Sunberst> Journal
SFG Blank Book
[ Thursday 2008.03.20 ]
sneak peek of my SFGBBP illustration
The other week was my turn to illustrate in the SFG Blank Book. What an awe-inspiring book! The illustrations are ALL beautifully done and well thought out. I really, really, really wanted to paint directly onto the pages but was surprised at how thin the paper was (paint on thin paper = warping = oh no). But with a little creative thinking and some gesso I was able to create a sturdy base so that I could brush on acrylics until my heart was content. The book is now in the hands of my fellow illustrator and "neighbor" Rebecca Lashock. A big thanks to Steph & Jeff for putting this project together. This is going to be an amazing collection of art when it is all done.
[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]
Northern Illinois University
[ Monday 2008.02.18 ]
My thoughts and prayers go out to our community.
[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]
Holiday Vee Dub Gocco Print
[ Monday 2008.01.07 ]
Also known as my first gocco print, which also doubles as my holiday thank you cards. I used 3 ink colors on a paper bag type of cardstock, which happens to go along with our brown gift wrap theme. The gocco is such a fun toy... er... I mean tool to use. :)
[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]
Merry Holidays!
[ Thursday 2007.12.27 ]
( Custom Photo Christmas Cards designed by me, printed by Studio Style. )
Hoping that your holiday was filled with cheer and wishes for a warm and safe New Year.
[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]
Happy Gocco Season
[ Wednesday 2007.12.19 ]
Even though it is not officially December 25th, C gave me my present early on one condition: I must use it before x-mas. Seeing that this is the best present EVER, this task was not hard to do!
I don't know why those tele commercials tell men that women want jewelry for Christmas. Screw heart-shaped necklaces and triple diamond rings that all look alike. What a girl really wants is a Print Gocco! :) I've wanted a Print Gocco for years, but there was talk of Riso discontinuing it, and a whole campaign was launched to Save Gocco. Knowing that Riso was planning to stop production, and also the problem of locating increasingly hard-to-find proprietary supplies for it, we decided to get traditional silkscreen supplies instead.
With traditional silkscreening, there is not a print size limitation, supplies are easy to find at any reputable art store & it seemed like the way to go. Don't get me wrong, I love my old silkscreening supplies. You may remember previous posts like this one where I played with a combination of painted texture backgrounds with silkscreen on top. Once I'm in the screen printing zone, it is all sunny skies and birds chirping and I get that being in love feeling, but the "task" of mixing chemicals, exposing the screen, washing the screen, waiting for the screen to dry, taping, burning multiple screens for each stinkin' color... it can be daunting. For an artist, I have little patience. And sometimes I laugh at the absurdity of that because I'm always harping on how the journey is more fun than the final result. Maybe I just prefer a lot of little shorter journeys as opposed to one long drawn-out one?
The Print Gocco satisfies my need for instant-gratification, while still allowing me to enjoy the process (journey) of printmaking. I mean if I really wanted to speed things up I could just take my drawing and scan it and hit the print button on my ink jet printer and mass produce hundreds of digital copies. But that is not the same and not my style. I like the look & feel of printmaking. That classic hand-pulled look. The handmade nature of it. And even if I make 100 prints, each one will have slight variation to it.
Have I mentioned the portability? This sucker can travel! It is small, light weight and requires no messy chemicals or unwieldy frames. The B6 uses 2 small batteries to make the light bulbs "pop" and expose the master (screen). This means that I could take this puppy camping! Or on a boat! Not sure that I'd need to, but if the desire to climb a mountain just to sit on the peak making prints ever arises, then by golly I can do so.
Last night while listening to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (sorry, on a Wilco kick lately, it is my month-of-December-music), I made my first master and made over a dozen prints! Not posting the final prints- yet. Although I was impressed with how they turned out, want to tweak a few things first and make another run. Last night was more of an experimentation. A fun short journey, and I hope to have another one tonight.
If anyone else uses a Gocco, I'd love to hear your tips or hear about your first experience!
[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]
The Place You Are From
[ Sunday 2007.12.16 ]
 "...Saxophones started blowing me down,
I was buried in sound,
Taxicabs were driving me around..." - Wilco
Last week while downtown for class, I came to some realizations about where I come from. Some may see Chicago's cold, icy, windy, snowy, dark & dreary winters as its biggest flaw. Last week I saw this as its biggest strength. People from Chicago are strong. They don't let a string of bad weather slow them down. They put on their down-filled black coats that resemble mummy-esque sleeping bags more than they do outer wear, and set out amongst the tall, shiny, glassy & gray skyscrapers in a perfectly orchestrated commuter's dance. In other cities, when the temperature falls into the mid-teens and rain-turns-to-sleet-turns-to-ice begins to fall, people would be inclined to pull out large golf umbrellas. Not here. The precipitation does not phase them, the drops seem to bounce off of their perseverance. Their strength & optimism lights up every sidewalk and pedway. On the train home, I listened to an album that seemed to be made specifically for this city and its winter personality. And as I looked out the window at the smokestacks standing tall like cigarettes puffing up billows of gray-white cottony smoke, it made me happy to be here in this place that I call home.
Then I walked off, splashing through slushy puddles, letting the icy rain fall on my face. Sometimes our biggest weakness can show our greatest strengths.
[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]
Illustration Friday: Superstition
[ Tuesday 2007.11.20 ]
Superstition: "A frog brings good luck to the house it enters."
