...short post...I have all intentions of actually getting at least 6 hours of sleep tonight...but...one thing that has helped me get my art started, and truthfully helped me complete a piece every day, is working on it during my short lunch, most times that is when I start my piece for the day. I take my 5th graders to lunch, hurry back and scarf down my food and then work like a madwomen until I have to pick them up from lunch. I finish the piece at night.
So far, been working for me. Thought I would share in case anyone out there was looking for that extra time in their day to be creative. Now...if I can just figure out how to make art and workout at the same time...I would be set!
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![]() THANK YOU, JV! My JV team....seriously...love them. As if having an amazing season wasn't good enough, they give the best gifts. Made a trip to the mall last night to purchase something sparkly to remember this dazzling group of ladies...as if I could ever forget them. Gals, your gift card bought your ol' coach a bracelet and ring. Whenever I look at these I will think of all of you. THANK YOU! While I was at the mall...the Louis Vuitton windows caught my eye, per usual. Calling out for me to sketch. So late last night/early this morning...I started two fashion illustrations, based on their Spring 2013 print ads- accessories.... ...didn't stay up too late because I had to get up early and drive down south to judge a cheerleading competition...got their early so I worked on CED13-34 while I waited and during the awards ceremonies...finished it up during the super bowl. And now...wow, why can't I get to bed any earlier? Alright, that's all for tonight. Congrats to the Ravens on their win and Beyoncé and the gals for a great halftime performance...goodnight!
![]() Dear Guy at Best Buy that fixed my car stereo. Thank you. Now I can listen to my jams as I drive to Indiantown to teach my students, and back home where I make my art. I appreciate what you did. And I mean it. Pick out one of my pin-up girls, or I will randomly select one and drop it off! Here is the direct link; http://www.jenniferlovegironda.com/2/post/2012/06/june-2012.html See you soon, art in hand. And thanks again! Sincererly, -Jenny (aka, the gal with the random trinkets in her '97 Civic with over 230,000 miles on it.) ![]() CED13- 30 and CED13- 31 Last...two pieces of my January series. Finally posted early this morning. I have been working on both of these at the same time since Wednesday...wanting the pieces to 'end' my series but also have some sense of a flow between these two works. So I would draw a little. Erase. Redraw. Think. Look back at the whole body of work. Repeat. Maybe commit to going over some of it with my watercolor pencil or ink. Repeat. ...now, they are finished... ![]() CED13-32 and CED13-33 The new Creative Every Day theme is...light. I have my first two pieces finished, posted them this morning. Trying to stay away from my black watercolor pencil, watercolor, acrylic and india ink. I will allow myself some light rendering with a regular ol' black pencil and some skinny Micron lines- but that's it. Gotta keep it light. Light colors. Most likely jeweltones. Light touch. Going to try to to belabor the piece, keep it looser. Splats, drips, doodles, block rendering, extended life, welcome back into my life. How I have missed you. And note to self...geez, lighten up! Don't be so regimented. Got back to some sparkle and whimsy girl! And the day is young. Finished with my daily piece, but next I have an unresolved commission I need to contact and complete...some more pieces to show to a new friend in CA, hopefully these can push me closer towards my goal...got a second chance to turn in my sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project (long story short, I missed the deadline and was so bummed but I can still finish it and turn it in, YES!)...gotta work on my marketing materials...mail out some art...clean up? nah, skip that one...make some angels for future angel bombings...take a break to look at some sparkly thangs...oooooh, nap break for sure!...write up a final cheer newsletter...check my short/long range plans for what I am teaching for the rest of this year...finish up and post the Youth Art Month Flag slideshow...write up my new article for Art Hive...and, you know...maybe find some time for some fashion illustrations.Or a tattoo. Or both. Or all of it. You are in the right place- don't worry. This is my art blog, but I often ramble about my love of sparkle and cheerleading. Right now, it's 'bout to be a cheer post. Ready? Ok! (ummmm...sorry, had to)
I am late on posting this...but I gotta do it. This past Thursday was my last night coaching my JV cheerleaders...and...well, it was truly bittersweet. I have had a great season with this team, and though I am excited about having more free time... ...wait...I am still coaching my middle school team for another month...uh, but...there will still be just a little more free time... I am going to miss this group of girls. We really had a great season. My approach to coaching my JV's is that they should have the chance to transition into being a high school student, have a life (me, too!), build skills for varsity, learn time management, learn to be a part of a team, do a great job on sidelines with their cheers, chants and stunts...and have fun. I think we did all of those things this season. So, yeah, it was bittersweet. We took some team pictures and ate together at the mall before our game. They seemed to like the team shirts that I made them, and they did a great job cheering at their last game. I could not be more proud. And...of course someone left their poms, so that gives me an excuse to get them all together again soon! ![]() Mackie, on the interwebs. The last days of January were...a blur. Teachin, artin', travelin'...it just escaped me and I didn't MAKE time to blog. (notice I didn't say 'have') In my defense, Mackie was always on the computer when I did want to blog, so I am not totally to blame. Look, I even have proof! So, uh...here's a wrap up of the last bit of January. Last weekend I traveled to Daytona for a Florida Art Education Association board of director's meeting, John came along and we stayed an extra day to have a mini-vacation. Some great networking for next year (more on that at a later date), planning for conference and gave my Youth Art Month report and then, just some quality time with my husband. Good times! One of the biggest take-aways from the weekend (beside a little tan!) was meeting a very special