A busy week! Raku, magnets, and more...

It's been a busy week here. I have been painting, doing raku, making small things like magnets, and doing some design work for a friend.

Here is one of the raku pendants I made, which is currently available in my etsy store:



I enjoy working on smaller projects, like making magnets, in between working on sculptures and paintings. Here are examples of a couple types of art magnets I've been making:





These will be available in my etsy store, along with lots of other things I've made.

I've also been doing some design work for a friend of mine who does custom metalworking and makes jewelry. When I have scans of a couple of the drawings, I'll share them here.

Technorati tags: art,blog,weblog,original artwork,wwao,sculpture

New raku pieces

I did the initial firing yesterday, then this morning I did the glazing, and I did a couple of glaze firings this afternoon.

Firing raku is always a bit like Christmas morning to me...you know it's going to be fun, but you never quite know what you're going to get. Here are a couple of pics of the finished pieces. These pics have miniature vases and jars, all of which are under 1 inch in size:




This shows the scale of one piece:


I also made some raku beads, pendants, and other small things. (My kiln is quite small.) I have the feeling if I were doing large raku pieces here, it would alarm the neighbors, so it's just as well that I'm limited to small pieces right now. :)

It's very challenging to do raku pieces on this scale. I challenged myself to make these as small as I could, and this is the result! It can be very difficult to remove something the size of a pea from the kiln and not drop it. It may be small, but it's still at 2,000 degrees F and will ignite anything it lands on! The lid for the smallest jar is about the size of a lentil, to give you an idea just how tiny these are.

Technorati tags: art,blog,weblog,original artwork,wwao,miniatures,sculpture

Firing day for my kiln!

Today was firing day for my kiln. I had planned to fire the past couple of days, but we've been having thunderstorms here. Today I was able to fire it though, and I'm still waiting for it to cool. Tomorrow (weather permitting) I'll be glazing and doing some raku, which I love to do!!

The other thing I was working on today (well, a couple of things, actually) was a really tiny jar made from polymer clay. It's a piece a woman on etsy custom ordered from me. I probably could have made it from clay and raku fired it as well, but the problem is, it's so darned tiny, I'm sure I'd never find it in the debris. (Not to mention that glaze firing something that small would be a royal pain in the patootie.)

Here is the one she ordered, which she wanted to be 1 cm or less in size:

  
I painted it to look like a raku piece.

Then I decided to see just how small I could make a lidded jar. I also painted this one the same way:


Hopefully tomorrow I can do the glaze firing, and have some other pics to share! :)

Technorati tags: art,blog,weblog,original artwork,wwao,miniatures,sculpture

New abstract painting

I finally finished the abstract painting I'd been working on:


TRANSITION
Original acrylics
24" x 36"

I've been working in oils a lot lately, so this is the first acrylic abstract I've done in a while. I enjoy working in both media, as they're very different to work with. Sometimes I enjoy the immediacy of acrylics, being able to apply layers of paint, using washes or glazing, without the drying time oils require.

This painting has some fun patterned textures in the background sections, which don't really show up in the photo. It's raining here today, so there's not a lot of light coming in to my studio. Hopefully when the weather is better I can take some detail pics to show also. I used the textures and color scheme to add a vintage feel, to contrast with the modern composition of the painting, hence the name "Transition".

Technorati tags: art,blog,weblog,original artwork,wwao, abstract art,acrylic paintings

Art is a crazy business!

A fellow member of Worldwide Women Artists shared the link to this news story. I had to post it here:

Bizarre news article

This reminded me of this time that I went to the local public gallery to see what they had chosen for their "Open Juried Exhibition". There were perhaps 40 pieces, all of which were enigmatic, disturbing, or distorted in nature. I could have understood that if that were the theme of the exhibition, but it wasn't. There was not a tranquil landscape, floral, or still life in the bunch. You know the type of stuff they had chosen? Barbie doll heads attached to wires, stones stuck to the wall inside a square, etc. There was nothing in the exhibition I personally liked, or even really appreciated for the artist's skill. I was glad I had not chosen to apply, because clearly it would have been a waste of my time; there is no way the jurors would have selected my work. But then, I took comfort in the fact that truly great artists like Monet or Degas probably could not have gotten their work in either.

Obviously Michealangelo would have been disappointed had he sent his work to these people and found they chose to display the shipping crate instead. ;)

WIP (Works in Progress)- Raku and handmade cards

I've been spending a couple of days this week making some things for my etsy store, in addition to trying to finish an abstract painting I've been working on.

One of the things I've been making is a small clay jar which will be raku fired, which I'm custom making for someone. After making it, I decided to play around and see just how small I could make some of these. Upon seeing them, H (my boyfriend) asked me what someone would do with such tiny jars. I told him that some people use handmade miniatures like these to furnish dollhouses, while other people just enjoy collecting miniatures. Here are two pics, of the larger and smaller jars. The clay on some other things is still drying, so I won't be able to fire up the kiln until the weekend.





I've also been making some handmade cards to go in my etsy store. Here is one:


These smaller projects are a nice break from working on a sculpture or large painting, which can take me months to complete. I'm also hoping to post a pic of the abstract painting later today, if I can get it finished.

