do love my art life now that the perfectionism is gone for good. Even when I screw up, I just chalk it up to experience and keep right on painting. No stress, no anxiety, just fun and lots of paint on my hands. What a relief!

New Stuff

I'm making more progress with photos, although I had to toss a bunch because they were too fuzzy. These are not perfect either, but at least give you an idea of what I've been up to. I particularly like the grey unicorn with the dark purple wings. That turned out really well for some reason.

Still painting and painting and painting and having a good time.....

Ketchup

Hi, this is a bit of ketchup (catch-up) blog. I've been very busy painting and painting and drawing and painting and painting some more. So busy I haven't picked up a camera in quite some time, months really. Well, today I finally did pick up the camera. I didn't photograph everything, but I did get some good clear photos of things I've done (or am doing).

The main reason I didn't worry about taking photos so much was that I didn't want to interrupt the incredible stream of creative energy I was experiencing, the first of its kind (but dear Lord please not the last). It's not that anything I did was so brilliant, but I just had SO MUCH FUN!!! I did a lot of abstracts (in acrylics and mixed media) and lots of winged horses (in Caran D'Ache Watercolor Pastels). Not sure why it turned out that way, and I know I'm in a rut, but it is a good, productive, creative rut, and I'm not done with it yet. Eventually I will get tired of abstracts and winged horses......but I'm not there yet. And that's fine.

Playing with Paint

When I was originally investigating watercolors, I was taught to make swatches of color mixes. Friday, I got some more paint colors (Golden) so I decided to go ahead and do three swatch pages: yellows and blues (greens), reds and yellows (oranges), and reds and blues (purples). This was a very unscientific process where I made charts and mixed each pair approximately 50/50. I tried to vary the mixes a bit and paint multiple different mixes in each pair; some colors, like the phthalos, I had to stray from the 50/50 ratio fairly drastically to get close to the target color. This was a very interesting and useful process because now I have a permanent record that will tell me which colors to use to mix a wide variety of secondary colors. I also learned which primary colors make good secondaries and which do not (Pyrrole Red does not make good purples, but makes nice oranges, for instance). If you haven't tried this with your paints, I recommend it....it's tremendously educational and also fun.

Wishing for Mad Camera Skillz =-)

For some reason I am having the best time painting and the worst time with the camera. Yes, the new one. Sigh. Part of the problem is that they paint is glare-ey. It's all my fault, because the paints I prefer are the glittery, glitzy, glowy ones. So I'm paying a price for my magpie tendencies. To make matters worse, I had to go and glue stuff onto the abstract. I am so happy with how it turned out. I'm thinking of naming it Turmoil after the recent tornadoes that have plagued Illinois--it does have that spiral aspect (can you tell with all the glare?). Then there is the unicorn, which looks pretty surreal with the glare that is on it; in person it looks a little sloppy around the edges (because I am still in the process of developing my brush-handling skills, which are in their beginning stages). However, it looks less anemic than it did before I plumped out the belly of the unicorn. I think maybe I made the butterflies too brightly colored; do they detract from the unicorn? I have a lot to learn.....but at least I'm having a good time with it.

Cute

Here are three photos of things I consider cute: my daughter, Daphne, and my pegasus painting (well, sort of cute, I dunno....). The painting is being given to one my coworkers tomorrow as she asked for something mythological. That's never a problem for me as I like fantasy better than any other genre when it comes to art. The painting technique is fairly primitive, but not too bad for my second painting on canvas board.

Another Paisley

I wish I had photos of my new acrylic work for you. I did two paintings, the pegasus and a centaur, and both turned out fairly well considering my lack of experience; however, they are proving very difficult to photograph. I used a lot of metallic and pearlescent paint, and while that makes them very pretty (in the opinion of myself, given that I like those types of things), it makes them very glare-y to photograph. I'm thinking I may have to try again with my better camera after I figure out how it works. In the meantime, here is a little something I started at my mom's house New Year's Day and finished Friday in a hellaciously boring meeting. I think it is better technically than the monochrome one (I screwed up less), but the sharp angles and straight lines make it less visually pleasing to me.

