Lettering

sketchbook, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

Lately I have seen a lot of write ups, blog posts, and general hubbub about hand lettering. I've been playing with hand lettering a lot lately, but I don't think I am very good at it. I do like my "me or you" at the top of this sketchbook page though.

Zink

zink7, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

Captain Watermelon

Captain Watermelon, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

This guy was sitting to my left at Bauhaus the other day. He had a very big furry russian hat on. I don't know why I named him captain watermelon.
He wasn't really listening to a walkman, I made that part up.

In other news, I am almost all moved in to my NEW STUDIO! YAY!!!!!!!! I am so excited to have a big place to spread out and work! I feel so, so good about it.

Bye Craft Magazine

Craft Magazine's last print issue was this past one, Volume 10.

I love you Craft magazine! I'll miss you very much! Even though you will be online, the print version was such a treat.

Encaustic in Progress

In 2006, I won a little R&F encaustic paint set from Daniel Smith, for meeting a sales goal. Yay! Because encaustic paint is REALLY expensive! So, I decided to start painting.
This is the biggest encaustic painting I have ever done. The biggest painting, actually, I have ever done in any medium! I have made big prints, but never a big painting. This one is on 16x24 panel. It wasn't really intended to be a landscape, but then it quickly became that. I wonder what it will turn into next?

Here is my encaustic set up right now, in my tiny closet sized studio:



I use a pancake griddle, kid sized muffin tins, hog brushes, hake brushes, and a paint stripper to paint with. I learned most of the techniques from Joanne Mattera's book The Art of Encaustic Painting, which I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in painting this way.

Little Resin Tags

Studio Time, originally uploaded by maybeemily.

While I had been drawing in sketchbooks and making prints and working in resin for a long time before, I had never really tried to express my ideas through paint. I was so pleased with the results of these little tags!
My favorite is on the far left. The title is "A Chaste Landscape." I had read that exposed arms were symbolic of chastity in a book I had of Christian symbolism in art. (After learning about the hidden symbolism in old master's paintings and prints, I became a little obsessed with finding the hidden meanings in EVERYTHING!)
The tags have several layers of paint and resin on them, and are a little less than 1/8" thick. I love the way the resin creates a warm depth to the images. I wish I could make it a little less unruly, however - the backs have lots of drips and dribbles on them!

In Progress

I am working on several paintings right now. I don't usually think of myself as a painter, but as a printmaker. I find that my paintings are very detailed sketches for future prints and other projects - I never really think of them as the final product.