Art by Lee Ann Petropoulos

Surprise! I changed my mind!

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 03:30:00 +0000

I know I said I wasn’t going to post again til after Christmas. But…..I was mentioned in the Mosaic Art Now blog, and just had to share! They profiled the new Maplestone Gallery, outside of Toronto where my Oak and Acanthus mosaic is being exhibited. If you haven’t seen the Mosaic Art Now blog, you should definitely check it out. They find fabulous mosaics from all over the world to share with you - from ancient times to today, as well as events that keep you in the know. Click here to see.

Have a fabulous holiday, whatever you celebrate this time of year! And I wish you all that your heart desires in the coming new year.

Kim Wozniak is my new hero.

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:19:00 +0000

My mosaic friends on Facebook had a discussion yesterday about being a full time artist vs. working a day job and fitting it in. Of course, women never seem to discuss their lives without bringing up the idea of guilt at some point. Toward the end of the discussion, Kim Wozniak had this to say:

Work 9 to 5 = guilt for not being there for your kids. Stay home mom = guilt for not contributing financially. Be an artist = guilt for both. Get over it girls! Life is not about guilt and contribution it is about dreams and nuturing and creation. Be a mom, be an artist, be a partner, be happy.

I can’t even comment on that. There is absolutely nothing else to add to it. :)

Kim is the owner of a mosaic supply store called Wit’s End Mosaic – check it out here.

And in other random news – the oil paint is finally dry to the touch! Only took 25 days. bleh. And I’m giving myself a Christmas break – I may not post again until after the first of the year, but definitely not untl after Christmas. In fact, I’m not likely to even work on anything in the studio. Not because I have too much to do, but because that’s what I want. So there. :)

Hope you all enjoy the holidays to the fullest, with no stress and no guilt, because after all “life… is about dreams and nuturing and creation.”

Gnothi Seauton, part deux

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:35:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a local artist friend about the project that currently has me stumped, Poppies and Willow. I mentioned that I had started work on another small thing to hopefully shake out the cobwebs and maybe a solution would present itself subconsciously, as sometimes happens. He suggested that maybe the thing to do was to just get in there and attack it. Of course, I think I know what I’m doing, so I told him that I usually end up with something I’m not happy with when I force it. But guess what? I think he was right. At least this time.

I did complete a small project – one to just keep the creative juices flowing, while taking the pressure off the problem. No luck, so I guess I’ll attack and see what that gets me.

This is the small project – Green the Grass Grows – 8” X 8” - transparent smalti, glass beads, tempered glass and polymer clay on mirror.

Apply forehead directly to the brick wall…

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:39:00 +0000

Ah, the ~~pain in the ass~~ joys of being a self-taught artist. Everything must be learned the hard way. Because, after all, the easy lessons don’t stick.

Alright. So. I am not an experienced oil painter, as I have told you before. I love the look of oils, I really enjoyed the way they behaved as I applied them to the canvas. BUT……

The damn things won’t dry!!! 16 days later:

still as wet as the day I applied the paint

at least it makes an effective fly catcher for the fungus gnats in my ivy plant

I used a bit of Winsor & Newton Blending and Glazing Medium, but just a touch, since I wanted an opaque layer. So I’m stepping out of the “learn it the hard way” frame of mind and asking for opinions/suggestions: I’m thinking of trying the Winsor & Newton Griffin Alkyds – anyone have experience with those particular paints? Can I still use the regular glazing medium with those?

Art is Dead – a murder mystery

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:40:00 +0000

I have just finished reading Art Is Dead – A Manifesto for Revolution in the Visual Arts by Ted Mikulski. A very thought provoking book, it offers insight into the current direction (or misdirection) of contemporary art. Ted has compiled the responses of 16 contemporary artists to the statement “art is dead” and interspersed them throughout his own thoughts on the matter.

For my part, I saw a stunning lack of agreement between the artists whose responses were included. Some gave thoughtful essays on why art is or is not dead, some gave whiny blame game responses, and some appeared to be responding to a hallucination instead of the matter at hand. I would guess that’s to be expected from the people who are most affected by the state of contemporary art. It’s sort of a variation on the old saying “you can’t see the forest for the trees”; these people are the trees.

