Floral Shop Across the Street

A quick drawing of the floral shop entry on Spring Garden.  It's a pretty entry though fairly certain they do not allow guest to this door which is a shame.  As always let me know what you think.  Thanks.

Details: Black ink pen, red felt pen and green highlighter on 1-800-Radiator stationary.

Handmade Sketchbook

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you all.  It's been a little crazy as of late, between job hunting, working and helping putting together a competitive club Ultimate Frisbee team with two awesome guys in the Durham area been a little stressed.  Honestly can not even bring to mind last time I was able to sit and draw and be creative.  One of these days it'll be better.  But I digress here is the project that I was working on before everything went to crazy.  


I designed and developed a sketchbook serious that uses recycled sketchbook paper.  Between being a design student and love for odd shaped and textured paper I have a lot of half used sketchbooks and notebooks.  I pulled these pages out and created a cover and back out of chipboard, covered in wrapping paper and binned with an old tank top, heavy duty thread and duck tape.  A good friend of mine took these images for me of her loved sketchbook.  These creations have come out of my need to build something and love the playful nature.  I wanted to create a sketchbook that had a langue of it's very own, no two books are alike and allow the artist to build on this.  I know I write and draw in my sketchbooks and this seems to play host to those efforts easier than the uniformed typical notebooks.  

I have the jungle themed books as well as some dump-truck which are reinforced with black duck tape on the outside edges for those who have the drops; as a way to protect the edging and works within.  Most of the books I have created so far have around 50 assorted pages.  Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in one of these fabulous creations.


Details: assortment re-used paper, duck tape, heavy duty thread , re-used t-shirt, chipboard, craft glue.
Images donated by: Caroline Hill

New Project in Works

For those who are following my blog closely I've been working on a new project.  Which I am super excited about.  It's a lot of fun, utilizing found materials and reworking them in a similar usage but very different orientation.  Already received some positive feed back from a good friend but waiting to unveil when completed with suggestions.

Thanks for your patients.

Mixed Media Project

My boyfriend was trying to get one of my old flash drives to work.  He found so many of my works that I thought lost for sure when my computer died my backup died and my backup of my backup was erased.  It made my day for sure.  This one is super old but one of my favorites has been hung up in every dorm, house and apartment that I've lived in past ten years. Had it scanned while I was at UNCG and cleaned it up a bit, age is rough on loved ones sometimes. 

It is a cut and past project from my high school art class, was suppose to fanned but loved it so much as is just couldn't.  Won a mixed media computation back in it's hay day.  Created from an old Vogo magazine; it's two girls faces and rather large.

Piece of School of Athens

Re-posting.  Since I am reaching back into some of my past works.  Here's one that came from about the same time as the outdoor school garden.  One of my favorite watercolors to date even if it didn't turn out like I had planed.  This work was part of a larger assignment, as a class we were given sections of the work 'School of Athens' and we were to make our own interpretation of our piece using whatever media we liked.  Then to piece the work back together as a whole.  Over all created an interesting piece with lots of depth and difference in color, style, background and understanding.

Conceptual Reuse Gardenscape

RE-POSTING.  This is one of my favorite works from my last full year at UNCG.  We were working with a local Greensboro school on revamping a new high school; one of the first sustainable in the nation.  It might be sustainable but not an easy space to work nor learn in.  I adopted the art room to work on and really focused a lot of energy on there out door patio.  The patio is on the south side of the building and sits about 100 feet from the visitor parking lot.  I was working to tie not only a sustainable/reuse aspect but pull in the idea of the existing environment as well.  The sunscreen above is made up of used tires, bolted into reused I-beams.  With old car parts/mufflers and the beams acting as support for the pant life.  There would also be flower pots and benches made up from junked car parts mostly bumpers/fenders.  

I really did love this part of the project and still is one of my favorite drawings.  It's a rather large drawing by the way drawn on 36" by 24" newsprint with ink pen.  (For the studio I had chosen to use a 36" by 24" newsprint pad.)

