Arting for 365 Day 10: Leaves/Seeds

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Micah

Goal: To create 365 works of art each day for 365 consecutive days

I really love running (more correctly – jogging). I am not super good at it and I don’t know if I’ve ever even got a “runner’s high” but I get grouchy if I am not active and more importantly, I LOVE being outdoors. The feel of fresh air is always great and coming across the wonderful little visual treats that nature provides is really where it’s at for me.

A great example of one of these treats is the leaf/seed things we came across while jogging the other day. They were gorgeous and delicate and made me think of butterfly wings. We stopped to pick a handful’s worth out of the grass (yesterday I went back and filled up a bag) and I immediately began thinking of how I might create with them.

After experimenting a bit – laying them out in different ways, contemplating how they might be molded around a 3D object – I started thinking of each leaf as a mini canvas. I coated them with clear acrylic and began drawing. The final day ten project is this floral-like design. It could be pushed a bit further and as I become more familiar with working with these little treats from nature, I’m hoping this will happen.

Also, if anyone knows the name of the tree these great leaf/seed things come from, I’d love to know.

Arting for 365 Day 9: Screening for Red & Blue

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Micah

Goal: To create 365 pieces of work for 365 consectutive days

Who knew I’d like stitching designs into screens so much? After day four’s experience I realized I’d found a medium that I’d have to explore again sometime. Yesterday turned out to be sometime. I wasn’t planning on it. In fact, I began my day working on something completely different and next thing I knew I had needle and thread in hand with my original project long forgotten.

The final piece combines painting, ink drawing and stitching – all my favs – in a way I have not before explored. Sometimes it’s good to not follow through on plans.

Arting 365 Day 8: Time

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Micah

Goal: To create one work of art each day for 365 days in a row

For more than a little while -about three years, actually- I have been meaning to take pictures of two ink drawings, which I finally got around to yesterday. As I was taking the glass out of one frame in order to get a reflection free image, the construction paper I had used to temporarily back the work fell out. A once black piece of paper was now showing its age where the sun had bleached perfect rectangles and straight lines. It was lovely and it beckoned to be used in day eight’s project.

I painted a 22.5″ x 16″ canvas, applied acrylic coat to the paper and began painting and adding other cut paper. The geometric imagery at the bottom was much busier initially, which was really distracting, so I painted a good deal of it away. As for the color, a brown palette is not one I’m real chummy with, but I wanted to keep the bleached paper basically unchanged so thought I’d give it a whirl.

Arting 365 Day 7: Drawing To Reflect

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Micah

Yesterday my boyfriend’s brother graduated with his PhD in electrical engineering – an incredible feat in my mind. After watching the ceremony and celebrating with some great grub and beer we returned home where I began to work on my day seven project.

I reflected on the way too drawn-out, oath included ceremony and the speeches given which highlighted the importance of the new journey these graduates were about to embark on. This got me thinking. How many of the graduates were giddy with excitement and how many were wondering why in the hell they spent thousands and thousands of dollars on a degree that would put them in a job that they recently realized they don’t really like? How many graduates will dedicate their lives to their profession and how many will spend a few years employed in the area only to find out it isn’t truly what they want to be doing (I know this scenario well.)

Whether you take a variety of roads, meander until you stumble upon your path, or choose the straight shot from the get go, eventually you’ll get to where you’re supposed to be. -An idea which inspired these three ink on paper drawings.

Arting 365 Day 6: Juice – Beets & Blueberries

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Micah

Deeply pigmented liquids like wine, beet juice, etc. are horrible as stains on your favorite shirt but they do a lovely job when used for painting. A long while back I had poured beet and blueberry juice over a canvas and proceeded to do nothing with it. (I used the canned blueberry juice from those box muffin mixes. It has a nice purple color and the other perk is I got to eat some batter.) As I pulled out the canvas yesterday I was reminded of how much I enjoyed this process. I really liked the lack of control over where the juice chose to migrate. And the burgundy and deep purple, even as it has faded some, was still quite nice. I used the flowing design as a base to build up color resulting in day six’s project.

