What’s Wrong?

Synesthesia- the ability to see sounds as color.

Multiple Personality Disorder.

Tweet Tweet

Akron, Ohio-based band The Black Keys.

Notecards #2

More notecards.

My Gifts To You

A project done for my bookmaking class. Wanting someone is such a creepy way to feel, but enjoyable at the same time. I wish I didn’t feel like this, but I bask in it’s strange glow. I apologize for the poor image quality- I’m scannerless at the moment, so this is the best I could do with my camera and some weak sunlight.

So, here it is: My Gifts To You

For you, my little finger- I use it to act graceully.

For you, a lock of my hair- frequenty dyed, but still soft.

For you, my canine teeth- their bluntness makes my smile warm.

For you, my left eardrum- it absorbs everything you say.

For you, seven of my ribs- you will have to protect my organs now.

For you, my aortic arch- it sustains me when you do not want to.

I wish you would give me a piece of yourself.

Notecards

I’ve been really taken with drawing on small pieces of paper lately. I have a tiny notebook stuffed full of these little cards; these three are some of my favorites so far.

Mr Cooper, how I adore thee.

My friend from Japan said this reminded him of home.

Aesop, Revised

Pt. 1:

A Vixen who was taking her babies out for an airing one balmy morning, came across a Lioness, with her cub in arms. “Why such airs, haughty dame, over one solitary cub?” sneered the Vixen. “Look at my healthy and numerous litter here, and imagine, if you are able, how a proud mother should feel.” The Lioness gave her a squelching look, and lifting up her nose, walked away, saying calmly, “Yes, just look at that beautiful collection. What are they? Foxes! I’ve only one, but remember, that one is a Lion.”

Pt. 2:

The vixen and her babies jumped the lioness and her cub, and proceeded to eat them. Sometimes, quantity is better than quality.

Ah, my first big Illustration class assignment. I think the title of the post explains it quite well, really; Aesop, revised. The only conditions were that it be a painting, and that there was a 3D element to the piece. It was really nice to be able to combine painting and sewing, I’ve been wondering over the past few weeks if I should experiment in using them together. This project was the perfect reason to start playing.

Run of the Fiery Horse

Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts. I started listening earlier this year during my printmaking class, where I would sit for six hours at a time carving a little piece of linoleum. Pretty soon, I started listening to podcasts all the time; on the bus, on BART, walking to the grocery store, and even while I fell asleep. Any time I was by myself, I had my headphones on, listening. While I appreciate things like NPR’s Fresh Air, I love listening to fiction- Escape Pod, Pseudopod, The Drabblecast, and The Classic Tales Podcast are some of my favorites. So you can understand why I was excited when it was announced that on April 1st, Escape Artists (creators of Escape Pod and Pseudopod) would launch a third podcast, PodCastle, that would feature fantasy fiction.

I soon fell in love with the sound of Rachel Swirsky’s voice, and wasn’t disappointed with the stories she read. By the third week, PodCastle had presented to me my new favorite piece of short fiction, Run of the Fiery Horse, by Hilary Moon Murphy.

And this is where I wished I had a scanner, this photo doesn’t do it justice. I’m a little on the fence about this painting still. By itself, I think it’s just fine, but as an illustration based on Run of the Fiery Horse, it doesn’t do Murphy’s story any nice favors. I’ll continue in the future to try to illustrate the story, so I consider this simply a noble first attempt. I do like how Tsi Sha’s scales came out.

The Dead Girl

Based on The Dead Girl’s Wedding March by Cat Rambo.

For I am a Poor, and a Wretched Boy…..

….a chimbley, chimbley sweep.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

Veins, Hearts, and Ovaries! Oh My!

This was my final project in my textiles class last semester- Subversive Surfaces. I was originally inspired by damask patterns, but it almost became some kind of floral, William Morris-style thing. There were a few steps in creating the piece; first, I dyed the fabric that base, red-brown color. Next, I screenprinted on a thickened thiox (a chemical that acts like bleach, but is mild enough to use on delicate fabrics like silk without melting them) mixture to create the creamy, broad shapes. Then, I screenprinted the top pattern of veins and organs. The final touch was a little bit of pink on the hearts. All together, this probably took me around 20 hrs to finish all 2 yrds.

Here’s a close-up:

So…. I obviously had problems with registration. Those pieces do not match up. But that’s okay. I’m still very happy with the results, especially because it was only my second time screenprinting on fabric. I’ll just have to do better next time.