Sunday, February 17, 2013
jannypie
February 17, 2013
October 23, 2012
Verisimilitude Sylva: Oneiric
Verisimilitude Sylva: Oneiric
Mixed media on canvas. Old book pages, watercolor, acrylic, gesso, ink, stamp.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.
Edgar Allan Poe
October 17, 2012
Dragon Mask in progress
This is a project I want to share that, while perhaps embarrassing to admit this level of nerdery, is challenging and fun. I'm developing a black dragon costume to wear for Halloween and possibly Dragon*Con 2013 (ahhh DragonCon /nostalgia). It is much like my gold Smaug dragon costume two years ago, but since then I have learned so much about costuming and seen so many inspirational costumes of all types that I wanted to revisit it.
One thing I've been learning is the difference between wearing a costume and costuming. I love Halloween, and love to dress up to celebrate. But wearing a costume for Halloween- even one I made myself- was no where near the time, effort, research, and technique I have seen go into costuming. And don't get me wrong: I don't fancy myself a costumer. The skill and creativity I've seen some people display is awe-inspiring, and I know my skills are not at that level. But it is fun to learn about the techniques.
Another thing I've learned: Face Off. If you're even remotely crafty and interested in special effects in movies, check it out. It's reality TV but very minimal on the drama, and maximal(1) on the art. Addictive.
Anyway, dragon mask.
I started with a basic plain white face mask from Michaels.
Sketched some guiding lines loosely based on miscellaneous dragon art, and cut off the jaw-area part of the mask so that I can talk/breathe/drink boozes.
Anyway, dragon mask.
I started with a basic plain white face mask from Michaels.
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| Creepy, no? |
And then started molding. I tried Crayola's Model Magic, mostly because a package happened to be hanging directly in front of my face as I was shopping at Michael's. It is really soft, and stays a little squishy even when fully dry. However, it is also really light, which makes it great for forming the structural base of the face. That rhymed.
Yes I know, it looks like a duck. Bear(2) with me.
For these small spines and horns, I used Sculpey clay and baked it to hardness. Sculpey is good for fine details, and hardens with some natural shine. The Model Magic air clay is very matte.
The primer I used on the mask is flat black, despite looking silver here. I gently removed all of the clay pieces before priming, being sure not to lose the shape of the clay, and then used simple Super Glue to put them back in place permanently.
After all of the pieces were dried and glued in place, I worked on the horns and texture. The horns are store-bought and I made bases for them to rest in using a wet clay that air-hardens. I forget what it's called. Mostly because it was 1) super messy, 2) broke into semi-dried chunks as I worked it, and 3) is like a rock when it hardens. Each base is hard and heavy. I will probably toss them and replicate them with the Model Magic clay.
To get a really nice scaly-hide texture, I used Make It Stone from Krylon as a base, and then covered it with Oil Rubbed Bronze brushed metallic spraypaint, also from Krylon. You can see here that I used the jaw-area from the face mask (mentioned above) to also make a lower jaw for the mask. I don't know if I will wear it, but if so, it will match.
Then I used the Sculpey spines (pictured above) and duct tape to make side wings for the face.
And that is where it stands today, with two weeks left until Halloween (and only a few days until the first party).
(1)Turns out that is actually a word, not just one that I made up.
(2)Little-known grammatical pet peeve: when people type "Bare with me." They should at least buy me a drink first.
(2)Little-known grammatical pet peeve: when people type "Bare with me." They should at least buy me a drink first.
October 16, 2012
Verisimilitude Sylva: Mimesis
Acrylic, gesso, book pages, watercolor, graphite, ink, digital, and paper on canvas. Sealed for protection.
May 17, 2012
Verisimilitude Sylva: Irenic
April 13, 2012
Columbus Alive! mention
My 'Steampunk Columbus' skyline spotted in the newest Columbus Alive! issue. http://www.columbusalive.com
Thanks, William, for the photo!
Thanks, William, for the photo!
April 12, 2012
"Nature Collection"
Made especially for the 2 year anniversary show at CS Gallery.
Mixed media and organic found objects in shadow box.
Mixed media and organic found objects in shadow box.
April 5, 2012
Doodles from an old notebook
There is something so endearing to me about other people's doodles in their notes. It's a little peek at where their mind goes when it wanders.
Here are a few of mine from an old work notebook that I discovered today while cleaning.
Here are a few of mine from an old work notebook that I discovered today while cleaning.
March 29, 2012
What's New: Spring 2012
Here are some things that are happening in the world of Jannypie:
Craftacular planning is underway for this year. I have taken up my usual role as manager of the Craftacular website and graphics for the event. We've already hung fliers at Gallery Hop once, and have plans for more fliers, postcards, etc. Applications are only open for a few more days, and the show is less than two months away. I also need to start making new art for it!
Click n Doodle is where you'll usually find my most recent art thingies. A good friend and I began the blog as a 365 challenge: he would take one photo a day and I would draw one thing a day, (get it? click and doodle?) and we would post them to the blog jointly to keep each other motivated. Because we are both bums at heart, it hasn't worked out to be daily, per se, but we put new things up as we can. I personally am using it to practice drawing again after so much time spent with paints, mixed media and the computer. You may also see many re-appear in future art pieces (hints!). Tom primarily uses it to show off and make us jealous of his camera equipment, a ploy which is definitely effective, but don't tell him I said that.
Working girl is what I spend most of my time as lately. I accepted a position doing, basically, everything I wanted to do in a job, alongside coworkers who happen to be way cooler than I am. I do the graphic design, website, social media, branding, and other marketing for a company that makes electronic laboratory notebook software, which makes the research scientist nerd girl in me absolutely delighted. It's good stuff, but I work long days and haven't had much spare time to devote to new art. I am working on new things, however, so I will have things to share soon!
December 21, 2011
Skyscrape Tshirt Featured by Skreened
Skreened shoppers may have seen this in their inboxes this week: Skreened's Christmas special local offer, featuring my Columbus Skyscrape design in the ad!
You can buy it right here!
You can buy it right here!
