Geometry

When you're a new mom, you don't always have time for big projects, because you don't always have the chunks of time to complete something at one sitting. It's probably a problem for moms who aren't necessarily first-timers, either. Kids take time and energy, and a lot of us creative types have to find small ways to get our fix.

Lately, my way has been to take a piece of graph paper and a pencil, and just start making patterns.

It's fun to see what patterns emerge from starting with a simple design and then repeating it... When I was young, my dad had given me a coloring book that had designs much like the ones I've been creating. I used to love coloring them! I could photocopy these patterns, too, and then use either acrylic paints, watercolors, or markers to fill the patterns with color. If I could just get my printer up and running again, I could print to watercolor paper and have some fun! 

What do YOU do to feed your creative urges when you don't have lots of time? 

The Sound of Tree Rings...

My photo of an oak tree.

While browsing my Facebook feed, I found this awesome link that a friend of mine had posted... An artist named Bartholomäus Traubeck invented a way to "listen" to the sound of tree rings. Ingenious and creative. The result is amazing... Check this out below...

People are so ingenious... And I love that this piece might increase the interest of the general public in admiring and respecting nature. There's so much that we can learn from the natural world around us. There's more magic than we can discover in a lifetime, but keeping our eyes and heart open will allow more magic to find us... 

Playing With Watercolors

You all know how much I enjoy watercolors... well, recently I made my own using dry pigments, water and gum arabic. I like the richness of color you get from watercolors that you make yourself.The tube colors don't hold as much pigment, so they're generally more transparent. You just need to be careful not to inhale any of the dry powders as you work them into pastes.

Creating the colors

After I made the colors, I wanted to try some color studies with this limited palette.You can see that by mixing, I got a wide enough range of colors... but I couldn't create a real bright green without a bright yellow. All I had was the ochre. (Cadmium Yellow is REALLY expensive to purchase as a dry pigment.)

All my greens were sort of khaki, and my yellows were dark, but the variations I got when colors were overlaid were quite nice. I made lots of dots, letting some dry and leaving some wet as I overlaid other dots, just to see how the colors reacted and changed. It was fun!

I also played with lines, using the same color palette I had created. I found new colors while I was doing this study. Corals and pale pinks came out, though I have no idea from where! Well, that's not exactly true, but it was nice to see them unmuddled by other colors on my palette. 


Here's the final products from my three pieces created for this study...

I had a really fun afternoon/evening making dots and lines out of colors. I essentially had five original colors that I created from dry pigments: Cadmium Red Medium, Ultramarine Blue, English Red Dark, Yellow Ochre, and Genuine Green Earth. Pretty crazy, huh? I encourage playing with colors, especially if mixing isn't your thing. You learn a lot from playing with things! That's how we start out as kids, after all... learning from playing! It's the best way!


xox

ArtsQuest Glass Blowing Demo - in Detail

I briefly showed you some photos of the process of glass blowing on yesterday's post. It was so cool, though, that I wanted to show you all of the photos that I took, to give you a better idea of what this process entails.

In the first photo, Lindsey has already gotten the "gather" on the end of a heated blow rod. She rolled it into colored glass powder,and is reheating it, so the colored glass melts onto the gather. Then she will push it into a mold that shapes it with length-wise striations.

Next, she adds another layer of molten glass to her original gather, and will then add another layer of colored glass to it, which she will put into the glory hole, to melt.

Above, she is shaping the gather, and cooling the surface slightly, on the marver (the steel table that she's working on) which will help with the addition of another layer of molten glass, or another "gather" onto the first two gathers.

At the bench, Lindsey does some twisting, and more shaping to the gather, and takes off a bit of extra molten glass with some shears. Now the striations that were in the sides help to create a twist pattern in the colored layer.

She is letting the twisted glass cool a bit after the last flash (quick heat) in the glory hole.

After this cools a little, she will add another gather, then shape it and start the blowing process.

Making blown glass requires assistance. There should always be someone around to help you, when you make glass. The gaffer is the person whose piece is being made. In this case, it's Lindsey. She has control of the piece and gives direction to her helper.

