Illustration Model

In my illustration class that I go to way more often than I planned to, we're building model rooms to photograph for reference. We were supposed to pick a room that was the scene of an emotionally impressive moment in our lives, so that we're invested in the scene and will therefore be invested in our drawings. I chose something that happened in the living room of the apartment Rachel and I shared on Evergreen St., the night before we moved out - therefore it's pretty empty. I'm not done yet - and these are really (really) shitty photos, but I wanted to get this up here before I forgot.






I've still got to make a boombox, papasan chair and light out of clay - then the figures.

Illuminated Text

I've been working on the project I started talking about in my last post. I don't really like the text I wrote but I think it works really well as a text to illuminate. So far I've only done work on one spread - I have a feeling the book will be four spreads, 8 pages. I'm really liking where it's going, though. I have been borrowing the general gist of the decorative aspects from manuscript plates I've found in the books I have on illuminated manuscripts. I sort of want to go back and re-do the initial letter with gold leaf - that was my original intention but I don't have tools to do a small guilding job like that. Hopefully a trip to Michaels will solve that problem.

Here are some pictures of the work in progress -









All I want to do is work on it! Wonderfully inconvenient though, it takes a long time to do anything on it, and without a doubt a very certain calm and focused mindset (which is not always easy to come by...)

I'm working with acryla gouache for the color and a higgins calligraphy ink and flexible nib pen for the text

Also, check out my mixtape blog, i just uploaded a new tape chock full of 80's pop bombs and i bet you'd dig it!

New Project

In Letterform Anatomy today Joe gave us all rolls of tuppence to work on. This was awesome (especially he gave me two extras to take home!). I decided to do some free writing and I ended up with a sweet little story/poem/rhyme - don't ask where it came from, it just did. Here are photos of the scroll, and below that is the edited/completed text that I finished tonight.

_____________________________________________

A nightingale once said to me,

“in time, my dear,
wait and you will see,
your heart will shine,
as once before,
and while I can not promise
nevermore, for a while
at least, your tears shall be cured.”

As time went by, my head hung low, I waited for a sign to show. A little key to prove her right, to bring her prophesy to light. I went about my daily tasks, doing my best to stay unmasked. For the nightingale, she also said,

“I know my dear,
as you do tend, to keep
your life up in your head.
Your face, it shows
contentment yes, while
really what you feel’s a mess.
Restless, darling, as you
may be, I think it’s time for
them to see, what’s in your head,
upon your face, and only then
may you find grace.”

And so I took her words to heart, believing if I did my part, keeping my face (heart) honest and true, that someday, oh, I would find you. And thus I went about my days, relating to people in different ways, taking comfort in honesty, letting myself, well, just be.

Quickly, though, it did not come, a change, a shift, had begun. Where once my days, they had been cold, a bright new warmth I now did hold. No longer did I feel the need, to find myself part of a ‘we’. Content I was, truly this time, on my own, for I did find, the nightingale, her words were true,

“the most important company to find is you.”

It was then, and only then, that I saw you there. You came to me as in a dream, for now I was prepared, to love someone as once before, no longer was I scared. For the nightingale, taught me she, in order to find your care, that I must find, for myself, that which must be bared. And as my eyes, open now, found your pensive gaze, I heard her words, so clearly now, over once again,

“And once he comes,
for you will know,
as if the world did bend,
to bring you two together then,
and draw you hand to hand.
Your love will grow with strength, with hope,
and with honesty, for at this point,
you will have become
what you are meant to be.”

_____________________________________________

I think i'm going to keep working with this because I like the text and I think it'd be fun/good practice to write it out and sort of illuminate it. I'm going to keep working with the scroll because it's awesome, and I want to do really ornate initial letters and illuminated borders. I think it could be pretty awesome when I'm done - although I have very little idea how to do it all. Time to stick my nose back in those books about illuminated manuscripts...

