March 04, 2008

How to compose an alphabet

I realized that I haven't been very helpful tell people how to make the mixed media that I seem to produce every once in a while. So, while I was making the last alphabet, I took pictures and hopefully I can tell you some of my tips in making ART!

Blog_0011st matter of business is a canvas.  There are 3 grades of canvases.  Cheap, medium and museum quality.  The cheap ones have staples on the side and I think they call them "Studio"  The mediums have a little bit wider width and the staples are hidden.  I almost always buy these. They are a good deal and the look great.  I buy the museum quality frames when I get really big canvases.  I know they will hold together. 

Next is a pallet.  I like to have a theme of colors in my head before I start working. I don't always stick to it, but it is nice to have it in the back of my head.  I try to look for color pallets everywhere.  Clothes, paper stores, store design and set up, everything. So keep your eyes open and I am sure you will start to notice them.  Here is the swatch I picked out for our example.

I will take that pallet and pick out the paper that I am going to use.  Note this is only for the paper that goes behindBlog_004_2  the letters.  If you don't know what I am talking about, take a look at my art pics to the left.  You will notice that the squares alternate between paper and paint.  I do this because, I love using paper, but I think it would be to busy if I put it behind the little pictures.  So I use paper behind the white plain letters and use paint for the pictures. Note that I added a bright blue to my pallet to liven it up a little bit. Trust me it works. 

Coming next post, how to sketch out and measure your canvas for an alphabet!

March 03, 2008

D.O. #30308

I claim to be a type of trend spotter(when you have stopped laughing resume reading)......here. Somtimes I come up with ideas that hit catalogs about 6 months after.  Here are some of my trend spotted items.

Banana clipsImages

Arrested Development (yes I do count tv shows)Addvd

Shia Lebouf (yes I do count actors)Shia

and other various styles of mostly furniture and home furnishings.  I have a couple good ones knocking around in my head, so stay tuned this week and we will have the week of TREND SPOTTING! 

March 01, 2008

D.O. #30108

Here is a new painting I have been working on.  It is for a family in our church who lost a son a while back.  His birthday is on Monday and my sister in law asked me to make her something for the occasion.  The night before I had the idea for this painting.  Coincidence or not, it worked pretty well.   Jeremy helped me come up with the banner, It says Dulcis Domus which means "sweet home". The birds and banner are cut paper and the rest is paperBlog_011

February 26, 2008

Daily Obsessions #22608

My Daily obsessions today are:

1. Making lists

2.Trying to make myself a morning person (its not working very well)

3.  Dreaming about going to Disneyland in two weeks!

4 Starting to pack up.  FYI for those of you who don't know....Big J and I are packing up and moving from our beautiful home in Livermore and heading to Happy Valley Utah.  AKA Provo.  J is going back to school and finish his degree.  My parents have been gracious enough to empty and child proof half their house for us, and we are very grateful to them.  It is a huge life change and we are excited, worried, nervous and nervous.  (most of these emotions are mine, due to J's extremely balanced emotional state.)  I am really going to miss Livermore, it is one of the only places that have felt like home, but this will be the  topic of another lengthy post.  For now, we are organizing, pre packing getting rid of, and general moving motions.   I saw these cute moving cards at papersource.... 34325902217

February 19, 2008

daily #21908

This is how random I am:

My daily addiction are...

  • Flat screen TV's.  Our 7 year old TV is starting to bite the dust, so I have been researching flat screen TV's.  I have my eye on a 40" SONY(I know its huge, but they are pretty cool)
  • Learning how to upholster...I really want to make furniture.  I found some on line tutorials on how to upholster and I am all set to buy an air stapler.  I have already designed a few pieces of furniture including a leather headboard, lounge seat, and the perfect ottoman.  I just need to make them now!

