Is it a skull or a bird...or both?

Here's something I made trying to incorporate some sculpting into a piece of wall art. I used fast drying paper mache (very fast) that I picked up in the craft store. It definitely did the trick but I wouldn't recommend it for trying to get a lot of detailing. It wound up being pretty sticky. It did create a great base and I love the texture of it.



Then I went over with some acrylic paints and gesso.





I also added some real feathers on the raised up areas and then went over them with a bit of puffy paint to bring out the texture of the feathers since it was kind of lost under the coat of gesso.







And the most gorgeous thing, "pouring medium"! That's what it looks like when it's dry!



Of course this was my downfall for a bit. The medium spread way more than I anticipated and so I had a huge thing of black on my canvas now and I seriously had a mental block about it for a couple of weeks. But then a good friend told me I should just start painting over it. I really didn't want to, but she was right. I put a layer of acrylic paint over it and the matte effect it had definitely helped to mitigate the huge expanse of shiny black.

So here is the final product. Et voila

Old screen printing projects

This past week I've been going gangbusters on crocheting a vest for myself. My very first clothing item that I've ever tried to make at all. Sadly I'm all out of the yarn I bought for the project and will have to wait to find some suitably matching yarn to finish it up. Any in progress pictures really wouldn't be that exciting at this point - I have a giant rectangle thus far.

I still have projects that are waiting to be posted once the recipients get them, but until then I found some pictures of screen printing samples I made in my first fibers class - my first time ever screen printing! I'm amazed by how much layering I did, even in my first attempts, which is making me want to go for the gusto and do that again for my next project, which is yet to be determined....the only problem is that half of my crafting supplies are piled up on the table I use for screen printing due to an unfortunate leak in my apartment which caused some water damage to the cabinet that held said supplies. That whole mess is sorted out now, but I'm still left with all these supplies and no home for them yet! Annoying.

Anyway, back to the screen printing!

We were supposed to have a cohesive theme running through each piece, and at the time I decided to use my father as a focal point. Of course at that time he was very much unemployed (stupid economy) and was dealing with feelings of frustration, anger, powerlessness, etc. It was a rather depressing thing to pick but I still think I created a few interesting images.

He's an airplane mechanic, hence the planes, and the bodies of water represent my hometown of Seattle somewhat. I was really in love with that layered look in the different shades of the water (still am!).



This next one was a bit more complicated, and I'm sitting here trying to even remember how I did it. There was a lot of layering of contact paper - I'm definitely going to have to experiment with that sort of technique again.



Here was my final project for that particular section of the class - if I remember correctly it was 40" x 40" and took at least 8 hours to screen print. The aqua water drops/tear drops are appliqued on, and everything else was screen printed.



This is another piece I did, in the following fibers class which was an exercise on color gradation. I'm really happy with the repeating shape I came up with. And I still have the fabric with no idea of what to make with it. I found a few sewing tutorials I've been meaning to try. It will probably pop up again there.



This makes me want to screen print right now!!! But I have to go to a work thing today and probably won't have time to do much of anything =/ Oh well, maybe I'll work on sketching something to print!

Book Arts at Home

This is another old project from my Book Arts class that I guess I never shared with you guys. I'm a bit surprised but I think this is my favorite book that I made from that class. The assignment was to make a coptic stitched book based on your running theme. My theme for this one was "Home" and it was a rather literal interpretation, but I am absolutely in love with the layering and cut out effects. I was originally inspired by this post on craftster. I wanted to create a similar effect just using the negative space to create shadows but it wasn't as dynamic as the white paper used in the other project so I added pen detailing, which I think made it work in a different but equally great way.

All of the collaged papers are found in my apartment and include a receipt, a netflix page, a letter, pictures of me and my bf, etc. This is going to be pretty picture heavy so I'll stop talking now.

Here's how you would see the book in chronological order

The door knob stamp was handcarved by me and the cover paper was stamped all over with a block stamp to create an abstracted representation of the brick that makes up my apartment building.

























Here's a picture of the binding



And closeups of my favorite pages

Now for something a little different...

I've been busy on some projects but unfortunately don't have anything I can share right now. In any case I thought maybe I'd share instead my love of TV. Some people hate it. I love it. Especially since quality TV programming has come back into fashion in a big bad way - sometimes I'm totally caught up in a show, sometimes I just like to have an old favorite on in the background as a calming white noise while I craft away. Here are some of my all-time favorites.