Torn Up

Been feeling a little lost and discombobulated as of late.  Was laid-off not only once but twice end of last week.  Lucky to still be working but don't know how I'll pay my bills.  

I've had this part of a drawing for a while.  Had been working on a full ink drawing but got lost on the other half and ended up getting frustrated and ripped the drawing into to pieces.  This part still made since but just a part of the whole.  Feel like my life is sort of along the same path right now.  Don't know where I am going or what I'll do; where's my other half?  Original idea was to lay it out on black paper so that you could see the rips.  Feel like hiding that aspect is a little more suiting right now.

B Ball Logo

It's been awhile; promise haven't completely abandon you all.  Been really excited about this t shirt design and have been wanting to share it for a good while.  Been putting off posting it in hopes of giving a friend of mine time to unveil the surprise first ever Levin JCC Basketball league shirts.  Like always let me know what you think.

Abandon battle ship

I feel that this one needs clutter to cover the floor boards of the platform.  Sorry to say got lost in the line weights and trying to get across the different textures and didn't take as much time considering what needed to happen as a work.  I can totally see a host of chairs set up like a deck and/or children's toys and furniture thrown hap hazard across the entirety of the platform.  The work is still fun; drawn more or less from an actual tree that lives in a public park downtown South Port North Carolina.  My mom was talking to me about how it would be a great inspiration for one of my tree house drawings.  As much as a pull from nature I really love to work both the tree and the structure at the same pace and allow each to inform the other.  All the same this was a fun challenge to pull from one established form to inform the other.

Where is my stapler? Part II

Where is my stapler?

Today is a absolutely beautiful day!  We've got the doors all propped open at the shop and I am only working one job; so an easy day.  Was feeling a little Office Spaces[ish] maybe its the contrast of my office and the cubical farm portrayed in the film.  I know the feeling though of the employ that got laid off and no one had the nerve to tell him.  Seems to have happened to me a couple of times with I was working temp-to hire jobs in the past.  

We have two staplers at the shop and this one is the younger of the two.  The other is really awesome looks like it was borrowed from an antic-arts show, has an old old sticker on the bottom "property of the ..... Mutual insurance co. .... New York.  Sure it's got some sort of whirl wind history attached to it;  came to our shop with one of my bosses former co-owners.  But the younger sibling is the focus of today's study, I love it cause it looks so beat up and well worn.  Like so much of the rest of the building and shop materials.  I know that he has been trying to up date the appearance of the shop but its hard when the building has been here since at lest the seventies.  

Who Inspires You?

For the Adventures Soul

This one was a whole lot of fun, though I didn't know how it was going to turn out at first.  Using some wast paper for this exploration.  Really like the added dimension but not sure if I'll undertake another like it.  May be too busy and hard to read as a whole work.   Don't know why I keep creating these dare devil tree houses, that seem to tempt fate.  But guess that's a big part of the fun growing up; tempting fate.

Meet Vernon

Vernon is my oh so faithful noble steed.  Thought he deserved some reconciliation as I drive him more than he would like and wake him up so early in the morning.  He's a good steed as long as one keeps his antifreeze topped off and oil change.  He is a gray blue 1989 Jeep Cherokee Laredo; and works really hard to get me to and from work in just the nick of time. 

Figuring

Have been a little wishy washy about posting this piece.  I think it's a fun exploration into how I start a figure project. Especially when I am creating without a person in front of me and creating from my imagination and combination of different faces that I can find on hand.  

Details;  cheap ink pen on drawing paper.

Pick Up the Phone

Another exploration of everyday things, drew this one a while back.  It's been lost and re-found a number of times feel it's time to share before it's lost once and for all.  My house phone isn't nearly as much fun as the one that I use everyday at work.  Love taking everyday objects and making them into interesting pieces.  For this post have cropped super tight allowing for the lines to play and speak a little louder.

