Hand Drawn Bird

I don't love this bird. I liked him alone, on paper, but not in this drawing.

Stepping back again. Need to look at again with fresh eyes.

Thinking Outside the Box...Literally

I think this might be the answer. Who knew?

Gotta go get another bird though.

In Progress...Taking a Step Back...

So I am kind of at this point I need to take a step back and look at this print. Something is missing I think, which is a struggle because I want to keep the simplicity of it as well.

Further, I want the clothes to be the focus of the print, and that's not happening.

And I don't like the navy blue in the pallette, but I am not sure what other color to use because clearly I need one more. Grey?

Not sure about the ground. Thought I might need it to offset the sky. I'd like it to be graphic as opposed to drawn, but at the same time, I want this to be a print, a drawing, not graphic design. Does this make sense?

Just kind of talking myself through the process...thanks for coming along for the ride.

Ok, I am going out to try and get some pictures of flying birds, because this one is not mine...I just borrowed it for the sketch...

Returning to the Laundry

So there are some projects I keep coming back to. Laundry is one of them. I have really been into combining my drawing with my screenprinting. Today was (finally) relatively nice out, so I took to the yard and drew laundry on the line.

I tested the drawings in photoshop with the palette I want to use -- ever since I saw these colors on a sheet of origami paper, I realized these are my colors (if one can actually have colors...)

I have included the scrap of paper, too.

Tomorrow is socks, boxers, a couple of tees, some underwear...ooooh! Tomorrow is supposed to be 76° and sunny. Don't forget the sunblock!

December Sale

In Checking In," I mentioned the December Sale at the Museum School. I am selling some older work, because I have just been too busy to produce new work in time. It's good though, that the older work is getting some press time too, I guess, and it was nice to find some of these pieces because I had practically forgotten about them.

The one with the grass and the moth is called It's Not Pretty to Me (©2006). It's mixed media -- the grass and sky panels were screenprinted, the path of the postage stamp moth is actually sewn black thread. This one was a lot of fun because it really evolved out of the screenprinted panels, which began as just an exploration of alternate screenprinting methods.

I am also going to sell Bird on Green, which I LOVE for its simplicity. It evolved out of a teeny sketch of a bird I did that I just fell in love with and realized I needed to take it a step further and out of the hidden pages of my sketchbook. I like that about sketchbooks. You can draw and create lots of junk in them, but once in a while there is a little hidden gem that you can just pull right out and integrate into something else.

The last little pieces I am going to put in are those laundry prints I have been meaning to post. I have scanned some in, but I am not quite sure these are going to be the ones I am going to submit. They are all a little varied and that is what I love about them. I love the new dimension they have to the OLD laundry prints (Fresh I and Fresh II), I am thinking maybe I will take the old laundry prints in their size and variety of laundry and integrate the cut paper and color. The irony is, Fresh I was supposed to have lots of color, but then when I saw the line drawing, I liked that. Hmmm, it all comes around, I guess.

More laundry to do

It's been a while since I posted here. Yep, means I haven't been too creative lately. That's bummer. But the good news is I did finish up the last of the laundry prints, in all the pretty colors and had a super lot of fun patterning some of the clothes by buying some super cool Japanese silkscreened paper at the Paper Source. I am going to trim some for the next 20 minutes and then I am off to bed. I think I will try to post a bunch of the variations in the next couple of days...

Added feature? There was LOTS of leftover paper, so I cut some off the sheet to make some origami earrings, which I sell at Magpie in Davis Square.

Finishing the laundry, adding the elements

So I guess I need to finish (and respond to) that last posting about the laundry...So here goes...

1. Pricing work in general. This has always been a difficult one for me. I just don't know how to do it. I have always wanted my art to be art for the people (aka, not exorbitantly expensive) but at the same time, I don't want to devalue my thoughts, time, energies, or product. I just never know how to price work and it makes it the hardest part of all.
   
2. The original design. This was an alteration of one of my original designs. I am not sure if I have an example of it around. The original was larger, just a line drawing. I am now thinking I like this multicolored, more detailed version better, even though I was sure I liked the outlines better in the past. I think conceptually i like the outlines better, they express the ephemeral nature of man made items in an environment that has been in existence for billions of years. Aesthetically, I like the colors included better.
   
3. My work as a reflection on everyday life. I kind of touched on that. I really like to reflect on the fleeting moment of these man made items (cars, laundry, etc) in an ever changing, but relatively stable natural environment. Not sure if I am explaining this right -- that's why my art should speak for itself.
   
4. There are more of these yet unfinished and each has the possibility of being a bit different. I had to get a few done for a submission, but there are numbers more that I am going to alter and each should be a bit different from the rest. I like about screenprinting that you can reproduce multiples, but I also love the ability to change little elements in my work as well.
   
5. Size. The original was designed as 4x6 with some bleed -- I liked the bleed area a lot so I have been finagling the trimming a bit, and I think it is 4 5/16 x 5 1/2
   
6. Should I sell this on Etsy? Oh this has been a question I have been struggling with. I feel like so much stuff just gets lost on etsy, and I am not even sure if I should post it there, since I don't even know what to charge.
   
7. The first two are in the mail to the Museum School. More on that later. Actually, they are on the way to the Rhys Gallery in Boston, for the Proof of Purchase show. Each alumni artist can submit up to two 4x6 pieces...I meant to do this last year but I forgot to mail the envelope. I sent them anyway, so we will see if they use them this year too. But basically, on August 29-30 from 11-6pm (?) all this art work will be showing at the gallery, and once you buy the piece (each piece is $50) you then can find out if you bought the work of a well known artist or an aspiring artist. Promises to be a cool event. I am going to try and attend myself if I can get out of work that day on time.

Whew. That's it on that.

So my other piece I just finished was for AzureGrackle's super cool Periodic Table Printmaking Project. This was a neat project and promises to have a great finished product. Each piece was 6x6 inches, so must have quite an amazing result when all laid out. I think she is going to attempt to make a book, but I think she should also think about showing them -- maybe curating a science related show with this collection as the center piece.

I was assigned Roentgenium, element 111, since I joined too late to choose, and I had to take what was left -- no wonder it was left -- it was a tough one! I chose to respond to the fact that it was in the same column (shoot, I forget my chemistry) as gold, silver and copper so it probably has some of the same properties. I also thought it interesting that it was only observed three times before it was added to the periodic table (hence, the table)...Finally, I decided to graphically include that it is radioactive.

It was tough and I am not really sure how I feel about it, but it is what it is...

Laundry

I just bought new laundry hampers, so I thought this would be a great time to post one of my newest pieces. Even more perfect, as I rush to get this into the blog before Kev and I go to Vermont for the weekend, the washing machine downstairs beeps away letting me know the laundry is done.

This piece is a mix of ink and collage, entitled My Mother Used to Cut My Paper Dolls. (The shorts on the far right are collage). I think I like this piece much better than the original piece from which this was expanded upon.

You know what? I have so much more to write about this, but Kev and I need to get to Vermont, so I will leave myself with a list and I will finish when I come back on Sunday.

I finished this particular piece on Thursday night.

Darn. Note to self. Numbering doesn't work so well next to images. So here is my list:

• Pricing work in general
• The original design
• My work as a reflection on everyday life
• There are more of these yet unfinished and each has the possibility of being a bit different
• Size
• Should I sell this on Etsy?
• The first two are in the mail to the Museum School. More on that later.

To Concord, Vermont we go!