Art Journal 4.18.12

While taking in the gorgeousness of West Cliff Drive this evening, I noticed that Spring is here.  Last week's stormy gloom must have been good for the flowers and I was inspired to draw/instagram the night away.  It's nice to let the right side of your brain take over from time to time and give the logical side a break.

-C

 

Christmas Cards

My ideal evening involves weird shows on TLC, man-sized  loungewear, and a craft project.  This isn't some new thing because my mid-twenties are behind me now, it's always been this way. I decided to make my own Christmas cards this year and probably took it a little bit too far into cat-lady territory

(I made a rubber stamp. I carved a snowflake into this gummy block using my bare hands and small tools.)

My inspiration was this reindeer that I bought to add a little Christmas cheer to my mantle*.  I drew a picture and scanned it, then printed it on different papers, adding paint to some and stamping others.  I made 6 in about 2 hours, including the breaks I took to give my full attention to Hoarders and I
Didn't Know I was Pregnant. This is seriously going to take me forever.

Merry Christmas!

 

*I don't have a fireplace.

Mannequin Makeover

Last weekend I spotted this dress form at a sad little yard sale and decided to adopt her.  I found out she had spent most of her life modeling second hand clothing in the window of a store that was no longer in business.  She also suffered a bullet wound at some point (although I could not confirm that)

 

My mom, a seamstress, sent me some inspiration (here) and we got to work on her new dress.  We first made a pattern out of a sheet by trimming and pinning the pieces to fit…

We then disassembled the pattern and used the pieces to cut our fabric.  I decided to use a floral pattern from her massive stock pile, I wanted something with a heavier weight that would give the cover some structure and would also be easy for me to sew.  Also, it was free.

After the pieces were cut, we turned them wrong side out and pinned them back on to make any necessary adjustments before sewing it together…

My mom suggested using a zipper in the back in the interest of simplicity.  I was supervised pretty much the entire time, and only had to rip out a few weird stitches here and there.  Luckily she also was there to sew anything complicated. 

 Now I just need to paint the stand (it’s some awful gold color) and the project will be complete! Since we made a pattern, I can make more covers in other colors and prints.  I haven’t used a sewing machine much since I was a little girl, and it was a lot of fun to sew again.  I think the final product will look great in my new closet.

*C*

Fake plastic petals

Line study using botanical forms. I chose fake flowers as subjects since they were readily available at the moment, but I see now it would have made no difference if they were from the dirt outside my door.

{Contour with varied line weight. Bamboo pen & India ink}

{scribbled gesture line in 4B graphite}

{hatched line}

{cross hatched line}

{Calligraphic line with drawing brush & ink}

{Contour varied line weight in soft graphite}

{Scribbled gesture line in ink}

{mixed hatched line in hard graphite}

{HB, 2B, 8B graphite poppies.  Just for fun}

Happy Friday to all. 

The weather report is showing rain drops...ironically, I am scheduled to be part of a parade tomorrow morning and attend another involving boats adorned with Christmas lights at the harbor in the evening (my favorite!)  So it may just rain on BOTH my parades.

Oh life.

xoxo

-C

Crafting a countdown

I have fond memories of taking home colorful cardboard advent calendars from the grocery store.  I recall choosing between 3 or 4 themes: a decorated tree, a Santa, a snowman, or a group of people caroling.  Each tiny numbered flap held a waxy chocolate shaped like a bell or a boot and I enjoyed pulling the plastic mold out of its cover after the countdown came to an end.  This year my nephew is finally old enough to appreciate this holiday tradition so I decided to make my own version just for him.  A good excuse to go to the candy store and get out the craft box.

                     

YAY for opening a present everyday.

-C



Life imitating art

Cake Window {Seven Cakes} WT

Wayne Thiebaud has created beauty from the ordinary, something many great artists have in common.  The whimsical color choices and unique qualities of his work always inspire me.  For a recent drawing class assignment we were asked to set up a few man-made objects of interest next to a lamp and make record of shifts in value (shade).  I am very green when it comes to both working with charcoal, and attempting to make something look three-dimensional on a 2D surface so I can see hours of practice in my future.  For my first attempt, however, I was inspired by this

{eight lipsticks}

And ended up with this

In comparison to the rest of my class I have a lot to learn in terms of value scale since I somehow completely eliminated anything upwards of 50% saturation (all gray no black) but I kind of prefer a softer look to my drawings anyway.  Oh yeah, I know what everyone else's homework looks like because each week we are forced to display them on the wall for a group critique session. 

 It's exactly what it sounds like.

xoxo,

-C

  

p.s. A lot of the group commentary is actually positive, mostly because people don't want to risk not being bffs by slamming your crappy art.  I really try to learn from the classmate critiques though.  For example, "this drawing doesn't have any space for me to move around in".  Noted sir, noted.  I'll work on that...

Project management

More jewelry organization.  I've been very inspired lately since I see these beautiful displays everywhere, yet my necklaces hang sadly from thumbtacks in my closet.

yes thumbtacks.

white paint, white nails, crochet trim + fabric glue, little round hooks, string

Now pretty on the wall. Good.

And then there's this drawer...

and this hideous thing...

+ white paint (silver upholstery tacks for fun)

=

 

Much more better.

love

-C

On display

Jewelry is pretty.  I see no reason for it to be crammed onto a binder ring along with hair ties/safety pins/miscellaneous objects with holes (see below, I removed misc. items for photo purposes)

SO I got rid of this ^ and gathered a few things ...

small wooden plaque, pretty fabric, good fabric glue

2" nails, small embellishments made the nails less...industrial.

A little paint too

more pretty

I'm going to return the hair ties to the binder ring and throw it in a drawer (because they do serve a purpose other than holding stacks of paper together) and now my rings have a sunny little home base on my dresser.  Next project: necklaces. 

-C