Friday, July 20, 2012

red white and blue

Once again I'm too late to actually link up

sigh.
Maybe next time?

This month's challenge was to interpret red, white, and blue.
I didn't want to lump
all three lovely colors into one piece of art,
so I made three.
(No wonder I'm running late!)

"Painters use red like spice."
~Derek Jarman

(Here's hoping that my red splotches
look more like paint and spice than gore.)



 "The first of all single colors is white...
We shall set down white for the representative of light,
without which no color can be seen;
yellow for the earth;
green for water;
blue for air;
red for fire;
and black for total darkness."
~Leonardo Da Vinci

The quotation made me think of a prism--
a beam of white light fragmenting into every hue.


"Once in a blue moon."
~ colloquial expression

I need to find some sort of paper
that will not curl when I watercolor on it
yet not make my calligraphy ink bleed.
Any suggestions?

linking up with Jennifer's Sneak Peek Friday.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Benjamin's birthday

Yesterday was Benjmin's 30th birthday.
And aside from the fact that last week he bought a motorcyle
(and a bunch of safety gear)
as his new commuter vehicle,
we celebrated simply and quietly as a family.

In the morning I loaded up Little Man, Brother, and Sweet Pea
and we surprised him at work.
We brought handmade cards from the boys
(and a store bought card from me--hey, a girl can't do everything),
a couple of small gifts,
and the boys' favorite part: a mylar balloon.

In the evening I made his choice of dinner:

Then we had spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
decorated by Brother

and Little Man.

Happy birthday again, Love.
Looking forward to another year together. <3

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

custom wedding vow calligraphy

Yesterday I finished
this custom wedding vow calligraphy
for a customer.

I really love making custom orders,
taking a someone else's vision
and making it my own
and theirs
at the same time.
It's the best sort of stretching experience.

In fact, I enjoyed working on it so much
and was so pleased with how it turned out
that I decided to offer it
(well, offer the concept at least)

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

summer treasures

delightful summer treasures
curated by the boys
enjoyed by me

Friday, July 6, 2012

creative process

or perhaps I should clarify
that this is one
of my creative processes...

*not pictured:
corresponding with my client
and late-night mental design while I should be sleeping

sketching may involve
using my husband's pencil sharpener
and my son's scissors
cutting and tracing
exasperated sighing
pictures of prisms on Wikipedia
music
scrapping multiple undesirable drafts
facebook checking and updating
audibly praising ticonderoga pencils and nice erasers
a lunch of cereal for the boys
and unwashed dishes

trimming my paper to size is usually pretty straightforward

collecting my supplies might include
a trip upstairs to the kitchen
where various implements of art reside
on my magnificently dusty kitchen windowsill

meet my lightbox:
glass-topped table + lamp

ink time is simultaneously
the most nerve wracking and most satisfying
and usually includes
no music
trepidation that I'll set my hand in wet ink and smear it
horrible posture
messy fingers
multiple drafts

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

"instant collection"

I'm not sure why,
but something about the description
"instant collection"
on an Etsy listing always makes me smile.

My very own Instant Collection
of cute vintage keys
recently just fell in my lap (so to speak).

While she was helping my grandma pack,
my mom salvaged an odd assortment of vintage goodies
for us to go through more carefully.

Among them was a small box
filled with this assortment of keys.
They were horribly rusty,
but after a little TLC
in the form of vinegar soaking and vigorous scrubbing,
they turned out pretty nice!

I am having an deliciously difficult time
deciding what to do with them.
Accent a clutch?
Make a necklace or two?
Display them in a shadow box?
Add them to a mixed media art project?

What would you do if you had
and Instant Collection
of vintage keys?

Sunday, July 1, 2012

June's Project MCP

Challenge #1-Express the following in a photo: Summer Love

One thing I always look forward to in the early summer here is our rose bush.  It's not a typical wild rose bush (the roses are yellow!), but the roses' structure is like a wild rose.  They are a lovely brilliant yellow and have a strong pungent-sweet aroma.

Challenge #2-Show us a night photo.

Um...so yeah. I didn't get one for challenge #2. I just kept drawing blank after blank when I tried to come up with ideas for it. Plus it doesn't help that many nights I'm in bed before I could reasonably begin taking a night photo.

Challenge #3-Snap a candid photo. 
My friend Krista and her little one.

Challenge #4-Illustrate the following in a photo: Refresh
blueberry lemonade on a hot day

Hopefully I'll be a little more on top of next month's Project MCP challenges.