Arting for 365 Day 55: Flies

Goal: To create one piece of art each day for 365 consecutive days.

The fly was tired of being known only for his buzzing abilities. He knew he was so much more – and he hoped to someday prove it to the world. More importantly, he hoped to prove it to her.

He’d seen many flies in his time but she was different. While others swarmed to a pile of dung, she flew solo on the horse’s back. She could resist the bright blue light that zapped many to their death, opting instead for tall glowing street lights. She was special.

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This piece available for purchase by emailing micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 53: Paperclip Music

Day 53 (6/20/12): Paperclip Music

5 x 7″ yupo paper

He’d seen all sorts of things made from paperclips – the breadth of which rarely went beyond diffusing bombs – but he had never seen anything quite like this.

The giant clip had been transformed into a musical instrument. Blanketing the atmosphere with F sharps and E flat minors, it stopped the average man dead in his tracks. Its melodies streaming, the old clip would never be looked at the same.

This piece available for purchase. Email me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 51: All a Part of the Plan

Day 51 (6/18/12): All a Part of the Plan

8 x 10″ Mixed Media: Ink & Watercolor

The elaborate scheme to capture the bug was foolproof. The man had hidden among the flowers for days, logging the flight pattern of the curious little creature he now watched. He laid low in the grass, peeking through thin blades in anticipation. Timing the gentle pinch of the puppet fingers was key. He had successfully pinched stray Cheerios in midair hundreds of times, so his confidence was not lacking.

With veteran-like skill, the man moved the strings. The puppet fingers stopped the bug in its tracks. The helpless animal buzzed madly.

The man, with pride in his incredible plan, smiled from ear to ear.  With another switch of the strings, he released the animal, and thought about what it was he might do next.

This piece available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/listing/102491704/all-a-part-of-the-plan-mixed-media-ink or by emailing micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 50: In Constant Motion

Day 50 (6/17/12): In Constant Motion

8 x 10″ Ink and watercolor on paper

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

I’ve got a few people in my life who seem to be curious about anything and everything. They are constantly seeking out new information, interested in nearly any subject and can’t help but ask why or how at least 1,000 times an hour. I love being around these people. Not only do I find them fascinating, but they tend to be talkers – which I enjoy since I am not always a big talker. AND, as a super bonus, they are just basically amazingly caring people.

Day 50’s project is a portrait of one of these folks. I have taken a somewhat sci-fi approach to portraying what I imagine his brain is like. Feelers reach out in all directions, trying to get a grasp of and understand everything around it.

This piece available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/listing/102414410/in-constant-motion-ink-and-watercolor or by emailing micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 46: Eggs in One Basket

Day 46 (6/13/12): Eggs in One Basket

24 x 36″ Ink and acrylic on canvas

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

Some of you avid followers may recall that I made a piece titled Subtleties on day 30 in which I experimented with painting using only light colors. That piece has been hanging out on my easel, wondering what to do with itself ever since. Subtleties, it seemed, just did not fit in at this house. It lacked any sort of personality and longed to be given attention. So yesterday, I did just that.

With the wise old saying, “Don’t put your eggs all in one basket” on my mind, I created the work for day 46. As I did so, I realized that while the saying is really quite true, sometimes it’s worth the risk to load up the basket and hope for the best.

This piece available for purchase at http://etsy.me/NlXCQI or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 45: Attachment

Day 45 (6/12/12): Attachment

~5.5″ cirmcumfrence x 3″ Mixed Media: Seeds, egg shell, ink, paper and lid

It’s funny, the things we get attached to. A lovely blue water bottle whose lid sometimes leaks or an old shirt with holes here and there may seem average, but they are anything but. We worry about them if they are misplaced and are quick to defend their value.

I think for most of us it is not so much the “thing” we get attached to as the memories and feelings we get that are associated with the thing. This, I realize, is why I seem to have become a bit attached to the little seeds I collected weeks ago.

Each time I pull them out to work with I am reminded of the jog we were on when we picked them off the ground. I remember feeling so excited about the prospect of making something from the found little treasures. When I create using the little seeds, I always feel very calm and at ease – enjoying the simple act of building up form.

The seeds are now dwindling. I’ll be able to eke out one more piece if I’m lucky. After that, I’ll have to wait in anticipation for another year to roll around so I can once again collect them.