Doctor Who
I suppose it goes without saying that I am completely and utterly enamored with the modern Doctor Who series considering the amount of patchwork bags and other crafts I make that is a ode to its awesomeness. When I first started watching it, I wasn't sure if it was something I could get behind being a bit goofy, but I quickly got past that and now love all the little inside jokes and quips that make the show what it is. If you love sci-fi, humor, and clever plot lines this is definitely a show to check out.




Downton Abbey
I also love me some period British drama. This is a remarkable show that just started a few years back, chronicling the lives of a upper-class family and household in the pre-, mid-, and post-WWI Britain. There is nothing overly remarkable about any one character but each story and hope and dream becomes your own, and you quickly come to love the family. And Maggie Smith is absolutely the best!!




The Walking Dead
On a completely different tangent, I am obsessed with this show! I wouldn't even call myself a huge zombie fan, but this show is really all about the characters, and how they mentally, emotionally, and physically endure a post-apocalyptic world. Pretty much to survive you have to be a badass, kick ass, and have complete and total commitment to staying alive - I don't know if I could do it, but it's awesome to watch the people that can.




Glee
So do you think I'm a bit schizophrenic in my TV tastes yet? Glee is a good one just because I am a complete sucker for singing and dancing. I wish I could sing, and I pretend I can dance (when I'm alone!). The storyline is a bit overly dramatic but then again how can it not be for a bunch of high schoolers/newly minted college kids? They do a great job of covering a huge expanse of music catelog hitting on a bunch of favorites; classic rock, classic Broadway, top 40s, just everything that is great.




Sherlock
I didn't think I'd be so crazy about this series, but the writing is so fantastic and witty I can't help myself. The protagonist himself can be downright unkind and unfeeling at times, and yet it makes him more enduring for it because he is just so isolated from social awareness. Another brillant show from Mr. Steven Moffat (Doctor Who being the other!).




Project Runway
I am not a fashionista by any means, nor do I even know how to construct a simple garment. But I love this show because it shows others who are creative and crafty and innovative in their craft. I love to see other people's creative process, and especially when they have the "weird materials" challenge I am all over that! Make a dress out of pet store supplies! Make a pant out of party store materials! Love it!




Game of Thrones
I've always been a huge fan of fantasy books, so its kind of easy to see why I might gravitate to this type of programming. So much so that it caused me to go out and read the book (because the book is always a million times better)! And I have to say, I don't think they missed much of anything in the storytelling of this first season. The costuming, the characters, the locations are all so spot on, I say bravo! Bring me more! I am eagerly awaiting the release of the 2nd season so I can play catch up.




Grey's Anatomy
Ok I admit it, this is such trashy TV. It's a glorified soap opera with so many unbelievable twists and turns it's ridiculous. But yet I still watch it. It's amusing and has some good lines at least once or twice in an episode. And it takes place in Seattle, so I can reminisce and call their bluff on local shout outs that may are may not be completely accurate. I've never really been one for procedural hospital dramas but somehow this keeps me watching. What can I say?




Dexter
A show about a serial killer. A bit odd yes? But somehow showtime does such an awesome job of making Dexter such a kind, likable character. The only thing that drives me a little nuts is the fact that he insists (in voice-over monologue) he is an unfeeling monster who has to pretend to fit into society to blend in, while everything he does for his family and friends screams the opposite. But it's that kind of gray area that makes this show as intriguing as it is. What is wrong? What is right? It all depends on perspective.


Ok enough blathering about TV then. I promise next post we'll be back into the crafty thick of it all!

Better late than never

My apologies for being tardy with this week's post. It somehow slipped my mind when I was having too much fun playing with yarn.

Speaking of yarn, I went to a little fiber fest this weekend and picked up some gorgeous yarn made in Italy (so fancy) that I'm hoping to crochet my first garment with. 600+ yards of lovely black fiber. I'll have pictures later. Who knows, maybe even progress shots!


(Photo snagged from Tumblr)

Now being that I went to this event and bought yarn I totally didn't need and definitely didn't have room for, I decided to weed down my stash to hopefully make storage a bit more convenient (not like the picture above! I'm not that bad....yet). I pulled out all the little scraps and leftover balls of yarn and so far I've made a shawl, a really wonky earflap hat that I think I'm going to try felting to see if that makes the fit a little better, and just now I finished a lovely lace collar. What am I going to do with this stuff? I'm not sure yet. I might actually yarn bomb some of the things I make here. The collar is possibly a prime candidate =)

Sorry for the overly yellow bathroom - stupid lighting.






Ok enough rambling. Back to the crocheting!