Work in Progress

{Watercolor in Progress, 2012}

I've been taking a watercolor class on Tuesday afternoons and it has been really enjoyable. We still have several weeks left, which is good because I have only been working on this piece during the class time. If things settle down at my home studio I will plan on working on this more at home too. I plan to work up the foreground figure completely before I decide what to do to finish the background. I have a feeling I am going to need to tone down the three red poppies, but I won't know until I finish the figure. I've really enjoyed working on this piece so far!

Something Different

{Watercolor, 2012}

{Watercolor, 2012}

Mr friend Sara and I signed up to take a watercolor class taught by Melinda Kabel at the Des Moines Art Center. This is a landscape exercise I completed. I did the small sepia studies first and I was supposed to choose one to do in full color but ended up deciding to do all three because I liked the way they looked arranged on the page. The finished color versions are only slightly bigger than the sepia studies. As the class progresses I plan to share any other projects!

Holiday Bunting Workshop

{Crafted Project Example, "Noel", 2011}

{Crafted Project Example, "Merry", 2011}

{Crafted Project Example, "Winter Textures", 2011}

{Examples, 2011}

{Workshop Participants, 2011}

{Workshop Participants, 2011}

{Workshop Participants, 2011}

I was asked to create a workshop as part of the Des Moines Art Center's Annual Art Noir Holiday Studio. My holiday bunting project was one of several that included glass blowing, an ugly mitten decorating contest, gift tags, and origami ornaments. Its always a fun event and this was my second year doing a project to teach. I met a lot of fun people and everyone seemed really excited to make their own bunting decoration to cheer up their home! I created three examples to give people a little inspiration and an idea of how the project would look when completed. From there, people got really creative and had really awesome ideas! It is always wonderful to be around creative folk and this event was no exception!

The Sketchbook Project 2012 World Tour

{Mixed Media, 2011}

{The Sketchbook Project Promotional Logo, Find Out More HERE}

At the Des Moines Art Center, where I work, we are working on a collaborative sketchbook for the 2012 World Tour series. The top image is my contribution for our theme of "sandwich". I used a whole spread right smack dab in the middle of the book. I definitely broke the rule of putting important things in the gutter of the spread, but it's a sketchbook! There aren't supposed to be any rules! Let's just say, I would never do that if I was working on an actual book project! The art director would most definitely have to speak to me about it! Anyways, I decided to do an all-American waitress named Bea serving up the daily special. (basically all the stuff on one sandwich that has an expiration date of tomorrow!) I used stamps, coloreds pencil, marker and acrylic paint. I am so glad I got to participate in the sketchbook project even if it's only in the smallest way! I think it is such a cool concept, I just couldn't commit to doing a full book on my own with my schedule right now. Click the link under the second picture if you want to find out more about this awesome project!

Art Imitates Craft

{Mixed Media Handmade Card with Tatting, 2011}

{Collage and Ink in Sketchbook, 2011}

I've been taking a tatting class at the Des Moines Art Center for the past few weeks. I'm finding that I like the patterns that lace-making inspires. The above image was our first real project with finished examples of tatting. They are little floral rings that I glued to a card. I also added some subtle acrylic details in white. The second image was partially inspired by tatting, but also all of the Indian designs I have been looking at. My dear friend is getting married and since she is Indian, her wedding will also be. Its such a colorful culture and I love looking at all the intricacies in the patterns of fabric, jewelry, paper products and just about everywhere else! The truth is, I usually don't notice how things inspire me until they are done. Then, when I see them side by side, it becomes apparent! I'll be sure to share some more tatting projects if I manage to finish some larger ones.

Watercolor Class

{Watercolor on Aquaboard, 2011}

I'm in the midst of taking an experimental watercolor class taught by Kathy Glenn at the Des Moines Art Center. We've tried a lot of different types of materials so far and I hope to post more of the projects soon. This is the first thing I have finished but I have several things started that could turn out interesting. I started this painting yesterday, but woke up really wanting to get it done this morning. It's 6"x6".

Des Moines Art Center "Vault" Auction

{My Donation to the Des Moines Art Center, 2011}

{Up for auction, May 12, 2011}

{The newly constructed vault at the Des Moines Art Center}

Thursday night I had the pleasure of attending "Vault: Letting Our Guard Down" a fundraising auction with donations of over 100 artists from Iowa and around the world. I donated the American toad painting above. I have worked as a faculty member at the Art Center for the past few years and I loved the idea of being able to give back to my workplace and thank them for all they have given me. My husband and I were there during the middle of the silent auction and only stayed a short time. With over 350 guests in attendance in such a small place it was uncomfortably warm and we couldn't afford to bid on anything anyways so we took a few pictures, said "hi" to a few people, snagged an hor d'oeuvre or two and left. At that time my piece was up to $150, which made me proud and happy. I don't know if it ever topped that but I was more than ecstatic that it made it that high. Its not that I don't think it is worth that much, but I have donated artwork for charity auction before and seen it sell for ridiculously low amounts. (which makes it barely worth your time. And its embarassing) The Art Center handled the bidding nicely. They started all works at $50 and people could bid in $25 increments. All in all, a nice affair that you can read about at this Des Moines Register link.