Show The Love!

Back in December, my friend Tad asked me if I'd like to be a part of a group print show at Vahalla Studios, a wonderful print shop that he and his friend Dan run here in KC. Entitled Show The Love, each artist was asked to give their interpretation of LOVE - love it or hate it, what does it mean to you? In addition, each artist was asked to create an image that is 8x8 inches in size, using 3 colors: Black, Magenta and Pantone 318 (light blue). Needless to say, I LOVE projects like these. I love the challenge of creating something within certain boundaries. When restrictions are set, it forces you to think a little differently. It's a fun puzzle to solve.

a sampling from various artists

Needless to say, I'm honored to be in the show and very excited to see what all these amazing artists have done! It's sure to be a fun show! If you're in KC, stop by and join us for the opening Friday, February 5, 2010. Check out the wonderful artwork of all the participating artists: Kate Bingaman, Will Bryant, Tad Carpenter, Frank Chimero, Jennifer Daniel, Chris Eliopoulos, Matt Hawkins, Hydro 74, David Huyck, Blake E. Marquis, Andy Miller, Dan Padavic, Richard Perez, A. Micah Smith, Mark Todd, Nate Williams, and John Vogl.

Here's a little preview of a part of my print. (Visit my flickr page to see the full image!) The colors will be more vibrant like the ones above, but you get the gist. Big thanks to Tad and Dan for including me in this fun show! Hope to see you there!

* Top 2 images taken from Vahalla Studios.

My Ruby World

Hyperdoodle 06 • My Ruby World

18x24 inches, mixed media on board, 2009

Hi, friends. Sorry for the lapses in my posts. Been busy having fun & makin' art!

I am so excited to be posting about this piece. Every two years, the Johnson County Community College has an art auction that serves as a fundraiser for the Gallery of Art, now known as The Nerman Museum. I love participating in JCCC's art auctions because of the way executive director Bruce Hartman themes the auctions. Every time the college has an auction, Bruce themes the auction by giving each artist the same object to work with. Past auctions have included hand-crafted wooden boxes, colored records, and a gold leaf set, among other things. It's always so cool to see how every one interprets the object they're given.

This year's auction, entitled GLOW, is themed in celebration of JCCC's 40th Ruby anniversary. To carry the ruby theme, they sent every participating artist an exquisite box of ruby colored art materials. Set in dense foam within a ruby box, the materials included a tube of Gamblin oil paint, a couple of Sennelier chalk pastels, some Caran D'Ache pencils, a bottle of Dr. Ph Martin's ink (my favorite item in the box) and several other ruby goodies. By the ned of the night, 120 original works of art were auctioned off, making it the most successful of the eight auctions that JCCC has held over the years.

Needless to say, it feels great to be able to help support the Nerman Museum and their programming. Their auctions have always pushed me in a direction that I might not have otherwise ventured into. I love that. Ruby is not really a color I use as a primary color within my work so I really wanted to explore that. At first, I was only going to use shades of ruby, both dark and light. But as the piece started to take shape, I added oranges & yellows to balance it out and I'm pretty happy with the result. I'm not sure who has the piece now, but hopefully it's providing someone with some happiness.

Rich Nut & Chickpea Chili

About a month or so ago, my husband and I had some friends over for dinner. We were looking for something warm, vegetarian and dairy-free. Browsing in the October 2008 issue of Hallmark Magazine, I happened upon this super yummy chili recipe. Wow - it's one of the tastiest vegetarian chili recipes I think I've ever had. I told several people that I'd post the recipe, so here it is (finally!). Sorry it took me so long! Enjoy!

Rich Nut & Chickpea Chili

Makes 6 servings. Total time 40 minutes.

6 ounces (1 cup) raw cashews

4 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

4 teaspoons olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sugar

4 cups small broccoli florets (9 ounces)

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 cups water

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, rinsed & drained

12 ounces soy or vegetable protein crumbles (about 2 cups)

Garnishes

1 cup low-fat dairy or soy yogurt

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

3 plum tomatoes, chopped

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/3 cup minced cilantro

1. In a food processor, combine the cashews, chili powder and cocoa. Pulse the mix until it's the texture of coarse meal. Be careful not to turn it into paste.

