Ok, kids this is what happened in my studio and/or living room this week: I've been experimenting with gesso transfers, layering, and scrubbing away. Here are some of the poor beaten pieces of paper I've been working on. They're getting tired, but not finished yet! I need to calm them down, focus, and punch some highlights.

I had critiques with Cassandra Barney and Andrew Ballsteadt this week. They offered some good suggestions. I might start painting unicorns. Andrew loved the bunnies. He was so excited about my work. It felt very encouraging. I could go and paint a hundred more furry creatures. After his review on Friday, I just wanted to walk on sunshine, paint in the studio like a mad woman, and smile til my cheeks hurt because I loved art so much!

Consequentlly, my brain has been churning and working out some potentially exciting ideas involving non-traditional materials such as notebook paper, thread, tissue paper and spray paint...Experiments coming soon. I'm gonna start working BIG, which is thrilling and potentially disastrous!

Oh, and here's some sewing. I'm helping a friend make a quilt. Sewing makes me feel motherly and feminine, probably because my mom is such a fabulous seamstress.

Ok, this past week I took one small baby step. I decided to start, to just start working, because I was tired of beating my head against the wall trying to figure out my concept. As I began to paint, more ideas flowed and linked together.

Sunny's mentorship and Mixed Media class is helping me out. I've tried different techniques, especially layering and sanding acrylic paints. So, I've begun these portraits involving layers of paint and text. The writing comes from interviews I conducted this past summer in Germany with young adults about their "coming of age" process and what it meant to them to approach adulthood. They still have have a ways to go and I'm learning how far I can push and pull through the layers. Color is also still tricky for me. And now, I'm actually wondering if I need the cameo-like portraits at all. Maybe the writing can be the art itself.

My Own Space

First, terribly exciting for me, I got some studio space!  Oh, I’ve been hoping and wishing for a sliver of studio all to myself. However, once in my happy new space, I didn’t get too far.

This week was hard. This week was frustrating. I just spent hours and hours researching by gathering images and looking at new artists. I made a concept map to help me brainstorm and worked in my sketchbook. I experimented with mixed media techniques combining ink, watercolor, acrylic, etc. Oh, and I painted over an ugly painting.