Visual Space

Reiterating...

2011-12-31T16:00:00.002-07:00

I Need Your Pretty Face!

2011-12-31T14:25:00.001-07:00

I'm setting myself a new challenge for 2012. I want to do a portrait sketch a day. I'm not feeling too anal about making it through the year, but I think it'll be fun to see how long I can keep it going. They'll be quick, loose sketches based on the Facebook profile pictures of fans of my Facebook page. I need 366 faces (being optimistic), so help a girl out! I don't want my inbox overflowing with images, or have to go looking lots of different places for pictures. 366 is a lot of pictures, and I'm a busy mom with next to no time for art. So to donate your face to my cause, please go to my Facebook page, click 'like', and then comment on one of my posts calling for faces. There are a couple of posts already. I'm sure I'll put up more soon. That's it!

In other news, my Etsy store is updated, go check out what I have available! Or come see it in my studio. Contact me to set a time, or visit me during Denver's First Friday Art Walk, I'm upstairs in Space Gallery.

I'm on Etsy!

2011-08-27T14:55:00.001-06:00

I have oodles of pictures to share in the near future from my first art show, and already art show #2 approaches.

In the meantime, I finally have my Etsy shop up and running.

Please go and check out my current pieces for sale. New pieces are being added all the time, so make sure to check back.

Find me on Facebook and other BIG news!

2011-07-24T11:12:00.001-06:00

Maintaining multiple forms of contact is darn near impossible for me these days. Having two littles under the age of five really demands a lot of my time and attention, so I rarely get to work on my art or salsa business and keeping up blogs, email, and various other forms of contact is just impossible. So, please come find me on Facebook. I don't use the phone that much, I almost never email, blogging has long been rare since I got my first little. But! I do Facebook. To find me on Facebook, you can either follow my link here, or you can search the pages for Elisabeth Hurley (Visual Space).

Now I'm not saying I won't be posting at all here anymore. The blog is not totally abandoned. I'm just going to continue to post pretty infrequently and if you want to know more about what's going on and see all my latest work, you should 'like' me on Facebook as well. I'm updating the Facebook page a fair bit these days because of my BIG news.....

I'm renting studio space for a month to try out working like a "real artist". And I'm LOVING it. One of the best things I've ever done for myself. I wish I'd done this YEARS ago. Here are a few pictures my friend Teddi Maull of Picture The Day took of me and my studio mates. For more, you can check out my albums on my Facebook page. I'm also updating the page almost every day while I'm working with sneak peeks of works in progress and finished pieces.

This last picture is me (far right) and my studio mates. We're all in this together. We're also going to be having our first art show as part of the First Friday Art Walk next month, August 5th, 6-9pm. Come see us and check out what we've been working on! We're upstairs in Space Gallery on Santa Fe Drive in Denver.

What will we do after our month is up? Well, if finances allow (come buy some artwork please!) at least two of us will continue another month. Otherwise, it'll just be a good month to look back on and remember that we were actively doing what we loved, and taking our art seriously as we never have before (well, I know at least two of us never have). This studio is one of the top 5 best things I've ever done. I hope I can continue, but if not, it will still have been a very good thing.

iPad art?

2011-05-12T11:14:00.000-06:00

This morning I did a little playing around with art creation on the iPad.

What do you think? Is the iPad something we can really use to make art? Or is it just a fun toy to play around with? It is kind of fun and freeing to work with. I can see it as a great tool for sketching for sure. I'm envisioning doing some travel sketches on my next trip somewhere. It doesn't have the same charm for me as a sketch done with tangible materials. It doesn't have the temporal and spacial 'realness' of a paper sketch where the drawing medium has interacted with the paper in unexpected and almost imperceptible ways. But it seems like it could have its own merits.

Here are some iPad art 'pieces' I found:

Click on the above image to see some of the artist's other terrific celeb portraits.

And this artist has some astonishing what he calls "finger paintings".

And I found this and other amazing iPad 'paintings' in a Flickr iPad art group pool.

