The big project that I have immersed myself in, causing me to literally forgo sleep...DONE! But first...here is what went down yesterday... So, going to be quick about this because my hands/wrists are killing me and I still have a drawing waiting on me...I took on the task to create a 50 page document that would showcase the artwork I created in 2012. I counted and I think there are actually over 550 pieces of artwork in the document. Craziness. Absolute madness. And, well...the document is done. I was able to post it in a digital magazine format using http://issuu.com, a site I learned about from my AMAZING friend Jess. It was super easy to use, and now I have ideas for other side projects...oh geez... I also spent the vast majority of the day working on an inquiry letter and tear out sheets to send to some art licensing companies...fingers crossed. A girl can dream... Here is the document I worked so hard on, enjoy!
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When I taught Legislator's School in NC back in the day, I remember one of the other faculty would always tell the kids, Don't hoot with the owls if you can't soar with the eagles.' Turns out, it is a pretty well known quote by Hubert Humphrey. The kids would want to stay up all night and were dragging the next morning... My point? Well, last night...I started hootin'...got a late start because I was feeling very distracted, working on several things at once, but then around 11pm I finally sat down to work on my first piece for the new year. So, it's around 12am by now and...why yes, it is the perfect time to start the document that I had the idea to create that would showcase all of my work from 2012, kind of a year in review or a catalog of my works for the year. Hoot, hoot. ![]() No sleep til Brooklyn. And, well...my friend Jessie was up working on the final details for the next issue of Art Hive Magazine (which is going to be AMAZING by the way because my girl Jess is so super talented!) ...and...well...I can't let my friend stay up alone, right? So it came to pass that two grown woman, one in Palm Beach Gardens and one in Wellington stayed up all night, both working on their respective computers and sending the occasional text, 'are you still awake?'...assurances that yes, we were both in this together, two owls up all night. Hoot, hoot! Felt like art school again and I kind of liked it. So, just didn't go to sleep. I worked on my document up to about 50 pages, still need to go through and edit it and tweak some things before I reveal it...but it is almost done. But I wasn't ready to go to sleep, too wired. So I decided to go and watch the sunrise, and draw. (of course) Awesome morning at the beach, a little chilly so I wore a sweatshirt, but not windy, which has been the problem the last few times. The sunrise? Amazing. Worth staying up all night for. I started my second piece for the new year but didn't finish. So I was able to hoot with the owls and soar with the eagles after all! Before I headed back I left an angel painting and posted an announcement on my social media pages...I sure hope that someone found her! I did this the other day at the Barnes and Noble I frequent, left an angel painting. I still have some left, hoping to leave them all around until they are all gone. Maybe I will make more. I just hope that someone will find my painting and it will brighten their day. The note reads, 'if you find this angel painting then it's yours!'...and it really is : ) I did finally go to sleep around 8:30...but I woke up again 3 hours later, restless. I cleaned and organized frantically all day, then sat down to finish up my daily piece, CED13-2 that I started this morning. And now...I am blogging. Trying to decide if I want to sleep for an hour or two before the gym or just keep going...not sure.
Maybe I should sleep for a bit...in case the owls are out again tonight! ![]() Must...start...first...art...of...2013! But I am going a little crazy right now, slightly distracted by everything...might have been the coffee...created weekly art challenge for 2013 (see below)...working on a 'year in review' document of my work from 2012 to showcase what I made and also to be used for a goal I set in 2013 (maybe I will blog about that at a later date, I a too scared/excited about it right now!)...and at some point I really have to unpack and clean... So...uh...here is my thought process..hear me out... ![]() I am committing to the Creative Every Day Challenge again for 2013. It really helped me get off my bootie and start making art. I enjoyed being a part of a larger group of artists with the same goal- to be creative every single stinkin' day. I am gonna do it again. Per usual Jenny-style, I will be creating one piece per day within a monthly theme. I checked and the theme for this month is 'dark'. Hmmmm...dark, huh? I have some thoughts milling around in my head but I won't know where I am going to go with this until I sit down with my paper...so we will see what happens. In addition to the CED Challenge, I will be hosting a 52-week challenge via Art Hive Magazine called the BEE52 Art Challenge. This will be seperate from the CED Challenge. For me, I will still work within a (separate) theme, but I will allow myself to work a little bit at a time, without the (self-inflicted) stress of creating a daily work. Some thoughts I have had for this include focusing on specific artists for the month...or getting back to my fiber-work...or maybe some collaborations... ...and...I still want to continue with my fashion illustrations...I can't stop. I love them too much.
At some point I will also be teaching art, coaching cheerleading...and my cheer judging season is starting...ummm...it's gonna be busy. Very, very, busy. And I can't wait! 2013 has arrived!! I made art every day! Every. Single. Day. Yes!