The author suggests that there has been no true “movement” in contemporary art since pop art was spearheaded by Andy Warhol. He writes that what followed was “overwhelmingly angry art that did a full 180-degree turn from the fun, bubbly pop art. Artists wanted to make vulgar statements about life and shock those who viewed it. It was most often depressing and fueled by a sense of artistic anarchy.” Mikulski then goes on to point out that this type of art generally didn’t appeal to patrons. As the status symbol hung on the wall, this type of art would more likely offend guests than impress them, so patrons consequently looked to previous movements and old masters. Meanwhile, many artists cultivated a public personna that included outlandish hair and clothing and bizarre behavior, in which they tried to “out-Warhol” Andy Warhol.

So what is the trend today? No one seems to know, exactly. Mikulski says the word “diverse” is bandied about often enough, and maybe we should just embrace that diversity. As so often happens, there has been a certain synchronicity surrounding this topic for me. As a member of a forum for contemporary mosaic art, a lack of definition of “mosaic” and of “fine art” has been the topic of several conversations there. One member comments:

"Something that I have observed since being involved in mosaic art is that contemporary mosaic art seems to have some kind of identity crisis. We, collectively speaking, seem unable to define it... and sometimes downright unwilling... and unable to embrace any kind of standards of excellence... which could provide instruction, guidance, and direction. Is this just inherent in visual art?"

Perhaps the question about our "identity crisis" in mosaic art is because we're in a period of evolution, in which the flux is hard to understand or quantify. And perhaps it applies not just to contemporary mosaic art, all but visual art. Or maybe we should return to the forest analogy: it’s just because we’re the trees.

Art Is Dead – A Manifesto for Revolution in the Visual Arts by Ted Mikulski is available from Artoholic Publishing Great Christmas gift for your favorite artist or art lover!

An Early Christmas Gift for You…

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:58:00 +0000

As I mentioned a few days ago, I’m a little behind on this holiday spirit thing. There has been precious little planning going on, and those of you who know me will be amazed to hear that I haven’t even put up the Christmas tree yet. (I have, however, been into the Christmas music for awhile now. Thank you, Pandora )

And when I sat down to make a tag for an exchange gift for tomorrow, it occured to me that it would be a nice thing to share. This is an ink drawing I made many years ago for a Christmas open house invitation. I have turned it into a hang tag you can use by printing it out (it prints 9 to a page). There are two versions, one has “Have yourself a merry little Christmas” under the image, and the other has “To:” and "From:” under the image.

When you click on the image above you’ll be taken to my website where you can download full pages of these in PDF format. Simply print them, cut them out and enjoy!

Uncle! Uncle! Uuunclllle!

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:52:00 +0000

What an unproductive week! Ugh. I think a lack of focus has been my primary problem this week – trying to settle back in after travelling for Thanksgiving, my husband left on a business trip Wednesday, and I feel as if I’m fighting off a bug of some sort with a modicum of success, but still fighting. I really want to work on Poppies and Willow, but have run into a design problem with the flower petals that I can’t seem to surmount. Since I often come up with solutions when I stop thinking about them, I decided that what I needed was to start on something else. Of course I could have started on the snow scene I drew up a couple of months ago, but that would have been the easy way. So not my style. So I pulled out a large piece of broken mirror and decided to do a piece that would leave small sections of the mirror uncovered, with brightly colored transparent glass and beads on the rest. But I wasn’t happy with that either, because I decided that it was too big to use as a tool for working out a problem on another piece. Oy.

So I didn’t want to give up idea of transparent glass on mirror, so I pulled out an 8” square mirror designed to place a candle on. Because I had a fair bit of transparent smalti left over from the Dream of the Dragonfly, I decided to go with that instead of stained glass. AND………….. then I ran out of green. Can you hear the sound of defeat? Something between a groan and a sigh? I quit. I’m going to go read a book.

So here’s a blurry photo (including glue smudges on the left). I’d retake the photo, but I had to remove a battery from the camera to put in the wireless mouse to finish this, and it’s just too much to ask to…..oh never mind. Oh, and I broke the “c” key off my keyboard while working on this post. Yeah, Gnarly Head cabernet, here I come!

How about if you just bring me a hot buttered rum instead?

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:54:00 +0000

Wow, the holidays are just such a thing, aren’t they? I love them, but every year it seems I start the holiday season just a little further behind than the previous year. I remember when the kids were little, there seemed to always be time for decorating, baking cookies, sending Christmas cards, getting together with family and friends. And here we are, only December 1, and I find myself thinking – I can’t even get to the laundry, how am I going to do all that other stuff? Was I more organized? More motivated? Less tired? All of the above?