I liked doing research on all the happy good luck symbolism that is out there. Can't ever remember illustrating frogs before, so this was fun.
[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]
Method Green Market Tote
[ Monday 2007.11.19 ]
Even though Method is a somewhat "light-medium green" company (they still use artificial colors and fragrances, which is okay with me, but some folk may shake their finger at that) I like that they are non-toxic unlike most of the cleaners out there. Wearing rubber gloves and a face mask to clean is not my cup of tea. This company gets extra points this year for giving away free tote bags when you purchase $20 worth of product from now until the end of the year. If the writing all over the bag is a little too loud, it is reversable to a nice solid blue color. With an inside zip pocket, and long handles to sling over your shoulder, it makes for a practical and stylish bag for groceries, going to the gym or toting holiday gifts to loved ones. The folks at Method make it really easy to send away for it. No need to waste a stamp and paper to mail in the form. You can just email them a copy of your receipt. Method gets extra credit points for minimally packaging the bag and offsetting the transportation of it from their place to mine, by their purchase of wind energy credits.
[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]
Osana Orange
[ Sunday 2007.11.18 ]
On a trail near our home, there were beautiful hedgeapples in the grass. We tried to collect some, but unfortunately they were all smashed or run over by bicycles. My Aunt was nice enough to gather one from her yard 100 miles away and give it to us. They are suppose to keep spiders away so a lot of people put them in their basement or garage. I simply love the surprising green color that makes you look twice, the texture and the way it looks against the red kitchen walls. It's location, near a sunny window, led to it slowly starting to rot. The recessed lines started to darken to black, and the side that faces the sun opend up into a black hole. I snapped this picture on its last day in our house. Everything has it's end, but next year there will be more hedgeapples to look forward to... more lovely gifts from the trees.
[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]
Mix Tape Zine Issue 2
[ Wednesday 2007.11.14 ]
Issue 2 of the newest artsy & crafty zine is now available, and features my illustration "Listen to Nature" (Thanks guys!). Mix Tape is an Australian zine that has quickly assembled a cult-like following. Their tagline is: a zine about making time for the small things. I like that.
[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]
Current Desktop Diagnosis: Messy. Very, Very Messy.
[ Friday 2007.11.09 ]
The current state of my desktop is not pretty. This week has been a whirl wind which has left files littered everywhere. Time to turn off the computer, take a deep breath and have a calming weekend. Monday will be a fresh start. Tabula Rasa.
[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]
Making The Right Turn
[ Saturday 2007.11.03 ]
Harvesting birdhouse gourds
Today was one of those days that all other days should be like. A day where you have a certain peace, tranquility and awareness about yourself and life in general that exceeds everything you thought you knew.
Woke up early and had a nice breakfast. On the day's agenda was a few errands, which happened to be near a yoga place that I've been curious about. Just in case I decided to drop into class, I dressed in comfy clothes and made sure my yoga mat was in the car.
I was a little nervous to walk into the new yoga place. It's a long story, but I've been going to yoga somewhere else, but have been unhappy with it for a number of reasons. But it is close, and comfortable and going somewhere new can be a little scary. What if I can't relax my mind and have a million thoughts marching through my head like a loud Thanksgiving Day parade? What if everyone is really advanced, and I can't balance in warrior pose and end up toppling over and crashing to the floor? All these "what ifs" kept going through my head, and as I drove closer to my destination I came to a fork in the road (literally). One way to yoga, the other way to my errands. If I just did my errands, I'd be done in an hour and could be on my way home to go other things and not have to worry about a bad downward dog experience. On the other hand, I don't want to to regret not going, not pushing myself to try something.
My car made the right turn. I found myself heading up a tall flight of stairs to yoga class. At the top of the stairs, a line of empty shoes sat along the wall. Flip flops, mules, gym shoes... they all sat there in an orderly fashion, patiently waiting for their owners to come back and claim them. I slid off my sandals and carefully added them next to the others. Class was inside the closed door, and a window showed a glimpse of the room. Several people stood outside the door chatting and I felt a bit out of place. Do I enter? Do I wait outside? What is the procedure? Just then, the door opened and the happiest-looking person I've seen in a long time came out and introduced herself to me as the instructor. She had a certain calm & confidence about her that instantly relaxed me and I knew this was the right place.
The class was everything I hoped it would be. I went so deep into my practice, feeling muscles that my body forgot about. Feeling peace and balance, both physically and spiritually. The sun was shining in the windows and bouncing off the polished hardwood floors. Someone was burning leaves nearby in the neighborhood and the faint sweet smell of fire and earth made its way into the room, and into each breathe. Sure, thoughts as loud as a marching band paraded through my head, but I was able to silence them. After an hour and a half of a thoroughly good class, I felt so energized and just alive. That feeling you get when you are just aware. Aware of everything, and everything seems right.
Afterwards, I did my errands, picked up Little Village Tacos and drove through peaceful open country roads. The fall colors are still quite vibrant, despite it being November, and the sun makes everything glow so much brighter. The rest of the day was spent taking Blaine for a walk in the park through a canopy of yellow-leaf trees and harvesting our gourds. I washed a whole wheel barrow full of birdhouse gourds with warm, soapy water and C hung them with twine from the rafters in our garage. They look beautiful suspended from the ceiling, like big decorative ornaments. Today was a fulfilling and nurturing day.
Oh, and about the fear of falling down in yoga class? It did'nt happen. And if it ever does, I know I could laugh about it and pick myself back up.
[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]
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