immersion into depth

First semester: Complete!

2011-12-10T16:58:00.000-08:00

This is an update on whats brewing in my studio: I've started an installation project with a fellow classmate with a focus on invasive species (I will elaborate when we figure out what that will mean for this piece). We have several spaces that are available for a week at a time at school for display of artwork and to experiment with. We will be aiming to get one of those, but possibly rent a space in Pomona as well, to get some public reaction. I'm crocheting this "model" of skin cells... I'm saying that loosely because its a loose interpretation and its taken on other connotations since its original conception.

We want to space that we install to feel taken over, or overrun with this stuff. That means there will be a huge amount needed. I'm on ball-of-yarn number 3. The picture shows two balls of yarn. I have a lot to go, but the good news is, it doesn't take too long.

New sculpture

2011-11-18T14:17:00.000-08:00

So it has been a little bit since I've posted pictures of what I'm working, so I thought I'd do that now. This is a picture of a fellow student wearing a piece I made. The piece, though small represents one of my new concepts. (New as in this year.) It is part animal in shape, and part armor. This ambiguous-ness between technology and nature is a common theme for me.

The next piece can be looked at as ribs or spines, or even an insect. Each steel rod was hammered to shape and then welded to the steel base. There is this progressive curve created through the shape of the ribs. Its about 6 feet in length and about 2 feet tall. This is my first welding project here at school and has given me a fair amount of practice. I engineered the piece to have the welds out of view in case they were sloppy, as well as to remove the construction of the piece from the context of the work. This piece is still being worked on, though the last few things are finishing touches.

This thing hanging on my wall is a piece made of tape and wooden dowel rods. Again exploring line as a way to create movement and progression within a piece, but adding ideas of cellular or plant-like growth to it. I also wanted to make something outside of metal, and this is very transportable and does not require the same stamina and energy to work on as the steel work. I am planning to fill the entire studio wall with this, and have been spyed at coffee shops and riding shotgun to Los Angeles while working on this in my lap. I am making about a yard at a time. This represents about 5 yards. The spacing between the dowel rods varies but the "height" remains constant. I'd like to take the finished version of this and do some guerrilla photographs at a corporate building lobby, maybe a bridge or piece of architecture.

So that's what is going on in my studio. I am nearing the end of my first semester at Claremont and am planning on utilizing winter break as a time for major production in the studio, along with reading a lot.

Grant Funded!

2011-11-16T13:33:00.000-08:00

Good News Everyone! My research/reading group proposal was approved and is now grant supported. In case you missed that post, its called Methods Of Innovation: The Process of Gaining Inspiration From the Other Side (a few entries back). Please contact me if you are interested in attending. Even if you are not a CGU student, I am interested in getting representation from different fields to provide balance to the group (writers, actors, dancers, musicians, historians, philosophers, physicists, anyone in biological/medical/chemical sciences, architecture, engineering, mathematics, and anyone with proficiency in any other subject. I am also seeking special guest speakers, suggestions on books, articles, film clips, etc. that might inspire people. I can send you the full syllabus to review.

Art All Stars

2011-11-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

I got to meet one of the biggest names in contemporary painting this past weekend. CHUCK CLOSE!!! I went with some friends to an opening for him at Blum & Poe, the first in a while in the LA area. I got to tell him a story about being yelled at by security guards at the National Gallery in DC, when trying to inspect one of his paintings. The painting was Fannie, and its a portrait of an old woman made entirely of thumbprints. I was 14 or so, and was leaning in to see this wrinkle in her clothes. He told me that happens to him a lot. I went with a few school friends and respective spouses who shot a picture of us with him. We were all gushing, because we are art students and have all studied painting. That's me on the left, with Chuck in the middle, Kristen, and Stephanie on the far right. The painting behind him is one of his self portraits. For those of you who don't know his work, Close has a rare condition called face blindness, where he can't recognize faces. He started painting portraits of people using a grid system to blow their faces up to larger-than-life size as a way to help him remember the faces. He's famous for the size of the paintings, as well as this 1970's aesthetic of the portraits. In another room of the gallery there were some paint on paper pieces done with colored dots. He layered the colored dots with smaller one of contrasting colors to really help push the effect: a newspaper-print looking painting.

Methods of Innovation

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

Methods of Innovation

The Process of Gaining Inspiration from the Other Side

Are you interested in talking about your ideas with people outside your field of study? Are you seeking practice in presentation and defense of your research? Would you like to meet other CGU students and learn what they are studying? Are you interested in exploring the ways that transdiciplinary approaches to learning can affect ingenuity, innovation, and creativity in your research? Are you inspired, but not sure how to apply that inspiration to your scholastic work?

A Call for a Meeting of the Minds

We are seeking interested persons (faculty, staff, and students) FROM ALL FIELDS OF STUDY to participate in a reading/research group here at CGU. We believe that transdisciplinary exploration is a tried and true method for innovation, creation, and successfully inspiring the thought process. Participants will have the opportunity to share their research and gain feedback from other disciplines, make friends and “resources” in other complimentary fields of study, learn new ways of approaching research by observing methods of others, and ultimately have conversations that brighten your light bulb!

For more information, please contact Jackie Bell (MFA ’13) at:

jacqueline.bell@cgu.edu or 909-438-1811

Ramblings

2011-10-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

I had a great conversation today, with my friend and classmate. She is doing some work that talks about the empathy and lack of empathy for others, even those that you really have no way to relate to. This got me to thinking (oh, no!) about how empathy is an instinctual part of the human psyche. It serves as a crucial survival mechanism not for the individual but for the species. Empathy and sympathy can cause the individual to slow down, to stop and help someone, putting themselves at risk in a threatening situation, but it promotes the "sticking together" mentality and strategy during threats to the species, or to large groups of humans threatened by animals, disease, or even zombies (hey, it's almost Halloween).

Another aspect of the empathize idea is the popularity of such things as film, Television, and even music (specifically vocal). These are art forms that express the human experience, but these art forms specifically can be more relatable to the masses because of the visual and oral presence of humans, and human emotion. There is a base level of understanding that the person on screen is happy or sad, regardless of language, due to the visual nature of the medium. Or, in the case of music, you are compelled to respond to the voice you hear singing. You don't just hear notes and language, but the emotion expressed. This is especially true currently, as most music genres have taken on an emotional trend with the vocals, to the point of over emphasizing emotion conveyed by the voice. As a listener or viewer, you respond in kind by empathy.

Copper Sacs

2011-09-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

These (collectively) are the first official piece made in grad school. Really rough, larger than my previous works, and the first in a long time to lack an architectural/industrial structure to them. When formally displayed, they will be suspended from the ceiling with monofilament (clear fishing line), staggered at eye level (give or take 5 feet from the ground). I am considering adding another element to them, but for now this is it. In two weeks CGU will have a show representing all the first year students called 27+3. This is my piece for the show.

The piece references an organic fragility. While made of metal, the forms are light, airy, and delicate like egg shells. They will be patina'ed black and sanded lightly to reveal shiny copper highlighting the bumps and wrinkles in the metal. Construction techniques include raising, forging, and soldering.

Paper Vessels Installation

2011-09-14T12:34:00.000-07:00

So I am in this gender studies class, and one of the projects is an Exquisite Corpse. Equisite Corpse is a method of collaboration used commonly in classroom settings to provoke and encourage outside the box thinking. In this case we are starting with an empty room and each student in the class gets the room for an entire week to create anything they want on the theme of gender/sex/sexuality. I chose to go first which means a blank slate (save for a few words written on the walls from our professor during the first class.

I thought about this for a few days and the recurring thing for me was the notion of women as vessels. I'm more of a tomboy than anything and experiencing pregnancy over the summer was a strange thing. Dresses and makeup have not been a part of my definition of womanhood or being female, but pregnancy and giving birth is. A lot of people mentioned to me "women having been giving birth for thousands of years..." and it made me think about the birthright of being female. I decided to make a bunch of paper forms. The forms are reminiscent of cups or bowls, flowers, and the female body. Each one is a little different in shape, size, and color. I stacked them in the room given to us to work with, and drew lines on the floor leading to them. The lines are alluding to sperm and men in general, as they are a part of this "woman becoming vessel" process.