I did manage to get a few Christmas decorations up yesterday while cleaning, although I stopped short of dragging the Christmas tree upstairs. And here I sit, talking to you about how I can’t get my laundry done, instead of hauling myself downstairs and actually doing it. Pfft.

I think I have possibly lost all connection with whatever it is in the brain that keeps people moving in a logical direction. I’ve gotten to the point where things get started and abandoned (at least temporarily) with frightening frequency. Everything from art projects to laundry, gardening projects to blog posts. It’s never been an easy thing for me to stay focused, but I’m certainly worse about it lately. And that’s my excuse for beginning another mosaic instead of working on the Poppies and Willow. I tried to put in an animated gif here, but it got lost somewhere between my desktop and Blogger, so you’ll just have to picture the dancing banana. I have no idea how that relates to this post, but I love it. No, I’m not distracted, I’m just… oh never mind.

I think I let my mind wander because…….(prepare for excuse in 3…2…1..) I’m not normally a sparkly type. But the sparkle of Christmas lights and shiny ornaments are so enchanting this time of year, that I want to do something sparkly. And the Poppies and Willow won’t be sparkly. I know, I know, it’s weak, but it’s all I’ve got. So if I end up pursuing that I’ll get some pics up next post, or if I guilt myself out of it, I’ll get back to work on the old saw. But right now I have to go smack my furnace so it will turn back on.

Shy. And apparently stubborn….

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:48:00 +0000

I’m working on a painting of the back side of a sunflower which will be called “Shy”. This seems to me to be taking much longer than it should. What is it with me? I thought it was just the mosaics, and the time consuming nature of that medium (which everyone who works in it will tell you). Apparently not. Or this particular painting is being stubborn. I think I’ll blame the painting.

I had painted the first layer of petals some time ago, and today managed to put some of the second (closer) layer on. I only got about 2/3 of the way around the flower in the time I had to spend on it. And no, I’m not telling you how long it took… There are some funny reflections on the greens which aren’t there in real life. Eh. They will be reworked pretty extensively once the petals are done. And maybe then I’ll get a decent picture. Or not.

So this will be my last post until at least the Monday after Thanksgiving, as I will be out of town. I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving.

Til then….

Art Every Day – Day 21

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:22:00 +0000

Today’s art consisted of rebuilding a small part of a rock wall on our property, stacking the granite by trial and error until I could find a combination that is sturdy. It didn’t occur to me to take pictures of the wall (not that it’s much to look at) so I found you a little treasure to enjoy in it’s place:

Bonus points: What’s the name of the piece playing in the background and the composer?

Watching glue dry…

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:17:00 +0000

A strange looking start, I know. But I’m planning to try something new with this one. By overlapping glass on the flowers, I hope to give them a somewhat 3D look. The centers are an extremely deep purple, almost black, that I bought for Garden Diva. Although you can’t see it very well, there is a sheet of white wispy stained glass to the left. Ignore that. LOL. I had planned to use it for the flower petals, but it’s a very cool white, and the freshwater pearls which will be glued to the centers were too warm a white to suit me together. So instead I will use a warm pink and white wispy stained glass. But I can go no further until the glue dries on these. Just as well. I’m getting hungry, and I get sloppy when I start thinking about foraging through the kitchen instead of paying attention to what I’m working on.

I might actually set this aside now until after Thanksgiving. I ordered a tiny glass grinder bit to help with shaping the intricate petals and I don’t know how long it might take to get it. Also we’ll be travelling for Thanksgiving anyway, so I have those preparations to deal with. Not that I have all that much to do – it’s not like it was when my kids were little. But it makes a fair excuse.

Not sure what’s in the air today, but it sure has caused a lot of dangling participles. Eh. So what.

On a roll or in a rut?

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:52:00 +0000

I guess there’s a fine line between following a theme and being stuck in a rut. Odd that I should even contemplate that, being endowed with such a short attention span, but I wonder which it is nonetheless. Having completed the winter scene yesterday and revisited the photos of the bare tree postcards I sent last June, I was inspired to go ahead and get on the oil painting versions of the gold leaf postcards today. I have scumbled a very thin layer of burnt umber over the whole things, then added the basics of the trees in a mixture of burnt sienna and burnt umber. I will add a bit more detail and correct a couple of small things I don’t like, but to overwork them would make them lose their starkness, which is much of what I like about them. They’ll probably sit awhile before I come back to them, because the backordered glass for Poppies and Willow came today (only 2 days behind the rest of the order! Go Delphi!)

