Ink Washes

Been doing some ink drawings in both my life drawing classes. I'm not sure how impressive it is but so far I like it a bunch. Here's some washes.

I think this one above is my favorite. So much information is implied rather than spelled-out.

This is a long piece of paper that can now be used a a folder! Yay!

Back to the grindstone tomorrow. I'll be making a bunch of panels for figure painting and a possible show at the beginning of next semester.

Feats of Bookery!

This book measures about two inches tall. I must draw tiny stamps!

Feet painting! Too hot to paint with my foot like that, so I'm going to be working from this photo.

There's a History midterm tomorrow. The teacher is an amazing lady who normally teaches at Stanford. Of course, her midterms are hard. Eeek.

Frankly, My Dear:

I know I've been bad on blogging. Here, have a squirrel.

The most recent homework for Advanced Life drawing. Behold, my saggy belly!

While I could have handled the most recent assignment clothed, it was my decision to take off my shirt and sit with really bad posture for over an hour. I got some very nice compliments on my saggy belly. And most everyone reassured me that it was totally normal to have a belly. Very considerate, but I was making fun of the fact that a slightly Rubenesque torso without a head on looks a bit like a pouty face. A slightly happy Droopy Dog, perhaps.

So this is spring break. Fantastic! Homework, in ridiculous quantity. Maybe I'll update, maybe I won't. I have two books to build and a third to do transfers with.
Yeehaw.

And of course, Life Drawing and Figure Painting ALSO have homework.

Hope For the Future

Stage 1 of a 5 day painting. Four sessions to go. I have depicted one model's whole torso, and the legs and arm of another. As I go I will begin to use actual (gasp!) color and insert a semi-believable background.

Turned in a painting of my feet today that I kind of realized was a pretty good attempt for a rush job on homework. Actually looking forward to working some more on the above painting. My teacher seems to want to put in the easels, but I am loathe to do something that seems so apathetic. The female seated model is the same as the one in this entry here. I think I'm getting very used to her face shape.

An in-progress homework assignment for Intermediate Life Drawing. I am sick of drawing myself, henceforth I irritated my fiance into sitting for me. Took about an hour and a half- doesn't quite look right to me.

And I have a hopefully trouble-free weekend ahead of me. Hurrah!

Homework Blues.

I'm a little bummed over this. I need to evidently get much more time with my acrylics before attempting anything larger with them. Stupid feet.

Done with Books!

Beautiful day outside. I spent Monday trapped inside the bookmaking room with my books trying to get them done.

I should have perhaps taken a nap instead of drawn and painted all night Sunday and Monday. As a result, today I'm playing hookey and recharging. I slept 12 hours and a little more.

A painting in the book about visuals, and a page of the book about text. I worked on them side by side, then gave up when the time crunch came around.

The inside cover paper for my books is some interesting printed rice paper that I love to use and wish I had more of. It's a little too thin, though. The hardest part was sticking it to the board.

And I'm done with books! At least for a week, then it starts again with the final project.

Arrgh, Books.

This is the first cover I've done. I hope it holds to the board all right. The paper cover is an old sheet of Rives BFK that I did a monoprint ghost on.

And here we have a poor quality photo showing the book board, being glued onto the book cover, and being wrapped around the edge. Also note the jar of funky wheat paste, and big applicator brush. Bone folder is there too. It's just a piece of shinbone, but very necessary.

I really wish I'd done more today as far as the bookmaking homework goes. But the couch soon coming to our pile of crap we call a living room argues differently. It begs to have an organized space to come to, clean of dust bunnies and random bits of paper, including Christmas wrapping under the old bookcases. I have come to the realization that we own far too many things.

Anyway- homework. I'm having what we will call "glue issues" right now. I'm not actually sure it is glue issues, because it could also be the stiffness of the paper. For some reason it won't bend around the book cover board in a good wrap, even with the special bone folder tool. High quality paper, but not as bendable as I'd like.

The content of the books is percolating in my brain. I almost want to do a third book by Monday.

