Ms. Art Lady

An invitation to visit "Somewhere Off Center"

2011-07-11T14:57:00.001-05:00

It is currently spare and bare, but I can now invite everyone to visit my new blog dedicated to fine art and illustration titled "Somewhere Off Center" The first post and works of art are up. Follow the link or paste http://sallyctaylor.blogspot.com/ into your browser. Either one will get you there. I hope my current followers will continue to follow my artistic journey on this new site. I will be tweaking, organizing and improving it over the next several days.

Cheers!

Illustration Friday - Stay

2011-07-10T11:40:00.000-05:00

Stay With Me

(while I monkey around with my career)

Collage and graphite

9.25 x 5 inches

Big changes have happened in my life since my last post. I did something even I couldn't have anticipated. I resigned my high school art teaching position. This was one of the hardest decisions I have made in a long time, and I know a lot of people think I must be off my rocker. Maybe I am... I absolutely love teaching. I work very hard to be good at it, and I can only hope that the effort is understood and appreciated by those who retain my services as an educator. The students always get it, maybe not at first, but eventually and reliably. I miss them already and we are only half way through the summer.

But change is good even if it is hard. As Newton tells us, a body in motion tends to stay in motion, and I am no exception to that rule. The current plan is:

1. Make art full time - It is a now or never opportunity to promote myself as a professional artist. Teaching gave me freedom to make art for personal intellectual pleasure at my leisure. I have been much more productive in the last couple of years than in the past but now is the time to ramp it up to the next level.

2. Finish up my Masters degree - I am five classes away from completion. With more free time I should be able to finish up by the end of next spring semester

3. Start a new blog - I will be putting up a new blog that will deal more specifically with my production of fine art and illustration. Illustration Friday submissions will be posted there as well. I have three recently completed large canvases that are the beginnings of a new body of work. As soon as I have good photos, I will inaugurate the new blog.

4. Work part time at Micheal's - As a evening/weekend "Customer Experience Manager" and hopefully fine art instructor... I still need to be able to make my car payment and tuition. :( I worked at Micheal's about six years ago as a framer and event coordinator before I started teaching. They still like me and have been kind enough to take me back.

I showed my son Todd, the illustration for this week. He asked me what the word was, when I told him, he looked blankly at me and said "I don't get it." If you have read to this point I hope it now makes sense. To those who have been kind enough to follow this blog, I hope you will "stay with me" as I move on in another direction. I'll post here to let everyone know when the new blog is up and running.

Make art with all your heart, mind, and soul!

Sally

Illustration Friday - Shadow

2011-06-05T19:07:00.001-05:00

Pasture Gate

9 x 6 inches

water soluble graphite and colored pencil

on watercolor board

This is just a quick color and value sketch for an image that I would like to turn into a small oil painting. I find a little pre-planning helps immensely. This gate is just up the road from my house and on this particular day, the play of light and shadow created beautiful elongated patterns. For me the most interesting times of day for shadows are early morning and late afternoon, but it is also the most fleeting. The sun seems to move more quickly when it is near the horizon. For this reason I am a strong proponent of carrying a camera in order to capture references of this magical part of the day. I also like use the computer to desaturate my studies to make sure the composition holds up based on value in addition to color. It is a good idea to do this with paintings while they are progressing as well.

Here is an example of this study in grey scale. I think it is still fairly successful. Time to get busy painting!

Art and Mutant Flowers

2011-05-31T21:33:00.003-05:00

I have been crazy busy lately getting ready for art exhibits and possible art exhibits. I spent the day yesterday at the family farm in Marshall, with my dad, making plinths for sculptures out of 100 year old barn wood. Thanks Dad! I couldn't have done it without you. These are some sturdy (heavy) sculpture stands.

Barnwood Plinth

with 100 lb sculpture

I have also been painting as fast as I can... below is a small oil painting that I was actually fairly happy with. I have plans for a couple more paintings along these lines. I have been experimenting with a water soluble oil paint that can be mixed with acrylics. (I know, I couldn't believe it either!) I have actually not been brave enough to try mixing it with acrylics yet, but I love the easy clean up of water soluble oil paints! I need to do a few test mixes next week when I have a little more free time.

Morning Light

6 x 12

Oil on Board

And here is a strange thing I just had to share. (The science girl in me loves this kind of stuff.) John and I went for a walk yesterday morning and I came across this freakishly mutated black eyed susan. The stem is flattened out and twisted into a ribbon shape, and the center of the flower has grown elongated and curves into almost a complete circle. As a result, there is an increased number of petals that are growing out from the sides of the center in voluminous ruffles. I don't know if this is caused by disease or just a random mutation, but it is strange and fascinating no matter how it happened.

Crazy Mutant Black Eyed Susan

Lucy Revisited

2011-05-29T13:05:00.000-05:00

Lucy Loves Ducky II
40 x 30

Acrylic on Canvas

A larger acrylic version of the last Illustration Friday image that I did.

School is out for the summer and I will be taking two graduate classes, and making art like crazy! Who knows, if any of this stuff sells, I may have to give up teaching. :)

Illustration Friday - Toy

2011-03-28T20:58:00.000-05:00

Lucy Loves Ducky

8.5 x 8.5 inches

Watercolor and Sharpie Pen

Playing with toys is a sign of intelligence, and all of the higher order animals do it; elephants to whales to dogs and cats. The tendency for humans and animals to continue to play well into adulthood is both a learning activity as well as a stress reliever. My border collie Lucy thinks it is just plain fun.

Illustration Friday - Cultivate

2011-03-24T18:13:00.002-05:00

2 point perspective drawing sample

I am teaching perspective drawing at school to my Art 1 students this week, and it just occurred to me today that my sample drawing could work for this weeks Illustration Friday word. The drawing is not finished, but it is far enough along that it is a good example for my students on drawing a cityscape with details in two point perspective.

In addition to cultivating young minds, I have been doing a lot of literal cultivating this week. I have built three raised vegetable and flower garden beds using the a square foot gardening plan. I also purchased root stock of male and female hardy kiwi berry plants at Sam's club. I have been researching online to determine the best way to plant them. It turns out that the vines get really large, (think Kudzu) so I am going to have to find some spare fence line to plant them on, or consider building an arbor.

You might remember a couple of posts back that I commented on my notoriously black thumb. I figure I have about a 25% chance that any of these current gardening efforts will turn out to be successful. I am ever optimistic that I will find the magic spell that will turn my black thumb green. The above drawing is pure fantasy. :)

Illustration Friday - Stir

2011-03-16T18:00:00.000-05:00

Stir the stars with a silver spoon,

and say "goodnight" to the waning moon.

The Sandman sings in the willow tree,

Ta Loo Ra La, Ta Loo Ra Lee.

I almost gave up on developing an idea for this week's word. It just wasn't inspiring me and everything I could come up with seemed cliche or trite. I'm not sure if this is any different/better, but this little quatrain kept swimming around in my head, so I finally decided it was worth pursuing. Who knows maybe it will develop into a full fledged poem some day.

I am including the initial rough sketch. There are a few things about it that I actually prefer. Also the scanner fails to pick up some of the pale color shifts and value changes that are in the actual color version. :(

Foreshortening can be an interesting challenge!

Illustration Friday - Warning

2011-03-08T11:19:00.001-06:00

Don't Eat Me!

ATC 2.5 x 3.5 inches

mixed media

Vocabulary word of the day: Aposematism - a visual warning signal (usually bright color or high contrast pattern) indicating that an organism has a secondary defense mechanism such as; unpalatabilty, poisonous glands, stings, neurotoxins, or foul odor.

Old IF entry wins Best in Show

2011-03-04T06:40:00.001-06:00

Who would have thought that a small drawing created last year as an Illustration Friday entry would lead me to fame and fortune? OK...no real fame and only a small $200 award. But still, I am very proud to say that this small colored pencil drawing won Best in Show at last nights opening of Main Street Gallery's juried still life exhibit. What a truly fantastic surprise!