F_11638

February 14, 2008

dozen donuts=dozen roses

Jeremy got me a dozen donuts instead of flowers.  I can only eat one before I get sick, but it was really nice of him.  PS I LOVE DONUTSImages

Here is a V-day quote from a movie I just watched:

There is a moment in life when you realize, even if this person bugs you 60% of the time, you still cant live with out him.  and even if he wakes you up everyday sneezing right in your face, you love his sneezes more than anyone else's kisses

February 11, 2008

Daily #21108

Images So I am almost 30.  I don't really know how I feel about it.  I think it really hit me that I was turning 30 when I turned 28.  On my 28th I just thought 30 was inevitable and I couldn't turn around and go back.  I am excited for my birthday.   I am not a big party girl, I don't like all the attention on me.  It is to hard to entertain people....I am a total introvert when it comes to parties.  BUT I do like luncheons, dinners etc.  Anything to do with food.  Last year we had 20 of our closest friends dine at "our" restaurant Sammy Sushi.  Sammy's is this little tiny sushi restaurant in the horrible strip mall. We love going there, it is just one more thing that has made Livermore feel like home.  Anyway #30 should be fun, Jeremy and I are going skiing at Dodge Ridge.  When I am skiing I feel like am a 20 year old again, I just hope my back doesn't go out!

February 02, 2008

Daily #20208

When I was a young, I did not think that there were very many LDS artists.  I thought that all LDS adults were professors or business-people.    So I learned to supress my artistic nature as not to "rock the boat".  So when I discovered that there were LDS artists,  people that I could identify with .... I was floored.  The other chapter to my birth as an artist happened in Spring City, Utah  were I met with Joe the Potter.  He is a LDS artist who just happens to be some what of a hippie. He farms and owns a little studio in the middle of no-where Utah.   I just happened on his open studio one day.  I was just planning to buy a small pot for my mom and instead I met and talked to Joe the Potter on being LDS and an artist.  So cheers to Joe the Potter and all the other artist that are amazing examples of being true to yourself and what your talents are.  Here are a couple of others that I love.

07005_lovers_running_1084 Brain Kershisnik

Joe the PotterShakers2

Who are your favorites?  What inspires you?

January 30, 2008

Daily #13008

Jeremy My obessions is my husband today (in a very healthy way)  For your enjoyment here is his myspace page and a copy of his roast on his 32nd, written by his younger brother Canyon: (sorry it is long but very funny, in a inside joke kind of way)