New sculpture

2011-07-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

I made these copper grass pieces and this morning ran out at dawn to install them and take photos. This is a piece of private property right on Rt. 66, that only ever gets used for the sale of Christmas trees in the winter.

The idea was to make industrial grass, and have it growing in an industrial environment. It's kind of a joke to me... real grass can't grow here so lets grow fake grass. I think my next move is to do this again in a place that has no plant life whatsoever. I'm also thinking of painting the grass so hideous industrial color like neon green. I want to do everything I can before painting, because once the paints on, it's not coming off.

New Designs...

2010-08-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

So I made these flower rings and one pendant, but can't seem to come up with a name for the design. I'm pretty happy with it, though I did try putting stones in the center. I thought they looked too busy. The last photo is the pendant. Would love some comments...

Sylas Studios featured on Indie Junction

2010-08-02T07:42:00.000-07:00

Indie Junction is an online "guild" of DIY crafters who sell their wares. I joined IJ a few months ago when I found out about them on the etsy forums. They do a weekly "artist of the week" feature which is awesome, and showcases a few members every week. I was lucky enough to be included in this weeks feature. Check it out here: http://indiejunction.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/indie-junction-featured-artisans-for-the-week-of-august-1st/

Trunk Show happening July 23rd, this friday

2010-07-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

I will be doing my first ever trunk show at Garden of Beaden! Come chat with me, and see some of my work up close and personal. Sign up for my metalsmithing classes which will be held at the store. The trunk show runs 11am-7pm on Friday July 23rd, 2010.

Big shiny citrines

2010-05-23T23:20:00.000-07:00

So a frequent client contacted me recently about having a slide pendant made with a big sparkly citrine. She wanted a square cushion cut that was 13mm, but haven't quite found it, then I was talking to her about other possibilities and mentioned a rather dark citrine I already had.

She is looking to have the pendant in silver and gold, but the setting to be silver to contrast with the stone. I got to go shopping at my favorite stone dealer's today and picked up a few potential rocks. For the record, taking pictures of small shiny detailed things is hard to do. I had six lights on these and I still had to photoshop them to be light enough to see. Here they are:

These are half on white paper and half on sheet silver, so you can see any color difference if any. All stones are natural and untreated citrine (quartz).

This is the biggest of the stones. 35.74 carats. It is rather light, but exceptionaly clear. It is very deep below the girdle, and the flat top allows you to see the facets on the bottom of the stone quite well. 22mm x 17mm.

This round stone looks like its machine cut, with more facets than usual for a round stone. (Probably because of its size.) it is 15mm, and as you can see, not quite as big as a dime. This stone also has a deep cut. 13.68 carats.

I loved the cut of this stone. Its an elongated marquis and it really shows off the stone's color. 8.80 carats, and 22mm x 10 mm.

This is another unusual cut. A little darker in color than the previous stones, and almost a marigold rather than yellow. 6.45 carats and 10mm x 14 mm.

This is my darkest and smallest citrine. A classic oval cut (traditional proportions) with deep marigold hues. About 5 carats (forgot to weigh it before writing this). 10mm x 12mm

The other thing to think about when planning to wear a larger stone is how big the setting will have to be to get around the stone. For instance, the deeper cut stones above will have to have metal supporting the sides to protect the stone and to hold it up off the skin. The points can be sharp and you risk damaging the stone if the point is not kept off the skin. A trend that is happening in the art-jewelry world right now is to take these stones and set them upside down. There are more facets on the bottom anyway, so it can be more sparkly. And in the case of these stones, it would mean less metal, so less heavy to wear, and less expensive. Just a thought.

the force of gravity on bananas

2010-05-23T22:22:00.000-07:00

So I had a fitting with the client on this gold banana ring. The band fits perfect, but there was some concern that the peel was a little fluffy and flowery. So I went back and made this peel more subject to gravity, with the peel appear more floppy, and dare I say droopy (in a good way).

gold banana peel

2010-05-19T22:27:00.000-07:00

So I've started on the gold banana. When it comes to forming, gold is a lot like brass, including in appearance. Forming involves annealing, which is when you heat up metal to make it soft (literally you are re-aligning molecules in the metal), and hammering of course, both of which tend to get a little dirty. The thing about metal is even when its beat up and discolored, it's only skin deep. When you polish it, the metal will get all shiny and pretty again. The images are of the gold peel and the silver band. I am planning on removing the hammer texture from the band, however, I do not want to invest any more time into it until the client tries on the band to make sure the fit is good. Wide bands tend to hug fingers a little differently, and for me, I will get a larger size if the band is wide so I can wear it comfortably. Also the band is a little wider than it needs to be. I plan on trimming it after soldering the banana in place. You might be wondering where is the banana? All I see is the peel! Well, I did not forget. The peel will probably be adjusted a little more, especially after the client tries on the band. Once the band is good, then the peel can be perfected, then the banana will be made to fit snug to ensure a good solder joint.

Banana ring Part 2

2010-05-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

So I did a mock up in silver and copper to play with making the banana form. It turned out pretty well. Bare in mind that I did not nor will be polishing file or even sand the silver so it is very rough.

Shown here are several different views of the mock up. There are some things to be said up front.... The copper part is too thick, and the point of the peel is sloppy. My goal with this was to make sure the spiculum shape was big enough and long enough to give the peel the right shape. I'm pretty happy with it and furthermore, the process gave me the information I needed to proceed with the gold. The gold one will definately take a little longer since it's much harder than silver. That means a few more hours of hammering versus the silver.

Banana Ring Project

2010-05-08T22:56:00.000-07:00

So I met a nice lady at the Lemon Festival in Downtown Upland and am now working on a project for her. She loves bananas, especially if they are partially peeled. She want a banana on a ring, to go with her other banana oriented jewelry. I drew up some design over the past weeks (which is always the easy part) and meet with her to approve the design.

(beginning sketches)

(final sketch)

After racking my brain as to how to make it and going through my options I determined it would be better to raise it from sheet rather than cast it. For those of you who don't know "raising" is smithing terminology describing the process of stretching sheet metal into 3D forms by use of hammer. The specific form to be made is called a spiculum (not sure of my spelling on that one) refering to the conical shape with a seam running the length. (As shown below.)

So my plan is a squat fatter version of this. I'm going to do a mock-up first in silver to get the proportions right before diving into the gold. Will report back when I'm done.

As the water falls...

2010-04-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

So I have some in progress photos of Dr. Sue's fire opal and water pendant. I did a second round of sketches because the first set wasn't quite on the mark. I landed a design that had both the tribal hand-made style that appeals to the doc, but toned down to a more every-day wearable piece with feminine elegence. Then I plunged into making the pendant.

So the sketches show these lines going across a shape. The lines are a symbolic way to illustrate water and the shape would be the shape of the pendant. I thought a tear-drop shape would be best not only for the literal symbolism but because it best fits the shape of the stone. The teardrop will be "puffed" in a press so that it has a dome to it. (there are actually 2 puffed teardrops-a front and a back. the stone is really thick and have the shapes puffed will allow it to hold and protect more of the stone.) The lines are pieces of silver and/or copper wire that will be soldered to the surface. I say copper, because I think it goes so well with the opal, and brings out the colors in the stone, and I love the idea of copper and silver combined in general.

So you can see the two puffy pieces holding the stone (one in front and one underneath). Note that the inside is hollow. The problem with bigger pieces like this is usually the comfort is lacking because of things like weight. Opal is actually pretty light so combined with the hollow construction it will look heavy but should be rather enjoyable to wear. More updates to follow.

Lee's pendant: finished project

2010-03-31T08:23:00.000-07:00

So heres the finished piece. Againg the stones are torquoise (at the top),amethyst (in the middle), and carnelian (at the bottom). All hand fabricated in sterling silver.

