Back Again
Posted on: August 22, 2018
I have been on a somewhat creative hiatus for quite a while with a lot of changes happening in my life! But I think I am ready to be back and am starting by reviving my blog as a useful creative outlet. I am still just going to post whatever I want, whether it is my art, some reviews of movies or products I am using, travel stuff, or just what is on my mind. To start I am going to post a little catch-up not to be confused with ketchup.
So while I have not been producing as much creatively I have still been doing a few swaps here and there and creating some fun mail art. Mostly I have been collecting a lot of art supplies, vintage postcards, Kawaii goodies, and ephemera. So it’s definitely time to sit down soon and have a crafting binge session.
I have also been experimenting a lot more with my makeup looks and finding some fun colors to brighten up my face. My favorite thing lately is the NYX Ultimate eyeshadow palette because it’s cheap and still very vibrant and colorful. Here is a picture of a look I created recently using it.
While I have a long history of experimenting with my makeup, I think it has definitely been 
I am still back in Saint Louis, but I have been traveling around the country a little when I have some time off. I’ve still been going to movies, art shows, and concerts from time to time too, and will definitely be talking about some of that in future posts as well.
That’s all for now, but I am ready to get back in the swing of things and keep up with my blog and other creative things so look forward to more from me!
In the Mood for a Show?
Posted on: October 21, 2015
There is always an abundance of art in Saint Louis! Which is great, I enjoy going to shows when I can, and if I have work, submitting it as well!
Earlier this month I attended an opening at the Hoffman-Lachance Contemporary gallery located in the heart of Maplewood. The show Kinky Observation by local artist Cbabi Bayoc is on display this month until the 31st. The opening was on October 9th which included a talk with the artist, myself and a couple friends attended and were able to catch the artist talk. I would highly recommend finding time to go see the work before this show closes.
Upon first walking in I was not entirely sure what I was looking at but I liked it. I had briefly read a little bit about the show before going and knew that a general theme was finding imagery in ordinary every day objects. I didn’t have a long time to look around before the artist talk began. What was most impressive about the talk was when Cbabi explained how he created all the work on display in a span of 3-4 weeks. Granted Hoffman-Lachance isn’t the biggest gallery, but there is plenty of wall space that was covered with pieces of varying sizes, that amount of work in that time frame is amazing. If you are familiar with Cbabi Bayoc’s previous work, the pieces at this show may be a bit shocking as they are a bit of a departure from his norm, which is predominantly portraiture. This new work is refreshing and still holds on to his roots. When he began to describe the inspiration for this collection as being hairstyles I immediately looked around and began to see it, and was surprised I hadn’t noticed before. The shapes and expression in each painting though seem very unique and can create a personal connection for each viewer. My favorites are ones that added little details of color like ribbons or flowers, just a little hint of something not as abstract pulling things together. I myself am a huge fan of the abstract though, so I of course was drawn into this show quite a bit. There is a lot of life in this show and it is worth experiencing yourself, especially if like myself you are a fan of the abstract.
And for an Upcoming Opening
This weekend, the 24th to be exact, Koken Art Factory will be hosting their annual Halloween art show. While I do not have work in this show, my best friend Paul Lapusan does. The show will be taking place from 7pm-11:30 pm and should be a lot of fun. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of advertising for this show this time around which is surprising but it is definitely happening! Koken shows are always very eccentric and a really mix-up of local artists. There will be all different kinds of mediums and talent levels represented, and there is usually some form of entertainment as well. This show will be more tame than Koken’s Naughty-Gras as the call for art even stated to keep things “tasteful” so don’t be afraid to bring a younger crowd.
Unproductive
Posted on: October 14, 2015
This past year has seen a lot, from moving back and forth cross country, and a death in the family, and working like all the time because capitalism is the worst; I haven’t been feeling much studio time.
I have been trying to get involved with some more creative swaps still on swap-bot which mostly have entailed me making postcards or decorating envelopes and such. And I have thrown a few small things on my wheel, but not gotten them fired yet. My studio however, is still in disarray and not completely set back up as some of the tables are being used for other things. So my encaustics have not come out to play yet. I have been doing some light acrylic and watercolor painting in addition to working a lot with gel pens. I’m trying to trim my work hours just a bit so I have some more time to myself to create, but for the most part I am pretty unproductive 😦
I’ve also been dabbling with the idea of making this more of an art review blog. I have a whole stack of cards from art shows/fairs to talk about and link up and might do that in the near future.
I do have an instagram if people want to follow I sometimes post pictures of what I am working on and mail going in and out on there. Screen Name : Deidreart
Some recent creations:
collage/masterboard postcards
atc with letter D theme (pretty sure all the words came from an ikea catalog)
Kawaii Atc’s
Glitterati (paint, gel pen, and tape) 
a map of our travels
Currently listening to this a lot. which is weird because when it first came out I wasn’t that into it.
Laumeier Art Fair
Posted on: May 13, 2015
This past weekend was Mother’s Day which means it was also the annual Laumeier Sculpture Park Art Fair. Paul and I volunteered this year and got to see the fair for free. However, the weather was not in our favor. When we arrived for our volunteer shift it was pouring down rain, we got soaked on the short walk from our car to volunteer check-in. The whole fair is outside and in a field so you can imagine that the ground was pretty soggy. Once we checked in we got to be under a tent for a few hours and the rain let up a bit but did continue to drizzle throughout the day. Attendance was low because of the weather so when we did get to walk around there wasn’t much crowding in the booths. There was a ton of great art there from artists I did not remember from years past (although it has been a while since I went to this fair). One thing I noticed is a lo of people did not have cards, which is what i use a lot to remember the booths and write posts like these. This post would have been twice as long for sure. I even bought myself a little something this year. Here is a sampling of some of our favorites.
