Moleskine Exchange

First Sketches in Ammon's Book

2012-02-11T07:56:00.000-08:00

I have Ammon's Mole out of order because some people had several Moles and I had none.

Collaboration with Mike

This is my collaboration with Mike. I used a Sakura graphic pen and a Sakura micron pen, neither of which matched his pen. I wasn't sure what he used (should have asked, I guess.)

Nightmare #120211-b
Sakura Micron pens, colored pencil, gouache

This was originally an attempt at an abstract. I love Andrea's abstracts, but I don't seem to be able to do abstracts often (only occasionally). I was unhappy with the abstract by itself and added nonabstract details.

By the way, the corner is cut of out of this page (by someone OTHER than me). But that space on the next page is somewhat damaged. Perhaps someone can make something on the next page that will show through and be a collaboration--or maybe I will at some later point, for the next person to finish.

Man In My Neighborhood

2012-02-09T19:04:00.001-08:00

I tried to draw this man that comes through my neighborhood regularly. If I am working outside he will usually give me advice. It is amazing how he does everything that I have to do so much better than me.

Sharing With Mary in Stephanie's Book

2012-02-09T08:14:00.000-08:00

THIS is Mary's post of the beginning of our drawing. I missed the part where it was about the friend working on a car. I assumed it was finger painting time, which is what I assume about most things.

The Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook Project

2012-01-30T13:10:00.000-08:00

The current sketchbook project deadline is tomorrow and a new round is in the offing. I've signed up for it. Some of us are posting to a blog and I'd like to invite the rest of you, if you interested, to join us. Let one of us know if you want to join and I or one of us will send an invite.

Moons in Gretchen's Book

2012-01-23T17:47:00.000-08:00

I couldn't make up my mind how to approach one piece I wanted to do in Gretchen's book, so I decided not to decide and create the moon, three ways.

Title page - I wish I'd made the word "ways" a little more bold.

This astronaut was the first piece started, and the last one finished. I spray painted the background using vinyl I had left over from Mary's Round 2 book to create the purple pattern. Then I stalled on it until this weekend when I added the astronaut and finished painting it. I added the Finnish postage stamp at the bottom because I know Gretchen's family hails from Finland. By the way, Finland has THE COOLEST STAMPS. I enclosed the rest of the sheet in the book in case Andrea or anyone else wants to use one - or Gretchen can just have them. The art is so cute, and they're often die-cut in unusual shapes like these birds on branches. How cool would it be to get a letter with one of these on it?

I started this one with a copy of this vintage photo, then added all the engraved elements. The moon has a door, and if you look inside, you'll see the man in the moon. (It's Sherlock from the recent BBC TV series because that's what I've been watching recently - awesome, awesome show)

I created this pixellated moon from squares cut out of paint chips - it's kind of fun going to the hardware store and walking out with my craft supplies for free.

And continued the pixels onto the next page for Andrea to interact with.

Here's the collaboration I completed with Molly. She created the creature on the left, and I added the rest to tie it in with my theme.

In Andrea's pocket

2012-01-21T06:56:00.000-08:00

Of course, the obvious choice would be to make a dream catcher, but since I already made one of those, I decided to build a diorama of one of the dreams. The big challenge was figuring out how I can build it in a way that I could take it apart and pack it in a flat package so it fits in the pocket.

I suddenly have a lot of respect for those IKEA engineers...

pages 7 and 8 on Andrea's Book

2012-01-21T06:09:00.000-08:00

I've had a small medical procedure last Wednesday, and I'm starting to feel a little better now, but it's taking time (too much time in my mind) and so for the past couple of days, I could only really work (or do anything for that matter) for about an hour or two every day. I really really hate this...

Anyway, those hours were mostly spend on Andrea's book and little pocket item. I'm going to pack it and Steve's book tomorrow and take it to the postoffice on Monday.

Bottle neck

2012-01-19T09:03:00.000-08:00

Ya, this time it's me...
I have 3 books at home now. Steve's book, which is all done, Andrea's which is 95% done and one more...
I'm really sorry guys, we had 2 deaths in the family and I had some health issues, which I think are basically over now (hopefully) I'm hoping to finish Andrea's book today and send 2 books to Molly tomorrow.

My work in Mary's book.

2012-01-14T22:29:00.000-08:00

Mary's book ships on Monday.

Splotch Monster Collab with Steve Loya, round 2

2012-01-14T11:56:00.000-08:00

Splotch Monster Collaboration with Steve Loya
in my returned Moleskine from Round 2

I forgot about finishing up my Round 2 Moleskine. So here's the first of those.

Icky Fingers Collaboration for Ammon in Stephanie's

2012-01-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

This is my last piece in Stephanie's book, so I will be sending it to Ammon as soon as I can get it together, hopefully tomorrow or Monday, It is done in 005 Micron pen black. The green bit on the mouth is from a dirty scanner, sorry. Also a little splash of black gouache.

