Charley Harper

I am frequently asked who my favorite artist is. I've often stumbled to find an answer, never wanting to commit; always supposing that one day it would hit me like a pile of bricks. Well, that day has arrived. His name is Charley Harper. I've seen his work here and there and I'm almost certain I read a book illustrated by him as a child, but it all came crashing down yesterday when I came across a huge oversized tome of his works written by the interior design icon, Todd Oldham. I just cannot even express how stunning these prints were. It is hard to capture in the pictures that I have posted here. His works at first seem decpetively simple; it is not until you look at them for a few seconds that you realize that you have come across a master of modernism. His paintings are whimsical and bold - sometimes joyous, sometimes bizarre. I highly recommend getting ahold of Oldham's book. It will brighten your day immeasurably.

Blue and Green Chunky Charm

I finally took some pictures of the second chunky charm I made. This one has a blue and green theme - perfect for spring. There's even some frogs and a fish in it. Can you see them? This one took a little longer than the first one. I struggled a bit with the composition, but I think it came out pretty nice. One of my favorite parts of it is the light blue plastic flowers that you can see in the first and second pictures (there are light green ones on the other side, but these pictures don't show them). They were part of a vintage necklace that I found at a thrift store. It was falling apart so I un-strung it and used the beads for various projects. This charm is about 4" long by 2" wide.

Good News

It's been difficult working full time while going to school and I rarely have the time to sit down and create anything, much less be rewarded for what I create. So it was a pleasant surprise yesterday to receive an e-mail from the Design Laboratory of the University of the Arts London (Central St. Martin branch) requesting to use my decoupaged shoe tutorial in their next issue of the school's Mix Interiors Magazine! I know, I know... that was a really long sentence with way too many embedded links, but I am totally excited. I'll be honest, I would love to go to London myself and teach it to them in person!

While this is a great thing, it is also frustrating to me. I want to be getting more opportunities like this - and I should. But in order to do that, I have to have more time to dedicate to my art. I am second guessing myself now. Should I be working on my art instead of college? Should a passion come first, and a favored career second? Or should it be the other way around?

Chunky-Charm

I've started making these little chunky charms. I took an earring loop and attached a bunch of beaded wires to it with one charm or bead in the eye. This is the first one I made and it now hangs from the rearview mirror in my car. I made another one recently out of blues and greeens but when I went to take pictures of it my camera ran out of juice. So I'll post it soon, just not today. This one is about 3" long by 2" wide when laying flat.

Yes, It's More Jewelry

Here's two more necklaces I made. The one on top was my first multi-strand attempt. It originally had three strands, but it was a bit too much so I detached one. The pendant necklace on the bottom is based off of the colors of a sunset with the pendant itself representing the (duh) sun.

Yes, It's Jewelry

Long time, no see people!! Yes, I have finally succumbed to my deep dark desire to make jewelry. I knew that once I started, I wouldn't be able to stop. And I can't. I can only pray that I don't ever learn how to knit (wipes brow). Here are my first couple of stabs at jewelry making. The one on top is based off of the cherry blossoms that can be seen blooming around this time of year - the pink is obviously the blossoms and I used blue to represent the sky. The bottom necklace was my second stab at multi-stranding. I'm really happy about how the colors work together on this one.

Yo-Yo Flower

Just something I whipped up last night for a friend. I love making these yo-yo flowers, as I call them. They're great quick little exercises in color theory. Origami and other papers were used for the flower itself, paper and acrylics on canvas board for the background.

Home-made Gift Boxes

For my mom's birthday this year, I got her a necklace and earrings. It was only later when I got home that I realized I had no wrapping paper. So, I transformed those boring little white gift boxes I got at the store into something FABULOUS (as they say here in the Hamptons)! With a little paint, paper, glue, ribbon, and a couple silk rosettes, I turned the gift boxes into gifts themselves. This is a quick and easy way to make any gift way more special. Maybe when I have some extra time, I'll run a tutorial on this project...

Polka-Dot Lily

Yes, despite all my schoolwork, I've actually been able to do a little creating. Here is something I finished over the X-mas "break." This is a mixed-media piece using paper, paint, feathers, and tinted acrylic gel medium. In the end I gave it a hot-wax coating effect using my graphics program. Lots of bright colors to warm up these winter months. The bottom picture is a kaleidescope effect done on the original.

essimar

Hi there. Thought I'd post since I have a tiny little break from school. I really miss this blog, and I really miss my artwork, but I suppose this is what happens when you work full time and go to school. I just wish I had one extra day each week...I'd call it Jackurday... Anyway, I was browsing around on Etsy, and totally drooling when I came across this...Meet Essimar. Her delicately cut paper creations are completely sophisticated, yet fun, and her color theory skills are pretty sick. Love the igloo.