What's up

Hi. I know I haven't posted in a while. Basically I am dealing with some health complications, combined with end-of-the-school-year craziness, combined with a new hobby....gardening. Yes, I am getting my hands dirty not only with paint, but with good old-fashioned dirt. I'm growing lilies, tomatoes, strawberries, morning glories, fuchsias, and marigolds (so far).

However, I have had time to do some artwork. I'm working on a canvas board, painting it with acrylics (like I decided to do when I was painting Julian). I'm really not very good at it, but I am approaching it as a casual experience and not letting myself get bent out of shape when I mess up (which is frequent). It is a picture of a pegasus with a butterfly on his chest. I drew the same drawing onto a shirt to paint, but made the mistake of not tracing over the drawing I did in disappearing fabric marker with permanent fabric marker, so I am going to have to start over again. That might not be a bad thing as the first sketch was really only mediocre. However, the one I did on the canvas board was really great....but I did it in pencil, and the first layers of acrylic smeared the pencil. Plus I dripped some of the sky color on the pegasus' mane and neck, and had to cover over it with white. But like I said, I'm approaching it very casually, and that is working for me, derailing my perfectionism before it can really take hold. This is a very positive development, giving me the freedom to just play and not worry about the final outcome.

I don't have photos yet, but hope to take some soon. I also plan to re-draw my pegasus on my shirt and start painting that. Plus I am contemplating another round of shoe torture.

Shoe Torture

Here are the results of my recent bouts of shoe torture (which is way too fun to be legal btw). I went to Famous Footwear and bought four or five pairs of shoes on clearance to play with after my last experiments. The top pair is done in ShivaPaintstiks (not sure how I'm going to heat set them, maybe in the dryer). I did them with stencil brushes. They are not symmetrical. I put ribbon yarn in as laces and added beads to the ends (they are merely decorative, not meant to be tied). That was a very fast, fun pair to do. I like the soft, easy airbrushed look.

The bottom pair I call Spring Bling. They were a semi-ugly floral print. First I pained them with Lumiere Emerald Green (big improvement already). Then I glued on dichroic cabochons. Next I glued on little sparkly gems (used E6000 for all gluing). Finally I glued on beads--leaf beads and round green Czech glass. Well, I used too much glue for the cabochons and didn't let them dry enough. So after the first test-wearing, I peeled off all the ones that weren't tightly bonded (six of them), peeled off all the glue, and re-applied with about 1/3 to 1/2 the amount of glue. Then I let them dry for three full days. Now they are stuck on there good and tight. Just goes to show you that more (glue) is not always better.

Finished!

I put the last touches on Julian today, and although as usual I see some imperfections, I am overall very pleased with him. Given that this is my first ever representational acrylic painting, and that it was done on fabric, I think it turned out well (if I do say so myself). I'm definitely going to try this again, both on fabric and an canvas board.

This whole experience has been a great confidence booster for me as I really have very little painting experience and was pretty sure I couldn't do it. I found that having the right brushes makes a big difference. Right doesn't have to be expensive in this case; my brushes were from Hobby Lobby, bought at half off, and did the job just fine. The crucial thing was to have a variety of sizes and shapes.

Now I'm off to go torture some more shoes!!!

Julian Update

I've been working on him slowly for about the last week or so, hampered by some health problems. But today I finally felt better and got quite a bit done. Next I will shade and texture his mane. While I do the mane, I will have time to contemplate what to do with the horn.....

Sorry it's so glar-ey....but it's metallic paint which in my experience is always hard to photograph.

More Fun

I am on a big clothing-altering kick and having a blast with it. I was reading Altered Couture magazine and read the article about altering shoes with PVA glue. Something clicked, and I HAD to have shoes to alter. So I went out and bought ballet flats because I figured they would be less subject to wrinkling through bending than regular shoes. I also figured it would be simpler to alter something without laces. So for my first two pairs of altered shoes, I did one in Lumieres and one with batik fabrics from my stash. The one in Lumieres was very easy and fun to do. I painted it all over (except the upper edge) with Indigo Metallic Lumiere. Then after that dried, I did swipes in Blue Pearl and Purple Pearl (not sure of those are the exact color names and too tired and comfy to go look right now, but it's something very close to that). I was excited but knew I wasn't done. I wore them to school that way. The kids really liked them. One of them suggested I add green. Now to me that sounded ugly for about 30 seconds, and then I thought, wait, it might really pop against the darker/cooler colors. So that evening I added Interference Blue (which I think they call Hi Lite Blue) and Emerald Pearl. I put the Emerald Pearl on in small spots. My student was right, the color really popped. It totally made those shoes.