The show will be hanging from March 3rd - April 12. If you find yourself in downtown Tyler Texas, stop by to see all of the beautiful artwork created by East Texas artists!

Illustration Friday - Swarm

2011-02-27T08:37:00.003-06:00

Queen Bee

Ink, marker and watercolor on mat board
4x6 inches

Wow! It has been too long since I have participated in Illustration Friday and I am having serious withdrawal. I may have to commit to another 1 year goal to make sure that I stay motivated to keep it up.

This is just a quick one this week, but it had me thinking about the zen of being at one with nature. Nature and I have a love hate relationship. I consider myself something of a nature girl, but become literally depressed when things don't grow and flourish in the ways I envision. We have had terrible drought conditions here in Texas for at least four of the six years that we have been back. I have had very little success at growing anything. OK, in reality I have a black thumb. My husband commented on it just yesterday when I was fondling the plants in the garden department at Lowe's. But despite my general ineptitude with growing things, I have always been happiest outside, breathing in fresh country air. And I like to think that I will eventually get better at nurturing nature, if I just keep at it. (And don't forget to water)

I remember being particularly concerned about the state of the natural world a couple of years ago when I heard that bees were disappearing. Apparently a bee virus was decimating bee colonies, but they seem to be making a comeback. I am still pretty upset about the fact that I haven't seen a firefly in several years. No one really knows what has happened there. But on the positive side, ground dwelling birds have returned to East Texas. I have been seeing road runners and killdeer again for several seasons now. Apparently the fire ants are finally finding a balance. That is the thing about nature, isn't it? It always finds balance. How Zen!

Illustration Friday - Winter

2010-12-26T19:53:00.001-06:00

Walking in a Minion Wonderland!

Do you know that it is virtually impossible to purchase any kind of merchandise from the movie "Despicable Me"? My husband is a five year old when it comes to Christmas. All he wanted wanted was minions for his desk at work and there are none to be found anywhere. Its not that people are snatching them up, its that none were ever made in the first place. Soooo...loving wife that I am, I produced these three out of polymer clay just in time for Christmas. I had to bar my husband from my studio and swear my son to secrecy, but they turned out to be a rather big hit. Add a bit of wintry background, a couple of snowballs, and I ended up with a IF entry to boot.

One More Cake

2010-12-19T15:34:00.000-06:00

Just playing around with marshmallow fondant. I can't stand the stuff that comes in a box, but this stuff is passable. I am starting to convince myself that I could make my daughter's wedding cake. After all, it is just sculpting with flour and sugar. I love to sculpt! This is a little 6 inch cake, which would be about the size of a top wedding cake tier. Fresh flowers and real ribbon (no polka dots) would be beautiful!

Missed Opportunities, Baking and the Holidays!

2010-12-12T10:29:00.002-06:00

We have one more week of school before the end of the semester and Christmas break. Kids and teachers are anxious for the R and R. I have been completely remiss in participating in Illustration Friday, but I still mull over ideas every week when the email with the new word arrives. This last week I even went so far as to photograph my Schleich Mammoths for the word "prehistoric" while waiting on dinner with Todd at Dairy Queen. I had good intentions to turn them into an illustration, but alas....well, I hate excuses, especially my own.

On the tastier side, I spent much of yesterday researching wedding cakes for my daughter Bailey. This (of course) gave me a strong hankering for something tasty and sweet. Since I was awake this morning at the usual 5:00 am, I got up and made an absolutely yummy carrot cake. I had two pieces of it for breakfast and I am now in a diabetic coma. I hate to cook, but I love to bake. Other people love you when you bake, so it is a much more positive and indulgent experience. Below is the end result of my morning labors in the kitchen. Cakes are so pretty, even if you don't have the appropriate stands and plates to display them on (which I don't).

Happy Holidays everyone! The nature girl in me has decided to celebrate winter solstice on December 21st. I would love to hear from anyone who has a tradition of celebrating this celestial event. Please leave a comment about what traditions you observe and the symbolic meanings behind them.

How to Fold a Japanese Origami Peace Crane

2010-11-09T05:47:00.003-06:00

I am presenting the Put Up A Crane Peace Project as a workshop at the Texas Art Education Association's annual conference on Saturday. I produced this short video so other teachers can use it in their classrooms and just as a reminder on how to fold origami cranes. For more information on this project check out my earlier blog posts:
http://msartlady.blogspot.com/2009/10/illustration-friday-pattern-or-put-up.html
http://msartlady.blogspot.com/2009/11/illustration-friday-skinny-or-peace.html
http://msartlady.blogspot.com/2009/12/put-up-crane-project-is-installed.html

I realized after I made the video that I didn't mention what size paper I was using. It is the size of a standard 6x6 inch origami square.

Marfa/Marshall Photography Exhibit

2010-10-25T19:14:00.001-05:00

Our little one day photography show at the Lindale Library was both a pleasant day and a palpable success. Somewhere around 50 people visited the exhibit during a 6 hour period. In addition to being an opportunity to exhibit our own photographs in a public setting, Mr James and I were able to talk to the public about our goals and efforts for further developing our art program at the high school. I couldn't have wished for a nicer day.

Below are the photographs which were included for my half of the exhibit. All of these photographs were taken in and around the town of Marshall, Texas over the course of a few weekends in September and early October.

These first two are of the old barn on my family's farm

These three are of the old burned out Sam Houston School

From a neighborhood in town

The side of the Texas and Pacific engine in front of the railroad station.

Madonna in the parking lot of the Catholic church

Waiting on the side tracks

The images below are photographs which didn't end up in the show but which I think give an additional feel for the historic town of Marshall. I hope you enjoy my small photographic tribute to a town near to my heart. Click on any photograph to enlarge it.

According to my father, the name of the shrub growing here in the corner of the old ice house is "Piss Ellum". Apparently it reeks of pee when you burn it. The morning sun made it look like it was on fire, but luckily there is no smell associated with morning sunlight. :)

I love love love this new app!

2010-10-24T07:34:00.000-05:00

Did I happen to say that I love this new app for iphone. Well I really do. It is called Instagram, it is free, and it turns your cheesy camera photos into vintage Polaroid style images. It has a number of different filters so you can adjust the look of the image to fit the saturation and mood you prefer. Below are some of my early test pics. If you own an iphone, I highly recommend that you give this app a try. Versions for other smart phones are in the works.

Illustration Friday - Spooky

2010-10-21T19:54:00.000-05:00

A twelfth hour posting for Illustration Friday. These are three more sketches using the LiveSketch app on my iPhone. You can't help but end up with spooky images using this app. Happy Halloween!

Upcoming One Day Photography Exhibit

2010-10-07T18:37:00.000-05:00

This is one of about ten photographs that I will be exhibiting alongside the work of my colleague Walter James at the Lindale Library in a couple of weekends. He had taken a number of photographs in the town of Marfa, Texas over the summer, and I have been spending a lot of time in the town of Marshall, Texas where my family owns a farm. Walter thought it would be a good idea to put up a one day exhibit of images from both towns. The names of the towns have a nice ring together. Marfa is representative the western side of the state while Marshall is typical of East Texas.

I really loved the distorted visage of this poorly repaired Madonna, as well as the intense turquoise of her painted robe. The day was bright and clear and the paint color perfectly complemented the cerulean blue sky behind her

Illustration Friday - Beneath

2010-10-03T20:57:00.001-05:00

Beneath a Pale Blue Sky: "Alchemy at the Edge"

24 x 48 Acrylic and Metal Leaf on Canvas

This is a recently completed painting that was juried into an upcoming exhibit at Gallery Main Street in Tyler, TX. I am having a lot of fun participating in the themed exhibits that the gallery hosts, and have even resumed selling a bit of art. If you are in the Tyler area, the show opens on Oct 28th. Please drop by for a visit.