Lee's pendant final run

2010-03-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

Shown here is the basic bezels soldered on flat sheet. I have done a rudimentary cut around the outside to give the pendant it's shape and you can see the beginning of the bail happening at the top. From here on out its just a matter of refining the silhouette, sanding, polishing, and setting the stones. (Right now the stones are resting on top of their respective settings for the visual effect) Oh- and the ring around the bottom setting will be hammered to add nice little texture detail around that stone, to give the piece a more hand-crafted look. (Albeit, it's entirely hand crafted all ready.) Lee, if you're reading this, know that the pendant will be well under budget. Stay tuned for the finished piece (tonight or tomorrow).

Multi Stone Pendant Project

2009-11-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

I figured this would be the best way to present this project, so I have posted pictures of the stones in my arsenal and then following with pics of the stones laid out in different ways. All of the layouts here are within the clients budget, however some much less than others. Should the client not see a layout they like, they can create their own, or we can go through this process until satisfaction is reached. So here goes.

The stones are listed below with their names, level of transparency, and written description of color:

These two stones are both turquoise of a intense robin's egg blue (opaque).

These are the various red stones available: the two larger ovals on the left are orangy-red carnelian: translucent (not quite see-through). The small ovals at the top are rubies, they are translucent and a bright pinky-red or violet red. The three triangles on the right are garnets. They are completely transparent and are a dark true red color.

Lets start with the opaque stone at the top in the middle of the picture. That is sugalite, and a warm red-purple with some black specks (very typical of this stone) and again, opaque. To the right of that are two blue-purple Iolite stones, which are transparent. These are sometimes called water-saphires, because they look like watery saphires. The reset of the stones are all amethyst, which is a transparent true purple color. the marquis shaped one (large stone at bottom center) is rather dark, almost a transparent black- purple.

These are the oranges. The stone on the bottom right is a spessartine garnet also known as spessartite garnet. This type of garnet is a bit more rare and has a great warm orange-honey hue. It is transparent, and this stone has a few visable fractures and inclusions (which is why it fits into the budget). The other stones shown are all carnelian. These are translucent- and the two large ovals are really milky. The four small stones are a red-orange, whereas the two large ones are a true orange color.

Now for the layouts. These are merely images of the stones placed together. My aim was to mix different geometric shapes together. These can be made as one piece, or a top piece with a smaller dangle coming off (a pendant for the pendant, if you will).

My apologies for the pictures being so dark. These are some ideas. If you notice the bottom two are the same, just with a different orange stone in the center (carnelian on the left and garnet on the right). In the picture which the client provided me of a pendant in the style she liked, there was a rope design around the center stone to augment it. I was planning on doing that as well, either on the center stone or the orange stone, since the orange is a requirement to match the clients favorite pair of earrings:) I do have a lot of other stones available in a wide range of colors, but was imagining these colors would suit the client best.

Mexican Fire Opal Pendant Project

2009-10-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

So A few posts back, I posted some photos of this rough Mexican Fire Opal that a client was given. She is looking for a pendant to be made of this one, and has a few others to be made into earrings. I am going to focus on the pendant designs for this post. I think we will be using silver for the piece, but note, this could be done in any metal. Some of the basic ideas that the client is interested in considering for the piece are: water symbology, especially meanings of protection from water (like a talisman); specifically Maori tribal designs; Mexican/Native American/Southwest style silver; and textures. (And of course we can add to that list later.) The stone is a combination of the matrix (other generic rock) and the gemstone (in this case, the Mexican opal). The matrix accounts for the majority of this stone, with the gemstone moving diagonally across the center of one side of the stone (which I am considering to be the front). This design would showcase that. The silver detail on either side of the opal is of a pattern illustrating water, the flow of water. (Disclaimer: It is my own design, and not connected with any ancient symbology or anything.) The silver detail would also creep up the sides of the stone, and around the back to hold the stone in place securely. the ring around the outside of the pendant would be thick and wide, acting as a protective frame for the stone, so this pendant design would be able to handle a bit more than your average wear and tear.
This design focuses on texture. There will be a flat silver backing with little silver granules and wires soldered onto the surface to create the texture. we could even use copper instead of silver for a bit more contrast. Though there would be a lot of texture, it will stick up off the backing slightly (less than a 16th of an inch) and the stone itself will stick up of the back about half an inch. The other thing with this design is the back of the pendant will have a nice clean flat surface. Meaning: 1) it will be very comfortable against bare skin, and 2) there will be a surface which we can use to inscribe a prayer, poem, well wishes, or what have you.

This is based on a native American style of silver jewelry. This is designed to be very light weight and at the same time, protective of the stone. Basically the construction consists of the silver frame which is just ever so slightly larger than the stone. There will be a open seat under the stone for support, and hefty prongs at various points to keep the stone secure. So the gaps you see between the frame and the stone are just air making this design very lightweight. We can modify this design by having a solid back if desired.

After looking at some Maori Hook designs and reading a little bit about them, I came up with this sketch. The Maori are not just decorating things with their aesthetic. They use their designs to tell stories. With that idea in mind I came up with this one. Here the stone is rising out of the water and surrounded by it, which i drew with the intention of meaning overcoming water or mastering it. Of course feel free to apply your own interpretations. This would be made of silver, and it does look like it would be pretty big and pointy to wear. What I would do when making it, is to round the points out enough to make it comfortable against the skin. I would also have the silver be very thin in spots so that it doesn't wind up being too heavy to wear. (This can be done without jeopardizing the stability of the piece.)

This is a basic design idea for how to incorporate an actual Maori Hook design into the pendant. I came up with a generic one for the purpose of this sketch, but we could replace it with the hook of my clients choosing. The stone would dangle from the hook. What I would do is build a silver frame around the stone that hugs the sides of the stone to create a protective casing.

These are very rough sketches in sharpie. The top is just big meaty prongs securing the stone. the bottom left and bottom right are both taking an idea of geometric (blocky) shapes to go around the stone. Its a bit architectural, and 1950's modern in style. My thought was that these big smooth silver shapes would offer a nice contrast to the color, texture, and detail of the stone, emphasising it's natural beauty.

This is and idea of making a literal box around the stone. As with the previous designs, is would contrast the details of the stone. This one goes one step farther because it creates a strong, solid frame for protecting the stone. It also draws more attention to the silhouette of the stone. this is shown with two bails, but could be modified to be one instead.

So those are the ideas so far, I am style thinking this over and trying to tackle the Maori idea in a few other ways. I would love to hear your thoughts in the meantime.

I'm Setting up shop in Upland California

2009-07-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
I will be setting up a space in shop in Upland, CA to sell my work. This is right in downtown, on 9th street, where the farmers market is held every Thursday. I am moving in on Saturday, and plan to be around every Thursday and Saturday (possibly doing demonstrations) so you can meet the artist. I will mostly be representing my jewelry and functional silver work, as well as my beaded inventory. So here's the address: 257 E. 9th Street Upland, CA 91786. Pics to come of the space on saturday!

pendant ideas for fire opal rough

2009-07-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this client is particularly tall which means she can handle wearing larger pieces, and they do quite well for her. She like things that have a ethnic feel to is, especially native american, or mexican deisgns. She is also a doctor, and by default a scientist and wants to show case the stone as more of a pretty rock than a gemstone (which I totally agree, considering the piece we are designing around). Here are my first 2 sketches:

so the one on the left is basically a metal box for the stone. The stone has an almost-straight edge on one side, and this naturally jagged edge on the other sides. The negative space between the jagged edge of the stone and the straight line across from it will emphasize the silhouette of the stone. The box will also be a secure setting that will form a protective wall around it, so if it gets dropped, it should survive pretty well. There are 2 bails at the top to string onto a leather cord or chain, or strand of beads (I could supply any of these, doc).

The second design is a psuedo native american style pendant. this would basically be a teardrop frame that would go around the stone, holding it in place with metal tabs/prongs.

Have no fear, these are not the only ideas up my sleeve! Soon to follow... more sketches.

rough mexican fire opal in matrix

2009-06-30T18:51:00.001-07:00

rough mexican fire opal in matrix

so this big beauty is going to be a pendant for a client of mine. the trick is coming up with something that doesn't compete with all the texture and color of the stone for the setting. pics to come soon of my initial ideas.

