christmas cards

During an an afternoon before work I decided to make prints off a lino block I have been fiddling with since the summer. I cut a few cards from some nicer sketchbook paper I had around and played with how I applied the ink onto the block. Here are 2 of 6 cards I ended up making.













I like the one of the left the best, because the halo shape came out looking like the moon. The one on the right is blurry and a little mysterious, but it didn't turn out as eerie as another one that I've already given away.

A few days before I was bored and decided to make a stencil of a reindeer to go over the large rainbow flag outside of our house. These are the mock-up sketches I made for it. The bottom one I painted with metallic paint  and turned into a postcard.

I ended up with two usable images so I put one up inside the house and one outside. They're a little silly and look more like cows parading as reindeer but I am quite fond of them both. I really enjoyed exaggerating the antlers but found it challenging to think of the positive and negative spaces in terms of what would actually work as a cut-out. Maybe I'll try to work on cut-outs  more often...

Making a box in your heart of everything you love and need

Wisdom from Franklin Williams:

You'll need 2 years of cleansing after school.
Make a box in your heart of everything you love and need.
Live in the life of the eye, gathering everything for yourself through your vision.
Know yourself and be confident in your work before grad school so they can never mess with you.
Art is a life lived with a second lover.
Essentials: being cleansed from undergrad, a studio, working hard, finding confidence and optimism.

Become the maker, the lover, the keeper.

I'm only a few weeks into my post art school life and I'm fumbling. I know this is natural and it isn't freaking me out. I do feel like I should try to stay motivated, and after watching Julie & Julia last night, I think it might be time to start a more public log of my thoughts. I've been toying with the idea for some time now, and I think this will be a good space to post the things that don't belong in my 'yet to be created artist website', the things that I am still proud of and would like to share. This won't be a full version of the sketchbooks I carry around and write in, and I have no desire to post diary entries of my life. I will include some ideas and lists because I have always loved the idea of archiving and have yet to figure out a way to properly organize all the things floating in my head.

Dear world as known through the internet,
I will try my hardest to post at least one side project, series of drawings or other materials that belong in my heart box once a week. When life has other plans for me and I am stuck in a rut or otherwise lacking in craftiness then I will post ideas, quotes or musings about music, books, experiences and travel that affect the way I think about art and life. When this is the case I am to post a couple of these during a week. This will be a challenge, but I have always been a feisty competitive little monster, and without the setting of school studios I will need this to stay motivated. So world, I give you permission to get on my case if I'm not producing. The attitude I want to cultivate for myself is this: "I had an incredibly wonderful week. When I wasn't making things no one wanted..."