Unsung Legacy: A Reading By Canyon Prusso The following accounts of true possible past events are mostly true, at least from my perspective. And by true, of course, I mean false. They’re mainly lies. But they’re entertaining lies. And in the end, isn’t that the real truth? The answer to that question, is no. My memory of Jeremy is fairly foggy until the time that he is about 25, so you can disregard anything I say I remember about him until that time. Also, most of the information I have gathered has been collected from his childhood neighbors, babysitters, ex-girlfriends, police officers, firemen, Sunday school teachers, and school principals. Let us proceed with courage and caution as we seek to understand the place where sushi bars and facial hair, rock and roll and golden labs, and deep fryers and barely passing report cards all get thrown in a box and sold on Craig’s List. Let’s start at the beginning and steal a glance into the unsung and underappreciated phenomenon that is the life of our good friend/charming son/demanding husband: Jeremy Prusso. Jeremy William Prusso entered this world. At 11 pounds heavy and 11 inches long, distinguishing characteristics included a receding hairline, crooked teeth, and a birthmark on his lower back that resembles a wolf howling and for which he is still accused of having a tattoo. His mother gazed upon her new baby boy and observed as only a mother can that he “had potential”. 32 years later, he still has potential. Jeremy’s infant and toddler years were marked by silent indifference towards all except eating. His mother reports that he didn’t even smile until he was 22 months old when he realized that his linebacker build could be used to his advantage and aid him in inflicting pain or discomfort to those smaller than him, something from which much of his joy is still derived. By 6 years of age Jeremy was in Livermore, going to kindergarten and growing facial hair. By the end of 1st grade he had gone out with and dumped every girl in his class. By second grade he had been sentenced to three years of expulsion from the school. He returned to school for fifth grade and these years of community service and apology, are still referred to as “homeschool” by his mother. The middle school years provided a time for Jeremy to hone his talents and tailor himself as a vandal and a heartbreaker; among other things besides a student. Jeremy was something of a celebrity at middle school, on a first name basis with the entire office staff and every yard duty officer and known for blaming various pranks and school vandalism (of which he was architect) on his teachers. My earliest memory of Jeremy is of him giving me a ride somewhere for some reason and needing to make a quick stop at his friend Dan’s house. The next three and a half hours were occupied by Jeremy and Dan Butchert deep-frying frozen chimichangas (which are already deep-fried), making dry-ice bombs, and racing electric wheelchairs that belonged to Dan’s paraplegic mother. Jeremy’s life was changed when he served a mission in several countries nobody has heard of, learning a language he calls “Serbo-Croation”. He once had a spiritual experience when he overheard two people discussing some religious topic (he still couldn’t really understand the language but thinks it was something to do with religion) at a hockey game. Or was it a fishing trip? He can’t really remember. Jeremy returned from his mission a little wiser, a little balder, and a lot better at singing and playing the guitar. Before he finally found Trieste, he dated 21 different girls, kissed 39, was engaged to 4, wrote songs about 9, made fun of 13 behind their backs and 8 to their faces. I knew Trieste was the one the very first time I heard him talk about her and say something nice about her even though she wasn’t there. Jeremy and Trieste actually met while Jeremy was in “homeschool” and was sent to a juvenile delinquent/fat camp where Trieste was one of his counselors. Neither of them remember that and so the current version of the story is that Trieste saw Jeremy playing his guitar at a coffee shop and had a crush on him a few months before they really met. Since Jeremy doesn’t remember that version, we will take mine as the truth. Trieste saw Jeremy playing at an open mic in Logan, got his autograph (and neither of them have lost hope that that will someday be worth money), and told him she was from Colorado and had rich parents. They were engaged that night. Two weeks later, Jeremy borrowed a temple recommend from a friend and he and Trieste were married in the Logan Temple. Trieste had precious little information about Jeremy before the wedding. Basically she knew that he had a beard, played the guitar, and loved animals. “I have learned a lot since we dated,” said Trieste recently, “but there is nothing I can’t deal with. It’s really just little things. Midnight trips to get sushi. Early morning trips for sushi. Profuse sweating in 60 degree weather. It really just starts to grow on you.” Jeremy and Trieste enjoy perfect harmony in their relationship and can look forward to years of happiness and success. Jeremy is an untapped resource of failproof ingenuity. Have you ever sat on an airplane and gotten tired of rubbing knees with your neighbor? Jeremy has a solution. The Knelt. A simple yet elegant Velcro strap with optional headrest that keeps knees together and relaxed. Just remember the silent K in knelt or it’ll never go anywhere. Have you ever wanted to drink milk that tastes like the cereal you have just eaten but not wanted to deal with the actual eating of the cereal? Jeremy has a solution. He and his buddy Derek will fill a bowl with any of your favorite flavors; cinnamon toast crunch, lucky charms, cocoa pebbles etc., eat the cereal and bottle the remaining milk. All he needs is a clever name. Too bad Knelt is already taken. Ever gotten tired of working? Jeremy has a solution. Just leave work early. An hour, two hours, right after lunch of you want. (Jeremy doesn’t actually do that). Jeremy used to be my favorite brother with 3 nipples, but since the surgery he has just become another brother.

January 28, 2008

Daily #12808

The past few days I have been thinking more deeply about things....Life and death, you know the lighter side of things.  My Step Grandfather, the only Grandfather I have known died this week.  He was my grandmothers fourth marriage and he seemed to heal her after a hard life up to that point.  He was kind, loving and generous.  He was also brilliant.  He would show us item, after item, after picture of things he had made with his hands.  A miniature steam engine, a electric guitar from scratch, and kit car. He was salt of the earth, and I don t use that term lightly.  He was a true Texan, a true gentleman, and a great grandfather. 

President Gorden B. Hinckley also died the same day.  I looked up to him as a great leader and a great man.  He took on great assignments with grace and stamina.  These two men were from opposites sides of the world, different beliefs and different lives, but the both gave everything they had to make the world better.  They made my world better.  They both made me want to be a better person, kinder, smarter and more loving.  I thank both of them for their service, love and life.