February 26, 2007
Making journals
What started out as a way to have a sketchbook "my way" is turning into a fun hobby!
Book binding is becoming a fun hobby for me. It's relatively quick, as long as you have all the materials, and the learning curve isn't too steep!
My biggest challenge now is finding nice paper I like for the pages inside... I have a whole bunch of old sketchpads from various classes that aren't full, and have been ripping the pages out and cutting to the right size. I think that's the biggest chore of all, cutting all that paper!!
I've run across a lot of "Gotchas" along the way... if using fabric on a book, make sure the glue won't seep through! I have a book with embossed felt on the cover, and didn't realize how the felt would suck up the glue, and then not stick!! I ended up with glue all over the book (in all the wrong places), on my work surface, my clothes, and me!
A site where I've gotten most of my materials and inspiration is Volcano Arts (http://www.volcanoarts.net). Christine teaches classes in bookbinding as well as metal working. In fact, her studio is about an hour away, so one chilly weekend we drove down to pick up supplies. What a wonderful lady! She gave my husband and me a tour, and it's obvious she really loves what she does. If you're looking to do some bookbinding, I'd recommend checking out her website.
My first book was from a kit from Dick Blick. It was easy, and I'm saving ALL instructions and reusing them for additional books. The one below was from the kit:
And this oriental-inspired book is for a friend, with the supplies from Volcano Arts (the Kanji cloth was purchased at Michaels, and the misc. beads at a local bead shop).
I'd planned on uploading more pics, but for some reason, only these 2 came out. I'll see if I can get more uploaded soon!
Gotta get back to my books!
:D
Posted by Sherri at 01:23 PM | Comments (6) | Art
January 09, 2007
Holiday journal entries
This year I journaled often during the holidays, thinking about past, present and future.
It all started with Christmas Memories...
to decorating for Christmas...
A fun Christmas tradition, The Nutcracker!
Christmas ornaments Sean and I made with Sculpey clay...
My Christmas present!
Christmas Eve at Bill and Vittie's... Always lots of fun, good food, laughter, and this year, a special treat! Sean and Terra had a baby, and this was Aidan's first Christmas! And!! Bill, Amy, Olivia, Rachel and Zach came from Florida.
Afterwards, Bill had rented a condo in Tahoe for the week. We all got a chance to go up, play and relax. Such a beautiful area!
And finally, the welcoming of the New Year!
Posted by Sherri at 03:24 PM | Comments (4) | Art
November 23, 2006
Drawing the figure from the inside out?
It's hard enough to draw the human figure, but to do it from the inside out? OMG...
A recent entry in the Every Day Matters forum linked to this unusual site. It shows an animation (flash) of an artist drawing, first a skeleton, then the body, then clothes on the figure of a woman. How wonderful to know the body that well to recreate the entire thing, from the inside out. If you've never seen it, it's well worth it!
In my Figure class, we recently had a similar assignment, to take a sketch we did in class, and laying vellum over it, draw the skeleton. Whoa, I didn't have any anatomy classes under my belt! Thank goodness for amazon.com and the wealth of books written on "anatomy for artists".
So, here's my sketch:
and here's the skeleton:
The assignment seemed so totally huge, but once I got into it, I actually enjoyed learning about the "human infrastructure". There are several books I would recommend for those who want good anatomy reference books: "An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists" by Fritz Schider, "Anatomy, A Complete Guide for Artists" by Joseph Sheppard, and "Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist" by Stephen Rogers Peck. I also highly recommend anything by Robert Beverly Hale, a man who taught figure drawing at the Art Student's League of New York.
Posted by Sherri at 11:11 AM | Comments (2) | Art
November 14, 2006
Irving Norman at the Crocker
I recently attended a show at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento which has been on my mind for over a week. Irving Norman was a prolific yet relatively unknown for many years, largely due to the subject matter of his works.
Our figure drawing class went to the Crocker to view this particular show, as the artist was extremely adept portraying the human figure. So much so, he was able to distort it to tell an intricate and often disturbing story.
We walked among these huge works, one so large the museum was unable to hang it and had to lay it down.
As my classmates began to sketch, I continued to walk through the exhibit, becoming very unnerved by the suffering, inequality, pain, and often death. I finally zeroed in on some faces and drew them.