*edit* Here are the other pieces she is looking at, these for earrings:

peridot cushion cut earring

2009-06-30T16:47:00.001-07:00

finally done! at least this one. still setting the other. this is 18kt yellow gold and argentium silver. a 5mm cushion cut peridot on top. the stones for this client were handpicked by me. it took me about 20 minutes to find a good pair, but you want it as close as possible, not so much for when the client wears it, but for when they sit and look at the pieces side by side before putting them on.

edit: the other one is done too! will be shipping out soon...

emeralds for sale

2009-06-26T21:23:00.001-07:00

I have made friends with a retired gemstone importer who is looking to deplete his inventory. mostly it consists of columbian emeralds, direct from the Muzo mine, in Bogota, Columbia. I took some quick pics with my phone for you to see, there are all qualities and sizes but they all are consistent in having that trademark teal green of emeralds from that region. there are several very nice investment stones too. pics should follow shortly.

If you are interested in purchasing one, or some, Please let me know. I could also make something for you with one of these fine stones, should you need it. Also consider: Emerald is birthstone for May.

2009-06-26T21:12:00.001-07:00

gothic cross

2009-06-26T13:24:00.001-07:00

18kt gold, teal cushion cut tourmaline, sterling silver

new stuff

2009-06-26T13:11:00.001-07:00

just came up with this, this morning. picked up this great stone from a dealer friend of mine. cushion cut teal green tourmaline. gothic cross design, with gold detail squigglies. will be making into a pendant.

18kt gold, argentium silver, tourmaline, garnet earrings

2009-05-29T18:05:00.001-07:00

just finshed! (sorry, posting from my phone. I can't figure out how to turn it)

completed peridot pendant

2009-05-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

So here is the finished pendant. Again it has Argentium Silver (tarnish resistant alloy), 18kt yellow gold, and peridot. This was taken with my cellphone, it's a little dark in pic...

Finished earrings

2009-05-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. I have finished the earrings I was working on (in progress pics below). Please forgive the quality of the picture, but my apartment lighting is pretty dim without the aid of sunlight. Again these earrings are made with Argentum Sterling, 18kt yellow gold, and natural pink tourmalines. These were made custom for a very special client:)

Update for tourmaline and peridot projects

2009-05-06T19:34:00.001-07:00

So here is what I have so far. The gold is a little pale, but once polished it will pop in color. The stones are not set yet, but just resting in the settings. The pink pendant I'm thinking will have another ring of the rope silver then another of gold, and then another ring of rope silver around the very edge of the piece, so there will be the flat plain of silver in the middle. I thought this would solve several problems: 1) Making the pendant bigger to fit the size of the chain (which is 4mm). 2) Matching the earrings in style. 3) That final ring of silver will give the piece a much more finished look and protect the flat silver from getting scratches.

I have been really up in the air about the final touches on this piece. I think the thing I will do is add more gold wire to the pendants edge but only at the corners. I can then hammer the wire out a little so it will get a little thicker at each of the four points. I don't know. We'll see.

Steampunk

2009-05-01T09:26:00.001-07:00

These are some fun objects I'm working on. This is my interpretation of steampunk style. Steampunk is the anti cyberpunk, focusing on the Victoriana, industrial revolution and the mechanical. The style is also encourages the over engineered functionality of an implement. The best thing abou this counter-culture movement is the idea of Do-It-Yourself aka DIY. There is an appreciation for the handmade too! These are in process, with much more to come.

The magnifying glass handle with finger holder. I'm working on a arm that comes off of the lens frame that houses another, smaller lens for extra magnification.

This pipe is intended to be used with blowing bubbles, not tobacco. I'm working on a lid that can hook to the cup for when in use, and a mouthpiece.

Pink tourmaline & Peridot Crusade

2009-04-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

So I got some pics for you all to see the match I landed on these 2 custom projects. I found a perfect match to the pink tourmaline earrings for one client (stone shown here), which will serve as the pendant. It is about the same size. I have tried to find bigger while following criteria of color, clarity, and cut; but no luck. Second pic shows all three together with my fingers in there to give you idea of scale. (Those teardrops on the left are another earring project I'm working on)

The third image here is showing all the peridot being used for the second client. I'm making a full set of earrings, ring, and necklace. The stone to the top right is a true cushion cut with those checkerboard facets on the top and bottom. The top left is almost a mine cut on top and cusion elsewhere. Mine cut meaning the stone has a lot of facets on the top supporting a very high table (flat part). The cut actually makes the stone a little more sparkly in my opinion and also more noticable if damaged. Therefore will be putting that one in the pendant, and leaving the cushion cut in the ring.

Stone sitting (temporarily) in bezel a top raised silver which will soon become her pendant. My fingers again are here for scale. Nothing is soldered yet, but wanted to illustrate how it will look. Note on all the stones: they tend to appear darker in the bezels right now because they are not set. They are just sitting in the bezels and haven't been sanded down all the way either, so they cast a bit of a shadow.

Custom Jewelry

2009-04-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

The sketches here are for ideas to satisfy to discerning young ladies who are currently traveling in Chicago. They have asked me to create some pendants that can fit over their current favorite chain. Along with that, earrings and such to match. For al projects shown I will be using Argentum, which is a new sterling silver alloy that is tarnish resistant.

These are photos of my sketch book, showing some ideas. The first is to create a large silver shape (here rectangle and circle) set the stone in the middle and cut a decoritive motif out of the silver around the stone that emphasizes it as well as makes the pendant larger to go better with the chain without dwarfing the stone. (the cutting out technique is called piercing) On this I'm thinking a cushion cut pink tourmaline. Notice that the bail (the part the chain will go through) also has decoritive piercing to match. The request is also for two-tone, so I will be using 18kt yellow gold wire to draw a line around the bezel and a rim around the outside. This picture here shows a setting for a cushion cut peridot, matching earrings and a ring, along with another design for a buff top london blue topaz (bottom left). The peridot would be bezel set in silver with 18kt yellow gold wire lining the bezel. and then edged with a decorative rope design in silver. The pendant is shown square, however I could turn it on it's point to have a diamond shaped pendant. The rope wire will also edge the bail for continuity. The earrings here are drawn with a post but I think I will convert to a french hook to encourage movment from the earring when worn (it will sparkle that much more). Same idea in two-tone as the pendant, but with a diamond shape riveted (loosely) on the back so that it swings even more. This will make the earring a little longer (easier to show off) as well as do away with any rigidity from a longer piece. The ring will be simple and lightweight with a minimal bezel that is accented with 2 gold triangle shapes. (I think I still might sit on this design a bit). The london blue topaz is designed to have oversized prongs big enought to have cz's set in them for extra sparkle. This is in proportion to the size of the stone (it's a little on the bigger side) without making the overall piece huge.This last page shows some designs that are an attempt to be more contemporary, but I'm not completely happy with the concept. Can't win them all.

Sterling Silver Baby Spoon

2009-04-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine runs a child's consignment shop in Duluth, and we were talking about possibly making some stuff for here store. On a whim I came up with this: Sterling silver forged baby spoon.

Globe Ring Series in Sterling Silver

2009-03-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

These are some newly completed rings I made. I will be posting them on my website for purchase in a few moments. These are hand fabricated in sterling silver. The top is a size 6 and the bottom a size 8. I plan on making several more of these (same aesthetic, different details), and if you would like one in a specific size, just shoot me an email. Hope you enjoy.

Art & Craft Classes Now Available

2009-03-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I have finally gotten around to it: My list o' Classes. If you are feeling crafty and don't know where to begin, this list is for you. Or if you are looking for a new hobby, help on completing a crafty project or would like to add a little more creativity to your life, this is for you. I could also help you with other types of art/techniques, just ask! First timers welcomed.

Basic Bead Stringing $35.00
In this class you will learn how to professionally finish beaded jewelry. We will discuss in depth which materials to use, different types of tools, clasps, and beads, as well suppliers. Supplies are included and tools provided and you will leave with your very own beaded bracelet (which you made yourself!). Limit 5 students per class

Pearl Knotting $40.00
In this class you will learn 2 different techniques of knotting. We will discuss different finishing techniques and stringing materials, tools, etc. that pertain to this technique. Supplies are included and tools provided and you will leave with your very own knotted pearl bracelet (which you made yourself!). Limit 5 students per class

Wire Working $40.00
In this class you will learn how to manipulate wire to make beaded chains. We will discuss different types of metal, tools, beads, and suppliers. Supplies included and tools provided and you will leave with your very own earrings or bracelet (which you made yourself!). Limit 5 students per class. See Picture for sample.

