finish friday - oil paint

this is the first painting i've finished for my painting class. it is oil on canvas, 30" x 28" and a still life of neutral colored objects set up by my teacher.

it was my first time working with oil paint, on canvas (that i stretched myself) and with real brushes. i actually liked it! and i like how my painting turned out.

more to come... i've already started on my next still life....

finish friday - dyeing fabric

one of my first projects for fibers II.

i did a 9-step gradient dyeing process between 2 colors. then, i did that 3 times resulting in 27 different colors. i will end up sewing this fabric into something to turn in, but the result of the fabrics is exciting enough to post.

this is a picture of all of the fabric marinating in their dye baths overnight. i brought them home in a big plastic tub so i could keep a close eye on them.

my mom came to the studio to help me rinse them all out. it was quite a job and i was glad to have the assistance and company. we hung them on the line in color order, and it was so awesome looking i had to take a picture.

i was standing on a stool to snap the shot and about fell on my a** when getting down. suppose that would have added some humor to the day...

friday finish - self portrait

for the final project in my figure drawing class our assignment was to create an alter ego.  we were to pick something that occurs naturally (not manmade), so animals, plants, minerals, etc. then we had to impose some or all of our features onto our object of choice.

i did a drawing of a seadragon (closely related to a seahorse) and i imposed my iris in the place of the original eyeball. the contrast of the blue eye is striking next to the yellow and oranges of the body. the background is a deep purple, which is the compliment of yellow, although it doesn't show as well in the photo.

i used chalk pastels on bfk reeves drawing paper. it was my first experience with pastels and i found i really enjoyed the materials. i only used red, yellow and blue pastels (and white to get highlights) to create all the color in this piece. i have to toot my own horn in this case because i think the colors turned out amazing, and i mixed them all!

this piece is currently at the frame shop and there is an empty space on my wall waiting for it....

bubblegum houndstooth

this is the final project for my fibers one class. i can't believe the semester is already over....

the fabric on the outside is what i wove on the loom in a hounds-tooth pattern. it's made out of a cotton yarn and is pretty soft and flexible. for the bag i put a yellow plastic zipper and a sky blue cotton lining. i intended this to be a cover for my laptop, but my fabric turned out narrower than i planned. now i know how to plan for that for next time....

here's a close-up of the weave....
purple, orange, pink and brown. it kind of resembles a super 70's couch....

first weaving

a few posts back i put a picture up of a bundle of yarn waiting to go onto the loom. you can see it again here (http://shawnadoering.blogspot.com/2011/04/this-is-warp-for-my-next-project.html).

i'm finally getting the finished project posted now....


yay! my very first weaving! i'm quite proud.

new warp

this is the warp for my next project. it's waiting to go on the loom....


yes, it does look like a jumble of yarn, but there really is a pattern and an order to it. i am going to make a scarf and this warp will create a stripped pattern on the length of the scarf.

p.s. the posting of this is a bit late because i have the project almost fully woven. next post will be the finished result...

onto the loom....

the second half of the semester has arrived and my fibers class has moved to the weaving side of the studio. so exciting!


we are starting with a 2" wide sample in order to get familiar with the process and try out different patterns and such.


i have finished weaving my sample so i'll now get to learn how to cut it off the loom.


the warp has been wound for my next project and is ready to go. it will go on the loom tomorrow!

the latest and greatest....

my latest project for fibers....


i pieced 420 squares together to create a watercolor effect with a border. i added some embroidery stitches and displayed it with the seams on the outside.







pretty excited with how it turned out. it's to honor the creative spirit and the artist within.

now on to the looms.....

i have returned....

i've been feeling a bit like nothing significant enough has been happening to warrant a post. such silliness! so i return to the world of blogging....

i am now in the fiber arts program at CSU. it's been fun, interesting and challenging. some stuff i'm learning is new and some is not, but it's all been good.

