I can draw too

I don’t just sew, complain about biology, and blog arbitrarily. I draw.

I took four years of drawing lessons from Mrs. R in high school before I graduated. In my fashion studies at LCCC and the Baum School of Art, I’ve also done some drawing: Drawing 1, 2D Design, Fashion Illustrations, and currently an independent study pertaining to the art of figure drawing. Tis this latter class that I would like to talk about.

Most of you who read my blog, read it because something about my life interests you. Maybe it’s just the way I write about my life. Regardless, I’m going to bore you with part of my life, then share some pictures.

I graduate in December (yay) and am only taking two required classes this semester in order to graduate. There is a third class that is optional which I am taking as well.

Requirement 1: a laboratory science. My options were chemistry, physics, or biology. I chose biology.

Requirement 2: figure drawing. My options were running out. I filed a class substitution form and it was denied. I called the dean of students and he told me to change my major. I emailed the teacher directly and never got a reply. Why? Because I believe that the human body is not something to unclothe and call art. God is the Artist Who formed the human body and even He put clothes on it.

One of my absolute favorite teachers, Pam, worked with me to find a solution. Together, with the director of the Baum School, we came up with the idea to offer a (drumroll) clothed figure drawing class. However, such a class would not be ready in time for me to take it AND graduate as scheduled. One of the two figure drawing teachers agreed to work with me outside of class so that I can get the credit for doing the class without actually sitting in the room with the model. I think it’s been working out really well. And I’m enjoying it rather immensely!

Not everything that I draw has something to do directly with the human body. Since my major is fashion, I have recently done assignments that explore cloth, drapery, fabric folds, etc. Some drawings are to simply build up skill in the area of shading (such as reflected light) or to practice using a certain medium (charcoal on toned paper).

The following assignment was to draw myself in a foreshortened way using a mirror. This was an exceptionally fun pose because I used not only my mirrored image, but also my real image. Fun, fun.

Below is a drawing of drapery. And that is not curtains. It is in fact the draping of cloth over something. Could be a curtain rod, yes. But in this case, it is over the arm of a faceless girl.

I did several drawings on toned paper. Toned paper is paper that is not white or black, but rather is a shade of gray. Any shade. There are many to choose from. This is a set of hands that I was required to draw so as to practice the correct formation of hands. Do you realize how difficult it is to draw hands?! This one is earmarked for a special friend. Twill be a gift that she requested.

This is my most recent and possibly favorite drawing so far. Again I was asked to draw some drape-y fabric, so I drape-y-ed it on the dressform. I think it turned out pretty good. Toned paper has a way of making otherwise-weird-and-pointless drawings look breathtaking. Why did I not discover this sooner?

I admit…

…I’m a bit infatuated. Over the past months and years, I’ve heard people talk about Etsy. I finally got around to looking at the Etsy site about 3 months ago. I know, I’m a bit slow. And now I can’t stop looking at it. The night I finally checked it out, I seriously spent about 4 hours perusing. It made my creative side go absolutely crazy! I am signed up for their daily “Etsy Finds” email. Every day. New amazing creativity. I’m hooked.

Hast thou a hankering for unique clothing designs? (Yes, I do.) Look no further! Etsy holds hundreds,  if not thousands, of unique handmade garments by artists around the world! Here are some  of my favorites for today. They inspire me so. If I had the money, I’d probably buy them all in every color. Maybe. But since I have expertise instead of money, I’ll probably just end up making similar patterns and maybe one day making the actual wearable garment.

Hast thou a yen for personalized jewelry? (Yes, I do.) Look no further! Etsy has it all! From jewelry sellers who can personalize jewelry for you, to jewelry supplies sellers who can sell you stuff so you can personalize it yourself. I had jewelry-making tools from a 3D design class I took a few semesters ago, so it’s only natural for me to want to get more use out of them than just a good grade in my past. Here are things that currently captivate my fancy.

Hast thou favorite things that thou thinkest art favorite to thee alone? (Yes, I do.) You are not alone! It is practically guaranteed that *someone* is selling something on Etsy that resonates with that exact favoritism! It’s truly a beautiful network of eccentric artists who create wondrous things that are for sale to the common people. No one can be artsy in every area of creativity, so Etsy will connect you with people who are artsy in ways you never could be. I want these.

Hast thou a hunger for tasty and yet artistic delicacies? (Yes, I do.) Look no further! Artists on Etsy do not limit themselves to crafts that will last a lifetime! Buy cupcakes! Buy chocolates! Buy supplies to make your own! And then share with me. Especially if you buy any of these.

The best part about Etsy (in my opinion) is that almost everyone selling stuff on there made it themselves. They care about their product. They can and will create something to meet your creative needs. This is unlike eBay or Amazon, where people are trying to “get rid of” things that they no longer want or need.

Etsy is a never-ending art fair full of succulent goodies. Grab some cotton candy and peruse its venues.

(Start with my favorite shops: Brookish, dazeychic, and LoveToLoveYou.)

To whomever may be concerned with any copyright issues with my posting of these photographs. Yes, you people do exist. I post these pictures, NOT for my own profit, but so that those viewing this blog will be tempted to buy the items, resulting in profit for the person to whom the picture belongs. This is free advertising. And I could not be more tickled to be able to promote these wondrous products.

wow and mmm!

The wow is in reference to my last post. Wow. I did not mean to confuse my dear readers. Apparently the elephant in the foreground of my picture totally blinded y’all to the stack of cardboard in the back. My apologies. Actually I’ll blame this one on the elephant and its obesity. Tsk, tsk, how dare he cover up my nicely-stacked stack of cardboard?!!

