Thursday, May 31, 2012

Art for Me, Green Tips, and Inspiration Sources

I made a piece of art for me! (and Mat and Madeline.)  I can't remember the last time I made a piece of art with the intentions of keeping it.  I make art for me all the time, but it's also for sale.  But this piece is mine, so hands off!  You can, however, request (or commission, if you want to use the technical term that might sound scary if you've never done it) me to create a similar piece for your home.  Size, color, number and kind of leaves, placement, and more could all vary.  These are all from leaves in our yard.  When is the last time you looked closely at the veins of a leaf?  They are so beautiful, endless, and unique to each particular plant.

Without further ado, here are the images of our new mantle art.

"Bonita Leaves" hand-cut paper and wood, by Heather Clements, 2012.




Contact me if you would be interested in a similar piece of art!

Leaf inspiration!



For a while I have been meaning to add another component to the blog.  After watching a documentary on Jane Goodall, I was inspired to finally implement it.  From now on (that's the plan, anyway) I will include a green tip and a source of inspiration.

I want my art to send a message; the message of how beautiful this world is, and that we need to embrace that we are but a part of it, not the rulers of it.  We need to start respecting this planet, as the mother of all life, including ourselves and every other plant and animal.  With that respect comes the responsibility to use our creativity, innovation, and knowledge to take care of our home, and the home of our children, and other generations to come.

With every small decision I make, I think of all of these things.  Before I turn on a light I think, "Do I really need this?  Or can I see just fine without it?"  I live my life with as small of a footprint as I can.  I hope that my art inspires others to take better care of the environment, but I realize they may not know how easy little efforts can be.  Greener living becomes force of habit, just like anything else.  So I have decided to share some tips from my own daily life so that perhaps others might be inspired to take on some new green habits.  I am not a master of eco-living, of course, and I am still learning, so I would absolutely love to hear green tips from you as well.

Green Tip #1:  When the weather is nice, turn off the air conditioner or heat, and open the windows.  You'd be surprised how wonderful your house feels with a fresh breeze rolling through.  It smells and feels amazing.  Your body also gets used to a wider range of temperatures rather than only that 75 degrees you leave your thermostat at, so in the winter you can set it lower, and in the summer, higher.  AND you'll save so much on energy bills.  AND AND you'll start feeling a stronger connection with the world around you, rather than closed up in a little cave.  We keep our windows open at least half of the months in the year, and we love it.


Inspiration comes to me daily, from as near as a bug crawling across my desk, to as far as the other side of the world.  I decided to share some things that inspire me on the blog, so that perhaps you could find new inspiration as well.

Inspiration Source #1:  "Jane's Journey" a 2010 biopic about Jane Goodall.  The very documentary that inspired these green tips and inspiration sources.  Jane Goodall is not just a chimp researcher, but a tenacious advocate for the environment.  She amazes me.  The documentary is currently on Netflix's watch instantly option.

Well, I hope that you have enjoyed this start of a new chapter of my blog!


Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Commissioned Oil Portrait - The Happy Couple

Meet Regina and John.  They commissioned this 20"x24" oil portrait.  I have learned quite a few new lessons in commissioned portraits on this one.  I definitely worked my butt off.  True, I didn't have much of a butt to begin with, but whatever I had, it's off now.  I'm in the process of finding it to put it back on.

Enough of the butt tangent... 

Here's the happy couple!

"Jean and John" Commissioned Oil Portrait, 20"x24", by Heather Clements, 2012


Progress shot!



Aaaahh, it's finally finished!


Want to commission a portrait or any other art?  Contact me and I can give you more details.



Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Small Leaf Paper Cuts

More leaf paper cuts!

To me I think having one of these in your house would represent your personal awe of nature.  It is a piece of art representing how beautiful you think this world is.  My inspiration came from my backyard.  Some of these leaves are from so-called "weeds" which I think in the plant world would be like a racist term.

Here they are!

Leaf Paper Cuts by Heather Clements, 2012


"Dark Leaf" is $40.  Update: *SOLD*
"Green Leaf" is $35.  Update: *SOLD*

This is the smallest leaf shown in my small hand.


"Small Pointy Leaf" is $30.  Update: *SOLD*


"Turquoise Leaf" is $40

The first cut leaf sold just an hour after I put it online, so if you would like one contact me soon!


Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Red Leaf - New Paper Cut Display

I have mixed feelings about framing artwork.  Sometimes visually they work, but often I feel like they simply distract from the artwork.  Even if it is the best possible framing choice, I'd rather simply see the art.  I change my mind on this often.  I used to be a custom framer so it makes it that much more difficult to say 'no frame!'  And obviously, with certain art, especially flat paper art, framing is more than necessary.  With paper-cutting I have needed to frame because of the nature of the medium.  But I have come up with a new system for displaying paper cuts!  It only works for uncomplicated, smaller cuts, but I think it is simple and sophisticated.

