Catching Up...

Okay, so my scanner has officially bit the dust, which is the reason why this post is so long overdue.  I have so much catching up to do I don't even know where to start... 

This morning I braved the cold, laden with a semester's worth of lifesize drawings, sketches, and in-class studies to make the (seemingly) long trek down to the Main Building, intent on documenting my work before finals really start picking up.  I photographed around 40 pieces before the camera's battery called it quits...  I'm hoping to get all the images up here in the next month or so, according to relevance and/or theme.  

These two drawings are life size, done in one class period.  It was a little difficult to work on such a large surface, considering we had to tack our paper to the homosote walls, which meant our backs were to the model.  It was definitely an exercise in scale as well as memorization--looking over the shoulder, making a mark, and looking back again.  Overall I'm pleased with the results--it's refreshing to change things up every once in a while.  

Right now I am looking ahead to Thanksgiving Break, which starts this coming Wednesday.  I'm excited to see my family in Michigan, eat home-cooked meals, and not have to climb a ladder to get in and out of bed!   

Siddhartha

Two-page spread and one-page illustration for the classic Indian tale of Siddhartha.  

Feist cover/inside

You Hope For Your Babies And This is How They Grow...

For my Narrative Illustration class we had to develop an EP cover/inside for either Feist's "The Water" or Animal Collective's "Water Curses."  (I chose the former)  These works are executed in pen and ink--step two is to color them using Photoshop.  You can listen to the actual song here: http:/www.myspace.com/feist 

Sketchbooks: The Latest in Floor Decor

Soooo...I am back at MICA.  Diving into the third week and already slightly frazzled and a little overwhelmed.  Our dorm ("The Gateway") is absolutely beautiful and I promise to post photos once I acquire the time/necessary equipment (ie, a camera) to do so.  My floor is littered with sketches and reference material--my professors wasted no time piling on the projects, but I've been having fun thus far.  

Unfortunately my financial situation is not all sunshine and smiles--my waitressing job over the summer fell through due to our one and only cook quitting, and frankly the money I have been saving over the years will not be enough to cover this year in terms of supplies and groceries.  I had been counting on 10 hours of work-study like I had last year, but it was not awarded to me this semester.  Hopefully I will sell a few paintings that I have up at Foggy Bottom, but the odds are slim.  Trying not to think about it too much and taking advantage of the extra time to become more involved on campus.  

For the time being, I am focusing on my studies while patiently waiting for a call from the financial aid office...and now getting back to my Illustration homework.

Gracefully Awkward

I took a visit to the Toledo Zoo last week and brought along my sketchbooks and assortment of drawing materials to study the animals.  The pictures posted are from my trip to the Maryland Zoo a few months ago--I still haven't documented a bunch of my recent work lately.  As for any zoo, I enjoy seeing the big cats, as well as the zebras and elephants, but it's always the giraffes that catch my eye and keep my attention.  They have an awkward air to themselves--shy and curious, lanky yet surefooted, an immense weight that balances on long, thin legs. I find them interesting to draw because they maintain an unequaled balance of grace and character.  I hope to incorporate these aspects into a narrative in the future. . .

The Drawbacks of Being a Procrastinating Perfectionist

So I've been working on a mural in the basement for quite some time now. My mother commissioned me to do a sort of "Arts and Crafts/Mission Style" piece about 2 months ago.  She has a tile from Motawi Tileworks that she really likes so I decided on using that for my inspiration.  Realistically I should have finished the whole thing in 10 days if I was really putting in the 2+ hours a day that would be perfectly reasonable for a project like that.  But no.  And now I've been trying to get it done before the construction workers come by next week.  Cement wall + bad adhesion + primer + paint = well, bad adhesion.  Crisp lines are essential for this style and with the painters tape pulling off little flakes of paint each time I use it, I've had to abandon that method and try several others, none of which are working.  So I've resorted to correcting the edges freehand, which is difficult considering I'm 5'4 and working on a 6+ foot high mural on a 9 foot high wall.  You just can't get the greatest continuity of line balancing on a step stool with a can of paint in one hand and a foam sponge in the other.  Alas, here I am--pulling out my hair and trying to come out with an end result I won't despise.  I'll post a photo when it's finally finished.