While shaping her piece, she has her helper blow into the rod to get a bubble started in her piece. This will be expanded after she adds another gather to increase the size of her piece.

You can see here, above, that she has added another gather, and is shaping the piece with a "block" which is a scoop carved from fruitwood of some kind, and kept in water. Otherwise the piece would burn up from the intense heat of the molten glass. They are made to help shape glass into nice, evenly rounded shapes.

Lindsey then shapes the gather, pushing more of the glass to the bottom, so that it has a sturdy base. Also, this makes the sides thinner, helping the vessel increase in width when she does the next blow.

Here she is stretching out the neck of the piece, using the giant tweezers. She pulls on the base of the piece, while constantly turning the rod, so that the vessel doesn't become lopsided. It is molten, and the weight of it will make it droop if the rod isn't constantly being turned by the gaffer.

It's hard to see in this picture above, but the gaffer is using two paddles to evenly flatten out the sides of the vessel, after the last blow. She wanted to shape the vessel into an urn, which she will add handles to towards the end of the process. Her assistant turns the rod 180 degrees whenever it starts to droop down, maintaining a straight-necked vessel shape in the process.

Above, she has already had the assistant put the piece onto a punti (a temporary hold on another rod) so that she could detach her piece from the blow rod. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of that, but I was watching raptly at the time! She is stretching out the neck with tweezers, making it thinner, and easier to give a nice open shape to.

Here you can see that she has an open neck on the vessel and has just come back from flashing the piece in the glory hole. She'll next add the handles, which the assistant will bring to her in the form of a long piece of molten glass...

She cuts what she needs from the taffy-like glass rope, and then bends it to the shape she wants, and attaches it where it looks best to her. Then she uses the tweezers or jacks to shape the opening inside the handle.

If you look closely (click on the photo) you can see she's stretching that glass rope down to create a thinner handle. She'll loop this a bit, and curl it. It will attach to the vessel and she can then work it a bit more to make a nicely shaped handle.

The second handle is always the hardest, she says. Because now you have to make a good match to the first one using imprecise methods. We call it "eye-balling it." This is something artists are good at... it separates the novices from the pros.

Lindsey now has a matching set of handles on the vessel, and needs to reheat the base so that she can remove it from the punti before placing it in the kiln. The assistant will catch the piece while wearing some serious gloves, then they will give the base a nice heat, smooth it out, and then put it into the kiln for about 12 hours. If it doesn't cool very slowly, then the piece will crack. It's always exciting to watch a glass blower at work! The weather wasn't too hot, but the glory hole and the oven holding the molten glass sure make up for the difference! Watching the demo also reignited my own love of glass making. I think I'm going to take another class in the fall! As long as I can get a job soon!


I hope you enjoyed seeing this process. It's definitely better in person, but I know that not everyone has the opportunity to see this in real life, so I did this post just for YOU.


xox

30 Day Drawing Challenge Day 25

The drawing challenge today was "scenery". I went to the cemetery, as I had planned to draw some trees, for another project, and the cemetery has the closest biggest trees around town. So my scenery was trees. But I was already drawing my favorite tree... so I did something different for the challenge.

I like when people describe shapes by using words, and have wanted to try it for a few days now. (It was on my mind.) I kind of like how it turned out! I might use the same process, but refining it a bit, for the Sketchbook 2012 Project that I'm doing. If you're artistic, you should do it, too! The books will end up as part of a permanent collection at the Brooklyn Art Library. However, it will tour the US before it ends up there! Your art can be viewed by thousands of people! Isn't that cool?


I just want to add that I'm still having trouble commenting on people's blogs, and replying to people on my own blog. I don't know what the deal is, but I've sent in a help form to Blogger. We'll see if it gets fixed. I'm reading your blogs, everyone.... I just can't comment on all of them! So weird.


Have a great day!! I'm loving this warm sunny weather we're getting now! It's gorgeous out!! xox

Newvox Art Gallery Opening!

So do you remember when I mentioned that I was going to be selling my books at a local gallery? The Grand Opening of Newvox Art Gallery is already coming up! It's June 11th, and a bunch of my handmade books will be there!


