A plea to non-vegetarians…

First let me say that I really have nothing against eating meat. I used to love the Memphis BBQ burger from Carls Jr. If you have not tried this burger DO IT! Stop reading and drive to your nearest Carls Jr and order it. This was the best burger I ever ate! Needless to say, I am vegetarian for nutritional purposes only.

Anywho, Today is my nephew’s 7th birthday and my mom and sister have been preparing food. The problem is, they know I am a vegetarian but they never seem to take this into consideration. The last time this happened I  ate cornbread, just cornbread. So on the Fourth of July I made dinner which included potato salad, ambrosia salad, grilled veggies, corn on the cob, mushroom burgers as well as regular burgers and hotdogs (for my family). Today for my nephew’s birthday my mom made fried chicken and spinach with bacon.

My plea to anyone who has vegetarian friends or family members…. Please, please buy a veggie tray or some potato salad for us. They even sell individual salads ready-to-eat.  Just that small token makes a huge difference. Come on people, can’t we all just get along?

Couldn’t Wait!!

TA DAH!!! This is a rough draft of the party invitations mentioned in the last post.

I googled the Halo picture then went to Dafont.com for the halo font. I used Gimp which is free “photoshop” and I love it. I added the text to the picture which was simple. The hard part was making the blue part with my son’s name and age. I will try and explain it carefully…

First I wrote his name like normal and sized it to fit.

Next I added the “o” which looks like the logo “o” BUT I erased the center part.

I then typed in his age and sized that to fit inside the logo. I then merged THIS and only THIS layer down. That is what attaches it to the logo. Don’t worry about the “th” yet.

I typed in “birthday” and sized it.

Now here is the tricky part. I did each layer separately but its the same process for all the parts.

I selected the text layer name then selected “alpha to selection”: you should get marching ants around the text only.

Then I chose the gradient tool and chose blue foreground to white background. I clicked on top of the “J” to the bottom of the “J” to make the gradient.

Do this for the “logo age” and “birthday” parts

I then added the “th” in blue (without gradient) and sized it to fit.

Save the picture as the xpg (gimp default) so you can change it later by adding the time, place, etc.

When its time to print these export as jpeg!!  That way you can manipulate it as an actual picture.

Alright, that’s all for now… I just had to share my excitement!

Next project…

My pieces I did for ceramics… The mask I did for show. It kinda reminds me of a naked mole rat but that’s how it is with glazing sometimes. The hand was actually supposed to be a change bowl but it looks way better as a remote holder. I still need to fabricate some  metal claws for the hand because it is supposed to be Wolverine’s hand. But what I am most excited about is my next project! My boy’s birthday is coming up in October and he usually chooses a theme. This year? He wants a Halo party.

If you don’t know what it is it’s a video game that has futuristic soldiers killing aliens. Well, I looked and looked and I cant find the usual plates, cups, balloons party pack. In fact there is virtually nothing. What I did find was invitations and some banners that are Halo-themed but these are made by fans who sell them…. sketchy! Here comes the project: I am going to Gimp some Halo-themed items and print them at the local Kinkos or wherever I can find that is cheap and easy.

Sounds easy right? Maybe, hopefully… keep your fingers crossed! If anyone has some ideas that are feasible and does not involve some obscure website that wants my credit card info then please feel free to leave a comment. I will keep y’all in the loop about how it goes.

Freedom!

Ta Dah!! These are Star Wars prints made from my lino-cut project mentioned a couple of posts ago. It turned out insanely awesome! This was my first time trying this technique but I really enjoyed it. The lines turned out crisp and clean, the hyper speed stars look great…. Seriously I love it! I printed the positive and negative using black ink on gray paper than silver ink on black paper. I am going to get them matted and framed together asap. I also did some experimenting with duct tape paper. If you haven’t seen this yet its basically an 8×10 sticker that comes in different patterns. So I bought the holographic print of duct tape paper and did a print.

