[saturday 2005.02.26]
airplane block print

tonight i played around with block printing. i cut up a 4" x 6" linoleum block and did a few pulls. i feel the need to spread my wings and soar right now.

[ posted by beth at 11:03PM ] [ ]

i've been feeling unwell most of this past week, and did not think that i'd get something done for this week's i-fri. whenever i am feeling sad, i like to have a furry friend around. the corner of the room is lighter to signify that there is hope... there is always a bright light no matter how gloomy you feel.

mixed media

[ posted by beth at 1:57PM ] [ ]

i had all these innovative, cool ways to showcase my portfolio. but when it came time to execute them, it was not coming out the way i wanted. so instead of postponing this even longer, i decided to do simple thumbnails. not the most original, but at least i finally have some of my art online. and i'll be adding more art during the next few months. click on the graphic below to check it out.

[ posted by beth at 7:59PM ] [ ]

on saturday, we went to the maya polsky gallery to see the ed paschke memorial exhibit. it was interesting to learn that his wife nancy died just 7 weeks after he did. his work as always drawn me in with the eyes. it is something about the way he paints the eyes and the bright, bold colors and layers of those colors that mesmerize me. i am particulary fond of his early work from the 1960's.

[ posted by beth at 9:15PM ] [ ]

and i am mostly happy. the tank came out awesome. the colors are right on and the image is very crisp. it looks exactly like my watercolor. the greeting cards are all right as well- the colors are perfect. my only complaint is that the edges are a little rigid. you can only tell if you look closely, and i am a huge perfectionist, so any little thing like this jumps out at me. but overall the cards are nice as well. i'm happy.

the coffee mug... that is another story. the colors are way off. it has a dirty green tint to it. the colors do not match the tank or the cards at all. i'm surprised that they did not notice this before it was shipped. not sure why the big color change... if it because of the surface of the mug that accepts color differently, or maybe they ran the image off on a different machine or used a different process? i am going to return the mug to cafepress, and i also took it off my store because i'm not happy with the quality of it & i don't want to sell less than perfect goods. when cafepress can resolve this issue, i'll add the mug back to my store.

[ posted by beth at 3:19PM ] [ ]

blue jays take flight. airplanes take flight. witches on brooms take flight. magic carpets take flight. dodo birds never took flight.

dreams also take flight. that is the way i've been feeling lately. and this little acorn's dream of becoming a majestic oak tree will soon be.

watercolor

[ posted by beth at 5:54PM ] [ ]

i wanted to do some shrinky dink magnets for the file cabinet in my new "office" at work. i had forgotten just how much shrinky dinks shrink. they shrunk down about 75%. these are too small to use as magnets, but it was a learning experience. i also learned that you can not use standard shrinky dink paper in the printer. chad tried this and it did not work. however they do make special inkjet paper for shrinky projects, so my next quest is to find some.

my first shrinky dinks in nearly twenty years, on computer to show size

[ posted by beth at 6:11PM ] [ ]

i was delighted when i found out that penelope chose my topic suggestion as this week's illustration friday theme. during the chinese new year celebration, vertical red banners are very popular as decorations. i wanted to do something along that line, so i choose to do three vertical banners with one design spreading across them. yiyou is the old name of the new year, the representational animal for 2005 is the rooster and it is year 4702 on the chinese calendar. the fish is symbolic of plenty and bounty.

.60 rapidograph and colored pencil

[ posted by beth at 5:45PM ] [ ]

personally i don't need a special day to eat paczkis. i get them almost everytime i'm at the polish bakery. don't bother with the imposter paczkis that jewel and other mainstream grocery stores sell. they are not the same as a real paczki from a reputable bakery. my favorite flavors are apricot & prune. this tradition is celebrated by polish americans on the tuesday before ash wednesday. in poland, they celebrate the thursday before.

you can even buy your own paczki dolls over at paczki pals. personally, i'd rather just eat them.

[ posted by beth at 5:45PM ] [ ]

okay, so we don't really watch the super bowl, or any football at all for that matter. but a lazy rainy sunday afternoon calls for a great munchie food. this is a favorite of mine- buffalo chicken dip. it goes great with crunchy tortilla chips and beer.

get the recipe & see photos here

[ posted by beth at 5:45PM ] [ ]

i wanted to show friendship as a "friend" ship. two pals sailing aboard u.s.s. friend. afterall, your friends are the ones who keep you afloat. and a friendship is a journey. one often thinks of sailing as a journey, a discovery, an adventure. i wonder what lies ahead for our two pals...

india ink on cold press illustration board

[ posted by beth at 1:25PM ] [ ]

i found this old ad for jackson hole, and i like the visual diagonal lines in the graphics. but the main reason i like this ad is because of the motto... the words say it all. they capture my thoughts exactly.

[ posted by beth at 8:19PM ] [ ]

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