I'm ambitious, but not smart.
I always swallow more than I can chew.
We'll see how it sits on my stomach.

I love macro.

Down it comes.

A good drawing from this morning. Sometime soon (probably spring break) I promise to post scans of the drawings I've done in my standard life drawing course. They've been occasionally interesting and quite different, but so far my energy in the late afternoon has been non-existent. I haven't even thought of reaching for my camera.

Jill was a big help with the spackle and take-down today. I'm the one in the dorky apron, looking like my Father.

Seems like only yesterday we were frantically putting things in place to be hung for the show. Now it's down and I must go in tomorrow to verify that yes, all holes covered and painted in the proper gallery white color. I've cut my teeth on SJSU's gallery system and I'm outright terrified that I'll get the urge to do it again. It's like having a child- as soon as the actual birth is over, you forget the pain and magnificent oopsies and start on the road to having more children. Artbabies. Whatever.

Well, seems it was actually a week. Whoa.

Now on to clean my living room. *faint*

Yikes!

I've gotten a bit behind on posting, but with good reason, I insist. Homework has eaten most of what remains of my life (if an internet presence can be referred to as such) and I've been working my tail off to keep my head above water.

This image-heavy post is more or less in chronological order.

A good morning session in intermediate life drawing yielded some very satisfying results.

I'm not getting much in the way of straight instruction from this class, just mostly a LOT of practice. Which also helps.

This is from Figure Painting, of course. I like this short pose painting better than the others that came out of the longer pose. I think tomorrow I will move my easel.

My Mother has always been very understanding of my artwork. Well, perhaps not understanding, but at least abiding. I think she looks forward to the day I have a figurative show instead of an abstract one.

Note to self- Do not supply extravagant or "dinnerlike" food to gallery openings. People vanish with your pizza slices without even stepping inside the show's room, much less thanking you. Mom swung to the rescue with a bunch of burgers from Burger King, which also thankfully disappeared. I didn't know she was off to buy probably $20 worth of food, but she did and appeared with a grin and burgers.

Do those Burger king chicken pieces look like exaggerated chicken feet instead of crowns? It does to me. Thanks, leftover parts of chicken..

Running on Battery Power

So today I learned something about cutting mattes. "Always wrap the board with something to transport it." Apparently my portfolio is slightly grimy, which might have caused me to ruin my $18 sheets of Museum Board. Also "Use a scrap piece underneath to cut your boards- so you won't get that shaggy edge." Double Durr.

So at least I won't have to go buy new board, as long as most of the grime comes up with a white eraser.

Also, I glued the binding in my miniature book, and pounded the edges round, and filed the corners. Here's a little video of that.



All this is brought to you by me passing my shop test! I am a bona-fide craftswoman, now!

Tomorrow I meet with my adviser and also I must go to the store where they sell wood so I can buy lengths for framing.

Fold It Up and Go Home.

Some figure painting. I think I like the experience I get in the class. Same model we've had for two weeks in Intermediate Life Drawing. I've pretty well memorized her pear shape.

Today I told Bob Chiarito that his name reminded me of a delicious snack chip. Thank goodness he laughed, things just pop out of my mouth at 8am I have no control over.
Homework from his class is a drawing from life including detailed background and flat halftone.

Figure Painting went okay, except the teacher seems to be determined to ruin our social lives with the amount of homework. I have to go to the library tomorrow and find a book of paintings and pick a foot to copy out of it.

Normal Life drawing includes a gargantuan assignment of copying anatomy texts.


Can't wait to see the expression on my boss's face when I tell him I'm leaving to pursue a career in homework.

Half-Full!

Today my bookmaking teacher was out sick. Which meant a couple of things.
1)I got to go early, and went out to dinner with my mother at a sushi resturant.
2)Nothing important happened today, except me cutting my paper for the book project.

I've got a concept in mind, and am working on getting it nailed into a story or a linear script to follow.

"The Greek word pharmakon poses a quandary for translators- it is both a remedy and a poison. In the proffering of a pharmakon, (...) its true meaning- a harm and benefit."

