I went through a phase of teaching myself how to draw (it was short lived, if you were wondering). I bought Jack Hamm’s Drawing the Head and Figure. I think that if i tried longer than like 2 weeks, I would have really gotten somewhere – the book was good. Here are some snippets:

I also took a fair amount of art classes as an undergraduate. Im sure Ill eventually find more projects, but we can start here. I dont remember the name of this particular process, so Ill just call it printing. (Wet paper + inked glass or layered cardboard + roller machine press = final result). We were to mimic a famous work of art, and although its totally out of my range of normal taste (i adore works from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood), something about Kandinsky’s Blue Mountain really gets me.

Simply inking the glass wasn’t my thing – ink is not like paint: it is not easy to work with. I wasnt happy with the first result of trying to replicate any kind of image, so I tried something abstract. I wasnt happy with that either so I smeared a bunch of colors on it. None of that made me happy.

But what did make me happy was building the layers of cardboard and then seeing how the press would work. I found the process of constructing it really meditative. And then inking it was not so fun, but pressing it again and again and seeing how it changed was neat.

Here are some projects I did around the beginning of the 21st century. Doesnt that sound weird?  So in no particular order, may I present to you:

Project A: Refinished Dresser

This is a dresser from when my great grandmother was a baby (late 19th-early 20th century). It was white and dinged up when I got it, and I decided to refinish it. It was tons and tons of work, but the results are beautiful. There were i believe 8 layers of paint (white, pink, greens), probably all lead. I replaced the drawer handles, but the locks and knob are original. I even use to collect skeleton keys, so I happened to have one that fits! I took parts of it to a wood repair shop, and they did a great job. They believe it is made from white oak.

Project B: Wall Art

I had a children’s book and this was on the cover. It was probably about 2 or 3 inches tall, and i drew it to be about 7 or so. Colored pencil and ink.

Project C: Star Moon Sculpture

I took a non-major ceramics class my freshman year in college, and one of the assignments was to use shapes of clay to build something. I have always loved stars so choosing the shape was easy enough. I recall that I didn’t have a clue of what I was going to build, but the moon just sort of happened. I set it all on a structure of clouds, glazed it my favorite color, rubbed off the edges and the clouds, and voila!

I will continue with more later! :D