Illustration Friday - Acrobat

2010-09-22T13:35:00.001-05:00

Digital sketches using the Ap "Live Sketch" on my iPhone

My son found this free ap a week or so ago and downloaded it onto my phone for me I really like the charcoal look of it and the fact that you are forced to work loosely. You are drawing with your finger on a 2x3 inch screen after all. Of course it is such a small image that the resolution is not great, but on the iPhone it looks fine. This week's word made me think of the acrobatic manuevers that birds manage while in flight. I am awed by the flight of the swallows that come back to my house year after year, as well as the redtailed hawks that take nose dives from nearby telephone poles. (Usually to pounce on a windblown leaf)

I took a good month and a half break from IF but hope to still contribute on a semi-regular basis. I am finding myself more and more busy with teaching, producing art for a local gallery, and working on a masters degree so I will have to balance my time a bit more carefully. Below are a couple of more images from this sketch ap. Kinda scary but fun!

Illustration Friday - Artificial

2010-07-30T08:41:00.001-05:00

Venus

3.5 x 2.5 inches ATC

colored pencil on toned paper

Some of the synonyms for artificial are: man-made, artful, cunning, imitation, sham. Man has been imitating nature for a very long time.....

Illustration Friday - Double

2010-07-23T18:33:00.001-05:00


Double Thunderhead - Crayon on Manila Paper

Well since I reached my one year goal last week, I thought I would use this week's word to finally make a banner for my blog and give it a design overhaul. Blogger is starting to offer a lot more options for those of us who are technologically challenged. I also decided that I would use a traditional public school art media, the good old Crayola Crayon. Even though I rarely put crayons in my high school student's hands, I think they are as worthy and useful a medium as any available. Nothing makes me happier than a brand new box of crayons!

Illustration Friday #52! - Breakfast

2010-07-18T08:26:00.001-05:00

IHOP Breakfast

water media on rag paper, 9 x 12

ONE FULL YEAR OF ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY!

This weeks illustration is my 52nd consecutive weekly submission to Illustration Friday, meaning I have reached my goal of participating for a full year! This week's word was a bit of a bonus since it gave me an excuse to visit my favorite breakfast restaurant, The International House of Pancakes, or as most Americans know it, IHOP. My husband John and I went for breakfast yesterday morning as a sort of mini celebration for having made it through the whole year.

As you can see, I had one of my favorite selections, the stuffed french toast combo, with scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns,strawberry stuffed french toast, and ironically, a diet Coke. :) (I'm not a coffee drinker) John had something called loaded minion taters that IHOP is promoting with the "Dispicable Me" movie that recently came out. His came with a tater tot casserole, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and an added side of bacon.

We came hungry. We left happy!

Grow Babies Grow

2010-07-12T12:34:00.001-05:00

Early Feathers on Mocking Bird Babies

We also have a nest of swallows about 20 feet from where the mocking birds are nesting, but they are a lot harder to see and the parents get a good deal more upset about visitors. Here is a single poorly focused image, but I didn't want to stress them out by trying to get a better photo.

Swallow Babies

Illustration Friday - Diary

2010-07-10T11:19:00.002-05:00

scanned and digitally manipulated image

click it to big it!

Like many other IF participants, my blog and sketchbooks are my diaries. They just focus very specifically on a need to communicate visually. This scanner image was inspired/stolen from this week's Photojojo project. If you aren't already familiar with Photojojo, it is a fantastically creative photography blog site. I think I may try do do something like this with my high school kids early next school year. Fun stuff!

PS: I realized that I improperly submitted this to my blog site rather than the blog post so I am resubmitting it. I apologize if you are seeing it twice.

Baby Basket

2010-07-09T13:25:00.001-05:00

Three Babies in a Basket in a Basket

I wonder if early man/woman looked at bird's nests when he/she, first decided to make a basket. It seems like a logical connection. These are the three mockingbird babies that hatched from the eggs/nest I painted a couple of weeks ago. You can see the nest painting if you scroll down about four blog posts. The eggs are a beautiful turquoise color with deep rusty red spots.

The nursery is in my bicycle basket on the carport. They don't look like much here, but these babies are growing really fast. I will try to document them every few days to show their progression. Luckily my cats are indoors only or I would worry a lot more about momma bird's choice of location.

Happy Summer everyone!

Illustration Friday - Giant

2010-07-08T11:28:00.000-05:00

Attack of the Giant River Otter

(collage)

A small mining community in Northern Kentucky was attacked yesterday evening by a Giant Amazonian River Otter. Mine workers fled the scene while animal control, fire, and police officers debated over the best way to capture the rouge animal. The 150 foot long creature disappeared into the mountains before authorities could devise a plan.

Juvenal Giant River Otter Sighted in Barrow Alaska

This just in... What appears to be a young Giant Amazonian River Otter was sighted just hours ago in the still sleeping town of Barrow Alaska. The animal downed power lines and damaged several buildings. Authorities will not comment on the rash of recent attacks or the reason for the enormous increase in growth that is forcing these animals out of their usual rain-forest habitat.

I'm late this week, but had lots of fun with the word!

Large Abstraction

2010-06-30T08:23:00.002-05:00

Untitled

Acrylic, Charcoal, and Metal Leaf on Canvas

40 x 30

One of my submissions for a juried exhibit competition at Main Street Gallery in Tyler. I haven't worked this large in quite some time, but I like the way it forces me to loosen up. The gleam of the strip of gold leaf is a bit exaggerated in the photo. It has a glaze of burnt umber on it that actually tones it down a bit. There is also a bit of glare on the right side that is shifting the color.

More Fruit in Limited Color Palettes

2010-06-29T06:48:00.002-05:00

Solo Uno

8 x 8 Acrylic on Panel

Mango-Lemon-Lime

8 x 8 Acrylic on Panel

Illustration Friday - Satellite

2010-06-28T09:56:00.004-05:00

Lunar Horizon

12 x 12 Acrylic on Panel

This weeks submission has a dual purpose. In addition to being my IF submission, this painting will be donated to Stephen F Austin State University's art department as part of its 12 x 12 scholarship fundraiser. I participated in this event last year and really enjoyed the event as well as the opportunity to exhibit alongside quite a few very talented East Texas artists. I also brought home a beautiful painting by Peter Andrews, a very gifted artist and instructor at SFA.

Now if I could just get someone to offer me a scholarship to finish my MAAE degree. If anyone knows of scholarships for middle-aged high school art teachers, with excellent grades, working on a Masters degree, let me know!

Below is a second painting that I am donating as well. This was inspired by a bird that has built a nest in my bicycle basket. I have agreed to let her stay there until her babies have fledged. It is too hot to ride a bicycle now anyway. :)

Genesis Renewed
12 x 12 Acrylic on Panel

Illustration Friday - Paisley

2010-06-22T23:28:00.000-05:00

sketchbook drawing - Pitt pens

I am at an Art Ed Retreat this week at SFASU so I only had time for this very quick sketch (done during an art history class). I had a pair of paisley jeans much like these when I was dating my husband John. He really liked me, but he really hated my paisley jeans. I wore them anyway. Unfortunately these jeans were ruined when I had a car accident about a year and a half after we were married. They cut them off of me in the emergency room. I have never been able to find another pair quite like them.

Tyler Artwalk - June 18th, 4-8 pm

2010-06-19T09:08:00.003-05:00

The June Tyler Artwalk hosted by the Downtown Tyler Arts Coalition and Gallery Main Street has come and gone. Overall it was a very positive experience. My exhibit consisted of 7 acrylic paintings, 1 watercolor, 4 colored pencil drawings and an alabaster sculpture. I had a much larger space than the 10 x 10 square feet I was told to expect which was nice because it gave people an opportunity to move through the exhibit more easily. I shared a large upstairs loft space with two other artists and a lady who volunteered to set up a photography exhibit from the recent Azalea Trail Photography Competition. People started trickling in about 4:30 in the afternoon and by 5:00 there was a steady stream of visitors until the end of the exhibit. The only downside was the heat, the building we were in had a less than adequate cooling system, so we ended up with three big room fans to try and keep the temperatures bearable. Also there was no elevator to the space, only stairs.