The second pair of shoes was also easy to do. I cut up some batiked cotton fabric into ovals and circles and applied them to the shoes with PVA glue (if you need to know how, let me know and I'll explain). I let that dry. Then I had a flash--what if Lumieres were compatible with PVA glue? So I took a piece of leftover batiked cotton and put PVA glue on it. I let it dry for 8 hours. Then I painted it with the Lumiere Indigo paint and let that dry for several hours. It melded very nicely with the PVA'd fabric (could not be peeled off or separated). So then I went ahead and painted the shoes with Blue Pearl, going over the parts of the shoe not covered by the fabric (except the upper edges and the bow). That looked great to me; the color went nicely with the batik. I let that dry for a day or so, then cut out some other batik fabrics in circles and ovals and adhered them with PVA. When it was dry, I decided I liked the look and stopped there (though I may yet add more to it if inspiration strikes).

I went to Famous Footwear looking for another pair of shoes to alter and came home with four! They were having a great clearance, and I got four nice pairs for $30 or so. These have better soles than the ones I got at the other store, which is good because I found the original ones were a bit hard on my feet because of lack of padding and arch support. I have already started altering one of the new pairs (with Emerald Pearl paint), so most likely I'll have more to post in awhile.

Calling It Done

I am going to call Twickie "done" now. I added a bit to the background, including some lines for texture in the pink. Whew, what a slow but worthwhile colored pencil journey. I can't wait to pick the right mat and frame and hang this one up in a prominent place, despite its imperfections. What a great learning experience.

More Julian

Here's where I am with this now. I know it's kind of glare-y (not a word, probably, but you know what I mean), but I am using Lumieres on this and they are shiny. I think adding the rim of black around the eye really makes it pop, but it does make him look more like Julie Ann rather than Julian. Oh well. The wrinkles on the painted part of the neck smoothed out when it dried.

Julian's Debut

I have been drawing unicorn heads for the last few days. After awhile I decided to paint one on the back of one of my shirts. On Saturday I was having what I call a "good drawing day"....one of those days where my hand does wonderful things with a pencil or pen and I hardly have to think about it. So I came home from a horribly boring seminar and drew this unicorn, nicknamed Julian, on the back of one of my T shirts. Why Julian? Dunno. Just looks like a Julian to me. The first drawing shows the black fabric pen outline (drawn over disappearing purple fabric marker). The second one shows what I've done with the eye so far. So I will be doing a WIP for this one, too. BTW it's being done on a 100% cotton T shirt with Lumieres. So far I have used halo blue, gold, and emerald green on the eye. Tonight I'm going to try to do the lids and lashes.

Are we there yet?

Well, this is the "dress rehearsal" for Twickie/Daphne. This is the preliminary finished version. I went lightish on the background knowing it is far easier to darken a light background than lighten one that is too dark. I know there is one area along her chest that certainly has to be fixed; other than that, what do you think? Do you think she needs more contrast? I feel like I'm getting close....

Camille's Bag

I've been taking a class on how to make a purse called Camille's Bag. It was a very ambitious choice for someone who has been sewing less than three months, but the instructor thought she would be able to help me with it. Well, it was a huge challenge for me, but with a lot of help from Dixie at Sew Unlimited, I finished it yesterday. You can't see the little imperfections that mark it as the effort of a beginner in the photo, but they're there. That's okay, it's still a great bag. I'll make another one later to practice the techniques I learned.

I haven't forgotten about Twickie. My mom suggested I try a dark blue background for the bottom half. I'm going to send her the results and then make a decision about how to finish it. It's about time to hang that puppy's picture up on the wall!

Finalist

Here is the background combo I like best, modified to reflect people's comments and preferences. I used the colored pencils more heavily, especially on the bottom color. I like this better than the reddish color I used in #2, but it has more of a tonal presence as that trial picture had. I am pretty happy with how this looks. Any comments before I take the plunge?

