Well, I'm excited!

I recently opened my Etsy shop, and got my first sale today!!!  Ok, ok, I'm easily excited.  It was for one of my favorite things to make, hand-illustrated plates.  Like combining the best of both worlds, potter and drawing.

Seems like I've drawn all my life and just recently took up pottery.  So, without further ado, my very first sale!!!

Just a happy little bunny enjoying Spring.  I can relate!

So, now the packing.  Wow, I pack my stuff each week (several times) as I do local farmer's markets.  But to go in the mail!!??  "Gulp!"  Ok, I'll probably over pack, but that's ok.  Plus, I have a bunch of mugs special ordered by a dear friend who's a Chicago Blackhawks (hockey) fan.  "Double Gulp!"

Keeping my fingers crossed everything arrives safely.

But, if it doesn't, I can always make another one, right??

And if you're interested in any of my other illustrated plates, or even my other stuff, check out my Etsy shop...



Cheers!!

Fancy Sneaks

Just thought I'd post a couple of pics of my latest Fancy Sneakers.  They were a request by Barb for the library benefit.
They were a lot of fun to make!!

Travis

Here's a sketch of our big 11-year old "puppy", Travis.  What a goof-ball.  He was just relaxing, trying to ignore our 3 cats.

I realize after I finished his snout is too short.  Trav actually looks a bit like a Great Dane with a longer snout and smaller ears.  He's cross between a Chocolate Lab and a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.  He's a BIG boy!!

Creative Every Day

In the right column, you'll see a cute square icon that says "Creative Every Day 2013".  More than a cute icon, it's a challenge to be creative every day.  And to post about it.

If you know me, I've not always been terrific about following up on such challenges, but I've been making a lot of changes in the past year.  So...

I've been doing my "Daily 10" (writing every day in my journal for 10 minutes) and I realize I'm pretty creative in my life.  I just don't blog about all of it.  And it's not always art-related.  You might see some  unusual kinds of things, but in my mind, it's creative.

Here's today's creativity...

Yeah, doesn't look like much, but it's the first 2 signatures for my next journal.  And, it's some new paper I'm trying...Utrecht American Master's Printmaking Paper.   It's a nice weight, and should take all kinds of media (yet to test it!!).  And, since there's a Utrecht here in Sacramento, I could purchase it by the sheet.  AND it's on SALE!!!  :D

Paper is fun.  

So, the next couple of days will probably be filled with bookbinding stuff.  Thanks for bearing with me.  :D

Visual Animals

Hey,
I saw the below on the Zentangle site, and wanted to share it.  I truly believe many of us are visual animals, some more than others.

School, especially math, was difficult for me to grasp until I associated colors with the numbers.  One is blue, two is green, etc, etc.

Anything I could visualize, I could understand.  Ok, I could get "a + b = c", but with some of the more "exotic" equations were totally beyond my grasp.  And, often, I honestly couldn't see ever using some of these equations in real life.

I mean, really!!????

So, take a look, and enjoy!!



And, just a bit of what's up.  I'm taking a terrific Color Theory at Folsom Lake College from Heike Schmid.   It's tougher than I'd thought, but necessary to finish my AA in Studio Art.  Along with being a visual learner, it's always been easier to learn things in a class, rather than from books.  Guess so many questions pop up while reading a book that are never answered.

Not just basic color theory, like the primary, secondary and tertiary colors (like this)

but all the tints, shades and tones too.  And how to mix those suckers from scratch.  Lots of trial and error, and even more "grr...  why in the world am I taking this STUPID class" but it'll all come together.  I know it will.  Every class I've taken from Heike always starts out like this.  Total frustration and a ton of work.  But,   "A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work."  -Colin Powell

Robert Genn - "Lessons That Art Teach"

I receive a wonderful newsletter from Robert Genn.  These newsletters cover a variety of topics, but all relating to art.  And all are sprinkled with a wry sense of humor which make them such a fun read.

The most recent installment has some information regarding an author, Elliot Eisner and his book The Arts and The Creation of Mind.
This is an excerpt from that book...

 'Ten Lessons the Arts Teach' by Elliot Eisner

• The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships. Unlike much of the curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it is judgment rather than rules that prevail.  
• The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer. 
•  The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world. 
•  The arts teach children that in complex forms of problem solving purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the ability and a willingness to surrender to the unanticipated possibilities of the work as it unfolds. 
•  The arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor number exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition. 
•  The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects. 
• The arts traffic in subtleties. 
•  The arts teach students to think through and within a material. All art forms employ some means through which images become real. 
•  The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said. When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find the words that will do the job. 
•  The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source and through such experience to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling. 
•  The arts’ position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important. 

