She's lucky I'm an artist

My view has always been that no canvas or wall is truly big enough for my vision. My daughter shares this. Mere paper? No. That won't do. She needs walls. She needs to climb on furniture to make the faces big enough. She's lucky that her momma understands her vision. 

I tried to capture some of her work, but it just doesn't come across in pictures with the same impact as in real life. Her work is bold and striking and raw. I can definitely see the early influence of Seuss and the Minions coming through, but her voice is her own.

That first image is one of my favorite of these pieces. It has been a while in the making. She will work on it in chalk, wiping it away over and over until she gets it right. Then she'll set in down in graphite or (washable) crayon. 

The final image is the start of her mural in her brother's room. It greets him upon waking. The top is higher than his head. 

Drawing Lines

I love the first track of James' upcoming album. Draw a Line in the Sand (and watch us wipe it away).

This week, my project has been designing a look for this album that works as an unconventionally packaged CD, translates to standard vinyl size and also could be rearranged as a show poster. I am really inspired by vintage books covers and "vintage inspired" contemporary typefaces. (I found some here!)

The album is an exciting collection of raucous, spirited, sing-along/shout-along protest songs.

Here is the in-progress cover:

The design wraps around so that there are two flaps making up the back cover wherein the disc itself shall rest.

I am kind of excited about these fonts. They are newly designed from the co-op linked above, available for a name your price deal. 

Ok, well, I'll be the first to admit that I have a long way to go. Of course, I am aware that trying to complete a project a week is ambitious. But I'm still on it!

Finally!

James is coming home today. Oh, we've missed him! All you folks who wait at home for deployed partners, I salute you! A long weekend is too long for me. I did wear ugly dresses, I did drink beer and I painted. But I only painted a little.

The kids and I stayed around the house mostly (James drove up to WV in our only car). We went over to see the in-laws and my folks for Father's Day. And we went to Irene yesterday to plant some veggies. 

Bea and Am have done pretty well. I've been a little obsessed with their sleep schedules because I need bedtime to be easy when James isn't here. It's been ok, but I've had a kid in the bed with me each night. 

End of Term

End of Term, always so far away, then upon us before we are ready. Except this time! I got ahead because I was expecting a final project on my most intense course. I got ahead in everything else. But, the teacher decided to go easy on us. We just have to finish up our previous project and call it a day. Or even a term.

So I have an exam in Public Speaking. It is a comprehensive exam on a textbook which I am proud to say I never read. Thank you very much. That will be Thursday. I expect to enjoy it.

I have a slideshow to put together for my print class showing all the stuff I've make this semester, showing that I learned a good variety of techniques and tried different styles, etc. I still need to photograph some of my work for that, but here is some that I can show you now.

This first piece is a linoleum cut print. It is based on a photograph I took of James not too long ago. It is about 9"x7" or something.

The next is more or less a doodle because I had little bits of lino and big bits of imagination. The studio was a mess.

 The sugar skull is a two color lino print. It is done on butcher paper.

This sugar skull is just the key plate from above. I hand colored it with watercolor crayons.

For this one, Lady MacBeth, I "rainbow rolled" two colors and attempted a chine coli. I still don't know what that means, but I'm pretty sure this is it. And I'm pretty sure it is awesome.

There were some other processes that we tried, but I can't show you examples until I get them photographed. Also, one is a familiar nude and I don't know you as well as that, so you won't be seeing that piece.

The last process we learned about was lithography. I quite liked it even though it was a beast to figure out. Hours and hours of trial and mostly error. It is a portrait of little James Ambrose:

I based it on a sketch I did of him while he and Bea were watching a movie recently:

So that is what I've been up to. One week form now, the semester will be over and I will have weeks of house cleaning, potty training, grocery shopping, laundry and all those other domestic things that I've let fall by the wayside.

(Also, parties, art exhibits, daytrips, rock shows, skinny dipping, banner dropping, puppet making, drinking, reading, gardening, painting, etc, etc.)