These canvases are 6” square, by the way. I will eventually frame them in simple black wood frames and hang one above the other on the wall. Which one should go on top?

What?!? 3 weeks ahead of a deadline?!?

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:34:00 +0000

Ok….if you’re a member of the Great Bay Art Association, avert your eyes – quick!

Today I painted a mini watercolor for the exchange we’re having at the December meeting. I would hate to spoil the surprise, although knowing me, there’s a good chance I’ll end up doing something else anyway. It is 3 whole weeks away, after all! I just wanted to know I had something to share without being up against another deadline. This deadline thing is cramping my style.

Another crappy photo, which doesn’t pick up the colors well. Ugh. Whatever.

This is Midwinter Sunrise, 3”h X 4.5”w watercolor on Arches 140# hot press paper.

I really like photos and paintings of bare trees against a beautiful sky. Which is weird, since I don’t like winter. I have already planned to do a couple of bare trees on canvas board covered with gold leaf. In the mail art exchange I participated in last June, I did a series of bare tree paintings on top of gold leaf, but they were acrylic on paper. I wasn’t especially pleased with the way the acrylic seemed to “float” on the gold leaf, so I want to do two more and try them in oil, and frame them for our guest room. Anyway, here’s a peek at the postcard versions:

And I still haven’t touched that sunflower painting……

Design for a new mosaic - December

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:28:00 +0000

I don’t think I posted about this before - it was done about a month ago (maybe two?) but I don’t see that I have shown it to you. This is a drawing for another mosaic – a winter scene inspired by the theme of Ciel Gallery’s current exhibit “Winter Whites”. I have some white polymer clay tiles that I experimented with quite some time ago. Using a pasta roller for the clay, I rolled some silver leaf on top of the clay, and the result reminded me of the type of striations you see on birch bark. So a little research into some winter scenes with a creek and some trees for inspiration turned up the following pics:

Also, I received most of the glass I ordered for the Poppies and Willow, but one of the stained glass sheets I ordered is on backorder. So, my dilemma, which really sounds so very minor when I write it down, is whether to wait on it. I would like to start that one with the flowers, and of course, that’s the glass I have to wait for. Maybe I’ll end up working on two at once – something I have never done before. I often have other things in the works (for example, the painting I still haven’t finished!) but mosaics take up a lot of space in the studio. Eh…….I don’t know what to do.

Duh…I should finish the painting.

Art Every Day – Day 13 (sort of)

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:52:00 +0000

Yes, I have taken a couple of days off. I needed it. In fact, today was almost a day off from my life – I slept like a baby last night until quite late, then spent the day wandering around: went to the mall, briefly visited a friend, met up with my youngest son, came home and watched Top Gear. But last night I hosted a Life Drawing class for some friends – so I haven’t been a total indigent. We have just started this evening group (there has been a morning group meeting for quite some time) and it’s a great thing for me. I need drawing practice, and this is a wonderful, low-pressure, no-judgment group. Each person takes a turn posing for the group, and everyone else talks and laughs (sometimes at their mistakes) and gets a little better with each attempt. Last night I had one small moment when I thought I would make a drawing that I was actually proud of, and then DJ said her hand was falling asleep and had to move! I would put a picture of the drawing up here, but the pencil marks were so light I couldn’t photograph them adequately. So you will have to take my word for it – because I would never lie to you. Really.

In other news, I was notified today that my latest mosaic, Oak andAcanthus, was accepted into the exhibition at Maplestone Gallery. Maplestone is a new gallery in Creemore, Ontario, Canada that is devoted to mosaics. The grand opening is December 12, 2009. I’m honored to be juried into their grand opening exhibit!

And tomorrow my husband and I will deliver the commission mosaic Dream of the Dragonfly to its new owner in Burlington, VT and visit some of my husband’s cousins. The last few times we have seen his cousins has been at a funeral, and it will be really refreshing to visit with them without that sadness hanging around the corners of the room.

Sorry I have no pics today, but if you’re really, really good this weekend, maybe I’ll put something up on Monday :)

Now what do I do for Art Every Day?