*pause as you all scroll down and look at my last post….see there IS cardboard in the back, behind the small carved wooden elephant. Amanda’s right again. Fancy that.*sarcasm dripping* *

I have a few progress pictures that I took while working on the elephant, which I shall post perhaps later. I have not yet painted him pink or purple……tho I do still plan to. I finished the elephant himdearself, but I left him in the classroom. Like who really wants an elephant in their house to begin with?! I regret to inform you that I did not photograph the finished product. That shall be done this coming Tuesday. No word yet on when I’ll post them though. Possibly before Hanukkah. Uh huh.

As far as mmm! I would like to introduce you all to a most luscious recipe for Coffee Jelly Frappuccinos. My first thought was one of strawberry jelly, grape jelly, and various and sundry other jellies and how horrible that would taste in coffee. However, a careful perusal of the recipe revealed a quite different story. (Yes, folks, if you click on “the recipe” in the previous sentence, you will see….the recipe.) The jelly part is actually coffee jello, which you make.

This is what mine looked like once I cubed it:

However, if I had carefully read the recipe, I would have known to cube them quite smaller. Like 1/4″ sized, instead of 1/2″ to 1″. They were big. If you decide to make this, cube them small. Trust me. (According to my brother, even the big ones can go up a standard size straw though. But I’m dubious of that.) Lesson learned: the best things come in small cubes.

Another piece of advice I have for you is to use a ginormous blender for the coffee (non-jello) part of the frappuccino. Or you could do what I wish I had done, and just blend half of the coffee and half of the milk and half of the ice (and half of the flavor syrup, if thou so desirest) together at one time. As stated, I did not blend mine this way, and the coffee foam leakage which ensued made me regret that choice. Here I was thinking that 3 1/2 cups of liquid plus about 10-12 ice cubes would fit nicely in a 5 (or was it 6?) cup blender. HA! <—–aka “obviously not.” Lesson learned: bigger really is better.

The recipe says at the end, and I quote, “…top with whipped cream.” Guys, that really isn’t necessary. Below you will find a picture I took of the blender after I poured out like half its contents into me and my brother’s respective glasses.

See that thick white layer on top? Well it’s whipped topping. Not whipped cream per se because I added milk, not cream, to the coffee. But it’s whipped and on the top, so there. In the pictures I took of the finished coffee jelly frappuccinos, you’ll see the ultra-thick layer of whipped topping. Seriously, like 2/3 of the cup. (Hint: the coffee jello floats to the top of the coffee liquid, but sits beneath the whipped topping. Ah, now the picture is becoming clearer.) Come to think of it, it’s really like coffee-flavored whipped topping. So why ruin the experience with store-bought, loaded-with-preservatives whipped cream? I don’t know why. Lesson learned: When in doubt, spray-paint the elephant purple. It will be able to hide better amongst the pansies.

And I just love this close up of the coffee jello at the bottom of the glass. Ahhhh, how the mouth salivates!

like…..finding an elephant in a cardboard stack

That was my assignment for 3D Design class. Except this finding was not happenstance. No, I had to create the elephant. Out of cardboard. With a utility knife. This is what I started with:

So much potential, I know. It’s an elephant in the rough…the very, very rough. So far, I have the head and body pretty much done, just need to work on the legs tonight and Sunday night. If all goes according to plan, you will be able to see the finished product sometime after Tuesday. If all does not go according to plan, I shall cry bitter tears and pierce the elephant’s cold, hard heart with the now-dull tip of my utility knife. Or maybe I’ll just spray-paint it pink. Or purple. Purple is a nice color.

Art History (gag!)

Well, I’m finally done with my art history course for this semester. Oh what frustrations were mine! They will not be missed. I wrote three 500-word essays for the final exam. Not a single essay topic interested me, yet I ended up writing over 600 words about all three of them. Ya, I’m weird like that. None of them were worth posting, so I dug in my personal archives and found the short essays I wrote for the midterms. Well, actually these two paragraphs are the would-be-essays that I decided NOT to turn in. For obvious reasons.

Enjoy! And if you feel intimidated because you don’t know anything about the topics mentioned here, don’t worry. I don’t know anything about them either!

1. Compare the amarna style with the Old Kingdom style and discuss why you think the style changed.

The amarna style doesn’t exist. It is a figment of the fanatical art student’s imagination. Old Kingdom style does exist; however, it does not hold any relevance to my life at this time, so with these short words and concise, harsh statements, I refuse to answer this question further.

1. Describe the architectural style of the Parthenon and how it reflects Classical Greek culture. In your response, please include at least 5 architectural features and where they would be located.

Parthenon. Simply the tonal qualities of the word make it obvious that it must surely be a revolting style of architecture. If the Parthenon is the way that Classical Greek culture is reflected, a level-headed conclusion must be that Classical Greek culture is revolting as well. This surmising is well-founded in the study of the actual architecture. Five architectural features are as follows. The “pa” is at the top, the head of the structure. “Art” is the feature discovered upon entering the building and gazing at the obnoxious murals. Simple yet complex, “the” is the marble-sculpted culmination of all words misused in the Classical Greek language. “Hen” is the ancient way of ascribing a name to the wind gage, most commonly found atop barns. “Non” is perhaps the most telling of all the features, for it spells out how much relevance it holds in our own lives today.

Afterword: I DID find out that the amarna style exists. It exists on merely three pages of the 460+ pages I’ve had to read so far this semester. But alas! hark! and yippee skippee! it does exist.