My books (A pair of them) will both be called Pharmakon- meaning an invention which can be used for either good or evil. It is interesting to note that the original translation means cure and poison, and was applied liberally to the concept of the written word. Which is to say, the ancient Egyptians, and to some extent the Greeks, believed text to be a vessel for good or evil information...

This has an interesting application to modern thought, especially in regards to Blogging. It allows everyone to have a way by which to publish to the outside world, and this is not really new, "blogging" is gaining attention as a legitimate reporting media. The source may not be purely factual, and even if it is, I'm sure there are some facts (in this case I'm thinking of pornography) that some populations should not be exposed to.

In any case I think the largest fault possible in regard to the written word is taking it as literal fact when that was not the writer's intention.

Case in point: Galaxy Quest.

You thought I was being all dead serious with a point, didn't you?

Figure Paint At Last!

The teacher had us leave our beloved paint boxes and move to another easel. The exercise was to use unfamiliar tools to create our works.

Again, the same model as Intermediate Life drawing in the morning. I think she's the only model in the department working right now. (I've heard SJSU has trouble paying the models on a timely basis.)

Still no model in normal life drawing in the late afternoon. It's okay, we're watching videos and studying muscle groups. Besides, there's a lot of people adding in late, so they're catching up.

Tomorrow, I cut ten sheets of 20"x25" into no less than fifty 20"x5" pieces for signatures. My pair of books will be a finished size of 10"x5", I've decided.

Drawings from Jan 30th

My teacher was impressed with this one. I was too tired to pick my charcoal up off the paper. Damn you, 8am!!

We're studying Matisse and Picasso line drawings, in case you're interested. The teacher is very enthusiastic but when the class starts he begins with a slide show, with the lights off. As soon as that happens I feel my eyes trying to close.

I am really, really exhausted.
I think I'll do an entry about today after it's digested a bit.
But we have the main gallery in February. I win, evil 5am!!

Printmaking Show sign-up went up. Organizing this is going to be a little bit of fun & complications. Of course, in order to obtain a gallery, I have to get up at 5am (or earlier) to go to school and stand in line for gallery sign-up. And pay $15 deposit. I will soon be an awesomely known person in the art building, perhaps.

In History 1B we discussed how Christopher Columbus believed that by finding a route around to the other side of Asia, the forces of Christianity would have a back-door by which to attack and overtake the Turkish Empire occupying Jerusalem. Not to mention the sweet trade route that going direct to China would provide. Also, scientists already knew the diameter of the Earth, so if America hadn't been in the way, Columbus and his crew would have starved on ship on their way to Asia. Columbus, I have concluded, was kind of an ass.

Bookmaking class was all about combining signatures to make a case-bound (or hardbound) book.

It helps to build a mock-up of your book project. I built this at 1/3 size. The final book will be a little larger than 9"x 9". The signatures are not stitched, but labeled and folded together so I can see how the pages will wrap. This helps a ton in planning things out.

Here is the edge of my mock-up. There are 18 sheets of paper, two per signature, for a total of 36 leaves. All this translates to 72 pages. A huge book, especially since the final paper will be heavy.

First, the signatures are punctured and stitched, then they are sewn together using binding tape, which can be ordinary linen or the specialized and more expensive stuff. Then you put them in a vise, and glue the signatures together, while it is held in a vise. I can't stress enough how much the glue smells.

The tape going under the signature stitching. The tape will be firmly attached to the Cover boards. I'll get pictures of that Monday.

I love bookmaking. It is the fusion of crafts and art that I love to sink my teeth into.

Oh, and yesterday, I did do some drawing in Life Drawing, but our model had no muscles or skin. The things I drew in Intermediate Life drawing yesterday I will post tomorrow.

Drawing and painting from models all day is a case of serious Awesome.

Blurry Day

I did some very nice flat drawings today with my class in Intermediate Figure painting. I didn't take pictures of the drawings yet, because when it crossed my mind the model was still up and it's a very big no-no to have your camera out when there's a nude person in the room.

