10.21.2009

finished before the AM




these were for a custom order of Day of the Dead Pumps, through my Etsy shop. i'm super proud of myself that i painted these in two NON-late nights! thanks god, because i am getting sick and need sleep for the 20 other things i need to work on...

10.19.2009

in the meantime..


I made this flower pin especially for a wedding I attended this past weekend. I needed to brighten and liven up the black dress ensemble I was wearing, as it looked like I was instead going to a funeral…

But it made me excited about making more flower pins/clips. Any constructive feedback to offer?


So, I know I haven’t been the best at keeping up with this “one art item a day” thing. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not making.


I am currently working on an array of projects, mostly custom orders and commissions:

-custom Day of the Dead painted shoe order

-custom Flamingo painted shoe order

-custom painted motorcycle tank of the Leprechaun [omg, don’t even get me started on this….you don’t even know how many hours I have/must continue to VISUALLY STUDY this disgusting image…]

- 2 commissioned hummingbird [, etc] paintings

- need to finish a commissioned Medusa painting

- AND preparing for holiday craft shows!

Not to mention trying to decorate and prepare a costume for our Halloween party..


As I finish each of these projects, I’ll be sure to post them, until then, there might be a few days to a week in between each one. And I promise that one of these days I’ll write some insightful words, complementing the work, that are worth reading.


I wish my body could take more coffee. I wish it also needed less sleep to function.

10.13.2009

all talk

A-hoy there, bloggy voyeurs!

I have returned from that brief hiatus. My sincerest apologies, especially to those of you that may have been sincerely concerned with my creative productivity and overall artistic health. This past week and a half has been pretty busy- as the rest of my October is becoming. Actually, the rest of the year [holidays!].

Despite my absence, there has NOT been a serious lack of work. After returning from an art-unrelated business trip earlier last week, I spent about two nights working on a Brownie/Girl Scout style jumper [not having access to my own computer or camera at the moment, I had to internets search for a specimen, pictured].


I absolutely LOVE the fit and simple style of this jumper and I wear mine all the time, [the pro of being an overweight 2nd grade dumpling] and figured why not make a whole bunch of them in different colors and fabric patterns??? I decided that this was THE occasion to bust out the yellow and orange butterfly patterned curtains, circa 1978, that I had been saving for all these years since first finding them in one of my mother’s closets when I was in 9th grade. [The same year, incidentally, that I had started my yearly resolution of “making my own clothes”…which has just finally been seen through in this past year.]

So, working diligently for two nights, into the wee hours, using the original brownie jumper as the pattern itself, I created my dream jumper.

And it totally sucks.

I know, I know, it’s part of the working and learning process. It’s just hard when you are so accustomed to drawing and painting coming so easily, and having the control to make the final piece look at least half-decent in the end. I know that I just need to go back and make a new jumper, learning from my mistakes [too tight around the upper thigh region, need to iron the fabric and work VERY slowly on the strap pieces, in order for them to LOOK like actual jumper straps, measure more accurately, etc etc etc..] but it’s hard not to fall victim to desires of instant fashion gratification. Needless to say, I won’t post pictures of the jumper until it is adequate enough for me to wear. So, maybe by next week you’ll get to see what amounts of my sewing skills…

[Also, this project, along with every time I work on altering/creating clothing, reminds me that I should stick to pursuing what I’m really good at- many people can make mediocre clothing, but few people are painting shoes and bags that look like mine…]

And what an appropriate transition into the next bit of project news that consumed the remainder of my week! I spent Thursday night and all day/night Saturday working on a new wallet THAT I AM SOOO FREAKIN EXCITED ABOUT. It is definitely a present to myself, and will never be up for sale, as anyone that even remotely knows me can see why. What spurred me to work on this wallet was the fact that I am currently lacking wallets from my display inventory…



.. And I wanted to have a good display inventory for the 2nd Annual Philly Swap-O-Rama-Rama that took place this past Sunday. It was my 2nd year participating- I think next year I’ll need an assistant- it was soo busy!! I didn’t get to forage the piles and piles of swapped clothes and accessories, but I did help a lot of people make their 2nd hand shoes into something special. If I were more organized for this day, I would have brought my camera to document their projects. There was a lot of picture taking, and I have been able to link to a few people’s personal pics…hopefully the rest will be available tomorrow and Thursday, when Philadelphia Weekly and City Paper put out their next issues. I was also asked to talk about my work on camera, though absentmindedly never asked what the video was for/where I could eventually find it. Hey! There was a lot of excitement going on…..But as soon as I find these artifacts, I’ll be sure to post or link them!

Conducting the workshop at Swap-O-Rama-Rama made me realize that I kind of miss teaching- especially to those that are genuinely interested in learning certain processes or techniques. But I think I’ve went on long enough here, so more on that story as it develops…

10.02.2009

ideas are a-brewin'


more on this later... [finished last night, posting before work..]