I met lots of really nice people though, including a future art teacher looking for employment, and a high school art teacher from Pittsburgh, Texas. I received a visit from a couple of my former art students from Lindale. and found out at the end of the event. that another former Lindale student, Megan Bryant, was actually part of the exhibit at the Main Street Gallery.

I did have one critic, an elderly gentleman named Elihu Edelson who told me I was a better sculptor than painter. I smiled and agreed with him. He said that he had been an art critic for a newspaper when he lived in Florida. He was charming nonetheless and the conversation became even more interesting when he asked me if I was mystical. I then heard a long tale about how he ended up in Texas.

It was a lovely evening.

Illustration Friday - Ripple

2010-06-12T15:42:00.001-05:00

A Spoonful of Tragedy - A Louisiana Roseate Spoonbill

2.5 x 3.5

mixed media

The folks at Illustration Friday are doing something meaningful this week. Penelope Dullaghan has chosen the word "ripple" for this weeks theme. She is encouraging all participants to submit and donate an ATC sized sketch card to a special project that is raising funds to help wildlife injured by the Deep Water Horizon, Gulf of Mexico oil spill. This project is being organized by Kelly Light at http://ripplesketches.blogspot.com/ . For a $10 donation you will be able to find this as well as many other original and digital artworks available. This particular card will be sent directly from me to the purchaser when Kelly receives confirmation of a donation made to either the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies or The International Bird Rescue Research Center .

I hope everyone who sees this blog will consider helping out by either making a donation or creating and submitting artwork to Kelly. We all use oil. We drive our cars, we heat our homes, we use tons of plastics and other petroleum products. We are all responsible for this tragedy. Perhaps this will be the thing that will help us finally decide to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels. There are other clean options available, we just need to be willing to change. True, it will be expensive. It will be painful to those who need to find jobs in other industries. But we will come to a point when we cannot afford the consequences of failure to change. In the meantime, let's clean up this mess as best we can and save as much of our precious wildlife as is humanly possible.

By the way, the coastal marsh dwelling Roseate Spoonbill was just beginning to make a strong recovery from endangerment. Most of this recovery was occurring in Louisiana....

Illustration Friday - Trail

2010-06-07T20:02:00.001-05:00

Trail of Destruction

7 x 13 inches

watercolor

OK, so obviously skyscapes have been on my brain lately and I wanted to do something this week that would leave me with a potentially framable finished piece. I started thinking of all the possible types of trails I could come up with, trail of tears, trail of dust, hiking trails, happy trails..... When trail of destruction hit me, tornadoes were the first thing I thought of. I found a really great website called Mother Nature Network that has a top 10 tornado video list. My personal favorite was #9 (Most Beautiful Tornado Ever) Even though this painting is not particularly inspired by that video, I may ultimately have to do another painting. It took my breath away.

Primary Still Life - Rome Apples on a Plate

2010-06-07T17:05:00.001-05:00

Chroma Roma

8 x 8 inches
Acrylic on panel

Obviously color was a major factor here. I once again used a very limited color palette. Primary Yellow, Primary Magenta, Primary Cyan, and Titanium White The vibrancy of the color actually seemed to confuse the scanner a bit. It is a little less flat feeling in person.

More Clouds

2010-06-06T16:51:00.001-05:00

12 x 12 acrylic

One more cloud painting destined for the Art Walk in downtown Tyler on June 18th. This was actually the first one I painted. I kind of like the strong diagonal and the false sense of a horizon line. It creates a compositionally strong negative space.

Illustration Friday - Slither

2010-05-31T07:06:00.003-05:00

Acrylic on 12 x 12 Canvases

vertical diptych

Slither, sail, and soar

Across a teal blue sky,

Portent of the storm to come

Omniscient roaming eye.

Giver,

Taker,

Promise maker,

Case of do or die.

Journey on, yet stay a while

Earth pleads for your sigh.

I admit, I wrote the poem just to make what I am currently working on fit the IF word of the week. But I was not really in the mood for drawing snakes, snails, lizards, centipedes or anything else that literally slithers. I am also trying to crank out enough art to have a reasonable offering for an upcoming artwalk on June 18th.

The color is very slightly off, I took one image in the morning and the other in the afternoon. They match up better in person. Other than that issue, I would love to hear some constructive criticism. I struggled over whether or not I liked the strong contrasts, (dark neutral grays, stark vibrant teal) but I worked on it almost like an abstraction. I view it more as a formalist abstract work. Let me know what you think.

Illustration Friday - Early

2010-05-23T13:15:00.000-05:00

Early Morning Wake Up Call - 4am

This is Napoleon. He is our little Japanese Silkie rooster. A full moon is as good as sunshine for him and he takes his job as Reveille horn blower seriously. We often hear him sounding the wake up call as early as three or four in the morning. Needless to say we have learned how to sleep with pillows over our heads.

Illustration Friday - Equipment

2010-05-18T21:07:00.001-05:00

The Fig Leaf Campaign

ATC 2.5 x 3.5 inches

colored pencil

I have to lay blame/give credit to my husband for my interpretation of this weeks word. He has a habit of referring to male anatomy as "equipment." So, in order to keep my blog (cough) "school appropriate" I thought I would touch on a bit of art history associated with the topic of male anatomy and censorship.

The addition of fig leaves to anatomically complete nude sculptures began in the mid 16th century as a reaction to Michelangelo's David and the Sistine Chapel Frescos. A man by the name of Cardinal Carafa, led the campaign to cover nude figures in paintings and sculptures with a fig leaf. An apron of fig leaves was the biblical symbolic clothing of Adam when he first recognized his own nakedness in the book of Genesis. Unfortunately hundreds if not thousands of works of art were permanently damaged in the process of removing the offending appendages and covering the wounded artwork with plaster or bronze fig leaves.

Amazingly many sculptures have since been reunited with their original "equipment".

Clean Puppy - Dirty Puppy

2010-05-15T17:28:00.001-05:00

Clean, beautiful, sweet, obedient, angelic puppy,

Stinky, nasty, slimy, fishy, naughty (but very happy) puppy

Lucy found the fish pond. 'Nuff said.

Illustration Friday - Fearless

2010-05-11T12:52:00.001-05:00

Who's the Boss

I have a new border collie puppy named Lucy who likes to try to herd the cats. Unfortunately for Lucy, my cats know better than to cede power to a mere juvenal delenquent of a dog. Lucy tries to be brave, but it is a battle she cannot win. I just hope she exhibits the same fearlessness when it is time for her to meet the sheep. Her bravery will be particularly important with the ram that tries to run me down every time I enter the pasture. She is a smart pup and I have high hopes for her herding instinct and bravery.

Lucy at 13 weeks

Illustration Friday - Cocoon

2010-05-01T20:43:00.001-05:00

White Dwarf Cocoon

acrylic ink on paper

When stars begin to die they shed their outer layer in the process of becoming a white dwarf. The expelled outer layer is called a cocoon. Our own sun will be at this stage in about 5 billion years.

Illustration Friday - Ahead

2010-04-25T16:50:00.001-05:00

Ahead by a Head

ATC 2.5 x 3.5 inches

mixed media

There is a certain futility about racing around in circles, and yet that is what I seem to be doing most of the time. I never really get ahead even if I feel like I do now and then.

Lindale Students Attend State VASE

2010-04-24T17:06:00.002-05:00

I apologize for being slow getting these up, but as we get closer to the end of the school year I only seem to get busier and busier.

This year five of our students advanced to state competition in art. We traveled to Seabrook, Texas and the University of Houston - Clear Lake for the event. Due to the distance, we arrived on Friday, April 9th and spent the afternoon visiting the Museum of Fine Arts - Houston and the Menil Collection. This was my first opportunity to visit both of these institutions and I must say that they are now some of my favorite art museums in the state of Texas. In addition I was able to visit the Rothko Chapel. While not my favorite example of Rothko's work, it was still a serene experience and worth the visit.

