Kirigami Trees

Family Tree

Before I start off on my trip into history, I made a family tree (I hand wrote it on graph paper because I couldn't find a computer program that did exactly what I wanted, and I kind of like it that way, it feels more mine.) Then I took a few pictures. These are my favorites.

Artist Trading Card Exchange

On Sunday, I attended another Artist Trading Card Event at Freeport Square Gallery. I brought digital images of my work, and got lots of cool cards in trade. They're trying to make it a monthly event which is a nice way to meet up with other artists in your area for an hour or two.

All Species Parade

Today I took part in a parade that was the result of a collaboration between artists with disabilities, local elementary school students and puppeteers. It was pretty fun. Here are some shots of the crowd and one of the fish puppet I was given to march with.

The flowers in a vase

This is a sneak peek at the graduation flowers before I gave them out. I like the way they look all together and then how they were dispersed the same way my classmates will disperse after they graduate from the program and go off into the wider world.

An arrangement

I made my mom some flowers for mothers day (along with a few other gifts) and My parents set them up on a shelf with a little figure sculpture I made for my dad a long time ago and a map. I thought I'd include it here, since I rarely get a peek at where my artwork goes once it leaves my hands.

Happy Graduation/ Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's day and Graduation day! I made flowers for all my classmates who are graduating out of paper scraps and twigs from the yard. I also made little tags with their names and my congratulations on each one. They were well received (and cheap, and fun to make and easily recycled. yay!)

This is an experiment I did with a kit I bought at the craft store intended for use in school dioramas that's supposed to provide a realistic water effect. (It seems to be pouring medium). The butterflies are made of paper. I think I'll try working with real water next.

Paper Tree Experiment

This was an experiment in making paper trees or foliage out of recycled paper.

Art Party

I hosted an "art party" for my class, which ended up being more like a critique with snacks. I brought work, and invited other people to bring their work and put it up. I got a lot of great feedback. I really appreciate everyone showing up and taking part.

Visual Vocabulary

I was in critiques for many hours last week, and I started doodling. One of my classmates has developed a very specific visual vocabulary and I started making doodles with some of her imagery. She asked me to scan them in and send them to her. I though I'd put them up here too.

Yet another Sketchbook Collage

Sketchbook Collage!

More collage fun!

Sketchbook Collage

Inauthenticity

So, the last few posts have been about authenticity and then I started thinking about inauthenticity. There seems to be a perception that because we live in a society where things are mass produced, inauthenticity is everywhere but an artists or designer still has to make the initial sketches or molds and people still have to operate the machinery etc. Why doesn't their labor and input "count"? Anyway, I was thinking about this while talking to one of my friends and the subject of color-by-number paintings came up so I decided to do one. When I got to the crafts store, the kits were a little pricey for just a fleeting thought so I got this pastel kit instead. The kit came with five pastels and an image lightly printed on pastel paper which one is instructed to draw over. I chose this picture of cheetahs because even the cheetahs don't appear authentically interested in one another. Then, there's an extra piece of paper in the kit. I used it to sketch the view out my studio window.