Reflection

I have noticed that every once in a while a theme(s) appears in my life.  Sometimes they are very subtle and I don't realize it existed until it has passed.  Then there are times, like now, where they are blatantly obvious.  This month's theme is "reflection."  It is time for me to sit down and look at where my path has taken me this year.  This last half of the year has definitely taken me a little off course. 

First of all, I'm unbelievably grateful for the life I have.  It is not perfect, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love the challenges life throws at me and the people who come across my path.  I love the friends and family, who have strengthened me by showing me how much they believe in me.  I know my life would not be as colorful as it is without all of their wonderful personalities!

This year began on a positive note.  I began this blog and started my "well-intentioned," but not entirely realistic drawing a day.  I am proud to say that I lasted a lot longer than I had truly anticipated.  I figured I'd putter out around February, but it was around May that the daily drawings came to a halt.  The drawing became more difficult to complete daily because it was around that time things at work began to change.  My department chair announced his retirement and decisions had to be made.  I then took on the challenge of becoming department chair, teaching AP studio art, and I moved to a different classroom.

Changes didn't end there.  Some changes were not so good, but there were a lot that have been great.  The not so good news was my dad had a tumor in his liver.  He's doing well, but it looks like this is going to be on-going issue.  The great news began with my first nephew, Noah, being born on Friday the 13th!  He is an absolute cutie and is going to be extremely spoiled!  Then the unexpected happened.  As I prepared to attend the SCBWI summer children's conference, I was contacted by a representative from RawArtists.  They had found my ETSY shop and wanted me to participate in one of their shows.  To be honest, I was hesitant. I wasn't sure if my work was strong enough.  Also, they really loved my Mizzle dolls, and wanted them to be displayed in the showcase.  After talking to a friend, I decided that in participating in showcase I really had nothing to lose.  This led to a second show and being nominated as one of their Semi-finalists for their annual RAWards.  Although, Mizzle Adventures did not win at the competition, it was a great experience.  It showed me a few things.  One, how much I finally believe in myself and my artwork; Two, what I'm truly capable of achieving; and lastly, it made me realize I didn't have any idea of what kind of outcome I wanted from showcasing my work.  Originally, I just wanted allow the journey to take its own course and see where it would take me.  As much fun as that has been, I think it's time to make some more choices, but about my career as an artist.  What is it that I truly want to achieve as an artist?  And where do I want to see it take me?

The interesting part is that my school qualified to apply for distinguished schools. In addition, this means we are able to apply for another award, which is an Exemplary Arts Program.  For the past few weeks, my department and I have been putting together information about our department to apply for it. I didn't think writing this document would be as difficult as it has been.  I know we are a strong Visual and Performing Arts program, but it has made me notice that we don't have any particular goals for our department.  We don't have a true vision of where we want to go.  I think we have all shared ideas with one another about things we think would be great, but we have never put anything into effect.  I think we all have ideas of what we would like to see happen in our department, but we have never sat down together and verbalized it out loud. When this process is said and done, whether we win this award or not, it has been a great opportunity for us to reflect on the state of our department.  Now we can have a real conversation about short and long term goals for our department.

With 2012 coming to an end and 2013 peeking at us from the horizon, it is a good time for reflection.  It is the perfect time to look at our flaws with complete honest and to take the time to figure out what we need to do to make ourselves and our world better. It's a good time to be thankful and appreciative for what we have and the people in our lives.  And it is the time to make choices about our future.

Zombie Mizzles- Part 2

Instead of my original sketch, I went with this idea instead.  It was just too disturbing to illustrate my Mizzles as dead cannibals.  But I did keep the dark and ghoulish look to them.  My Advanced Art students are enjoying the opportunity to watch my progress and my process.  They ask lots of questions about my techniques and my process.  Originally, I was only going to use watercolor.  But I decided since I am requiring my students to use watercolor and pen for their finals that I would do the same.

I used Grumbacher Miskit liquid frisket to mask my characters.  Then I painted a variety of washes of blues, greys, greens, and violets to create my background.  Honestly, I've never used a liquid frisket before.  I love the freedom to experiment with my background without ruining the main areas of my painting, but I did run into the problem of it ripping my paper as I removed it.  The paper was completely dry when I removed it.  Does anyone have any suggestions on a liquid frisket they love?  Or perhaps there is a technique I could use in removing it?

 

As for the zombie mizzle dolls, I am still trying to decide how to go about making them.  I have a visual in my mind as to how I think they should look, but am not sure how to go about it.  I need to go get some muted colored socks, or maybe bleach bright colorful ones I have to dull them out.  And then I need to just jump in and begin making it.  Until then, I did finish these guys today!  :)  They just need some eyes, names, and a small background story.

This is what they look like before stuffing!

Their cute back sides!

I'm including a photo of just their shells.  I had posted this image on my Facebook page and was a bit surprised how shocked people were by what they look like before being stuffed. It never occurred to me to show the process of one of the actual Mizzles.

It has been raining off and on today, so I'm feeling inspired to make more Mizzles or to get some more paintings started.