Technorati tags: art,blog,weblog,original artwork,wwao, abstract art,miniatures,sculpture

New Celtic Art

I finished the Celtic cross I've been working on! Here is a pic of the finished piece:

It's about 3" x 5", created in hydrostone and painted with professional artists' acrylics. I will be adding it to my etsy store and my web site later this week.

I also made some Celtic-inspired fridge magnets:

These are hydrostone too, and are like mini sculptures for a fridge or filing cabinet. I will be adding these to my web site and etsy store as well.

I have some ideas for other Celtic pieces I hope to create this summer. If you like Celtic art, please stop in again!

Technorati tags: art,blog,weblog,original artwork,wwao, celtic art,miniatures,sculpture

Rainy days and art shows...fine Scottish weather!

This weekend is one of the larger art fairs in the Indy area, the Talbot Street Art Festival. I've heard of this one, but never been to it before. When I got up this morning (way too early for a Saturday, I might add) it was raining. Anyone who has done art festivals before, either as a participating artist or as a volunteer helping out, knows that nothing is worse than having to set up everything in the rain. (Well, almost nothing. Tornadoes don't do much to help either!) My heart goes out to all those artists and volunteers who are, at this moment, battling the elements to get things set up. I'm out of the rain and having another cup of tea. :)

Today I'm making the mother molds for the Celtic cross I posted about this week, and also another smaller Celtic project I'm working on. Normally I'd do this part outdoors, but since it's raining (and also too dark in the garage today) I will be working on them inside. This is a dangerous prospect, because I tend to be messy with these things...not quite 5-year-old-with-finger-paint kind of messy, but close.

No pics in this post, because the projects are UGLY at this stage, with all the coats of latex on them. BUT, when I have a cross finished (hopefully tomorrow or Monday) I will post pics then. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a pic of one of my Celtic-inspired ink drawings:


TREE OF LIFE X
Original India ink on handmade mulberry paper

Technorati tags: art,blog,weblog,original artwork,wwao, celtic art,miniatures,sculpture

Another Wall Sculpture

I did another wall sculpture like the gothic one I posted about last week, but this one has a mosaic set into the back part. It has a very Mediterranean feel to me. The colors are more vibrant than they look in the pic... the stones are royal blue and white, with turquoise ones around the edge. This is one of the times that I've created something and am very tempted to keep it. Here's a pic:



I'm up to coat #7 of latex on the Celtic cross I posted about yesterday. By the time I finish the glass of wine (cabernet) I'm having now, it should be dry enough for another coat.

I am working on another smaller Celtic piece as well..... more about that later!

Technorati tags: art,blog,weblog,original artwork,wwao, celtic art,sculpture

Celtic Cross - Work in Progress

I finished shaping the Celtic cross wall sculpture today. Here is a pic I took of the original (made from a non-drying clay) before I started applying latex for the mold:


I am only up to coat #4 of latex right now. It will take about another dozen coats, so with drying time (about two hours in between coats) I will probably be applying latex till Thursday. Then it will have to cure for a day or two before I can move on to the next step, which is making a mother mold around it. (This will need to be from something rigid, such as plaster. It prevents the latex mold from losing its shape when the hydrostone is poured in.) After that, the hydrostone can be poured in, and then it has to dry before I can paint it. I'll be sure and post a pic here when I have one finished.

Technorati tags: art,blog,weblog,original artwork,wwao, abstract art,aceo, celtic art,sculpture

Newest oil painting, and a nice letter from a customer :)

I didn't get a chance to post a pic of my latest oil painting, because I had family visiting over the weekend. This is another in my Windows of Imagination series.... this one is called "Purple Fantasy":

Oils on canvas
8" x 10"

I also got the nicest note from the woman who commissioned my most recent miniature dog portrait (the one I posted about a few days ago.) She says,"Miss Frieda arrived yesterday and she is absolutely the most adorable little Diva possible. You did a tremendous job and I am so pleased with it."..."Thank you so much. Your work was right on and captured my little one's personality." It's always nice to hear that someone is so pleased with my work. (If you would like information about having your own dog, cat, rabbit, bird, or other pet's portrait painted, please stop by my web site.)

Today I worked on adding mosaic stones to one of those wall sculptures, and I am working on a Celtic cross sculpture. Pics of those will follow as soon as they are finished!

Technorati tags: art,blog,weblog,original artwork,wwao, abstract art, celtic art,landscape paintings,miniatures,sculpture,animal art,oil paintings

Gothic Wall Sculpture

After a couple of weeks, I finally finished this sculpture. It's in hydrostone, with a faux stone finish in acrylics. It measures about 9" high by about 6" wide, and can hold a candle, flower vase, gargoyle, or other small items. Here is a pic I took of it with a votive candle on the shelf:



I don't have it on my web site yet, but I did put it in my etsy shop.
Now I'm thinking I need to make one to have here at the house! :)
I hope to do one with a mosaic on the background next...

Technorati tags: art,blog,weblog,original artwork,wwao,miniatures,sculpture,castles