Icky Fingers
Micron Pen
1st half of a collaboration with Ammon

It's my husband, Biker Buddy (Keith), in case you don't recognize him, working on my son Graham's car. However, Ammon could make it into something else and that would be OK. I'll be interested to see what he does with it.

Collaboration with Gretchen in Stephanie's: Hen Turning Eggs

2012-01-06T14:02:00.000-08:00

Turning the Eggs
Collaborations with Gretchen

Turning the Eggs, Collaboration by Gretchen Owen and Mary Stebbins Taitt
markers and pens. Dedicated to Hennie Mavis.

In Stephanie's Pocket: Sequoia Park Zoo

2012-01-05T06:29:00.000-08:00

Sequoia Park Zoo, Eureka, California
watercolor

This is a 6 x 9 watercolor on Canson paper for the Virtual Paintout from Eureka, California (last Month's Theme). I am including the original in the pocket.

I also included two small prints of earlier Virtual Paintout pictures from Eureka California :

Andrea's pages 5 and 6

2012-01-04T20:34:00.000-08:00

Andrea's book pages 3 and 4

2012-01-04T20:32:00.001-08:00

Andrea's book

2012-01-04T20:31:00.000-08:00

I actually haven't even send Mike's book to Molly yet. I know she had 2 books and didn't want to burden her with a third just yet... but last week I got Andrea's book and so now I probably will have to send molly 2 books rather then one.

I had the whole book planned in my head, but then I had a different idea and decided to go with that. I'm calling it "The book of reoccurring nightmares"

Page 4 in Stephanie's book: Under the Bridge at Silverthorne, Colorado

2012-01-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

Under the rte 70 Bridge, Silverthorne, Colorado
gouache

This is the last in the series of Virtual Paintout pictures for this mole--the other two half-pictures will be different.

pages 2 and 3 in Stephanie's sketchbook: Aspen Colorado

2012-01-04T11:20:00.000-08:00

Aspen, Colorado
the walking trail
gouache

Two more pages completed in a two-page spread. This is another for the Virtual Paintout. Aspen, Colorado. I scanned the pages separately and didn't get the register quite right in the image. Sorry. It doesn't look like that in the book (in the center.)

Here is the google maps street view image I used to paint this from (for the Virtual Paintout).

Screen capture of street view used for painting above

Summit County Colorado Virtual Paintout, first one in Stephanie's

2012-01-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

YAY! WHOOOOPEE! Hurrah! Stephanie's Moleskine came in the mail this afternoon--thanks Gretchen-- and I did a quick sketch in it for the Virtual Paintout in Summit COunty Colorado. I've tried three times and I've always screwed it up somehow, so I'm trying again a fourth time. Felt-tip Markers, graphite.

Stephanie's

2012-01-01T22:31:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all enjoyed the holidays!

I finally shipped Stephanie's moleskine to Mary on Thursday! I've got Ellen's too, and I've already started! Determined to get back on track. I can't believe how fast the past couple of months have gone!

In Stephanie's:

Collab with Roma

Collab for Mary

In the pocket

Two Season Doodles - Happy Holidays!

2011-12-26T12:55:00.000-08:00

The arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.


Merry Christmas - Seasons Greetings! If you don't celebrate Christmas... Happy Hanukkah also known as the Festival of Lights.

A few in Ammon's Moleskine

2011-12-23T13:17:00.000-08:00

Mechanical Bird with biological eggs... Hmmm! What was I thinking?

Unfinished collaboration with Ammon. I decided to finish it. I love the way Aya does hair so I gave it a go... Not sure where the Gorilla shirt came from.

Unfinished collaboration with Stephanie, so again, I decided to finish...

Another unfinished collaboration in the back of the book left by Andrea... Guess what? I decided to finish!

Last four in Aya's Moleskine III - on its way to Roma!

2011-12-20T08:59:00.000-08:00

Whoa boy! Slow down... Busy!

Marriage V'eyes (vase)

Collaboration with Roma - part one!

Rush Hour on the 6th Train!

and in the pocket...

2011-12-12T14:24:00.000-08:00

My first attempt at a paper doll with movable parts. It took a lot longer then expected and somehow turned out 4 times larger or so then planned, but I'm so happy with how it turned out! I need to get beads with bigger holes for this, those were really far from perfect.

Mike's book pages 7 and 8

2011-12-11T20:15:00.001-08:00

I can't wait to see what Molly does with the horse skull!

Mike's Book pages 5 and 6

2011-12-11T20:12:00.001-08:00

A while ago, I had a strange online conversation with an artists who had a drawing of a skeleton, she asked "Why are skeletons so interesting?" and someone said "Because we all have them, but we never get to see our owns".

Mike's book pages 3 and 4

2011-12-11T20:04:00.001-08:00

So then I had a great idea, which was that in honor of Mike's style, I'll only use black and white to do all the pages in his book. As you can see, this decision lasted only 1 page...