Anywho, I started this blog as part of a class requirement but I now have followers, THANK YOU, so I will definitely try to keep on the ball and write things here. It will also keep me motivated to create new pieces to write about. Btw, my son’s bootcamp has started, although we have started with reading comprehension and math since school is starting soon. But don’t worry, art is definitely coming soon!! I’m going to start him off with a lesson in still-life drawing. Blocks and maybe a soda can (he isn’t allowed to have soda, so maybe drinking it after will be an incentive, lol.) Nothing to discouraging of course, just the basics. I can’t wait!

Freedom!! Almost…

Today is the final day of summer classes and boy am i tired! My hands hurt, my butt hurts and my brain hurts! LOL! This morning i made a print of my Millenium Falcon print block. It turned out great! So you will have to stay tuned to see the pics when i upload them in a bit. In a few minutes i will be presenting my portfolio of pieces created for my Art Pratices class.

The pic above is part of a papercut series of shadow puppets created for said art practices class. I love the way my pegasus came out. I really like how the wings but cutting the paper with an exacto was really horrible. I still don’t have feeling in two of my fingers, ha! Well its that time…. last class, here i come!

The night before finals…

‘Twas the night before finals and all over the desk

This creature was stirring, studying for a test.

The pictures were taken, the notes copied by hand

While books were splayed open to pages of faraway lands.

With my son on the sofa and I in my chair,

Frazzled and tired, nearly pulling out my hair.

Then out of the blue a voice is heard talking,

I jumped from my chair to see who was stalking.

Over to the window I shuffled in slippers,

Peeked through the curtains and checked my pants zipper.

The clouds of the storm had passed without slight,

The lightning and thunder were no longer in sight.

Then lo and behold there I spied a stray dog,

Chasing my mom’s cat at a wonderful jog.

No collar was seen, a mongrel for sure,

I thought I saw foam at the mouth of the cur.

Faster than bats straight from “down under” they ran,

The kitty on walls, the dog tripping on cans.

Oh kitty! Oh! Kitty! Kitty good thing you’re slim!

No doggy! No! Doggy! No doggy, leave him!

Through the back fence with fast little paws,

Not the trash! NOT THE TRASH! Not the trash, awwww!

The last straw was the trash as I walked out my front door,

Where I picked up the can and swept up the floor.

I yelled at the dog and shooshed the cat in,

Slumped back to my desk and picked up my pen.

And then, to my utter dismay, a knock on my door

I got up again, spilling papers to the floor.

I peeked through the window and turned the doorknob,

Through the door burst my boyfriend by the name of Bob.

He had shorts to his knees and a hoodie so soft

And his hair, full of gel, standing aloft.

A baggie of food he had clenched in his hand,

A midnight snack from a place called Burgerland!

The fries: How they smelled! The soda: easy ice!

I kissed my boyfriend on the cheek, he’s ever so nice!

His lips, how they smirked, then slightly parted,

And I knew in a second I shouldn’t have started!

His hands roamed around and fell to my butt,

His kisses were felt with my eyes fully shut.

Before I knew it, his hands on my zipper,

My clothes were off faster than a Friday night stripper.

We went to my bed, a word hardly was spoken

Covers were thrown, bed nearly broken.

As I was drifting to sleep, with my head on his chest

I said to myself, “DANG-IT-ALL! BOB,  I FORGOT ABOUT MY TEST!!”

* I love ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, can you tell?

Why Star Wars? Why not?!!!

A lot of people wonder why I am influenced by Star Wars so much. So I am writing to tell you…

My father loved Star Wars.

It’s as simple as that. I was born in the Star Wars era and my father was crazy about it. Since he was a fan my mother became one also. One of my earliest memories is wearing a Bespin Leia costume for Halloween. My brother was Darth Vader. My mother sewed my costume and she also put my brothers costume together using trash bags. I get a lot of my creativity and ingenuity from my mom.

When I watch Star Wars I am transported to a time when things were simpler. My family has changed so much since then. Especially since my father died when I was 4.  I see the movie and suddenly my father is sitting next to me, laughing and enjoying it with me. I try to incorporate that love of life and wonder in my family now. Even going so far as to not let my son watch Empire Strikes Back until he was old enough to understand the twist, “Luke, I am your father.” The moment my son saw that was priceless.

