Day 21 Thing-a-Day. I can’t believe there are only 7 more days left. I think I need to make a list and budget my days because I feel like I have so many more things I wanted to do.
This wasn’t the only thing I worked on today, but it’s the only thing I have complete, so here it is. Now back to the studio to finish working on my other project. Hint, it’s another stamp/print :)
For Day 19 Thing-a-Day I finally padded my brown and black notepads. I’m not sure if I said it when I posted the full stationery sets in this same style, but the bunting is made from craft paper that I drew patterns on with a sharpie and an illustration pen. The bright and cheerful sets were just made from decorative papers in my stash.
They are now available in my Etsy shop.
While I was working on these mini collages, I was struck with inspiration. See, I really want to do another series for artomat this year and so I need to crank out the collages before I can begin on the paintings. (I make little canvas paintings based on collages that then are sold in art vending machines, you can see more about it here).
The thing is, when making the collages I’m really limited to very simple and basic shapes and images because I know they will eventually be painted. It takes a lot of time to do those paintings, so a really complex collage = a lot of time spent. I love artomat, but it’s really all about promoting my work, and artomat, and not so much for any financial gain. I only make $2.50 on each piece sold. Yeah, a painting I would normally sell for around $30 is sold for $5 and my cut is half of that.
Back to the inspiration that hit me. As I riffled through bits of paper, I kept finding pieces I’d want to use, but then realize it was too complex of an image. I thought, I’d really love to just collage without the pressure of knowing I’ll need to paint it. I decided to allow myself to make some mini collages with no purpose other than for fun. I liked that idea, but it didn’t last long because then I had another idea that sounded like even more fun.
For a long time, years maybe even, I’ve been wanting to create some collages that I’d turn into stickers and then post graffiti-style, out and about publicly. Shhhhh! I know graffiti is illegal, just don’t tell anyone, k? I thought this would be an awesome project for Found Art Tuesday and it’s been a while since I’ve participated in that. Sooo, check back here on Tuesday to see what I’ve created and where I’ve posted pieces.
Oh, and before I head off to start my graffiti-collage-sticker-art, I keep forgetting to mention the “Drawing THIS LOVE” project. My collage style contribution made it to their email and website as a Frame of the Week. Thank you everyone who sent me a heads up. I took that as a great sign that a bunch of you are also contributing. Yay!
If you haven’t signed up to do a frame, I’m pretty sure there are still frames left so head on over and sign up. I can’t wait to see the finished video.
I’ve been eying these deep square wooden cradle boards from Michaels. They are unprimed and the kind of beautiful thing that you buy and just fondle and never want to make a mark on it, for fear of ruining it’s potential. You could use them for painting, or encaustic or flip it backwards and create a shadowbox from it. Well, yesterday I found this 50% off (yes, that’s FIFTY PERCENT) coupon online. It’s good through Saturday. Please, click it and print one out for yourself. I was like Robyn-Hood of Michaels and handed out a couple of them to random strangers in the store. Anyway, I finally bought one of the cradle boards and started a painting I’ve had in mind for a while.
It’s only 8″ squared, but this is still huge compared to how big I usually paint (thank you business card sized artomat canvas paintings).
If it’s not obvious, this is a work in progress shot. I haven’t destroyed it yet, but there is still plenty of time for that :O
Day 4 Thing-a-Day - I finished my contributing piece for the “Drawing THIS LOVE” project. I found out about this opportunity through Artist Catherine Campbell’s blog post here. Her friends are making a music video and they are releasing each frame as a drawing for someone to color in and send back. Once all the pieces are complete they will put them all together to release the video. AND GUESS WHAT! You can participate too. Just go to their website http://www.drawingthislove.com/ and sign up. The only rules are that you have the make the background blue and it can’t be altered or colored in on the computer. The website has the video to watch, so you can see the animation and hear the song. They’ve also started adding some of the frames into the video and if you are quick enough with the pause button you can see some still frames. It’s very cool.
I hope my piece is acceptable because it seems that most pieces have all been colored with colored pencil, and my background is collaged. I didn’t see anywhere that it indicated you had to use coloring pencil, just that you can’t color it in on the computer. I used old maps and painted them blue, then I tore the maps up into little pieces and glued them back down all jumbled up. Some of them were kind of green, even after painting them blue because the map page was originally yellow, so after everything was glued down, I went back over it with blue pastels. For the face I used watercolors and just kept it very loose.
edit: I just did another. Forgot to mention that you can keep coming back and getting a new frame, once you upload the previous one. The number I just got today was frame 596 and there are over 2000 frames total, so there are plenty of opportunities to participate left.
For this piece I colored the background in blue boxes in crayons, and then went over it in a dark blue. The head was done in dry pastel and colored pencils. I enjoy doing the background better because I have a hard time on the face trying to figure out what is what. Is this still part of his nose? Is his mouth open? Are those teeth or his top lip? Etc.
For Thing-a-Day 3 I made these fake mokeskine cahiers with scrap cardboard from work, some white paper, a staple/stitch machine at work, and some creative juices of my own. These are similar to some other books I made that have all sorts of random papers inside.
