Jump

Empty

Moon drops fall in the

Open window of the

Empty room where

We danced.

The sun hit the amber leaves

And they fell to the ground

While we danced.

When the snow came

And the darkness

I waited in the room

But you were gone.

The sun shines again.

The room is still empty.

I wait to dance.

Nothing.

(Poem written by Beth Thrall)

(Illustration by Megan Franseen) 

Christians in The Visual Arts

Christians in the Visual Arts, or CIVA, is an organization with the purpose to help Christianity and Art come together. They have resources to help all sorts of people who fall into both of these categories. Some of these resources incluse exhibits, conferences, and other programs to give people tools to successfully be artistic without leaving behind their faith. CIVA does offer a couple of different levels of membership, all which include access to resources and subscriptions. Also, membership can help get your foot in the door for events such as exhibits. Also available is an organizational membership and an institutional membership. CIVA's website includes a log section with many interesting posts worth reading. For more information, check out their website at civa.org.

Shades

Chicago Artists' Coalition

The Chicago Artists' Coalition, or CAC, provides opportunities as well as resources for artists. They work to improve artists' working conditions as well. Also, they show people in the community the importance of art. There are a couple membership levels, each with its own benefits. They offer a lot of resources for artists, including advise and tips, recommendations, and guidance. They host galleries and feature artists. In fact, CAC hosted a panel at this last weekend's SEA conference, which I had the pleasure to attend. If you are interested in checking out CAC, their website is chicagoartistscoalition.org. It is worth it!

From the sketchbook

Watercolor and Pen

3 Piece Self Portrait Assignment

For this assignment, we were asked to select 3 artists and create a self portrait based off the style of each. Here are my finished works!! ENJOY!

Colored Pencil, Ink

Based off the style of Eugene Grasset

Watercolor, India Ink

Based off the style of Brian Danaher

Oil Pastel

Based off the style of Ferdinand Hodler

Valentines Day

Hey guys, I'm usually not too big on the whole Valentines Day thing, but I felt like this idea was too good to pass up.

(made of cut paper)

“What gives value to travel is fear. It is the fact that, at a certain moment, when we are so far from our own country we are seized by a vague fear, and an instinctive desire to go back to the protection of old habits. This is the most obvious benefit of travel. At that moment we are fervish but also porous.”

            -Albert Camus

Red Nose Studio

Red Nose Studio was created by a guy named Chris Sickels. He has done illustrations for guys like AARP, Boston Magazine, and the New York Times. He creates work by making interesting and detailed puppet characters and photographing them. His style is very unique. It is expressive as well as imaginative. The work is also often a bit comical. His figures each seem to have their own personalities. If this all sounds interesting to you, I would like to encourage you to check out some of his work. The website is:
rednosestudio.com

enjoy!

Perception

The goal of this piece is to represent several different emotions, as well as perceptions including that which a person may have for him or herself compared to what others have of them.  The light blue fabric on the outside represents a calm and relaxed exterior, while the darker blue inside represents deeper feelings and frustrations that aren’t completely visible from the outside. The crumbled up paper “heart” represents the uniqueness of an individual. If another sheet of paper were crumpled up, the folds would not be the same as this one. It is unique. People may realize how unique and special they are to different degrees. The mirror represents image. Each person has his or her own vision of how they perceive themselves.

(Plaster, Fabric, Paper, Acrylic)

Paper Relief Sculpture

Colored paper glued to Mat Board. Approximately 3' by 1'.   

3 Part Figure Assignment

This is actually an assignment from last year. We were told to draw an anatomically accurate picture of the human form, in three parts. Each part had to be surface anatomy, muscle structure, or bone structure. It is life size, colored pencil.

Sketchbook Page

Sketch of my sister, Marta

another day, another sketch

Revolution Poster Project

In my Illustration for Publication class, we had been working on making these "Revolution" style posters out of cut paper. This is my final product. I chose this passage of Scripture because it was on my heart (no pun intended) at the time. One of my goals while making this was to make the viewer feel interested and curious, without giving away too much of the message in order to inspire them to look up the passage for themselves. The passage talks mostly about how we should treat other people. I chose to use an anatomical heart because it is sort of the physical core of us as humans. Also, the heart is often a symbol of love for others, which this passage speaks of as well. I would encourage anyone viewing this to look it up and give the selection some deep thought!

Sketchbook Page

Sketch of my friend, Karli, scanned from my sketchbook.