Silicone and Fishes

Good Monday everyone! Hope you are doing well! It has been a crazy week. Quick recap:  My family came into town the weekend before last, it was a blast. This last week has been a series of running to classes, running to work, then running around trying to get homework finished and tests studied for. Thankfully this last weekend was great. I actually worked both Saturday and Sunday, but C.J. and I spent a lot of time just having fun. No homework this last weekend! That was super nice! Last night he popped Star Wars into the DVD player.....and so I can now say that I have seen Star Wars (even if it is only like an hours worth). Haha. Anyhoo, classes today were pretty good, and most of them let out early. So I have an art post for you and a surprise too!

Art Project Numero Uno:  Clay tile, with flexible mold, and mother mold.
Class:  3D

This project has been extremely stretched out as far as the time frame goes. But anyways, we were told to make a 4 inch by 4 inch tile out of clay. The design was completely up to each individual, but it had to work when 9 of the same tile were laid together. I chose to take my inspiration from the Aegeans and the Italians, and then add some of my own flavor to it. It was both an additive and subtractive process. Here it is:

The finished tile:

So there is that project....well, part of it. Because of the weather we were not able to cast our flexible molds out of the silicone sealant as soon as we would have liked. Then, we had to let those dry before we could cast the mother mold out of plaster....which we did today. So...hopefully soon I will have my nine tiles cast out of plaster. Want to know the best part about this project? We get to paint the tiles in as many colors as we would like! I am so excited!

Project Numero Dos:  Zoology Study

Class:  Drawing 2

Oh my goodness. If you have ever been down to the basement of Life Sciences West on campus you will know why I could not look at a glass jar for a few weeks without getting queasy. If you haven't been down there...let me fill you in. You see, below the classrooms of Life Sciences West lies the most perfect venue for a haunted house. No, there are no ghosts, but there are a lot of dead things. The basement is home to the Zoology collections museum which has animals dating back to before statehood. Impressive! So to help you get the visual, think of those shelves you can buy at Walmart and Lowes for your garage or shop....now think of those completely full of various sizes of mason glass jars...you have your pints, quarts, gallons, 2 gallons...etc. Now fill all of those jars with a liquid that looks like Miso soup....minus the tofu. (yum...right?) No. Now...stuff various types of animals into those soup filled jars. Gross...I know. They have all kinds--fish, snakes, frogs, bugs, polar bears, sharks, pigs....you name it, they probably have canned it. Now...that's not all. They also have several sets of drawers that when pulled out reveal dead birds...they are not stuffed either. They just lay side by side in the drawer blanketed with the smell of moth balls. As you walk out of the museum you can see the many deep freezes that line the basement hallway....creeeepy. Animals in jars not your thing? That's ok, they have deep freezes on the first floor with dead mammals and bones....also blanketed in moth balls. So...you might be wondering what I decided to draw....dead snake....dolphin skull.....Elvis the iguana? Nope...none of those. I chose to draw the live fish in the aquarium in the break room. And I loved it! Here are the fish from the break room. (Disclaimer: these fish were alive, not floating in some nasty Miso soup look a like jelly)

Fish One:  Graphite Pencil

Fish Two:  Ink

Fish Three: Charcoal

Now, the project included six drawings, 3 different mediums, and two types of reference materials. The fish above were all live subjects, and the fish below were all drawn from photographs.

Fish Four:  Graphite Pencil

Fish Five:  Charcoal

Fish Six:  Ink

It was a fun project to do, mainly because it was different than what I would normally draw. The live, fast moving fish were a challenge, but I really enjoyed studying the fish and finding out the functions of their designs in order to accurately draw them.

Here is the aquarium where the first three fish live, and then all of the fishies together. :)

Now...for your promised surprise. Well, my current Drawing 2 project involves using one of my fish drawings in an installation at the Postal Plaza in downtown Stillwater. The Postal Plaza will be the new OSU art gallery, and will be hosting a building reception on the 19th of this month. The awesome news? My installation will be seen at the reception! Hooray! I am getting very excited! Here is a link to the art department's blog talking about the reception:

http://osuma.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/transforming-the-postal-plaza-genus-genius/

I will post pictures after the reception. Sorry for the extremely long post today, but I needed to get some art on here. Hope you all have a fabulous week, and remember to just keep swimming. And, as always...it's the random reasons.

No Bake Baking

Hello everyone! Hope you are having a fabulous Tuesday morning! Tuesdays have always been my favorite day of the week, but that it another story, so on to the good stuff.

I have been baking all morning. I have been at the desk all morning. 20 cupcakes, 6 cakes, 3 cookies, 1 pie, and 1 brownie. I have been slightly busy. Every confection has been decorated with the utmost care and finest attention to detail--no laziness here! But...I must let you all in on a little confession--I haven't actually baked my baked goods. Nope, not even in the slightest. They are completely no baked confections.

