hey guys! so i have an interview at the art institute of indianapolis on tuesday to be an admissions recruiter!!!! pray that it goes well!!

the shape of a girl

the top one is the 'real' final version . . . even though i really like the placement of the flower in the bottom one . . . oh well!

so here's the final version of the poster for pegasus . . . i like the way it turned out . . . its kind of a long story to have gotten from the last one to this one . . .

it started with the poster i made when i was actually interning there . . . i used a photo of a friend of mine that i took this summer with the poster in mind . . . they really like it but said that it'd be cool if we could use the actress who was in the show . . . so they sent me a few pictures and that turned into the poster that i posted a few weeks ago . . . then, seeing that one with her picture they said that they wondered if i could make it a little bit more 'theatrical' . . . so, i started working on the existing poster, while creating a new one . . . and the new one is the one they picked! woot! i wasn't really sure they'd go for it . . . since i had made a funky poster for the young playwright's festival and they didn't really go for it and i ended up recreating the old poster . . .

Orange

Orange chalk pastel still life from drawing class. Tons of fun to do. I think I remember why I'm not the hugest fan of paint now. Why would I bother when it's so much easier to do this?

Spinning yarn!

So, according to my independent study syllabus, I'm investigating all of the different points at which an artist can intervene in the fiber/fabric process. This meant learning to spin yarn, something I've been dying to do for a long time. Even better to do it for homework right? 

I've been visiting the Windy City Handspinning Guild the second Tues. of every month. In Jan. I started out on a borrowed drop spindle and fiber. (How-to video for drop spindling here.) The result is the top picture of grey yarn. I spun most of it the first meeting and then plied it (doubling it on itself) tonight. It's not very good by technical standards; they keep encouraging me to make really thin, even yarn since I'm getting the hang of it. But I feel like if I wanted completely perfect yarn I could BUY it. It's nice to have control though. I like the thick/thin parts. I may try putting thick yarns of one color with thin ones since I like the effect. 

The second is the drop spindle full of SILK! I am officially a silk addict. It's so soft and so relaxing to work with. I was having trouble with the other batch of wool I have, so decided heck with it and dove into the supposedly harder silk. Turned out to actually be easier for me and way more fun!

Now the $1,000,000 question is how to turn it into art? So far all I've got is maybe dye painting warp thread, either with the procion or natural dyes, and maybe figuring out how to paint the weft to make a picture when woven. 

I'm back to struggling with the age-old question of art vs. craft. Sometimes I don't see why it has to be made into something, since I love it just as yarn. If I do follow the painted warp idea, I'm struggling for imagery. When I try to do abstract it doesn't always go well. Perhaps something off of the afterimages in my eyes could tie into a larger theme but not be too detailed of an image. Also maybe embroidering with it. Any suggestions? 

I know that I can do painterly interpretations of realistic images very well, but still not sure what to do, and don't know if that's too easy since I know that it already comes easily.

The Creative Habit

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp

I saw this book recommended in one of the many fiber art magazines I have been perusing for my independent study. I think it's exactly what I need, as you may have guessed from the lack of finished work being shared here! 

The idea is that making great art takes discipline. It includes exercises for getting yourself out of a rut, and the layout itself is a joy. I think it's interesting that it is applicable for all fields of art but is written by a choreographer. Should be good to see creating from a little different perspective. 

Thought you might like it, so check it out. You can view some pages inside on amazon if you click on the title link, I believe.