Make Art: Suit Up

Doing the house picture, brought back memories of past projects. A few years ago on my birthday, I found myself in DC at the National Air and Space Museum, face to face with the suit John Glenn wore during the first orbital flight of a U.S. astronaut. I snapped a picture because I thought it was so cool. It’s hard not to be taken with the sight of a uniform, whatever that is. All the buttons, snaps, straps, and character. Clothes tell stories. I did this in colored pencil and tried watercolor paper, which was very thick and could take the pressure, but it was almost too textured. A good lesson learned. What’s a uniform that catches your eye?

DIY Projects: Let's Sew an Octopus Adorabilis

One of my many hobbies that I cranked to eleven during the pandemic was sewing. I have rudimentary knowledge, my mom gave me some lessons and I used to sew Barbie clothes by hand when I was in grade school and even high school for 4-H. My aunt is a professional seamstress in Texas and she sends me the most amazing remnants from her jobs (shout out to you Aunt Cyndi) and sometimes I get a print that is so bizarre that I’m like, what on earth will I make with this. Well, this Christmas I decided to make a stuffed animal for my dear friend’s daughter. I asked what her favorite animals were and she gave me a short list. When I looked up Octopus Adorabilis (scientifically known as Opisthoteuthis californiana - Look them up, your day will be made) I knew exactly what to do. You don’t often find them in plush form, so I went for it and pulled out my flaming pink upholstery fabric and orange leopard print.

Leopard print makes for good suckers.

I made the pattern from scratch and sewed the head and base separately, the little top fins, eyes, and attachment of head to base was hand sewn. This was a challenge because I forgot how much poly you have to stuff in these things to make sure they stay firm and not floppy. I wanted this thing to hold up to a lot of hugs.

The finished product.

I was so pleased with the finished product. It turned out large and substantial and is currently making a habitat in a little girl’s bedroom. She was named Adora, I’m told, and I couldn’t be more delighted. I may try some more experimental stuffed animals as I have a gargantuan bag of poly left over! What strange animal would you like to see made into a plush?

Sneak Peek: Tiny Dragons

Full step-by-step post to come, but I had to share this sneak peek of one of my latest resin projects: a series of paperweights and other artful little items that involve dioramas. As a kid, I was enchanted by anything that resembled a tiny world, which I think is common. Kids have this innate desire to create tiny worlds within bigger ones, probably as a means of feeling some sense of safety or control in an otherwise uncontrollable real world. Yes, I still have my collection of Polly Pockets. #notsorry

I found all sorts of tchotchkes while sorting things in my studio and am just starting to put them in resin. Some of which are these cool 1 inch dragons that are begging to be given homes. Fingers crossed the process works! What’s your favorite tiny world?

Painting Process: Star Wars at The Palace

I used to work for an art supply company and after we would shoot photographs of paint squirts or blobs on a canvas for catalog covers, the canvas was chucked into what we affectionately called The Cage. In between designing catalogs, it was often my job to tidy up The Cage, and got to take home the “junk” canvas for my own projects. This one had a nice big pink swipe on it! I sketched out my idea in marker on the canvas.

This is after about an hour’s worth of work. I try to work in hour increments, a habit I started during the pandemic. The photo I worked from was one I took after seeing Star Wars IX at our little local theater, it has one screen and shows one movie a week and only costs about $5. I have a lot of fond memories there.

Started blocking in color. I work in a limited palette. Honestly you don’t need a ton of colors to achieve richness and depth. Also I have a rule when painting, I don’t use black out of the tube. If I want an area to be “black” I have to make it. It adds a layer of interest when you’re mixing Prussian Blue and Burnt Umber together, you can control the temperature of the black. Black out of the tube is often very stark, and it works with the flow of the painting if you build it from the raw materials of the other colors.

I’m pretty down and dirty with my painting set up. I used a sheet of plastic as my palette, only 2-4 brushes, and a teeny jar of spirits to clean the brushes when absolutely necessary.

