The Leaves of the Trees - Papercut

I am still playing and experimenting with this new medium.  On this piece I painted the paper with watercolor.  It's called, "The Leaves of the Trees."

*SOLD*
"The Leaves of the Trees" by Heather Clements.  8"x10" paper cut.

I've realized these papercuts are much smaller than they appear in photos.  This one and the last one are 9"x7".

In other news, I am scheduled to have a solo exhibit at Studio b at the end of December.  I am so excited about having a solo show at such an amazing and beautiful gallery!  30A sees a huge rush of people between Christmas and New Years which is why Colleen Duffley, the owner, wanted to have my show open during that week.  I'm going to work extra hard to create as much new work for this show as possible.  I will give more details sooner to the opening.

In other other news, I got a flat file!  Thanks Mom and Dad!  (for the birthday money that bought the flat file) Now my drawings can sigh in relief for they are no longer shoved in cardboard folders standing up allowing paper to sag, curve, crinkle, or worse yet, fold.  Now all of my unframed drawings, silkscreen prints, linoleum prints, and blank papers can be safe and FLAT!  Is it dorky to get so excited over something like this?  Perhaps, but who cares.  I'm ALSO excited about removing the middle shelf so that I could have vertical storage for my paintings, framed drawings, blank canvases, and more.  Studio geek-out!

Thanks everyone, have an awesome day!

Figure Drawing Catch-Up

I still teach Figure Drawing Classes every Thursday at CityArts Cooperative.  Occasionally I teach Figure Drawing at Studio b on Wednesdays.  So here is a selection (in no particular order) of figure drawings from the past couple of months:

These are 4 and 5 minute poses - drawn with my non-dominant hand.  It's so fun!  If you haven't tried it, DO IT!

This last one was so fun and challenging.  The model got into the pool at Studio b for her final 50 minute pose.  It was night time and the lights of the pool made every part of her that was under the water an electric, bright and pale color.  Her skin above the water was much darker, which made for a very dramatic contrast.  Everything in the water was heavily shortened and distorted.  Again, so much fun!

Prints can be made available.  Please contact me if you are interested.

Thanks for reading/looking!

Birds in Her Hair - Paper Cut

A couple posts ago I blogged about a new silkscreen print called "BirdHair."  While I liked how the print came out, it didn't quite capture all the detail I had in the original drawing.  Now that I am in love with paper-cutting, I decided to turn the same image into a paper cut.

I think in the print you couldn't see that two of the four birds were dead.  Now they are clear.

**SOLD** 

It is framed in a shadow box.  The paper cut is floating above the green paper about 3/16".

I just can't wait to make another piece of paper art!!

Guilty in the Woods - Paper Art

 Okay, now I think this piece is finished.  (By the way this piece relates to my ecocide series.)  It took quite a bit of trial and error, and finally having to admit that my large tree trunk no longer fit in with the piece as a whole.  Once I added the leaves, the large tree trunk felt too chunky and thick among all the other smaller details.  So I made a tree not quite as close to the foreground.  Here it is:

Before:

After:

  


I think I'm falling in love with paper art.... Shh!  Don't tell drawing, painting, woodburning, and printmaking!

 I think a valuable lesson in making any kind of art, whether it's visual, music, film, dance, or anything, is knowing what to edit out.  Sometimes you have to give up a piece that you really love because you know it doesn't fit in with the whole.  Great directors know this, and that's why they'll sometimes cut one of their favorite scenes because it doesn't fit in with the overall flow or idea of the movie.  It's extremely difficult, first of all recognizing that an element you love doesn't quite work, and then making the decision to edit it out.  But it's necessary in order to make a cohesive work of art.

Thanks for reading!  Your comments are always appreciated!

Paper Cut Art

Aaaah, I FINALLY had a chance to make some of MY art.  The paper flowers and graphic design have taken up a lot of time lately, so as soon as the commissions slowed a bit, I carved out some time for myself to create my own art.  I spent all day Wednesday and Friday making art.  Friday was my birthday, and since no graphic design projects had immediate deadlines, I decided to spend my birthday doing what I love.

The paper flowers left me with some new skills in working with paper.  I've got the paper-cut bug, I guess.  So here is what I made on Wednesday:

This was the first.  I am mostly experimenting with the new medium here.  It is called "Bird Secrets" and it is 8"x10".

I also made a silkscreen print for the first time since the class I took.

This is 8"x10" and it is one of just five prints.  Both of the above pieces are available to purchase at  my etsy shop.

Here is the one I made on my birthday.  I woke up early and laid in bed thinking of what to make for the longest time.  I didn't even remember it was my birthday until Mat woke up and said, "Happy Birthday."  I haven't attached the pieces to the background paper yet, because I'm debating whether or not I think it's complete.

It's called, "Guilty in the Woods" and it is 11"x14."  I'm really loving this medium.

Last week was the first chance I had to use my art studio for MY art.  It felt really good to be using this space for that.  Really good.

Oh yeah, I shaved my head.  (Buzzed to 1/8th of an inch, actually) 

 This is semi-art related.  In my art I try to have no fear in revealing myself.  Through my art I am raw and exposed.  Well, with this new do I feel unashamedly exposed... in a good way.  I've had mixed reactions, of course, but it doesn't really matter.  It's something I've wanted to do for a long time and I finally did it.

I want to extend my gratitude to all of you who read my blog.  It means a lot to me.  I can view stats on how many people read the blog, and I know a lot of you are reading but not "following."  Please consider clicking that "join this site" box in the right collumn!  You will show your support of me and my art, and it will make me very very happy!

Thanks for reading!