If you are new to this blog..about a year ago I took on a challenge…and embarked on a journey that I can truly say has made me more disciplined artist...and more excited about making art and being and artist then, well, ever. If this blog post reads like a gal out of breath- I kind of am, I feel like I have been caught up in a whirlwind of art making. Deep, breaths...let me take a step back... I wanted to push myself so a year ago I found an on-line challenge called Creative Every Day and I signed up…and I have been creative every day since then. That is putting it quite simply. I.Made.ART.Every. Single. Day. Now, the challenge wasn’t specific, it just encouraged those involved to be creative every day. But...ummmm...if you know me then you know I like to work a little differently. Seeking more structure, for myself I committed to not just being creative every day, but to making a piece of art every day, which I created within monthly themes. For the most part, I used the themes designated by the challenge, there were a few times where I had another idea and went with that, but throughout this year I started and finished with the same theme for a month-long focus. Today I just completed piece #366...which confused me a bit because I was like, 'well, there's 365 days in a year, so...' As I sat there scratching my head and feeling the 'Jenny gets a headache when there are numbers involved' headache starting to form, my husband says, 'leap year, beb'. Oh yessssss....leap year. So I made art every day, plus one. Even better! But…ummmm…I made some more art, beyond the challenge…because well, making the decision to commit to this challenge made me want to create even more, beyond my own self-imposed 'one a day' goak. So…almost 100 fashion illustrations (ugh, I wish I had rounded that 93 out to an even 100!) and some odd and end pieces for shows and just for fun…and it’s looking like close to 500 pieces. No, I ain't kidding. So at the end of this year of making art...I want to make MORE art. I have learned that I can push myself and that I can be disciplined, more so than I ever thought possible. I have started to really figure out my aesthetic, what appeals to me as an artist, what influences me, what materials I like to work with. And I learned that there is always time for art. No matter what. Well, it's New Year's Eve. I have some thoughts about 2013 and what I will take on next, but might as well blog about that tomorrow. For now, I am going to sit back and just be happy for a minute. 2013 is going to be a very productive, ART-tastic, sparkly, fabulous year. Just wait! And, here's the work from this month! ![]() It's Christmas Eve and the last few days have been eventful...artin' in the car on the way to St. Augustine, artin' there, artin' on the way to North Carolina for Christmas, artin' at my father-in-laws kitchen table and restaurant...art, art, ART! Wishing you an ART-filled Christmas Eve...will post the final pics of my daily piece either later tonight or ! Well, it's been a busy one. The week, I mean. It has been busy. The last week before school is out for two weeks, I have been trying to finish up grades, spend time and attention on my students, make my art, finish Christmas shopping and pack for my trip back home to North Carolina. So here is what went down since my last post... And now, well..we are caught up. We, I mean me, I am caught up in this here blog. Tonight I also completed the piece for Sandy Hook Elementary. I will be mailing that piece, along with CED #350 to Newtown, CT...in hopes that they will make it to someone that can share the pieces as the community continues to mourn but looks to healing. Here are the two pieces; ...now, sleep. Tomorrow promises to be an emotional day, as it is a week later and I know the events in Newtown, CT will weigh heavy for everyone...
..just some work from Dec 17th...a small peek of part of a commission that I completed and delivered, will post the whole piece after Christmas...my piece for Sandy Hook Elementary, slowly but surely happening one butterfly at a time...and my CEDs 351-352...one started yesterday but both finished today!
And all of the Christmas presents are WRAPPED!! Yes! ![]() I posted some of the pieces that I have been working on in my CED Blog...but the picture that has meant the most to me is the one that I made yesterday...hoping that the image will pay proper tribute to those innocent lives lost on Friday, December 14th at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. Please note: I am posting this version on my various social media pages and my website so that others can share as they wish. The shooting of twenty-six people...almost all were children...completely, utterly senseless. Horrific. When I heard this on Friday...I just wept. I cannot imagine what the families must be going through. And so close to the holidays. It made me think back to the years I taught K-2...all those little folks, excited and so full of life. I just cannot fathom anyone wanting to hurt a child. I don't want to understand such evil. I just want to make art, hoping that it will help in the healing process, or at the very least commemorate the lives lost on that terrible day. Yesterday I spent the day with my husband. We were at City Place in West Palm Beach. They were having a 'Snow Day', which attracted a pretty big crowd- mostly children. Walking around watching the kids so excited about one little patch of 'snow' in sunny South Florida...and just feeling their general holiday excitement... I just kept thinking about the children lost in Newtown. I enjoyed my afternoon, but I kept finding myself with tears in my eyes, my heart heavy. So last night I made this piece, CED #350. My theme has been 'celebrations' and I have been working with a Christmas theme, most recently whimsical girls with candy cane hair. The piece I made last night uses the same motifs found in the work from the series but has a more somber feel to it. It represents taking a minute to remember those lost, and to remember to 'celebrate' those that you love. ![]() In progress And I started another piece last night. I have been thinking about this piece since Friday night and I finally started it. I am working with a female image, an angel, and the idea of releasing butterflies...twenty-six butterflies, souls, that have left us. Us. The collective us who are mourning this loss, a whole nation of people who stood still and wept when we heard the news. And this is all I know to do, make some art. Send it off. Hope that it will provide some comfort to someone, somewhere. And I want to end this blog post on a lighter note. I just have to.
Yesterday, we missed the Macy's Santa but there was still paper there for mailing letters to him, so I took my time to send him a special note for all the kids out there... |
AuthorArtist and Art Teacher
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