Left to right - Walter James, Katherine Trevarrow, Brenda Arzola, Matthew Sutter, Brittany Hudspeth, and Carianne Starling

Our students at the Flavin Installation - part of the Menil Collection

We spent Saturday at the State VASE competition where we viewed a staggering amount of outstanding high school art. Our students were able to participate in studio activities as well as watch some fantastic demonstrations by working Texas artists. All in all it was a successful and inspiring trip. We made it home safe and sound by about 9:30 Saturday night.

A chalk artist working with high school students for one of the demonstrations. I apologize, I have forgotten her name.

Participants viewing some of the 2D art.

The 3D work was shown on multiple levels of the building

I can't wait to go again next year.

Illustration Friday - Detective

2010-04-22T19:01:00.001-05:00

Just Follow Your Nose

The scent detection abilities of the bloodhound are unparalleled in the dog world. They can follow a trail that is days old. Despite being intimidatingly large, a bloodhound is far more likely to lick the person he is trailing than bite him. Bloodhounds - Detectives Extraordinaire!

Illustration Friday - Linked

2010-04-15T22:48:00.002-05:00

Linked:

To the past

To the future

To each other

Thursday night submissions are becoming a habit for me. I have had this image in my head all week, but I have just been too busy to sit down and get it done. This is exactly what I did as a teacher last weekend, only with high school students instead of little ones, and we didn't hold hands. :) I have pictures to post from our trip, but it is late and I will have to wait till the weekend to find a little free time to get them off my camera and edit them. I promise more soon. Good Night!

Illustration Friday - Dip

2010-04-08T21:20:00.001-05:00

“I dip my pen in the blackest ink, because I'm not afraid of falling into my inkpot.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I hemmed and hawed over this word all week and finally ran out of time, so here is my rather late (again) submission. I thought about ice cream and guacamole and skinny dipping and all of the other possibilities that have already been done, but in the end decide to go with an image based on the quote that came in the e-mail for this week's word.

I am leaving for Houston tomorrow to take 5 high school students to the State Visual Art Scholastic Event competition. This will be the first time for my current school to attend this event and I am really looking forward to it I will post photos from the trip when I return.

Illustration Friday - Rescue

2010-04-01T18:24:00.002-05:00

Colored Pencil

APC 4 x 6 inches

An eleventh hour submission from me this week. The rigors of being everything to everyone has left me a little more than overwhelmed and I only just finished this quick cat portrait. Todd and I literally rescued her out of the middle of the road on a cold, dark, and stormy night back in late February. This beautiful Himalayan mix kitty is obviously someone's house cat because she doesn't have a clue about roads or strangers or cars or anything out of doors. We tried for several weeks to find her owners, but so far no one seems to be missing her. She loves people and doesn't mind dogs, but she is not terribly friendly with our other cats. As beautiful as she is, I would like to find her a home if we can't find her original owners. She would be happier as an only cat. If you live in East Texas and want to adopt a cat, email me.

Illustration Friday - Expired

2010-03-21T11:01:00.001-05:00

"Last Rites"

Colored Pencil

This little female cardinal actually died in my hand about a week ago. I was putting the greyhounds out in the kennels and she crash landed through the dog door and into the wall of the kennel. Sassy (the greyhound) grabbed her before I could, but also dropped her pretty quickly when I yelled at her. So I'm not sure if it was the crash or the greyhound mouthing that did her in, or a combination of the two. She died about 30 seconds after I picked her up, poor thing. But observationist that I am, I set her aside near the outside trash cans so that I could draw her later in the day. Todd complained a little later that the gnats were getting to her so I took pictures of her instead. It just worked out that she was the perfect subject for this weeks Illustration Friday word.

Illustration Friday - Subterranean

2010-03-14T20:30:00.004-05:00

The Elusive Subterranean Parakeet

watercolor and pen

I had a little observational inspiration for this week's word. My husband, son and I went to the Tyler Zoo on Saturday. I had it in my head to keep my eyes open for a critter that might make a good subject for "subterranean" but it turned out to be the most unlikely candidate that I could have imagined. In the " Wild Bird Walkabout" there was a little parakeet madly excavating a good sized hole under the edge of a rock. Parakeets are known to hollow out trees and logs for their nests, but this may be the the first to choose a subterranean abode. I think she knows that it will be cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, and that she won't have to worry about termite damage later on down the road. :)

Below is a short clip of video that I took of her while she was working.

Illustration Friday - Brave

2010-03-11T10:57:00.002-06:00

Digitally Enhanced Collage

"The bravest battle that ever was fought, Shall I tell you where and when?

On the maps of the world you will find it not; It was fought by the mothers of men"

I almost didn't make it this week. It is Spring break for us and we have been taking full advantage of the free time. Being the mother of two marines, this week's word has had me in mind of all the parents who have children in the military. Luckily, both of my daughters are in non-combat areas, but there are many more of our sons and daughters who are in harm's way. I pray for their speedy and safe return.

Illustration Friday - Perspective

2010-03-03T16:38:00.001-06:00

"Beyond right and wrong, there is a field. I will meet you there."

(Rumi - 13th century Persian Poet)

A double meaning for this weeks word. I have come to realize that truth (right/wrong) is almost always a matter of perspective. It can be difficult to remember this when we become passionate about an idea or belief, but it is the basis of wisdom. Of course as an art teacher I had to have a little perspective drawing included as well.

Two days till spring break! Yippee!

Illustration Friday - Propagate

2010-02-23T18:56:00.003-06:00

Chia Todd

colored pencil on green paper

2.5 x 3.5 inches ATC

OK this weeks word was a tough one. I think my resulting image betrays my usually disguised weirdo side, but here it is anyway. This was inspired by my son's decision to allow his Ag teacher to shave his head last week with a pair of sheep sheers. It has taken some getting used to and I think this is my subconscious way of saying that I prefer my son with at least some hair on his still young head. I am including an image of the freshly mowed head below.

Illustration Friday - Adrift

2010-02-15T19:42:00.001-06:00

Wilson!!!!

2.5 x 3.5 inches ATC

marker, colored pencil, and gel pen

available for trade

You know you are watching a really good actor when he makes you want to cry over the loss of a soccer ball. :) I love Tom Hanks! This is actually a requested image for my son Todd. I told him what this week's Illustration Friday theme is, and he suggested this scene from the movie Cast Away. To work up to it, we watched the movie together. It was a nice way to spend our President's Day holiday together.

Winter Wonderland - Friday Morning at the Taylor Farm

2010-02-15T17:47:00.004-06:00

Click on any picture to enlarge

A rare event occurred in East Texas this week. A foot of snow fell in Dallas and a more moderate but still impressive 5-6 inches fell on the little plot of ground that we call home. Most of the snow fell on Thursday night and continued into the early hours of Friday morning. I know that this is not exciting news to most of the rest of the country, especially with the record snowfalls the nation has been experiencing, but it is something that we almost never see here and it causes quite a stir. The schools shut down and kids rediscover a fascination of the world around them. Even the adults become more light-hearted and find it easy to set work aside to marvel at the change of scenery. Artistic types like myself start waxing poetic and try to capture the moment in memory, image, and words. Above are just a few of the pictures I took Friday morning, as soon as there was enough light to shoot in. The last is a picture of my 14 year old son Todd with his first ever snowman. Sadly he was knocked down and half melted by the end of the day. (the snowman...not Todd).

The only unfortunate side of the whole event was that we lost power sometime in the middle of the night on Thursday which didn't get restored until Sunday morning. We spent a couple of nights sleeping next to the fireplace, but I finally broke down on Saturday and got us a hotel room. Ahhh Adventure!

Illustration Friday - Muddy

2010-02-09T18:12:00.001-06:00

2.5 x 3.5 inches ATC

The Potter

Life like art is messy. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty.

Sculpture and ceramics was my emphasis in college. I really love 3D work even though most of my art these days is 2D. In ceramics I considered myself more of a hand builder. I could throw a decent pot but I never felt I had a flair for refined form on the wheel. The best thing about it was getting good and sloppy muddy. I loved being in my paint stained and clay covered overalls. I felt like a real artist. I am a much cleaner artist now that I have to make art in more professional "teacher clothes", but a good dirty apron still helps me feel free and creative.

