This past year...

I have tried writing a big long post to explain my last year, but I am finding it impossible. So many things happened and they are all so intertwined that it could easily be a novel and not a short blog post. So, I'll give you a list. I am sure in the future I will touch on a lot of things in this list, but for right now, it is all I have in me.

1. Death
2. Divorce
3. New Town
4. New Job

So, there it is. The list.

I've barely picked up a pencil since my grandfather died. Six months without a creative outpouring. I am putting this immense pressure on myself to create something different. My thoughts are- my life is different and this should be reflected in my work.

And that's were I stand.

I would love to open up a dialogue about any of this, so please feel free to ask questions, comment, or share about any similar experiences...

the need to create

While I am not looking to discover the next radical miracle, I do strive to live my life with constant curiosity and wonder. One of the things that I love the most about myself is my imagination. My hands and mind are truly at the peak of happiness when something is taking shape in their care~ whether it be a new piece of artwork, or a daydream. Wanting to infuse my desire to create into nearly every aspect of my life, I am, naturally, always looking for new uses for found objects.

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Yesterday, two wine crate panels caught my eye at the antique store. I thought it would be fun to turn them into jewelry racks like the one I created back in September. 

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I used varnish, black screws, hemp rope and a drill to turn my wooden crate panels into a wonderful way to display some of my favorite jewelry pieces.

But,  

the most important part to me~ 

Making them made my heart smile.
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a tough day at the office....

Yesterday, I was working on my submission for the Lipstick & Rouge juried show at the Second Space Gallery.

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I was nearly finished {and working on the border} when I made a line that I didn't like. I tried to fix it~ and the second line was worse than the first.  As I was working to fix the second line, I began to have a familiar feeling~ a bad hair day.

You know the feeling~ standing in front of the mirror, getting ready for {insert big event/meeting here} and your hair won't cooperate. Pull it up, put it down, tuck a hair here, pin a hair there... before you know it, your hair is a sad mess and you just should have left it alone in the first place.

Well, this is exactly what happened to my poor piece yesterday. Of course, the third fix looked worse than the second, the fourth worse than the third. By the time I was forty-five minutes deep into trying to "fix" the illustration, I was two seconds away from covering the whole thing up with black ink.

This is new to me~ I have never completely destroyed {as in, covering the entire thing with black ink} a piece before.  When working on art, I try not to acknowledge mishaps as mistakes. I take a moment to remember that I am not fully in charge of what I create, and drawing on wood does lend itself to certain imperfections from time to time.

I took a deep breath, and knew in my heart that I couldn't destroy this girl in front of me.  I had invested time in her~ she hadn't done anything to disappoint me. It was just the background that I was displeased with; so I got rid of it. The table saw came out and my 10.25 x 9.25-inch piece became  5 x 9.25 inches.

I pulled the ink and woodburning lower on the illustration and added stars~ it became a wonderful dark sky. Then I added more burning to the bottom, around her droopy socks and the aspen trees & poppies.

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 {the color of my childhood}

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And the piece was happy, and the illustrator was happy...

What are some of the ways you choose to deal with things when your work isn't going your way? Do you set it aside? Work through it?

the desk

Furniture provides me with a great deal of inspiration. When I see a beautiful, well-crafted piece, my heart starts beating rapidly and I get weak in the knees.

I do not discriminate between types of furniture~ I love dressers as equally as I love chairs; tables are on the same level as bookshelves. The one thing that separates one from the other is, of course, design.

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*sometimes I wish I lived in a home larger than nine hundred square feet,
but only so that I could collect more furniture*

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A friend sent me a link to a terrific short from Aaron Trinder about "the desk" which you can see below. Due to the upsurge in mobility of technology, many people feel that the traditional use of the desk is coming to an end. Why be tethered to a slab of wood {or plastic, glass, metal~ your preference} when you can get your work done anywhere? Local coffee shops, park benches, and living room sofas are now fair game.

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Why do you feel that the desk is necessary/obsolete?

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Below, you will see the evolution of my workspace throughout the creation of a piece. Later, I will share with you an image of the same space after the end of a day.  I always need to start with a clean surface, but it certainly never ends up that way.

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hello, my name is stella latwinski

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Q. {I thought you disappeared. Where were you all summer?}

A. I would love to say that I was off in some foreign country, hiking around with a backpack and a sketchpad. The truth is, I was working what I consider a {big girl} job.  After graduation, in May, I was hired as an economist for an environmental consulting firm.

