-prayer flag-

I've been invited to join an adult print group here in Dallas by my old high school printmaking teacher Eva Kutscheid!

First assignment for myself; a prayer flag. I've never had the honor of participating in this activity- but I understood that they are meant to send a positive message into the world! And my message was one about grace.

"be pretty if you can, witty if you must, but be gracious if it kills you"

I heard this once- and in the end we are all just flesh and bones.... The central image is my skull stylized and based off of one of my X-rays. The text "Danos Gracia" is Spanish for "give us grace," which is essential in order for us to remain humble and thankful for what we have.

STEPS:
After my image was drawn I went over it with sharpie. I used a wash of color to help differentiate highlighted and darkened areas. I began to carve- once carved I inked my woodcut, test printed and the last image is the result!

Where I am- Where I'm From

So, I've been back in Texas for a while now; Dallas, Texas, for about 6 months now. Getting situated, figuring things out, and getting a grasp on life after college. It's challenging and frustrating. Aside from doing small commission, and working 2 jobs I am waiting for a studio space! I need some space to spread out and get dirty, the space I was using is no longer available- if you know of a place/ space please- LET ME KNOW!!!!

GEM Hotel- NYC Exhibition

Here are some of the photos of the NYC show posted by my friend Zack!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_zach/sets/72157626798413959/

NYC

2 of my paintings were chosen to be exhibited in New York City this June for Alfred University's Profile 2011 at the Gem Hotel. If your out around there, check it out!!!!

http://www.alfred.edu/pressreleases/viewrelease.cfm?ID=6791

cup, cups...MUGS!!!

These are a few image of a series of 30 mugs that I had gotten into the groove of making, simply because my friend Justin had an extra handle and I had some extra coils... <3

I chose to consistently use different line designs because I was simply exploring the intensity of the black slip against the white porcelain clay body through inlay (all cone 10 electric or soda fired)

Its like a baby...

gotta take care of this thing....*sigh* it's like a nonstop ride from start to finish- caught up in the thrill and process of making now coming to an abrupt stop. The end is near; i can feel it...smell it. Here are a couple of images of works that have been mentioned previously.

-this was a transitional piece done during winter 2010 exploring spatial and figure ground relationships

-still exploring paint and its characteristics/ properties while cohesively adding dialog with the paper modules

This piece offered me a very pivotal moment in my color studies and how they build relationships within the planes and the crumpled paper.

after focusing solely on color relationships- I brought attention to the negative space. trying to address the background and activating it so that it stood on its own as understandable space although its ambiguous.

These are sketches for me- to explore how more organic shapes are formed and how the black line can work around or behind these shapes. I was also taking a break from painting- but still searching on how minimal the forms and lines could become while they still stood on their own. Below is where I actually began to put these organic bold black lines in action.

- There are more paintings but I chose not to spoil my upcoming senior show! :D

In the Groove

So this is where I came back this spring semester and really started creating. Still focusing heavily on line. Better pictures are on the way, along with a more in depth description of what I am exploring and what these studies have taught me about my studio work ethic.