Rainy Day Rose

This is a real departure for me.  I'm in the process of practicing painting roses and today I decided to loosen up and speed- paint in acrylics. This is a 16x20 inch acrylic on canvas.  As you see, I am still obsessed with flowers.

 I would love to see if I can create some of this texture in water-mixable oils.

"Fuchsia" - black clayboard engraving

This is my latest scratchboard etching.  To see all the versions which led up to this final, see my art blog at   http://emerlyearts.blogspot.com/2013/03/fuchsia-black-clayboard-engraving.html

La Vida - line drawing

This is the line drawing to a painting I have in mind which, hopefully, will be part of a series called Guardians.  You will notice that the perspective is deliberately askew.  Her "envelope", meant to suggest a bud or cocoon, goes underwater on one side and over land on the other.  Arms crossed, envelope crossed.  Every class of creature is represented:  bird, mammal, fish, amphibian, reptile, plant, insect.... 

Marigolds for Chocolate

I was approached by a woman in Oregon who manufactures chocolate and wanted me to cut her a custom kirigami mandala with a marigold design in the center.  This design will go on the chocolate labels.  Here is what I cut for her. Which orientation do you like the best?

I can't wait to see the labels (and taste the chocolate!)

Custom Wedding Kirigami Papercutting

I've just finished a commissioned papercutting for a couple soon to be married.
The design depicts a long-haired woman and a short haired man with glasses holding a heart. Beneath them is a cameo of the Golden Gate Bridge. In the surrounding border are four scales (lawyer) which also form a kind of compass (stay true, right direction, etc.) There are star-like flowers and leaves and a claddadh.

I left the design un-ironed. That way the dimensionality of the papercut comes through more. This will flatten out when framed between glass, if that is the method desired.

Colored Mandala

Here is the hand colored version of my "Serfs" mandala.  This will likely become the cover to my new set of adult coloring pages with a medieval theme.  What do you think?

Moth Southeast Asia - black clayboard engraving

Here is the first in a series of 5x7 black clayboard engravings I will be doing with the theme of butterflies/moths. 

A New Set of Coloring Pages

I've just finished the cover layout for Set 3 in the Mandala series of my adult coloring pages.  If all goes well with the proofs, I will be printing these and offering them for sale in a couple of weeks.

Cup Flowers

Here is my newest scratchboard, called "Cup Flowers." 
Visit Studio 47 gallery in Woodstock to see more.

Star Flower - scratchboard

This black clayboard engraving (scratchboard) is 8x10 inches and depicts two fantasy flowers I am calling star flowers, wound with a striped ribbon.  This is about a 26-30 hour project done by hand in my Night Studio.  This engraving will be available for sale through Studio 47 Gallery in Woodstock, Vermont.  Enjoy.

A 3D Kirigami Papercut

This 3D papercut was made as an engagement present and delivered today.

Comfrey - my latest scratchboard engraving

This black clayboard engraving, named "Comfrey," is the final 10x8 inch scratchboard in a set of four.

When I finish framing them, along with four 7x5's, they will be going to Studio 47 gallery in Woodstock, Vermont. Stay tuned.

My New Online Kirigami Classes

My online Kirigami papercutting classes are live now for registration.  Check it out HERE.

http://www.ornadesign.com/v2/home/cyberclasses/

Pearlflower - a new Scratchboard Engraving

I wanted to finish my series of small 5x7 inch scratchboard engravings so I could move on to larger sizes.  This is "Pearlflower,"  the last of the smalls.

Practicing White Clayboard Engraving

I'm having a little love affair with clayboard engraving (scratchboard.)  I started in the traditional black and have now moved to colorized white clayboard.  This satisfies my need to create in the most tedious, time-consuming medium available.  Actually, I love the detail that can be achieved.

Right now I am experimenting with ways to colorize the clayboard, which is a very smooth surface and doesn't take paint very well.  I've tried watercolor, acrylic, ink, gouache, and oil.  Anything opaque isn't making me happy.  I like the luminosity that a transparent color can provide.  Oil, gouache, and straight acrylic is too thick to scratch well.  Watercolor looks nice but smears when re-moistened.  Ink stains the board and is luminous enough but is soooooo tedious to work with because you need to build up layers of color so gradually to avoid blooms. 

Here are two ink-colored boards I've done recently.

Butterfly - black clayboard etching

Here is my latest black clayboard etching (scratchboard.)  This is a 5x7 inch work on Ampersand clayboard.

New Scratchboard Etching

I'm nearly finished with the center of a new scratchboard design. I quite like this one.  I haven't figured out what to do with the border yet. Stay tuned.

A Scratchboard Border Design

After visiting Judy Jensen's Studio the other day and being inspired by her gorgeous illustrations, I am inspired to practice my scratchboard work again.  Since I found myself unexpectedly babysitting all day, I retrieved a 5"x7" rigid Ampersand scratchbord from the closet and began sketching.  My little ward was fascinated, so I had an observer most of the time.  This little piece was a three movie affair.  I took some (bad) photos of it in process and then scanned the finished design.

Here is the result after one movie: ("The Last Unicorn.) I've laid out the design as an eight panel border piece, sketched on the board with graphite pencil, and begun scratching out the design.

After the second movie ("Spiderwick")  I've finished the other side panel and the top center area.

At each corner I sketched a critter representing one of the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water.

 


Finally, after sitting through "The Last Airbender," here is the final result.  Perhaps I will make this into a card or enlarge it for a frame.  I don't yet know.

More practice to come.  Stay tuned.

More and More Coloring Mandalas

Over the past few months I've been slowly creating mandalas in line format for coloring.  I have enough now to create two new coloring portfolios or a mandala coloring journal.  I haven't decided which.  I suppose, if I create a few more, I could do both.  I would love your thoughts on this.  Here are some of them:

My first coloring journal, "A Tangle of Flowers" sold out for the fifth time at my local bookstore.  At least in this region, it is a best seller.  Yay!

You can find my coloring things in Woodstock VT at Arjuna or Shiretown Books or online at www.EmerlyeArts.Etsy.com

An Imperfect Solution

After trying several things, I came up with an imperfect solution to framing my 3D kirigami piece. First, I placed the acrylic box onto the piece of glass in a standard frame and glued it down.
 

I inserted some similar colored paper behind the glass with a quotation by Abram Urban:  "My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams."  The show is called "Reflections" so I thought this quotation fit the theme.

At first I used a standard glue but it didn't hold so I finally relented and used aquarium sealant glue.  This means that if you want to remove the papercut you will have to break the seal on the box.  I did not glue the papercut or its backing to anything.  It is held together by the pressure of the box on it.

Sheesh! When will I ever learn to consider the mechanics of finishing and framing during the design phase - before I create the work?  I am forever barreling ahead into some new piece, and only as an afterthought do I think of how I will display it.