I finished that illustration for my friend Natalie’s Blog and I love how she took the image and incorporated it into the design of her site. If you want to see the finished project go visit Little Things.
Felt Ornament
This was a prototype this past Christmas season. I hope to make some of these for folks for next Christmas. In order to actually accomplish this feat I should probably start now…
Illustration Process
I am currently working on an illustration for a friend of mine’s blog. The piece will be used as a new title header and is composed of some text and a wee bit of illustration. I am very pleased with what I came up with for the drawings but I am still tweaking it in order to find the right balance between text and image. I want the text to read as the strongest element but so far I feel that the figures are over powering it.
Once I get it to her and she is pleased with the results I will post some process pictures and one of the finished work. I am working on paper with watercolor and since there is no undo button in real life I’ve already gone through several attempts on a few different bits of paper. Wish me luck that I don’t ruin too many pieces of watercolor paper in the process. However, I must say I am enjoying stepping into the studio room and finding my desk littered over with sketches and paintings for this.
New New Season
So that last post came right before the holiday rush. I don’t know why but I am always super convinced that in the most hectic season of the year I will be able to change all my habits and get extra productive. While I had a great holiday season and visited many friends and family, I did not get a lot of projects done. Surprise, Surprise!! But the great thing about life is there is a new day and a new chance every tomorrow. I am happy to report that in terms of making things 2011 is proving to be a good year so far. I am not having as much luck with my job search but using the extra time to use my hands is a great way for me to cope with the frustrations and stress of the looking for work process.
For the last month and a half my focus has been on actually doing things and now that I am building some momentum I suppose I have decided that I can turn to recording these things via image and writing. Like many I have mixed feelings about blogging and wonder what I could possibly be contributing to the wide world by putting this out there. I don’t have an answer for that but I am trying to figure out a set of goals and motivations I can use to gauge my “success” in this endeavor. Number 1 is probably just posting when I say I am going to start posting! (small victories, right?) Beyond that simple and necessary step is a hope to simply to track my progress. Lent season is around the calendar corner and for the last few years part of my family has tried to take this time to participate collectively in a Make-A-Day project. The idea being that rather than deny ourselves something during the season we will strive for awareness, connections, and improvement by attempting to engage in mindful creative acts. Like most we are all over committed and despite our best intentions we rarely make it to the end of the race. Whatever shape our participation takes from year to year it always feels worthwhile. I really want this year to be my turn to make it all the way through.
Consider this my warm up stretches.
New Season, New Projects
A new season means a time for new projects. I was able to take it easy this summer with lots of long dog walks and a lot of pleasure reading but now it is time to refocus. While the search continues on for a full-time librarian gig, I am lucky enough to have part-time work for the moment. With graduate school complete this also means I have no reason not to use some of this extra time to work at getting back to being a maker.
The fall means a new season and a new academic year which to me has always felt like a fresh start. The endless possibilities are practically palpable and I make more resolutions at this time than I ever do for the actual new year. However, the fall is also a busy time and it is easy for my new resolutions to quickly slip to the wayside. I don’t think anyone will be looking at this space any time soon but my hope is that the idea that they could will provide just enough accountability to help me keep working.
every day a line 