Artichokey Studio

She Moved Away From Home

2010-09-09T10:50:00.002-07:00

"She left home, moved to the coast and never came back."

This piece is ready to start painting. It is based on a little photograph of my Great Grandmother, Erma, and what few stories I have heard about her. She grew up in a small town on the border of Utah and Idaho. As a young woman, she left home and followed her sister further west. She eventually settled and raised her family across the bay from San Francisco. It is a really tiny piece, only 5 x 7 inches. I had to go buy some extra tiny paint brushes to help with all the tiny details.

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set

2009-10-14T08:50:00.001-07:00

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

What an awesome costume idea!

Underdrawing

2009-09-30T14:52:00.002-07:00

Here is an underdrawing I have been working on based on this collage. This is drawn using graphite on a 3/4" cradled gessobord. Next comes painting. The acrylic paint will go right on top.

Inspiration of the Day - Freedom Riders

2009-04-29T13:39:00.000-07:00

I can't remember exactly how I cam across the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, but I have been fascinated by it ever since. This digital collection is a group of mug shots taken of civil rights demonstrators in Jackson, Mississippi in 1961. Oh boy, there is lots to look at! Perhaps you will be as curious about the variety of people in these unique photos as I have been. Usually getting a mugshot is considered a bad thing but this collection of Freedom Riders identification photos a wonderful exception. Enjoy!

Collage Crazy

2009-04-15T10:36:00.001-07:00

I collect a lot of images - paintings, illustrations, photos, designs of all kinds. If I think it is interesting or has potential, I file it away for the day when I need a little inspiration in the studio. I also love to collage as a way of getting ideas for art compositions.

One of my first collages was for a mural design. It was really long and skinny. It took me forever but I loved the results. After I cut out and pasted the collage together. I did a second "mock-up" version as a painting. Here are just a couple sections of that stage:

Now I have moved on to using Photoshop to make collages. It is way faster and give me more flexibility. Lately, I have been looking at lots of Russian folk art and illustrations for a project that I am working on. Here are some cool things I have found:

Ivan Bilibin - Russian Art Nouveau Artist Some of his illustrations have great borders which is just what I think my project needs next. And I love all the great patterns and line work.

I also found this book at a second hand store a few years ago and have been inspired by the illustrations. Second hand stores are a great place to look for interesting "idea" books. You will definitely see their influence in the projects I am working on.

I think the below collage definitely needs some kind of Russian inspired border now. Then I will go on to stage 2 - sketching and painting my own version.

"Having a Picnic in a Russian Fairy Tale"

And for your random enjoyment, click here.

Why yes, we do need the arts.

2009-03-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

Here is a great article about the importance of the arts in the economy:
Psychology Today

Artichokey Studio Featured in The Storque

2009-02-25T07:58:00.001-07:00

Featured - Faching in Coburg 8x8 Print for $27.00

Isn't it exciting?! Thanks so much to Pearlswirl for including my work in her article about celebrating Carnival. Or as I would call it, Fasching. Head on over and check out her article in The Storque. It is a very interesting history of the celebration with so many beautiful pictures. And then check out all the shops, including yours truly Artichokey Studio.

Have a great day!

Inspiration of the Day

2009-02-06T15:33:00.000-07:00

If you think you don't really like art or don't think you are influenced by art, think again! We are surrounded by it. Check out this clip about the production of the movie, Coraline. Be wowed. It is nice to see some fresh imagination out there.

Celebration Sale

2009-01-14T22:20:00.000-07:00

In celebration of my very first sale on Etsy, this 8x10 print will be on sale until January 20th. Just mention this promotions topic in your purchase notes and you will receive a paypal refund of $5.00 after you have purchased the item.

Enjoy!

Happy 2009!

2009-01-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

I hope that everyone enjoyed the holidays. We had a nice time visiting family and managed to drive snow storm free! I am pretty happy about that. I am gearing up for my January 16th showcase on Etsy. So far so good! I am very happy with printers I have been working with. The prints are incredibly detailed and the colors are right on. I know, I spent a lot of time with the originals =) Even better, they are local. So I can work closely with them to get my prints just right.

Here are two new items that were listed today:

Harvest - 8x10 Print for $27.00

The original was drawn using beeswax, charcoal, and oil pastels on Bristol paper. The process is pretty fun and results in really rich texture and colors.

Three Layers - 8x10 Print for $27.00

The original is a screenprint I made using three layers of color. The photograph is one I took myself and reworked into three stencils. It's always been a favorite.

Help Save Handmade for Kids

2008-12-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

Yikes! Do you remember all those recalls for toys made in China that were making kids sick? Lucky, changes are being made to make toys safer. That is a relief. But, sadly, the little guys here (small toymakers and artisans) will get the ax due to the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act.

