yellow house #12

Yellow House #12 is the name of my newest art demonstration video... I hope you will watch it when you have a spare 4 minutes! Thank you to Adam West for the great videography and editing. Fun music by Snooky Pryor! As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome and appreciated :)

xo kp

pieces of me

I have decided on a theme for my show.  Patchwork.  This word, this concept,  has a lot of meaning for me. It goes back to the 1970's, my mom and dad had a band - a rock/top 40 musical group. They played the Northern California nightclubs and were somewhat of a local hit. My mom managed the group and my dad was the guitar player. She named them Patchwork Music Company.  I was just a little kid but I remember them rehearsing and jamming in our living room and my mom pouring her blood, sweat and tears into that band. Many years later, she wrote a poem for me that my dad read at my wedding. I don't have a copy of it here now, but it was about how life is a patchwork and we are pieces that come together to make a whole, how sometimes we are torn and mended again, and how the patterns of our lives our intertwined to make something comforting and beautiful. The idea of the patchwork, not only, suits my artwork and style, it honors my mom and her memory. I know she has been with me all through this journey, helping me to piece it all together....

first painting for my senior show

State of Grace

My love for imagery of Mary came from my mom. She had many statues and pictures of her, even though we were not Catholic. I don't think you have to be of any religious affiliation to love and appreciate her beauty. I now have many of the pieces that belonged to my mom. I love and cherish each one and find comfort in having them in my home and especially in my work space. I decided I would paint Mary in my own way. My first attempt was okay but it was not really what I was after. So, I re-worked it until I was satisfied. Here is both versions...

1st version 

I am happier with my re-worked version. I feel it is more "me" and is also closer to what I imagined in my mind as I began. It is 6 x 12 mixed media collage and acrylic on canvas.

Happy New Year. I hope that it is filled with Grace.
artfully yours,
kristen

match box artist

I made this from a match box, matches, clay, paint and some other stuff too. Made it for my mixed media class. We were pretty much given the 'go ahead' to do whatever we wanted, with whatever medium(s) we wanted to work with. I have been working on some "found object sculptures". I sorta just came up with these match box 'dolls' and thought they were fun, and yes (gasp) cute. Cute is a 4 letter word in art school. We are supposed to get hurt feelings or be offended if someone calls your work (gasp) cute. My mixed-media teacher told me today this piece is "too crafty" for him. Someone else said it was "cute" and then said, "Oh I didn't mean cute"....

I guess maybe I should be upset. Maybe I am not a 'real artist' because I make cute stuff? I don't know.
It doesn't matter because I am not upset or offended. I am happy. I like things that are cute. Babies and kittens and puppies are cute. And I like babies and kittens and puppies. And I like this little match box artist that I made too. It is cute. Please don't confuse cute with easy though. This little darling took me a good 8 hours or more to make. Each piece of hair is a cut piece of paper and individually placed on her head. Her head and feet are sculpted from clay and her head is attached so that it is completely movable. Each paint tube and miniature pencil is hand crafted and painted. Oh no, cute does not equal fast or easy.
Anyway, maybe I will not get an "A" on my little sculpture but it is okay because darn it, it is really cute!