MOTHER'S DAY My brother James, far right, is going to Army bootcamp next monday. Wish him luck! This picture was taken on Mother's Day which never goes without any drama. Nick, as you can see isn't happy. Well, that's because he just got smacked in the head. He kept trying to pull my mom's shirt up for the picture, and she took care of that!

"THE BIRDS" I worked with the cosutme designer for a play called "The Birds." Pictured here is the peacock. I designed stencils and hand painted various costumes. Depending on the bird, there was a different stencil. I started with sketches and then transferred my drawings to the clear plastic to be cut out. It worked out well.

This is a snipit of a project I did for an organization. They were hosting a party for the current exhibition in the UNO art gallery and needed a way to decorate/cover up the room it was in. Some trusty friends and I worked hard for a week to print yardage. Nothing high tech, just cut out contact paper stuck to silk screens to make the image. No time for exposing. Pictured here are my designs.

Jesus said buy folk art. Walking down canyon road we found many interesting places to look in and at. Mostly we liked the way the road felt as we strolled, tucked between pueblo buildings surrounded in art. It was neat to be able to walk into a gallery with the artist available to talk and answer questions. We were surprised at how friendly people were in Santa Fe. It made our visit especially pleasant.

I wanna be a cowgirl. When Katie and I were in Santa Fe, strolling around the Plaza, we wandered into a boot store but for me it was more like a gallery. The boots were carefully made with applique and unique designs. Unfortunately they were very expensive, but at least I have pictures.

First Day in Santa Fe

I've been friends with Katie for 15 years and we've never taken a trip together! Thursday we leave for Santa Fe hope to be inspired and laugh a ton. I want to get good pictures too. I'll show you what we did...

Ready to Gesso

 

My canvases came out good and now it's time to get them prepared to paint. My composition goes across all three panels as if there are no gaps. I'll post more pictures of the progress.

Stretching the canvas

 

Frames are built!

 

I am working on a commission for a painting and had to go back in the painting studio and fiugre out how to do it again. It wasn't hard but my friend Joe helped me get started and then I was confident enough to continue.

Experiments in Printing

 

This fabric was done using several techniques that I was messing with. Using an empty screen, stamping with a textured paper towel, a stencil that I cut out, and another screen I drew circles on with dye that dried and then released when another dye passed over it.

Finished product

 

Wool covering

 

The wool gives the surface a little more cushion for the ink to absorb into the cloth versus a hard surface. Over the wool is muslin cloth to protect the table from dye and make a smoother surface.

Look at it shine!

 

The table below gives it structure. The surface I print on allows me to print fabric that is wide and gives me room to make a registration on the sides. Under the duck tape is craft felt.

My table is complete!

 

I worked on several ideas that didn't quite seem right. All dealing with wood, it would make a heavy print table that would be hard to manage. I wanted something more portable that I could store easily since I can't leave my table out for more than a few days. I have to share the space with ohter students. My professor came up with the idea of using this styrofoam insulation. I used duck tape to make it hindgeable and so the pins could stick to it without being pulled out by the force of stretched fabric.

 

This is my wall in my room. My room was orange and one day I thought "enough with this obnoxious orange!" I painted over it with a green/beige/taupe color. But before I painted the wall completely, I had to put tape all over it to make a mural. Thirty minutes later...a coloring wall. I decided that I will fill it in with paint over time just for the hell of it. Everyone should have a giant coloring wall. That's my advice for a fulfilled life.

 

My friend Gail and I duct tapped each other to make dress forms. It was a different experience. I could only hobble back and forth to move. Thank God I didn't fall over. That would have been difficult for us both. I am in the process of stuffing my body and preparing it for hanging. That sounds funny.

I have abandoned my blogging and I am sad for that. Today is my birthday and I am going to dinner and dancing, horray! A lot has happened since I decided to start blogging again and then didn't. My computer is in the repair shop from a coffee/phone spilling incident. Luckily for me it's not dead. I will be back with pictures to compliment details.

Kandinsky

I am currently working on a paper for my Modern Art class. We got to choose a subject of interest. It took me a while to decide because I like many types of art and didn't know what I would want to talk about for 6-8 pages. That's not that long, but I write more to the point rather than poetic. Kandinsky always draws me in and excites my eye. I try to express this kind of vibrant energy in my own work.

My Second

This is my first printed fabric after being back from Copenhagen. I wish at this point I had more that one completed but there were more technical issues than I realized. I spent a lot of time trying to figure the height and width of the repeat so I could do a registration. I kept being off by a quarter inch. I need millimeter paper which is hard to find online. Still no luck. Anyway, I ended up just going through with it and eyeballing the whole thing. I came out pretty, but off. At least it's consistently off and not just one area. Overall it looks good. I have also discovered that if I want to print good patterns that are accurate I need to build a print table. What have I gotten myself into? I love it!

Finally Done

I titled this Circular Continuity. It is Acrylic on canvas. It took too long but I'm happy with the result.

I'm back to blogging

I originally started this just for my study abroad experience. I feel like it would be nice to keep by thoughts going and show my process as an artist/student. So back to business. This weekend is the UNO student art show at the Bemis underground and I will have my fabric from Copenhagen on display and a painting. I will be sure to post pictures and tell about it. It is our big fund raiser for OAA (Organization for the Advancement of the Arts) or art club.

Berlin Dome

I stumbled upon this free outdoor concert near museum island in front of the Berlin Dome. It was an Egyptian group called the United Nubians they were full of rhythm and soul. It was fun to watch the people dancing.

My friend

The bear is a symbol of Berlin and I had to get my photo.

Berlin

Going to Berlin was the perfect ending to my Europe travels. I stayed in the center of town in East Berlin called Mitte. My hostel was great and that made the trip work so well. I was able to use the books there and ask the receptionists about what to do and where to go. I made some friends from the UK an a girl from Amsterdam. We went out to dinner one night at a Thai buffet and then went to a club called Zapata that was very urban. It was a collection of old buildings with outdoor bars spread out in a open lot with sand. There was live music, music to dance to inside and more music in each bar setting. I did the tourist things as well. I took a walking tour that was full of history and all kinds of information on Berlin. I went to the Bauhaus museum, Pergamon, and Nue National Gallery. I discovered that Berliners are very proud to be part of the city and many people move to Berlin just because it's such an interesting city full of possibilities and culture. I could live in Berlin.

Goodbye Copenhagen...sniff sniff

I walked across, around, up and down the city today. I have dirty, blistered, aching feet to prove it. It's good pain. I went to school for the VERY LAST TIME to take down my fabric and collect the rest of my work. As I walked through the print room I felt a sense of grieving. But I think it's good to feel so strongly because this whole experience meant a lot to me. I remember knowing that I wanted to do printed textile design and started researching and happened to find the perfect program. In the above picture is Stroget, the famous pedestrian walkway. I made my way through it today during my citywalk. It was bustling with shoppers, dinners, and people watchers. I really like the atmosphere the city has with bikes everywhere. It's a laid back happy feeling...kinda of like, "we're not in a rush, we like to ride our bikes and talk along the way." Maybe I'll spray paint bike lanes in Omaha. Hey, it's a start. I sold my bike today also. Had to say goodbye to it. But I'm looking forward to my own bikes...and some good mountain biking. Three days in Berlin. Completely different. I will be sure to let you know how it all wrapped up. And if there's anything you're wondering about, just ask.

This was too cute.

Marissa Brookes Pratt Institute Reactive Dye on linen

Rachel Yale Reactive dye on linen

Liora Pratt Institute Reactive dye on cotton sateen