Lately

in class doodles

taking letterform anatomy, again

there are monsters among us
(unfinished)

Mass Market Spring '09

Mass Market was great. While I didn't feel totally prepared and still sort of wish I had made more hardcover books (especially more with the bike cover!), my table looked great and I had more than enough stuff. I sold a decent amount of stuff although didn't make much money, but got rid of a few really old pieces and that felt great. Gave away a lot of cards, talked to a lot of interesting people, possibly made some good connections and really appreciated all the nice things people had to say. I sold about four or five hardcover books, like fifteen notebooks, only a handful of cards (grrrr), one charm bracelet and a bunch of other stuff. Sold two old cameras to a good home and got rid of almost all of the about mixtapes books (finally!). Here's some pictures of my table:

Review Board

The other day I laid out all of the work I'll be presenting at my review board, and I took some pictures. Most of this has been posted already but some of it hasn't. I've actually added a few things since taking these photos, and there are stacks of calligraphy and tracings/drawings that you can't see. I also got really into finding frames and framing some of my stuff this semester too. I try and go to salvation army and goodwill a few times a week to find awesome frames - and I've found some goodies! I got started on my frame kick months ago when I just happened to find the most perfect frame for a drawing my dear friend Matt McKeever (click for his myspace that features some of his work) gave me a long time ago now. Here's the frame and the drawing:



The photo doesn't quite capture how incredibly well the frame suits the charcoal drawing - thick, raw wood frame.

Anyways, here's some of the stuff I laid out.

the whole shebang

probably my favorite frame so far

a little drawing/watercolor i did the other day from a childhood photo,
and the ridiculous sequin frame that i was crazy enough to sit and glue down

i really like this calligraphy piece with wash border

calligraphy set

tracing from some old icon, gold pen on tracing paper - no flash

shiny gold with flash!

you can also see a monster i drew withinspiration
from celtic manuscripts

New Work - Today

So, I finished classes a week and a half ago and my productivity has dropped. Blame it on the beautiful weather, blame it on the swine flu, blame it on gucci mane. Either way, I've been stuck but that doesn't mean I get to stop creating - such is the life of an 'art student'. My review board is 7 days away and while I'm happy with the amount of work I have to share, there could always be more. So, I took a trip to the art supply store hoping to find some inspiration (and see that wicked cute boy that works behind the reg...) and I did. Bought three of those awesome cradled plywood boards (artist & craftsman supply sells them for so much less than blick!), came home, got out the gouache and got to work. Hours later, this is what I made. I really like them.





A little difficult to photograph since they're quite light... and the setting sun isn't the best illuminator. Gouache on 4x4 cradled plywood boards. All of the colors were mixed from a super limited palette.


<3 Spring <3

Icon Progress

So, here are some progress shots of the icon I'm painting in my Contemporary Icon class I'm taking this semester. Sadly there is only one class left and I've only begun - I still have to gild and paint the piece. I missed class last week due to a family death and so I missed some crucial work time - I hope to gild the piece this wednesday and gather all the materials I need so I can spend the next few weeks before my review board painting it. The painting shouldn't take too long, as long as I can figure it out without the impeccable guidance of Bob Baart. Not too much detail about the imagery here, more just about the process.

MDF board coated with gesso made in the class. All grounds are made from scratch, except for the bole.

the fresh icon, after 7 coats of gesso but before 5+ hours of sanding

after 5+ hours of sanding, holes drilled, image xerox transferred and gesso relief painted

testing out imagery for the side panels

because so much of the icon is going to be gilded, i had to incise my drawing so
i'd be able to see it while i'm painting - traditional technique

this is a closeup of the gesso relief - these are the spots where
the gold will be burnished (shiny)

the bole (red clay base) that is painted over the ground wherever
gold leaf will be applied. traditional water gilding technique - my
teacher suggests applying 5 or so coats, to enhance the gold's finish.
when you burnish applied gold leaf, you're really burnishing the red clay
below the leaf - that's what shines, and it shows through the incredibly thin leaf.

one coat of bole ontop of gesso relief - you can see the incising

one coat of bole (on top of the bunnies I decided to use)

full view of 1 coat of bole

awesome side view

4 coats of bole

full look at 4 coats of bole - i wish i had realized how much i would have to
gild before i spent so much time preparing and sanding my surface. oh well, next time.