Girls day out

Mother Octopus by Erin J. King

Today I went shopping with my two lovely female housemates for supplies. Goodwill is an excellent source of items that are fantastic for deconstructing and altering to make amazing things. Lowe's leaves me feeling like a kid in a candy store because of all the things I want. Went down the aisles pointing at things that I want, but don't really need, and things that I can't really afford, jumping up and down.

*Sigh* Can't I be independently wealthy and just pick out everything I want and take it home? That would be nice. Instead I spent more than I meant to, but have some fun projects that I plan to work on and leaves me feeling motivated and excited, though a bit lighter in the wallet.

Projects:
- a men's striped button down shirt that I'm going to turn into a skirt
- a pillow that I'm going to rework with feathers
- a large number of items to improve the atmosphere of the bathroom to sport a jungle theme
- frames so I can finally mount some artwork I purchased from artist Erin J. King and Matt D.
- a bunch of brass & copper nails due to my inspiration from my favorite book Altered Curiosities to embellish other projects to make them even more awesome
- a wooden candle holder to cut and screw between two plastic plates to create tiered platters for display storage on my vanity

I feel so inspired, yet exhausted and think that I will have to wait until tomorrow to get started on all of my projects.

President Abraham Lincoln Riding A Dinosaur by Matt D.

Ok, so I got a bit more motivated and framed one print (the Mother Octopus one, shown above) and have to make a mat-board for the other print (the Abraham Lincoln Riding A Dinosaur one, shown at right), due to fact that the second frame came with the wrong size mat-board for the piece I have. Guess that Lincoln with have to wait in my closet until I can remember where I put my Exacto knife and right angle ruler. Here is a good video on how to make your own mat-board to frame prints in random frames you find at second hand stores, just like your good pal Jessie Night.

Tomorrow I plan to head over to the fabric store and buy feather tape so I can have a mass of feathers on the pillow I'm reworking. Saw a very pretty pillow at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, that I thought was cool, but far too small and not exactly what I wanted, so now I'm doing it how I want. And isn't doing things your way what Art is all about? Maybe I'll do another post about the difference between Art and art some time, we'll see if I feel like tackling that rant any time soon.

Working in the studio

So, today I had some fun cutting out images for collages and cleaning up my studio space a bit. It was lovely having some time to do these things because I feel like I have been neglecting my creative side too much over the last few years and any moment spent in the studio is precious. The feel of scissors through paper is so soothing that I have this slight fear I might be a psychopath. At least I've been feeling more inspired by the images that I've been cutting out, despite it taking forever to do well and the worry that cutting feels good in a deep-seated way. I've been thinking a lot about animals in victorian dresses and fun hats. Too trite?

Also, there was a potluck at my house earlier tonight where I got to talk to a lovely gentleman who told me that he is finally starting to make it as an artist! The idea that someone can get tot he point where they are able to support themselves with their creativity is so uplifting. Now, this gentleman has not agreed to let me use his name, but he used to work for Lucas Arts and is now working hard to make and sell his pieces. I had hoped to pump him for more information, but he slipped away before I was able to get to that spot. Alternately, the whole conversation ended up with me calling myself "more of a craft artist" which I'm not sure is 100% accurate yet. I think that I imagine myself as a mixed media artist, but in the end, where is the line between craft and mixed media? I don't know yet, but I think it is time for more exploration and play in the studio.

Decorations

This last weekend was the culmination of months of planning with the decorations committee for the Vampire: the Masquerade game that I was involved in during three of the nights of KublaCon. Each night had a theme and required that we make the very large space appear different for each night because the game was set in three different locations, though in reality we were using the same physical location all three nights.

The first night was themed "Rebirth" and was supposed to evoke the idea of a phoenix rising from the ashes. The second night was without a theme, as it had been decided that we would use the existing space  as is to give a clean/uncluttered feeling as a juxtaposition to the other nights. The last night was "Masquerade" which was my favorite and, by far, got the lions share of my attention and imagination and resources.

Nights one and two were fine, but I want to share night three, since that is the decorations that not only looked the best, but brought about comments that they were the most amazing decorations the convention had seen (considering that the same was said for the decorations I did for one of the nights last year, I'm extremely proud of continuing the upward climb). The space was a large tent with ten round 6ft tables, chairs arranged around the tables, chairs in a few rows, a small dance floor, a small platform that was dubbed a stage, and a few tables that we could move around the outside of the very large tent. Everything was white or drab, as befits a stereotypical hotel pavilion, but we made it rich and vibrant.

Through the use of fabric in reds and golds, masks, fake beaded fruit, jewels, fake candles, vases, fake flowers, real flowers, ribbon, fur, and hard work, the team and I made the space amazing. There was a plethora of art by my friend Jenny J. (who I will link as soon as I have her permission), who was of great assistance with the decorating committee as well as being an amazing illustrator and painter and costume designer, and I feel that her art pieces really made the space what much more imaginative and festive and beautiful. Thank you Jenny for adding the depth to the space.

Pictures will be posted as soon as I can get ahold of them.

Inspiration

Today I read a fabulous book called Altered Curiosities by a fantastic artist named Jane Ann Wynn. There are whimsical stories behind her art works and she has good technique in her construction. I adore the fact that she ages everything and gives objects a creepy twist and yet the pieces remain light-hearted and fun. I feel so inspired that it makes me really sad that I have to go in to work today. Why can't I be home making amazing things? Oh, yeah, bills. Grrrr.

Supporting the Arts

Just received a fantastic duvet cover that I ordered from Deny Designs. The one I chose is by a fabulous artist by the name of Valentina Ramos, who specializes in illustration. I love her use of visual texture and heavy detail work to make each piece special. I feel so inspired by her art and the fact that she is working hard and selling her creations and doing her own thing just makes me want to do all that much more. Is it silly that I want to be her when I grow up?