Monday, October 15th is the last day to vote for Mizzle Adventures at www.rawartists.org!  I hope you get a chance to vote!  And a big THANK YOU to those who did!

Sunday Agglomeration

 I have been out of sorts lately.  My drawing routine has been completely disrupted by life.  I had absolutely no drawings for a Sunday Agglomeration post last Sunday.  It has really thrown me off balance by not having time to draw.  The school year gets closer and closer to the end and I feel like more and more tasks appear with no end in sight.  I am looking forward to summer vacation and being able to be a full time artist for a few months.  I managed to make time for a few creations. 

I'm still stuck on a yoga theme for my daily drawings.

sphinx

shoulder stand

plank

reverse warrior

I also made new Mizzles.  On my yoga retreat, my friend and I stopped and bought some socks that had a yoga vibe.  A few years ago, I began making Mizzles from any trip that I've been on. I haven't finished their faces, but they are already full of personality.

I finished a few more shrink-a-dinks.

I am hoping that this week will be the jump start I need to get me back into constant creation mode.  Tomorrow, I begin taking Mira Reisberg's online e-course, Hero's Art Journey.  It should be an exciting adventure!  There is still time to sign up for her class if anyone is interested. www.herosartjourney.com

 

Meet Anila

Anila was fun for me to make. I finally had a recipe for creating the Mizzles. I learned they turned out really fun and exciting when I used socks that had colorful patterns.  I have noticed that I'm really drawn to stripes when I'm creating Mizzles.

Anila is a busy bee.  She is always fluttering around Twinkling Treetop performing one task or another.  It is extremely rare to see her still in one place except around the bonfire when Buh-gee tells his stories.

Where it all started

 

It all began with a book and some socks.  I found John Murphy's book Stupid Sock Creatures.  I thought it might be something fun for my art club students, but it ended up not grabbing their attention.  I, on the other hand, fell in love and maybe obsessed with creating fun sock creatures. Little by little, my collection of socks, buttons, and sewing materials grew.  It now sits, unorganized, in its own closet.

About 5 years later, I have created too many of these to keep count.  I wish I had taken photos of the first batches I made.  There were so many I adored, but gave them away.   I kept many. My little Mizzle family has grown; each one full of personality.  This eventually led to me creating stories.  I knew they lived in trees, but they needed friends.  It took me very little time for me to realize how perfect a squirrel would fit that role.  They live in trees and have a curious nature just like the Mizzles.

 

 But this has only increased my love for squirrels.  Today was pretty amazing because I got to hand feed Striker, one of the squirrels who come to my parent's backyard for nuts.  She has been visiting for the past 3 or 4 years.  We know it is her because she is the only one who will allow us to come close to her.  We are not allowed to touch her, but she will gently take food from us.

I have been thinking about this all week.  I draw my characters and share them with you, but none of you really know them.  I think I'm going to spend some time introducing them to you.  I'm a bit excited!  I can't wait for you to get to know them all. 

Mizzles for TLC

I have mentioned TLC in a previous blog.  TLC (True Lasing Connections) is an organization in the city of Downey that provides medical services, vision care, dental care, parental education, food and clothing, counseling/ support groups, low cost health insurance, and referral services  children and families in the city and in our school district.  Our school is currently doing a school wide fundraiser for this organization. 

In the past, we have done our "pennies for patients" fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Every year, I create as many of my lovely Mizzles and auction them off to the students.  Normally I create about 5 or 6, but this year I have created 11 with 4 more in the works!  I began working on them little at a time this whole month.  My students have been watching me with questioning eyes as I walked around my classroom sewing socks together. They finally get to see them completed and learn why they have been created.  I thought I'd share them with you, as well.

 

Many of these are going to be hard to part with.  I love making them because they have so much personality.

Meet Electra:

 She is from Greenland.  She is a professional Fire performer.  During one of her performances, her arms caught on fire. 
In her free time, she gives unwanted teddy bears hugs.  Her motto is "Everyone needs a little love."

Meet La-La:

She is from Canada.  She holds the all-time record for being able to continuously skip.  When she is not playing hockey, she trains poodles how to jump over obstacles for dog show competitions.  Her motto is "Feel the burn!"

 Meet Cha-Cha:

She is from Bermuda.  She loves to dance, especially in the shower.  She is the host of the TV show called "Dancin' Fast."  Her hobby is rescuing seaweed from surfers.



















Meet Stella:  Everyone thinks she is a punk or pop singer, but surprises them with her soulful dolphin sounds.  She is known worldwide for her dolphin songs.  To help her unwind, she spends her time drawing the white lines on baseball fields.

Meet Ned: He is super cranky, but wouldn't you be too, if everyone kept confusing you for a girl?  His favorite color is black and loves to throw things from trees.  An expert squirrel whisperer, he answers all of the daily problems and concerns of squirrel society.  In his free time, he enjoys drinking Kool-Aid and then attempting to break through walls.




















Meet Whisper:  His movements and speech are as quiet as a whisper.  He loves to observe the world from the shadows and helping those in need.  He thinks of himself as a superhero, but without all of the nonsense powers.  He obtains great joy from making people happy by whispering the words they need to hear.  His favorite hobby is watching grass grow.


