Illustration Friday - Focused

2010-01-31T09:51:00.108-06:00

I purchased the coolest little digital camera this week. It is a Panasonic DMC-ZS1 Lumix. It has 10.1 megapixal resolution, a 12X optical zoom, 25 mm wide angle, 3 preset aspect ratios to choose from, and approximately a gazillion preprogramed settings to make your picture taking experience a confusing but joyous event. My absolute favorite thing about it at the moment is the pinhole camera setting. It knocks down the color a notch and gives that beautiful softened and darkened edge created by a real pinhole camera. You can even get glorious closeups of flowers, bugs, still life setups, whatever, without using the macro setting. The photo above was one of my favorites so I paired it with a quote for this week's theme but I am including several more images below. I took all of these yesterday in Lowe's garden department. Click on any picture to enlarge.

Illustration Friday - Clumsy

2010-01-25T20:08:00.004-06:00

Non-Dominant Hand Drawing

Gel Pen and Pitt pen

in my left handed moleskine

I have always been a klutz, but this weeks topic had me remembering much of the last year in which I was recuperating from a broken wrist. I call my left hand the stupid step sister of the right, but I was forced to function left-handed almost exclusively for several months while my right hand was healing. Of course my biggest fear was that it would not heal completely and that it would hamper my ability to make and teach art. I still had about three months of the school year to get through at the time which was challenge enough. However, my students were very understanding and patient, and we completed the semester without much hindrance.

One of the things I did to perk myself up and feel better about the whole disaster was to start a left-handed sketchbook. All the drawings and writing are done entirely with my left hand. It is far from full, but I still occasionally add entries into it and really enjoy the challenge of working with a clumsy, less than obedient hand. I admit to being much more sympathetic to my students when they break limbs now. Every year there is at least one or two who do. Now I pull out my left-handed sketchbook to give them a little extra encouragement that they can continue to make art and make it through the year.

I am including several of the earliest sketches below, chronicling the healing process. Click on any of the pictures to view them larger. Have a happy and SAFE week everyone!

Illustration Friday - Wilderness

2010-01-18T09:50:00.001-06:00

Paper Collage

9 x 12 inches

(click image to enlarge)

To the dull mind nature is leaden. To the illumined mind the whole world burns and sparkles with light. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

In the spirit of the theme and being "green", this weeks submission is made entirely out of discarded wallpaper samples with just a speck of mulberry paper and pen for the white parts if the eagle. I also lightly tweeked the scan in Picasa to bump up the saturation and add a bit of evening glow to the sky. I had considered cheating and using an ATC card that I had made about a week ago before I knew this week's theme, but I am trying to be good and produce something new and specific for the topic each week. I am posting the card below just because.... I liked it, and it also fits.

I hope you all enjoy the MLK holiday! It gives me a little extra time for art making, so I love it!

Snow Spirit

ATC 2.5 x 3.5 inches

mixed media

Illustration Friday - Confined

2010-01-12T17:56:00.003-06:00

Hell hath no fury like a confined fairy.

watercolor and pen

click illustration to enlarge

A pretty straightforward interpretation this week. This little guy is as mad as a hornet. I hate to think of the curses and plots for revenge that he is cooking up for his captor. I have never viewed fairies as sweet delightful little creatures. They have always been more mischievous and tricksy in my imagination. Perhaps we should offer him some honey as a gesture of friendship and set him free in the clover patch before he explodes.

Illustration Friday - Renewal

2010-01-07T17:46:00.002-06:00

Is It Spring Yet?

watercolor and colored pencil

4" x 6"

A last minute submission this week. Honestly, I wasn't feeling very inspired by this week's word even though it fits the time of year well. But with the country currently in the grip of an Arctic chill, visions of spring have been dancing around in my daydreams. We don't have crocuses here in Texas, but I lived in Wisconsin for about a year and a half, and these brave little flowers amazed me with their determination to bloom right through the snow pack. Spring was nowhere else in sight, but these bright purple and yellow flowers were right there anyway in the little flower bed in front of my house. They were truly the first sign that the thaw was beginning and the return of sun and green were around the corner. A fitting symbol for renewal, I think.

Illustration Friday - Pioneer

2009-12-30T20:18:00.002-06:00

The Railway Man

This is a little ATC I made today for a lady in Finland who collects cards related to steam trains and the men who work the railroads. It got me to thinking about how the world was changed by these pioneers of travel and commerce. Certainly here in the US we attribute the true opening of the West to the railroads. It is a part of our elementary education. I have been fascinated by trains, like most people, since childhood. Cabooses were still in use when I was young, and we would always try to get the "caboose man" to blow his whistle for us as the train passed by. I miss cabooses. As a young adult I actually bought myself a miniature passenger train set that I still have some 20 years later. Did I ever mention that I was something of a tomboy? :)

Illustration Friday - Undone

2009-12-24T16:17:00.001-06:00

Digitally altered photo of unfinished glue and acrylic painting

12 x 12 inches

Something very different from me this week. This is an unfiinshed (undone) non-objective piece that I had started earlier in the summer. I had set it aside when my focus shifted to....well things like Illustration Friday, folding origami cranes, and artists trading cards. In this version, some of the color has been undone to give it a stronger focal point. Also for your listening pleasure, here is a link to Duran Duran's Come Undone. I loved these guys as a teenager in the 80s. Dang... I just dated myself.

Illustration Friday - Hatch

2009-12-15T18:30:00.001-06:00

Hatch Happy

Pen and Ink

Just a quick one this week. Art teacher that I am, I just had to use the art vocabulary version of this week's word. I have never had the patience to develop precision hatching technique, but sloppy hatcher that I am, I still enjoy using it to develop values and form. I thought about a composition with a hand drawing another hand, but I decided the simple hatch marks were more effective. Happy hatching everyone!

Illustration Friday - Crunchy

2009-12-10T20:50:00.001-06:00

Monty Python's Crunchy Frog

colored pencil and gel pen

5.75 x 3.75 inches

OK, I really took it down to the wire this week, but it has been a crazy busy week. This submission was inspired by a Monty Python scene that I am going to attempt to attach below. I am not a huge Monty Python fan but I have been known to appreciate quirky British humor when I am so tired that I am no longer thinking straight. That would be my general state this whole week. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the illo and the link to the skit.

Crunchy Frog

Not quite what I intended, but the link does work.

The PUT UP A CRANE Project is installed

2009-12-09T13:19:00.003-06:00

The PUT UP A CRANE Peace Project is now installed in the atrium of the Lindale High School Foyer. We surpassed our goal of 1000 cranes and finished with a total of 1160 origami cranes. To learn more about this community art installation project see my earlier blog post at: http://msartlady.blogspot.com/2009/10/illustration-friday-pattern-or-put-up.html

The entire project took about 2 1/2 months from conception to completion. And I never could have done it without the support and participation of the Lindale community and my family. Many teachers, classes, and individuals participated in creating the cranes. The LHS Key Club helped start the stringing process. My sweet 14 year old son Todd spent 5 hours after school helping me hang the installation. He also helped string hundreds of cranes, as did my husband and mother.

Overall I am very please with the experience and the strength of the message that the finished artwork conveys. Lindale is a wonderful place to teach and make art!

Illustration Friday - Entangled

2009-11-29T20:28:00.001-06:00

Come Back to Bed

2.5 x 3.5 inches ATC

mixed media

I really like this weeks theme word, it is full of all kinds of possibilities. The resulting illos I see going up on IF are wonderful overall. The theme brings to mind the entanglement of our personal relationships for me. Perhaps the holidays are also responsible for putting me in this mindset. I made this ATC for a personal trade with a lady who likes to collect cards themed with a mermaid and an octopus as a couple. Entanglement is a given for these two.

Illustration Friday - Music

2009-11-25T10:39:00.002-06:00

Behind Closed Doors

hand colored etching

Music is part of what makes us human and we learn to love it at an early age. I performed many of these solo, audienceless concerts when I was growing up, and I admit to still being a compulsive car radio singer. People who see me driving down the road probably think I am insane, but I NEED to sing and sing out loud!