What's in my Art Kit

I see a lot of bloggers do posts about all the stuff in their purses. It's all pretty and cute and useful stuff. I'm not going to show you what's in my purse. It's all receipts and tissues and diapers. And nothing cute. But I will show you my art kit. It is a handy wooden box, inexplicably labeled 1996. 

Those beautiful soft pastels were a gift from one of my longest-standing friends, Kara, herself an artist, now more of a writer.

The strange and lovely print of Adam and Eve over the world is by my own aunt, my father's sister, Stephanie Jo. Her work is very inspiring to me and I hope to follow in her footsteps this next semester as I embark on a printmaking path.

Printing, Part 3

So now I just want to show you the fruit of my labor. These are the 5 print designs I made:

I got a lot of cuts and puncture wounds making these. Lots of bandaids. But even so, I love printing! The whole process just feels right, pain and all. I love it. I'm going to try to take a printing class next semester. Watch out for more of this:

Printing, Part 2

This is the part where the teacher let me do my own thing. I feel so blessed to have this much freedom, encouragement and room for expression in school. I am doing a DVD cover for Fellini's first color movie, Juliet of the Spirits, as I mentioned before. When I get it good and finished, I will surely show it to you. My friend Beth took all these pictures.

First it was a lot of sitting around carving the blocks.

Then I secured the block on the bed and rolled on a thin layer of black ink. 

See?

Even though it's too light, I was super excited!!!

My teacher(almost) always wears that hat, even inside, because he believes the proper way of doing things is an archaic convention that no longer applies. He is a father of two. 

It took a lot of tries, closer to what I wanted with each one. 

You'll see the finished product soon enough. It is due on Tuesday...

LOL, the Giveaway Part: First five people to comment here (other than myownself, of course) will get a print from me! It may not be this design. After all, there are four more!

GIVEAWAY STILL OPEN. Don't be fooled: I've commented and commenters have re-commented. As of right now there are still TWO (2) prints up for grabs.

Please leave a way for me to contact you!

Influence

The other day in class, I was asked to show some of my work, then to explain my influences. Okay, I said, that's not so hard. So I showed the class this painting that I recently completed.

I then shared that Egon Schiele has been a big influence on my development as a painter. The teacher seemed unable to see the influence. He said he was looking for a "direct" influence. He acted like it was a negative thing not to see Egon in my painting, but to me it is a great positive. No, my paintings don't look like Egon's. Because, guess what: I'm not Egon.

It would be impossible to explain how much I love Egon Schiele's work or how much it has inspired and informed my aesthetic. But if you were to say that my work looked like his? I would not be flattered. It's important for each artist to have his or her own style. We ought to be inspired by other artists, but I'm not out to ape someone else.

Here are some examples of Egon's work:

You can find a lot more on google, where I got these images. What do you think of his style?

Painting

Today was rainy and gray. I tried to take the little ones outside, but the mosquitoes got us before the rain did. Oh, well. The bright spot was nap time. Both kids slept, which is a little surprising considering what they had for lunch (chocolate ice cream).

While they slept, I painted. These:

And I watched The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. I love the director Peter Greenaway. His movie, The Draghtsman's Contract, is one of my faves and James loves Prospero's Books. I haven't seen all of that one. I like how he uses tableaux vivants and long, slow shots. His movies could all just about as easily be plays.

Sketchbook Series :: Ink

This summer, one of my main projects is getting together (read: creating) works for my portfolio. At USCU, you have to pass a portfolio review at a certain point before continuing in the program. I haven't been in school taking art classes since like 2003, so do I have any work for this? Nope. I am working from scratch here, folks. I need 12 pieces: drawings, paintings, design work, etc. Basically, I just need to show my skillz.

This is a cross-hatched pen and ink. It is super faded out on my screen. Bad scan? Anyway, in real life it looks more or less killer.

If I don't pass this review on the first go-round I will be so shamed. My friend Beth passed with flying colors her first time and she is three years younger than me.