From the Crocker's website:
"Unmasking the realities of human nature and the contemporary society in which we live, Irving Norman aimed only “to tell the truth of our time.” His highly detailed paintings are powerful critiques of modern life, painted in the hope of promoting change. The atrocities Norman witnessed in volunteer service during the Spanish Civil War jolted his consciousness, and he began to express his experiences through drawing and then painting from the 1940s to the 1980s. With the belief that his paintings could act as agents of social reform, Norman felt that pointing out the inequities, horrors and foibles of human behavior might somehow cause people to reconsider their actions. Most paintings were intended for public institutions, particularly museums, where the artist thought “all people could come and study them and contemplate.”View "To Have and Have Not"
Norman’s canvases are monumental in scale and teem with swarming figures, clone-like in their repetition, yet retaining elements of individuality. These figures are constricted by small urban spaces, caught in the crunch of bodies that fill city streets and subways, and decimated by the pain of poverty and the horror of war. The darkness of his visions is relieved by his jewel-like color harmonies and sharp wit. Once the spectator is engaged, Norman’s unsettling visions cannot be ignored—or forgotten. Through scale and infinite detail he makes the immensity and atrocities of war and contemporary society comprehensible. While often horrific and terrifying, these visions contain a deeper message: one of hope."View "Meeting of the Elders"
I've thought of these works often since last week, and I wonder why? I've seen other artists' works that impressed me, why these? Was is the immensity, the details, or something darker. I guess I need to "noodle" on this a bit...
Posted by Sherri at 04:46 PM | Comments (0) | Art
October 30, 2006
Art and naked people
Half way through a class I've been wanting to take for years, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm in a figure drawing class.
The human body, and especially portraiture, has always been my favorite thing to draw. Still life is ok... and landscapes are, well, too big. I guess I prefer up close and personal stuff, and you can't do that with landscapes.
One of the most fascinating things we've been studying is anatomy. The skeletal system, and musculature. How it all works together. The first homework assignment (there are only 2 assignments for the entire semester) was to take a drawing done in class, lay velum over it, and draw the skeleton of the person in the drawing IN THAT POSE! Good Grief, what a project!! I got several books on anatomy, and slowly drew in the skeleton. Next, using another piece velum, we drew almost a wire form of the original, to show how the muscles impacted the form.
We are also keeping a "Hand and Foot" notebook... each week we are to spend 10 min a day drawing hands and feet. A terrific reference once I'm done. And in that book, we did a detailed hand (bones and muscles) and foot (bones and muscles). As of mid-term, I have an "A"! :)
Because of the size of our drawing pads, they're too big to scan. Maybe I'll scan some of the stuff from my hands and feet book!
Posted by Sherri at 08:20 PM | Comments (0) | Art
September 14, 2005
Acrylics, and other art-related meanderings
A couple of art classes later, and maybe acrylics aren't so bad. I've discovered some stuff you can add to the paint that help slow down the drying.
Plus, the most recent assignment is to do a painting all in gray-scale, and then try glazing color over that. Well, I'm almost done with the gray-scale stuff, we'll see how I like the glazing. Sounds very interesting, almost similar to doing a colored-pencil piece... you're always layering colors on top of colors to achieve the look you want. Hmm...
Tuesday I met with a counselor at FLC to find out about pursuing a degree in art. What would it take, where should I go, and even if it's a good idea or not. She seemed very positive, and has given me a lot to think about. I've requested copies of my transcript from WSU, hopefully some of my classes will transfer over.
And, I finally have some of my art up on the web. They're all older pieces, but at least it's up there! Finally!! Now I have to photograph my more current pieces and get them up there too. Take a look...
Posted by Sherri at 11:18 AM | Comments (0) | Art
August 26, 2005
Not sure if I'm cut out for this...
I just started a Painting class, and I'm having second thoughts. I've always enjoyed art, mostly the painting and drawing type. Although I've also done pottery, sculpture, and various other fun things.
Over the past few years I've taken several drawing classes, and I figured I'd try the other side of the coin. Since I've done oil painting in the past and know what all that involves (mess, smell, toxicity), I figured I'd try acrylic painting. So, after the first class, I went out to Rocky's Art and bought my supplies (oh boy, oh boy!!!) and was all ready to jump right in last night.
We started out painting "scales", or gradients between colors... Like painting true red at one side, true green at the other, and mixing slowly from one to the other. Ok, that wasn't too bad. Kinda getting to know the paint and my new brushes.
Next, the teacher wanted us to do a monochromatic painting... all one color plus black and white. So she set up a still life, composed of several objects, all varying shades of red. Now here's where the problems started.
I'm so used to drawing, that starting right out with paint made me kinda nervous. So I sketched it in, and started in with the paints. The main problem was that acrylic DRIES SO FAST!! I'd barely get the color mixed and load my brush, and it was already drying on my brush. Ok, I can deal with that... So I add a little water... just dip my brush in my water a bit. Unfortunately, the result looked more like thin watercolor. 'sigh'....
I'm hoping this is just the initial frustration of getting to know a new medium. I'm disappointed that I find it frustrating... I've heard many artists relate their excitement with this whole process. I find it to be a pain. I guess I also am unsure if the trouble is with the medium, or me.
Well, the only solution is to plod forward, and find out if it really IS me, or the medium!! Stay tuned for updates!! :)
Posted by Sherri at 12:36 PM | Comments (0) | Art