2. In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Sprinkle with sugar and cook, stirring, until the onions are softened and begin to turn gold, 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Add the broccoli, salt and 1/4 cup of the water. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the cashew mixture, remaining 2 cups water and the crushed tomatoes.

4. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and soy crumbles, and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add more chili powder and salt, if needed.

5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, blend the yogurt, lemon zest and pepper. In another bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, lemon juice and cilantro. Serve the chili with the garnishes.

Each serving has 448 calories, 18 g fat, 49 g carbohydrates, 13 g fiber, 29 g protein, 895 mg sodium.

crazy for ROBOTS: robot #50

Junkbot, by Goobeesta

For robot feature #50, I thought I'd show these two very different, very cool gems by Goobeesta, aka Brian Gubicza. I love them! Junkbot was made out of tea tins, pipes, pez dispensers soda caps and plastic spoons. He then painted him and added the decals, which he created digitally. I really love how he did this. The layer of paint really unifies the whole piece and disguises the "junk" that makes up his body.

Robot, by Goobeesta

I also love the graphic simplicity of this bot. You can order prints and buttons of this bot on Brian's etsy site, where he has tons of other fun stuff as well. Check it out!

*Images taken from Goobeesta's flickr page.

crazy for ROBOTS: robot #49

Robot 1 by Flix

I just love the pixelly, graphic goodness of these fun, colorful, simple bots by Flix. I came across these cool bots on flickr a while ago, but have forgotten to post them 'til now. Seeing these 3D paper bots makes me want to stack 'em like Jenga pieces. How tall can you make your robot totem before it falls down?

paper robots by Flix

The Old Robots

just a sampling of the robots you can find on The Old Robots

About a month ago, my husband sent me a link to this amazing robot site called The Old Robots. It is one of the best catalogued robot sites that I've seen. It's very cool! Not only do I love to be able to look at all the robots, but there's a ton of great info on them, too. I love the way they've been organized into grids, with their names placed clearly underneath each one of them.

a section of one of the many pages on the site

zeroing in on Starroid's Radio Robot

The kind keeper of this site has not only provided plenty of pics, but has also provided lots of other info on each bot including PDFs of the original manuals and packaging. They are always accepting submissions and photos, too, so if you see something you had/have, be sure to write to The Old Robot so the info on the robot can be updated, added to, or corrected.

Starroid's Radio Robot model #i-M-1

Needless to say, I'll be visiting this site again and again. Seeing so many different kinds of robots really makes me want to draw and make some more of my own. Lots of great bots on here, a whole ton of which I hadn't seen before now. Enjoy!

*All images taken from The Old Robot.

Portrait Invitational at Blue Gallery

Family Portrait

mixed media on canvas, 30x30 inches, 2009

(click on the image for a larger view)

I am honored to have a few pieces in the Portrait Invitational show that's currently at Blue Gallery here in Kansas City. I had so much fun creating the recent piece I did for the Kansas City Art Institute auction, that I decided to try something similar with this piece. It's fun trying to figure out what's going to go where and how the pieces are going to fit together, especially considering that I have no idea what the final outcome will be. Unlike the piece for KCAI, this piece has several family photos in it. While not all of the photos are personal, a handful of them are pictures of relatives mostly from my mom's side of the family. When I use personal photos, I never use the originals. I always have new prints made. The other photos in the piece, however, are actual prints that I've found in various antique malls and shops over the years. It's interesting what you find out there. For me, these little fragments of peoples' lives captured on pieces of paper create new stories as I try to figure out in what context they were taken when they were taken and what they mean to me, now, so many years later. For some detailed pics, please check out my flickr page.

I just need 20 more minutes

Eric Zener, oil on panel, 16x20 inches, 2009

Needless to say, I have several favorites from the show, a few of which I had to post. This first piece is by Eric Zener. I love it. Wow. It just blows me away. The subtlety of light captured within this piece is beautiful to me. It feels like the early morning, eyes slightly pained with the knowledge of having to wake up. I am not a morning person. I can relate.

Alison (shift)

Brad Williams, oil on canvas, 35x38 inches, 2009

This beautifully executed piece, by Brad Williams, is another favorite of mine. I love the calm tension in this piece. It feels and looks like water is rising, yet the calmness on her face makes you wonder if that's what's happening or not. I also love the lack of color in this piece. The color in her face and eyes as well as her jet-black hair and sweater really makes you focus on her, and not the rising water.