However I did picked the topic for this book for something that i know mike likes which is "Bones".
A topic that's also a very much in my mind lately - my mother in law just broke her elbow after being tripped by a Jack Russell Terrier in park, and so we talked a lot a bout bones in the past couple of weeks.

I think this is my favorite page in this batch:

Mike's book, pages 1 and 2

2011-12-11T19:57:00.001-08:00

It took me forever to start working on Mike's book because first I had 2 books (Mike's and Steve's from round 2), then I was getting ready for some Christmas truckshows, then Ned and I got to do a very exciting (and secretive) shoot. But this weekend, we basically just slept and rested, after 2 sleepless nights of retouching and working.

And so, somewhere toward the end of the craziness, I started working on Mike's book and today, basically did nothing else. I hope to go into the city tomorrow and pass the book to Molly.

Elle's page was quite challenging, because it was really beautiful and it seemed like anything I do to it, would just take away from how it was, eventually, I solved it by just adding the text and patterns.

I forget whose book I'm on!

2011-12-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

Collab w/ Ammon - he built the house, I painted it.
I made a mess. The red paint went everywhere, pages stuck together, dogs & cats living together, it was chaos. Then it ended up like this. :o)
My Moleskine Dreamcatcher
Backside of the Spiderweb. This page was also a mess which I repainted black.
Seeing through the dream to the moon...
The moon! Collage piece made by painting a piece of paper through the dreamcatcher.
And a green moon for Ellen to play with. Been so busy this last two weeks... moved into a real genuine private art studio! Yaaay! I have a table to work on! No more kitchen floor!

PS - This is Balookey's Book!

Ellen's Mole in Progress

2011-11-27T19:25:00.000-08:00

I am finally making good progress in Ellen's Mole. I start out intending to do something simple and then end up getting absorbed in each page. I'm having fun, even though it's taking me longer than I hoped.

The spread above is an escapist collage--Day at the Beach and Walk in the Park. And now I'm working on a second collage spread with a Christmasy theme of "Made in China." It's also making good use of all the Christmas catalogs I've been receiving.

Once I finish the spread and a collab page, I will ship this to Gretchen. I need to ship this no later than this week, since I leave on Saturday to Vietnam and intend to take the second mole that I have with me. (So Mike, please take your time with Aya's.) BTW, I am loving these watercolor Moleys. So fun working with layers of media.

Happy Thanksgiving in Aya's Moleskine

2011-11-24T13:28:00.000-08:00

Front page of Moleskine!

...And in the pocket

2011-11-21T16:54:00.001-08:00

A painting on a leaf.

last pages in Steve's book

2011-11-21T16:50:00.001-08:00

And this is half a page for Anders:

Collab Pages in Ammon's book

2011-11-19T23:23:00.000-08:00

My Collab with Ballokey.

The collab page that I started in the back of Ammon's Moly, for whoever wants to finish it.

Two in Aya's Moleskine

2011-11-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

Raining cats and sketchbook...

2011-11-18T16:48:00.001-08:00

Well, it's a very light shower, cause i have 2 books now, Steve's from round 2 and Mike's for round 3 which I haven't even opened yet.
It was very hard to start cause of Heidi's jellyfish being so amazing I was scared to mess it up. However, I eventually managed to get over that and move on. I still have 3 pages to go and then start on Mike's.

This is a really new thing for me which I tried for the first time, which is to use a brush instead of a pen for the lines and liquid acrylic paint instead of watercolor.

The words are from a very enigmatic song my Timber Timbre:

Folding

2011-11-18T06:37:00.001-08:00

I made a pop-up house recently and now I can't stop. One mistake on my part was to assemble the last house before drawing on it. I also sort of like the envelope.

Part Deaux of Mike's Moley.

2011-11-10T19:38:00.001-08:00

Mike's Moley on it's way to Aya.
Black and white pieces...Halloween theme.
Dance of the Pumpkins.
Collab piece for Aya to finish.
Here are the pieces I added to Mikes Moleskine. I really enjoyed working on this...especially the collab piece with Stephanie!

Whoo Hoo Moley on it's way to Andrea!

2011-11-10T19:37:00.001-08:00

Halloween Blocks.
Happy Haunted Halloween.
Collaboration with Steph. I really like how this turned out, anxious to hear what Stephanie thinks.
Scarecrow close up.
Cat close up.

Molly Peck's Mole' is on its way to Roma!

2011-11-08T16:24:00.000-08:00

I never know what will appear!

Leaving the status quo!

I just could not stop!

Collaboration piece for Roma or someone else... I left two.

Collaboration piece for Roma

Robot collaboration with Andrea Martinez

Owls

2nd set of pages in Ammon's Mole

2011-11-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

New Blog for Sketchbook Project

2011-11-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

A number of people from this exchange joined the sketchbook project. TODAY is the last day to join.