"Red Leaf" is displayed floating over a piece of wood with small pins.  Don't you love it?!  I do.  And this little darling is only $35!  (When I save on framing, so do you.)  So contact me if you would like to purchase it.

"Red Leaf" hand-cut paper and wood, 3.5" x 4.75", Heather Clements, 2012

"Red Leaf" hand-cut paper and wood, 3.5" x 4.75", Heather Clements, 2012

"Red Leaf" (side view) hand-cut paper and wood, 3.5" x 4.75", Heather Clements, 2012
*UPDATE: This piece is now SOLD.  Thank you!

I plan on making more of these and they easily lend themselves to commissions of similar pieces.  You could request a certain kind of leaf, a certain size, with a certain color for the wood.

So let me know, do you like this new kind of display for a paper cut?

Friday, May 11, 2012

"Empathic Stranger" Paper Cut and PRINTS FOR SALE

Holy crap I went a month without paper cutting!  I guess that's what happens when you take a bit of a stay-cation with visiting friends, and then work for a few weeks on finishing a studio.  So it's finally finished???  Not quite.  I will definitely post photos when it is.

I finished this little paper cut last week.

"Empathic Stranger" by Heather Clements, 2012. 8"x10" hand cut paper.

"Empathic Stranger" (detail) by Heather Clements.
 It is for sale for only $175!  Contact me if you are interested in purchasing this little lady.

Here is a quick (very quick, most of the video is sped up 20 times) video of some of the process:




NEWS! BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I am offering prints of my art for sale.

I'm still not sure how I feel about selling prints of my art, so if you would like one, you better act now before I come to my senses.  I am selling them through Blue Canvas.  My profile is at www.bluecanvas.com/heatherclementsart.  You can order prints in quite the variety: print, framed print, canvas wrap, card, poster, and skins for your iPhone, iPad, and more.  All of the prints are available in a few different sizes.  I do think the iPhone thing is pretty cool.  You can play with cropping and rotation, so you could have and iPhone that looks like this:


Or this:


Pretty cool, huh?  Check it out: bluecanvas.com/heatherclementsart

Thursday, May 10, 2012

"HHH" RecepciĆ³n Numero Uno

Here are the photos from the first 'Heather, Heather, Heather' reception at CityArts Cooperative!

LOVE this photo of us behind Heather flowers taken by Margaret Webster! Left to right: Heather Parker, Heather Clements (me), Heather Hay.




Artwork left to right: Heather Hay, Heather Clements, Heather Parker.

That's me playing the musical saw. 
That's a lot of people watching me play musical saw.

Did you miss the first one?  Man, you really missed out.  If only there was going to be another one... but wait!  There IS!  The second reception for 'Heather, Heather, Heather' will be Saturday, May 19th, 4-6pm.  The exhibit will feature:

  • Art, duh.
  • Food, yum.
  • Musical saw and keyboard music, mmm.
  • Everyone gets to be a Heather for a day, yup.
  • A collaborative art piece that only Heathers can work on, which means EVERYONE can work on during the reception (since everyone can be Heather for the day,) yeah!
  • 10% off exhibit art during reception, woo!

Check out the event on Facebook here.  Invite your friends!  I look forward to seeing you there!



Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Clear Cut - Paper Cut

And last but not least.... The last paper cut I made before the "Heather, Heather, Heather" exhibit!  I do enjoy working with the black paper, partially because it is much thinner than all the other paper I have worked with, so it is much easier on my poor hand and wrist.

This piece is called "Clear Cut."  Get it!?!?  Art is allowed to have dorky jokes, too.  Or perhaps it's not dorky...  No, it is sophisticated.  'Aaaah, the title, "Clear Cut" refers to both the destroying of forests and the actual material of paper cutting itself.'  How clever.

All joking aside, this piece represents our interdependence with nature.  So often people think of humans vs. nature.  But humans ARE nature.  When we destroy the planet, we inevitably destroy ourselves.

"Clear Cut" hand-cut paper, 16"x24", by Heather Clements, 2012


"Clear Cut" (detail) by Heather Clements

"Clear Cut" (detail) by Heather Clements

In other news, I have been working on another portrait commission and my studio is still in the works, but still needs shelves and a table built.  Stay tuned to see the results of both the portrait and the studio!

Thanks so much for reading, and as always, your comments are welcome and more than appreciated.