Boring old coffee pot...

For our final painting this quarter, the assignment was to take an every day object, blow it up in size till it was nearly unrecognizable, and paint it in 'discordant' colors. I chose an Arabic coffee pot, and at first my teacher said it just wouldn't work. She said it would be nearly impossible to make a coffee pot interesting to look at. She did say, however, that I was welcome to prove her wrong. I was terrified at the prospect, but a challenge is a challenge.

On critique day I sat my painting up with everyone elses, in a large semi-circle around the room, and we started to discuss each persons painting, right down the line. When she got to my coffee pot, my teacher said "Who would have known that a boring old coffee pot could be so interesting. You really did prove me wrong, and I love it when people can do that." I was on top of the world that day, and I have signed up for oil painting again in the Fall!

Take a look at my 'boring old coffee pot' and let me know what you think.

Whew!!!

I haven't been very good at keeping up with my posts. In my defense, I have had a crazy 8 weeks, and just haven't had any time to think or breath. Hopefully, things have calmed down a little, and I will try to be better.

Now, on to the good stuff, this is the mosque interior I painted for, yes, my oil painting class. It looks a little different in the picture than it does on the wall, which is interesting. Here it is almost glowing, while on the wall it is a shade darker. Funny what camera lighting can do.

I actually painted this some weeks ago, and have already had a new assignment and finished it, but so far haven't gotten pictures taken of it. I will also get my screen prints back this week, and will get them photographed and on the blog as well. In the meantime, I will be thinking of projects to do over the Summer. I can't just sit around doing nothing, can I?

Busy Saturdays

I was already carrying a pretty full load at college, going 5 days a week, and 2 evenings, so no wonder my friends and family thought I was a little crazy to sign up for and oil painting class that meets for 6 hours every Saturday. Weekends are usually reserved for R&R, right? But I just couldn't pass up the chance to take a class with Linda Kraus. She does absolutely the most gorgeous paintings, and I would be crazy not to grab the chance to learn everything I can from her, even if it means giving up Saturdays!

Having said that, she pushes us to get paintings out pretty quickly so that she can get the maximum learning opportunities into a quarter. So here goes..... This is my first oil painting. The assignment was "an exterior" and we had to use pointalism. No blending of colors, just dots of pure color all over the canvas. My canvas is 2'x2', so that is a lot of dots! Oh, ya, and no black or white allowed! I have to admit, I am pretty pleased for my first attempt! Let me know what you think.

We were given a sketchbook assignment that was entitled "Food". We just had to do a series of sketches of food, in any form. Anyone who knows me, knows I didn't go far to find my inspiration. I just opened up my fridge! I can see that I have some places where I need to get more shading and contrast in there, but otherwise I am satisfied with the results.

The kids and I were at Manito Park when I was drawing the bananas, which were laying on a park bench. We kept being dive bombed by the seagulls, which we put up with for a while, but when the bees started after us, we ran to the car! The half eaten banana is my breakfast the next morning.

I am most happy with the tomatoes and the garlic. I feel I captured the light hitting the tomatoes, although if I had used a different charcoal, I may have gotten an even more velvety texture on them. I love the papery texture of the garlic.

Does someone out there recognize this thermos? Thanks again! We enjoyed gahwa (coffee) and chocolate on a rug in the front yard on one of our sunny days. : )

Getting ready to make vegetable soup. Yummy!

A few Spring projects...

Well, I'm back off to classes tomorrow, so it will be a while before I will post again. In the meantime, I want to put up a few more pictures of the projects I did over my break. This is a journal that I had bought quite some time back. It was a plain brown journal, with brown pages. I liked the idea of the rough brown paper at first, but found it was uninspiring after a while, so I decided to decorate up the cover. I used collage and stamping, finishing up with a little paint, and a sealer so that I can throw it in a bag and take it with me where ever I go. I love it now, and when it is not traveling with me, I leave it on the coffee table to look at!

This is a small painting I did of an Arabic coffee pot. I did it quickly, as I was trying to get the feel of the paints, and therefore I didn't put much time into the background. I was surprised at how well I liked the finished project!

These are some boxes I painted for art storage. It's a great way to recycle shoe boxes, and have some pretty storage!

In both cases I did the painting, and finished off with a sealer for protection.

In this one, I also added some texture under the paint.

Charcoal drawings

These are some of the drawings I did last quarter for my "Intro to Drawing" final critique. I am quite happy with how they turned out.

I tried to use a slightly different technique for each picture, but all are done in charcoal. This is the first time I had ever played with charcoal, and I love it!

I drew upon my life in the Middle East for my drawings. I enjoy the play between past and present, and look forward to doing more projects with this theme.

These are the next two plaques I did. The little girl pattern turned out just a little darker than I had planned, but it does have a real antique feeling to it, which I love. The coffee sign is destined for my kitchen. My family knows that I don't function well until I have had my first cup!

Tension Relief

I was getting ready for final exams a couple of weeks ago, and I had a bunch of projects that needed doing for both my 'Color & Design' class, and my 'Intro to Drawing'. I was getting a little frustrated, because it seems that one of the teachers wasn't going to be happy no matter what I did, and so I started a series of little wooden plaques in mixed media to relieve my stress. This little guy was my first attempt, and I was hooked!

Becoming a "real" artist

A while back I made a vow to myself that I would be a "real" artist by Feb. 14, 2010. I say "real" artist, because on some level I have always thought of myself as an artist. I have sewn clothes, designed and sewn crafts (dolls and such), I have painted my walls and designed and made things to hang on them, and I have been a quilter for over 17 years. All of that takes color and design, and good craftsmanship, and a sense of artistry to accomplish.

Yet, the fine arts have traditionally been comprised of paintings, sculpture, and architecture. Craftsmanship, however fine or beautiful, has been viewed as the poor cousin. I am here to blur the lines. I want fine crafts to be seen and viewed, and valued, as art. What is a handmade doll, or a wonderfully woven basket, if not sculpture? Why is a beautifully toll painted chest of less value than a painting meant to hang on a wall?

This blog is to document me, Aisha, Becoming a "real" artist. So here I am going after my AFA. I will post both the work I do in my classes, and the projects that I do in my own time. I have started with some drawings that I did in my last class, and some mixed media projects that I am doing during this Spring break. I hope that you enjoy them.