The new restrictions will put small businesses out of business who can't pay for high priced third-party safety testing. Speak up and protect the small businesses and artisans who make superior handmade toys that inspire creative play and always have been and always be safe for kids. Or else we all might be buying Hannah Montana dolls and plastic-retail-toys galore next year.

Here are two posts visit where you can learn more.

Heard in the slammer: “I used to make handmade toys
Help us Save Handmade! : How to Get Involved

Find your congress person and senators and write a letter like the sample here. Particularly if they serve on the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection or the House Committee on Small Business.
Send an email directly to the CPSC or contact chairperson Nancy Nord at 301-504-7923
Vote for amending the law on Change.org, digg style: With enough votes it will be presented to President Obama in January!
Place the Save Handmade! button on your blog or website to help spread the word to everyone you know who cares about protecting the little guy and preserving beautiful items made with love for our children.

In other news:

Have you checked out my Esty shop lately? I had my very first sale, one of these prints:

Pretty exciting stuff. I would love to sell more of these prints. I have been adding lots of new artwork and arranging another custom order that I will begin painting soon. Also, I made some huge changes to the items that are already listed. The prints are BIGGER now. So stop by and browse Artichokey Studio on Etsy.

This makes me want to go out and do some sketching

2008-11-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered Urban Sketchers and am really enjoying the blog. The blog hosts sketchers from around the world who focus on urban settings. This drawing is by Gerard Michel from Belgium. Check it out here.

Fostering Creativity at Home

2008-11-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

I love this article about Lisa Mahar, her home, and how she fosters a creative environment for her kids. This is art-minded living!

In other news, I just posted five more items over at Etsy.

Round Three

2008-11-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a sample of some of the artwork recently listed for sale at Etsy. This was drawing from a photo that I took of myself and my sister, Eimile. The photo distorts our features which works great for this drawing. It is drawing using an acrylic liquid pen of my own design. Then I used a mix of oil pastels and chalk pastels for the smooth and striking mix of colors. The long landscape shape is a favorite of mine. This piece has a large white border on the top and bottom. It give the piece the feeling of wide-screen cinema. I still have lots more to list, so I better get to work!

Click here for this item on Etsy

Setting up my studio practice

2008-11-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

Alas! Cars blocking our mural... I should go back and take a better picture.

I have been spending all morning doing stuff that does NOT feel like work. First I played with Photoshop to add watermarks to a bunch of pictures to get them ready for Etsy. Then I added more artwork on Etsy. Then I went to work on my Facebook network. I have been resisting Facebook for a long time. Then it dawned on me that my network of friends is already there and I just have to tap into it so that I can share what is going on in my studio. Motivation please!

My husband help me set up a "fan" page on Facebook. It sounds kinda funny to me that people could be my fan. But maybe you all really are fans of my artwork? And that is really just the kind of encouragement I need to get me back into the studio to keep on painting. Facebook is just one part of my VAST art empire. Another part is this blog where I can build me some community. That is something I miss about being in school. I was surrounded by other artists, ideas, and deadlines.

An additional part of my studio practice is MURALS. I have been trying to spread the word that I paint murals. I did several murals in college and worked with a high school class who I helped paint their own mural. I would really like to keep doing murals. So Brian and I have been telling everyone we know that I that I am open to commissions. So far, friends have expressed interest in an outer space, Wizard of Oz, and a fairy themed mural. All of which sound like they would be fun to design. Of course these would be indoor murals and a lot smaller than the one pictured above.

All of the artwork on Etsy right now is very eclectic. After four years of art school, I have tried a lot of different things. I don't know yet if my work will start to narrow down to one direction or if it will still be all over the place to keep me from getting bored. But I am hoping that offering up some of my past work will motivate me to start some new projects.

Introducing Artichokey Studio

2008-11-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I just re-opened my Etsy shop after a little hiatus. I am mainly going to sell giclee fine art prints of my original artwork... and whatever else fits my fancy. So if you have ever said that you only WISHED that you could afford my art, well now you can.

I have posted five prints so far and there are more to come. You are welcome to subscribe here or at Etsy to stay updated on what new items are for sale. Once I get everything up, there will be a lot more variety. I also have a Facebook page you can follow.

Click here to go to my Etsy page.

Flights of Fancy

2008-09-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

Found these great little illustrations using collage for a great 3-d look at small magazine. The artist's etsy shop here.

The world has yet to run out of cool ideas

2008-07-31T11:05:00.000-07:00

Cardboard Designs

Looking Better?

2008-01-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

I think that I am done with it. I like it better than before but I need to just stare at it for a while before I will be satisfied. The color looks different... I can't decide if I want to put a shiny or matte varnish on it.