Q. {You are an economist?}

A. Yes, I studied economics for both my undergraduate and master's degrees.

Q. {So, are you working as both an economist and an illustrator?}

A. Two weeks ago I was presented with the most amazing opportunity to go back to my art full time.  While I enjoyed my work as an economist, and those that I worked with, I do have to admit that I missed my wood and pencils. I chose to dive back in to my life as a full-time artist.

Q. {I have to ask~ why did you change your name? Who is Stella Latwinski?}

A. I apologize for the abrupt name change for those of you that have been following me as k*smith.  The truth is, now that I am 100% focused on art as a career, I needed to set myself apart from Unconventional Ida a bit.  Unconventional Ida is just one of my story lines, and I have always wanted the freedom to break free and create work that is not confined to Ida's world.  The problem with using k*smith, or even my full name~ Kelly Smith is that it is an extremely common name. There is even another portrait artist by the name of Kelly Smith. I needed a name that would stand out both in searches, and in people's minds. I chose to honor my great-grandmother and take her name~ Stella Latwinski. Going forward, I will be creating work under this name.

Q. {Does that mean Unconventional Ida is going to disappear?}

A. Absolutely not. The story is going to get even better.  Now that I have a clear focus for Ida, I am excited to bring back more stories and characters!  I even have plans for a monthly periodical.

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I just want to say thank you to those who stuck around and didn't give up on me during my brief disappearance in the art world.  I am so excited to be back!  Please feel free to send any comments or questions my way, either through this blog or via e-mail~ unconventionalida.{at}.gmail.{dot}.com.

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Have a lovely day~

Stella L.

evolution of the ghost

I have had quite a few people ask me what materials I use, and how my pieces are made. Here is a fun little blog post to answer some of the questions I have recieved while following the creation of my newest piece~ "The Ghost"

Q. {What kind of wood do you use?}

A. I use various types of recycled plywood panels. Right now I have cherry, hickory, fir, maple, and pine in stock.

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Q. {You say your wood is recycled.  What do you mean by that?}

A. A lot of my pieces were rescued from my father-in-law's cabinet shop. During the brief time that I worked there, I noticed that there were tons of usable pieces that would make excellent canvases.  The wood scraps were too small for any further cabinet use, but just the right size for me. I am so glad that I was able to save them from the fire! I also received a generous donation from one of our local lumber companies. They had some large scraps of ply that had been damaged. All that my husband and I needed to do was cut them down, and discard of the damaged parts. So, every piece of wood that I work on was saved from the fire pit & discard.

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Q. {What types of pen & pencil do you use?}

A. I use Sakura Pigma Micron pens in varying sizes, and Prismacolor colored pencils.  I love that the Pigma Micron pens are archival, so that my lines will stay crisp and clean for years to come.  My Prismacolor set was a Christmas gift from my husband a couple of years ago.  The colors that come from these pencils are incredibly rich and wonderful to work with.

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Q. {What is your favorite type of wood to work on?}

A. I am always spoiled by cherry. It is so easy to draw on, and soaks up the color beautifully.

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Q. {Have you ever made a nerdy and clearly amateur start-to-finish YouTube video of your work? Perhaps one that only uses photos and has no music?}

A. How did you know?  You can watch it below. 

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Q. {Is there anything you do to make you feel that the piece is "complete"?}

A. Absolutely!  I feel like I have five steps to finishing all of my work.  After the illustration is complete, I like to use a woodburning tool around the edge.  It creates a frame for the work, and gives it an old portrait feel. I then use ink to darken the sides of the panel.  This way, there is absolutely no need for a frame.  Next,  I spray the piece with a fixative to protect the color.  I love the way the fixative brings out the grain of the wood, and creates a smooth semi-gloss finish.  A hole is then drilled in the back so that the piece may be cleanly hung on the wall.  And finally, I title and sign the back of the illustration.

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Meet "The Ghost."

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Q. {Did you just say that you drill a hole in the back after you've finished the illustration?}

A. Yes.  It has to be one of the dumbest things that I do.  I have yet to drill through a finished piece, but the day I do it will be very sad~ and my own fault.  I need to schedule a day to just drill holes in the back of all of my blank panels. But that doesn't sound like very much fun...

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Q. {Where can I buy your work?}

A. I have an etsy shop called Unconventional Ida  where you can find my:

Original ACEOs, prints, postcards, hand-illustrated moleskine journals, pins, pocket mirrors, & magnets.  I also have a small handful of originals, and older work that I have placed on sale listed there.

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The majority {and newest} of my originals are available at my Big Cartel shop.

I am constantly updating both sites. Later this evening I will be listing "The Ghost."

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Thanks for following me on this journey!

I hope that you have a lovely day~