I know some of you who joined do NOT want to blog about it.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BLOG ABOUT IT on a community blog, I have started a blog and will send you an invitation. Email me or leave a comment below. Nothing has been posted to the blog yet, except a small welcome note. I have made 4 pieces in my sketchbook over 6 pages, but no time yet to scan and post.

However, please note: I am leaving tomorrow for a week-long trip to Syracuse, NY, and may not be able to get online and deal with this until I get home.

Also, as far as THIS exchange goes, I do not have a Moleskine, I sent Ballookey's off to Ammon and he has received it. I have not received another. If it comes while I am away, I will not be able to work on it until I return home.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

2011-10-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

So, I don't have a book right now, but I missed posting here, so I'm going to post some images of my Halloween costume. I don't like dressing up, but this year I was invited to a halloween party at Etsy, so it had to be good...

I hate the idea of spending money on something that get thrown out the day after, so I decided to make a costume from stuff I had at home and not spend any money on it, I tea dyed an old white dress and an old shirt Ned and I bought years ago for a shoot. Then painted on it with liquid acrylic paint. I made the mask from a cardboard box and found a branch to hold it.

Ned hates dressing up even more then me, he wear the same outfit every day (dark blue jeans, black t-shirt, sneakers) but I made him a crow mask, so he can wear his regular cloths and still be in costume.

Drawing Attention to our Figures

2011-10-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

In art related news, Mary & I spent all yesterday afternoon & evening at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). Instead of taking our Moles there for sketching, we took advantage of a Members Drawing in the Gallery class. Last night, the assigned "drawing studio" was the Greco-Roman art gallery. The DIA provides seating, boards, large paper of decent quality & graphite pencils. It was really fun & we were both pleased with our work, considering that neither of us has done any figure drawing in many years.

Back from the Dead @ Halloween

2011-10-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

I'm greatly relieved to finally be posting again. I'm visiting Mary in Detroit, sitting here at her kitchen table on my laptop. I just mailed a Round 2 (wince) Mole to Aya & feel I should post my work online before she receives it. Since I am the dead weight on Round 2, I'm at a loss of what to say... not to mention I barely remember how to post to Blogger, since I haven't done so in over 4 months.

Staring at my blank screen, I lamented aloud, "What on earth am I going to say?" Mary replied, "Just say the truth." She's refreshingly simple, wise & comforting that way :-)

So here's the truth: Round 2 drug out so long that at the very end of it, having only 2 books to complete, I lost my focus on the art exchange. Other things took my priority attention. Some not urgent but others very much so. Things like work, marriage & physical/emotional health. Then I lost something else: Steve's book. After 2 months, I finally found it 2 weeks ago -- in my piano bench, where it had been hurriedly tossed in a flurry of clean-up before houseguests.

So that's the truth. My public & sincere apologies to the Round 2 group of folks affected by my poor performance, especially Steve, Aya & my poor, sweet Andrea.

Now, on with the show & tell. The onions above are graphite w/watercolor wash. Steve's book was a watercolor one. Mmm, love that paper! The Picasso-like woman is what I did with Andrea's collaborative art. Andrea's circles made me think of bubblebaths, which I love. I'm a fragmented woman before a bath, which is what made me think of Picasso. Baths restore me.

The next image is two jellyfish. The one at left is a refrigerator magnet for Steve's pocket, made from chipboard, acrylic paint, colored pencil & ribbon. The one at right, done primarily in watercolor & nail polish, is on a mostly blank page because it is a collaboration page for Aya.

I was on a jellyfish kick this past summer. The ones I saw washed up on the beach in Florida last May really affected me. I was Googling them for further study & admiration. These jellies below have glued-in yarn tentacles, meant to dangle when you hold the book open vertically as shown.

First two pages in Ammon's book.

2011-10-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Hairy: Last painting of mine in Ballookey's Round 3 Mole

2011-10-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

Here is my scan of the Hairy Woodpecker painting I just completed, 5 x 8, in Ballookey's Moleskine. It completes my set of paintings in her mole, but I will not be able to mail until Monday at the earliest, since it's past postal hours on a Saturday.

Hairy Woodpecker, by Mary Taitt

Here is the double page spread, paired with the red-headed woodpecker:

Click the images above to enlarge.

I made a digitally altered watercolor painting as a pocket item:

This was originally a watercolor painting

And I printed 1 picture from my trip to Maine, a picture of the cover for the novel I am going to write during the month of November for NaNoWriMo (first draft of a cover idea) and three pix of people from the Renaissance Festival. I am including prints, but didn't want to fill up the whole, so I amde them into a collage for the post:

Maine Reflection, Renaissance Festival and Death Angel cover, all by Mary Taitt

Ellen's Moleskine is on its way to Roma!

