Photobooth Experiments

Even simple computer programs sometimes lead to interesting photos!

Resolved(ish)

I spent a lot of time today working on the cards and I think I've come up with a good solution to the text.  Here is one of the cards I made today:

You can purchase one for yourself at my brand new etsy shop!  (Click the images above to visit me!)

Need help! (cards)

I decided that I liked watercolors so much I was going to make some little cards and paintings to sell on etsy.  It's really fun making the cards and I think the little paintings I made came out well.  The problem is the text looks terrible (in my opinion).  Well, judge for yourself:

This one I tried to paint block letters with a brush... my hand was shaking as it always does.

This one I used the same technique to make the text as I did to make the lines on the outline of the pomegranate.

This one I did the same as the card above. This isn't a card, though...

JewishGuy says the text looks better with the second technique.  I think my handwriting isn't nice enough.

Definitely, I will start writing before I paint, because I spent a good amount of time on the pomegranate in the first card and then the text looks like crap.

I was thinking, maybe I could print the text on the paper first and then paint around it, but the problem with this is that I need to soak and stretch the paper before I paint on it.  

• I can't put wet paper through the printer, 
• I can't put it through the printer once it's stretch (because it's taped to a board), 
• if I put it through the printer before I soak and stretch then the ink will run as I soak it.  
• If I print on it after I paint there is a chance it will print on top of my painting, although this might be the most feasible solution.  I could plan it so the painting doesn't go above a certain line on the card.
  

I wonder if this would be different on a laser printer?

I just don't know!  But I am excited that I am being productive!

For those who can't read Hebrew, the first two cards say "L'Shana Tova" which is usually translated to "Happy New Year" although it's really "To a good year."  The bottom painting is an excerpt from Song of Songs:

Let us go early to the vineyards
Let us see if the vine has flowered
If its blossoms have opened,
If the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give my love to you.

I'll just have to keep experimenting.

Hello!

Hello to people who wander over to my blog after class today... HELLO!

Watercolors: A new aesthetic

Yesterday in class we used watercolors to react to a poem.  I had so much fun using watercolors that I decided to go out and buy some so I could use them for my final project in the class.

So here is my final project:

It's very different from my acrylic paintings, which is neat.  I think I would still paint acrylic paintings the same as I usually do, but watercolors do fun things.  I used water-based ink pen and acrylic, so I was able to have hard lines and some fun blurring and whatnot.

This is based on a doodle I drew while listening to the lecture on the first day: WHAT IS ART THERAPY.  So I'm using this as my class reaction piece, because I think it describes how I felt the whole class, and using a new medium is symbolic, too.

Whew I am too tired to write more, I have been getting too little sleep!

New Job!

Hooray! I got a job!  It is very part time, only one day a week for 8 hrs (and maybe some additional time), but I got a job!

I will be working at a little studio that makes fun ceramic and letterpress things :)  Here is an example:

YES!  That is the necklace I am wearing!  Because the artist is awesome and gave one to me so I would wear it and be free advertising.  And everyone knows I love robots, so of course I picked one of the robot necklaces (she has many robots! she also loves robots!).  She is really nice and everyone there seems great.  She bought us vegetarian Thai spring rolls today to snack on. (haha)

The quality of the photo is bad because I took the picture using Photo Booth on my mac, and it's not so bright in here, etc etc.  I was lazy to get the camera and figure out how to take a picture of my necklace without taking it off.

I might not be doing too much of the arty side of things, I'm not really sure yet.  It sounds like I will be working on projects, like making the company greener, and talking to vendors about things like screen printing and whatever.

So yay, that is exciting.  Maybe it will inspire me to do more of my own art.  But I guess I will be starting my painting class in a couple of weeks and you will have updates from that, too.

Walk to Class - Part 1

I used to take pictures as I walked somewhere, often walking to class. I did it as an undergrad and now I'm doing it again!

Yesterday I took a bunch of pictures between 8:20 and 9:00am on my way to class. I'm going to give them to you in installments because there are a lot and I like all of them.

Part 1