I Remember Her

Sola Sawyerr, oil on canvas, 60x48 inches, 2009

The last piece I'll share from the show, and perhaps my favorite of them all, is this wonderful piece by Sola Sawyerr. These ghostlike images capture the feeling of so many of the old photographs I find. Worn and weathered, held and treasured, they once meant something very dear to the person who carried the image of their loved one with them. They are both beautiful and sad to me. I love the mark-making in this piece. The textures seem to indicate the time that's passed.

These pieces illustrate part of why I am so honored to be a part of this show: I cannot paint like this. I think in my life I have done one actual portrait in oil on canvas. It was a painting of my brother when he was about 10 years old. (His wife now owns the piece.) I am not saying I would necessarily want to paint this way. I'm happy and thankful every day to be able to do what I do, the way I do it. But, I have always been - and continue to be - blown away by artists who can draw or paint someone and capture their likeness so exquisitely.

The Portrait Invitational Exhibition at Blue Gallery is open now and runs through October 2009. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5:30 pm, or by appointment.

Photos taken from Blue Gallery's website.

the summer sun is setting

Lake Michigan • summer 2009

I think I might be in denial that summer is over. I mean, officially, fall doesn't start 'til September 21, right? *Sigh* See? Denial! It's always hard spending time in the studio in the spring and summer, but this summer was particularly hard...partly because my hubby and I were too busy having fun! It was a great summer filled with cave exploring with friends, an extended weekend getaway on Table Rock Lake with family, and a relaxing week-long trip to Lake Michigan with my good friend Julie and her family.

me, not too sure of being inside Fisher Cave

Meremac Park • summer 2009

That's not to say that I'm not excited for fall - it's probably my favorite season! I love the cooler temps, the changing leaves ( especially the orange ones!), a warm cup of coffee or tea to keep my hands warm, and the thought of upcoming snow. There's something about the crispness in the air that gets me excited to hunker down in the warmth of my studio and spend hours drawing and painting. I have several projects set up for this fall that I'm excited to start. More on that later!

crazy for ROBOTS: robot #48

MECHANICAL BOY • Greg Abbott, 2009

I have been a fan of Greg Abbott's work for some time now. Since I first discovered his work on flickr last year, I've been hooked. Greg's brain is filled with an unending amount of monsters, aliens, robots, animals and other beings of all different shapes, sizes and levels of goofiness.

Record Player • Greg Abbott, 2009

Whether this Record Player was intended to be a robot or not, I think he's pretty cool! Although I couldn't find a website for greg, he loves making tee shirts. You can check out his cool designs, here.

a turning point (part 2)

YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW

4x4 feet, mixed media on canvas, May 2009

(click on the image to get a better view)

Although I wasn't quite sure whether I could make this collage work, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Since I do most of my collage pieces in acrylic, figuring out the collage process in oil was a complete a mystery ...and a challenge! Ask me anything about collaging in acrylic. Chances are I can give you an answer. Oil? Forget it. I have no clue, but I'm learning and having a blast.

To start, knowing that my water-based markers wouldn't work on oil, I purchased some enamel-based markers from Durable Supply, my favorite place to get quality markers. You'd think that finding lightfast, permanent markers would be easy but it isn't (at least in Kansas City). Just about all the linework & lettering you see in the above piece was done using these enamel-based markers. I also bought some Testors paint which I also used on some of this stuff.

Next, and possibly the biggest challenge, was figuring out how to collage photos and other printed matter onto the canvas. Polyeurethane works ok, but aging varnish works way better. Unfortunately, the label on my aging varnish has worn off. I'll have to do a bit more research so I can tell you exactly what it is & who makes it because for oil collage, it's dreamy. In any case, I brushed the aging varnish onto the photo AND the painting. The key is to allow the varnish to get slightly tacky so that the photo and/or other printed matter adheres easily. If you wait until it's tacky, the piece won't slip. If you don't, it will. Then, I let it sit overnight. Once it's dry, I either coat it with polyeurethane, more aging varnish or another kind of varnish to seal it to the painting.

me with my painting at the 2009 Kansas City Art Institute Art & Design Auction

So, here I am with my piece on the night of the auction. This feel kinda strange to say, but I'm not sure if I've ever been so reluctant to let go of a piece before. This was a pretty personal piece. At the same time, it feels really good to support KCAI, especially since all the proceeds of the auction go towards student scholarships. Thanks to my friend Julie, I was able to meet the couple who bought my piece that night. It was their anniversary and they got it as a gift to each other. Kinda cool.