I admit to a slight cheat this week. I took an early stage of an old etching and added watercolor to emphasize the figure a little better. So it only reached this finish state today, but its not technically a brand new piece. In my defense, I have 23 people showing up at my house tomorrow morning and Thanksgiving is only a vacation for those who don't have to cook :). Regardless, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is all about family and gratefulness for blessings. It also crosses religious and cultural boundaries that otherwise tend to divide us as a nation. I truly love Thanksgiving and I hope you all have a wonderful, love (and food) filled holiday.

Illustration Friday - Unbalanced

2009-11-18T18:56:00.001-06:00

12 x 15 3/4 inches

Pen and ink

Self Portrait

This is a sample of a project that I do with my Art 1 students. It starts as a grid drawing that is then developed by creating values using patterns and textures. Students have to control the value within a given pattern as well since the pattern/texture changes with each grid square. I am always trying to get the students to take more compositionally interesting photos to work from so that we get more dynamic final images. This means that I start by taking a lot of very unflattering pictures of myself to get them to loosen up about how they look. The girls always want to be "pretty" and the boys just want to give me mug shots. Teenagers are soooooo self-conscious! I just tell them to loosen up and let their freak flag fly! Of course they are certain that I am completely mentally unbalanced as the above image would seem to prove. I also let a student choose which image I will work from which is guaranteed to be the one that is the most unforgiving. :) Good fun!

Illustration Friday -Blur

2009-11-07T07:14:00.002-06:00

Mixed Media 3.5 x 2.5 ATC

I love the soft blur caused by falling snow. This little ATC was inspired by a poem by Robert Frost.

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Illustration Friday - Skinny or A Peace Crane Project Update

2009-11-04T18:12:00.001-06:00

mixed media ATCs

Dancing Japanese Cranes

I came close to not getting this week done in time again. The word "skinny" can be a touchy word especially for women. So about 4:00 AM this morning I finally settled on doing a series of ATCs with some skinny birds that would also allow me to give an update on my origami peace crane project that I am spearheading at school. We currently have about 588 cranes produced by students, teachers and a few community members at large. We are a little over half way done with folding and I would like to have the installation hung by early December. It seems a fitting theme for the upcoming holiday season. If you would like to know more about this project you can see the entry on my blog at http://msartlady.blogspot.com/2009/10/illustration-friday-pattern-or-put-up.html . Oh and by the way, these cards are available for trade for comparable hand drawn or painted cards. Show me what cha got. :)

The Owl and the Pussy Cat

2009-10-28T05:35:00.001-05:00

2.5 x 3.5 inches ATC

mixed media

The Owl and the Pussycat

by Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are, you are, you are,
What a beautiful Pussy you are."

Pussy said to the Owl "You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing.
O let us be married, too long we have tarried;
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose, his nose, his nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling your ring?"
Said the Piggy, "I will"
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon.
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand.
They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

Illustration Friday - Fast

2009-10-25T16:01:00.001-05:00

oil pastel on black paper

I really don't have anything cryptic or unusual about this week's submission. It is simply a fast sketch of a fast dog. I raised, showed, and lure coursed greyhounds for a number of years. They are exhilarating to watch doing what they do best. I have had as many as 14 hounds at one time but I am now down to my last two retired greyhound girls and I don't anticipate getting back into competition with dogs any time in the near future. I simply don't have the time or energy for all of the political maneuvering that goes along with it. If it had been more about dogs than people, I might have stuck with it a bit longer.

Annabel Lee

2009-10-25T10:53:00.002-05:00

Colored Pencil on Bristol

made for a poetry swap on Illustrated ATCs

ANNABEL LEE

Author: Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love -
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulcher
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me
Yes! that was the reason
(as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we
Of many far wiser than we
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In the sepulcher there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Illustration Friday - Frozen

2009-10-21T17:41:00.001-05:00

Frozen Embryo

2.5 x 3.5 inches ATC

watercolor and colored pencil

I had nearly given up on participating in Illustration Friday this week. I was feeling utterly uninspired and I didn't want to submit something that seemed like simply another version of what a lot of other people had already done better. But.... as luck would have it, inspiration hit me just as I was going to bed last night. Frozen embryos are typically found in the form of an 8 celled blastosphere, similar to what's in the upper right hand corner, but I wondered what the little guy might look like if he were just a little more developed. If frozen embryos all looked like this I wonder if science would handle them any differently?

I'm not making any political statements, nor taking a stance on one platform or another. It's just an interesting thing to think about. What does it mean to be human? If you are frozen, and in an early developmental stage, have you become human yet, or are you still waiting?

Illustration Friday - Flying

2009-10-11T21:24:00.006-05:00

“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” Freidrich Nietsche

This was the quote that came with this week's word in the illoannounce e-mail. It inspired me to consider a literal look at the struggle of learning to fly. We have lots of bluebird, cardinal, and swallow babies at our house each summer and it is always exhilarating when they finally leave their nests.

Click the picture to make it bigger.

Illustration Friday - Germs

2009-10-03T19:30:00.002-05:00

A Good Day

The surest way to keep your kids healthy and boost their immune system, is to let them eat a little dirt.

I was the female version of this kid when I was growing up, and aside from being accident prone, I am really a rather healthy adult. Age is starting to catch up with me though. I sure wish there was a cure for that.

Illustration Friday - Pattern or the PUT UP A CRANE Peace Project

2009-10-01T22:09:00.003-05:00

hand decorated paper origami crane

This is the first week since I started the self-imposed Illustration Friday assignments that I almost missed participating. I feel like I have a very good excuse for being so late this week. Besides grades being due for the 1st six weeks of school, I have initiated a somewhat ambitious project that I am trying to get not only my students, but the community involved in.

First a little background information. Last week a teacher at a nearby high school was stabbed to death by a student in his classroom. The exact motivation for this tragic event is still somewhat sketchy, but it impacted me deeply as I am sure it did many other students and teachers in this part of East Texas. In response to this heartbreaking incident, I decided to have my students make a positive statement to our community concerning their personal accountability for promoting peace, tolerance and understanding in our community. What I had initially intended to offer my own Art students, I have broadened to include the entire high school, I hope to continue to extend it even further into the school district and the community.

So here is what we are doing:
Participants are asked to take a 6x6 inch piece of copy paper, and write on one side of the paper, their thoughts, hopes, wishes and intent for promoting peace and tolerance in our community. After writing, they are asked to draw on the other side of the paper an image that relates to what they have just written. With my students, I talked about a lot of different traditional/cultural symbols for peace. Students are allowed to use one or more of these symbols in their drawn images if they wish. One well-known symbol that we talk about is folded origami cranes, and the story of how a wish is granted if you fold a thousand cranes. I tell the students that if we are of one mind and have essentially the same wish, that we as a group can have our wish granted as well. We then fold the written and drawn paper into origami cranes. We will string our cranes on fishing line and hang them as an art installation in the school. I encourage those who participate to imagine the power of a work of art in which so many people have the same goals and the same desires for our community. No one will be able to read what is written or see the entire drawn image, because it is all folded up inside the crane, but everyone will know its collective meaning. The strength of the message is in each individual crane.

I came up with a simple anagram for the title of the project. It helps us talk about connected themes that participants might write/draw about
P eace
U understanding
T olerance
U nity
P ersonal
A ccountability
C ommunity
R espect
A ltruism
N on-violence
E mpathy

I have it in my head that either the entire art installation, or maybe individual strands of cranes can be offered to other schools in the future to encourage them to participate along with us. We'll see how successful I am at getting that first 1000 cranes. We currently have a little over 200 finished cranes so we have a long way to go. I'll keep our progress posted here as we approach our goal.

The pattern on the paper for the crane above is supposed to be an olive branch design - another common symbol for peace.

Wish me luck!