Details;  ink pen on copy paper

Chair / Build Project

This was a really fun build project.  We were to chose an image, painting, drawing. That had a piece of furniture in it and build that piece.  I was at the time taking an art of Disney course and chose a conceptual work from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. We were to use the work as a way to figure out what we could not see.  I love this piece almost as much as my nephews, who find that it is there size chair.

Details; 4"x6" pine, wood glue (only for lamenting, everything is dry fitted) dark polythene

Coffee Table / Build Project

Have been encouraged to re-post my coffee table build project from school.  I loved this project, originally created for a Urban studio project.  But found cleaned up and reworked a little to become an idea for a different small product build studio a little later in my study.  My proposal was that it would be a dinner table for an elderly couple that would living on Mars.  I did build the table in roughly half size, sitting happily as a coffee table in my living room.

Details; Bendable plywood, paint, rod iron (reused outdoor banister).

Favorite scene from a more recent drawing project.  Wasn't lucky enough to win; still really enjoyed the challenge and practice. It's always fun to have projects to play with.


Details:  Ink pen on drawing paper.

Me

The best expression of self can not be expressed in a single word or idea.  Only how we hold our selves when the chips are down, behavior towards other no matter how they treat us, lift up those who are in need, in this way we are wrapped up and become our selves.  

Haven't drawn people in a good while so here's my best rendition of my self.  Good thing I created this project; my current proposal is much more complex and is all about human form and the interactions of two people.  Posting may fallow, depending on how well it is received.

Sweetness

I love me some chocolate cake.

Details:  ink pen on drawing paper.

Happy Valentines Day

This one is for you Catherine.  Inspired while we went out to eat in a strip mall near my apartment.  These two children were racing up and down the side walk in front of all the shops.  No parents to be seen, at one point they had stopped and some how gotten valentines balloons from Party City and where still racing back and forth balloons in tow.

Der Wagen Haus

Had a brain storm the other night when I couldn't sleep, counting down the hours to 5 am and having to get up for work.  Thought about one of my jobs and there lack of a real logo for the shop.  Devised and developed this half in my sleep and the rest worked out on paper shown here.  If he every choose to take this work on as a logo would want to clean it up a good deal and refresh a cleaner font in the actual drawing at the very lest.  Hope you all enjoy it, don't believe my boss is even looking for a logo but it was a fun activity to keep my brain going.

idea for logo contest

A good friend of mine sent me a logo contest saying that I should enter.  It's for the area Youth Ultimate Frisbee group in the greater triangle area.  A great group that is working to reach out to kids and have a positive impact on there lives.  Where as I love this idea don't know where it will fall within the pack, a big requirement was it needed to have something to do with North Carolina so they could use the same logo in different usage.  I chose to up the two players in front of a Raleigh skyline don't know if it reads that way easily.

I love both of these design, maybe even the smaller version a little more so.  Over all It was a exploration of using negative space as positive.  One thing I love about the larger logo is that it can be placed across the chest of the jersey or along the bottom on the front or back.  The smaller version I feel would be really cool placed right adjusted and run the entire side of the torso but could also be centered as well.

Tanner T.

One of the loves of my life.  Miss him so much.

01/03 - 10/10

Winged III

Sorry it's been awhile to my loyal following, the holiday schedule and all that has happened at the years has thrown me for a loop.  Actually had a weekend off to start the new full year, which was a nice change of passe.  Allowing me to catch up on life, a logo contest that I am hoping to enter and most importantly painting.  (Will share my logo entry once I get it a little more under control and the deadline passes.)

My latest and greatest butterfly winged project.  This one is a little different instead of being on a rectangle stretched canvas it's on a 12" by 12" square.   Though it is a beautiful brown butterfly wing.  It was taken from a completely different photo than the other brown winged work.  I love these there is something fun and mysteries about them, a new story told as a part of the whole. Something just keeps drawing me back to this idea, plus I am sure a break from tree-houses is a welcome change.  

Let me know what you think I welcome the feed back.