They're certainly impressive, but do they have the same value as something with more spacial and temporal realness?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

2x2

2010-08-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Baby's First Trip to the Park

2010-08-04T08:00:00.000-06:00

February, 2010

An armful and a lapful...

2010-08-03T08:00:00.000-06:00

A 'handful' is for sissies...

Brothers

2010-08-02T08:00:00.001-06:00

Knitted baby

2010-08-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

There's never shortage of knitted and crocheted yumminess in my family...

New baby

2010-07-31T08:00:00.001-06:00

February 11, 2010
I had a home birth. It was difficult, but then this little heartbreaker arrived...

Dolls

2010-07-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

Nesting

2010-07-29T08:00:00.002-06:00

A few days before baby came...

El Chapulín Colorado!!!

2010-07-28T19:55:00.000-06:00

This little guy was in February finally willing to wear the full upper half of his Halloween costume that we made him.

The Bed My Dad Built -- From Scratch!

2010-07-28T19:44:00.001-06:00

Back in January, part of the nesting process before my second son arrived involved a new, organic mattress, and a frame to hold it courtesy of my awesome dad. Here is the building of our family bed...

Playing on Photoshop

2010-07-26T19:25:00.000-06:00

Boy is this blog out of date! Have to spend some time catching up on posts.
If you want to keep more up to date on what I'm doing, check out my Facebook page.
Did I mention I had a baby? Hmm... I wonder why I haven't been keeping up with blogs and art.
Today though I was fiddling around with some images of my boys on Photoshop Elements and this is what I came up with...

ANOTHER blog experiment?

2010-01-20T17:24:00.000-07:00

I can't even manage to keep posting on the blogs I have, but I'm testing a new one for those who might be interested. I'm trying out TUMBLR to see what the fuss is about. And I'm using the blog to collect bits of inspiration online, to post some short bits of personal stuff, and whatever else tickles my fancy in a more micro-bloggy sort of way. If you want to see what I'm into right now, check it out. The name & url are sort of both temporary because I haven't come up with something better yet. I'll warn you if I decide to change it obviously.

Playing with Nostalgia

2010-01-15T22:27:00.002-07:00

So sorry to have been gone so long, but my brain has just been completely fried this pregnancy. I wasn't able to finish the portraits for the giveaway and I have been struggling the few times I have attempted writing something.

But I did a little something today! With the impending arrival of our second child, I've found myself needing to return to the images of the arrival of our first child. I started playing around with some images from that time and thought I'd share what I came up with.

I miss film, and the soft nostalgia that film grain imparts. Although I'm kind of against 'faking' things like film looks and film grain, I still do go there at times. And I've been forever dissatisfied with options that Photoshop Elements offers for adding grain. So I looked online and found a random grainy photo to model my grain after. And after much playing and tweaking, I turned this photo my husband took of me holding my son at 2 days old...

...into this:

I'm pretty pleased with it. It's not perfect, and this experiment makes me want to just return to film to get the real beauty back. Ahhh... film is just so beautiful. But still, I kind of like what I achieved here.

[EDIT] I'm a little frustrated with the sharpening that I think Flickr did here. It's softer in the version I made. Looks better if you click through and view it larger.

O Tannenbaum, how knitted are your leaves?

2009-10-02T14:00:00.000-06:00

If I had years to work on it, and the inclination to work that long on such a thing, I would SO make a tree like this:

Yep, that's totally knitted!

I have seen some Christmas trees and other little trees on ravelry, and they are often super cute, but they are miniatures. How cool would it be to have a life-size knitted tree? Beats my plastic one any day!

Find these trees on Ravelry.com: 1, 2, and 3

Children's Museum

2009-10-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

Had some fun at the Children's Museum in Denver.

Miss Piper

2009-10-01T14:00:00.000-06:00

My son learned how to handle our corn snake, Piper, this summer. He loved it!

Localpalooza

2009-09-30T08:00:00.001-06:00

Went and saw my other drumming nephew play with his band at the Localpalooza.

Smilla, Girl!