Figure Painting went all right- but I am astonished to find I have no more Ultramarine Blue. I thought I had that coming out my ears. Apparently what I have is a lot of Cobalt. Sigh. Must buy that tomorrow. And Burnt Sienna, because I keep using up all my browns.

Life Drawing with Sargent went well, but I am still fearful that the class will be canceled because there's only 14 people enrolled. I reccomended that my teacher look into James Jean and Paul Pope. They have alliterate names, plus they're awesome.

At the end of the evening there was a show of teachers in the school of Pictoral Arts that happened. Each teacher stood and talked about their own works, some of which gave me good ideas, others made me wonder a little why abstraction of form has become so popular. I really enjoyed Don Feasel's watercolor on Acetate, Sargent's acrylic portrait with kitty litter, and Angeja's semi-abstract painting of a volcanic cloud.

Sorry, no pictures. Bedtime. New shoes tomorrow!

And Sevral Hours Later..

I'm much calmer than I was a few hours ago, thankfully.

When someone is working on a small pen and ink drawing, DO NOT decide that it would be better with a big thumbprint of carrot juice. Yes, this actually happened. Today. Earlier. Odwalla.

Apparently some people never grow up and learn about "Boundaries" the way normal people do.
Now one of my tiny handmade books with drawings in them has a orange blorp on the first page. Words cannot express how exasperated I am with this 30-something undergrad. True, I did not throw the hissy-fit that was erupting in my head, but he should have at the least apologized profusely. I don't think I'll work near him again. He's lucky I didn't throw my brush in his eye.

These handmade books are really more like booklets, or hand-bound pamphlets. I made three just because I couldn't wait to get started on much bigger fish, but we don't have any instructions yet regarding tape-binding.

This is a page ready to be stitched and folded into its' brethren. I'm using Arches Cover Cream paper, which runs about $2.00 per 22x30 sheet. The holes have been poked with an awl, though I think a push-pin may have worked just as well.

This book has a false stamp I drew on with ink and gouache. I think I will make it into a fake passport.

These are the spines of my three almost identical booklets. There's just a figure 8 stitch through their spines and each holds about four or six pages, depending on the thickness of the internal paper.

There is talk of a Printmaker's club being formed at school. And also a few ideas going around regarding a Printmaker's show sometime in this semester. I look forward to both.

After spending $97 on one of two required books for my lower division GE class, I find that it may not even be needed. The reasoning for this thought is that we spent time listening to a lecture that while informative, was a general survey of the rise of western scientific philosophy. Interesting, but mostly covering things I knew enough about to survive on a test with at least a B. Unfortunately, there are required readings. I think I'll wait on taking the book out of the shrink-wrap.

Tomorrow, I cart more paper to school and look at nude people all day.

Deep, Deep Pockets.

This is called a levigator. Though that sounds like a Star Trek ship name, it's really just a 25lb piece of Iron with a revolving handle.

You spin the levigator after putting gritty metal sand on the limestone with some water, and it slides unbelievably easy. This helps to remove the former image on the stone, along with a thickness of stone about the thickness of a playing card. A lot of people find it really hard to do this evenly.
Care must be taken not to let the slurry stuff dry- because it becomes concrete, or near enough.

After rinsing, it is dried quickly. The feeling of the surface is almost identical to chalkboard. It is also hilariously grease-sensitive. If a fingerprint gets on the surface as it's being prepared, it can set into the drawing.

Classes Today:

1. Intermediate Life Drawing: 8:00-10:50
2. Figure Painting: 12:00-14:50
3. Life Drawing: 15:00-18:20

1. Intermediate Life Drawing: This is definitely a class I can add. Of a roster of 24 people, only about 16 showed up. To the credit of the absent students, it is eight in the morning. I know a couple people in the class rather well. Unfortunately, at this hour of the morning, if Chiarito chooses to show us slides and turn out the lights, I'm going to need a big cup of tea. The structure of the class seems rather loose- almost as though he'd rather pat us on the back than give a grade.