Drawing 101 $65.00
In this class you will learn everything you were supposed to learn but didn’t in your high school art class. We will discuss drawing & shading techniques, lighting, drawing materials & paper, as well as view current artist’s work as examples. This is a 6 hour workshop. Materials provided but please be sure to bring a bag lunch. Limit 8 students per class.

Painting 101 $65.00
In this class you will learn the basics of color mixing, painting techniques, and surfaces. We will experiment with watercolor, acrylic, and oil paint, and different types of brushes. We will also view current artist’s work as examples of these techniques. This is a 6 hour workshop. Some materials provided, class supply list will be available before the start of class. Please bring a bag lunch. Limit 8 students.

Coming Soon…..
Make a Silver Ring $85.00
In this class you will learn how to make a ring from a piece of silver. You will learn polishing, sanding, and filing techniques, as well as soldering. Supplies included and tools provided and you will leave with your very own silver band (which you made yourself!). Limit 3 students per class.

Interested in a class? Please call me to sign up. Jackie (909-438-1811)

New Jewelry on my website

2009-02-17T19:24:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

I have been going through my jewelry inventory and have realized that I have a lot of things to add to my website. So I will be working on that for a while, so please check my website often (www.sylasstudios.com) to see new jewelry. I just added 5 new sterling silver pieces to the website, all 5 were made in my new-found studio in Corona. Every piece of jewelry I make is one of a kind and unique. Below is one of the newly added pieces: this is a silver ring with a turquoise stone. There is silver vine wrapped around the ring and bezel and a silver leaf on one side. it is a size 6.75 or a tight 7. Priced at $45.00. To purchase, click the link above to go to my website, once there, click the "Store" button at top of page. You can find the ring under the "precious metal jewelry" category listed on the left hand side.

Advanced Chiropractic Concepts -Office Mural

2009-01-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

Dr. Tommy Johnson, owner of Advanced Chiropractic Concepts in Chino Hills, California, has asked me to paint the Roman Colesium on the curved wall in his new office. After asking myself why I didn't think of that, I went to his office and took some photos. I wanted to make some "simulations" of what the mural would look like. This makes it easier for both of us, because you can talk about an idea all you want, but to have it visually represented means that everyone is on the same page, and when you agree or disagree, you're starting and compromising over the same tangible image. So for all you curious people out there the pics are below. I don't have a wide enough lens to take the best pics of the office, so I took a bunch and collaged them (digitally). After that I superimposed the coliseum.

Now, this is just the beginning. There are still a lot of things to be determined. What to do with the negative space at the top? Does he want perspective incorporated into the design of the mural (as it is showing right now)? How instense should it be? This mural is depicted pretty lightly, only varying slightly from the current base wall color. The picture could be painted darker, or with more contrast if desired. I will just have to sit down with Dr. Johnson and sort this all out! Will let you know the details...

Sylas Studios New Studio!

2009-01-07T16:38:00.000-08:00

The past few months have been hectic, busy, etc. But I now have some great news! I have a studio in Corona. I am also setting up some classes to be offered in the coming weeks, which will be held at the studio. If you are interested in taking a class, please contact me and I will be happy to schedule you in. I included some pictures of my studio so you can all see:

Commision for Advanced Chirpractic Concepts

2009-01-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

OK, this has been a long time promised, but I finally located some of the pictures I drew for Dr. Tommy Johnson. He is fascinated by the concept of Leonardo DaVinci's that man is the greatest machine. He uses that as a source of inspiration, and a decorative theme in his practice's office. He commissioned me to make 4 drawings that are done in that old world/red-chalk style. The one shown here is the Pelvis bone (female) cut a I also did drawings of the atlas & axis (bones at the top of the spine which the skull sits on), L1-L5 (lombar spine), and different views of individual vertebrae. I was nervous about it because if it was in the least bit inaccurate the doc would notice before I would. So the drawings had to be perfect. But the pressure's off and he loves them. They are hanging throughout his practice. You can find out more about Dr. Tommy and his practice by visiting his website:

http://www.advancedchiroconcepts.com/CanChiropracticHelpMe.aspx

Hello & Update

2008-10-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

So, what have I been doing? I have been taking a class on the business side of art called: GYST (Get your shit together) and is offered By the Pasadena, CA non-profit Side Street Project http://www.sidestreet.org/ in conjunction with the owner of GYST-Ink, which makes organizational software for visual artists. This is a great class, and I would reccommend it to anyone in the visual art industry to get a perspective of the modern practices of the business. In a class disscussing types of venues that can be used to exhibit artist's work, we came 'round to the discussion of Vanity galleries. They offer a "Pay-to-Play" situation. I have had experience with that and shared my account with the class. Well since then, GYST-Ink has added a new blog to their website about bad galleries and art dealers to stay away from. They asked me to write my account down and it has been published as the first article for this blog.

You can read it here: http://gyst-ink.com/blog/?p=177

For any artists out there, I would definately reccommend check out both Gyst's website and sidestreet project's. Even if you don't take a class, they both offer informative articles and resources to help you out.

Palm leaf up close

2008-09-07T18:24:00.001-07:00

SO I woke up pretty early on a weekend a few weeks back and just really felt the urge to go outside with my morning tea and draw something. At around 6:30am, it's really bright and sunny, but the birds are still singing, and it's still "moist" outside. So I sat on the steps leading to the upstairs apartment of my neighbor's, and saw this palm leaf through the steps that was backlight by the rising sun. I thought it would be both challenging and fun because it has all these little lines in the leaf, as well it does have an odd shape from this angle.

UnEmployed and loving it.

2008-09-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm sure you could tell by the scarecity and randomness of my blog posts that I was a little busy with other stuff. Well after much thought and discussion with the hubby, I have decided to quit my job. I had no idea what exactly that meant until having a few days of not working under my belt. (Tomorrow starts my 2nd week of not working.)

With this new-found time on my hands, I have many projects that I will be working on, including an art fair, an article, and some commisions. Included in that is more dedicated time to sharpen my drawing skills, blogging and other ways of "getting the word out" about myself, and the development of a new concept I have in my head for a series of work. So do not worry, I have not turned into a bum, couch potato, or a housewife.

I want to thank you all for your support and interest and remind that I am available to answer questions or receive comments from you all. I will keep you all informed as more developments happen.

-Jackie

PS. The image below is a self portrait in pencil on white paper. It's about 10 inches in height and 6 across if you include the big fancy signature at the bottom of it.

Graphic Design-H&H Gardening

2008-08-08T07:55:00.001-07:00

I did this flyer for my neighbor, Harvey. The economy is definitely hitting hard, and his regular work (construction) is being cut back. But he is taking advantage of the housing market to start a side business, focusing on lawn maintenance for REO properties. However, if you are in the Inland Empire (CA) area, Harvey can also do your yard work, landscaping, and even building custom fences and BBQ's. If you could use his services, please give him a call.

Canape' Show

2008-08-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I am participating in the Canape' show at the Progress Space in Pomona's Art Colony. This is a group show, with many talented artists. All of the artwork is under 14 inches in size. I have two paintings in the show. The artists' reception is this Saturday, August 9th from 6-10pm. Click on the image above for more info.

Graphic Design- BEI

2008-08-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

This is a sample of what I'm working on now, for client BEI which stands for Better Energy Ideas. We are working on creating a Promo Pack, which will be a handy little booklet for her salesmen to use to inform their client of the company and it's products. I started with this page, because it's relatively simple but serves as a good example of the entire promo pack (all the pages will relatively look like this. It is also a way to insert into the conversation what the content should be and in what order.

Diamond Logo

2008-06-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

So I have been talking to someone who is interested in opening a retail clothing store. She wants to sell the brand as well as the merchandise. Of course, the best way to do that is to have a cool logo and sell t-shirts and inexpesive goods with the logo printed really big on it. It goes over especially well if you put sparkles or glitter on it too. So these are my initial sketches for the logo.