Tag, I'm it. I was reading Lena's latest post this morning and wondering if she might tag me... and here it is: Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, as we all want to know them.

1) I love to draw floor plans. My grandpa was a draftsman and I was so fascinated by all the aspects of constructing a house. We always lived in military housing. It's pretty blah. My mom, blessed day dreamer that she is, taught me how to draw a floor plan. I started drawing houses all the time and over time had binders full of these sketches. Some people keep a book by their bed, I usually kept a pad of graph paper, a pencil and a ruler by mine.

2) Other things that I drew as a kid: Betty and Veronica from the Archie comics. Or illustrated apology letters for things like taping Precious in the closet with captions like, "Help me!" However, Renee did a pretty spectacular one of me one time with a butt crack down the middle of my face. I always thought she was a much better drawer.

3) I am the family chips and dip maker. My grandma use to make a chives and cream cheese dip served with Ruffles with rrrridges. All my relatives have opinions about how to make the dip since my grandma never wrote the recipe down. My family has decided that I know how to make it right and will report back to me when someone else tries to make it and does it wrong. Making the dip involves lots of taste testing and about half a dozen opinions about what it is missing. Now that I think of it, this applies to dips in general. My mom has been requesting my artichoke dip again.

4) I have had 30 different addresses in 30 years. I lived at one address twice. I should get some kind of prize or something... 30 in 30...

5) I used to live across the street from a German butcher shop and walk by the pig farm to go to the schwimmbad where we were required to wear swim caps. If you have never been to a German swimming pool, you are missing out. We practically lived there during the summer.

6) I love my label maker. Last time I shared my fridge, I labeled it. The labels come off so easy. I use it to date and label food in the freezer. I don't use a sharpie on my burned CDs if I can help it. I only wish I had purchased it years ago. If I need to organize something, I do it by labeling. Happy? Now you know I am nuts.

7) I am partial to the west. I like the IDEA of the east coast but I don't know if I would ever choose to be an east coaster. I think the pacific northwest is pretty darn close to heaven. I don't like the snow or the desert heat (thank goodness for AC). Despite the four seasons (Can't we just keep spring and fall?) I have grown to really like where I am now and have lived here longer than anywhere else.

NEW STUFF! Woohoo!

2008-01-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

(Here is a little section of a mural I designed.)

click here

I didn't like the name of my etsy shop

2007-11-18T01:35:00.000-07:00

So I switched to another. I added some more stuff... and prices are different too. Click here. Christmas shopping anyone?

Lucky Lucky Me!

2007-11-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

How did I become such a lucky girl? I just attended my first meeting the other night for a project I will be working on next semester (my very last semester thank you). I will be working as an ArtsBridge scholar helping a high school art class design and paint a mural. I am pretty excited. I am pretty new to mural painting myself, but I have learned a lot this semester and designed a couple of murals that I really love. Loving your own artwork is always a good thing. Well, within reason.

Plus I really feel like I am in my element when I able to organize things like this. To say that I can sometimes turn into one of the most organized people I know is not an exaggeration. It is a nice change of scene. A typical art related activity just includes me, my studio, and lots of art supplies. So I am ready to take on my own brood of eager muralists.

Why else am I such a lucky girl? I get paid to MAKE books. It fulfills all my tinkering dreams to be able to restore a book to good health. And it has led me to other opportunities with a local bookbinder who makes really cool replicas of important historical books. Right now I am sewing replicas of the first edition of the Book of Mormon together and learning a bit about 19th century bookbinding. Next comes some Gutenberg Bibles

As if that were not enough, today I had my first art sale. I have been attempting to start selling some work for the past two months. And now this drawing has a new home. Don't worry guys, I have plenty more for you. Check it.

Just for kicks:

Quick break from all the crazy

2007-09-22T23:09:00.000-07:00

Here is where I have been spending all my spare time lately-- in my new studio. This is my work in progress. It's a collage designed for a mural (which is why it is so long and skinny). Next I am going to paint it.

The most amazing origami ever

2007-08-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

Click Here

And then I realized...

2007-05-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

...that other people might think this makes me a bit of a geek:

I was at the Annual Student Art Exhibition opening reception. There was lots of great food all over the building. Tons of people. And my little encausic painting was hanging in the corner above another student's photograph of, well, a used condom on a tile floor. Lovely.

I was walking around with a friend, strategically passing by all the refreshment tables. Then he announced that he was ready to go home. "But what about all the prizes? You don't want to miss that part," I said. He asked what's this prize thing was all about. I answered, "I don't know. I have no clue. But what if you win? You have to stay because you might win." He was persuaded to stay.

