Mid-Terms, Homework and Project Runway

I am SO busy with homework right now! I just found out that I have a mid-term this week for 3-D art class. It is a take-home mid-term. My assignment is to make some sort of sculpture out of soap (Dove or Ivory). The soap is given to us in class on Tuesday and it is due Thursday. So we only have Tuesday evening and all day Wednesday to work on it. I did a practice sculpture with some Dove soap this weekend because my sculpturing skills are not nearly as good as my drawing and painting skills. You should have seen my art room! There were so many soap shavings it looked like it had snowed in there! Once we get our soap Tuesday, we have to make the sculpture from that piece of soap and we can't add to it if we make a mistake. There are even going to be judges and prizes given. This is starting to feel like Project Runway. "Don't bore the judges" and "Make it work" as Tim Gunn would say.

I decided that I am going to make a bird out of soap. We have to make some sort of base for our sculpture to sit on, so I made a bird's nest. I didn't want to buy one, so I made one out of a pair of my husband's old leather moccasin slippers, some grapevines & twigs and some soft downy material I bought at a craft store a while back. The nest looks like the real thing too.

I am also going to have to step it up a bit for my ceramics class. I have about five more ceramic projects to complete before the end of the semester, which I think is December 15th. I went in last week during one of my days off and did some extra work. So folks, the pressure is on. I don't think I could fit in time for a part-time job now, even if i did get one!

Simply Cats 3-D Art Project

I have been very busy this weekend finishing my next project for 3-D art class. It is due next Tuesday, so I spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday working on it. I just have a few things to do Monday and it is done. My project is a minature version of a cat shelter that I did volunteer work for this summer, Simply Cats. It was made from a book folding pattern that I turned into three separate rooms that housed the cats. Simply Cats has a total of about 11 rooms, but I didn't have time to create all of them, so I just highlighted three. Simply Cats groups certain types of cats together in the same room. The fat, overweight cats are in one room, the kittens are in a room all together, and the cats with allergies are put together in another room. These are the three cat rooms that I represented in my 3-D project. I happen to love minatures and this was a perfect opportunity to indulge in one of my interests. My mother had the same love of minatures. She use to make doll houses and put minature fixtures inside the houses. I guess that is where I got attraction for all things minature came from. I have a small collection of minatures from my vintage Barbie collection and some other nic-nacs, so I used a few of these items for this project. I really didn't have to buy hardly supplies for this piece. I had most of them at home.

Since this is 3-D, I can't really put it into the scanner right now so it can be seen. But I will take a picture of it and post it later. It turned out really fantastic and it was so much fun to do. I'm pretty sure I will get an 'A' on this project. It's kind of like those shows on T.V., Project Runway or Design Star, where you think you have created the perfect project or design, but it all depends on what the judges think--or in this case, what the teacher thinks.

Colored Pencil Art Workshop Teaching Job!

This weekend I taught an art workshop at the Vineyard Vine Arts Studio. The workshop was on colored pencil and turpenoid. I had a total of four students, which isn't bad for this economy. I had so much fun and the students did too. There is another workshop next Saturday that all four students will be coming too. It is wonderful to have this opportunity because so many art schools and art programs have been closing their doors due to the economy and that really sucks when teaching art is what you want to do for a living. What is really a blessing is that I am actually getting paid to teach these workshops! How cool is that!

I finally have some breathing room to get back to some of my personal art projects, like the commissioned portrait I received in September. Fortunately there is no deadline on this commission, so there is really no pressure. I just want it to be done before the Christmas season starts to kick in. I am also motivated to finish it so I can get paid.

Ephemeral Art at Payette Lake

When I was in McCall by the beautiful Payette Lake, I happen to be on a beach with a lot of things like pine needles, pine cones, bird feathers, etc., so I used these items to make a little sculpture arrangement right there on the beach next to some rocks. I have posted a photo of the sculpture I made and another one of me enjoying my time on the beach of the Payette Lake.

There is an artist by the name of Andy Goldsworthy who does this same type of nature sculpture. He uses objects found in nature and puts them together to make an amazing design and leaves them out there in the open. He calls it ephemeral art because it is art that is meant to be temporary. It is art that is made from nature and will eventually be destroyed by nature and the elements. I learned about his art in my 3D art class at school and I think I would like to follow this tradition whenever and wherever I go on vacation.

Butterfly Art From McCall

This piece was made from both butterflies and feathers

When I was in McCall a few weeks ago I visited a gallery, Granite Mountain Nature Gallery, that had beautiful and unusual butterfly art. I had never seen anything like it before. I finally got my film developed and wanted to post photos of this butterfly art. It is really amazingly!

Garden City Library Art Show

My art show at the Garden City Public Library started last Friday. This show will be for the entire month of October. I have 14 framed paintings and a basket of 8X10 prints for sale. I am exhibiting with a fellow artist and good friend of mine, Lisa Marten, who does impressionistic landscapes and abstract collages. To see more of her art, go to www.revelatorart.blogspot.com.

The Garden City Library is located in Garden City on the corner of Glenwood and Marigold.