thursdays

It's raining cats and dogs today

- a good day for art -

Drawing practice above

(birds beginning with "A")

And linoleum block printing below

(Antelope Hare in Arid Arizona)

MLK Jr. Day

On his birthday, I like choosing a book to read to celebrate Dr. King's life and legacy. My parameters are that it has to be a very human story. This is turning out to be one of those books.

etsy

today I worked on a custom order for a 

very special  return customer on etsy

she's a teacher and wanted a crown for her high school history class

she asked for a simple crown with one word :

B E A U T I F U L

to be worn by the student who needs that extra praise for their beautiful mind

I added my own little bit to the inside : 

I am truly

B E A U T I F U L

inside & out

Extra credit?

class time

I ended up not needing to go to work today,

so I focused on my class 

(see sidebar "Y is for Yellow")

The sketching assignments really stretch me

(the marmot was an example of one of those) but Carla also has us work in this larger sized multi purpose journal.

*

I enjoy doodling

- combining words with pictures -

so these pages give me a brain break.

Meet the anthropomorphic avian a.k.a. Monsieur Avery

(This is my "A" page)

tin pan alley

I have plans for these lovely metal elements 

there's something about the old aluminum

I just love it

is it that it's just  N O T  plastic?

or could it be the promise it still keeps:

 "to last forever?"

lasting so long that it is now hopelessly homely?

and completely corny?

marmot

a drawing exercise from the class I'm taking

(See sidebar: Y is for Yellow)

Clockwise from top left:

backbone "swoosh"; blind and from memory; left  handed; "smudgie"

I picked a marmot to draw, not knowing how adorable they are. He's a fun little subject.

calm seas

"halcyon" is greek for the kingfisher bird

 -once believed to magically calm the seas for 14 days during the winter solstice-

floating and nesting on the surface of a peaceful, windless, open ocean

it has come to mean a peaceful or tranquil time in life

this tiny photo of one of my girls waving to me is "enough to gladden any heart"

it was a happy day as she stands on the shore of a beach on Whidbey Island 

- the halcyon seas of Puget Sound are seen in the background -

How I made it:

I made this piece out of a broken Christmas ornament found at the shop I work in.

I took it apart, scratched away more of the mirror silvering material, adhered text and a photograph of my oldest daughter (at age 8) to the back of the glass - allowing those elements to peek out through the scratched out silvering. Then I made a foil pennant banner strung on wire to cover the cracked glass. The pennant lettering is made using a round hole punch and book text. The mirrored glass is backed with a blackened book cover. I then sandwiched everything and copper foiled and soldered it all around. It's about 5 inches in diameter.

focusing

I am looking to 2016 as a time to refine my focus.

I've always wanted to take an online art class and after lots of thought (overthinking it actually), 

I've settled on Seattle based artist Carla Sonheim.

Y is for Yellow, a 2016 year long class

I love her unique style - and the fact that she includes a drawing warm up with every lesson.

Drawing is foundational.

So anyway, I dove in.

We'll see where it takes me.

Carla says:

"As mixed-media artists we are always trying new media and experimenting with new techniques — which is awesome! But what can happen is we don’t take the time to focus long enough on the things we really love so that we can create a cohesive series that is uniquely ours.

"I have found a lot of value working in series over the years; choosing and sticking with one media/subject matter for a period of time really has helped me… and I will share with you what I can about the process.

"Are you ready to work hard in a fun environment? Let’s refine, focus, and create a body of work this year!"

*

I've also ordered this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Art-Speed-Life-Mixed-Media/dp/1596688769

It seemed apropos for the speed my life is at these days.