...on a side note, i might have found a new hobby in hand applique. like i need a new hobby. ha. more on that later....

here is my first project from my fiber class.


i started with a solid black piece of cotton homespun fabric. then i did a binding technique called arashi shibori. with this technique you wrap the fabric around a pole of some sort, then wrap string around as tight as possible. it helps to use lots of it. then, you scrunch the fabric down to one end of the pole, so it's all in a bunch. once this is done you can dye it or bleach it, etc. i dipped it in bleach. it was awesome. it created the really cool crocodile skin type pattern.

our project required us to then add to the process in some way either with overdyeing or stitching or something. i added some chain stitching in the upper right corner...


and then some red machine stitching at the bottom.


and now it's hanging in the fiber department display case in the visual arts building. i'm quite proud that my piece was selected to grace the walls at CSU for a short time.

the pressure is on.....

this is my final week before finals so there is a huge push to finish projects and get papers written. what better time to post. apparently procrastinating brings out the inspiration. lol.

the least stressful of my classes has been color theory. very fun, very mellow and lots of room for creative expression. i love that.

for the latest project i chose to recolor 'jacqueline with flowers' by pablo picasso. this was the result....

i had a lot of fun with this and am pretty happy with the result. i might consider doing this again, just to see what wacky color combos i can create.

my teacher suggested making this into a quilt..... i might take that on.

stay tuned.

space frames

here's the latest and greatest....

this was an assignment for my 3 dimensional design class. the object was to make a 3-d form out of balsa wood with at least one side covered by a translucent membrane of some sort. then that form needed to be repeated 20 or more times. we were allowed one color (i used 2. what a rebel) and there could be slight variation in size. we then had to choose a place to install our project.

my cubes are interlocking. the yellow one has one leg that locks around a leg of the pink one. otherwise, they are not attached so they are able to be arranged in different ways depending on which corner they are hung from. i used two colors to differentiate the two cubes from each other.

the intention of our project was an 'architectural intervention', meaning it should cause the viewer to percieve the space in a new and different way. i chose this stairwell (in central classroom on auraria campus in denver) because it is very uninteresting. it is concrete and railing with no color. everytime i've ever used these stairs i don't give any attention to the space. it's just a place i have to go through in order to get where i am going. because of this i wanted to create something interesting and bright to add to the space. the frames also have a delicate look that contrasts the strong utlilitarian stairs.

i had some difficulty in the beginning trying to create some sort of genius work, with a terrific abstract shape and some profound meaning or interpretation. mostly this just lead to me procrastinating. a lot.

i found that sometimes simpler is better, and creating things/shapes that i relate to. once i gave up having to be spectacular, the process became really easy, and i found that i really loved the outcome.

i've never dealt with installation art before but it was a fun experience and i'm proud to walk by my work when i'm at school.

the latest project...

my assignment for color class.... create something with color.

sounds great right? sometimes when the possibilities are endless it gets overwhelming though. you pray for inspiration to land on your shoulder.

so i decided to create a process, rather than an outcome. i selected several fabrics (some of my favorites, some i don't like, some i figured don't go and some solids) and cut them up into random pieces. i threw them into a paper bag and as i drew them out, i sewed them together. i do have to admit there was some editing though. same fabrics didn't get sewn together and sometimes i had size issues.

for the most part, it was very improvisational. and, it was fun! i like the result and i created something i might not have before with my brain engaged.

cute huh?

i am exploring the line between quilting as a craft and quilting as a fine art. i am pushing myself as a quilter to create modern and contemporary pieces and i am exploring my personal style as an artist.

my next step is to expand on this project. i have a sketch of an arrangement of several pieces. they will be made in a similar fashion and then displayed like the sketch shows. i'm hoping it helps create the feel of a modern art exhibit.

newspaper tower

this post qualifies as one of those random happenings....

i am in a 3-d design class at metro (it's one of the basic classes for an art degree) and our first assignment of the semester was to (in a group) build a 25 foot tower out of newspaper and masking tape. those were the only materials we were allowed to use and we were not allowed to use anything to assist us in setting it up, i.e. cranes, ropes, the side of the building, etc.

i do have to say that this entire process was super stressful for me, not to mention we we're in a mercury retrograde (ended september 12, by the way). my perfectionism and my pessimissim reared their ugly heads. but the rubber-meets-the-road reality of this project was that we needed lots of newspaper rolled up and taped together. we divided the tower into five 5' sections and built those. we used crossbraces to stabelize each section, and we built the base so it was signifigantly wider at the bottom than at the top to support the weight of the tower.

when we set it up we started with the very top section and set it on top of the second section and taped it together. then we set that unit on top of the third section, and so on. so essentially we set it up starting at the top. the plan worked great! we did get a little tipsy when we had four sections hooked together and were lifting that onto the base. it almost got away from us a couple times. it took all five group members holding onto it and willing it to stand.

it was a success and it stood until we knocked it over. yay! i have to say that it was very satisfying to have such a successful project, but i am very glad for it to be over.

here is a picture of the final tower.

and here are some 'artistic' photos of it.