Dimensional Paper Flower Tutorial!

I have a few things up my proverbial sleeve. Until these things are revealed, head on over to Instructables.com to see my very first tutorial. CLICKY HERE. It will detail how to make dimensional paper flowers. Like these red ones I used to make my completely DIY holiday tree!

Enjoy. Feedback and sharing is always appreciated.

It's Illustrtaion Friday!

Today's prompt for Illustration Friday is "identical." Below is my submission for the topic. (This piece was also an original for an art trade.)

"Sweet Jane"

Shennanigans at the Etsy Craft Party

 As I previously posted, I did a silhouette portrait demonstration at the Philadelphia Etsy Craft Party. For those of you who don’t know what the Craft Party is, Etsy holds an annual event in cities nationwide. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume everyone reading this blog knows what Etsy is. Philly’s chapter had a vintage postcard station, a silhouette cutting demonstration (held by me), a craft swap, a custom vinyl and rubber stamp making station, and potluck. This was my first time attending Philly’s Craft Party. Previously I have been to the Norfolk event in 2010. Both were a lot of fun. The Philadelphia 2012 party was held at Nextfab Studios. Nextfab is a prototyping studio located in the heart of the city a few blocks from 30th Street Station. Along with our various demonstrations and crafting, we were treated to a tour of Nextfab, which included a showing of one of the labs. The lab was a collision of creativity and technology. It featured examples of what their 3D printer and scanner could do, replete with prototypes of a tiger’s claw, a hand, and a previous employee’s head!

My silhouette cutting area.

     But back to the crafting. There were novices and pro’s alike in attendance. It was an intimate enough group that we were able to sit down and talk with one another. We were a varied bunch. There were purse-makers, fiber artists, dressmakers, general crafters, jewelry makers, and myself, a varied artist who leans closer to fine arts/outsider art and 2D work. Along with cutting silhouettes of a few attendees, I also had enjoyed working on the vintage postcard station, and viewing Etsy shops at the projector in the front of the room.

The warm up silhouette my boyfriend posed for.

Silhouette on mint colored doilie.

Patterned silhouette on avocado green doilie.

 

   If you were at the Philly Etsy Craft Party post a comment with your shop link, please! Oh, and more photos of the craft party is up on my Flickr album HERE.

  

Philadelphia Etsy Craft Party! This Friday!

I'll be doing a silhouette cutting demonstration at the Philadelphia Etsy Craft Party this coming Friday, August 24th! RSVP and stop by to say hello and see me do my thing.

I have attended a previous Etsy Craft Party down in Norfolk, Virginia. It was a lot of fun, and I'm doubly thrilled to be a participant in this year's festivities in Philly. There will also be a potluck and craft swap!

If you haven't already, please RSVP by visiting the MEETUP GROUP.

In Between

As some who are personally acquainted with me already know, I recently moved into a newer, nicer apartment. I held off on decorating the previous digs because of frustrations with flooding. Well, I now have a lovely new home for my darling little technicolor Mario Star hangers.

Mario Star kitschiness 

I hope you enjoy my break from sketching and more serious painting. I know my walls did.

Sketching Catch Up

So I've greatly neglected my drawing muscle. I remedied this with a little diner sketching with a friend.
Here are a few just to get myself back in the swing of sketching more frequently. Enjoy.

Channeling diner waitress diva attitude.

My friend challenged me to step outside my sad-girl box and draw a guy. So I drew the least masculine man you'll ever meet.

Dusting Off Sketchys

A coincidental hole in my retail hell schedule made it possible to finally return to a Dr. Sketchys session. Not just any Dr Sketchys session, but a session held at the illustrious and wonderful Mutter Museum. This was the first time Sketchys was invited to Mutter. The setup was an interesting one. Instead of having the models in one area/stage in front of the artists, there were 5 models switching locales throughout the museum. The artists were free to switch positions and locations. The finale was a pose with all 5 models at the staircase in the epicenter of the building.

I was still shaking the dust off my figure drawing muscles, so be kind when viewing these sketches. Overall, it was a good welcome back.

It's That Time...

That I become a woman? Too late. That winter ends? Eventually, but thats beside the point. The point? That I participate in another fantabulous art trade! This one is being hosted by The Art House Co-Op. There is still space to join if you're so inclined. It looks like it will be a fun project. What's not to like? Make a cool piece of art, get a surprise piece of cool art.

The Drunken Decline Of The Crayola Sketch

I was at a party a few days ago. Most people will find something to do when they're bored or drunk with a lag in conversation. The socially awkward art geek will find a box of Crayola and computer paper, and get to work. That's just what I did. Below are a series of sketches drawn while imbibing.

The first sketch.

Definitely tipsy at this point.

Definitely drunk. Drew a still life of a clementine that was personalized by an equally drunk friend.