Day 31 - 365/2014

Day Thirty-One

I got to spend a good chunk of the day with Andi today -- on her birthday day!  We had a great time, went out to lunch, watched some wacky YouTube videos, laughed, entertained Bootsy, talked...it was great.

This evening I came up with these two early sketches for a young wombat and a young kangaroo for possible inclusion in an upcoming Penciled In edition.

But that's it for tonight...I've got some other stuff to do...and then back to house cleaning...well, at least house tidying.

Day 30 - 365/2014

Day Thirty

Well...it's a start, anyway...

When I do an edition of Penciled In I try to draw a few new characters.  These are some very very early sketches...they all need a lot of work yet.  My hands are pretty numb and still hurt a bit from overdoing the repetitive work on the collage blocks, so I am giving this a go tonight.

Old examples to work from --  size/looks-wise.

Very fast sketches thinking about what new guys to try to add.

What I came up with so far...they still need a lot of work.

Day 29 - 365/2014

Day Twenty-Nine

Joan and Leann came over this morning for another delightful Wednesday Morning meet up.  Joan worked on some knitting, Leann worked on some carved stamping, and I worked on the collage blocks.  I front-wrapped 12 more...just 8 to go!  After that I worked on painting the possible prototypes I started a day or so ago.

The stuff I worked on.

Joan and Leann!

I was fairly happy with the way this guy was going.

And yeah...I think I like the creature in this form...for now.

This is the butcher paper wrapped block -- I don't think I will do more of these. 

The black creature got a blue with red dots border all the way around the block.  The white creature only has two long sides of dots because of the paper on the short ends.

This is the other wrapped block that I saw creatures emerging on...I considered doing a series of "find the picture" sort of thing but it is way beyond my capacity.  I was stressing waaaaay too much over this.

So I made one more black creature and two white ones on the plain MDF block with a dark blue background.

Later in the afternoon I had an unexpected surprise visit from another friend -- very enjoyable!  Then I went back to painting a bit more on the blocks...as of right now, I am not sure I care too much for the white creatures but I like the black ones.  I am not sure if I like any of them enough to try to paint fifty of them for a series...I am still thinking about it...we'll see how these end up.  I will poke at them a little more in the morning and blog them tomorrow.

Day 28 - 365/2014

Day Twenty-Eight

The next thirty collage blocks (of the second fifty of one hundred) are front wrapped...yay...two sessions of fifteen blocks each.  Enough on my hands for the day.

And step two -- getting the creature shape down -- is done on two blocks.  I think if I do this, it will be black and white creatures...just to keep it simple.  I don't know yet whether it will be all paint or paint on alcohol ink/butcher paper but if it is on the colored paper, I think the white will need a second coat...have to see what it looks like when it is dry.  

I am also not sure if I like the shape/dimensions of the MDF block for these creatures.  I don't know if I can do detail painting that small.  I'm also not sure I like the shape of the guys...I like it in the square box top.  I'm still just playing around so far.

Day 27 - 365/2014

Day Twenty-Seven

Cool -- the first fifty of the one hundred collage blocks are front-wrapped!

Yay!

I liked the colors of the edges of the blocks in the shipping box so much that I turned the box sideways and took a photo and I'm using it on my Facebook page as my cover. 

But, whoa -- I finally feel like I actually DID something today -- I nearly cleared out the space under the big table in Studio A!!!!  AND I "allowed" myself/forced myself to throw out (a whole contractor sized trash bag) of stuff that I have been saving...stuff I thought I was maybe going to use for plaster cloth guys.  But now that I have a better feel for making the plaster cloth guys, I also have a better idea of what I will actually use and what needs to GO.  Wa-hoo!

Man -- stuff gets so out of hand so quickly.

I sorted all that stuff down to this much.

Hey -- I can see under the table!

I am allowing myself to keep these containers for a little while longer...only because they all have lids (execept that tall one).

I even found the lids for the two containers that were already on my wire rack.

I'd like to sort things into smaller containers so they are more grab-able when I need them.

This is all that is left of all of that stuff...I am going to take these bins into Studio B and clean up in there, too.  Then I will take the bins down to the basement where there is plenty of storage room...and other stacked bins.

AND I have reclaimed my way cool baskets!!!  Maybe more FUN stuff can go in them now.

