Inspired by: Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choirs

When I watched and listened to Eric Whitacre's virtual choir sing "Sleep" on Youtube, I couldn't keep from weeping.  Not only was the music beautiful, but the concept of people gathering together online from every continent to create something transcendant ... that idea alone melted the hard ball of fear and depression that can form inside me sometimes when I let myself think of the current news of the day. It is easy to forget, when one is bombarded with news of war, poverty, suffering, injustice and their overlord Greed, that beauty, goodness, fellowship, and cooperation are still alive and well all over the world.  In fact, I think most people are decent to each other - but, sadly, they are not the ones motivated toward power.

Eric Whitacre, composer and director, has digitally captured the voices of two thousand people singing in unison to his music and has crafted these voices into a beautiful music video.  You can see "Sleep" HERE. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WhWDCw3Mng&hd=1) or go to his website for more.

Pea Pods - Step 6

A whole disk of "Desperate Housewives" (four episodes) and here's the progress I've made on this scratchboard engraving tonight.

Today I saw the gorgeous scratchboard engraving work of Lorna Hannett.  Her work is so genious. I have soooooo far to go.
More later.

My New Online Kirigami Classes

Adorn Atelier has finally gone live.  The descriptions and web pages about my two new online kirigami papercutting classes are now up.  Go check it out!  Be sure to click on the "More Info" button and check out both classes.  Registration has already begun.  Classes begin in April. Here's the link: http://www.adornatelier.com/#!papercutting.

I am creating two classes in Kirigami papercutting.  Kirigami I (two-dimensional kirigami papercutting such as mandalas, bifolds, and combination cuts.) Here is a graphic from one of the lessons:

Kirigam II a class in three dimensional kirigami, such as pop-ups and diorama scenes. For either class you can register for the lessons only or buy lesson plus a materials kit. Check it out.

Pea Pods - Scratchboard Engraving, step 5

OMG.  I am exhausted. Why did I choose such a complex design?  Three more movies and this is what I have to show for it.  Well, this will be an experiment to see if this much complexity works with this medium. Nighty night.

Pea Pods - Scratchboard engraving step 4

Two movies and more etching. In this one I've been jumping around a bit.  Instead of starting at one side of the board and "painting" a large area, I am doing each little detail at a time.  The disjointedness of this is making me a bit uneasy but I'm sure it will all come together in the end.  Here is today's work:

Pea Pods - Line Drawing & Step 3

I jumped the gun a bit on my posts and didn't show you the line drawing that my new scratchboard, "Pea Pods" is derived from.
This is something I did last year and I've decided to render it as a clayboard engraving. Here is a photo of the line drawing I am working from.

And here you can see how it is developing.

Here is tonight's work - a one and a half movie effort:

Pea Pods - Scratchboard engraving step 2

I've begun a new clayboard engraving called PeaPods.  I'm working on a set of four 8x10's and this will be the third.  This is a two movie effort. (Action flicks, so I had to keep my hand from jumping.)

I used Xylol to transfer my line drawing onto the board (see earlier post.)  This saved me about two hours. This design is one I did last year as part of a series of line drawings for my adult coloring series (which I really, really want to get back to as soon as my online kirigami course is developed.) Again, do any of you know how to clone oneself?

Fantastic Mardigras Mask

I received the most wonderful present from my sister today.  A gorgeous leather mardigras mask! Now I want to go to New Orleans or Europe or somewhere sweet where I can wear it.  It's rather Goth but that's part of its charm. Take a look:

I look rather devilish in this, don't I.  Sheesh.  I haven't been devilish in years. My daughter says I need to put on wild, dark eye makeup with this. What do you think?

"Rosebud" - Final Scratchboard Engraving

Well, here it is.  This is an 8x10 inch black clayboard engraving titled "Rosebud."  Because of its complexity, this etching engulfed about 18 movies (36 hours) sketch to finish.  I hope you like it.  Right now I'm so tired I can't evaluate anything.  If it doesn't pass muster in the light of day, I might tweak it a bit.       
Nighty night.

Rosebud - Scratchboard engraving, Step 7

I spent one and a half movies etching out the stems and three small flowers in this clayboard engraving.  Here's what I have so far. 

Tomorrow I will likely finish it.  Stay tuned.

Rosebud - Scratchboard Engraving Step 6

I watched two entertaining but wacky independant films while working on the main flower in this engraving.  "Appollo 18" and "Trollhunters."  Oy.

Here is the result.  Stay tuned.  I should be able to make some progress on the stems tomorrow.