There are many other movies that also influence me. One being the Dino DeLaurentis epic, Dune.

I remember my mom reading that book when I was little and I thought it was the biggest book in the whole world, lol. I didn’t even consider myself “grown up” until I had read Dune. When the movie came out we had to see it and I loved it. My mom and I still quote the movie when we are together.

I like the fact that I incorporate movies into my art. Maybe someone out there has a similar story, a reason that they love the movies I do. When they see a piece of my art they are drawn inward and remember the good times in their lives. They also share a piece of my life and my family without even knowing it.

Late nights… the sanctuary of momdom

Once again it’s late and I’m awake working on art projects. I love it though because it is nice and cool. I don’t like working in the desert heat because I get frustrated quickly. Besides, I was born in Spain and being awake late just seems normal. There is also the fact that I don’t hear, “Mom, I’m hungry. Mom can I play a video game? Mom can I watch a movie? Mom can I go play outside?”
Late at night I am no longer “Mom.” I am ME. This is the time that I can focus on my thoughts and put my full effort into whatever piece I am working on. Speaking of which…
Tonight I finished a linoleum carving for my intro to studio class. It is an 8×10 piece using the pull technique of carving. I liked this technique rather than using the pushing tools because I had better control of my cuts and I didn’t end up gouging any fingers! Of course it is once again Star Wars themed. Funny story about this one. I was looking for carving ideas and had decided on Boba Fett with a Merc symbol behind him, then I saw the Falcon. I fell in love and showed a classmate, asking her opinion since she has had printmaking experience. She told me it was a great picture but it would be to hard for me to do. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!! I really, really dislike it when someone tells me that I cannot do something. Therefore I chose the Falcon and gave up Boba for the time being. I have not made an official print yet, that will happen Tuesday in class, so I am eagerly waiting to see the results.

What did I do wrong?

Today  while getting ready to go to an art reception my boy said something profound. He told me that he didn’t want to go because he “didn’t like art”. Talk about a staggering blow! I didn’t know what to say. Was it something I said? Something I did? He certainly knows that I have been going to school these past couple of years to get an art degree because I want to teach art. I knew that in choosing a teaching path I would encounter difficult students, but in my own home? I couldn’t believe it.

Needless to say he still came with me to the reception. This wasn’t the first time and he knew that he had to pick out his favorite piece and tell me why he liked it. He chose an installation that hung from the ceiling made of glass disks resembling water. He couldn’t tell me why he liked it and I didn’t want to push.

We talked after the reception about why he didn’t like art and he said that it was because he wasn’t “good at it.” Now, I’ve known this little boy for 11 years and not once did I ever tell him he wasn’t a good artist. Even if it wasn’t good I would still scan it into the computer because I love his imagination. The story that was associated with the picture was sometimes better than the drawing! (Think: Raptors helping people defeat zombies.) If it isn’t scan-able it’s hung in our hallway of fame, but every drawing is loved.

I think the real problem is that his ideas are bigger than his ability right now and it’s more frustrating than anything else. There have been plenty of times that I felt the same way. Today was an experience and eye opener. I have decided to take these couple of weeks after school ends and do a mini drawing boot camp with my son. Hopefully I can foster his imagination and dissipate the anger. If it doesn’t work out than I will chalk it up to “pre-teen moodiness” and try again when he is a little older.

Color wheel face off!!

So, these are the color wheels that I was dreading to make. The 48 color wheel used up a lot of brain space in order to match the original. Although it turned out great the requirements did not give any wiggle room for the imagination. In all honesty it felt like a “busy” project. It did turn out great looking and I am glad I did it but…. I really enjoyed the simple color wheel assigned by my other teacher. Her only requirements? Make sure the color “jumps” were even, color the background black and somewhere on the board (front or back) write the color combinations used. With these loose requirements I was able to let my imagination and personality shine through. Star Wars is a huge part of my life and I try to incorporate it in a lot of my art. So as far as my personal favorite? Death Star color wheel for the win!