2. I was happy to see that there weren't many students in this class. I prefer painting without having to step over other people. However, she did warn that we needed to have Intermediate Painting before her class. D'oh! I'm pretty sure I'll be fine unless she chooses to go by-the-book.
A bit disappointed that there seems to be one of those ladies who must share every thought with the class. That's usually my job.

3. Back in Lucy Sargent's class again. She's a ton of fun and I'm really going to want to talk to her a lot. Must censor myself so I'm not being a complete kiss-ass. My friend Andreas is in the class with me as open university. It costs about $600 per 3 units. I have to somehow find a 14x17 sketchbook by next Tuesday.

And in case you're wondering what the information on Litho Stone Grinding at top has to do with anything- the answer is not much. I simply had two hours between classes, since each class only required about an hour of talking.

Well, this is my weekend. I'll likely not post on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, ever. I'm sleeping.

First Day of Classes.

I remember when this trolley-car seemed the wave of the future. Fools!

All these cabinets are full of typefaces. Yes. Little lead letters. And the teacher is prepared to show us how to use them.

Today:

1. English 100W- 9:00-10:15
2. History 1B- 12:00-13:15
3. Art 175- 15:30-18:20

1. I am trying to add this class. 100W is the writing proficiency class that SJSU uses to ensure that all of their graduates can, in theory, express themselves in the written word. I've taken 5 English classes at the college level, (and got above a B in all,) but even though they all transfer, I need to waste units in this class. Do you know what word this brings to mind, kids?

2. History 1B is taught by a Professor who used to teach at Stanford. I feel a little for her in that the classroom is tiny and has absolutely no room for any more chairs, and a lot of the students seemed to be zoning out. I also think that it's a small point of amusement when the entire class is told to switch their phones to silent, and one still goes off in the resident sorority's Hello Kitty purse.

3. This class is the reason I show up to school. Art 175 is listed as "Special Topics" but is actually- *drum roll* Book Arts. I am going to build books in this class- whether as sketchbooks or as incredible portfolio pieces. I can't wait to get started.
Unfortunately I do have to somehow come up with the supplies, at least the ones I don't already own. Bookcloth, Board, Bone Folder, and Awl. Next week will be a little akward since I can't afford supplies before getting paid. In the meantime I have all the paper and thread I will ever need.
I may do a little instructional entry sometime to show the binding process. The resulting books we were shown as examples made me completely giddy.

I have cheered myself out of being completely exhausted. I think I'll do laundry, hurrah.

Preparation for Act 1.

The school is so amazingly empty. I know it will get so much noisier once it actually begins tomorrow.

I have carted my paints and general tools to school in my hobo-cart, while gaining many unsolicited weird looks on the Light Rail. I should probably take a photo or two of that sometime as well. Nothing could possibly be stranger than the nearly automated system of rails that buds with mirror-domed security cameras and hoodlums rapping along with their ipods. Except perhaps mug-shots of the trolls who work at the bursar's office. It could kill them to smile, I think.

I should probably warn readers of this that I'm not much of a writer. I can use proper grammar and punctuation, but don't expect me to be able to type fast enough to follow a train of thought. I get a bit jumpy.

And so tomorrow, School starts.
Today I went in to stuff snacks in my locker (shh, against rules) and the rest of my toolboxes. Conveniently, I am located across the hall from Patrick Surgalowski's office. So today while I was loading things up he came into the hall.
I had a convenient all caps reply- "HEY Mr. SURGALOWSKI, IS YOUR BOOKS CLASS ABOUT BOOK-MAKING OR BOOK-READING?" (Yes, I really needed to ask this. There is no description for this class besides "Art Books")
"...Book making. Good to see you back!" His eyes said "I can see you set up camp right outside my office. Good to know I'll be using that handy-dandy fire escape."
I threw in my David Blaine impression to seal the deal. O.O "Thanks!"
"You'll straighten up the rest of these chuckleheads, it'll be great!"
"... do you actually remember me?"
"Ta ta!" he vanished with that puff-of-smoke-trick only tenured professors know.

So it looks like I will indeed be doing 18 units. I hope they have psychiatrists on campus who know what they're doing.