Archive for the ‘ Artwork & Photography ’ Category

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6
Mar

One Week Overdue

I thought I’d have a baby in my arms by now.  Since I don’t, I figured that she might be waiting for me to take maternity pictures… so I set up the tripod and wiggled around the studio floor this morning.  It was quite a workout: pressing the timed shutter, getting positioned on the floor, then hopping up again while the correct facial expression was fresh in my mind.  The ones laying on my back were hardest to get in and out of, next to the Hollywood pose, which is why the only ones I’m posting are the ones which required the least amount of physical exhaustion.

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9
Jan

First Moments

French photographer, Thierry Bouët, has had his newborn photography circulating the internet for quite some time now… although I’ve just picked up on it.  Supposedly, only faces a mother could love, but I find them pretty beautiful and moving!  Check out more of his babes here, and to see more of his other work, visit Thierry’s website.

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17
Oct

Printing the Queen

Woodblock Queen Hearts

I’ve successfully printed my first multi-block relief print!!  I’ve been “block printing” (if that’s what you’d call screwing around with a gauge and some easy-cut rubber) since I was four years old, but the only multi-color technique I’ve ever used was doing reduction prints.  Reductions prints are where you do one session of carving, print the lightest color of the print on all the papers, then do another session of carving on the same block, and print a darker color on top of the already printed papers, and so-on until you’ve printed all the colors you want.  The Japanese used numerous blocks for each color, so I finally tested myself with the Queen and 2 colors– red & black.  I’m pretty happy with the turn-out, although I wish I’d done 3 blocks, one pink, so the flamingo didn’t look like a buzzard.  That’s still possible though.

Blockprinting two colors

I’m now working on the concept for my next project… reading about Lewis Carrol & such.  He was a weirdo.

Relief Printing Photographs

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5
Oct

Photo of the Day: Queen of Hearts

Queen of Hearts Blockprint

The Queen’s keyblock is up and ready for use!  My sophomore portfolio review is this Thursday, so I’ll be printing a plain black & white edition, but she’s supposed to have color in the end.  I still have to print on the color block & carve that, so she’ll be fully printed & framed by Sunday.

Queen of Hearts Woodcut

This is my second woodcut, and I’ve already made major improvements from the White Rabbit.  The carving is much more precise, and took me twice as long, which explains the carpal tunnel in my fingers and my right elbow.

Ursala Hudson Relief Printing

I really need to thank one of the best woodcutting bloggers on the internet for her enormous archive of postings, Annie at Woodblock Dreams.  There are numerous postings which serve as my research for my “Independent Media Research” projects, and she [unknowingly] led me in all the right directions for supplies and techniques so far.  I love her blog because she posts so regularly, records most of her carving and printing processes, explains the research that goes into each piece of work, and talks in detail about her supplies.  Not only is she an amazing artist who only started playing with moku hanga a few years ago, she’s an excellent blogger and her website is an invaluable resource.

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19
Sep

Making Feathered Accessories

Making Feathered Hair Pieces

Los Angeles is lucky enough to be graced by the presence of Mother Plucker (a little feather shop packed with all the feathers you could ever want), which my best friend Drie shared with me the last time I was in town… I ended up forgetting my feather purchases at her house, so she sent them back to me for my birthday along with tons of other feathers & supplies.  This weekend I finally got the time to start plucking away and sticking things together.  I’m missing a few key elements to make headbands, and it’s hard making all the accessories I want when I don’t have every single color of feathers/boas I desire, but until my order of feathers comes in from Ostrich.com, I’ve managed to throw a few pieces together:

DIY Feathered Hair Accessories

Glueing feathers to hair clips bracelets

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16
Oct

Animals on Art

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6
Oct

Childrens Mural on the Apartheid Wall

On Sunday, July 18, 2004, two visiting muralists with the San Francisco’s Break the Silence Mural Project came to the 8 meter-high “apartheid wall” in Mas’ha, Salfit District, Westbank, Palistine.  Over 20 children and 5 adults helped to design and paint the wall with the mural which they created in 6 hours to “transform and relaim their space”.

I think it is moving and fantastic.  Want to know more?  Visit the article at If Americans Knew.

Photos by Dalit Baum

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5
Oct

In Bed

Toulouse-Lautrecby Toulouse-Lautrec (“Dans le Lit”), 1893

A day in Design lecture brought me to this image.  I love it.  Except that when I look at it I feel like I’m imposing on the lovers’ space.

French Henri Toulouse-Lautrec suffered from a number on congenital health conditions due to inbreeding.  He fractured both his left and right thigh bones which didn’t heal properly and for some vague reason his legs quit growing… so he was on a 5’1″ adult, with an adult-sized torso & child-size legs.  He supposedly also had hypertrophied genitals!  He was an alcoholic & got put in a mental hospital shortly before he died at age 35.