2011-10-21T17:14:00.000-07:00

In Ammon's

2011-10-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

I tried something a little different with Ammon's book. Rather than work on all the pages as a theme, I just kept it open on my desk and drew whatever I felt like when I had the time. So these four pages don't have much to do with each other. They're pretty simple and there's not much to say about them except they're a little time capsule of the month for me.

Beginning of a collaboration with Andrea:

And this is how I finished a page that Molly left (I think she did, anyway!)

Red-headed Woodpecker in Ballookey's Mole

2011-10-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

Red-headed Woodpecker, Watercolor

I guess I am on a woodpecker kick. Water color, 5 x 8. Click image to view larger.

Ivory Bill in Balookey's

2011-10-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

I've been traveling and unfortunately, too busy to do art on the road, but I'm home now and just completed the Ivory bill. Below is the two-page spread. Watercolor, micron pen. (Click images to view larger.)

Aya's book is on the way to Mike.

2011-10-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

This is my collab with Ballookey. I should have left more room to show more ass. Wait, what?

The collab start I left for Mike.

I hope y'all have shipped or are shipping soon. You know the drill, if there is a hold up let the person you are shipping to know. Feel free to contact me if anyone needs anything.

Stephanie In Andrea's Book

2011-10-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

Collab piece with Ammon

Acrylic and pen mandala with quote from Paulo Cohelo quote: "A search always starts with beginner's luck and ends with the Test of The Conqueror."

Fierce warrior goddesses.

This is a collab piece for Ellen :o) the purple tape is because I accidentally ripped the page when the pain on the other side was wet. Oops!

2nd Set in Aya's book.

2011-10-11T11:43:00.000-07:00

First 2 Page Spread in Aya's Book

2011-10-10T00:24:00.000-07:00

Small project, turns into big project, turns into HUGE project...

2011-10-07T18:21:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed making the fashion week summery in Roma's book, and was sad when I run out of pages. so I thought that it would be a nice idea to make a little book for the pocket with some more fashion week drawing.

At first I thought I'd make a 16 pages book, then i had an idea that a paper doll should be a part of the book which meant less pages cause they have to be one sides. So, that somehow grew into a 32 pages book with a paper doll in 4 of the ages.

Then I though - I already have the illustrations, so I might as well be making some postcards as well, and then thought that the whole thing would look cool in a kit, and since a book and postcards are really not enough to make a kit, I made a black and white book, a color book, a fashion week ACOs, some clay charms and postcards...

So now, it's all finally finished and I can pack Roma's book and hand it over to Molly on Monday.

Field Notes & Shark Week for Stephanie - Round 3

2011-10-06T17:47:00.000-07:00

I've been working on and off since Labor Day weekend on Stephanie's Mole, and I have to say that except for one spread and one page I did while on nearby field trips, there is not a lot of commonality among my pieces. This first one I call "Shark Week." It incorporates a doodle I did of my feet with a photo my husband once took of a shark at the local biopark. We don't have cable television, but I was glued to Shark Week this summer when I caught it at the hotel I was staying.

For this drawing, I pasted a bit of card stock on the back and then gently cut the outline of the toes as the top. That allowed me to slip in the photo of the shark, so that it adds depth. I loosely glued in the photo--hope it doesn't fall out. I wanted Stephanie to be able to replace it with other photos if she wished.

This is the first image I did in Stephanie's Mole. It was inspired by my teen-age daughter's obsession with elephants. She has elephant jewelry, elephant clothing, elephant knick-knacks. I think elephants must be in style because once I started paying attention to them, I noticed that elephants really were everywhere.

My daughter's name is Daisy--hence, the elephant and daisies. I'm glad she loves elephants because I love them, too. Such gentle creatures.

For this elephant, what I had fun with was the textures and patterns. I've used these in many other drawings.

The next three drawings I did are all what I call "Field Notes." Over the past month I had the opportunity to join my 12-year-old on two Science field trips. While the kids did water testing, I was free to do whatever I wanted and so I drew in Stephanie's Mole. I love old botanical drawings, and while my plant drawings aren't anything like the ones I love, they were the inspiration for these.

The first two are a spread. The third stands alone.

And the last two pieces are not anything like the others. For one of my pages I opted for a simple message. :) Finally, something simple for my collaboration with Gretchen. By the time I got to this my hand was hurting from detail work, so I went with a few broad strokes. (Oh, and speaking of collaboration, I didn't realize until after I'd put this in the mail to Gretchen that the scanned version of my collaboration with Mike hadn't come through. Hence, no photo of that piece.)

Rediscovering the Ivorybill, half a collab for Ammon

2011-10-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

005 micron pen, watercolor. Click image to view larger.

Pileated Pair, Scott's Yard, in Ballookey round 3

2011-10-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

Pileated Pair, from photos by Scott Carter out the window of his spare room at Silk Creek. Watercolor, by me, Mary Taitt, in Ballookey's Mole. Click image to view larger. The male pileated is perched on the outside of the house, threatening his own reflection, which he takes as another male. Click image to view larger.