So we stood there in the gallery, clapping for students who were winning awards for all kinds of stuff. Best painting, best graphic artist, dean's favorite, purchase awards, etc. I thought, well, now I know what this prize thing is all about. I realized that I had a plastic fork in my back pocket. Hmm, that's why I keep snagging my shirt on my pocket. I was noticing how the sculpture in front of me reminded me of one of those 3-D apple puzzles from the eighties. Then my name was called. Huh? My friend smiled at me and said, "Oh look! You won." Oh, wow. This is so unexpected. I made my way up front and claimed my prize and tried not to be goofy.

Afterwards, I was huddling around in a circle with other prize winners comparing what we got. One artist said that he got a gift certificate to an art supply store that he never shops at. He wasn't sure what to use the card for. I joked that he should just buy really expensive art supplies that he would usually never buy on his own.

He smirked back, "Oh yes. I am going to buy a really big tube of Prussian Blue paint." We all threw our heads back in a fit of laughter. Repeating back, "Ha ha, Prussian Blue. That is so funny." And that is when I realized that I am in my own little world and everyone outside my little world probably thinks I am a dork.

What is so funny about Prussian Blue paint you ask? What, you don't KNOW? Some colors are more expensive than others. Series 1 being the cheapest. Series 4 being the most expensive. It has to do with the different pigments that are used. Most art students buy less expensive blues like Ultramarine Blue and Phthalo Blue which are series 1 colors. Prussian Blue is a series 4 color.

I like to splurge on a couple series 4 colors myself-- Cadmium Red Medium and Cadmium Orange. After a few years in school, you start to get a sense for which colors you like to have on your palette. Painting students will often walk around the classroom looking at other students' colors. "Ooh, how did you mix that color?" To buy Prussian Blue-- or a lovely Cadmium-- might be considered extravagant to a group of poor students.

Not so funny when I have to explain it all, huh? Yeah, I guess that you had to be there and be particular about the vast variety of blue paints.

Moments you just don't see.

2006-12-13T23:47:00.000-07:00

This is an under drawing that I did with a really soft vine charcoal so that I could get an idea of how to lay out my painting. It is really easy to wipe off and re-draw over and over again. After I was satisfied with the layout, I started mixing up my paints and painted right on top of this drawing. The original drawing became totally obsolete.

Sometimes I like to take pictures of the steps along the way so I can review the process of how my painting evolves from start to finish. No one else can see or appreciate what goes on underneath the finished piece before it is actually completed. Well, except for you in this case because I took a picture.

I think this quick sketch of the girl is almost more amusing than the girl in the finished painting. Sometimes my best moves are not the marks that remain in the final image. I just have to appreciate the moment and be willing to move forward. I have to accept the risk that mediocrity might replace genius. In the end, it is the process that I value more than the product.

Any guesses?

2006-12-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

Does anyone have a guess as to what these lovely abstractions are? I did them myself. And I am pretty sure you all will figure it out...

Inhibition

2006-09-18T17:19:00.000-07:00

My drawing class went on a field trip last week to a desert garden. I wandered around and found this beautiful tree and positioned myself opposite it's graceful arch. I set up my easel and drawing board and got to work measuring, marking, erasing, observing. It was sunny and cool and just a fabulous morning to be outside. My classmates were spread out around the grounds. Moms with strollers and gardeners were out and about too.Photographers and engaged couples were searching out the best photo opportunities. That's how beautiful it was.

Another field trip was making its way around the gardens too. Groups of kids in bright yellow shirts were being marshalled around with very strict instructions. I guess it is necessary when the entire group has downs syndrome. As the yellow shirts would walk by my tree, the teachers would all react differently to my being in the path. Some would say, "Oooh, a painter! Let's all quietly look and see what she is painting." Others would say, "Don't touch her or her stuff. Keep moving." One of the students (who had a friendly teacher) said to me quite happily and instantly, "Ohhh, that is SO beautiful!" I almost started crying when she walked away it was sooo sweet. And really, my drawing was only in the beginning stages where it's true composition was still dominated by scribbles.

I didn't mind being observed. I actually loved having all the kids around. Everything I do looks amazing to a child. There is no doubt in their minds that my drawing is SO beautiful. Yet there is doubt in my mind. I was a little sad that some of the teachers didn't let the kids be curious. I know that special needs kids can sometimes overstep social boundaries, but why not explore everything in the gardens? I was very touched by their enthusiasm for everything around them and their lack of inhibition to share that enthusiasm. Sometimes I get so so cautious and fear creeps in and controls my actions. Usually that is a mistake. The teachers that were afraid that their students would be in my way added nothing to my experience drawing on location. But the teachers who were just as excited about everything around them as their students were unknowingly enriched my experience by allowing their students to interact with "the painter".