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.
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.
and I am soooooo excited!
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I bound the two boards together
with a nail on one side and a hemp tie on the other.
Then, I spray painted old silver locker hooks from home resource
and attached them to the bottom board.
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I have found myself with a few extra days off from work
{Wednesday afternoon through Monday}
On Wednesday, I thought it best if I try to cram as much illustration work and promotion into the next five days as I possibly could.
Upon telling a dear friend my plans, she replied~
"Make sure you take at least one day for you."
I thought, perhaps, she did not get it.
Illustration is for me.
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Her words stuck with me the rest of Wednesday and into Thursday morning.
What would I choose to do today if I did not choose to draw?
Aha~
Rip my house apart and then put it back together!
So I did.
{although it is not quite back together}
One project for the day was to raise my closet bar so that I could fit a dresser underneath my hanging clothes.
In order to do this, removing an old shelf was necessary.
When I took the shelf out, I found that the boards were old stairsteps!
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I love owning an older home.
It always seems like when you do something nice for her
{show a little love}
she will give back a gift~
a thank you.
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I think that these steps
will look great hanging on the wall above my headboard.
Perhaps when I dream I will end up on the 4th floor?
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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...
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."
I have been running around so much the last couple of weeks,
that I neglected the flowers in my house.
When I finally had a chance to take a breath and look around,
the "flowers" in my vases were in a sad state of repair.
So, I stopped by Habitat earlier in the week and picked up a few treats.
these mossy little stems {below} caught my eye.
They worked perfectly in our bedroom bud vases.
I also picked out these delicate wax flowers {above} for the office.
They smell absolutely amazing!
And finally, I grabbed a handful of poms.
{not 100% sure of the name, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong}
I always pick them up~
They seem to last forever.
Often, they still look fresh in the vase after three weeks.
I also like to put them in my hair.
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The little bit of sunshine that we have had in Missoula the past couple of days has been wonderful! I find myself longing for spring, but needing to remember that it is still February.
{Hoorah} Storage for wood, art & tools. Finally. Plus, I have the original Ida watching over everything. *
Ahh... My poor computer workstation. So messy, that I don't dare show you. Hanging above are my great-great uncles, and a doll that my grandfather won for my great-grandmother at the carnival when he was a boy. *
I like to take pictures of my table when I can see it. Lately, it has been rare. k*
p.s. I don't use a Sharpie to create my work. I was just busy addressing envelopes. All ink work is done using Sakura Pigma Micron Pens. {archival quality}