I rounded all the corners of the covers and inside pages with a paper punch and then used my xyron to adhere different things to the covers. Each book has a rubberband around it to keep it safe. The top left is black drawing paper I cut out in a chevron pattern. Top right a real polaroid I took of a huddle of garden gnomes. Bottom left, some watercolor that dabbled on and then cut out. And, the bottom right are some vintage yearbook pictures. Get a load of Kathleen’s romantic distant gaze.
Today was a snowday, probably the only one I’ll ever experience as an adult. See, I live only 7 minutes away from work and it shouldn’t be that hard to get there. BUT, last night we got hit by SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011. The snow was so bad that last night, before it even got that horrible, we tried to go out and the car got stuck halfway in the driveway and halfway on the street. It took us an hour and half to undo that mess. Basically this morning I realized that if I was going into work, I’d need someone to come pick me up. When I called in, no one else was there. So, Matt and I got to enjoy the day off and even tackled the driveway and sidewalks. I think we might be able to get out now, but there’s no bets on getting back up our driveway. When we go to work tomorrow, we might never get to come home ever again… well, at least until spring.
Needless to say, today I had plenty of time to work on my Thing-a-Day. Ever since I designed my bunting notepads I’ve been wanting to make a long and skinny “to do list” notepad in a similar style, with a magnet on back so it can hang on a filing cabinet or refrigerator. I decided with the simple word “today” instead of “to do” so if you wanted to use it for something other than a to-do list you could. So, instead of reminding yourself that you need to twitter, or win the lotto today, you might list the things you are grateful for today, like snow days, and a neighbor that has a snow blower and does part of your sidewalk for you. Thanks, Dude! Here are some progress pictures. Above is the image, letters cut out by hand of random pretty papers, and ready to take a picture. Chances are, if you’ve received something in the mail from me, it was in this same font called robayre. Why robayre? Because I created it and I’m cool like that.
Next I edited the picture on the computer, designed the notepad and then printed out the sheets. Cut and padded them. I should have reversed that order, but they turned out fine anyway.
Voila! The finished product.
Well, it’s February 1st and that means day one of Thing-a-Day. I will be posting here daily, with something I’ve made, for the entire month of February. This is my fourth year participating in Thing-a-Day. My name is Robyn and I’m a print graphic designer by day. During the weekends and evenings I am a creator. I make artwork, and books, and yarn. I sew, take pictures and make jewelry. This means you can expect to see a little of everything this month during my Thing-a-Day. To see more of my work you can look at my blog, flickr and an etsy shop here.
Last week I created a weekly schedule, thinking it would prevent those days where I’m still wracking my brain for ideas at the end of the day. Tuesdays were going to be ‘create Found Art Tuesday pieces’, but then I saw this picture on Flickr and the plan immediately went flying out the window. Today I sewed these bow tie rings. A bow tie… it seems like a simple enough shape, right? Wrong, I had to watch so many tutorial videos, and then go through so many attempts before I could figure out exactly how to get my design just as I pictured it. I think I finally got the pattern down with these samples, but I could still refine the final steps,attaching all the parts together. I like how they came out and have plans to add some to my shop.
Going into the studio Friday to make those little book pages got the ball rolling. Friday night and Saturday morning I started and then finished this little beauty.
As you can see in the top picture there was a lot of tiny paper cutting. When I started out I fully intended it to be aqua and rust. The piece decided that it wanted to stay mainly green blue, although there are tiny subtle touches of warm coloring here and there. It is now affordably available in the shop.
Then yesterday after reading about my sloppy studio woes, my sister came and took over in the Studio Re-Organization Mission of 2011. It probably goes hand in hand with her chosen profession in mathematics, but boy, can that girl organize and systematize. My studio is straight, and I’m more ready for Thing-A-Day than ever before. My rolls of fancy papers no longer need to stand in rolls, but can be put away flat on my big paper shelves, my resin materials have their own place, my zines have their own shelf, and the snozberries taste like real snozberries!
I think I’m back to creating, folks
Unieboek Mug, originally uploaded by robayre.
Well, it all started when I accidentally snapped the handle off of my smiley face mug. I had picked up that mug secondhand (probably for mere change) and it reminded me of my Grandpa Surdyk. There wasn’t a chance I’d come across another so easily, so I turned to Ebay. Turns out there were tons of them, but I have a short attention span. Next thing I know I was searching for gnomes, that was when I came across this beauty. It’s a 1979 Unieboek gnome mug and I fell in love. I jumped into the auction in the absolute last minute and snipe attacked, winning the mug for only $1 more than asking price. It arrived today. The gnome is perfect, but I’m equally smitten with the white trunk-like mug body. Now, if I can just keep from snapping off this handle.
So, while I celebrate “winning” this mug, let me share with you a few other celebrations:
Thing-a-Day 2011 is coming up February First. It’s my fourth year participating. It’s always a lot of fun, I get really inspired and I always meet new creative people. Sign ups are open now until the First. Remember, your daily thing can be as big or as little as you want. Bake a new meal, knit a hat, sketch a doodle, or anything in between.
Rosa Murillo was interviewed by Artist and Author Summer Pierre on her series of Artists and Motherhood. Check it out here.
Tiffany Teske was published in one of my favorite magazines, Cloth, Paper and Scissors. I’m so excited for her. This is actually a goal of mine as well - to get printed in that magazine, but first I’d have to contribute ;) Read about Tiffany’s contribution here.
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