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This sparkly confection arrived at my doorstep yesterday courtesy of Amazon.com. What girly delights reside therein! A fun read it is, with some very inspiring eye candy. I'm conjuring up a new line of teddy bears with a whimsical, vintage look, and funky crowns like these will be perfect for them!
... is the name of a collage swap I'm doing. I had to use all six colors of the rainbow, but no rainbows!, in my cards, all of which had to be collaged. It was fun to return to paper layering after focusing on illustration so intensely. I went with the idea of showcasing a "rainbow of good old-fashioned values" in my work. Three cards for the swap, plus an extra for awesome hostess Sarah.
Paper, vintage images, ink, gel pen, water soluble crayon, glitter, gloss sealant.
When you participate in an art card group swap, it's just plain good manners to send a little something to the host or hostess who originated, organized, and mailed out returns for that swap. You can send extra postage to help cut costs on the mailing of returns; papers or embellishments; or even, if you're feeling especially artsy, an extra art card either made to the swap's theme, or to a particular theme that host collects.
This card is for hostess Amerasu, who's also one of the founders of the rockin' cool illustrated card site illustratedATCs.com. One of the themes she collects is hot pink and lime green. Hope she likes!
Mixed media.
I really enjoyed this card. It's straight from my imagination and for Merricat, for a Pick-A-Theme swap. Her chosen theme was kooky sad scarecrows. I call it, THAT DAMN BIRD.
Permanent markers, ink, a dash of gel pen for highlight.
For Lisa, a Day of the Dead card.
Here's a card featuring a wee fae sprite who's insisting, rather petulantly, that she's real, yessiree Bob. She is SO!
I kinda based this made-up character on a wicked caricature reinterpretation of my mom. My mom, who wouldn't see the compliment in that at all! She's quite lovely, by the way, and doesn't look at all like an annoyed elfin thing in real life. Well, except for her waifishly tiny, elfin frame. That, and the fact that she tends to be irritable at times.
For a Fantasy swap.
Mixed media.
Here's a wee peek at my newest Boyds prototype. As always, unfortunately I can't share any specifics due to contractual terms which are just good common sense business practice. But I feel compelled to let people know that YES, I'm still busy making bears. This one's particularly cute and innovative and is my smallest bear ever, which was really a challenge. I hope they like it!
IllustratedATCs is hosting a themed weekend "event" for members, revolving around pen & ink illustrations. I made three cards for the event, using a new crow quill pen (such a tiny nib,) a brush, and black India ink (which is the messiest stuff on earth.) This was entirely new to me and I am so not feeling the pen & ink thing. It's not that I stink at it (although I do); with practice I could undoubtedly get better. I'm just not into the hard edged thing in my work. I feel like I've stepped out of my smooth creative skin and into something crocodilian and rough, in this medium. I prefer a softer look to my work with more blending like you can get with smudgy graphite pencil and paints. I think the Eiffel Tower card is my weakest and probably like the Luna Goddess card best. Not my best work, but a fun exercise to be sure. The pen will come in handy for outlining watercolor images.
I'm lucky to have a guest bedroom I can use as a permanent work space. It's really pretty, too, with terrific indirect light, so in and of itself, it's kinda an inspiration to get working. Since I'm not able to share pictures of most of my recent teddy bear work -- and I miss sharing them so much! -- I thought I'd share some photos of my work space instead. Be sure to click on the photos for a closer, larger view.
Here's where the magic happens, whether teddy bear, art card, or other. It's not a huge amount of actual table top to work on, but it's enough for my needs. It's great to have this huge IKEA desk and hutch with so much storage space, because I rarely have to get up to get supplies since they're literally an arm's reach away.
Behind me is my supply wall, where you can see the awesome ribbon rack my dad custom made just for me and my available space; my rubber stamps, ink, and scrapbook supplies; my Xyron cartridges; and a stack of fabrics I can choose from to use for footpads. To the far right of the photo, below, you can see the door to the closet where I take all my bear photos. It's outfitted with about 15 flourescent bulbs, permanently mounted to the sidewalls and ceiling.
I get to work in a light-filled space and my cats are frequent visitors. When my parents or friends visit, this is their bed. Unfortunately most of the storage areas are stuffed to the gills with my art stuff, but at least it's a very comfortable queen sized bed!