More pics of the piece and its progress can be found on my flickr page.

a turning point

work in progress (1) / May 2009

After several months of re-working this piece, originally done in 2003, I have reached a turning point. My documentation of the original piece is so shoddy that I've decide not to post it. I wish now that I had recorded all my steps a bit more diligently. Maybe this earlier pic will give you somewhat of an idea of what the original piece looked like. (But even this is not accurate. This picture already indicates a bit of reworking. The original piece had no oranges, yellows or dark browns. It was mostly a blue piece.)

work in progress (1) / March 2009

So what makes this point a "turning point?" Well, the hard thing for me is that I actually kinda like this piece (top pic) at this stage. In some ways it's hard to decide how to proceed. Despite how much I like it at this point, it's not how I see it in my head; it's incomplete. When working on a piece, I really try to follow what I see in my head. It doesn't always turn out exactly how I see it, but the journey it takes along the way is part of what makes it fun. Hopefully, in that process, the puzzle comes together. Two of the pieces I recently did for the XX Chromosome show were done this way.

ROBOTHUMAN (left) / It's All About the Numbers 02 (right)

after collage • March 2009

before collage • March 2009

When working on these smaller pieces, I faced this same kind of turning point. I really enjoyed these pieces the way they were before the collage, yet at the same time they felt incomplete. Obviously whenever you set out to do something or create something, it's never a straight path...at least it's never been that way for me. It twists and turns and sometimes - if you're lucky - you learn something along the way that furthers your understanding of the medium you're using, the story you're trying to communicate and/or your self.

The nice thing about working small is that I tend to feel a bit more open to experiment. With the two smaller pieces, I hadn't really invested too much into them so pushing the medium around and trying new things didn't really feel too risky. They were small: 12x12 inches. The piece I am about to work on is a large piece: 4x4 feet. Gulp. While I am excited to work on it, I'm also a bit intimidated by the size of the piece. Truth be told, I'm also a wee bit intimidated by the medium: OIL. I am way more comfortable using acrylics and have a lot more knowledge of how to collage with acrylic-based mediums. Collaging with oil will be interesting. Stay tuned...!

Fragmented Fave: Tracy McGuinness-Kelly

robots

Tracy McGuinness-Kelly

My friend Tracy recently emailed me and sent me this wonderful robot collage. I love it! After seeing this fun piece I had to revisit her website.

sparkle

Tracy McGuinness-Kelly

There's LOTS of great stuff to explore on Tracy's site, but my favorite sections are the gallery work section and the weird and wonderful section. I just love the way Tracy collages things together. "Sparkle", above, is one of my favorite pieces. I could look at it for hours. I love all the different shapes, colors and fun characters. She also has a great sense of pattern, which is something I've always admired about her work. The energy in this piece makes me want to dance. Doesn't it kinda look like they're at some kinda funky party? It would be fun to see this animated!

in the city

Tracy McGuinness-Kelly

Check out this great, simple collage. I love the balance of cool & warm colors, and the crisp, quirky lines and shapes that the cut paper creates. Be sure to check out Tracy's site for more wonderful, silly, fun work.

*All images taken from Tracy's site*

crazy for ROBOTS: robot #47

Allen

17.5 inches tall • assembled from random objects in NYC by Lipson Robotics

I absolutely LOVE the robots of David Lipson, aka Lipson Robotics! I first saw these wonderful 'bots when perusing through one of the robot pools that I belong to on flickr. David's robots immediately stood out. Beautifully designed, they have a presence that is undeniably cool. Needless to say, I had a really hard time picking out which two from his robot set to post, but these are two of my (many!) faves.

