Illustration Friday: Zoo School for Big Cats

November 28, 2007

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The Illustration Friday theme this week is Zoo, but I kept thinking about the new Leopard operating system on my Mac. Then I remembered that all the previous Mac OS X operating systems were named for big cats, and I thought the big cats might have to go to school to learn the difference between a mouse and mouse. So this is my Zoo School for Big Cats. (click on it for a bigger version).The big cats in class from left to right are: Leopard, Cheetah, Tiger, Puma, and Jaguar. Now it probably makes sense why I was drawing big cats in my last post.

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Drawing Big Cats…

November 26, 2007

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Russ upgraded my Mac to the new Leopard operating system, so I’ve been drawing that and all the previous big cat OS X operating systems.

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The biggest change so far I’ve noticed is in my mail program — lots of improvements such as a built-in to-do lists that links directly with my calendar. Maybe now I’ll get more stuff done.

Also my dad told me about Cooliris, a free extension for FireFox, and I used it a lot looking up photos for my big cats drawings.

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Thanksgiving

November 22, 2007

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Susie posted this Hopi Elders’ Prayer on her blog, reminding me that maybe I should end this day with something more than a joke. Sometimes the simple things are best to be thankful for, and although I have many many things to be thankful for, I can’t think of anything more important to a visual artist than the gift of sight. All my life I have worn glasses and contacts, and without them I am pretty much legally blind. In the fourth grade when asked if I could see the big E at the top, I said, “where’s the chart?”

I did this drawing at my annual checkup on Tuesday, waiting for the eye doc to come into the exam room. I’m learning to think of drawing as a form of seeing and meditation.

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Illustration Friday: Superstition

November 21, 2007

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Because it’s almost Thanksgiving….but the one with really bad luck is the turkey.

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Drawing from Life

November 19, 2007

drawing-from-life.jpgThis is a terrific book that I picked up in Seattle and since have been slowly relishing each page. Unlike many survey books that devote little more than a superficial paragraph and single photo for each subject, there are many photos from each journal featured, along with Jennifer New’s in-depth profile of each journal-keeper’s motivation, inspiration, and how keeping art journals over many years has impacted their work and life.

Not just artists are featured — in the mix of 31 journals, there are those of scientists, a psychologist, a film-maker, musicians, an architect, a quilt-maker, and more. New divides the journals up into categories of methodology: observation, reflection, exploration, and creation, with an introductory essay for each section. There is also an introduction siting journal-keepers through history, and the soft-binding, rounded corners, and ghostly grid background on all the interior the pages gave me the pleasant feeling that I was actually reading from a journal.

This book has given me new insight into what I could achieve from keeping a more regular journal and has inspired me to draw every day. In fact, I’ve been looking forward to opportunities to get stuck in odd places or at parties without anyone to talk to, so I can whip out my journal and start gathering visual information. (click on a thumbnail for larger view)

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Why an Email list and Not a Blog?

November 19, 2007

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To my last post, Alyson asked if I considered organizing a blog instead of an email list. No, because in my experience, very few people will actually post to a blog. I started a group blog early this year, and it is difficult to get anyone to post to it.

I find even most people who are subscribed to email lists, rarely post. But they are more likely to post an email to a subscription group than to post a comment on a blog. Let’s face it, even though blogging is big news, the people who really stick with it are the exception rather than the norm. Just like speaking in public frightens many people, writing in public can be uncomfortable also.

My goals for the artists’ email list is to build communication between artists and artists groups in my area, and a list seemed a democratic way to do it. Other arts in our area such as the opera, ballet, symphony, and theater are strong and centralized, with each having its own board and staff. Visual artist groups tend to be much smaller, all volunteer, and often do not collect enough dues to make paying the Regional Arts Council group membership dues which would make them a member organization which would also entitle them to stronger representation. I also feel that because artists are spread out and isolated, they don’t have as much voice in local public policy as do the centralized arts groups I mentioned before.

On the other email lists that I have been a part of, I have seen many thing develop and bloom, not from one person’s initiative, but from a consensus of several motivated people. I’ve seen a lot of information and resources exchanged, and I’ve been lucky to make many friends and contacts through email lists.

I believe that at the beginning of anything new, it’s important to open strong lines of communication and build from there — but then, that may be my bias because I was a communications major in school. I don’t want to be a controlling or responsible person behind the blog, I want to get an email list started that develops a life of its own.

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Artslist: starting a new regional group from scratch

November 16, 2007

 

Several years ago when I was just starting to study books and magazine articles about art quilts (mostly at night in bed just before I fell asleep), I joined the Quiltart email list group. I can’t remember how I found out about it, or what compelled me to subscribe. But I did, and suddenly I was thrown into this kind of chatty internet world, where artists and wanna-be artists were talking all the time — about techniques, materials, and where to get them, what books to read, artists to look at, what shows people got accepted to, what shows people had been rejected from, how to ship work, how to make work…. And I could ask a question, and it was usually answered five different ways in the same day.

Next, I joined the SAQA list, which is a professional discussion group. I really believe that being a part of these groups has propelled my art and career, and I believe that being a part of a targeted group to discuss and share information can help other artists.

Fast-forward to this summer: I decided that using the internet this way could have a positive impact on other aspects of my art, and have since joined some illustration email and social networking groups. Actually, it seems to be working the same way. I’m meeting people and learning lots of stuff that I don’t know how I would learn otherwise.

Fast-forward to now: Becoming visual arts chairman on the board of a regional arts council has made me think long and hard how I might best use my volunteer time. I’ve decided to try to build a regional email discussion group, but am uncertain how it will work to encourage communication between artists working in different media and allied with different local organizations.

If you would like to join, here’s the webpage to sign up.
It’s hosted off of Russ’s new regional art blog which is here.

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The Design Ramblings of Pam RuBert

November 8, 2007

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Haven’t done much creative work in the last couple of weeks other than draw my brain with my sewing machine. Then I drew/painted it with my new Caran D’ache watercolor crayons as recommended by Joanie (actually she recommended the crayons, not drawing my brain.) I was thinking of calling this “Radioactive Brain” or maybe “Thinking of You.”

So since there isn’t much new material here, sort of like when the screenwriters go on strike, we have to either go to reruns or do a highlights of last season recap. Well, Gwen Magee has done it for me. Amazingly, she waded through my blog archives and interviews and complied a big selection of my design rambling she calls The Design Process of Pam RuBert on the Textile Arts Resource blog. She also links back to my forgotten slide-show of a quilt in progress. She’s got a lot of other good stuff there too, so check it out. Thanks Gwen!

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PaMdora’s in Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion

November 1, 2007

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Switching seasons… gosh Christmas comes quick after Halloween! Just got my issue of Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion and there was PaMdora in her quilted, zippered vest.

Actually MEHC asked me for some photos last spring when they started the Top Stitch profile to feature art quilters. Here’s the other artists who have been featured this year. They told me it was only one page, but I sent more photos anyway, and it turned into two. I guess they got that quote from my website because I didn’t write that artist’s statement until summer.

I like MEHC because they always feature artists’ studios and lots of inspiring arts and crafts. Mary Engelbreit is a self-made artist turned publisher, but then I’ve always known about her because she’s from my home state.

I wonder if it’s a coincidence that the next day, Whip Up featured my quilts on their website under quilts with an attitude. Maybe kath red saw the magazine article. Anyway, was glad to see my crazy ideas were again resonating with someone else.

Filed Under media, quilts | 19 Comments