2009-09-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

My boy loves his dog, Smilla. Sometimes he calls her, "Smilla, girl." Just so cute.

Butterfly Pavillion, Denver

2009-09-29T14:00:00.000-06:00

We experienced some beauty at the Butterfly Pavillion.

Cousins

2009-09-29T08:00:00.000-06:00

We spent some time with my son's cousins (from my side) this summer. What a fun bunch they are!

Gone Swimming

2009-09-28T14:00:00.000-06:00

When I finally convinced hubby to take over swimming duties, I sat down to these...

In the Garden

2009-09-28T08:00:00.000-06:00

More shots from us in the garden in June.

Aren't celery leaves such a happy color?

My Loved Ones

2009-09-27T14:00:00.000-06:00

This is my current set of loved ones. Well my closest set anyway! And guess what? Another one will be joining us in February. I still can't believe it!

Can't decide if I love that shot of my hubs or not.

Edla & Mike's 45th Wedding Anniversary

2009-09-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

My parents have been married for 45 years (as of this past June 13th)! Only 5 years till their 50th, wow!
What an inspiration!

On the day, we had a dinner for them at a German restaurant in Colorado Springs.

Happy (belated) Anniversary to my parents!

Water Play

2009-09-26T14:00:00.002-06:00

Also at the Puerto Rican Festival. It was hot, there were fountains. What are kids going to do but play?

Nothing better than kids and water!

Pop commercial.

Look at the look on that girl's face! Bwah-ah-ah-ah!

Puerto Rican Festival, June 09

2009-09-26T08:00:00.001-06:00

Attended the Puerto Rican Fest as part of our plan to attend more local events here in the Denver area.

Boys in a Band

2009-09-25T14:00:00.000-06:00

Went to go see my nephew (drummer and artist) play in his band in Golden, Colorado.

I wasn't really feeling too well this summer, so I didn't really push myself on angles and get up close, especially with people.

Smelling the Flowers

2009-09-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

Oh I just love peonies.

And these peonies smell amazing!

Of course other flowers and plants are also beautiful.

Some old works

2009-09-24T14:00:00.000-06:00

Photographed horribly with my iPhone. Apologies, will get better images of these at some point.

Most of these were done in my teen years. The English countryside landscape was earlier in childhood, the wedding portrait and Huajatollas were in my early/mid twenties.

My parents's wedding day, Acrylic paint

Huajatollas, Oil paint

I believe this was my first or second oil painting. Done per instructions in a magazine.

My father as a boy, graphite/pencil

Self portrait, watercolors & pen

Three Pelicans, a photograph from my Aunt's back yard in Florida.

Smilla in May

2009-09-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

Summer Green

2009-09-23T14:04:00.000-06:00

May Gardening

2009-09-23T12:02:00.000-06:00

Apologies and updates

2009-08-28T13:44:00.002-06:00

So sorry to have been away for so long. I have been dealing with some health problems and personal issues and all of my obligations (and art work and everything else) has been completely abandoned for the past 2+ months. I'm trying to get back into it all now as I am starting to feel somewhat more human these days. Huge, HUGE, HUGE apologies to all of you waiting on your artwork from the giveaway . I will complete it and get it to you as soon as I can.

The only thing I have worked on recently is this new knitting project; it's easy to take along to doctor's offices.

I am interested in the idea of creating large, 2D art in knitting. I also like how graphic designs look in knitting. I'm experimenting for only the second time with intarsia for this, so it's a bit ambitious to say the least. I haven't measured it, but it's approximately 50" in width. I hope it will turn out good enough to hang!

The design is a group of crows in silhouette. Did you know a group of crows is called a murder?

Here is the "design" I'm working with. You can see, I am kind of making it as I go, and drawing in the stitches when I get to the section to be worked on.

You can read more details about the project and see the latest update on it also on my ravelry project page .

Patrick's piece, sketch 2

2009-06-11T19:27:00.000-06:00

Oh my gosh! My first ever use of charcoal! I have fallen in love with a new medium! I can't wait to try it again!!!

Sketch 1 for Patrick's photo

2009-06-05T15:42:00.001-06:00

Sketch 1 for Patrick's photo, originally uploaded by vis-space.

Here's my first sketch for Patrick's winning photo. Not great, but it's just the first sketch. I have been doing about 3 sketches per drawing so far. I'm hoping to do this one in charcoal as I want to work messy and dramatic, but I have zero experience with charcoal, so we'll see how my next sketches go. This one is pencil.

Gorgeous Peonies

2009-06-04T11:01:00.000-06:00

We have peonies blooming in the garden right now. Oh my gosh I love peonies! I have three, but only ever receive flowers from one. The other two bud and then the buds die. This variety is called 'Raspberry Sundae'. So pretty! And they smell so fragrant that I keep thinking that it's my mother-in-law's perfume that keeps lingering in the kitchen.

I love them backlit like this. It really highlights how delicate the pink is.

Jacira finished!

2009-05-25T10:25:00.003-06:00

Hubby kept complaining that my drawing made her look heavy so there was some tweakage this morning. You know you're done tweaking when you made one tiny tweak too many.
Went to scan this but then realized the size if the paper is too large
for the scanner! Ugh! I think I will have to get it professionally
scanned. Drag!

Jacira - Work in Progress

2009-05-24T16:35:00.004-06:00

Been working on this portrait again today. Much better this time. Had some problems though. Was working on it outside, and my muddy dog actually STOOD ON IT!!! I shrieked! I tried to rub off the mud, even began damaging the paper, but no, couldn't get the mud off. So I began again. But nothing I drew could approach this one. So I went back to it and decided that most of the damage would be covered by Jacira's jet-black hair so I would let it go. Still, there is some raw/rough paper where I rubbed too hard, and the texture of my color changes there. Bummer.

My 'real' camera is in repair and the iphone never keeps the proportions right. This does actually look better in person. There is still some tweaking to do for sure though. And obviously I have to finish the rest of the piece. But I am mostly happy with it. Obviously it's not her face precisely, but if I don't show my hand and my interpretation than what's the point of doing the drawing? If you want true photo-realism without flaws, hang up the photo.

[EDIT - 5:40pm]
Finished?

Still needs some tweaks. I think I will sleep on this and see how it hits me in the morning. Not set on the background either.

Sketch for 2nd giveaway winner

2009-05-12T14:19:00.001-06:00

I started off thinking this might be a finished portrait but I'm
definitely calling this a sketch. It's a start but Jacira is much
prettier than this. Some proportions are off and I think the messy
colored pencil look doesn't work for a portrait. Or at least not like
this. Back to the drawing board!

Dress and Booties for Laurita

2009-05-02T08:00:00.002-06:00

I used the Mae Day sundress pattern for the dress and this pattern for the booties.
I knit like mad. I got the booties done in half a day, and the dress done in two days. Just in time for the baby shower!

I'm really pretty proud of the dress.

Kids

2009-05-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

Garden of the Gods, with Family

2009-04-30T08:00:00.001-06:00

The Puppy Under the Stairs

2009-04-29T08:00:00.000-06:00

She's one crazy pup!

Signs of Spring

2009-04-28T08:00:00.001-06:00

Sweet boy

2009-04-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

Miss Smilla

2009-04-26T08:00:00.000-06:00

Random Shots

2009-04-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

Just some stuff that didn't fit anywhere else. :)

To the Park

2009-04-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

Snow and Rocks

2009-04-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

WInter on our Street

2009-04-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

Winter in the Back Yard 2

2009-04-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

Winter in the Back Yard 1

2009-04-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

Crumbs on our faces

2009-04-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

Goodbye Calico Cat

2009-04-18T18:50:00.000-06:00

We lost her a little over a week ago.

Knitting and stuff

2009-04-11T15:38:00.000-06:00

I haven't had focused time that I could devote to working on those portraits since I got the first one finished. But I hope to resume work on those within a week. In the meantime, I've been knitting a fair bit. And for the first time I made my own pattern and am using it to make myself a little cashmere/silk top with this yarn:

Yummy stuff. I can't wait to see if the top is actually wearable! I will post my pathetic little pattern sketch up here for all to see at some point.

I also made a few knitted soap covers:

...out of this yarn:

And the first half of a sweater, knit out of bamboo:

Oh my gosh, bamboo is a dream to knit with (if you can get past the nightmare of the balls of yarn which tangle badly if a lot of care isn't taken.)

I've been drawing a lot of airplanes for my son's birthday party (tomorrow):

(scribbles added by said son)

And today I made this little drawing for a birthday gift for another little two-year old friend:

I like the idea of children being given art for their birthdays so they have a collection when they become adults. I read about some parents doing that in a magazine once. So lately our little friends have been getting art from me.

Portrait #1 DONE!

2009-03-30T11:25:00.005-06:00

Lorna and Morfar, Graphite on Paper, March 2009

C'est finis! (Original here.)

I thought it was finished last night. Then, I got crazy this morning and started tweaking it, which is generally NOT a good idea (once you think you might be done). I usually go a few steps too far and regret it. Didn't do that, but I'm absolutely FIGHTING the urge to tweak further.

I'm sad to say I do have some problems with this drawing. It's about 15+ years since I have worked with pencil/graphite so I'm learning the medium over again (and learning the limitations of my eraser!)

Morfar's face is a bit overworked, and not right, and baby Lorna is not as solid looking as I'd like, but I'm afraid of ending up with her being overworked.

It's not too bad for my first portrait effort after a HUGE drawing break though.

Now on to portrait #2! Wahoo!

I made some shrimp curry.

2009-03-25T08:00:00.001-06:00

I think food photography is cool.

iPhone charger

2009-03-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

Birthday balloon and flowers

2009-03-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

Father on the computer, son in his lap.

2009-03-22T08:00:00.002-06:00

A boy and his grandfather, on the ranch

2009-03-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

A boy and a goose

2009-03-20T08:00:00.001-06:00

Here are a couple of recent sketches.

2009-03-19T18:18:00.001-06:00

The first one is for a bunny painting I did for a little friend on her first birthday.

The second one is the third version of some preliminary sketches I've done for the giveaway.

I think, after the third try (it was the charm I guess!) I am getting there with this latter drawing.

Will keep you guys updated with these pieces as I work on them!

Wild horses appeared

2009-03-19T18:06:00.000-06:00

Huajatollas -- The Breasts of the Earth

2009-03-15T08:21:00.002-06:00

And the final winner is...

2009-03-14T19:04:00.000-06:00

Jacira!

And here's her photo:

All right, now I'm off to go work on some art! Wish ME luck this time!!

Winner #4 -- Ted

2009-03-14T15:05:00.000-06:00

Ted with a picture of Teddi!

Winner #3 -- Rose

2009-03-14T14:05:00.000-06:00

Winner #2 -- Patrick

2009-03-14T13:02:00.001-06:00

Winner #1 -- Allison

2009-03-14T12:01:00.000-06:00

Oh there were so many good photos. So many I'm bummed to not be working on! But it's time to start letting you know what some of the winning photos are...

And the winners are... (Part 1)

2009-03-14T09:23:00.002-06:00

This competition has been a little bit educational for me. I learned a lot about communication and that my limited instructions can mean lots of different things to lots of different people.

You know, when I think portrait (especially one I'm going to draw) I think... one person, human, upper torso, and head. I knew I was going to get some variations on that. But I didn't expect LARGE group photos, photos with lots of scenery, photos of animals, photos of statues.

No worries peeps! I'm not mocking your misunderstanding. But I am laughing at myself and how this sort of turned out to be a little game of "Chinese Whispers" or "Telephone" as Americans call it. Anyway, I really would have found it HILARIOUS to be doing a portrait of a Buddha statue or a camel as a result of this competition, so I left most of the entries in.

There were a lot of entries! 16 people and 44 images! Phew! I weeded out a few that just wouldn't be feasible for me to draw and then this morning I lept out of bed and ran to my desk to write down all the image names on little bits of paper. Then I thought that was so fun, so tactile, and so old-fashioned, I went and grabbed an actual hat to put them in!

My son didn't turn out to be too much help. But I selected five images from the hat. And here are the winners names...

(DRUMROLL PLEASE)

Haha! Tricky me! The last name and all the corresponding images to be revealed soon! Stay tuned!

Bye Bye Papi

2009-03-14T08:00:00.002-06:00

He went away on business for three weeks. So we had to say goodbye for a while.

Max

2009-03-14T08:00:00.001-06:00

Giveaway Deadline!

2009-03-13T09:52:00.000-06:00

All right peeps! This is it! Today is the deadline for the custom portrait giveaway. If you're thinking about entering, now is the time. You have until midnight tonight.

Entries received so far: Rose, Jake, Sunit, Patrick, Leslie, Gladys, Christine, Katrin, Jess, Ted, Teddi, Jacira, and Sara. If you don't see your name there, I have not received your entry, please send it to me again. Email your photo or links to me at artbyelisabeth@gmail.com by midnight! Winners will be announced tomorrow.

New Year's Eve 2008

2009-03-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

He's a card

2009-03-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

Christmas Scenes

2009-03-11T13:01:00.001-06:00

Art posts and giveaway results coming!

2009-03-11T09:47:00.001-06:00

I have some new drawings to post, but our scanner has still not arrived from our move back from Penang. As soon as I get the scanner I'll start posting those drawings and paintings again. In the meantime I have some more photos to post. Unfortunately I'm having problems with the focus on my camera. My son has pulled it onto the floor too many times. I think it's time to take it in for repair. Sigh. Please excuse the softness of the photos!

Regarding the giveaway ending on Friday. I will let the submissions continue until midnight Friday. And that's wherever you are. If you are in Hawaii and it's still Friday, then you still have time to submit! I will announce the winners on Saturday.

Again, to enter, send your photo or a link to your photo to artbyelisabeth@gmail.com.

Also, I'm responding to each and every submission. If you haven't heard from me, I haven't received it. Submissions I've received so far are from: Katrin, Jake, Jacira, Gladys, Sara, Jess, Rose, Teddi, Patrick. If you don't see your name there, submit again! And remember, you can enter as many photos as you like!

About the Giveaway

2009-03-09T01:41:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone!

I wasn't explicit about a couple of things in the custom portrait giveaway. First, you can submit as many photos as you like. I will select those I think work best, and then randomly choose 5 winners from those photos. That could mean someone could end up lucky enough to win multiple portraits, who knows! Second, you will hear back from me when I receive your submission. If you haven't heard from me, I didn't receive it; please try again.

Please help me spread the word about the giveaway. Tell others who might be interested so they can have a chance to win too.

Also, again, if you like my work, please visit my Flickr and Facebook pages. Be a fan of my work on Facebook! I'd sincerely appreciate it.

Thanks and love to all!

Become a fan on Facebook!

2009-03-08T11:53:00.000-06:00

Are you a Facebooker? Become a fan of my art on Facebook and help me to promote my art!

Chinatown wares

2009-03-07T17:00:00.001-07:00

Chinatown, Singapore

Free Art!! (and other news)

2009-03-07T08:56:00.005-07:00

Ok, so I'm feeling a resurgence of inspiration and urgency to restart my art. I think I'm going to start offering custom art pieces for sale here, and to get me going with that I've decided to offer five lucky people free portraits drawn from their photographs. So send in your photographs! It doesn't matter if I do or don't know you, if you're a stranger, commenter, lurker, family, friend, just send in your photo and I will choose five from the batch. The deadline to get those photos in is Friday, March 13th. This time Friday the 13th is a lucky day!

Notes about the photos you send:
Make sure you send something of reasonably good quality and clarity. My choices will be semi random, but will also be based on which of the photos I feel will be good candidates for drawing. Classic portraits are generally better if they have simple backgrounds and show mostly just the upper torso and face of the subject. Faces generally should be forward or on a 3/4 angle. Not that I won't accept photos that stray from this formula, but I am more likely to choose the classic shots.