The owner, Reinaldo, has a blog, too. You can check it out here. 


So... if you're in the area of South Side Bethlehem, PA, why don't you check out the gallery? It'll be full of east coast artists and crafts people like me. The address is 425 Wyandotte St., Bethlehem, PA. There are lots of places to grab a bite to eat, like Blue Sky Cafe, one of my favorites! There are also other art galleries on 3rd Street to peruse. One of them has an Art-O-Mat machine... it's called Monsoon Gallery. Plus, it's kind of fun just to walk around this part of town (not all of it, but some of it) to see what's selling at the little boutiques and shops.


I'm really excited to have my books in a gallery! I've sold them at a book store in LA, but I was in a weird space back then, and not producing a whole lot. I've been getting great feedback here on my books. So maybe I'll sell some locally! Wouldn't that be cool? Wish me luck! 

Glass blowing: Day 4 {Last Day}

I'm sad to say that last night was my last night of the glass blowing classes. It was a scary, exciting, and awesome ride! I learned a little about the art of glass blowing... enough to make some actual blown pieces, as well as paper weights and flowers. I learned that I don't know a lot about glass blowing, too... when watching our instructor, Dennis, work... well... he makes everything look easy, encouraging you to go for it.... and then you find out that your hands just don't have the skills yet, son.

Dennis: making it look easy

Heating up the vase

Talking about the process

The assistants in the class were all knowledgeable and awesome at directing you without totally taking over out of frustration. Ha ha! That would be me, if I were teaching. I loved how they let you make your own mistakes, but wouldn't actually let you totally ruin your piece. (Must be hard to bite your tongue or keep your hands at your sides as a TA!!)


Here are my pieces from last week... a goblet (of fire, ha ha) and a flower (which anyone can make, regardless of how many classes you take or not. It's easy to be impressed by the colors, though!)

Believe it or not, the goblet was much, much harder to make! There are so many steps to creating a blown vessel! Especially one that has a stem or base on it. You need someone to help you, which is why we partner up. While you're keeping your main piece hot, your partner makes the base for you (a "cookie foot") as a blob of molten glass on the steel table. Then you add your piece to that blob, reheat your piece, and then shape the blob into the base. Then you have to have your partner make a "punty" which is another rod with a smaller amount of molten glass (specifically shaped) on the end, cooled to less than moving, and added to the bottom of your piece, so that you can break your piece off at the neck and then shape the opening, having transferred your piece onto the punty. It's insane! All the while, you need to keep your piece hot enough that it's not cooling, which can cause it to crack.


Last night, Dennis showed us how to make a vase. It was HARD. All the steps of the goblet, but also learning how to stretch out the neck of your basic blown shape... and it looked like a snap when he did it, but it's not at all easy to do. I kind of crimped the base of the neck of my piece a bit and wasn't able to fully fix it. However, it's an interesting little vase. I'm excited to show it to you later this week! I can pick up my vase & my last flower on Thursday... so, as I've said before, if you're interested in learning the art of glass blowing, I suggest you give it a shot! It's physically demanding in a way that only large metal welding and smelting can be. It's super fun, too, though, and you definitely get a real sense of accomplishment when you finish up your own pieces of glass art!


I hope you're having a blessed and fun day!


P.S.
I'm totally considering taking this class again... my partner, Z, wants to, also. If so, I plan to have much more amazing photos for you the next time around!

30 Day Drawing Challenge

I am taking on this challenge, hosted by Allison Lehman, on her blog. I'm nervous, because I know I have things going on in May, but I will be trying to follow along, posting my drawings/paintings here, and on Allison's site. 

First Day of Glass Blowing!

So, as you may remember, I started my glass blowing class at the Banana Factory's Glass Works Foundry today... Oh my gosh. Glass blowing is hard and hot work! It's definitely not an art for sissies, that's for sure! The "glory holes," where you heat your glass, are over 2000 degrees. There are three of them in the foundry, and they're on all the time. I started sweating the moment I showed up for class! I've been out of the class for 30 minutes now, and I'm still blazing hot! My face is red as a tomato, and my arms are mottled red from being so close to the heat for so long.


