Magical Thinking.

 I have a lot to show and tell. Been putting off updating for the sake of creating... and learning the hard way that that doesn't work, because project after project keep piling up! I will lay them all out soon soon, in the mean time here is my Valentine to you. I hope this creates enough intrigue for you to follow what will be coming up... more collage, bus doodles, and more paintings. :)

Frame it Up

In an interview I saw with Dick Dale yesterday at the Experience Music Project, he said that the idea for Pulp Fiction began with Tarantino's obsession with his song Miserlou. Brilliant freakin song, and supposedly the narrative was constructed around it. But that's strange, right? The idea of this reverse creativity, of starting with the soundtrack, struck a note in me. 

Since I got a job at a frame shop, and helping artists and layfolk with framing designs, my creative process has recently been taking a similar backwards approach. There were three beautiful long red frames that I wanted, I wanted so bad! I pictured them in my mind's eye, and in one go, I came up with these three collages. Afterwards, I brought the frames home and I think they work beautifully. 

 In process...

 In frames...

 

A couple of other pieces I stuck in frames.

In my roller coaster world of artistic learning, this is just another lesson: framing is as important as anything else in the creative process. So is photography, which as you can tell, I suck at, but that's a lesson for another day.

These Little Worlds

What I do All Day... Working obsessively on collages... Watch out for the 2012 calendar... Prints will be available on my etsy hopefully soon...

Real Scissors/ Paper Scissors

Adorable

Some of the books I got from St. Vincent De Paul

Brain Container

The fine gentlemen in Monogamy Party asked me to draw their beloved buck skull, named Denise, who had accompanied them in the van on tour, to supplement the album art. I started drawing, from a normal perspective but eventually really messed that up. I decided the right-side-up skulls are boring, so I drew it from underneath. The resulting view looks a little strange, like a creepy smiling mask or something. I hope they like it.

Warmup: initial loose drawing in india ink, this photo was taken before I really messed it up by adding a buttload more ink everywhere.

Cosmo left his footprints my original, so I had to make a carbon copy of the outline on a fresh sheet. I threatened to eat Cosmo for dinner, but I'll give him another chance.

 

final drawing!

Been Diggin Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Pen and Ink, August 2011

 

Rock Paper Scissors

A while ago my friend Katie suggested we both submit pieces to a show with singular prompt of "Rock Paper Scissors." I got super stoked when the idea of making a pop-up book of the people's playing hands popped into my brain. I'd made a semi-pop-up moving hands book a few years earlier. Ever intrigued by the intricate muscles and movement of the hands, I will never get enough looking drawing them. My chubby, bitten fingers are a particular point of embarassment, but it's balanced by how proud I am of what I can do with them. Useful tools are not the prettiest.

So, I had to learn to make a real book. For anyone interested, this is a particularly good site : http://www.mothteeth.com/bookmaking/

As I was sewing and stitching and measuring and gluing, I got to thinking of my friend Brant, who is a book mending apprentice at the library. The process is an intimate and beautiful thing. The grain, the warping, all of the pieces and parts that must go in the correct order, patience (the hardest one for me), and exposed sections you didn't want exposed. You know, like getting dressed in the morning!

Well, I didn't have time to finish the book by the deadline, plus I wasn't excited about paying a $25 submittable fee, so it will not be showing at the show. I thought I'd show you what I came up with so far... Each page is printed with a linoleum block that supposed to look like beach rock, but I don't know if it does. I intend to make it incredibly doper. I'm going to add a story line, some collage, whatever else I want...

Life is Collage

The opening for the show at the Vera Project was so much fun. I am so grateful for all the friends that came out to see it. I feel I should be a better friend and not just be cooped up all day. I'm glad people still like me. I will work on it. But being cooped up is how I'm able to pull some cool stuff off, like these 10 collages that were hanging up on the wall.  I think jumping off the ledge in between two buildings after the show was the best part of that night though. No pictures of that.

See Vera Art Galleries photos of the event.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/verart_gallery/sets/72157627031086429/with/5919310197/

This was my first real grown up show. And I talked to real grown up artists, who gave me some advice. http://jennyfillius.com/home.html I'm more than a quarter century old, I gotta get my stuff together! I made a website. http://jcruz2.otherpeoplespixels.com/home.html It's not quite done, but it will do for now. Soon I will have business cards and will be totally ready to contribute to society the way society tell you you should.

Getting my head a little bit out of the clouds.