Rosebud - Scratchboard step 5

A three-movie effort :

Rosebud - Scratchboard Engraving step 3

Step one was the sketch.  Step 2 the line drawing.  Now I've begun etching this design. Here's what four episodes of "Smallville" produced tonight:

Using Xylol and a Laser Printer to Transfer Images

Transferring complex sketches onto the board you will use to etch or paint them can be a tedious process.  Recently I read of a way to quickly use a solvent to transfer the toner from a laser-printed image onto a board.  I promised to show you this method after I tried it.  Well, I tried it today and it works beautifully!  Here we go...

I transferred a complex design (the rosebud line drawing I showed you a couple of days ago) onto black clayboard.  It would probably work on white clayboard or a gessoed board as well - but I haven't tried that yet.

Be very careful.  Xylol is a dangerous chemical (found in any hardware store) so be very careful using it! No children or animals should be present! The technique only takes a minute or two, so your exposure will be negligible if you take precautions.  

MATERIALS:  

• Xylol solvent
• Screwdriver
• paper towels
• sturdy rubber gloves
• tape
• laser printer (not ink jet)
• board

Assuming you have scanned your line drawing into your computer, print it out onto a normal piece of paper.  This only works with a laser printer so, if you have an ink jet, you may want to take several drawings to someone with a laser for printing and save them for future use.  Remember that the transferred image will be backwards, so be sure to flip your image on the computer before you print it out.  Make sure it is the correct size for your board.  Then trim your paper so you are able to see how to place it on the board. Place it printed side down.

Tape your paper on the top to make a hinge so you can lift the paper without it shifting. Now pull the paper back to expose the board.  Go to a well-ventilated spot (outdoors is best) and pry open the can of xylol.  Make sure you have the gloves on because this is a dangerous solvent and you should not get it on your skin.  You may want to wear glasses as well.  Quickly pour some of the xylol onto your wad of paper towel and brush it onto the board (not the paper!) in long, even strokes.  Work quickly because it evaporates rapidly. When the board is wet with solvent, turn the paper down onto the board.  Immediately close the can of xylol.  The fumes are potent!

Now take another tightly wadded strip of paper towel and rub the paper against the board. You are doing a rubbing. Work quickly.  You should see the image bleed through the paper a bit as you work.

Now lift up the paper to check how well the image transferred.  If there are blank spots, wet that part of the board again and re-rub it. 

Voila!!!  It would have taken me at least an hour to transfer this image by hand.  This method literally took me two minutes!

 As you see, I forgot to flip the design before I printed it out.  But it doesn't matter with this one.  Anything with words definitely must be flipped.  Tonight I will start etching.  Stay tuned.

PS:   Make sure you put the xylol-saturated paper towel outside for a while to let the fumes evaporate out of it.  Then dispose of it in a safe way.  This paper will remain very flamable so either immediately burn it, put it in the outside trash, or in the fireplace - somewhere safe.  (I'm not scaring you too much, am I?  Better to be safe than sorry, m'dear.)

Inspired By: Kurt Vonnegut

I saw this today and loved it!

"Go into the arts.  I'm not kidding.

The arts are not a way to make a living.

They are a very human way of making life more bearable.

Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly,

is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake.

Sing in the shower.  Dance to the radio. Tell stories.

Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem.

Do it as well as you possibly can.

You will get an enormous reward.

You will have created something."

-Kurt Vonnegut

Rosebud - Line Drawing

Here is the line drawing for my new scratchboard engraving.  Next I must transfer this drawing to the board.  I am going to try a new chemical method I read about (assuming I don't asphyxiate myself!) If it works, I will tell you about it. Until then, stay tuned Munchkins.

Rosebud - sketch

 It's been a busy few days for me with a house full of wonderful young adults here for a ski weekend and lots to do to develop my two new online kirigami courses.  In the extra evening moments, however, I managed to do some sketching for a new scratchboard engraving.  This is called "Rosebud."  The line drawing will come next.

Inspired by: Architectural Kirigami

I haven't shown much on this blog for the past few days because I am working on two online kirigami courses I am developing as part of an atelier for crafters.  More about this later.

Since one of my courses is "Three Dimensional Kirigami," I thought I would show you some architectural designs that inspire me.  Architectural kirigami is 3D kirigami in the shape of buildings.  There are some artists who do only that and... wow, they do it exceedingly well.  Architectural kirigami is something I have done very rarely.  (My focus has been on shapes in nature: people, animals, trees, flowers, etc.)  I will surely be trying my hand at this in the future. 

Here are some wonderful images from across the web:  These two are by Ingrid Siliakus.

I don't know the originator of this next one.

And here is how magical they can look when lit up.

It takes a completely different eye to create buildings than to create what I make.  I would like to expand in this direction in the future.  Stay tuned.