Good luck!

Other news:
I now have a Flickr for all of my art work. So far it shows the exact same images that you can see here, but if you are more of a Flickr person, feel free to subscribe there instead. You will miss my discussion here, if I have any, or news bits like this, but you will have access to all of the images. I'm still deciding if I want to do something extra there that I don't do here. For now, one of the main benefits for checking out my Flickr is all of the sets I've created.

Let's say you're a really big fan of my drawings and paintings but are just not interested in my photography. Well, you can subscribe to just this set:

DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS

Let's say you are only interested in my night photography:

NIGHT/LOW LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY

You can check out all of my sets here and my photostream here.

Singapore Lanterns

2009-03-07T08:16:00.003-07:00

Warm and Fuzzy

2008-11-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

Deepavali, Penang

2008-11-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

Calling Collect

2008-11-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

Happy International Babywearing Week!

2008-11-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

-- from babywearing families in Penang.

Youth Park play

2008-11-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

Burmese Temple, Penang -- Part 2

2008-11-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

Burmese Temple, Penang -- Part 1

2008-11-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

Best of Halloween 2008

2008-11-04T00:20:00.000-07:00

How Not to Finish a Jack-O-Lantern by Halloween

2008-11-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

I followed the tutorial here to make myself a papier mache Jack-O-Lantern. I had no idea how long this would take, so it's still a work in progress.

First I stuffed some plastic bags with crumpled newspaper, wrapped string around it to make indentations, and attached a 'stem' of rolled newspaper.

Then I put layers of newspaper dipped in my home-made glue onto pumpkin number one. This took so long that I had to stop after layer three (of six or more) and leave it there. I never got to pumpkins two and three.

Then I cut a hole in the bottom, pulled out the bag and paper, and then 'carved' a Jack-O-Lantern face into my pumpkin.

At this point, I looked at my pumpkin and thought, "I could stop here, paint it, and it would be finished. But the tutorial says to go on, so....

I passed the point of no return and glued strips of cereal boxes around the openings. I was supposed to sculpt further details with papier mache clay, but the clay took a day to make, and it went bad before I had the chance to use it.

So, my pumpkin still looks like that, and that's how I used it for Halloween. I still plan to finish it, but that kind of time is hard to come by when you have a toddler. Maybe my papier-mache-sculpting career will have to wait a few years.

At Youth Park, Penang

2008-10-19T20:34:00.000-06:00

Mooncake Festival at the Marina

2008-10-19T11:43:00.000-06:00

Halloween Mobile/Curtain Tutorial [Edited]

2008-10-13T23:49:00.001-06:00

Edited to include a clearer photo of the finished project (not a good tutorial without a clear photo!)

I made this Halloween decoration that was so fun I want to make more. In case any of you are interested, here are the steps I took to make my first one.

1. Take 9 - 12 sheets of computer paper and paint both sides with acrylic paint. I did three yellow/orange/white, three blue/white, and three blue/black sheets. I liked the variation in color, so I allowed a lot of the blending to happen on the paper versus using single or pre-mixed colors.

Then let sit to dry (above.) Note: You'll need to cover your table with something protective because this is pretty messy!

2. Trace different sizes of circles on the light-colored papers and trace bats out on the black papers. Cut them out.

3. (Optional) Draw lines on the bats with pencil to show where their bodies and lines in their wings are.

4. Attach to strings using a large sewing needle. Tie a half knot at each piece to keep each in place on the string.

5. Hang the strings from another string that is taped to the ceiling at both ends. Finished! Note: Make sure the string is securely attached to the ceiling or it'll all come flopping down as it did to me. And it's not easy untangling these guys.

6. Stand back and admire how modern and cool they look and how calming it is to watch them twirl with the air current.

Safety note: Please keep toddlers away from ladders. YIKES!

PS Embrace imperfection!