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:24:00 +0000

I haven’t posted any pics for a couple of days, but that’s not becuase I haven’t been working on this! It’s only because I worked on it until I couldn’t see straight to type. Now I’m fighting the urge to take a nap. I have been so high strung over my deadlines on finishing this piece, that I could just collapse in a heap. As of about an hour ago, the piece was finished, photographed and submitted. Ahhhhh……

	detail of upper right
detail of lower left	detail of ball chain

The ball chain is the stuff you buy at the hardward store to replace the pull chain on your ceiling fan. I don’t know why I think that’s so cool – I guess because it’s so pedestrian an item, and a marble mosaic makes me think of Roman baths or patrician homes in Pompeii.

Honestly? I liked it better before I grouted it. The white veins in the black marble seemed really interesting before being grouted. Now it looks to me like I dribbled the lighter colored grout in the middle of the black. Bummer. But this being the first piece I’ve done in marble, I learned a lot from it. I really love working with it. I love the feel of it, and because I used the thin tiles available from Mosaic Rocks, it cuts well (although the green could be a little unpredictable). God forbid you try to cut the thicker stuff (some of which I got from Mosaic Art Supply) without a hammer and hardie at your disposal! Oy….

Art Every Day – Day 7

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:39:00 +0000

YAY ME!

I’m on schedule! Marble is done, now to do the pre-grout sealer, let it dry overnight, then grout tomorrow. There have been no major roadblocks yet – one minor one. Yesterday I stopped at Home Depot to pick up the proper sealer for the marble. (Grout can stain marble if you don’t seal it first) I wanted the type that enhances and slightly darkens the stone. I was pretty sure I knew which one I wanted, but the packaging has changed since I last considered buying it, so I was dithering. An employee came over and tried to help (bless his heart) but he didn’t know any more than I did. He then called over someone else, who then argued me out of the one I thought I wanted. She insisted that I buy a different one (which was WAY more expensive, by the way), so I caved. Guess what? I tested it this morning, and it is NOT the one I wanted. So I have to return that tonight – but no biggie. This is the kind of set back I can handle!

Beer me. I deserve it. :)

Art Every Day – Day 6

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:16:00 +0000

So last night after I posted a picture and ate ~~half a carrot cake~~ dinner, I went back to work on the gold travertine. My goal was to finish the gold last night, but I realized at one point that I would be better served to fill in some of the black around the lower acanthus leaf instead. I have no idea why. It seemed like a marvelous idea at the time. Of course today’s commitments took a little longer than expected, so it was 4:00 before I even got started today. I have now finished the gold travertine and it’s time to start dinner. I’ll come back to it again tonight and get some more of the black done, then tomorrow finish the black.

See you tomorrow!

Art Every Day – Day 5

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:29:00 +0000

Oohh…..I think I might actually make it. I might make the deadline. Today has been an intensive day in the studio, and I will come back again after dinner to do some more. Tomorrow will be a half day because of prior commitments , so I’d better make hay while the sun shines. (That’s such a Midwesterner’s saying, isn’t it?)

Somehow this photo is pretty distorted, I must have been holding the camera at an angle. Anyway, my goal is to finish the gold travertine tonight. Then with tomorrow’s half day, and all of Saturday, I should have no problem finishing the black background. After the thinset has cured overnight, I can grout on Sunday (which is a bigger deal than one might imagine, unless you’ve done it). Also, I plan to use 3 different colors of grout which is way more time consuming than a single color. So…Monday it can be photographed and the application submitted. Now….universe? You hear me? Don’t throw any roadblocks in my way just for sh*ts and giggles. If I can’t stick to that schedule, this ain’t happening, and baby you don’t want to face me on Tuesday if you’ve derailed me. Huh. So there.

Art Every Day – Day 4

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:14:00 +0000

I’m a risk taker. No mosaic work at all today. Frankly, I think I needed a break anyway. But today we’re celebrating my youngest son’s birthday, and my contribution to AEDM today is a cake. Not a fancy cake, but one from the heart. (*Corny*)!!!!

Ben turns 20 tomorrow. He was such an easy child when he was young (it didn’t last long) but he has become an amazing person. He’s very easy to be around again. He has his own apartment and I miss having him here. But I usually get to spend every Wednesday with him, since that’s his day off (and I own the washer and dryer)

Happy Birthday Ben!

Art Every Day – Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Honestly, when I look back at the picture I took yesterday and consider that today I spent most of 7 hours on this, with only short occassional breaks to stretch my back, I get a little depressed. *Sigh*

Not sure how much I will do tomorrow ~ certainly not 7 hours. Tomorrow I’m making a birthday dinner for my youngest son (who turns 20 on Thursday!!!). But it’s probably a good thing that I won’t have that much time to spend on it – I would feel obligated to keep at it, and I might end up throwing it out the window.

