Keepin' Austin Weird (eventually)

You have no idea how happy I am that the semester is over. Truly, you cannot comprehend. I'm ready to graduate, man.

I'm back in Colorado for Christmas break--skiing and getting fat and not doing art, which is nice. I am trying to get a website up, though, because that's how you Get Jobs and Impress Your Friends (that should be a book title--I got dibs). 

I made this reductive linocut in a printmaking class for the final. The assignment was to make a poster that advertised a place. I did Austin because I think I want to move there when I graduate. If you know me from Texas, your'e probably falling out of your chair (probably not, but in my head I imagine people have strong reactions to my life) because I was quite anti-Texas in my high school days. But Austin is the artsy/liberal mecca of the state and besides, rent is cheaper than New York (I eventually want to end up in NYC). Also, there are food trucks everywhere in Austin, which is like food in other places but better. Food trucks are essentially why I want to move back, let's be real. 

What I've been doing for the past three months...

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Wardian Case

The Conservatory

The Conservatory (detail)

One of the disadvantages of art school is that various assignments are thrown at you from different classes with only a week to finish each one. I have a hard time working this way. I feel a bit schizophrenic trying to complete three very different assignments in a hurry and they often come out looking like three different people created them. I am very much a monogamous long-term relationship kind of girl when it comes to art.

This semester I had the opportunity to spend three months on one project (though I still had two other studio classes competing for my attention) and I felt much more at ease. I've had these images of terrariums in my head for a while, prodding to get out. But I've just never had the time to give them the attention they needed.

Anyway, I've been holed up in a room for the past three months painting like a crazy person on these things you see here. I probably lost a few brain cells in the process, what with the fumes from the oil paint and chemicals. I also put all my other classes on hold and now have to frantically catch up, but for the most part I am happy with the outcome. There are a few things I would have liked to refine and things I would like to add, but I was on a deadline to complete these for a student-held show at the end of the semester. 

If you're going, what the hell am I looking at here, Rachel? please read the following artist statement, which was included in the show next to the paintings:

The methods in which humans display the curiosities of nature fascinate me. From terrariums to Wünderkammers, display cases from the Victorian era are often as elaborate and beautiful as what they contain. To me, terrariums are personal microcosms of nature. There is something wonderful and fascinating about viewing or possessing the natural world in a compact glass container. With these paintings, I wanted to encapsulate this feeling and explore a relationship between the man-made and the natural world. I am particularly interested in the intricate details in nature and wanted to set them against the ornate craftsmanship of Victorian terrariums. I hoped to reflect my fascination with detail and these forms of beauty in the way I created these environments. 

Mostly, I just really wanted to paint some terrariums. 

These are on display in the ISB gallery at RISD until December 14th along with some other damn fine art if you want to see them in person. 

Some pictures of the process:

Please excuse the picture of the young woman flipping you off (painting by Marion Peck). I was quite inspired by her, however.

There's paint all over my apartment. There goes my deposit.

Palettes to me are like that scene in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, when she's trying on all her shoes and eating pastries to Bow Wow Wow's I Want Candy. They're just tasty.  

Terreriums, Flora, Fauna

Here is a sneak preview of a painting for the Advanced Project Show at RISD. Hopefully will get to do more of these in the future. More pictures coming soon.

Select Sketchbook Pages

I have a hard time sticking to a sketchbook, especially fancy ones like moleskines (partially because the name freaks me out), so I bought an especially crappy one and I'm actually sticking with it. Here are a few pages from it. 

Old Man and Moose

  

Couple things from a printmaking class I'm taking.

This was a children's book assignment about clothes...because I like clothes.

Goat.

I really hate it when I'm woken up by a goat.

A Boat, a Moon and Some Stars

One of my favorite things to draw are moons. The man in the moon, specifically. This picture is a combination of watercolor and digital (or "the computer" as many old fogeys I know say), which is different for me, but I think I like the collage-y effect.

Fall is on its Way!

This is something that I did for a children's book class. I'm so excited for the leaves to start turning! Also, pumpkin bread is possibly the best invention in the world to ever be invented.

Where I Live

This is where I currently reside. I'm kind of proud of it because I feel like a grown up with my own apartment, despite the fact that it looks like an eight year old decorated it (yes, that is a spongebob television). Try not to make fun of all the Ikea.

Hey, Blondie

I did this last night instead of my homework because I'm a bad seed. A real bad seed.

Sophie Blackall: Missed Connections

I just really love Sophie Blackall. This is a great video about her project called Missed Connections, which I find to be so romantic and inspiring that it makes me want to punch someone...and then have a missed connection.

Look! Paperdolls!

I was a major tomboy up until I was about twelve, so I didn't play with paper dolls that much. I'm not really sure what happened, but I think it was like those stories you hear about where a guy gets shot in the head with a nail gun and becomes a completely different person....but not really like that because I didn't get shot in the head with a nail gun. In any event, I think I'm making up for lost time from my scrappy kid days because now I'm basically an eight year old girl with a penchant for pretty dresses, lipstick, and yes, paper dolls.

If you like, you could print these out and have the time of your life dressing Genevieve. I did it, and I'm still not over how fun it was.

Mountain Stranger

My Parents just moved from Katy, Texas to Denver, Colorado. The past few weeks have been spent wandering trails in the mountains, which isn't the worst way to spend time. This doodle may have been inspired by the move, but mostly I just wanted to draw some pretty trees.