Need Help

Hi, all. I finally photocopied the Daphne portrait. Then I tried three background color combos. I need you to look at them and let me know which one you like best. Please pay attention only to the color, not to the coloring job; these were quickie color studies. The final job will be much smoother. Please leave me a comment, email me, or reply to me on a list if you were directed here from there to let me know which combo you think is the most attractive. Also if you have other color combo ideas, I'm interested in hearing about them.

I chose these color combos from the pencils I had already pulled to work on the drawing, so most of them pull from background or accent colors.

I'd like to start my final work on this within a few days, so please give me your feedback as soon as possible. It will be valued.

See below for photos of the color combos. Please reference the photo number when giving your opinion.

Daphne Background #1

This is Daphne Background #1.

Daphne Background #2

This is Daphne Background #2.

Daphne Background #3

This is Daphne Background #3.

Here it is

Well, here is the green paisley I finished a few weeks ago. I've been kinda hanging on for dear life with school/ISATS (standardized testing) and some health problems. It hasn't totally stopped me from creating; however, it has slowed me down and left me less time for things like taking photos, so really there is a lot of catching up to do. I'm on Spring Break now, so it is my hope that I will finally catch up with myself, get healthy, and get some serious quality time in my studio.

I'm not totally happy with this paisley, but it was a fun creative exercise. Next time I will try to sharpen my pencil more often; the Lyra colored pencil I used was if anything softer than the Prismas I usually use.

Also, please realize that this is not a good photo. The real paisley is a warmer green and the background is a pale cream color. Keith just gave me his old camera (which may not sound like such a good deal, but this is a really good camera). Now I just have to read the manual and learn how it works.....and maybe I'll be able to start putting up really good photos on this thing for a change. I hope so. I'm so tired of struggling with the camera I have now.

Green Paisley

Long, long ago my mom challenged me to create a paisley in one color (monochrome). I chose to do it on cream Stonehenge paper with a Lyra colored pencil in a color called Sap Green (a moderately warm leaf green). Well, I drew the outlines in about ten seconds while I was still working on my mom's Christmas paisley (see prior posts for that if interested). Then I set the green one aside to pursue other things, promising myself I'd get back to it later.

Well, this week has been the magical week of the green paisley. I can't show you a progress photo because I left it at school (d'oh!). But I will tell you that it's nearly done now. The main paisley shape is all finished and I am working on the fringes. This one went very fast compared to the one I made for my mom. Parts of it I like a lot, while other parts are not so good. I learned that the Lyra pencils are smearier than the Prismas. I also learned that eating chocolate while working is not smart unless you are more careful (or coordinated) than I was....oops. Additionally, I needed to sharpen more frequently and work more slowly (do you notice a pattern here?). But at least I have been having fun with it. I'll try to get a photo up this weekend if not before.

Home Stretch

Victory is within reach at last. While this portrait has its flaws, I am finally becoming convinced I will finish it without screwing it up (this perfectionist's worst fear). Really, this whole thing has been as much about conquering my perfectionism as it has been about creating a piece of art. The other thing it is about is the fact that my hands don't shake any more, which is a great help. I have always had shaky hands ("essential tremor" in the words of my doctor) which I inherited from my beloved grandfather. I always assumed I was stuck with it and with the effects it had on my drawing, painting, and lampworking. My mom urged me to check with my doctor, which it had never occurred to me to do, and she was able to prescribe beta blockers which immediately stilled the shaking. This is the first really ambitious thing I have done since then, and I feel like it has made a big difference. Thanks, Mom! Now I'm trying to figure out if I need to deepen the color on the pillow. Tasj thinks it is deep enough. I am not sure. I don't want to go too dark, but my tendency is ever and always to avoid dark darks and light lights. I always have too many midtones, in other words. I'm interested in other people's opinions. There's time, since I have some monkeying around to do before the next step. I am going to photocopy the work in color onto regular paper and try different background colors for behind Twickie's head. I am thinking about rose or gold to contrast with the blue. BTW, I used the slate blue from Twickie's fur for the pillow, which is giving the drawing a nice unified look. A slightly blue-toned rose may be the way to go. I thought about grey, but that just seems wrong. It's going to be a simple gradient behind her head. I don't want to distract from her face by including the window or anything else like that, besides which that is more complicated than what I am ready to do right now. I'd be delighted to have opinions, like I said, so comment away.