KF Red

17.5 inches tall • assembled from random objects in NYC by Lipson Robotics

I really love the attention to detail on David's robots.KF Red is constructed out of some great pieces including sauce cups, sprockets, c-clamps, lamp parts, a gas line hose, and much more. I really like the attention to color in this. The spice-canister head and bright yellow arms really help to highlight the detail found in the wonderful piece that makes up his chest. Very cool! Be sure to check out all of the great bots in David's flickr set.

XX Chromosome opens TONIGHT!

It's All About the Numbers 02

12x12 inches, mixed media on canvas, 2009

Last year, I was approached by artist Tuesday Schmidt about being in an all-women show sometime in early 2009. Needless to say, I don't know where the time went but that sometime is NOW! XX Chromosome, curated by Tuesday, is an exhibition highlighting the value of the feminine hand in art. XX Chromosome will showcase nine local female artists practicing in a variety of mediums including photography, illustration, painting, mixed media, textiles and sculpture.

Although I was unable to complete one of my larger pieces for the show, I'm pretty happy with the pieces I've included. The above piece, It's All About the Numbers 02, came together while I was working on another piece called ROBOTHUMAN. To see this and other pieces, check out my flickr page.

XX Chromosome

The Late Show Gallery • 1600 Cherry • Kansas City, MO • 64108

Gallery Hours: Wed - Sat, 11 am-6 pm.

Opening: Friday, April 3, 6-10pm. Show continues on through April 22, 2009.

Featuring music by Softee (yay!) and an appearance by Annie Cherry.

crazy for ROBOTS: robot #46

Danbo / in the rain

While looking through photos in the Explore page on flickr, I came across this wonderful picture by David Copeman (flickr name: djcopeman). I thought it was a picture of a person dressed as a cardboard robot, but in fact it's a toy based on a Japanese character named Danbo. According to David, Danboard (or Danbo for short) is a toy based on the character Miura Hayasaka who dresses up in a cardboard box suit and is part of the Japanese series Yotsuba&!. Danbo is part of the Revoltech line by the Japanese company Kaiyodo. The Danbo figure is plastic, has movable joints, eyes that light up and stands about 5 inches tall.

Danbo / at night

Needless to say, I'd love to have my very own Danbo toy and these wonderful photos that David has taken make me want one even more! They're really beautifully shot with interesting light and points of view. These two are a couple of my faves, but there are plenty more to peruse through. Be sure to check out the set of Danbo in the snow, to see the character Miura Hayasaka who wears the Danbo suit.

*Photos taken from David's flickr page.

new, updated, renovated studio!

studio 4337 / south wall

After months of unpacking, rearranging, reframing, installing, etc, my studio is finally complete! I'm so excited and have uploaded a bunch of pics onto my flickr page for you to see. There are still some detail-y things I'd like to do, but all in all I'm stoked. It's a dream come true for me. I have to pinch myself when I'm working! I can't believe I have a space that's mine, that I helped to design, that's right outside the house so close to home AND temperature controlled! CRAZY! Big thanks to Erich for the great spongey flooring and Julie for the great shelf brackets from Ikea. My feet and my walls are very happy!

re-fragmented 01 & 02 / march 2009

Here's a little sneak peek at some pieces I have recently been reworking. I started each of these pieces about 5 years ago. Since then, they have sat in my studio. In the process of moving stuff back into my studio, I decided to rework them. So far, I'm having fun with them and am really enjoying the process. My plan is to keep breaking them down into smaller rectangles & squares. Once that feels complete, I'll go back into them with drawings, photos, and other collaged bits. I love puzzles pieces like these, figuring them out as you go along. For more pics of these, visit my flickr page.

thanks for the LOVE!

Wow! Thanks for the love, folks! can't tell ya enough how much I appreciate it! Thanks, too, to everyone who tells me about these posts. It means a whole bunch to me! :) Check out the features, here (top to bottom, left to right):

1.) Athensboy

2.) Fandart

3.) Dakota Davis

4.) Happy Doodle Land

5.) Monoscope

6.) Lifelounge

7.) coZop

8.) idée

9.) artzari

Special thanks to my friend Flora at Happy Doodle Land for the kind words about my crazy skulls and to the folks at FFFFOUND!, who have posted quite a few pics of my never ending bottlecap collection. THANKS!!