A Honu Wedding

My wonderful friend married the love of her life a few weeks ago. To honor the occasion, I made her and her husband a paper cut of sea turtles. This was such a fun piece to work on. I think I need to make some more turtles in the near future :) Congrats again, Drew and Andrea!!!

Spiny Lumpsucker

It's a rainy morning here on the island. A perfect time to design new cuts!

Here's a papercut I made a few weeks ago for a friend. His favorite fish happens to be the Spiny Lumpsucker.

(I'm on a fish kick right now. Fish are so fun to cut!)

Emperor Angelfish

It's the weekend!!

I've been on a fish kick recently and have come up with a ton of fun fish designs. I've also started experimenting with adding more layers and color. It's so much fun to sort through all my paper to find the perfect combinations!

Did you know that juvenile Emperor Angelfish are dark blue with electric blue and white rings, while adults have yellow and blue stripes? It takes about 24 to 30 months for an Emperor Angelfish to acquire its adult coloring. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

A Snake + A Deer = A Sneer!

So, today's post features a tribal art inspired piece I just finished cutting. For this papercut, I combined elements from Maori, Polynesian, and Native American design. I chose a deer and snakes...for no real reason. They were  just the first animals to come to mind :)

Biological Specimens

Aloha, all!

So I have this really fun iridescent paper I have been wanting to use. I decided to test it out on some butterflies and I think it worked really well! I put them in a shadow box frame and now I have the beginnings of my very own bug collection. I have to say, I'm MUCH happier having a paper bug collection rather than a real one, that's for sure!

What do you think?

Barred Rock

Tahitian Jellyfish

Aloha everyone! I had a great, relaxing weekend. What a beautiful island!

So, exciting news:

I am in the beginning stages of putting together an art show fundraiser here on the island!!! I haven't decided yet whether or not to accept pieces out of state (input is greatly appreciated!), but I will be sure to let all you artists know!

Oh, and I finished a paper cut! A jellyfish with a Tahitian spin.

A Delicate Balance

I'm having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. Work + play + art....I have so much to juggle! Anyway, enough whining. I should just buckle down and do it already!!

In the meantime, here is a cut I did over the summer for my cousin's birthday.

Coleoptera, the Largest Order of Species in the World

I have two pieces of news to report:

1.) My piece, "The Murder" was accepted in the Lake Placid Center for the Arts juried show. 

2.) One of my pieces in the upcoming Remington Museum show was featured in this mornings newspaper. 

Good things are happening! 

The piece for the day: A sample of a little project Im working on. In this piece I focused on...beetles!!

The Murder

From Wikipedia: "Crows are now considered to be among the world's most intelligent animals."

UPDATE: This piece was accepted in the juried show at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. The show will be up from September 23rd-October 23rd. Stop by!

Frederic Remington

Exciting news! Two of my pieces have been selected for the upcoming show at the Frederic Remington Museum in Ogdensburg, NY. The opening will be September 24th, from 2-4, and the show will remain up until January. Anyone in the area should check it out! Also check out the Remington collection, guaranteed to impress all you old west fans out there!

The two pieces selected:

Flutter By

Frog Nouveau

P.S. Both of these pieces were made using my new technique and an awesome paper called "Volcano".

Finding A Pattern

One thing I really love is creating patterns. I sketch out an idea, scan it into Photoshop, mess around with it, and wind up with something like this:

If you look at this a certain way, the zebras look like lips. 

Time For An Update

Well my dear followers, things are progressing in FPC land! The art show was a huge success and it was a pleasure meeting my fellow artists and art enthusiasts. My next post will go a bit more in-depth on the art show, but today I wanted to give you a warning:

I will soon be in the process of updating my site. That's right, False Prairie Clover is getting a makeover! Im hoping to make things a bit more user friendly and easier on the eyes. And when I get a chance, I plan on updating my logo too. Any tips or advice for my new look is greatly appreciated!

And now I leave you with a piece my friend Jennie commissioned for her mother-in-law. It is based (roughly) on a Yorkie named "Rosie".

Decoupage- The Start of Something New!

Wow! So much has been happening recently and it is INSANE! For those of you in the area, dont forget to check out my artwork in the Along the Rivers Edge exhibit at the Thousand Islands Arts Center on the 30th, not to mention all the other works by talented artists. Cant make it? Dont worry, I will definitely be posting pictures of the show!

So a quick update on my life. I recently handed in my two weeks notice at the bakery. It was a sad and hard decision to make, but I think I made the right choice. I will miss everyone at the bakery dearly, but I know that we will keep in touch and see each other again.

One of the driving forces behind my decision was my art. I really want to buckle down and get my portfolio together. I also want to work on marketing my work and selling it around town. I have had so many people ask me for commissions, but with the job, I had no time. Many projects had to get pushed aside, deadlines passed, and I regretted not being able to get things done. Now I plan on spending some real quality time on my art!

..........................................................................................................................................................................................

I have had so many ideas running through my head recently. Im not going to spoil everything by telling you what they are, but I will tell you that I have started to explore the wonderful world of decoupage. What fun! Here is a picture of my tester.

 I covered a little wooden plaque with scraps of paper (yes, I save a LOT of the paper I cut! I knew it would come in handy). Then I designed and cut out a moth, glued it to the plaque, and coated, coated, COATED it with decoupage medium. I think it turned out quite well. Im excited to do some more exploring with this craft.

Moving On

So after a pretty stressful week, I finally found some time to work on a new cut. Nothing fancy, just something to get me back into the swing of things.

Back and Beautiful

Sorry about the long delay in posting. I have been focusing on completing my three submissions for the Along the Rivers Edge exhibit which I mentioned in an earlier post. And after weeks of labor, I have finally finished! I am pretty happy with the outcome. Oh, and I HATE matting!

This first submission will look familiar ;) Now you can see it in all it's finished glory. I found some awesome wave-like paper for the background, and presto chango!

Second submission, also something you have seen before. This one is just WAY bigger than the first. 40" X 29"

My third submission is something new! I am annoyed that I forgot to take a picture of the long view without the glass...grr. Anyway, I love the gold paper i found for the background. I am going to figure out another project to use it in...

UPDATE: All three of these pieces were accepted into the art show!!! They will be on exhibit and up for sale June 30th - July 25th at the Thousand Islands Arts Center, Home of The Handweaving Museum.

"Oh, he's so handsome... just like his reward posters."

It's Rabbit Hood! He steals from the rich and gives to the poor! 

This one took me quite a while to finish. I cut out the black outline, and then glued on the red cape. I like the end result. I just need to figure out a better process...

Masked Midnight Bandits

Im not entirely happy with this one. I think it needs some more work. But for now, Im just going to leave it as it is. 

While they may be a menace, raccoon babies sure are cute!

Ice, Snow, And Happy Feet

Penguins spend about half their lives on land, and half in the ocean. 

That's a pretty amazing thing.

A Heart Apart

Spring is here, which means that the flowers will be coming out soon...and so will the honey bees.