more painting, some new developments and stealing fruit

so! more progress on some paintings, who are making a long journey soon.

both need more work, the top one more so.

this photo is a sneak peak to a new project i'm working on- 

here's a hint- sign up for LifeCrowd.com now so you won't miss it!

and some fun-to-me things happening in my house; growing green onions, which i have a strong addiction to, in a mason jar..easy peasy- the tallest one went in probably a week ago and already 3" tall! magic! just put the white ends you cut off in about an inch of water, and change the water every few days. it seems to work faster than putting them in soil, which i have also done.

 cabin fever set in the other day and i went for a walk around my neighborhood, which has a large number of lemon trees, which all are laden right now, so ...free lemons! don't tell my neighbors (although to be fair, the little ones were from the ground * and then washed* and the big one was from a branch hanging over a fence into an alley, with about 30 other lemons that obviously weren't going to be eaten. No one makes that much lemonade...but they should.) they are about 23 times juicier than store-bought, and nice to know the ancient los angeles orchards that used to be here are still producing. and by "ancient" i mean the 1900's-1950s...if that..

there were also a lot of mostly barren avocado trees, which would be awesome if they were covered, because i love avocado more than any other food...maybe soon they will appear. i was tempted to grab a handful of kumquats from this tree that was overflowing with them near an alley, but a) i don't know what kumquats taste like and b) it was juuust a little too high/on the fence to casually grab some, unlike the lemons...

Painting city!

 i've been working on a new painting, which will have three-dimensional elements in the future. this is what it looked like this afternoon-

thanks to Jackie for letting me take her photo for reference!

Also, on Sunday I had the opportunity to do some life painting at Korpus School in downtown LA, which was really fun! If anyone is looking to fill a 5 hour gap in their Sunday evenings, fill it with models, oil paints, tea, and chips!

 the end!

silk and sculptures

I'm working on some new pieces for a show coming up in Hong Kong, 

 here's what's on the worktable today:

she needs eyebrows, more hair and a new hand*. sleeves are unfinished as well. 

she'll be sitting in a garden with tiny bird friends. 

 *i have a small problem, as Pocket decided to bite the fingertip off of one of the hands,
 because I wasn't paying enough attention to her- 

you can see, the far middle finger there is broken...so her hands might end up being a bit different than what's here.. .

 at least Pocket didn't eat the Sculpey chip!

also, a side project I am working on- I got some lovely silk scarves, which I have been experimenting with dyeing and painting. its pretty fun, I plan on putting some up for sale soon, once I get it all together!

finally, I went out in the Ballona Creek marsh the other day and took some reference photos with my buddy Alexis Branger. We found the armful of flowers in the dumpster behind a florist, hardly wilted!

sketchy times

 recently i've started going to life drawing again, which i love to do! here are some from last thursday, with the lovely Sarah modeling. there's always a big crowd when she's there! These were 7 to 10 minute sketches, except the last one was 20 minutes. fun fun!

 and here's a little sketch of a mustachioed man... contemplating his mustache, amongst other things.

Also, don't forget to check out Laluzapalooza, 

which is now open and amazing and see it all online if you can't make it!

La-Luz-a-Palooza!

hello! so I put some pictures up a little while ago of these pieces, but now its official- both "Pauses" and "Hours" are going to be in the 26th annual group show at La Luz de Jesus gallery - now called "Laluzapalooza"! cute. here are some more pictures. woop.

 

 "Pauses"
Sculpted polymer clay, vintage fabric, shells, alpaca hair, and lace on driftwood
11" x 11" x 6"
$825.00

"Hours"

polymer clay sculpture, fabric and mohair in custom metal frame.

13" x 5" x 5" 

$725

* this piece can be flipped- like an hourglass- so either figure can be on top

the show is up from March 2nd to April 1st, 

with a super fantastic opening this coming Friday, the 2nd!

Contact the gallery director for availability and purchase info: (323) 666-7667

here is the online preview! check out all the amazing work! 

Hi, Hi-Fructose!

Hey guess what show's featured on Hi-Fructose's blog? woo woo! 

Thanks to Daniel Rolnik for the photos! 

Check it out here!

Post show Post

Ahh... what a fun show! I got to meet a lot of awesome folks as well as catch up with my dear buddies! Here are some pictures

Thank you to everyone who came out! The pictures may look otherwise, but the place was packed!

 There are still plenty of pieces to add to your collections, you know you want to... 

and a giant congratulations to the other artists, Sinae Park, Jessica Cooper, Danielle Buerli, Tom Haubrick and Bryce Takara- all their work was aaammaazing and I am so happy to have been in the same room with them all! And thank you so much to the lovelies at WWA, they did great work too! 

yay!

also I have just finished givin' the ole' website an update-
 check it out for new stuff all in one place! 

Tomorrow!!

Okay- last time, I promise- 

"All Eyes Averted" opens tomorrow!!

here is the link to the Online Preview

Contact the gallery for information on available pieces

I will be at the show and I hope you can make it too!

Reminders and Amusements

the preview for the "Critters and People and things of that Sort" is up and running!

 see the preview here!! wahoooo!

 so now that i don't have a giant project looooming over my head,

 i have taken some time to do silly random crafty type things. and i have documented said crafties, below:

my mom sent me a bag of wild walnuts in their husks that she gathered on a walk (what? most people's mom's do this, right?) and i used them to dye some things. it makes a really nice chestnutty brown, and is perfect for dulling-down too-bright fabric. i also now have a large brown silk square scarf that i am not sure exactly how to use...we'll see.

pocket always loves to get in the bath tub, especially with weird stuff hanging to dry in it

this was a little test pile of fabrics that i liked the patterns of, but wasn't crazy about the color. i also dyed some white cotton eyelet and some linen, which turned a lovely gray-brown:

most of the other fabrics didn't change too much, just a little dingy-er looking than before, which okay by me.

 

i don't think i've made valentines since the 7th grade, but i was inspired/bored and saw this blog post  by the darling Brenna Berger, who i interned for at Anthropologie a million years ago, and made a bunch! i added a sprinkle of salt to the damp paper to make them extra magic. i love watercolors, i think i could probably make these all day and not get bored- the watercolors, especially with the salt added, make their own decisions and create pattern and texture that you can't control, which i really enjoy watching- its a science experiment.

i sewed some bags for fun..i wish the one above had turned out better, i sewed too close to the zipper so it doesn't zip very well...2nd try was much better.

 i made a fancy/pointless paper heart strand that pocket really wanted to attack, and i let her. because it was cute. cute little vicious monster.

 and finally, this is our ceiling. it looks like the circus with this lighting!

the end!

Magnified Sneak Peeks

Here are some detail shots of my work for the upcoming show. I put a lot of time into the little things laying around the edges, gathering and arranging little tidbits, sewing vintage fabric into costumes, building tiny trinkets, and painting patterns galore. Click on any photo to view larger versions!

 

 

 and also, a shot from farther away of my four drawings that will be shown.

the end!