See you tomorrow!

Art Every Day – Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:24:00 +0000

Day 2 of the Art Every Day Month – the morning and early afternoon were taken up by errands and grocery shopping, which left me with only about 2 hours to work on it. And I must admit, I have an ulterior motive for participating in this challenge anyway ~(NOW you tell us!!)~ I have a deadline to finish this piece and hope the challenge keeps me on track. I need to have it completed, grouted and photographed by November 9 for submission to an exhibition. Yeah, that’s only 7 days. Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? Mmmmm…..

Anyway, below is today’s progess…

Ok, just go ahead and shoot me now.

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:29:00 +0000

What possesses me to make commitments when I already feel strung out, behind on housework, yardwork, and grocery shopping? Well, I’ve gone and done it again. Leah Piken Kolidas writes a blog that I enjoy. She uses challenges to help motivate herself and other artists to keep the creative juices flowing. She has a Creative Every Day challenge, to do something creative, whether that be art, cooking, taking pictures, knitting…whatever, and then share it with the others in the challenge. It is an ongoing thing, and she posts optional themes for each month in advance. I decided that might be too long term for me, what with my incredibly short attention span. So instead I have joined her Art Every Day challenge. In this one, for the month of November, you are supposed to make some art every day and share it with the others. But when December gets here I’m free. I think I can do this. Maybe.

So…I will be posting my efforts here and linking to it from Leah’s blog. You can see what the others are up to by going to the Art Every Day blog. All the participants are listed in a drop down list on the right, and you can click on the names to be taken to wherever they are posting (might be a blog, or Flickr, etc.)

Because most of my stuff takes ~~so damn long~~ weeks or months to make, I’ll be posting progress photos here, rather than individual artworks. Probably. So here is the mosaic I worked on today:

See you tomorrow!

Boo!

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:20:00 +0000

I LOVE Halloween! When I was a kid, it was my favorite holiday. Forget Christmas….I got socks, dolls, stuff I generally wasn’t all that interested in. But HALLOWEEN? Yeah, baby. Can you say sugar coma? I went trick-or-treating with a pillowcase! No tiny plastic pumpkins for me! And an elderly neighbor lady used to make fresh caramel popcorn balls for us. She would only pass them out after we came inside and admired her collection of dolls in glass cases. Well, hey, the best treat and the best scare all in one stop – beat that!

But aside from the candy haul, I always loved the macabre. I can’t explain it, but things that are intended to frighten have always drawn me in. I think it was in part because some of the images were ridiculous to the rational mind, and so I never understood their power to frighten. I loved the old scary movies – anything with Vincent Price or Frank Langella. Vampires, swamp things, giant ants, walking mummies and skeletons – they were fascinating because they were impossible. As an adult, I began to understand the symbolic and archetypal aspects of the macabre, and appreciate it all on a whole new level.

So in honor of all that Halloween is…… a little video compilation:

Poppies and Willow

noreply@blogger.com (Lee Ann) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:19:00 +0000

I’ll give you a peek at what’s coming next, if you promise not to make fun of the smeary pencil marks that won’t come off the primed MDF. I drew a loose pencil sketch of what I wanted on the board, then went over it in permanent marker and adjusted some things as I went. Of course I wanted to take a picture of it, so I tried to erase the pencil marks off the areas that were adjusted. Ummmm, for future reference, they won’t come off primed MDF. You can certainly smear them to the point where you don’t know quite where they were originally, but – that graphite ain’t goin’ nowhere!

The design is adapted from a William Morris wallpaper design from 1873.

Oh, one thing I should mention: if you are drawing out a design for a mosaic and are planning to use a white or light colored grout (and of course you always plan all that stuff out, right?) don’t use permanent marker. It will very likely show through the grout in places after you’re done. This will be grouted in charcoal, so I’m not worried about show through.

And the marble piece, Oak and Acanthus, is coming along faster than it seems most of my projects do. Can’t explain it, but I’m grateful to be working a little faster. I get frustrated with being so slow, because I get some great ideas, and if I have to wait to long to start them, I’ll lose enthusiasm for them. Game over - they’ll never get made. In fact, I have one piece that I made a drawing for (just on paper, not on the substrate), and now I’m finding my interest waning. Uh oh. I’d look for a support group for my apparent ADHD but I can’t stay focused long enough.