lady. On Sunday, per usual- I am up way to early...and John, well..he is not. So I head out with my art bag to find a spot to draw and while I was wandering around I stopped in the hotel gift shop to look for my mandatory jewelry purchase (I buy a piece of jewelry every time I go on a trip, at least one piece...uh, sometimes more) and I met Alma. I knew there was something special about this woman as we quickly bonded as I looked for jewelry. Turns out....she had experience in the jewelry industry, designing and was the perfect person to help me select something- we chose a bracelet in a gunmetal mesh with sparkles all over it. Her husband was also in the industry, and she also worked with galleries and spoke candidly of selling work and attending gallery parties. We talked fashion, of silk scarves by Lanvin and Bottega Venta, her love of green to compliment her once auburn hair. I could clearly see that hair in my mind, this amazing woman before me with an amazing head of red, sassy hair. Alma asked me if I was an artist, and I said yes. When she asked if she could see my work I happened to have the pieces I just finished with me, so I took them out and put them on the counter. She loved my work. I talked to her about trying to do this whole art licensing thing...and she told me to keep going, not to stop. She said many encouraging words, and it was such a sincere moment. There were a few times I just had tears in my eyes, that I had by chance come into contact with such a kindred soul. So, we went back before leaving Daytona, after lunch on the pier and some 'angel bombing'...and I gave Alma the last of my angels that I had with me. This angel, in a zebra dress and red heels, was reaching for a star inscribed with the word, 'inspire'. How fitting. I promised Alma that I would see her again in the fall. And I will. I had these intentions to write this big ol' diatribe of my work for this month, what I was inspired by...to try to explain it all...but well, I have two unresolved pieces I want to complete and another one for February (more about that later)...and that is all I can think about...how to come to some closure for the month of January...so here is just some rambling comments... ...started with the idea of 'darkness'...I interpreted it as ladies with dark hair with tattoos and piercings, which I think is lovely...in the 6th piece of the series I added a peacock feather tattoo which prompted me to go off on a tangent with a peacock feather motif...then I tried to reel myself back in, only to get distracted by calla lilies and dragonflies in my tattoo designs...then I started thinking, 'I need to work with my backgrounds more', so I focused on that...then I kept thinking about a phrase I love from an Avett song...so I started working with text...and then, another piece of text, a quote I love: ...so I started thinking about light and dark, and duality...how within each one of us we have the potential for both good/bad, light/dark...and I guess the Louis Vuitton Spring 2013 fashion illustrations I completed this month, heavy with black and white graphics and pops of yellow were still in my head and inspired my colors...so I created a piece that included a portion of the text, and then went on to just the idea of the duality...and then, wait- I met Alma and she inspired me to create a picture of a fiery red-headed muse whispering in my girl's ear...then back to my black/white/yellow images...and now I am trying to close up the series. I have the last two pieces, still painfully unresolved. My goal is to include many of the elements from this whole month...don't know how it will turn out...but that is where I am at. Enough for now. Gotta go make some art. Will post final pics tomorrow for the series as well as the first piece in the new series and all kinds of other things related to art, cheer and sparkle...
A blog post in certainly overdue...but in the meantime, here is where I have been posting my in-progress works, musings on cheerleading, and love of sparkle...
...Just some pics from today...CED13- 21 and another fashion illustration...waited too late to write about 'em...gotta sleep! zzzzzzzzzzzzz
![]() I am such an art nerd. I wanted to take a moment and dedicate one post to Faith Ringgold, and the lecture that she gave yesterday at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. My apologies in advance, there will be some rambling. Faith Ringgold is one my my personal 'art rock stars', so when I saw the email from PBCATA- it was a no brainer, I had to go. I admire her for being an artist...she is a painter and, though she does not consider her work to be textiles so much (seriously, she said it several times yesterday)...fibers folk love her. She is a teacher, an author. She is a teaching artist. And she was sparkly. Folks, she was sparkly, on the inside and out. All things that I can identify with and strive to be. 'I love to teach, and I love being an artist. I can do both.' When Faith spoke of her love of teaching, it was so genuine. She said her mother was a teacher, and she was so proud when she spoke of her, and of being a teacher herself. This really resonated with me. So many times as an art teacher, folks think you can't DO. Why are you a teacher? You can't be a real artist and be a teacher. But you can. I can. We can. Sure, it means you have to steal away bits of time to dedicate to your work. But I always think to myself...this is the whole reason I got into this gig in the first place- I love making art. If I stop doing that- then what? And sometimes it is discouraging. I have had some moments in the past few weeks, especially trying this whole licensing thing...when I have thought to myself..WHY am I doing this? WHY am I making all of this work? WHY bother? But...I just have to do it. It's who I am. Like it or not, I am going to make this art, even if it's just for me. 'When they say you can't do something, so more of it'. Prove them wrong. Wait, who is this 'them' anyway? Sometimes...'them' is just our own self doubt. I know this to be true. Do.More.Art. Note to self...everything else will fall into place. I will keep on teaching art and making art...and if all these pieces don't get out there someway, somehow...I will just amass a huge collection of work. It's a win-win. Faith Ringgold said alot of things, things that I scribbled down in my sketchpad...but these are just a couple of the things that I wanted to put out there, hoping that her words will inspire someone else like they did me.
Ya Gotta have Faith. |
AuthorArtist and Art Teacher
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