If you haven't guessed it yet, I have been drawing.....baked goods. No, I am not just dong this for my love of pretty desserts. I am actually doing a project for a bakery's blog. So, all morning I have been sketching away several designs for the bakery to look at and decide which will be the face of their blog. Hopefully they like one of them! I tried to have a little bit of fun with them, and I am very happy with how they have turned out.

Here is a sneak peek, but so I do not ruin the blog's unveiling of the artwork, I am only going to show you all the black and white pre-sketches done with pen and ink. (one of my favorite mediums to work with!)

I can't wait to get them sent to the bakery and see what they choose!  I would have to have one of each. Get some dessert today, and enjoy it! Oh and, as always, remember...it's the random reasons.

Stickered

Stickers. The kind children get on A+ papers, the kind you scratch and sniff, the kind that scrapbookers find so gosh-darn cute. Yes, they leave a sticky goo behind and are most often times banned from events held in public buildings. Much like the glitter which is banned from any cheer camp staying at OSU, but that is a separate matter, which we will no doubt discuss in full detail.

Anyhoo, stickers. I love them...well, most of them. I like the artistic ones, the cute fancy letters, the ones that I can add to an altered art piece and still be able to happily say that it is mine. The scratch and sniffs, "way to go's" and stickers of those sorts are all just a waste of paper and adhesive as far as I am concerned. But no one asked me. What I am getting to today is this amazing website I found in my blog feed this morning. It was posted by a blogger I follow, who can be found at the bottom of this page, her blog's name is AnnaLikes. It is a neat blog, I really enjoy looking through it. What caught my attention today was a website which specializes in wall decals and just decals in general. Not the tacky wall decals that everyone and their dog have been purchasing to "decorate" their homes, dorm rooms....etc. Yes, I am a tad bit bitter about these decals. They are not artistic and very generic. They are providing people with an "easy" way to decorate and for some odd reason it just makes me nauseous. I'm sorry if I am offending any of my readers who have tried to decorate with these. I'm just venting.

So...this website. So presh. It has wall decals which are very artistic and are a great breakaway from the decals with quotes and things saying cheesy and cliche sayings. These are clever and a little gutsy. My personal favorite was the decal for a refrigerator...found in the kitchen section. The decals made for children's bedrooms are so adorable and the living room ones are very humorous. They have also produced a series dealing with energy, which, by the way, all of their decals are eco friendly! In my opinion wall decals, should act as part of the wall (like a mural)...they should not be the centerpiece of the room. These seem to do just that! They would definitely add conversation pieces to any room.

Check them out at www.hu2.com. You won't regret it, I promise.

So, as you go about your day, remember to always be you. Whether you are decorating a room or picking out your clothes or writing a speech--let your uniqueness show! And remember...it's the random reasons...

JitterBug

Good afternoon everyone! Hope your weekends have all been delightful! I worked most of the weekend, but today is my day off from both jobs...yes, both. Hallelujah! Anyhoo, my aunt and uncle came over today and delivered the dining room table, and the tv stand. Now we can stop eating on the couch and tv can be moved from the file cabinet. Surprisingly I did not intend to blog about the apartment today, that can wait. I wanted to express my excitement about something that will hopefully be a wonderful event full of generosity, excitement, laughter, and fun.

Rock the Sock, my first baby (the second being the new apartment haha), has blossomed into so much more than I could have ever dreamed of. While I am very excited about that, I am more excited that, possibly, in a year, Rock the Sock could be hosting a first annual event that will give so much to so many people. Not just in sock donations, but in fun, community involvement, and a sense of togetherness. A few of my aunts and I have been discussing plans for this event throughout the last few days. One of my aunts mentioned having it around the end of July and doing it in memory of a very important person who is no longer with us in person. This event would be planned by several members of my family and would hopefully help bring all of us closer together. What a blessing. When thinking about this event, I can't stop thinking of new ways that it would be helping everyone involved. What a great way to honor someone who was always thinking and lending a helpful hand to others. I think he would be proud. And that is why I can't contain my excitement for this event. You don't come across opportunities like this everyday, and letting one slip through your hands is unacceptable. It will be a lot of work, and there will be obstacles to overcome, but it most certainly can be done.

For more information on Rock the Sock, check out the blog at http://warmandhappytoes.blogspot.com

As I leave you all today, don't forget that “Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.” Know what you want, be excited about what you want, and work your tail off to get what you want. And, as always, remember that it's the random reasons...

Speechless

It has been almost ten days since my last post, and sadly I have nothing to tell you, and nothing to show you. I have been working, not creating art. It's a tad bit sad, but it is life. So since, I can't provide you with a post today I have decided to recommend some reading for you. Go to this blog, read it, look at the photos, follow it if you so desire. It is a good one. Enjoy. :)

http://sugaredconfections.blogspot.com/

and remember...it's the random reasons.