Ukulele Lessons

2009-09-27T20:38:00.001-05:00

I had an impulse a couple of days ago and decided that I wanted to take up the ukulele. It seemed like just the kind of quirky cool thing that I needed to do at this already over committed point in my life. :) Did you know that you can learn how to play the ukulele on YouTube? I bought a tenor sized ukulele yesterday and I already have about half a dozen chords down. I can also play about 3 or 4 children's songs and "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles with only minor mistakes. My mother took up the ukulele for a while when I was a kid. Like all things, it must be genetic. Next song on my list to learn is "I'm Your's" by Jason Mraz.

This is a picture of the usual state my studio work table is in. I realized that the previous pictures I had put up were a tad misleading. Here I have been working on Artist Trading Cards of some of the pears from my pear tree. Our new (deaf) kitten Lola likes to be involved in making art. I'm not sure paint and white kittens are a safe combination, but she is too cute to shoo away.

Illustration Friday - Infinite

2009-09-22T18:09:00.003-05:00

Where does the infinite hide?

I'll tell you true, I cannot lie.

You'll find it there.

Look deep

down in the glistening depths

of a cat's eye.

This weeks IF submission had me stumped for a while. The infinite is a tricky thing to describe, and perhaps it is not a truly describable concept. Rather, it is something to be sought and understood according to the perspective of the individual. Anyway, I got very philosophical about the whole thing and this is ultimately what I ended up with. Below are some quotes that pushed me in this general direction.

Nature is full of infinite causes that have never occurred in experience. - Leonardo DaVinci
Nature is an infinite sphere whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. - Blaise Pascal
In natures infinite book of secrecy a little I can read. - Shakespeare

Click the picture to see it bigger.

More trading cards

2009-09-19T16:24:00.001-05:00

ColourLovers Challenge "Japan"

These are cards made for a group swap where swap members had to work from the same limited color pallet. The name of the pallet for my group was Japan, so I used that as a theme for my images. It could have been anything though. Color was the only restriction.

Illustration Friday - Welcome

2009-09-15T21:33:00.002-05:00

Papillon Welcome

You're home, You're home,You're home,You're home!

I'm so happy happy happy happy to see you!

You've been gone all day,

I didn't think I would ever see you again!

I can't believe you're home!

Welcome home!

I'm so happy happy happy happy to see you!

I LOVE YOU!

etc. and so on.... this is the somewhat ecstatic welcome home I get every day. Not in so many words of course , but in wags and wiggles and vertical bounces, it translates pretty closely. Now if I can just get the cat off of my laptop keyboard maybe I can finally post this weeks IF submission. :)

click pic to make it bigger.

Chimerical Critters ATC Swap

2009-09-09T19:05:00.001-05:00

Finally, I have finished the cards for the Chimerical Critter swap on Illustrated ATCs group site. There were some interesting request. Here is the list of combinations:

1. Unicorn - lady bug - tiger

2.Anteater - Reindeer - Bumblebee

3. Tiger - Monarch Butterfly - Lion fish

4. House cat - Ringtailed Lemur

5. Painted Lady Butterfly - Orchid - Birch tree

6. Kiwi bird - Lemur

It was a fun exercise and I can't wait to get my Toubsters in November

Illustration Friday - Strong

2009-09-08T20:41:00.004-05:00

mixed media on vellum

There were two quotes that inspired me for this week's IF theme.

The first one is:

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." - Frederick Douglass

And the second:

"Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong." - Winston Churchill

Another very quickly finished piece, completed within about two hours. If I hadn't gotten it done this evening, I am afraid I would have missed participating this week. So needless to say, I wish I could have spent more time on it, but isn't that always true.

I have nearly completed the cards for my Chimerical Critter ATC swap and will be posting those within a day or so. I originally misunderstood the instructions and thought I was to make six cards of the same animal. Instead, I was supposed to make one each of the animal combinations proposed by my swapmates. I'm glad I reread the instructions before I got started. It was much more fun to create six different critters than to do six versions of one "toubster". I will be receiving six toubsters in the mail from the other participants at the end of the swap. Fun!

Illustration Friday - Magnify

2009-09-01T19:14:00.002-05:00

Sure Sign of Old Age

My Illustration Friday submission this week is just a quick and dirty sketch in my moleskine. School is now well underway and I just couldn't find time do do something more finished. John left for India on Sunday and will be gone for a month, so Todd and I are holding down the fort by ourselves until he gets back. I guess I am moderately co-dependent, because I was none too happy about the length of his stay on this trip. But I do like to eat and make our house payment on time every month, so I feel guilty if I complain too much. You would think having been married for 22 + years that I would be happy to get rid of him for a while. :) I guess I must really love him, middle aged gut and all.

Illustration Friday: Caution

2009-08-24T21:46:00.003-05:00

"Swim at Your Own Risk!"

Here is my crack at Illustration Friday's topic "Caution." I had a lot of fun with the idea even though I'm not completely happy with the execution. I find that I am more prone to inking an illustration when I am not satisfied with the early results. I am more likely to keep it a simple watercolor or gouache painting if it is going well early in the process.

Today was the first day back at school, and so far it looks like I have a pretty good group of kids. For a first day activity we played a drawing game called "The Exquisite Corpse." It was a fun little collaborative assignment, that kept things light and easy. If you have never played it before, do a quick Google search to learn how to play and give it a try with some of your friends.

Illustration Friday- Wrapped

2009-08-18T14:50:00.006-05:00

"No Lulu! Bad Kitty!"

Click pic to make it bigger

This is illustration Friday submission #4. I felt a little rushed on this one, but I like the overall feel of the image. There are a lot of bright blue shadows on the TP that just got washed out in the scan.

Teachers are back at school this week getting ready for kiddos next Monday. It will only get busier as the school year gets going so I will have to figure out where this self-imposed assignment will fit in. Right now I am using the time that Todd is at Band practice to work on IF assignments, make artist trading cards and go to the gym. I am signed up for a series of illustrated cards based on a chimerical animal. Since I just did a project at art camp based on mixed up animals, I figured I would stick with the little Toucan/Lobster... "Toubster" that I already created. I will post the ATCs here when they are complete.

Welcome to my studio!

2009-08-11T15:09:00.005-05:00

This is my current working space looking surprisingly clean and organized. It is amazing how fast I can fill up this big table with art supplies, sketches, books, and 3 days worth of mail that hasn't made it to the trash. My studio space was supposed to be an out building that is next to the house, but the wasps, humidity and tendency for it to be used as a storage facility finally drove me back into the house. This space was our kid's game room, but since Todd is the last podling still home, we moved his TV and video games into Kelly's old room, and I finally have my own space again.

Illustration Friday: Impatience

2009-08-11T11:31:00.011-05:00

It takes ten to twelve days for a Monarch butterfly to emerge from it's chrysalis.

This is my 3rd Illustration Friday submission and even though I don't like to toot my own horn, this one is my favorite by far. Probably because the little boy so closely resembles my son Todd who is now 14. I am also including the original sketch that I drew yesterday. Sometimes I prefer the immediacy of the original idea even more than the finished piece.

Click on the pictures to see 'em bigger.

Illustration Friday: Modify

2009-08-02T21:23:00.004-05:00

...but what Julia really wants is A BUNNY!

This is my second submission for Illustration Friday. I had to get it done today because I have kids art camp every day this next week. It is not a paying gig, but it will bring in much needed art club money. I have to keep reminding myself that I love my high school students more than my summer break. :) I'll be getting up at 5:30. That's in the AM.

Click the pic to make it bigger.

Have a great week ya'll!

Illustration Friday: Idle

2009-07-28T17:19:00.001-05:00

"Idle Worship" click picture to see it bigger :)

This is my very first submission for Illustration Friday! Hopefully it will be the first of many as I really want to improve my illustration skills and this is a perfect opportunity. I think the pun is obvious, I just hope it is also original. :) I haven't checked IF yet to see what everyone else is doing. By the time I had finished this, I realized that it looks a whole lot like my brother Tom and me some 25 years ago.

This is a test...

2009-07-27T23:33:00.000-05:00

of the emergency broadcast system. This is only a test. Should this have been an actual emergency....

2009-07-27T23:09:00.000-05:00