Lights! Sometimes all you need are some well placed blobs. It’s a balancing act to figure out which areas you want to be painterly and the areas you want to be finite and exacting. I’m not great at perspective, so the marquee was a big “hold my breath on all the straight lines” area.

The finished project! If you think drawing letters is difficult, try oil painting on a diagonal. But, it was a fun challenge, and I like to think I improved a canvas that was left for garbage. This painting is going in my private collection, can’t sell this one quite yet.

Meteorite Jewelry: Wearable space fragments

I’ve made jewelry since high school. My mom and I would sell it at the local Riverfront Market during the summer months and it was so much fun. I still have thousands of beads, bits, and bobs in my studio, so every now and again I sit down and tinker with ideas. Years ago, I was captivated by a local curiosities shop that sold bits of campo del cielo meteorite from Argentina. I’ve since ordered more and made different types of jewelry out of them. There’s something so cool about holding a weighty iron space rock in your hands (though technically every rock is a space because we are on a rock floating through space). If you fancy these, they are available in my Etsy shop.

“Clever girl.”

White Leather Purse Makeover

Back when I used to work for Blick Art Materials, I would get tapped to try new products. Even though I mainly produced catalog, ad, and email designs, once in a while they needed to feature something new for photography or social media. These Angelus Leather Dyes are so fun (and messy) to play with. I scored this little plain white leather purse from a local thrift store for a few dollars.

I picked a design that would be striking with high contrast, but also that would only use maybe 2 or 3 colors. I drew out the design with a light colored pencil or skinny marker. It was going to get covered up so it didn’t need to be very dark.

Do as I say, don’t do as I do, ha ha! I highly recommend putting plastic a sheet down on your work surface. Wear an apron and gloves—this stuff stains! It’s designed to dye animal skin (use real leather not pleather) so it will stain your skin for some time. It works a lot like ink or watercolor. It can be diluted with the neutral clear color they sell in the shop. This stuff will not wash off, crack, or peel—it’s a stain. I recommend getting some leather scraps to practice on.

Here’s the finished product! I’m really pleased with how it turned out. I look forward to experimenting further with the Angelus dyes. So many colors, so many possibilities. I only used the purple and red colors on this particular purse.

Mermista Costume DIY Step by Step

When I got the idea for “A Frosta Christmas Special” I quickly knew I had to add another character. Mermista played a role in the original He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special. Plus I grew up with the doll and she didn’t require as many costume pieces as the other characters. I start with a drawing. I’m a firm believer in if I can draw it I can do it.

Details of the Mermista costume parts.

My first illustration of the idea for Mermista’s costume.

Princess Mermista of the Mer Kingdom or Salineas…but she sounds suspiciously French.

You don’t need a lot of money or expensive materials to make a quality costume. The wig I ordered from eBay for $11. The bracers were made from watercolor paper that I glued together and covered with foam. I attach the foam with Elmer’s spray adhesive and coated with Weldbond glue. Then painted with acrylic and pearlized paint. The final coats I sponge on since I don’t own an airbrush.

I use a heat gun, thick craft foam, and a dress form to create the base.

Sketching with pencil.

Adding thin foam bits and plastic bobs with spray adhesive and super glue.

Cut away the excess foam.

Bracers ready to be primed! Looks like Mardi Gras.

Primed and ready for pearlizing! Mermista is taking shape.

In both the cartoon and on the doll, Mermista had a necklace. It’s no water-squirting fish, but I thought vintage plastic pearls and a teardrop crystal would do the job admirably. I used to make jewelry so it’s a delight to put a handful of the thousands of beads I own to use.

I cut apart a crushed velvet secondhand sweatshirt and traced an old swimsuit to make the bodysuit. There seems to be a shortage of fabric in our area so you have to make do. The skirt I made from chiffon, which is a nightmare to work with ha ha!

The belt was also layers of foam and glue and attaches with leather laces. One of the hardest parts to decipher is how the armor attaches to the fabric. I used metal snaps for this particular costume and the bracers slip on, so they are each one solid piece.