Cathedral Angels - Large Kirigami Mandala

This is a commissioned piece I did tonight.  A 9.5 inch diameter, one movie production, ready to frame.

Pearlflower - Nearly Finished Scratchboard

Here is the nearly finished 5x7 black clayboard engraving I've been working on.  This is a six movie creation... so far.

I'm not sure what else to do to this, yet it doesn't feel finished to me.  I will probably put a border around it.  Stay tuned.

Beginning Some New Black Clayboards (Scratchboard)

Yesterday I had a visit with my favorite Gallery owner, Wojtek of Studio 47 Gallery in Woodstock, VT ( really the most beautiful gallery in Vermont in my opinion.)  I've been pretty sick lately with a stomach thing going around - so I'm sitting with my artwork a lot but not getting much else done.  So I was showing him all my new work in clayboard and he strongly urged me to do more of the black clayboard engravings (scratchboard) - enough to create a good gallery showing.  I've been doing this work haphazardly and don't have a good, solid collection put together.  I want to have at least a dozen of each size.  I have finally found two frames which I think look great so I need to have some framed as well.

I've begun a new one - a small 5x7" - to get me back into the groove (pun intended.)  The process is quite different from white clayboard.  I really need to get a better magnifying lamp, though.  My lines need to be very precise and, since I'm sick, my eyes tear up and my vision blurs a lot.  (Maybe I should just be in bed but it's so boring!)

Here's what I did last night. This is a small 5x7 inch piece to round out what I've done before in this size.  From here on I will mostly be working in 8x10 inch or larger.

I really need to get a horizontal clamp for my camera tripod so I can photograph this kind of detailed work in more detail.  Tiny movements in my hand really blurs the result.  Sorry.

Cacao - Final

"Cacao", an 8x10 white clayboard engraving (scratchboard) colorized with ink and acrylic paint.  I'm pleased with this one.

 

Here it is placed on top of a gold frame I had lying around.  It's going to look great framed, I think.

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Cacao - Half Way through

Here is the clayboard engraving half done.  Now I need to etch the cacao plant.  Why oh why did I leave the most important part until the end?  I just manufactured stress for myself because if I wreck it now that would mean many hours down the tubes.  Well, that's the way creation goes... an adventure!

Stay tuned my pies of cute.

Cacao - Beginning to Etch

I've begun to etch out the design on this clayboard engraving (scratchboard.)  So far I've done the flowers and some of the vines.

Stay tuned.  More tomorrow.

Cacao - Clayboard Painted Layer

Here is the painted clayboard version of my drawing "Cacao." (Sketch shown earlier.)  I used a combination of media to paint.  I started with watered-down acrylic paint but found it too thick and opaque like gouache.  I finished it with something that seems to be working well:  Ink with a wee bit of acrylic to stabilize it so it doesn't drip too much but not enough to take away the luminosity of the transparent ink.   This was a two movie painting process. "Nine" and "The Secret" which, strangely, seemed to have similar ideas behind them.

As you see, I don't paint a scratchboard engraving the same way I would if I were intending this to be a painting on its own.  Everything must be darker and more full-bodied because when I begin engraving it the white clayboard that is revealed will lighten everything.

We shall soon see how this one comes out.  There is a bit of a surprise element in this work, just like with my kirigami papercutting.  I never know what it will really look like until I'm finished.

Practicing with Ink on White Clayboard

I felt the need to practice a bit more with inking clayboard.  Here's a small 6x6 inch board I painted last night.  This is a two movie painting.   Ink on clayboard takes so much time to paint, since you have to build up several light layers.  (Good thing I was enjoying myself watching "Troy."  I watched it twice, since there is so much delicious beefcake in it. Yum.)

 After the painting in ink (shown below) I added my symbol and a few leaves in black and then etched the whole thing.  Here's the result:

...Here's a closeup:

Here is the painted version I did before etching:

Cacao - Line drawing

Here is the preliminary line drawing I've made from the sketch I showed yesterday.  There are a couple of mistakes in it.  Can you see them?  These will be erased or corrected on the computer later.  After I scan this drawing I will print it onto light-weight paper and transfer the design onto white scratchboard.  The corrected line drawing will become a coloring page for my collection.

Cacao - sketch

This is the beginning of a new engraving called "Cacao."  First a sketch...

Colorizing Black Clayboard - Final

Here is the final version of this clayboard experiment.  I'm still not loving it. It seems rather too heavy and somber.  I much prefer color on white clayboard. I also don't like using gouache - too opaque.  Well, failure is what the scientific method is all about.  Now I know more of what not to do.

Here's the evolution of this one again: