Day 15: What Are You Afraid Of?

The Challenge for Day 15 of the Fused Glass Sgraffito Drawing 30 in 30 Challenge, is to sketch something that frightens you.  Snakes frighten me, but especially this one. I'm actually thinking I might be sick if I have to sketch this thing.

The African Black Mamba can move faster than I ever could, 12.5 miles per hour.  If you get bitten by one and don't get anti-venom quickly, you WILL die. Sometimes within 20 minutes.
The reason I picked this particular snake is because I remember my parents' story about a woman in South Africa who invited them to stay in her home.  The roof was thatched grass, and the woman knew she had a black mamba snake living in the roof.  She was angry when a suggestion was made to get rid of the snake, because she liked that it kept the rodent population away from her house.  I can't imagine trying to sleep there, and I also can't imagine these snakes slithering across the school yard as they do frequently in the village.  There is a superstition in S. Africa that if you kill a snake, you must leave it 'belly up' or else it will come back to life.  I think I could do better than belly up, I like knives and fire.   Regardless, snakes make me shiver and I DO NOT want to sketch a snake.  Why did I choose this challenge???

Ok, so I started to sketch a black mamba and then changed my mind.  I just hate those things. Plus, my sketch was boring. I really dislike grasshoppers too, and they're a little more interesting sketch-wise.  I think grasshoppers are mostly ok except for their clingy legs and that brown tobacco spit (that I tasted once when I was a kid on a dare.  Bart Rice, do you remember that?)... Today will officially end the gross challenges.  I can't take any more!

The challenge for tomorrow, January 16:  Sketch in 15 minutes or less, something you ate today. I hope it wasn't a grasshopper.

Here is my ink painting for day 15 of Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days Challenge.  It's much nicer than mr. grasshopper.

Click to Bid on "Purples" in my Daily Paintworks Auction, $20

Add Your Link

Day 8: What's in Your Junk Drawer?

Day 8: Show me the tools! 

What did you come up with?  The Challenge for Day 8 is to continue looking for ways to make tools, and do a glass powder sgraffito sketch of your choosing.  You can take as much time as you like today, and you may use any handmade or found object as tool, in addition to your business card, sifter, and fingers.  NO PAINTBRUSHES!!!  Nope. no.... just don't do it...

This is one of my favorite tools, made from a paint stir stick, red duct tape, and plastic doll eyelashes. No dolls were harmed in the making of this tool... or were they????  ha ha 

Many of you have asked about reference photos to use for these drawing days. Here is a fabulous website you'll want to check out:       www.paintmyphoto.ning

This is a website for artists who are looking for reference photos that are free to use without copyright infringement.  Kind photographers post their photos there for the sole purpose of allowing other artists to use them as reference photos to create artwork!  Sharing is nice! Here is my glass sketch, as well as my alcohol ink painting for Day 8 of Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Painting Challenge.  Whew!

An InLinkz Link-up

DAY 6, A Sketch a Day Keeps the Dullness Away

A sketch a day DOES keep the dullness away! So imagine how brilliant the day will be with 5 sketches in it, instead of just one. 

 This is usually a pretty dull time of year for lots of us.  For me, it can be especially hard to get creatively motivated when I can't be outdoors, and when the daylight hours are so bloody short.  So THANK YOU ALL for participating in this challenge, I love watching all of your progress and have been enjoying the dialog on the FB page.  It's keeping me out of  that dreaded winter funk. 

 If you're one of us who crawls into a winter cave, come on out and play for awhile.

Today's challenge is very similar to yesterday's challenge

5 sketches, 5 minutes each, 5 photos

Give 5 Virtual High-Fives and do 5 dance moves when you finish, 

and then you will have exercised, too.

Again, please complete these using your sifter, a business card, and your fingers.

To change things up you can use other body parts if you like, but I wouldn't recommend it!  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 I'd like to see more people's work showing up here on the blog... There are lots of people who aren't on Facebook that want to see your work too!  
I'm thinking that if we get at least 125 out of 400+participants to post their sketches for Day 6, HERE on this blog page,  I might have some 'incentives' coming around in the near future... I'm digging through my tool box....

Here is my 5 minute wintery guy.  It looks windy.  So windy he can't even open his eyes....Oops, he blew away.

'Another Yellow Rose' Alcohol Ink Painting for Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Painting Challenge

Add Your Link

Day 5 Comparalysis... What in the World is THAT?

Comparalysis, it's a deadly thing that we all face.  Comparalysis can strike any one at any time, and if you've had the chicken pox, the Comparalysis virus is already living inside you.

Ok so what I said isn't entirely true; the chicken pox has nothing to do with it at all, but we all are at risk of falling victim to 'Comparalysis', and yes, it DOES already live inside each of us. There is a lot of fear involved in presenting yourself in a situation where you feel inexperienced.  It's disconcerting to feel like the 'newbie'. Here is another story for you...

The summer after 6th grade, my mom insisted that I learn how to play the flute so I could be in band at the start of 7th grade.  I didn't want to be in band or play the flute, I already played the violin.  I liked it, and that was enough.  Besides, all the other kids started their band instruments in 5th grade so I would be 2 years behind.  Looking back, I'm wondering if she just wanted me out of the house that summer.  She signed me up for 6 weeks of free 'learn a band instrument' classes.  ugh...  Anyway, I was the only kid above the 4th grade and it was humiliating.  It took me two weeks just to get a sound to come out of that stupid flute, even though I was trying really hard. Some of those 4th graders got it the first day.  Fast forward to the first week of 7th grade...

We're learning how to march and play at the same time, in the middle of a neighborhood street.  Mr. Kondik was the band director. (I'm mentioning his name because a tiny evil part of me is hoping he is dead, and the other bigger evil part of me is hoping he is reading this)  He split the band into two sides on the curb of the street, and made my entire section march one at a time while playing the 'fight song' down the center of the street.  To say the very least, I couldn't play the fight song sitting still if my life depended on it.  When my turn came to march down the street with that flute in front of 75, 7th-9th graders, it was not pretty.  The ridicule that followed made me want to throw that flute into the Atlantic Ocean, and I bet I could have thrown it there all the way from Ohio.  

We'll talk about the end of the story later on but for now, I have noticed a lot of folks are feeling like they'll never be able to compare their work to that of some others. This is a pretty new form of art for all of us.  Think about that!  People have been drawing with powdered glass for such a short amount of time, we are all at the beginning of discovering what the possibilities are! It doesn't matter how 'good or bad' we think our work is now!  JUST KEEP MAKING WORK. Forget about that negative feeling and get busy letting yourself create. 

(and a side note for the rest of you who think you don't know how to make a blog or upload your photos.... GET BUSY and try it again. You won't regret it.  Don't give up so easily.)

Today's Challenge is mostly the same as yesterday, and tomorrow it will be the same as today.  It's for a good reason.  This is the time when you will learn more than you thought you could, and it will pay off in the next couple of weeks.  One of our 'challenge buddies' made a comment today saying that she tore the business card and made several 'tools' with it.  Hurray for you, Janet Geise Zambai (insert fireworks and mass praises from the innovator folks)!

Nobody said you couldn't change, tear, mutilate, the business card.... I was waiting to see who would do

it first!

Feel free to demolish that business card and make it into something more 'useable' for today's challenge. Another 5 for 5 is on for today, and I forgot to mention that sifters are always ok to use, no matter what the challenge is. Check back tomorrow for further adaptations!

Here are my photos for today, again one is a sgraffito sketch, and one is an alcohol ink painting for my other challenge. I'm not happy with either of them, but I'm out of time and I want to go to bed before 1 am tonight so I can get kids to school in the morning :)

Yesterday's sketch.  I added some Tangerine Orange Opal powder , along with some Sunset Coral and Neo Lavender.  I am planning to tweak this combination, as I have never used Tangerine Orange opal before in this combination.  I'll do more in this 'scenario' and post my results.

This just plain sucks.  I had no time today and this is what I ended up with in the painting mess of a challenge.

Here we go. My sucky 5 minute sgraffito sketch. It was supposed to be me, but I don't have bangs. lol

An InLinkz Link-up

Day 4: Speedy Hands

I used to build wire harness parts for an auto parts manufacturer.  Each week, the company would drop off huge bins of unassembled parts and I would build them using a jig attached to my coffee table. The stacked bins reached all the way to the ceiling!  I hated building those dang harnesses but was thankful to have a job I could do in my apartment, since my husband needed our only car to get to his job each day.

When I was first learning how to put the parts together, I wasn't getting all of my wires to click into their bases equally, and sometimes I reversed the colors, and I took way too long to finish a single harness. I built a lot of rejects in the beginning.

Over time, I got better at building them and eventually I could whip them out fast enough to considerably beat the piece rate.  I built them without thinking about which piece went where, and they were almost always perfect.  I could do them with my eyes closed, standing on one foot with one hand tied behind my back, (that's a lie)...  

I felt like I did them in my sleep, and I watched way too much Jerry Springer and too many soap operas while building them; and that is true.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today's challenge will only take you 30 minutes, and not a minute more.

It's a 5 for 5 in the middle of the 30 in 30 that will take you 30.  Haha.

Your challenge is to create 5 sketches, each taking no more than 5 minutes.  We'll be using a single piece of glass, the business card and fingers again

 (be patient, tools are coming soon enough).  

SET YOUR TIMER FOR 5 MINUTES AND TRY HARD NOT TO CHEAT!

Once you have a sketch finished, snap a photo, dump your drawing, and quickly move on to the next one.  When you finish you should have nothing but 5 photos of the sketches you made.  (the extra 5 minutes is for photo snapping)

You can create any subject, any size you like, but make them each different.  Post your favorite photo to the blog when you finish.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This exercise will force your mind and your hands to learn to work together, and it won't give the doubtful part of your brain a chance to over-think things. The goal is swift thinking, speedy hands, and no second guessing.  The best part is that when you make a reject, there's no physical reminder of it later.  Just dump it back in the jar.

Here is my 5 minute sketch, along with my daily alcohol ink painting for my other challenge.

I used Bullseye Black with a touch of aventurine blue.  After I took my photo I added some other powder colors that I'm testing and tossed it in the kiln.  I kept my sketch because I did about fifteen 3 minute sketches before I made this last one.  If you do that, you an keep as many as you like.  lol

Unfired 5 minute sketch using fingers and a business card. 4"x6".
 I used Bullseye black 0100 and some aventurine blue.

Begonia Blossoms, Alcohol ink painting for Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Challenge

Add your Day 4 Photo Here

Day 2: Trees with Fingers and Business Cards

It's true.  The beginning is usually the hardest, especially when you're doing something new.  Today is Day 2 of the first ever 'Fused Glass Sgraffito Drawing 30 in 30 Challenge", and I want to say thanks to all of the artists who signed up to participate!   Getting started is difficult.  I've asked you all to jump out of your comfort zones not only in the way you work with glass, but also in respect to all of the 'techie' stuff like setting up a blog and uploading photos.  Trust me, while it is uncomfortable and frustrating now will pay off in the end.

'Trees with Fingers and Business Cards' sounds like a B horror flick doesn't it?  Ha.  I like it.

Today's challenge is to use glass powder to draw a tree or two with only the use of your fingers and a business card.  Everyone wants to break out all of their tools and get down to action already,  but let me explain why I'm challenging you to start this way...

People with nothing are usually the most resourceful.  When you have nothing it forces you to develop ways to do the things you want, without having the 'tool' you'd really like to have to get the job done.  If you need to pound a nail and don't have a hammer, you might find something else that will do the job.  A big rock, perhaps?  A brick?  My point is that if you have the hammer already, you don't have to be very resourceful; you just pound the nail with it and that's the end of it.  When you are forced to be resourceful, your brain makes connections that it wouldn't make if you were just running to your toolbox to get 'the thing that you use to do a thing'.

Tree with Fingers and Business Card.
I added some frit and will post the fired piece tomorrow.

We'll talk more about that later, but for the next few days please do your best to make yourselves stick with the fingers and a business card.  Make it work for you.  I promise that it will be frustrating, but also that you'll understand once you've done it.

I promised some firing schedules today... I'm going to post the schedules I'm using based on my particular kiln as well as the size glass I'm using, but please keep in mind that you may need to adapt for your kiln / glass if there is a big difference in your situation.  These are programs I have been successful with, but may not be 'the standard'.  More on that in a week or so.





Here are my pieces for today.  One for the glass challenge, and one for my painting challenge.  My glass piece is in the kiln right now, and tomorrow I will post the fired piece.

Firing Schedule for the tree above:  It is 4"x6", and I added a layer of black behind it to make it 2 standard sheets thick with small bits of frit on top of the powder.  I'm using Bullseye Glass. (90 coe)  Firing in a tabletop kiln with a 10' shelf, single side element, no top element.

300 DPH

1000F

Hold 10 min.

AFAP

1460F

Hold 10 min.

AFAP

900

Hold 35 min. 

End Program

*AFAP= As Fast As Possible, enter 9999 on most kilns when you program.

Best to you all, and thank you again for participating.  See you here tomorrow, Nanoo Nanoo :)

Add your link here

Happy New Year Everyone!

We've made it to another year!  Happy 2015 to all~

I love the 'freshness' that a new year brings.  I get excited when the hustle of the holidays ends and a bright, shiny new beginning to a whole year of possibilities lies before me...  Here's a little story:

Two years ago (as a New Year's resolution) I accepted a challenge to paint 30 small paintings in 30 days.  The challenge was offered by artist Leslie Saeta, and I was pressured by my painter friends to give it a try.  Here is a little background info... I did not care about oil painting.   In college I painted what I would describe as a 'whopping total of two complete failures' using oil paints, and I never wanted to use them again.  As an art major,  I thought I should automatically be good at painting, but I'm telling you that I mean it when I say 'complete failure'.  Fast forward an undisclosed number of years...  I gave in and decided to give it my best shot, even though I knew I would hate it.

The first week was torture.  I,  (being me, of course) chose the most difficult things I could think of to paint.  A yellow fire hydrant on a violet background.  lights and buildings reflecting on wet pavement.   bicycles. backhoes and orange barrels buried under piles of snow.  Those things interested me.  Painting apples did not. Strike one. (apples are easy) Trying to paint the subjects I wanted to paint with this peanut buttery disaster of a medium made me mad.  Strike two. (I got mad).  After the first 4 paintings...Strike three. (I quit).  I was so frustrated!

A few days later I 'un-quit'.  I was determined to finish my 30 paintings even if every one of them sucked, because I wanted to be a better painter.  In all, it took me 45 days to finish my 30 paintings. The timing doesn't matter.  What does matter is this:  The things I learned in that short time by experimenting on my own and forcing myself to practice amounted to so much more than I ever expected; and the speed at which I improved could not be matched by taking a painting class.

This year, I've invited glass friends to join me in a similar challenge.  We'll be working to complete 30 fused glass powder sgraffito sketches in 30 days.  Many do not have experience using glass powders, but have accepted the challenge feet-first.  I know they will improve by leaps and bounds over the next 30 days!  Surprisingly, there are currently 376 glass fanatics from 9 countries who have accepted the challenge as I write this.  It is going to be so cool to see everyone's work, and if we all complete the challenge, we will have created almost 11,000 works of art in just 30 days!

You can follow our progress each day here on my blog, and check out the artists' web pages and blogs by clicking on the photos they will be uploading each day.  Of course I'm doing the glass challenge, but I am also participating in the painting challenge once again, with alcohol ink paintings (call me crazy and maybe I'll break out the oils).

January 1, 2015 Challenge is to create a sketch using only glass powder and your fingers.  They're your best tools!

Glass Sgraffito Sketch Day One, fingers only!

Sunny Morning Aspens, Alcohol Ink Painting,  5x7
Start bid: $20

Artists: Upload your Day 1 sketches by clicking the 'add your link' button at the bottom left.  Choose a photo from your blog, Facebook, or instagram page, or upload one from your computer.  If you have trouble locating the image URL, try using CTRL+click on the image, then choose 'copy image address'.  This should give you the image URL. If you have problems, check the Facebook page for the Fused Glass Powder Sgraffito Drawing 30 in 30 Challenge.  Happy New Year!

An InLinkz Link-up

Something Old (sort of), and Something New

"As Luck Would Have It", Kiln-formed glass panel.  Kelly Alge ©2013.

This is my entry for Day 2 of Leslie Saeta's '30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge' … I made this 3 months ago, so it isn't exactly old, but it is definitely not something new I suppose.  To truly be in the spirit of this challenge I should have made it today, but life got in the way and I didn't make anything art related.  (boooooo!)  I'll make up for it in the end.

Anyway, in keeping day 2 of my resolution to learn something new everyday, I can tell you that I've learned several new things today…

I learned how many sorts of sutures surgeons have to learn and what each kind is good for the thing you need to suture.  I read about all the different filaments that are used, which ones are strongest in certain situations, and I learned that some of the self-dissolving ones are made from catgut or beef tendons. Interesting.  The patterns and technical knowledge, along with years of practice develop the suturing skills of the physician until he or she can do them perfectly.  Kind of like art, isn't it?  

Two weeks ago today I had hand surgery to correct a tendon problem.  It's healing nicely, and my sutures were actually pretty interesting to look at. Very precisely done, and surprisingly not like any stitches I'd ever seen.  I was supposed to schedule a followup to have them taken out, but instead I got busy with the holidays and such.  Deciding to try to remove them myself,  I found my tiny scissors and tweezers. When I couldn't figure out where the snips should be,  I resorted to the internet.  How many things do you think go wrong when consulting the internet?  This time things went well and I wasn't "left in a stitch".  

Another important lesson from today… as a new user of a smooth cooktop stove, of course I've been freaking out about ruining it somehow.  After I made dinner I carefully squirted the polish on, then put my teakettle on the back burner to heat.  Wrong burner.  When I turned around I noticed that my polish was boiling and the water was not, so in a dash from the sink I instinctively tried to quickly wipe it off with one of my orange dishtowels.  UMMMM… I won't be buying anything but cotton dishtowels from here on out.  That's all for tonight.

Bullseye Glass Portland Trip~ Part One

I am home from a wonderful week of Educator's workshops at Bullseye Glass, and now it's time to fill you all in on everything... I'm finally feeling 'back to earth' after a super busy week so to warn you ahead of time, so much happened that it's going to take several posts to share all of it~ Our class was a unique group of very talented and successful kiln glass artists from as far away as Scotland, England, Massachusetts, Florida, Texas, and more. It was interesting to see the scope and range of everyone's work as we all got to know each other. I feel blessed to have been part of such an accomplished group of artists. I'll link all of their websites later so you can check them out too. The first full day of class we worked on a kiln-forming 'forensics' type project (KSI) where we inspected around 35 glass pieces and had to match them to the firing schedules to find the problems. It was a bit overwhelming at first when we were handed the big stacks of kiln programs, but in the end it was really pretty easy and kind of fun. We returned to the research and education center and found that we each had a huge clean space to work in, and that there were 'shop fairies' who came along each day and completely cleaned up our workspaces. How I would love for them to have followed me home! Throughout the rest of the week, we were taught how to effectively teach new techniques in screen printing with powdered glass (Stacy Lynn Smith), pattern bars, cold working, and casting (Jim Weiler, Louise Krampien, and Bonnie Celeste. We had full access to Bullseye's entire product line and were allowed to experiment with new colors and products, (my favorites being the new half-millimeter stringers and new 'cream' non-reactive glass). I learned a lot about planning curriculum, teaching effectively and was given a lot of time and resources to create class samples on my own to use in my teaching. This talented group brought a lot to the table for the workshop, and I appreciate the immense amount of information we all took from each other during the week. I have to thank my personal tour guide and new friend, Chris Lally who took a huge chunk of her time to pick us up from the airport and show us the beauty of the Portland area. She is an accomplished painter and I met her during Leslie Saeta's "30 in 30 painting challenge" earlier this year. More to come on our Portlandic adventures with Chris and her husband Tim and all the terrific people I met...along with more glass stuff, of course!

30 in 30 Challenge Update...

 YEA!! I am finally getting it!  Painting every day is getting to be more fun now... I wonder if I'll have trouble going back to glass next month when this challenge is finished? I joined Carol Marine's Daily Paintworks this week, & love looking at all the 'real painters' works on the site.

The Phoenix cafe in Benton Harbor, MI.  I am enjoying palette knives and trying to paint glass and shiny things. I like a lot of Leslie Saeta's knife paintings on her page, and I am going to try more of these.

Another wet street in progress.  I think I found a subject I like.

My Brother's Rescue Husky, I got this far and realized that I didn't have room for his nose and ears on my board!

Painting, Painting, Painting

Last night something finally clicked... I learned that I am supposed to wipe my brush clean after every stroke, and that oil paint is it's own bird.  I can't expect it to behave like watercolor or acrylic, and now I can understand how watercolor might be difficult for an oil painter.  Pressing on, I know I am behind, but I am looking at this challenge in a more excited state of mind.  Finally I can begin to grasp these little things that are helping me see what I am doing wrong so I can correct them... 

30 in 30 Painting Challenge is stinking HARD!!!

 So... This idea I had of joining Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 Days Challenge was crazier than I suspected.  I am finding out that although I am struggling, I am learning a lot.  Starting out in a new medium is always frustrating as you learn the 'ins and outs' of what works and what does not, and patience is elusive.  Of course, I know exactly what I want to do, and think I can make it happen, but my lack of experience and high expectations are at war with each other...

The painting on the left (the wiped out one) was supposed to be part of a payphone. It looked easy in the reference photo, but quickly ended up to be 'simply impossible'.  I was mad,  then I quit.

A few days later, I un-quit and decided to suck it up and try again.  On the left is the painting I did of the failure earlier in the week.  Really, no matter how bad my paintings get I am still learning, and my brain is thinking in wonderful ways that are causing me to be more attentive to things such as stacks of orange barrels and backhoes, and inattentive to important things like...driving.  I am going down the road thinking about the juxtaposition of everything around me... values, colors, textures, lines...  Wondering what colors would I mix to get that blue tone I see in the snow, and what order would I lay out the colors... UGHHHHHHH!  Everything is suddenly beautiful and interesting enough to stare too long...  I am no longer safe to drive or be out in public.

I will vow to finish my painting for today before midnight, which is a scene from a vacation photo my parents took while in Europe.  Even though my paintings keep getting screwier, I will finish this challenge if I have to paint 10 paintings on the last day.

Painting 30 in 30? But I'm not a painter..

Well the new year has brought some great resolutions for 2013, and some fun challenges too!

I like to try new media here and there to jump start my creative side and throw me into the 'uncomfort zone'.  This year I signed up for a painting challenge, 30 small oil paintings in 30 days.  Crazy!
There are hundreds of people doing this, can you imagine 300 people doing 30 paintings?  That's potentially 9,000 paintings in only one month!

I always jump right into this kind of craziness thinking "I'm gonna do it!"  and also that miraculously I will be good at it.  Well, I can tell you it is going to be a long month.  I am a glass artist, not a painter and it shows.  LOL

Day One.
My husband suggested I paint a fire hydrant.  I said that a fire hydrant would be nice, but it would mean nothing to me.  He said "It would if you were on fire".  He is right, so here it is.

Day Two.
Learning about dealing with globs of paint and wet city streets.  

Check out some of the other artists' work at Leslie Saeta's blog:  http://www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com.  This is the main site for the challenge, and we all admire her amazing paintings.

So far I've worked on 2 paintings, neither of them are great, and I am kind of disgusted at my lack of ability to handle oil paint (somehow it is everywhere, on every surface possible, and it looks like it's not going to be drying anytime soon)   However, I am determined to complete the challenge, and learn something with each attempt.  Follow along and see what happens!