Oh, the pressure!

Bunnies and Lemons

I drew these bunnies the other day, scanned them and colored them digitally. I am thinking about submitting the design to threadless. I don't know about you, but I would totally wear a t-shirt like this!

James and I had some friends over last night to play board games. It was lots of fun, despite the fact that we own so few games. We played Rummikub and Yahtzee. We all (8) sat around our tiny (4 person) kitchen table in the yellow light. We had wine and pretzels. And lemon squares that tasted like a night on the sea.

I love that my siblings are my friends. If we were just people, not related, I would still want to be friends with at least some of them. 

Fast-Cheap-Easy

This is the most comfortable outfit ever. My brother-in-law mistook it for pajamas. In fact, to photograph it, I decided to curl my hair and wear make-up so you wouldn't make the same mistake. These are my most famous pants and I found them on the dollar rack! I am so cheap: the glasses were free and the shirt is from Goodwill just like the pants. I honestly can't see why anyone would shop at the mall.

Tonight, I am looking forward to making a music video for one of my poppiest pop songs. It will be made in the "fast-cheap-easy" method that we are applying to our musical pursuits lately, James and I. As my paintings get more meticulous, my music gets less so. 

The fast-cheap-easy route came to be after James' old computer crashed and the album he had worked on for ages was lost. The Lost Album, as I think of it. It was the best. It was amazing. He really put a lot into those songs. They were fun and catchy with that special touch that makes them your favorites. 

Now, why risk that again? Why let anything keep you from getting your work out there right now? You don't have the fancy camera to make an awesome video? Photobooth. You don't have awesome recording gear? Tape deck. 

I wanna get alone and be with you

Painting, drawing, planning, sketching. I'm working on three different compositions right now because I never want to be at a standstill, like waiting for paint to dry before I can move ahead. This has already been a productive Summer and it's still May. I work in the afternoons between 12:30 and 3 as well as after dark. Sometimes, I wish I could have a whole day each week in addition to these slots. But, you know, being a mama is good too. 

Fairview

So I had a comment regarding creativity and pressure on my recent post about how much I am enjoying painting.

Pressure to create is the one thing that is always sure to stop me dead in my creative tracks. It's not like artists block or fear of bad feedback. It's like as soon as there are expectations, everything from ideas to desire dries right up (but not creative energy) and is replaced by a bad attitude. Even when the pressure is self-inflicted.

So how does one deal with this?

I can't say I have a sure fire cure, but I know what worked for me. 

A few years ago, before we had kids, two of my brothers came to stay with James and me. We were all really creative, the four of us. We liked to draw and make clothes. And we all had bands and we were all in each others' bands. No Yes, Charles and Henri/Cooper, St. Lucien's Choir and Darger. All under one roof. 

Just about every night, we sat around a bottle of wine and shared our latest songs with each other. We teased each other and picked on each other the way siblings do, but deep down, I knew their songs were amazing, mostly better than mine. Before long, we started getting a little competitive. 

Very competitive.

Eventually, I felt like I had to produce more and better material every day, plus contribute kick ass bass-lines on the spot at our almost nightly band practices. I was unable to paint anything that made me happy and my songs stopped representing me the way they should have.

So I took a vacation. I told myself didn't have to do anything. If the Spirit moved me to pick up my bass? I might. If a song wrote itself inside my head and I felt like picking up a pen to write it down? Maybe I would. But I didn't have to. I released myself from all pressure to create and I informed the boys of this as soon as the decision was made. 

I can't say everything suddenly got better or turned out ok. James and I survived as a couple, my brothers made it out alive. But we went our separate ways for a while.

I eventually got back on my feet and James came out better than before.

So there it is. Make a conscious decision not to accept any pressure -even from yourself- and maybe you will get back to where you want to be. 

Don't Look Back

I never thought I would use gouache without being forced, but now? I am so glad I took the time to learn a new skill. It takes me a long time to plan and plot and make swatches. Totally worth the time as far as I'm concerned. I love it.