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This piece available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/listing/102046424/attachment-found-object-sculpture or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 38: Strings of Abstraction

Day 38: Strings of AbstractionGoal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days

We’ve been watching this really cheesy show called Eureka. It’s about a town full of super brainy scientists whose experiments frequently go awry and a regular-Joe sheriff. Initially I thought the show was awful, but I must admit it has grown on me – even if it is highly predictable.

Last night, while having dinner, we watched an episode about a big bang experiment. This for some reason got me thinking about string theory (something I hardly/don’t grasp). Then I came across a small watercolor I had done and remembered a drawing my sister-in-law had commented on that, when I thought of it again, made me think of string theory.

Day 38’s work is a watercolor and ink Eureka, universe, string theory inspired tryptic. I think what I enjoy most about the piece, is that after I was done with it, I no longer thought about science-y stuff, I just enjoyed the shapes and figures that seemed to appear in the work.

Note: This great TED talk on mulit-universes & string theory by Brian Greene put me the closest I’ve ever been to actually understanding what these two things are about.

Strings of Abstraction Img 1Strings of Abstraction Img 2Strings of Abstraction Img 3This work available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/listing/101522495/strings-of-abstracction-mixed-media or by contacting me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 37: Winged

Day 36: WingedGoal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days

I brought my seed things with me to my parent’s house this last weekend, thinking they’d be a good out of town project to work on. I felt proud for remembering to pack them since typically I am really good at forgetting things. My pride quickly vanished as I realized that I had forgotten the acrylic coat that keeps the little guys preserved (or at least that’s my hope). But bringing them still ended up being a good thing. I found out that the plastic bread bag I keep the non-coated seeds in is not, in fact, the best way to store them. Turns out they had begun to get dry and brittle. Shocking, I know. I thought for sure this is how all museums store their artifacts. So yesterday I coated a big chunk of them and worked on day 36’s project.

Day 36: Winged Left WingDay 36: Winged 2Day 36: Right WingI knew that I wanted to do some more drawing on and stacking of the seeds, but wasn’t quite sure what I had in mind. I began laying out the seeds, gluing them down and then pulling them off. I glued a few more down and realized this thing was screaming to be a moth – which I like.

I became interested in moths a few years back when I learned about how one species in Britain had evolved to adapt to its polluted environment. The one I created is so content with itself; I don’t see it evolving anytime soon.

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3 x 7” Seeds & ink on lid

This work available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/listing/101434913/winged-mixed-media-3d or email me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 36: The Meaning of Bubbles

Day 36 (6/3/12): The Meaning of Bubbles

6 x 6″ watercolor and ink on paper

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

I created this little watercolor late last night as I was longing to go to bed. I have no idea what it is about. And I could leave this post at that, but I thought it would be more entertaining to make up some things to explain it. Below are my options. Feel free to add your own.

Option 1. The soft, organic growing pile of bubbles juxtaposed to the structured horizontal lines represents the discord between the real world and our ideal reality – with the umbrella symbolizing our attempt to shelter our ideal view. (This seems like a good one because we could apply the “ideal” metaphor to anything from politics to raising a puppy.)

Option 2. The lines in the piece are a measurement of how high our bubbles might grow before bursting. (Simple but good as it could be applied to a glass half full or half empty type person. One type probably sees them bursting, the others sees the page overflowing.)

Option 3. The pile of bubbles represents the constant cycle of life as bubbles continuously join and leave the pile. (A bit of a stretch perhaps…)

The Meaning of Bubbles Bubble detailThe Meaning of Bubbles umbrella detail

Work available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/listing/101366545/the-meaning-of-bubbles-mixed-media or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 35: Roostered

Day 35 (6/3/12): RoosteredGoal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days

It is a rare occasion that I get to enjoy the company of all my neeps (nieces and nephews) at once. But this weekend has been one of those weekends. In fact I even got to see the boyfriend’s neeps – and I love it. It is noisy and rowdy with pillow bombs falling and worms being hunted. It is a ton of fun.

So I found it only natural to ask their expert opinion (clearly they have good taste, they have accepted me as a member in their Furios (furious) Six club) as to what I should create for yesterday’s work. The response from my nephew was a bird – an owl specifically, and a car. Clearly I didn’t take explicit direction, but I did use his suggestions in making the ink drawn 4 x 5.5″ card. And my niece drew right alongside me, which was great!

My mom astutely mentioned that the ink drawing ponders the question of “chicken or the egg” with the answer or “neither, they just met.”

Enjoy!

Roostered Nest DetailWork available for purchase at http://www.etsy.com/shop/OriginalsByMicah or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com