Summer School and Art Shows

I recently found out that I got A's in both my classes from last spring semester! (English Literature and Education Technology) Yay! The class I'm taking now, Foundations of Education, is almost over and it seems like it just started! But for summer school that is normal because summer school classes are boot camps that are short and quick. I just took a big test and wrote an essay about my philosophy of education. Now I have only one more week of class then it's over! I have to do a group presentation with two other classmates on the subject of Character Education. Then I have a take-home test to take and it will be done!

I have been finding time, in between reading and homework, to continue working on my Beauty and the Beast portrait art, which is also going to have some collage in it. It is very close to being done and that is the most exciting part! I am particularly interested in putting together the collage part of this portrait, since this is something I don't do very often. It will be like exploring new territory and that is always interesting for an artist!

Oh, I have SO much to do this Memorial Day weekend! I have to prepare for the Art and Roses show. Then next Friday I am driving up to Stanley, Idaho to restock more of my art work to sell in their gift shop this summer. The month of June is going to be loco crazy busy!

Beauty & The Beast Portrait Art

This past week I discovered an old CD I had not played in about ten years. It is a CD with music and poetry that was from the 1980's Television show, Beauty and the Beast, with Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton. (Yes, I was a huge fan of that show.) I had forgotten how beautiful and inspiring the music & poetry was on this CD. My English Literature course at school rekindled my love for poetry. Anyway, I enjoyed this CD so much that it was an artistic muse that inspired me to come up with a great idea for a "Beauty and the Beast" portrait. This portrait will be colored pencil with a collage background, so I guess it would be considered mixed media. I have posted a photo that I will be using as a reference for my portrait.

I spent Friday night and almost the entire Saturday working on it and it is 80% done! It has been a long time since I have actually taken the time to block out an entire day for nothing but my artwork. I had so much fun! Usually, if it is artwork, it is related to my school classes, or something that pertains to my art business, Chick Artistic Creations. This time it was just for me. I need to find the time to do this kind of thing more often!

So far, this portrait is turning out fantastic! I learned something very interesting. I am comparing this portrait to one I did of Catherine & Vincent in the late 1980's and I can see a difference. While the portrait I did in the 1980's is good, this one is fantastic! I can see the progress I have made in my artistic skill over the past 20 years! Sometimes personal improvement and development happens so slowly, that you don't really notice it until you compare the 'before and after' picture.

Another reason I decided to do this portrait now is because I will be teaching a portrait workshop over the next couple of Saturdays in May. It has been ages since I did a portrait and I needed to experience the process of portraiture so I could explain some of the techniques I used to my students.

One of the main messages in Beauty and the Beast is 'follow your heart' even if you have to take a risk. Reconnecting with this show and doing this portrait has been a healing experience for me. Making a living as an artist is 'taking a risk' but it is the right choice for me!

Unusual Art Commission--a Rock Animal, a B-17 and the Smokey Mountains!

Today I got an order that came from the Women's Show exhibit I did last Saturday. A client came over and bought some of my prints and also commissioned me to do a few things! I will be making a Stone Critter rock animal of a Boston Bull terrier. I will also be composing a pencil sketch that will include the Smokey Mountains and a B-17 plane flying over them. The final sketch/composition will be used as a template that will be etched out onto a grave marker. I don't think I have ever had a art commission request quite like this before, but I'm excited to be doing it.

The Women's Show

The Women's Show of Idaho was last Saturday. I enjoyed the show, but sales were really, really down and almost non-existent. Most vendors did not do much business. I know I didn't. However, I made some contacts that may lead to future art students or portrait commissions. Besides, their was no booth fee, so it was no loss, financially. This was the very first time for this show and I think it could have used more advertising. This may be a continuing once-a-year show. If it is, I hope it continues to grow and pull in more people looking to spend money!

School is over for the semester. I have this entire week off before summer school class starts May 17th. I plan to catch up on some projects at home, including yard work, and do some art work that is not school-related.

Spring Semester 2010 Is Over!

Wow! Where has the time gone? I am completing my last few assignments and projects for my college classes. The spring semester of 2010 will officially be over for me as of Wednesday, May 5th! (Cinco De Mayo Day) Then starting May 17th I start a new summer school class called Foundations of Education. And once again, the government is paying for it! Yay! However, I do have to purchase my own books this time.

I have been pushing to finish up my class work because this Saturday, May 8th, I will be exhibiting my art at the Women's Show of Idaho. And I have some more rock animals to paint and some art prints to prepare, etc. I figure I will take Wednesday through Friday and concentrate just on this show.

The only art work I have been doing this past week has been making origami Star Books. It is mostly folding, cutting and using lots of glue. This is a new item that I will be selling at the Women's Show and also at the Sawtooth Artisan Gift Shop in Stanley, Idaho. Star books can be used as a hanging decoration, or as a place to store flat items and keepsakes. They are really cool looking! I learned how to make them last year when I volunteered as a teacher's aide at the Boise Art Museum's Spring Art Camp for kids and in my Art Methods class at BSU.