Re-De-sign

Recently I have been doing work for a local magazine helping them freshen up some of their ads. I thought it would be fun to post a few of my redesigns from the past couple weeks.

Betsy's Invites

The first invite was my original draft. The second invite is the final after revisions with the bride. This will slip into the lacy pocket shown in my previous post. so feminine. so cute!

June Wedding

Although we did have a surprise snow the first day of spring, I was still able to get into the warm weather spirit by working on these pretty pink spring wedding invitations. Cut paper and white calligraphy ink were all I needed to make les très jolies fleurs. I still have yet to design the type for the actual invite that will slide into these lacy pockets. My deadline is mid April. Stay tuned for the final product...

Let's Learn Embroidery

After doing a little dilly dally doodl'n, I thought the finished product looked like it needed to be embroidered. Framed by a sewing hoop. Can't you see it?? hmmm.....a new hobby! Now that get's my blood pumping. Rather than focus on finishing one of the hundred projects I have scattered around in various stages of completion, I think I'll just put them all on hold and learn something new. Anyone in the midwest want to teach me how to embroider? I suppose I could go to the library and get a book, but that steals half the fun of learning a new craft.

Now that I have embroidery on the brain I found Jenny Hart and Sera Waters. ooooo....ahhhh....lovely lovely. They seamlessly (pun somewhat intended) blend stitching with sketching. How can I resist?

city kayaking

I miss kayaking today. Did you know I was a kayak tour guide? I 100% recommend it for young guns looking for a career. (the middle couple was my favorite pair of the season. We chatted during the entire 3 hour tour. they were horrible at kayaking, but great for a laugh)

My Mom: the activist

It is the first time in Missouri that a trial court has overturned the conviction of someone in prison.

You may have seen a poster I designed for Josh Kezer's one year release party. In light of that event, the Kansas City Star picked up the story today with a front page bio of my freedom-fight'n mother. For those who have never heard of Josh's story, here is the article from the Kansas City Star.

Oh and I almost forgot! The case will be featured at 9:00 tonight on CBS “48 Hours Mystery.” WATCH IT!

Day Job

Welcome to my current day job. Starting from top to bottom: Art II showcasing vibrant colors and watercolor v. acrylic styles in flowers. Followed by Art I, establishing value through different ink techniques, and then throwing in a splash of subtle watercolor for some organic flava flav (that's technical jargon for educational purposes). Thirdly, a couple 8th grade eggshell watercolors. They first glued cracked eggshells onto illustration board, then watercolored a beeeutiful bird, while of course discussing which came first? The egg or the bird? Well, not really, we actually just jammed to Beyonce, but it was a good thought. LASTLY, Art IV - displays the breadth of their watercoloring skill showing range from painting human skin to the soft petal of a flower.

I feel like a proud parent. I'm so excited to see how talented they are and how much more they are going to improve. Bravo, class!

Early Stages

arly stages in my "Ways to Travel" oil painting series. This will follow the style of my "Tandem" piece, continuing to play with texture and subtle color. The final product will be a diptych of matching unicycles. So far I've pretty much just been gluing down paper and then ripping it back off. It's funny that after years of painting I've matured to the level of Elmer's glue and computer paper....

Drawing Class

If you ever asked me
how my drawing classes are going.

I would tell you that I enjoy
adhering to the outline of a thing.

to follow the slope of an individual pear
or the curve of a glossy piano.

And I love trailing my hand
over the smooth membrane of bond,

the intelligent little trinity
of my fingers gripping the neck of the pencil

while the other two dangle below
like the fleshy legs of a tiny swimmer.

I would add that I can get lost
crosshatching the shadow of a chair

or tracing and retracing
the slight undercarriage of a breast.

We all started with the box and the ball
then moved on to the cup and the lamp,

the serrated leaf, the acorn with its cap.
But I want to graduate to the glass decanter

and learn how to immobilize in lead
translucent curtains lifted in the air.

I want to draw
four straight lines that will connect me

to the four points of the compass,
to the bright spires of cities,

the overlapping trellises,
the turning spokes of the world.

One day I want to draw freehand
a continuous figure

that will begin with me
when the black tip touches the paper

and end with you when it is lifted
and set down beside a luminous morning window.

- Billy Collins, The Trouble With Poetry

my friend perrin

Sometime during my second glass of wine tonight I decided it would be a good idea to draw my dear friend Perrin. Weird? yeah, probably a little.

1930s Vintage

nd what did I do this weekend you ask? I could probably sum it up in a single sentence...listened to Laura Veirs and watched my social life slowly slip by. I suppose that is what happens when one is a bit obsessive compulsive and a new project has begun. But look at those fabrics? How could I leave my sewing room when I have such glorious prints surrounding me? I'm contemplating finishing this and throwing it up on Etsy to see if I get any takers. Oh, which means I first need to START an Etsy account, THEN step two would be selling my wares. Any takers?