Meet Om:  He is a calm, peaceful yogi.  He never gets worked up except when he watches Trix commercials.  That poor rabbit never gets any cereal! He enjoys sitting outside and to ponder the essential question "What should I have for dinner?"  His motto is "Be the pumpkin!"
















Meet Molliaire:  He is from France and loves to dig.  He is an expert at making mud pies, but only eats crepes.  His favorite past time is painting the nails of everyone who crosses his path pink with yellow flowers.















Meet Sparkle:  She is the twin sister of Sarg.  She is a fireworks expert and puts on the best shows.  She talks in the pattern of a fireworks show, slow and steady, then extremely rapid and overwhelming.  Her favorite sport is snail racing.















Meet Sarg:  Sparkle's twin brother.  He loves everything and anything that has to do with the military.  He doesn't nothing but go on recon missions, but he always gets caught.  The problem is that he always ends up hiding in areas that are completely red because of his color blindness. 












Last of the list, for now, is Lou Bangoogleski.  He is from Russia and is a professional Scooby-Doo stalker.  He hires Sarg to help him all of the time, but can never figure out why they keep getting caught.  His second passion is greeting every bird that crosses his path with a song.




Hopefully, they will all find nice homes and bring in some money for this great cause.  If anyone would like to donate, you can go to http://www.whsfortlc.bbnow.org/ and donate online. Big thanks if you do!

Weekend full of art

Yesterday, I met with my illustrators group for an artist's play date.  We brought various materials and began being creative.  It was so much fun to just play with materials.  I decided to use a piece of cardboard and collaged various torn pieces of paper.  For the girl, I used white gouache to create her silhouette and then used watercolor pencils on top.  I love the textures the paper created.  I have always been attracted to the edges of torn paper.  Something about it draws me to it. 

Today was busy with various chores, but I had another experience with the squirrel in my parent's back yard.  Her name is Striker and I went to feed her nuts.  I had set some on the tree and I held one in my hand for her to take.  But she came at it from a weird angle and knocked the nut out of my hand, so she kept taking the nuts I had set on the tree.  She would pretend to come get the nut from my hand, and then she would end up grabbing one on the tree.  I stood there in awe of how close she stayed near me.  She was the inspiration for today's drawing.

I even had time to do a quick watercolor version of one of my daily drawings.

Busy little bee

Socks, socks, socks, socks!  This week I have decided to get ready for Pennies for Patients, which is my school's fundraising event for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  The past few years we have been one of the top schools in the nation who raise money for them.  In past years, I have made an abundance of sock dolls and sell them.  I didn't participate last year because I was super busy with thesis paper.  This year, our ASB has decided that we will do the fundraiser for a program in our district that helps students in need here at home.  I am really happy with this decision because the students will get to truly see the impact of their fundraising.

 I began creating some of my sock creatures yesterday.  Today I was able to complete 4 of them.  One, I promised to a former student.  Another was one I had wanted to make for my own collect.  The last two, I swear, are for this event coming up in a few weeks.  I just need to come up with names and a cute little background story about them.  I was able to sew the body shells of 2 more, so hopefully I will have those finished tomorrow.  My department thinks I'm crazy.  As my students are drawing, I walk around with some kind of sewing or crochet project in my hands.  There are times when it seems like I am constantly creating. 

For my daily drawing, I decided to rework a previous drawing, but I ended up not liking it.  I began giving the squirrel more texture and shading, but now the sock looks out of place.  I think if I color the sock the image will change.  Because I wasn't happy with this drawing, I created another.  I like this one a lot more, but need to darken up the surrounding areas to make it look more like the inside of a tree or a drey.

And now that I have finished writing this blog I can say I've had a pretty productive day.

Here is a photo of the sock doll I made for myself.

I still need to give it a name, but I am looking forward to drawing it!

Genetic Sock Obsession

Today I woke up to rain.  I love it when it rains.  It gives me even more reason to go through my art supplies and go through a creative frenzy.  Instead of going through my creative zen-like routine, I decided to clean and organize my art corner before my friend came over.  When I was done, I sat down at my grandmother's desk and began to work on my drawing for the day.  I was having a hard time figuring out what I should draw, but then I saw the clown doll sitting with my cast of Mizzles.  My grandmother made that doll.  

I've had it since I was about 3 years old.  She used to love telling me the story about how I got that doll.  She had originally made the doll for my cousin, Kim.  But my mom had brought me over and I immediately became attached to it.  She didn't have the heart to take it away from me.  She let me keep it and made another for my cousin.  At some point, the clown became part of the collection of stuffed animals that I took to my classroom to use as still life.  When she passed away, I immediately went searching for it and brought it home.  It was during the writing of my thesis I had realized how much I was like my grandmother.  She had made dolls from socks and at some point I began that same obsession.  So, it seems very clear that my obsession with making things from socks is definitely genetic. 

                                                                                                     Today's drawing has my grandma's first clown doll, which is missing one of its pompoms from its right hand, sitting with my first Mizzle and squirrel friend.  About a month before my grandma passed away, she gave me the pattern for the clown doll.  I'm going to have to pull it out and make one sometime soon.