She wants it to have a diamond in it, and then some frilly detail that will offer up plenty of opportunity to cover it with sparklies. The first one here is me playing around, and is probably to detailed to be the best choice for a functional graphic.

To be honest, I don't think that any of these will make the cut, but they could be used as secondary design for shirts, etc. I don't think of these as a waste, the process of making these is what I really get out of it. It's a way to see "OK, this line works here, and this curve works there." And besides the possibility of being used later for something else, it is yet another something to show people that want to see my style, as well as can serve as a springboard for future visual concepts.

Lemons in Paint

2008-06-24T21:43:00.001-07:00

Both were painted in Super bright daylight. These were in the sunshine. Even though I was in the shade, the sun was bright enough to illuminate everything. It also causes an influence on the colors. The white appeared superbright when painting, but when I took it inside the whites of the rind looked more like a very pale yellow. Also the yellow of the lemons has a bit of an orangy-ness to them. Still fun to paint, and these were quick: 3 hours from set up to clean up, and I got two paintings out of it.

Oil paint on 4x4 inch gessoboard.

Plans for a new painting series

2008-06-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

When I daydream that I will actually have the time to carry out one of my ideas, I tend to imagine painting. Or I should say, images in my head that I would like to execute in one way or another. The funny thing is I see these images in time: moving, or my perspective moving around them, giving them a 3-d feel. It's hard to explain. It's also hard to translate into a finished artwork, because a moving image means I can't exactly memorize it as it is, the vision is always morphing or changing.

One Series I have been wanting to create is the a series of figures that are being taken over by an element. The images here are for earth. "Being taken over" is probably a bad description. They are not really moving toward or away from the element in question they are half element, half human (or half figure). This is a multilayered idea: I wanted the opportunity to take my drawings and make them more permanent (pencil and paper do not seem like they will survive to me), and I wanted an opportunity to marry some styles and paint from my head in the same way I draw from my head (as opposed to a model or reference).

Shown above is the original drawing (and detail), which I liked a lot and so I wanted to record it before I messed it all up with nonsense. I'm offerring you all a close up so you can scrutinize my drawing style. When I was in highschool, studying drawing I would draw every last detail and it would take forever. Great results, but it made me hate the thought of drawing because it was so boring and labor intensive. I have lost my patience and now do this quicker sketchy style, which to me has more "AhA!" moments. Lovely lines that surprise me, making me look at the piece and think, "Wow, I did that?" Plus it is a lot more expressive. I'm not trying to make everything perfect, and because I'm a little lax on the location of body parts, things become a little more elongated, angular, etc. It's also due to the fact that I left my hand move through it's natural rotation more, being to lazy to pick it up and move it. It all works out in the end.

Finished eggplant painting

2008-06-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

So Here is the finished eggplant piece for your viewing pleasure. The shadows were indicated by lines when I left off, and haven eaten the eggplant, I couldn't do the shadows/background from observation which leads to me doing a vague and non descript background, which is fine, considering the subject matter.

Eggplant part 2

2008-05-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

The thing that's tricky with eggplant is the leaf thingy/stem has nowhere near the amount of contrast or richness that the body does. In other words it looks flat. So with the painting I took a bit of artistic licence and added some bolder colors so in the painting the leaves could hold there own.

A real life photograph can pull of things that a painting can't. If I left them alone and kept painting a pretty benign green-brown, it would look like there was something wrong with the painting, as opposed to the plant.

So what I did to help that out was I painted those leaves closer to sunset. There is a harsher shadow available, which gave me something to work with. I used dark browns but also a little bit of the watered-down purple that I did in the plant. Which really helps it hold it's own, and helps the leaves look like they belong on top of the eggplant. The photograph shown here was taken the morning after the painting, and in my kitchen under yellow-ish flourescent lights. Seee what I mean... your lighting changes everything.

Eggplant painting

2008-05-17T21:43:00.000-07:00

So here are some pictures of eggplants. I haven't finished them, cause the sun was setting and I was losing light. So I did what is usually a bad way to work on a painting: I completely finished both eggplants, instead of brinnging everything (both the background and subject) to level of completion. I marked the background in, and tomorrow will add lib it.

Garlic Still Life

2008-05-11T22:24:00.000-07:00

I thought this would be fun to play with subtle colors: white on white, and all the slight tints in between. This painting is gouache on gray printmaking paper, and is 4.75 by 6 inches. It's also fun to play with the color opposites. Opposite colors on the color wheel are called complimentary colors (purple & yellow, red and green, and orange and blue).

I took a color workshop class in high school taught by landscape painter Dwane Sabistan. He followed a lot of the work of Wayne Thiebaud, specifically Thiebaud's use of colors to create the illusion of form. He waould use complimentary colors (one for shadows and one for highlights) which naturally fight each other visually, to really make objects in his paintings "pop." Not that this is the most in depth study of that practice, but since I learned it early on, it has been a natural tendency for me to do.

In the Garlic here you have the lighter parts in warm whites and even shades of yellow. The midtones are brown, and some of the darker areas are a cooler brown. But the darkest shadows are purples. The yellow tones throughout the lighter areas are more exagerated by the purple shadows. It also is a great solution for painting shadows without black. Black anywhere in a colored painting can cause the painting to look flat and not as rich. Using dark colors for shadows instead make for more of a rich, lively piece. Also it makes it so the shadows can hold their own against the highlights.

Painted Tree

2008-05-10T17:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a piece I did today, just to get back in the swing of things. This is a tree outside my front patio. I have been looking for a source of grey printmaking paper, and this is all I could find. It's ok, but a bit of a grey-yellow. I think would like something a little darker and more of a true, flat grey because it would show off my colors better. Painted in gouache on grey printmaking paper. (6 inches by 4.75 inches) This is for sale... it comes matted and framed for $150.00 (black frame 16 by 20 inches, white mat).
I did several today, and I will be posting more of the paintings throughout the week so be sure to check back.

Recent Work

2008-04-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

I don't often share this image, for I think it's a little bit teenage angst. But it's fitting enough for this week.

I wanted to put in a detail in here so you can see my style better. This is done in Ball point pen as with most my black and whites. I just wish I could find a company that made ball point pens with a more colorfast and archival ink. I like pencil, but maintaining the sharpness and keeping it from smearing takes too much effort for me. I'm not a careful person and I -even when trying my hardest always wind up smearing the graphite and getting the paper dirty.

What I've been up to

2008-04-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

I want to apologize to everyone, I have been slacking on the posts of late. Reason being, I have been trying to work out the final details of a lecture about my work. Well I just gave the speech this morning and I think it went pretty well. It happened in Dundalk, Maryland, my hometown, on the Campus of Baltimore County Community College. This also means I'm on a mini vacation back east. So I will keep the text brief and post a bunch of pics instead. After the talk, they had me go outside and judge an art show put on by some of their students, during the "Green" festival they were having.

Studio shots

2008-04-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

I wanted to show you all my studio. It's not much, just a 36 inch card table piled with crap. I live in a small 1 bedroom apartment with my husband and our kitty, so there is not much room for anything. Living in Southern California also means a lot of dust. We have a nice patio, but painting out there means getting yellow dust permanantly set into your canvas. That's why I have been working small, and in gouache. As a paint it dries immediately.

I also thought this would be an interesting way to show you my creative process. I very easily get impatient and I do not like waiting. There are a lot of times where you have to wait, mostly for things to dry or set. While I'm waiting I like to keep my hands moving, so I move on to another project. Even with a clean table it quickly evolves into this mess. I tend to get into these very agressively creative mindsets where I have fifty ideas and I want to work on all of them. I don't want to take a break, not even for the bathroom, I really don't want to interrupt this creative "mood." The waiting, to me, could do that. So I maintain the mindset by keeping it working. And bam, my desk explodes with art supplies.

If you look at the picture you can see a sculpey mockette I've shown before. I just painted it and poured gel medium around it. I'm hoping the gell will dry and look like water, or rather, look like glass trying to look like water. I will be showing it to an engineer tomorrow to get some ideas for construction of these sculptures. Should be interesting. I'll let you all know how that goes.