However, I learned a LOT and I made a glass paper weight. Ha ha. It's in the kiln now, as they all need to cool down very slowly from their super-heated state. Next week I'll get it back, and I'll post a picture of it. Whew! Hot!


Here are some pictures of the foundry, which I took while waiting my turn.

Glory hole to the right

Working molten glass

It was hard work, with a lot of safety issues to remember and pay attention to, but it was so much fun! I cooked my arms, which is easy to do, heating up and working the glass. In the last two pictures, you can see that you work the glass very close to you. It's 2000 degrees and cooling, but you're right up next to it. My skin isn't used to that kind of heat, and turned all red and blotchy, as did other people with thin skin. I'll need to toughen up before next week... things will be getting more intense! Bigger projects are on the horizon! 


I just want to say "Thank you, Keith!" to my boyfriend, for buying me this awesome class! I love learning something new, and especially something like this... I've always wanted to learn, but never actually thought that I would. And here I am! Yay! Can't wait to show you all what I made! I'm glad the next class isn't until next week... my arms are TIRED! Also, I'm hoping the weather is cooler... today was almost 80, and humid, and it made for an even hotter working environment. I seriously drank six large cups of water during the three hours I was in class... and another one right now! 


I'm off to bed, will have this post in the morning. I took a cool shower when I got home at 9:45 (15 minutes after leaving class) and I'm only now cooling off... it's 10:15 pm. Whew!  

Museum of Art in Philadelphia

At the last minute, my boyfriend and I were invited to go to Philly to see the Museum of Art with his aunt. It was a rainy, blustery day, and we didn't have anything planned, so we said, "Yes!"


It's a rather large museum, and we didn't actually get to see it all because it closed at 5 pm, and we didn't get there until around 1 pm. We also had a lunch in the middle, so you can imagine that our meanderings didn't get us through the entire store of riches exhibited there. However, we've all decided that we want to go back again, soon. They have a Marc Chagall exhibit that we didn't get to, as we thought the place stayed open later.


However, here are some of the cool things that I saw...


Armor from the middle ages. Even equine armor!

Detail of one of the pieces.

Horse "helmets" and muzzle guards.

Miniature model of entire horse armor.

There were all kinds of weapons with intricate detailing, which is what fascinated me. They sure did put a lot of time, art, energy and beauty into weapons of destruction back then.

This is metal inlay... very fine work!

Either bone or ivory inlay, it didn't say.

Your "basic" travel kit for dueling.

Fancy powder storage.

Even a big cowry shell was used to hold powder.

Some beautiful swords. One at left has a gun, also.

At the rear are the Viking swords... ancient rough-hewn weapons.

There were also some beautiful and delicate things, like miniature silver service ware for your average little princess' dollhouse. I would've LOVED these things when I was a child!

And of course, there were paintings... my favorites were these two pieces by Henry Rousseau, this one by Claude Monet (because I was actually standing in this spot almost a year ago and recognize it) and this piece by Paul Cezanne, which I wrote a paper about in high school.

Henry Rousseau

Henry Rousseau

Claude Monet - "Pont Neuf"

Paul Cezanne - "Mont Saint Victoire"

Last, but not least, of the cool things I saw and photographed, are some pieces of original Lustre-ware, also known as Majolica, a Louis IV salon, and a few odds and ends...

Majolica beads that were given to women by their admirers.

 If you ever have the opportunity to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I suggest planning your day there. There's so much to see spanning three floors. They have a cafe there, but the restaurant called Granite Hill, though pricier, is definitely where I'd suggest you eat. They have delightful dishes that you can order a la carte, or you can do their Prix Fixe menu for $35, which gets you a starter, an entree and a dessert. It's delicious food and very professional service.


I wanted to see the Asian Art exhibit, which also has an old Japanese Tea House set in the middle of it, completely reinstalled from it's original location in Japan. There just wasn't time! I didn't even get to see the Modern Art wing, as it turned 5 pm as soon as I reached it. Bummer. So another visit is planned, which is completely worth the one hour trip from Bethlehem to Philly. Maybe I'll see you there?