The Hills at Sunset on Acid (Collaboration with Gretchen)

2011-10-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

Various Jelly Roll Pens, metallic etc. I am sorry my hands aren't as steady as Gretchen's! Click to view image larger. 5 x 8 watercolor Moleskine.

Nun in Bar

2011-09-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

All in Andrea's. Nun in bar, old guy birth, Harrisburg's pathetic mayor, art as it is sometimes taught, gator for Stephanie.

Ballookey's Round 3 Mole arrives

2011-09-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

We're all enjoying Ballookey's Mole. I see there's been some wonderful posting, but I have to run, will come back and comment later.

Finished with Mike's Book

2011-09-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

Acrylic, Pitt Brush pens, more acrylic, Micron pen in Mike's book.

Neocolor II crayons

Cool transfer.....

Half a page for Molly

2011-09-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

This was from Carlos Campos show, which was colorful and awesome.

2011-09-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

True story.... she was a lot nicer and looked younger then I expected.

Rachel Antonoff in Roma's book

2011-09-27T12:21:00.001-07:00

This was so cute - a Wednesday Addams inspired collection by Rachel Antonoff.

Here is what it looked like in real life (if you can call fashion week real life...)

At the Blonds at Roma's book

2011-09-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

What a cool show this was! i love The Blonds, the whole thing was variation on the playboy bunny theme with as many sparkles, sequence and crystals as you can imagine. This specific piece was made from broken gold mirrors and was blindingly sparkly.Here is the original:

Page 1 in Roma's book

2011-09-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

This is me from a photo took at Richie Rich's show to check the light against one of the walls (the show was terrible by the way, but really really fun).

WIP in Roma's book

2011-09-27T09:56:00.001-07:00

Half a page more, then scanning everything.

Rachel Antonoff WIP #2

2011-09-26T11:17:00.001-07:00

Almost done...

Rachel Antonoff in Roma's book

2011-09-24T12:51:00.001-07:00

-- Photos shared with Fish Bowl Photo Gallery. http://www.pixiereef.com

WIP in Roma's book

2011-09-22T12:56:00.001-07:00

And now, for a lot more black and some hair detail...

In Aya's book, black & white, hit & miss

2011-09-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

OK, now that it's been a few days since I parted with Aya's book, maybe I can look at these scans more objectively. First, a collaboration left by Claudia (I think). She pasted the arm in, I added the seed packet. The fact that it's an envelope doesn't really show well in the scan and I think I should have made some seeds tumbling out:

Leads to the page where the seeds germinate and sprout. I think I'm pretty happy with this page made from cut paper, wire, envelopes, and little pencil-drawn birds.

Oof. Then there's this owl. :( I really wanted to keep working with the black & white paper and I cut out this owl and also a second page that would have been a large deer with stuff going on between them, but when I assembled the owl I really didn't like it. At that point though, I was already against the deadline to ship the book. So I kept the owl and scrapped the deer. (the owl was better)

...I made a new deer page, and changed the banner on the owl to comment on my own struggles with ideas vs. reality.

And then bunny. He's half masked spirit, half briar rabbit. I think it needs some more work but I didn't want to ship the book any later. I'll send Aya a nicer version separately to make up for me testing out new things in her book. (#^_^#)

In my hurry, I didn't photograph the beginning of the collaboration for Andrea to complete, but I'm sure she'll show it when it's done.

Self portrait with camera

2011-09-21T18:43:00.001-07:00

From the first page in Roma's book, self portrait with a camera, this book is going to be dedicated to me adventure in fashion week...

Ballookey's

2011-09-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

Ballookey's moleskine shipped to Mary today!

Collab with Roma

I like how this one turned out! Metallic gel pens on top of black fluid acrylic paint.

This was fun :) Inspired by my friend Jeremy, who has really cool paisley tattoos on his arm. He was going back to have them colored in, and asked me to help him pick the colors.

The result...

Gel pens and markers

Collab for Mary. I'm not sure what this is supposed to be. Abstract hills? I just kind of went with it... :)

Collaboration with Andrea in Ellen's and a frog free draw!

2011-09-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

Working in Mike's Book while on Vacation in Findley Lake, NY

2011-09-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

Collaborative piece with Ammon.

Found a glue stick in my OTR art bag so I decided to try a collage.

Collaged piece

Close up of collage work.

Another close-up.

Unsure if this one is finished yet....

Molly's book is almost done.

2011-09-07T23:51:00.000-07:00

This is mine and Ballokey's collab page in Molly's book. I showed some restraint here, such a rarity for me. Mine is the greenish blue pen, Ballookey is responsible for all the rest.

This is my final spread in Molly's book. No restraint here folks. I could have kept adding to this for hours and hours. What kind of crazy is this? ;)

Mike inspired me to tinker with some watercolors. I really enjoyed it. It was the first time I'd ever used them, can you believe that? Wacky. I will be doing more with them in the future.

2011-09-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

2011 Sketchbook Project Tour Seattle from mightymoss on Vimeo.

Is anyone here interested in joining this Sketchbook Project? There is a discount for groups of four or more--not sure how much of a discount.

First 2 pages in Molly's book.

2011-08-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

A look at the full spread and then a larger look at the right side of the drawing.

This one was fun! I started it the very night I got Molly's book.

I am currently working on the collab page that Ballookey left me in this book, I hope to have it up in a day or two.

Stephanie Smith's Moleskine Exchange III is on its way to Roma!

2011-08-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

First use of watercolor and ink... I am not a painter or master of any medium, but I have to say thanks to Stephanie for pushing me into trying something new - with color! Yeah!

This one cracks me up! Intexticated and driving is a common theme of mine and there are definitely consequences for actions!

Here is an abstract watercolor collaboration for Roma to add her magic in.

I love to free draw! This one started as a Jester or Fool and mutated into a look into my brain!

Classic "What Were You Doing When You Should Have Been Driving?"

In Ballookey's

2011-08-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry if it seems like I'm never around. I do check the blog regularly, but I definitely need to comment more! I love looking at everyone's work!

I just started a new job a little over a week ago, and have been super busy! I am almost done with Ballookey's round 3 mole though, and I should be shipping it to Mary early next week! Will post more pics when it's finished. :)

Quality Control - Green, another two page spread in Ellen's book

2011-08-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

This book is on the way to Mike.

One for Ballookey's pocket round 3 and one for Hennie round 2

2011-08-24T09:19:00.001-07:00

I finally got another set of the Sakura Gelly Roll Pens I ordered a while back, and since they were new to me, I was eager to try them, but since I don't have a mole, I decided to make cards. These are cards with envelopes, Strathmore Drawing cards, my first time trying them, too.

The Chrysanthemums will be for Ballookey's pocket--I think it is Ballookey's book I get next, and the mandala, which is called, "What if all of Creation were in the hands of an unsteady Goddess?" is for Hennie Mavis. The shown colors aren't quite right. Close, but no cigar.

2 page spread in Ellen's book

2011-08-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

If anyone was unconvinced that I am completely insane ...

Molly's book

2011-08-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the tardiness of my post. I was delayed by a couple of days due to work, and as I was about to assemble this post on Friday my poor sweet laptop crapped out on me. So I had to wait until I got to work this morning to scan these in.

I wasn't 100% sure if Claudia intended the following page to be a collaboration, but typical for me, I collaborated on it anyway. (You guys, if you don't want me to draw on something, an electrical fence is not a bad idea. Or post a guard dog.) She mounted four rough cardboard frames on the page and inserted the photo in the bottom right of the feet. Her caption says "Something that has no meaning". I added my own photos to the rest of the frames and captioned them. Then I couldn't leave those frames alone so I let my inner 80's punk/new wave teen out for some air.

This is the collaboration I started for Andrea. I wanted to try something with inked lines that she might work in, but I didn't know when to call it quits so I brought forward a little bit from the other collab so they bookend my pages in the book. And now that I've found this packet of tiny envelopes I've been hoarding for like, a decade, I plan on using more of them in the next book... :)

PS, the good news is I think my laptop will be OK. Bless the Internet, I learned that it's probably a known issue and Apple is repairing them for free even if it's beyond warrantee and Apple Care. hope!

(मण्डल) - Kaleidoscope Kaleidoscope - I had to stop as I was happy with what appeared.

2011-08-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

Kaleidoscope Mandala? Whatever it is - I love it!

Collaboration with Andrea in Stephanie's Mole'

2011-08-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about cave swallow's in Possum Kingdom Lake Texas and where they must hide their eggs. Although I intended on using all black ink, the blue was sneaky - dark on the Southwest Air flight from Albuquerque to Oakland flight.

Albuquerque Little Theatre - There's a new Sheriff in Town! Trying something new...

2011-08-22T10:43:00.000-07:00


Hi All, I have been slammed with play practice everyday! I am trying my hand at theatre and loving it! Soooo much to learn! I am Sheriff Thompkins. Now my apology,,, I am so sorry! I am finishing up Stephanie's mole' by the weekend. I promise to ship on Monday at the latest!

Roma's Book

2011-08-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

This is the collaborative piece I did with Steph. I think I got a little carried away. Sorry Aya, but I am still finishing up so it will be another week if that's ok. I hope you are all doing well...can you believe fall is just around the corner????!!!
I will be volunteering on the set of Extreme Home Makeover as they rebuild a home here in Delaware next week...I'm pretty excited about it.
More art to come. BTW, I don't always comment, however; I do look at all the art. I will try to be more active with comments in the future.:^))

Frayed Rope, Collab and last one in Andrea's Mole

2011-08-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

The reason it took me so long to complete this collaboration is that I wanted to use the same pens Gretchen used, and I sent away for them, and waited and waited and when they came, I was away for a week. turns out they aren't exactly the same anyway. But they look closer in person than they do here.

The other thing is that these are metallic. They're shinier than they look here. To view larger, click on the image.

This is a collaboration with both Gretchen and Roma, sort of. I used Roma's frayed rope girl on a swing. I'm picturing her swinging from a hot air balloon. My hands aren't as steady and Gretchen's, either, I'm sorry to say. If you'd like to see Gretchen's original first half of the collaboration, it is here. Roma's is here.

Since I have completed the book, I will be sending it off to Ammon, ASAP, but I am not sure when that will be for sure, as my schedule this week is extremely full.

So, for Aya, here is a small sad poem I wrote today:

Strings

The sad saw of violins, cellos, bass

lowers the temperature in the room

five degrees, ten degrees, twenty degrees.

Snow falls from the darkening ceiling,

gathers on the small shelves of our lips

and filters through our minds, erasing

hope and love and leaving

only blank white in its wake,

white that greys and darkens

until every tear is frozen

in night's icy symphony.

Mary Taitt

for Laurent and Aya

In Gretchen Pocket

2011-08-11T12:09:00.001-07:00

A little dreamcatcher made of the clay left from Mary's book Mobile.

In Gretchen Book

2011-08-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

I've had a few very dark weeks, between the new dog and other things I managed to slip back into pretty sever anxiety and depression. So much so that last week I finally broke, went to a psychiatrist and went on meds again, for the first time in over 8 years.

I know it's for the best, I can't waste time on this right now, I need to be strong and deal with a lot of stuff in my life, still, I can't help feeling like a failure and the first few weeks of getting used to the meds is somehow even worst then the anxiety and depression.

This is the first thing I made since this whole nightmare began.

Pens from Andrea

2011-08-10T13:47:00.000-07:00

I got some new pens from Andrea--0h goodie--for participating in her collaboration challenge on Something Different. I love those blue energels. I doodled a little doodle first in the back of my Round ONE Mole--which still has some blank pages. Once I got a feel for them, I did a collaborative piece for Ammon. I have one more piece to do in Andrea's Mole, sorry it's taking so long--but it's a good thing I did not take the mole with me, because we got POURED ON camping and everything got soaked!!!! These came out in the wrong order. The collaboration is on top. The doodle to try out the pens is on the bottom. Both images enlarge if you click on them. The doodle enlarges to bigger than it is in real life, at least on my screen.

By the way, the collaborative piece is intended for Ammon, but if anyone else would like to play, I'd love to see what you might do with this. I am having fun fantasizing what Ammon might do. I will send ONE handmade art card to ONE person who does a collab with this piece. If more than one person does, I will use a random number generator to pick someone. No strings attached.

And here is another pocket item for Andrea:

It is a sketch I made separately, since I didn't know how many pages in the mole I should use. I made it with a pencil from Andrea. Seemed fitting.

Collab with Ballookey in Ellen's

2011-08-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

In Roma's book - now with Ellen.

2011-08-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

This top piece is a collaborative piece with Ammon. All of the rest are my own. This book should now be with Ellen.

Whatever, Forget About it - In Stephanie's Mole

2011-08-04T18:12:00.001-07:00

Just started drawing on the Southwest flight to St. Louis, MO and then to Nashville, TN... Continued drawing in Oakridge TN and finished it up in Albuquerque. Whatever is "whatever comes forth" in the free drawing exercise! This exercise is great for conversation starters - drawing on the plane, is better than snakes-on-a-plane!

Wind, Souffle, Two in Andrea's

2011-07-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

Wind, Souffle. Click images to view larger. The first one is done in nail polish and Sakura Permopaque pigment markers, the second in Sakura Souffle pens. The souffle one was done from life with BB(K) sitting across the table from me at dinner.

Oops, I accidentally did an extra picture in Andrea's mole--by accident--I got confused. I had new pens and wanted to try them, but forgot I had only the collabs left to do--usually I do those FIRST, but I had something special planned for one of them. I think there are enough pages. Unfortunately, don't really like the effect accomplished by the souffle pens--it's very weird. I used only the 9 colors provided (with the except of a few extras in the curtain, plus a little colored pencil). I should always do the testing in one of my own moles first. AK!

We are leaving for a camping trip and I am undecided whether to take the Mole, as of yet incomplete, with me. There is always a danger camping of getting wet or dirty.

If I decide not to take it, I will not be able to work on it, obviously, and finish it, until I return after August 7. I will probably NOT be able to get online until I return, most campgrounds we visit do not provide internet access and I do not have 3G or a smart phone.

Round 2, 2 Pages in Ballookey's

2011-07-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

Gretchen's Book

2011-07-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

Mailing out Gretchen's book...finally! I received it a bit later and didn't want to do any of it rushed. Sorry it is late.
So, this is my latest "style" please let me know what you think.