Tattoo Girl

2008-04-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

A friend is thinking about doing a line of T-Shirts for Tattoo lovers. For the logo and main design she wanter a pin-up style girl nude with tattoos all over. The sketches here show what I came up with for the visual. I read somewhere that guys and gals approach tattoos differently: women tend to get tattoos that flaunt, accentuate, or compliment their bodies, where as men get them for the purpose of comradorie, because they look cool (or so the wearer will look cool), in a place where they can easily be shown off. My aesthetic would be the first one, personally. But the friend who initiate this project wanted a little bit of both. I must say, it was difficult for me, I was gritting my teeth at some points.

Whenever working for someone else, you have to imagine your hand as an extention of their mind. You aren't creating for you, you are creating for them. A lot of artists do not like the thought of creating something you don't like, and admittedly it takes a lot of patience and restraint. But once you get it right and that person sees the finished product it makes all the labor worth it. Besides work like this is always a challenge and puts your skills to the test. Clients do not understand that you only do this kind or that kind of art. They think you are good at everything because you are an artist. And you can't explain that. So you are in the position of trying to make the client happy by doing things you are the best at and don't always do. Which is good for you.

Recylced/Eco-friendly Sculpture Project

2008-04-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

I have some more pics to share with you. These are photos of some sketches to add into the pile for this sculpture/installation proposal that I'm working on with the Baltimore Medical System. (Check back to earlier posts to see other concepts for this project.) This first drawing is another visual of a lichen-esque design. I imagine it being installed in an atrium or large lobby area with lots of natural light. The pieces could be mounted on the walls. The skeleton would be metal or plastic, and the filler material could be fabric, acrylic, glass, or something else that would be transparent. If you had fabric you could dye them different colors, and when the sun shone through them it would cast those colors (or combinations) all over the lobby.

The hardest thing about this is that it is such an open ended project, and that I have no visual as to what the location looks like. (For teh record, the building doesn't exist yet.) So what I'm going on is that I will either have a flat surface that I can work on. Whether that be a flat wall, floor, ceiling, or possibly a corner of flat surfaces. The other tough thing about this: when I do get to see visuals I think it will change my perspective entirely and I may not have the time to design something better for the space.

So I was looking at pictures of Maryland, most particularly wetlands, thinking that the building and the BMS are geared toward reaching out to those in the Baltimore region, and so the art work in this building should do the same. As I was reading online, there are cypress trees that grow in the wetlands. It's a not-too-common occurence, because the cypress is a sub-tropical tree and even though Maryland can get just as hot as any other southern state in the summer, it tends to get colder in the winter. I love the drama of the roots and how they quickly smooth out in to straight narrow trunks. The wood is basically immume to water rot so when the tree dies, it leaves a stump poking out of the water like a stalagmite. So I came up with this idea (the drawing to the left) for a free standing sculpture. Flaring at both the top and the bottom I'm hoping that it gives the feeling that is has a personality. Well maybe not a personality, but I hope that it feels figurative, even living. I'm am still racking my brain as to the best approach for construction. I will have to make several sculptural models to figure that out.

Another idea, which would probably be a little far fetched for an indoor public space would be the conversion of a lobby floor into something more of an organic rock like landing. For functionality, winding stairs could run through the middle. This idea was inspired by overhead photos of the Chesapeake marshes, where lines of trees, tall grass and other plants/rocks rose out of the water, segmenting it. From a helicopter's height the bay waters are very smooth. So in the photos you see this contrast of a smooth blue gray water and textured green things. It's really beautiful. I'm starting to realize that I'm really attracted to ambiance. Not just objects but entire spaces and how it makes you feel. I have a lot of ideas for creating full environments (not just those shown here). It's always good to realize this stuff, so you can embrace it and use it to the fullest.

Modern Day Artists' Struggle

2008-04-17T20:22:00.000-07:00

My apologies for falling off the earth yesterday. Work left me mind-numb and for the worse. Like all other artists out there I have a day job. Currently I have 2, a full time and part time one, and both are office gigs, which can really drain you and stall your creativity. So how do you deal with that? I'm still trying to figure that out. I come home and force myself to dabble in little things (sketch) or prepare for a bigger projects (research images, plan compositions, prep canvas, etc.) which I execute on the weekend.

One of the things that help with an artist's success is a large quantity of work, on top of it being good work. In order to do that, you need time to make a lot of works, or money to make a lot of reproductions (prints). How can those that are trying to be artists even enter into a level of success while trying to pay debts (car, student loans, rent, etc.) and spend the money (materials, studio, gallery rent, website) to do the whole art thing. You also have an under/uneducated audience that may enjoy art but are way too intimidated to talk about it much less buy it. So living the artists life means falling downhill. Why bother?

This is what people just don't understand. There is no other option. I can't just not do art. You want to see a person becoming a non-functional member of society? If you take away an artist's brushes you will watch them turn into a depressed, unmotivated, can't move, can't eat, suicidal heap. This may sound like an exageration -but it's exactly how I feel. The artist's struggle that people refer to is not the old fashioned (and cliche) struggles of completing a work and the anxiety of showing it to the world. Today the struggle is surviving, living this double life and attempting to fight this mindset of the public. It's something that I have to deal with because not creating is not an answer.

Consider this a bit of ranting and a sympathetic shout out to any of you out there trying to live the creative life. Happier posts to come. Promise. ;)

New Painting: Drips

2008-04-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

This piece was just me playing around with gouahe. I dripped some colored gouache-water onto the clayboard and let it dry, knowing it would form these blobs with a dark outline. Then I proceeded to fill in the blobs with different colors to similate light (pink) and shadow (blue). Though not the most conventional of color choices they plesently form this 3D look to the blobs. I added in layers of purples and white to control the form of the blobs a bit more, but also to practice mixing and blending on the surface of the piece. (Gouache doesn't like that too much.) At the very end, I added globs of white paint on the outside of each blob to see if it would emphasize the 3D-ness more. (It's hard to see in the photo) The background is the raw clayboard surface, a gray-white. This piece is another of those 4x4 inch squares.

I would hope I mentioned this before, but it would bear repeating anyway. The works paintings shown are available for purchase. There are also other works listed on my website for sale. (www.sylasstudios.com) Feel free to contact me with any questions about it.

Figure Sketch

2008-04-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

I wanted to show you all this. A nice drawing, not the best thing I've ever done, but decent. And not even finished. I was adding some color to it just to spruce it up and I spilled the paint on the piece. I was so mad at myself for doing that. I just wanted to share with everyone, even if you have talent it still takes a lot to have a piece reach the point of finished. I don't know how many times I have smudged something, ripped paper, dropped a pen on a art piece, scratched paint of a finished painting. Some of it you can go back in and work out, and some of it you just can't. This being the later.

I have done a few works like this, but to me it's just practice. Something about figures, it's hard for me to take the figure and do something with it to make it a more in depth piece, rather than just a drawing of a person. I have this idea of taking the figures, in similar poses to this one and having them melt into the four elements. (Kinda along this organic / nature / environment theme.) I tend to have lots of ideas like that but when I get to creating the piece the people just look cheesy. I think it's because in my head they are almost in motion, I see the figures from many different angles. The images in my head, even though they are ideas for 2-d work are almost three dimensional when I visualize them. Maybe it's better to describe it this way: all the different components of the painting: the background, foreground, specific objects or textures get re-arranged as I play with what the layout would be. I also tend to imagine myself working on the piece so I see it from different angles as I imagine myself working close-up and then stepping back.

The sketch is done with graphite and gouache on paper. To be honest, I was getting carried away with the paint, I watered it down a little too much (instead of adding white to lighten it), and the water made the paper all wrinkly.

Welding Intro with Bill Gardner

2008-04-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

If you're wondering where I was yesterday, I'll tell you. If you're not wondering you might find this interesting anyway. I met this guy at the Riverside Community Art Association named Bill Gardner who offers welding classes out of his home. These are very basic, one day workshops to introduce you to the tools/equipment, and the technique. (Classmate using plasma cutter pictured below.) The class talks about Oxy/Acetylene welding and cutting, TIG welding, stic welding, MIG welding, and plasma cutting. Bill walked through all the details on how to set everything up safely, discussed the best uses, etc., and we each got to try a few rounds of welding with the apparatus. (My weld in Oxy-Acetylene on steel, below.)

