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.)

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.

Sick Day Drawing

Mini Crit

Tomorrow in Graphic Design class, we are having a mini critique for our current project. We are designing book covers for a series. We get to choose three books by different authors. The books should have some common thread or connection.

These are my preliminary sketches that I will show tomorrow. I have a backup set in a completely different vein in case these are rejected. Of course, they'll be super refined (these are scanned from my sketchbook), but I think you can see where I'm going with it:

That last one is a bit lost in scanslation. Hard to see what's going on. Anyway. I'm having fun! :)

Have you read any of these books??

8 1/2

This is a painting I did over the weekend. I named it after a Fellini film because that's the mental connection I get from the dress. Huh?

Anyway, as you can see, my children are only half dressed and I can assure you that my house is a mess. Despite this, my floor shines thanks to the scrub down it got the other nights after this adventure.

This painting was all kinds of fun, but it took some time! Today, I entered it into the student show at school. Maybe it will be accepted!

Geisha Art for Japan

My heart breaks for Japan every time I turn on the radio or get on the internet. I want to do more than pray. As you know I have an interest in Geisha which comes through quite a bit in my art. I have decided that 100% of profit from any geisha themed art that I sell in 2011 will go directly to the earthquake/tsunami relief effort. I'm not sure of the charity yet, but I'm leaning toward Doctors Without Borders.

Here's a sampling: