Artistic Ego Boost

 

I've been feeling pretty good the past few days.  The Mizzle I auctioned off has received such a great response.  People have been complimenting me on how well crafted they are and how I professionally packaged them.  I bought boxes from Staples and did a quick portrait sketch of the character on their own box.  It has been such a boost to my artistic ego.  It has also made me more aware of how little credit I give myself and how much I have grown as an artist.  I have finally found my artistic style.  

It has kind of felt like I've found the hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  But the gold isn't gold; it is the magic of my imagination. I have been on such a creative streak! 

Final 4 of TLC Mizzle Auction

Two postings in one day? I know! I'm just as surprised, but I had to share with all of you the latest in the TLC Mizzle Auction.  Here are the last four characters I promised to complete.  I introduced them to the staff and students today.  So far, Ernest H.M. Way is in the lead with $27, but things could always change by tomorrow.  It is so sad to see them go.  I have become attached to all of them, but I'm happy to have received the great response my staff and students had to my creations.  In the end, they will go off to great homes, inspire creativity, and hopefully, storytelling, and all of the proceeds will go to a great cause.  AND I will have slowly put more of my work out in the world, slowly conquering it one Mizzle at a time. ;) 

Meet Ernest H.M Way

He is a bibliophile, who is mostly attracted to Romance Sci-fi novels.  He spends his time living in the world created in his mind.  In his spare time, he creates miniatures of the worlds from the books he reads and showcases them at Comic-con.  In his free time, he enjoys bench pressing the air, since that is all his strength can handle.

Meet Dr. Whoknowsit

He is an expert at rainbow construction with a Ph.D. in B.S-ing (I'm pretty sure we attended the same university).  He loves to get into philosophical debates with Leprechauns.  His hobbies consist of mixing paint, running with scissors, and adding fake words to Urbandictionary.com.

Meet Alizarin or “Ali”

She is a very crafty person, who loves to knit and crochet.  She is known mostly for the scarves she makes, but is one of the best yarn bombers in New Mexico.  In her free time, she loves playing in Rugby tournaments. A true egotist, she loves everything about herself.  She has even named every single stripe on her body.  Her favorite stripe is Larry, which is the 7^th stripe on left ear.

Meet Shaneera

She is an amazon queen from the Bronx.  She is fluent in gibberish.  She loves doing interpretive dance for the blind, but her dream is to re-enact the entire 80’s movie Flash Dance as a solo performance. In her spare time, she loves to read about worms and their ecosystem.  She one day hopes to cure Arachibutyrophobia, a phobia related to the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth, through dancing.

Home Sweet Home

It is always a great feeling to return home after a trip, or being away for a long period of time.  There is just so much comfort in being in your own space.  Time and space from anything and anyone always give you perspective.  It allows you to reunite and appreciate all of the good things you have in your life.  It also clears your mind by breaking up your usual routine.  Change is always good, even if it is very minimal.  I had spent a few days house/ dog sitting, which was a very nice break from my routined life.  It was like a small vacation, even though I was my busy self.  It really has me thinking about home and I realized that I have only done a few drawings of Mizzle dwellings.  The first drawing is of a squirrel drey, which is an enclosed nest made of twigs, branches, feathers, moss, and anything else that they feel would make for good nest construction.  The second drawing is the inside of Larry's home.  I imagine since Mizzles live in trees that everything they have should be made from things found in nature. I had a lot of fun creating this last drawing.  I think I need to make a color version of it.  My favorite part is the "To do list" and the pictures on the wall. 

New Drawings and a work in progress

As always, my weekend was busy with the school garden and hiking. Sprinkled throughout this weekend, I created a few drawings and worked on a colored illustration.  I took a few of the garden illustrations I drew and combined them.  I am using Prismacolor and General's watercolor pencils and outlining with pen.

TLC Mizzle Auction Update & Drawings

It is usually said that we should follow the stars.  But the more I begin to follow my own path of starts it begins to feel like guiding the stars, or flagging them down, seems to be more possible.  I love thinking about the magic that exists in possibilities.  This is what I was thinking about while creating this quick drawing.

I subbed during my prep period today.  Usually the class tries to take advantage of having a substitute in the class, but these students were really good.  I was even able to create a quick drawing during the class since they were absorbed into their own drawings.

A quick update on Mizzles for TLC auction:  I emailed the staff, and shared with my students the 11 characters I created.  The auction closes Tuesday at 3pm and the reaction has been a little surprising.  Leading the pack is Sarg, who has a $30 bid on him right now.  Ned is at $27; Electra $26; Sparkle $18; Whisper $17; La-La $16; Om $15; Cha-Cha and Lou Bangoogleski are at $10; and Molliaire is at $8.  I feel bad for Molliaire.  I think he is not receiving the same attention as the others because his little introductory story wasn't as entertaining as the others.

If I can get my act together, I should have the last 4 Mizzles finished for Monday.

Daily drawing

I've learned that the email feature will post one image attachment. I tried posting my drawings but it didn't work. Here is one drawing. I began working on something else yesterday so I did 2 drawings today to make up for it. It was inspired by the recent increase in storytelling.

Trying the email feature

Since I'm "dog sitting" I thought I'd try out blogging from my email account. I'm curious to see if my attached photos will post.
Making my Mizzles has ignited my storytelling. It has motivated me to sit and write which is what I needed.  As for the Mizzle auction at work, it seems to be going well. There are 3 more days before I close the auction and most of them are at $15-20. It is exciting to see people enjoy looking and reading the short descriptions. I especially love listening to my students talk about which ones are their favorites and why.  It has been a long week, but it has been a week exhibiting the rewards of creativity!