And while I was cleaning I (nearly) stumbled upon this box lid that was part of a project in one of our Second Thursday meet ups.  I am not sure exactly why but I want to see if I can paint guys like this on Art-o-mat blocks...yes, another series. 

The box lid is one from those brown papier mache-type little boxes you get at Michael's for a buck a piece.  It is hard to see, but in person you can see through the yellow paint and half-see the brown paper...so I tried the same yellow paint applied thinly to the Art-o-mat MDF block...cool -- same sort of effect.  So far, so good!

And then I was thinking...what if I wanted to not have it so plain in the background...I wonder what it might look like if I try using the same alcohol-inks-and-water-on-butcher-paper to wrap a block and then paint it.

But then I was looking at the wrapped blocks and I started seeing guys begin to surface (like in the repurposed canvas/collages).

Fox guy surfacing.

Or in this direction -- clearly there is a bear or dog running from the right towards the left.

This one has all sorts of guys trying to come through.

Okay...time to leave the studio for tonight I think...just click "publish" and walk away, Took.  Plus, that painted box top looks kinda okay because it is so plain/simple.

Day 26 - 365/2014

Day Twenty-Six

I finally half-shoveled/trudged my way out to the mailbox today -- and I am very glad I did!  Besides the Netflix movie and the local newspaper, I received two pieces of art!

Left:  Art-o-mat artwork by Cella Neapolitan -- Right:  mixed media collage by Diane Irby

Today (in two sessions of fifteen each) I front-wrapped thirty more blocks for Animal People collages.

I really really like the background paper on these blocks -- they look even better in person.

The first forty of the first fifty in an edition of one hundred.

Tonight I am cutting more images to use in the collages.  I find cutting images very relaxing...it is one of my favorite art tasks.

The image trays I am working with tonight.

Images cut so far tonight.

I am not sure how I will use these spiral notebook images (there are a number of them) but I really really like them -- they look so real!

I still have a mountain of laundry to chip away at and a kitchen FULL of dishes that need to be washed but I will probably go back to cutting images after I post this entry.  I lost track of time.  The dishes and laundry will be fine until tomorrow...well, maybe I can do one load of each.

Day 25 - 365/2014

Day Twenty-Five

I guess I'm in Arto-production mode now...finally.  Last night I decided on what the background(s) would be for this edition of Animal People.  I will use up some more of my alcohol-ink-and-water-overspray-on-butcher-paper that I have not been able to just throw away.   Every once in a while it comes in handy and it doesn't take up that much space in the studio to store it...plus it is half of the composition color battle for me...yep, this is me justifying why I still have it. 

See...those papers don't take a lot of space...just one brown paper bagful.

I guestimated the first piece...

...then used the paper cutter to get more of a system going for the other ninety-nine.

This is one of the older collages from an edition of Animal People that used the same papers for the background(s).

Today I put magnets on the backs of another one of my favorite Art-o-mat series from my personal collection.  Toby Millman made this delightfully helpful series of screen prints to help you find your way back to Earth should you get abducted.  You can read the explanation in the photo below.  I hung them on one of the baking sheet/magnet boards in the kitchen near the skylights so that they can soak up sunlight all day and then glow their directions at night.  This house has three areas with skylights -- they look cool but I've never really felt the need for a skylight before.  It seems like anyone (or anything...like a creepy squirrel or raccoon or other creature I'd rather not even think about) could just sit on the roof and watch everything you do...seems to me like an easy access point for an alien abduction ray, eh?

MORE affixing magnets on Art-o-mat blocks today!

My collection of Toby Millman Art-o-mat pieces.

The explanation...click the picture for easier reading.

I think the display turned out pretty well.

And...ahem...how about this for a coincidence?  Snow on the kitchen skylights sure do resemble a giant alien's eyes looking in!

This evening I started back into the next step of the production mode for preparing the collage blocks.  So far I have only the first 10 of 100 blocks front-wrapped.  It takes time to glue, smooth, check edges, trim edges, etc.!

Get to it, Took!

I love the colors on these papers...so random but still pretty...some look kind of like leather...some look like a deliberate attempt at a water color background...to me.

The first ten of the first fifty.

I sincerely hope I will go back to gluing paper to blocks tonight...but I might not...but I might.