weve moved to fabric...

the squid has moved onto bigger things, SHIRTS! lol thus far, i have screened 2 shirts (both of which still need logos added to the back)

but! they look fabulous, ill get a pic to throw up soon.

also, working on experimenting with the jellyfish. hes proving quite difficult because of his multitude of tentacles. so far weve tried:
liquid frisket- which has so far worked the best
snakeslip- works but is time consuming and snakeslip consuming
blockout for silk screens- havent finished this experiment yet...

im leaning towards the frisket, personally.

Jewel Squid

here is the first of the Verne color lithography series.



and also an awesome ink stain i found in the studio on thursday. i plan on making it into a teeshirt design!

7 hours...

so, i finally decided to sit and do the print for the print swap that my friend Susan is organizing. i started sketching around 6 after spending about an hour trying to settle on something to do. deciding on an unidentified sea creature, in the family eurisidae. looks like a spiny shrimp, acts like a locust by swarming, eats dead things. AWESOME. so, 7 hours later, i had a full 6 color print, monotone blacks, in shades of grey.

i have some pics that i can upload as soon as i grab them off my friend's phone. i am quite pleased it i do say so myself.

progress...

making a lot of progress on my deep sea series. i now have drawn out on paper, 3 of the 4 in the series. i would love to be able to add to this project at some point, it def deserves a returning to.

completed in sketch form are the octopus, the jellyfish, and the squid. the squid is also completed on the litho stone, with a background. he will be inked and second etched tomorrow and likewise the background. i have a few bad pictures on my camera phone, but none im willing to share. i'll try to get batteries tonight so i can snap some shots tomorrow.

in other news, because ive been so absorbed by the sea and its creatures, here is an amazing artist who has also visited that watery realm.

http://www.rachelsimmons.net/

enjoy!!

philosophy of life #1

I make love with art, the way a writer makes love with words.

litho series and lineart

so i am planning on a color litho series. The theme is deep sea, and will feature four lithographs- a squid, a jellyfish, a chambered nautilus, and an octopus. the colors will be super saturated and will host a background which looks like floating coral in the depths.

i am also working on a separate project, lineart of some fantasy creatures for a site. i will take pictures and scans asap and throw them up here this week.

apparently...

im very lazy. or something. didnt get to take any shots of the dress because my camera died. well and good, maybe another time i can convince her to throw it on again. i'm starting a deep sea lithograph series for my advanced experimental printmaking class. learning color litho is going to be fun i think, i love the medium, so im not terribly worried over it. besides, i have a great mentor/teacher helping me along. i really do feel like a printmaking major, i cant really describe how happy that makes me feel. for so long, i have felt so lost and jsut floating around during school, when it came to my academics. i finally found the right fit. huzzah!

well, ill try to get sketches up once i start so theres some idea of where i am taking this series. need to find out how complicated it is exactly, so i know how many to plan.

other than art...

so besides making art, i sew. and my friend has asked me to help her out with a bridal shower dress. apparently its a black tie bridal shower, but she wanted something really original, so im doing my best to work something out that is creative and works in her OCD range. ill post some shots after its done.

saw a magnificent sunset last night, along with a really awesome spot at the tower of the Audubon society that gave a beautiful view of the marshlands. the tufts of grasses looked like islands floating in the air. the water was so smooth it looked like glass!

i wish it had been a bit lighter so i could have taken some pictures.

hm..

i wonder at the effect of extreme heat and art-making. i know that personally, i cant ever seem to find the motivation to do anything if im dying of heat and humidity. then again, if im not in school having to meet deadlines, i find it hard to make myself do anything...which concerns me as an artist. if im so creative and enjoy the art-making process, why cant i ever just do something?

i know so many other students in the same dilemma, while others are able to just work at home or wherever and make tons of things. im certainly jealous of their overabundance of motivation while i have such a lack of it. sometimes i wonder if its not jsut laziness or procrastination. i have found that i work better under a deadline, with anything. maybe thats why i like to cook so much. theres always some sort of time limit to reach.

this too much time/not enough work produced is not limited to my artwork. i love to read and yet, when it comes to spending time doing so, i have been completely lax in picking up any books. i have a huge "to be read" pile, with new books coming in daily. it also doesnt help that i tend to be attracted to cetain types of book covers, and will no doubt, purchase or take out a book almost based solely on just that. design is really important to me. a friend, charlotte, told me that she has a talent for composition, while i have a talent for design. im still not sure what she meant by that, but it made me happy nonetheless.

i cant even begin to explain how many cds and books ive bought over the years that were only for the cover designs. ive never taken a huge interest in graphic design, but sometimes, everything boils down to it! for example, jsut because i can do a print of a landscape, if i want to advertise myself and the piece, ill need business cards and other products that showcase my talents in an organized manner thats easy to read and understand, is enticing and appealing, and makes the viewer want to see more of my work. i supposed i really need to get some tips on how to do things like that.

speaking of business cards, now that i have a "studio" name, i can start working on a label for myself. since choosing "Kiss Marks The Spot Prints", i was thinking of lips for sure, with some sort of antique map feeling. an old compass rose and dotted lines. like a typical pirate map! ill post up some sketches as soon as i finish some designs.

Imagine that...

so, to kick off my new blog here, i thought i'd share a link i found this morning of some fantastic ink blot art! i'm going to try to share one artist a week, since there is so much fantastic art out there!

to the blots!

i think his technique is great, and i love the chic, glamorous style of the end piece. i have often dabbled with ink and washes, and its just so relaxing. i'll have to throw up some new ink pieces of my own soon!