Tag Archives: ink

Arting for 365 Day 49: Locks

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Day 49 (6/16/12): Bangs

4 x 5″ Mixed Media (Hair – both straight and braided), ink and thread

My friend Mary cut my hair for me yesterday – chopping off a good six inches from my front locks to give me bangs. She did a great job and it was fun to see such a big chunk disappear. She asked what I wanted to do with the hair, and at first I thought, throw it away. But instead I asked her to set it aside.

I’d like to say that I get why people may want to keep a soft ringlet from their baby’s first haircut, or that keeping the 20 inches of hair that they chopped off long ago is kind of fun or sentimental. But if I’m going to be perfectly honest. I don’t get it. Perhaps this is because I’ve never had a baby and never really been attached to my hair. To me, stray hairs are kind of gross. I don’t like finding them in the sink or the bathtub, so why in the world would I actually want to keep them?

Using the remains of my haircut and some ink, I opted to explore the strangeness of keeping locks of hair for day 49’s piece. I was a bit grossed out while manipulating the hair but I actually really like the design. Even at that, I don’t think there is a big buyer’s market for this one on Etsy.

Arting for 365 Day 48: Conglomeration

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Day 47 (6/15/12): Conglomeration

Each square 4.75 x 4.75″ Ink and watercolor on paper. I like the idea of  displaying these on the wall w/tacks so they can be easily rearranged and spaced as you like.

I had a lot of energy yesterday. Some of it was anxious – I think due to some lingering projects that just don’t seem to be going away – but a lot of it was a result of an eagerness to figure things out and to create. I have a notion all of the energy kind of balled up, conglomerating and morphing into day 47’s project. I’ve got to say, I’m pretty happy about it.

Starting in on the piece, I didn’t have a vision as to what the finished work would look like, but I did have an approach in mind. Similar to the exploration in some of my other projects, I thought about how pieces and details come together to create a whole. This time, though, instead of keeping the whole intact, I broke up the whole into 12 separate, yet connected pieces. I really dig the result.

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 This piece available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/listing/102256139/conglomeration-mixed-media-abstract or by emailing micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 41: Order

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Day 41 (6/8/12): Order

21 x 26″ Ink on paper

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

You may or may not remember this, but last week I determined Fridays were destined to become “Coaster Fridays.” Well, I was wrong. Instead of designing a resting spot for a beer, I spent yesterday finishing up this big daddy of a drawing.

The design stemmed from my recent thoughts on order and organization – two things I struggle with and don’t really love. What I do love is being outside to enjoy nature, and so I began comparing the two. I recognized that the reason I like getting outdoors, beyond blowing the stink off of me, is that it seems open and free and somewhat random.  But as I thought about it more carefully, I realized that so much in nature is actually pretty structured too.  I decided I would create something to reflect the organization and patterns in the natural world.

The resulting piece is a juxtaposition of precise patterning created from less precise, “Micah-like” designs that give the work character beyond its structure.

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This work available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/listing/101763681/order-ink-drawing or by emailing micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 40: A Map to Blackberries

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Day 40 (6/7/12): A Map to Blueberries

6 x 6″ Blackberry juice, ink and oil pastel on paper

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

Once a week, the boyfriend and I make a date for coffee. Afterwards he drives off to his job, while I walk home to begin my day’s work. Typically the route I take involves some jay-walking, a trek through an industrial lot whose “Do Not Trespass” sign does not apply to me, and a jaunt across railroad tracks. I then say hi to workers who are loading up Farmers Brother’s Coffee and stroll a few more blocks home. It’s a route that I really enjoy because it is a bit off the beaten path.

Yesterday, due to my jay-walking street being incredibly busy, I had to take a more traditional route home. I started my way down a less adventurous, super trafficky street and to my surprise I came across a blackberry bush. Jackpot! I picked a handful of berries and later picked a white bud from a tree to use in day 40’s project.

Smeared blackberry juice, and drawn images of the white flower and a map to the berries complete the piece. Hand written directions are on back -complete with cross outs and edits.

Map to Blueberries Detail This piece available to purchase at https://www.etsy.com/listing/101674485/a-map-to-blackberries-mixed-media-art or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 39: Compartmentalized

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Day 39 (6/6/12): Compartmentalized

6 x 6″ Ink on paper

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

I learned or reaffirmed four things yesterday:

1. If I feel groggy, have my short sleeves rolled up and am sweating, it might be time to turn on the AC.

2. Completing a smaller scale project (day 39’s piece) after spending hours on a multi-day project is a good challenge – not only for my brain but in reaching my goal.

3. Think twice before throwing any “trash” away. I nearly tossed the Ace discount card holder before realizing it would make a good stencil.

4. Many of the sound effects you hear during sporting events are designed. Check it out.

This piece available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/listing/101607292/compartmentalized-ink-drawing or by emailing me at micah@azzlsoft.com

Arting for 365 Day 38: Strings of Abstraction

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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 36: The Meaning of Bubbles

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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

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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

Arting for 365 Day 33: Balls Rolling in an Orderly Fashion

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Day 33 95/31/12): Balls Rolling in an Orderly FashionAs I sat down to create day 33’s project, I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. And not for a reason you might think. I am finishing up a few side jobs right now that are requiring quite a bit of my attention, but that was not the reason for my anxiety. Nor was the personal goal of creating art everyday. Nope, what got me all a flutter yesterday was my Twitter account.

Day 33: Balls Rolling in an Orderly Fashion DetailI had always thought that the Twits (unofficial term) were celebrities and other folks talking about fluff. But after looking into the Twitter a bit more I realized that it is an awesome resource for articles on art and design. Not to mention I like to hear some of the ridiculous things my brother has to say.  I would wager that most people follow hundreds, maybe even thousands of other people. I think I am following 30ish and it seems to be too much for me to take. Overstimulation. My brain seems exhausted as it tries to keep up with the sometimes great, sometimes not-so-great articles. The boyfriend questioned whether I was attempting to read all of those articles, which would definitely leave me overwhelmed. But I’m not. The information rolls onto my screen in what appears to be an orderly fashion, and I am left to wonder if my brain will ever adapt to this crazy stimulus.

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

Arting for 365 Day 32: Mosquitos

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Day 32 (5/20/12): MosquitoGoal: To create one work of art each day for 365 consecutive days

I got to meet up with my friend, Mary, for a jog at Happy Jack last night (HJ is a lovely trail system outside of Laramie, Wyoming). While jogging, Mary provided me with the following comedic/intellectual commentary regarding the herd of mosquitos we had run into:

Mary: We’re not getting bit. These all must be boys.

Me: Oh – The boys don’t bite?

Mary: I don’t think so. And they hatch earlier, probably because they need time to grow their penis’.

I can always count on Mary to make me laugh.

4.75 x 4.75″ Ink and paint on paper

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