Bill is a retired civil engineer from the city of Riverside, and since retirement has been offering these classes, working on commission projects and creating his own sculptures. The Mission Cross (Bill's landscape ornament with mission cross shown below) is frequently included in his work, and is considered the logo of the City of Riverside.

Attending the class means you also get to partake in this fantastic view (shown below), as Bill lives at the top of a hill overlooking the valley. I have determined that when I buy a house (which will happen soon) that I'll definitely have to pick up a TIG welder if I can help it.

Lecture at BCCC, Dundalk Campus

2008-04-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

I would like to invite everyone reading this to come join me at Baltimore County Community College (Dundalk Campus) on April 25th at 10:10am for my lecture "Environmentalism as an Art Movement." This is geared towards artists, but there will be many things discussed that are appropriate for any art lover, or earth advocate. I will first start off with describing this new movement, where artists in subject matter, in technique, or materials are bringing attention to the environment and nature. Work of international artists will be shown. (I will also briefly delve into my own work.) Then I will discuss ways that artists can be more eco-friendly in their art and their materials and studio set up. This will open up into a Q&A session. I expect everything to last about an hour, but I will be around for the remainder of the day to talk with everyone. I will also have some very small examples of my work on display for people to see. This is all coinciding with the College's Arbor Week. There will be a fair going on at the campus that day as well. This event is free, and open to the public.

New Painting: Planets

2008-04-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

Here is another 4x4 inch gouache on clayboard painting. (I bought several packs of these painting boards at a trade show, so you will see at least a dozen more of these...) By the time I got to this one (right after I finished "Pipes") I figured out the best way to be subtle was by mixing colored water as opposed to using just watered down paint. Because of the clay surface, it doesn't take forever to dry, and can handle having water poured on it repeatedly. (By colored water I mean water with just a hint of paint.)

This one was all about color. I have a tendency to paint in all jewel tones, which makes it hard to through in the yellows and oranges. So I was trying to create different usable palettes that still use jewel tones but that more comfortably fit all the colors into the piece. I started with yellow fading to green as a wash in the background, then added layers on top. Gouache is like it's cousin watercolor, in that it can be transparent, or more correctly translucent when watered down.

By the way, if anyone out there has a suggestion for a high quality scanner, I would lover to get your opinion. I went shopping for one last weekend and everything in the stores are meant for offices and are either really cheap or those "3 in 1" machines that are expensive but still cheap. (An oxymoron, I know, but still true.) I would like to take the little paintings like this and scan them. I think that would make a better image for you readers to see.

New Painting: Pipes

2008-04-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

This is another mini-painting, done in gouache on clayboard. I started by playing with the background, dripping colored water on it and chasing it around with a brush. I think that's what makes this look a bit awkward. That's fine with me, because it was so much fun to do. For those of you who don't know, gouache is a finiky medium, and it doesn't help that I'm painting on clayboard, which absorbs all the liquid in the brush. It's a challenge to be subtle.

New painting: Empty Heads

2008-04-08T19:33:00.000-07:00

This is a small painting that I completed about a month ago. I haven't displayed it yet, as I'm still deciding how I should frame/mount. I think that is the hardest part. You finish a piece, and it's not yet it's not considered complete until you frame or bolt to a pedestel or something. You don't want to cheaper the piece, but at the same time you need to make it ready to display so you can show it. (Can't just lay it on a table and hope people will respect it.) Of course I made things more complicated by putting the clayboard on it's point.

The imagery in this came from a drawing I did last year called Open mouths and Empty Heads. The piece was done more to play with the surface and paint (I used gouache on a clay-coated massonite) rather than do anything specific in terms of a statement, unlike the drawing mentioned. But it could be argued that the empty heads with open mouths represent all the garbaged spewed out by the media, politicians and others. Something is coming or about to come out of their mouths, but who knows what the hell it is, and you can expect that it has very little value. This piece is 4x4 inches and will be available for purchase when I have figured out the whole mounting/framing thing. This was image was taken in the overcast sunlight outside, so it is safe to say that the color is pretty true-to-life.

2008-04-07T14:54:00.000-07:00

Pictured here are some of the photos of sculpey mockettes I've come up with for the sketches from the previous posts. I haven't decided, but I will probably paint them.

The one at the top left I call monolith, and I think I will add to it before I call it a complete idea.

The others are the "wingspan" idea in 3-d. I would like this large enough that people could walk under it easily (without ducking), and maybe use as a doorway. I'm really racking my brain about what materials to use to keep this eco-friendly. There are the classics: recycled glass, salvaged or reclaimed steel. But I'm thinking maybe saw dust held together with casein (a natural resin). I don't have any experience with casein, but if it acts like other resins, there will need to be a support skeleton to handle the weight. Another is scrap fabric, used clothes and whatnot to create it as a soft sculpture, but it wouldn't have the same dramatic "sagging" happening, and the longevity is cut dramatically.

2008-04-06T07:41:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been in conversation with the Baltimore Medical System, a non-profit that offers free and inexpensive healthcare to low income families and individuals. They are building a new facility which will be one of the first LEED Certified buildings on the east coast. That stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, meaning "green." The BMS is very proud of this new facility, which will break ground in May. Anyway, we have been talking about placing a sculpture on site, and if we can get the approvals all around (as well as funds) I would like to do an permanent sculptural structure that reflects the greenness of the building.

Below are some sketches that I have made showing basic ideas. I have since moved on to mockettes (which I will photograph and show you next time) and the initial planning of materials, etc. My goal was to use environmentally friendly materials, and if I can help it, trash. I

So here is one idea:

Basically an amoebic shape that is held in place with straight architectural elements with add a visual contrast (straight versus curvy and color contrast). I would like this to look like it is going through the wall to emphasize movement, and would make it feel more alive. I would imagine the support straights would be recycled steel, but that amoebic shape could be anything. Still working on that in my head. If you have any ideas, shoot me an email...

I call this idea canvas lichen:

The below image also would have movement. I have already engineered a way to put this together using altered PVC pipe (recycled or salvaged, of course) as the linear supports and either a recycled fabric or maybe even taking plastic bags and stripping them and weaving them to create the fabric element. That way they would be easy to remove and clean, and it would be much lighter for hanging purposes. Also, using canvas or another fabric worries considering the humidity in Maryland. I think plastic would be the way to go.

The next is Wingspan:

I have already made a mockette, and let me tell you, it has evolved greatly from this. (I will post some images next time.) The BMS is looking for people friendly sculptures (my phrase, not theirs) that feel warm and inviting. "Welcoming" is their word. I have done these works in the past involving figures with wings instead of arms and so I was thinking wings would work.

Because of the recent additional requirement (meaning "welcoming") I've been evolving these sketches in my head. To me, anything overhead feels like shelter and so it is welcoming. But I'm assuming that most people would not agree. So I've been tweaking these concepts to actually create environments. And if I can pull off getting the funds, I would like to make these environments big enough that people can walk through. When a sculpture is in a corner how can it feel inviting? When the sculpture opens up and you can wander under it or on it, it seem so much more approachable.

Hey! and welcome to my blog.

2008-04-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

So this is my first entry... I should start I guess by describing what's happening in my life right now. I am an emerging artist trying to head into that mid career phase. I'm finding there is this delicate balance that I haven't quite reached (yet) between getting the word out about myself and making artwork in the first place. So as a resolve I'm looking to use this as a little of both. I hope to post on here frequently if not daily, and plan to use this blog to unveil new work, display sketches. If this is your first look at my blog or my work, take a look at my website:

http://www.sylasstudios.com

The image here is a drawing in Ball point pen, one of my favorite mediums to use. It keeps a fine point, it doesn't smear, it's cheap to use, and very portable. I started drawing in my sketchbooks in ink because pencil always smeared after a while, even with fixative. This drawing was the first of eight artworks I made which I call Geometric Composition series.