 Robert Genn went on to say...

In our day, when math, history and even language skills can be quantified and measured, giving clear percentages that pass or fail a student, it's good to know the arbitrariness of art still persists. The teaching of art stretches young minds to new levels of curiosity, wonder and appreciation of our world. And while anything goes and solutions may be open-ended, there is still room for the joy of craft, proficiency and standards. Technical knowledge, design, drawing and an understanding of colour are still out there for each new generation. Further, art education can last more than one lifetime.

I keep my fingers crossed that those kids who have the desire to pursue the arts will persevere.  It's worth it.  :D 

Being creative

Can be really hard, without a little help once in a while.

Here's a little something that might kick-start you (like it did for me!)

Watching a Master at work - Claude Monet

I saw this short video on the Artist Daily website, and was captivated by Claude Monet's working style.

From the site:

As a landscape artist, I naturally expected Monet to observe his subject. Yet, the constancy with which he observes is astonishing. Except for the time he takes to clean his brush, he turns to his subject every two or three seconds.

Monet and the other Impressionists abandoned the approach of blending colors over large areas in favor of placing individual strokes side by side, and allowing the eye to mix those spots of color at a distance. Here we witness the action that produces these daubs and dashes of "broken color."

At certain moments, the strokes are fairly short "dashes." Other times he makes longer vertical strokes. There is no blending or rubbing, just one thrust of the brush. He holds the brush fairly far back along the shaft and extends his arm, reaching to the canvas. After just a few strokes, he returns to the palette for more color.

Monet pauses for a fraction of a second to choose his brush. Monet thinking—caught on film! He uses four brushes. They appear to be the same size, so almost certainly the various brushes were assigned different colors.

One brush also appears to be unusual—quite pointy with the bristles forming a triangular shape. Perhaps it was a brush he had custom made or it was a regular brush that had worn down.

Here we get a glimpse of the artist's palette. Given how "loaded" with paint the surface of his paintings were, I was a little surprised not to see larger daubs of pigment squeezed out on Monet's palette.

Stance and orientation: When painting outdoors (or with any subject, for that matter) it is often recommended that you put your subject as close to your line of sight as possible. This reduces the amount of head turning necessary. Here, though, Monet is turning a full 90 degrees to the right to view his subject. This was likely because of the size of the canvas. Had he propped it up in front of himself, it would have blocked his view.

And here is the video... Enjoy!!

Incredible stuff happening out there....

Check out this video, created by Petro Vrellis.  One of the most impressive applications of computer animation.


Starry Night (interactive animation) from Petros Vrellis on Vimeo.

New web site

Hi there,
I've FINALLY put together a website for my painting and bookbinding.  Art has always been a passion, and this way, I have a way to show other folks.

I'll be offering basic bookbinding classes/workshops locally, now that we've moved.  They are a lot of work for me to prepare, but always great fun.

Art and creativity are such a worthwhile pursuit, so enriching and stimulating.  And if nothing else, a terrific way to spend some time just to yourself.

Anyway, here's a link to my new site:  http://www.crestviewcreative.com.

Cheers!

My Summer Shoes

I've seen some really cool cotton tennies that folks have "Zentangled" on, and I figured I could do that!! So, I found some that were pretty inexpensive (read: "Walmart") figuring if I really messed up, it was no big loss.

But they turned out pretty good. I'll probably go back over them with black pen again just to make it a little darker, but all in all, not too bad.

What do you think??

Too Tight!!

I've been realizing that in my effort to capture a likeness I've been painting (and drawing) WAY too tight! Probably part of my colored pencil days when a painting can take up to 300 hours. But I've been working on this painting my my Grandma (see earlier post) and I'm STILL working on it. In fact, none of the paintings I started are completed. I've been fussing over the details.

So, earlier this week, a friend, Susanne, lent me 2 DVDs and a book. All on what she calls "loosey goosey" style of painting. Wow... no one uses size 1 or 0 paintbrush to achieve fine details around the eyes and mouth! No one uses a fan brush to blend skin tones! Stand back.... IT'S A REVELATION!!!!

So, I've broken out some new canvases, and am anxious to try it out. But my left brain is arguing... "Finish what you start".
'sigh'..... ok.

Geisha

Here's a piece I did a while back for a friend. I got the photo reference from Frantisek Staud's website with his gracious permission.