 my solo show, burn to shine is now available here! we sold quite a few opening night but there are still many pieces available to purchase. pieces will be available online or in-store at trickster until november 30th, shipping worldwide. ^_^
happy monday!
Over the past 3 months, nearly every evening, I’ve been burning mini wood pieces for my solo show, Burn to Shine. I’ve created 100 pieces! It’s what I set out to do, but in the middle (and to be honest at the end) I thought I wasn’t going to make it. I committed to 100 because I thought it’d be a good goal. It’s been physically hard and yet incredibly rewarding. I’ve explored and played with negative space, pattern, background, and character. This was my first attempt at creating such a large number of original wood pieces – I tried to keep each piece distinct and interesting. I won’t say I’ll never do it again, but I might give myself more time!
I will be sharing a few collections of the pieces through this week. I hope to see you at the opening night at Trickster in Berkeley this Saturday! If you’re not in the area the pieces will be up for sale after opening night ^_^
After that, I’ll be taking a long hiatus from wood burning!
encouraged by a few folks, i submitted the above piece for the reading rainbow kickstarter calendar. you can vote for it only if you contributed to the kickstarter here.
i was also interviewed by monica lee on her wonderful blog, smart creative women. you can see it here.
have a wonderful day!
super excited that one of my prints will be featured on modern family tonight!
unbeknownst to me our website wasn’t able to take orders for the past few days – to celebrate the fact that it’s back and running smooth i’m offering 15% off for the next 24 hours with this code: MODFAM – it’s a good time to get the limited run 2015 calendar before pre-order is over, we’ve only printed 200 so once they’re gone that’s it!
thanks ^_^
i am super excited to share that the pre-orders for Misty, my first kids book are now live (available through Amazon only) AND we’re releasing our 2015 calendar on pre-order as well! it’s a big day ^_^ thanks for all your support!
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the hubbahubba wrote the line above and i had to draw it. this is for him on the eve of our fifth wedding anniversary (although we’ve been together for 12 years!) the best decision i ever made was marrying you. happy anniversary! ^_^
meanwhile, we’ve chosen a winner for the canvas giveaway! we had over 100 entries – thank you! if you want to buy a canvas now is the time! zazzle is having a 50% off sale on canvases with the code: GRANDPARENTS through september 7th.
have a great weekend ^_^
I am super excited to announce my solo show at Trickster in Berkeley in November. Burn to Shine: 100 mini wood burnings (all the pieces will also be available for purchase online, each piece will be $65). The opening reception will be November 1st. I am posting my progress on Instagram and Facebook. Between now and November I will create 80 more pieces! It’s the largest number of wood burnings I’ve set out to create to date. It’s incredibly fun to explore different animals, backgrounds, and patterns. I create many with mehndi patterns in mind, but I also love burning waves and using negative space to create a soft and subtle environments.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to share a bit about my materials and process!
1. Wood slices. I obtain these from either Etsy, Michaels arts & crafts or Amazon. I shop for wood that is light in color without any dark marks or knots. If there are marks, I try and incorporate them into the work. The wood type varies from walnut, basswood, to cherry and oak.
2. Colwood Cub electrical unit. This unit heats my pens, it has great temperature control and its portable with a long enough cord so I can burn in my studio or living room (it smells so good!). I usually keep the temperature between 7 and 8, but when I want to create a softer, lighter background or environment I will turn it down to 6. I have never gone past 9, I think I’d burn my fingers!
3. A finished piece for the show!
4. A mechanical pencil. I use this to draw the character on the wood before burning. I never draw in pattern or background, only the central figure. Background and pattern I create in the moment. It’s my favorite part. It feels meditative and organic.
5. My two favorite fixed pens. I use both of these on each piece. One creates a thicker line I use for outlines of shape and the other I used for details like eyes, lips, and sometimes pattern.
6. Replaceable pen and replacement tips. I use these pens less often, but I do love the variety and texture I can get from them. There are two kinds of pens: fixed tips are just that, you cannot replace the tip only the whole pen. Replacement tips have one base and you can switch tips. I prefer fixed tips so I can switch mid burn and don’t have to wait for the tip to cool to take it off the base. Since I switch pens at least twice in every burn fixed tip work best for me.
7. Sand paper. Essential! If the grain on a piece of wood isn’t sanded down enough the pen will get stuck in the grooves and create a funky burn. Nearly every piece of wood can benefit from a quick sand to make sure the end result is pleasing.
That’s all from me! It’s been so much fun to work on the books during the day and burn at night – hope to see you in November ^_^
we’re off to san diego comicon today! we will be in small press, table o-13 with tons of large and small prints as well as greeting cards, magnets and of course the panda love tee! if you’d like to keep up with team everyday love you can follow my instagram account. comicon runs through this sunday so i’ll be back next week with an update, until then have a lovely week ^_^