Vinyl Toy Work in Progress

{Sketch on Kid Robot Trikky Sticker, 2010}

{Primed Kid Robot Mini Trikky Vinyl Toy, 2010}

I know lots of artists have been on the Kid Robot vinyl toy bandwagon for a long time, but I am often a little late to the game on fads. I bought this Mini Trikky several months ago and he has been sitting on my art desk for months. I decided, while I am waiting for my book project to begin, I would start working on him. The sketch above is what I am planning on. I still don't know exactly what colors I'll use, but I will try to take some progress shots and show the final project when I finish it. I plan on painting it with oils and hopefully it turns out cute!

Illustration Friday - Atmosphere

{Mixed Media, 2010}

I thought it was interesting that tonight is a full moon. I didn't even realize that when I was making this illustration today! I started with watercolor and acrylics and then drew the moon's face with colored pencil and added some stamped lettering. I always thought the moon looked more like a beautiful woman rather than an old man. The moon has such an atmospheric radiance when it is full on a clear night. I took a walk this evening and it was perfect! The moon was large and clear and I could see its reflection as I walked around our local lake.

Good News

{Watercolor, 2010}

I have a few pieces of good news to share! The first is that a piece of my art won a merit award at the Iowa State Fair in the Fine Arts Juried Exhibition. It came with a $100 prize and a lovely yellow ribbon! You can read the press release HERE. My second piece of good news (and very big news!) is that I recently signed a publishing contract to illustrate my first trade children's book. I can't give any major details yet, but I am beyond excited to have such a wonderful opportunity!

Illustration Friday - Stargazer

{Watercolor, 2010}

Two stargazing kitties. My cats like to sniff the night air through the open windows. (they also really enjoy hitting moths off the screens!) My husband and I and our animal family are enjoying the last bits of summer which are signified by the chirps of locusts and slightly cooler air.

Faces and Places

{Watercolor and Prisma Pencil, 2010}

{Watercolor and Ink, 2010}

These are some recent watercolor sketches. I really love drawing faces so the top was a free-for-all. I started with a bunch of skin toned swatches and then sat in front of the TV while I made up random people. The piece below was a quick demo for a painting and drawing class I taught. Also, I wanted to share that I will have a few pieces of exciting news in a future post so make sure you check back soon!

Raku Vase Project

{Detail of Face, 2010}

{Back Detail, 2010}

{Front, 2010}

{Side, 2010}

{Back Detail, 2010}

{Inside, 2010}

This is the finished version of THIS. It is a Raku fired nonfunctional vase. Due to being fired with unstable glazes it is not food safe and cannot hold water, but I really love the look of Raku glazes. Raku firing creates fairly unpredictable results so its really fun to see what it looks like when it has been fired. I used a white crackle glaze for the face and interior and a metallic glaze for the hair. I plan on taking another ceramics class in the future so that I can continue to explore sculpture and glazing techniques.

Wheel Thrown Pottery Projects

{Wheel Thrown Bowls and Vase, 2010}

{Modified Wheel Thrown Pot, 2010}

{Detail of Thrown Bowl, 2010}

These are four of the five wheel thrown pottery projects I made in my ceramics class this summer. The fifth hasn't been fired in the kiln yet, so I still don't know what that one looks like with its glaze. I showed a totally different ceramics project that was still a work in progress in THIS post and I will be posting the finished piece tomorrow. I figured these bowls and vases deserved their own post. I felt that throwing on the wheel was a much different process than hand building. All of the projects in this post were fired in a gas kiln and are glazed to be food safe.