Arting 365 Day 5: Canned 50s

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Micah

The Goal: To create a piece of art each day for 365 consecutive days in a row

Oh the 1950s. In my mind the stereotypical family of that time was cookie cutter perfection. It showcased a happily married husband and wife – he of course dressed in a suit and she accessorized with some sort of apron. The couple had at least one snot-free adorable child, a house with a white picket fence and there was always the lingering smell of her freshly baked apple pie or his tobacco pipe.

The 50s also make me think of Frank Lloyd Wright. His architectural designs (love the cheesy music in this clip) were modern, clean lined and seem so unrelated to the wholesome American family in my head. Pondering these two things made me wonder how I could portray the 1950s family in a less expected way.

Result? Not exactly a beautiful work of art, but I have to say I really enjoy the creepiness factor of the final piece. The people in the images all seem to have that 1950s plastered on smile, but their actions tell a strange story. One of my favorite pics is inserted inside the “house” and viewed by peeking through a window. The family is practicing their shooting, but it appears as if the wife has a gun pointed at hubby’s head while the children smile approvingly.

Arting 365 Day 4: Screening

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Micah

The Goal: To create one piece of art for 365 days in a row

As I rummaged around the house yesterday I came across some screen that I had used for a sewing project awhile back. I have quite a bit of the screen left over because the sewing project was never completed. Turns out I am not a real strong seamstress. But pulling the material out made me remember why I think screen is great:

1.) It filters light in a way that, when you move from side to side, seems to move the light too – kind of hologram-ish.

2.) It lets in fresh air while keeping wasps out. Wasps make me nervous.

3.) Unbeknownst to me until yesterday, screen is really fantastic for weaving patterns into.

4.) On a more abstract level, it acts as a metaphor for the filtering we do in our own life with words, people, perceptions, etc.

Using some thread I happened to find with the screen (again plenty left) I began weaving organic and geometric patterns. Initially I added a bunch of green beads that came from some napkin holders I found at a garage sale, but I soon realized they were overkill. I took the majority of them off by crushing them with a hammer on the sidewalk.

I have to say I really enjoy this piece. I was sucked into this 43” x 9” puppy for the better part of yesterday. I’m not certain how I’ll finish the uneven edges or if I even want to. I do know I plan on hitting the Habitat Re-Store up to find some framed screens to do more. Next go-round I think I will use embroidery thread so that the lines are a bit stronger.

Arting 365 Day 3: Evidence of Box

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Micah

Our cat’s name is Box. He is much like other cats in that he does a great deal of sleeping and a little playing. He is unlike other cats in that he drools (a fun fact that has nothing to do with this work).

Box works relatively hard while playing – stealthily crouching or hiding in order to surprise his prey: aka “The String.” And he will tell you he is a master at play.

From time to time Box also begrudgingly takes on the role of prey, hiding under the bed to elude wet noses or sticky hands until he feels it is safe to come out. I give him credit. He does a pretty decent job of this and if it weren’t for the giant scratching post we made, some wouldn’t even know he existed.

But as great as Box’s attempts to hide are, he cannot cover all evidence of himself. Stray hair or sheddings of his opalescent claws always seem to avoid the vacuum, and I am reminded that we each leave evidence of being somewhere.

Ink, paper, string, wire and claws on tin canisters. Each circle is ~3.5″ in diameter. I haven’t quite decided if I like them more displayed seperately or together…

Day 2: Fuse – ReUse – Refuse

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Micah

When so called “trash” has an interesting shape, color, feel, etc. the likelihood of it getting thrown away in this house is pretty slim. For my day two adventure I decided to use the plastic toppers I’d kept that cover some six packs of beer. I was drawn to the repetition of the circles and wanted to create something clean and graphic while keeping the integrity of the shapes.

I cut apart and re-assembled the circles, painted – then cut away paint, and attached some fuses I had picked up at the Habitat Re-Store (an excellent place to find stuff for art & it’s a good cause). The result is this 11.5″ x 4.5″ piece.

I’m not sold on the use of the fuses and feel like I could use more time to let this little guy marinate in order to think about how I might push the design a bit further. I think I’d also like to create something similar on a larger scale. Perhaps some old trash can lids would be my jumping off point.

Side note to the project:

-Not exactly sure why some companies use the plastic toppers and others the regular plastic rings. My guess is for environmental reasons, but part of me wants to believe it is to keep mice poop off of things. -Which I am great with. If you have any insight, I’d love to hear it.

Micah Richardson

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