Sculpture
Frederick Prescott – These sculptures were so large they would have fit right in with the rest of the sculpture park. They took up residence in a little corner booth spot but could not be contained by a booth! And the brightly colored paint jobs drew you in from many booths away. The piggy was my favorite, but the cacti ones on his website look awesome too.
Joel Pinkerton – Not very much on his website or facebook page, but there is a large picture of his whimsical robotic sculptures. Made of upcycled materials each little guy or gal has it’s own personality, no two are a like! When you are surrounded by them it’s like you are in a foreign land straight out of a children’s book.
Richard Kolb – This was the booth I bought a little piece from, my piece was a little yard stake with a flying pig on top. Again made from upcycled materials mostly car parts and some ceramic knobs and other stuff, and mostly animals. I have seen this work before represented as Yardbirds, but the business card now says Engine-New-Ity, it appears to be the same company though, although these sculptures are a bit more industrial than the Yardbirds ones.
Painting
Melvin McGee – Brightly colored cartoonish paintings filled this booth. Some original designs and some based on favorite characters like The Wizard of Oz or Frankenstien. What really made the booth popular was sound effect to go with some of the paintings. Its hard not to be drawn in to all this fun.
Vladimir Ovtcharov – I can’t not love a good pop surrealist painter, which is exactly what this booth was. Apparently the Ovtcharov’s show as a duo but this show appeared to just be Vladimir. Both of their collections can be viewed online and they are both great. I think I dig Vladimir a bit more for the pop punches though. You can really see the old school painting techniques mixed with modern ideas.
Brian J. Sullivan – American Image is the name of an upcoming exhibit from this artist, and it is the perfect way to describe them. Filled with bright colors and pop imagery some are comforting but some, just because of the proportions are almost scary, look at the one with Howdy Doody and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Karri Jamison – I love nature, and I also love bright bold colors, these paintings combine both. Some of the nature is otherworldy while some is very familiar. They are beautifully done with funky backgrounds that make them really stand out in a crowd.
Other
Luis Gonzalez – I don’t know what it was about these, the size and color drew me in! Large fruits an vegetables make up the work made out of wood that are glossy and colorful enough to eat.
Kathy Oda – Super nice lady to talk to, and her work is a lot of fun. I have always had a soft spot for glass and want to try the kiln formed variety in the future. My favorite part of her collection are the little Splats. To some folks these might look like toss away pieces but they are so much fun, I can imagine a house with little Splats lazing about in various colors and sizes!
April Riley Tate – Just plain cute, no other way to describe it. These stuffed toys are simple and adorable. Also helps that they encourage cuddling of the stuffies! With your standard animal variety as well as bearded ladies and strongmen what is not to love.
Ceramics
Cindy Martin (Aldrich Valley Pottery) – I would have really liked to get one of these pieces as well, they were so great and priced kind of low. From what I could see they were all raku fired and each had it’s own individual flare. Some included horse hair and most included figurative elements of animals carefully sculpted and attached to the pieces. Very beautiful one of a kind work.
Hironobu Nishitateno (Nanten Pottery) – Tons of tiny little pots and vessels, very traditional but with some great glazes and unique features. The bud vases were adorable and there were so many different options and styles.
Reiko Cunningham – Last but not least, personally I love making sgraffito pottery, and you can tell Reiko does as well. Bunny rabbits seem to be a common theme which attracted lots of kids (and kids at heart) to this booth. Some of the carving were full scenes while in other areas a nice pattern. Great stuff all around.
For more info on Laumeier Sculpture park and next years Art Fair go here!
We Came, We Saw, We Went Back Home
Posted on: April 22, 2015
I’ve been on quite the hiatus lately. But there is good cause, I moved! And then moved again. Back in August myself and my best buddy Paul (see side links to his artist profile) packed up my car with as much as it could carry and set off across country to Portland Oregon. Over 2,000 miles separated us from our current location and the future. We didn’t have jobs lined up, or even a place to stay, but we were determined. I was the sole driver on this journey which meant every once in a while I needed to rest my eyes. We spent 2 nights at rest stops and 2 nights at hotels but eventually arrived at our destination.
It was awesome arriving in Portland and seeing the city we had been talking about and accomplishing that part of the journey but it soon became ultra overwhelming! We had to make this work and find a source of income and a place to stay. After another night in the car and some more in hotels we did eventually find some more permanent lodgings as well as some semi-permanent jobs and we made it work. I’m pretty sure it still would be working but we had some family business to attend to at home and decided to once again pack everything we could into my little hatchback and once again drive the over 2,000 miles back to Saint Louis. It was even longer this time because I decided I wanted to explore the west coast some more before returning to the midwest.
But now we’re back! And while it has its ups and downs, one definite good thing is access to my studio and being able to start working on some new work. I also plan on writing a bit about our experience and will go into more detail on some of our adventures on this blog so stay tuned. In the mean time here is some of the play list of some of the road music we listened to on both trips.
The Muffs – Oh Nina and Lucky Guy
The Thermals – Here’s Your Future and Returning to the Fold
The Who – Tommy Soundtrack from Movie just the album, but seriously who doesn’t love Anne Margaret’s voice
The Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack, for late night driving trying to stay awake this does the trick, because you can’t help but sing along.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch soundtrack, Musicals are pretty popular in the car
A small sampling of what we listened to, in addition to the hours of satellite radio!
It has been 6 months since my last post! Way tooooooo long. Living arrangements have changed somewhat and I have limited access to the big computer which is easier to post from, it’s been a little easier to post on smaller blogs like Tumblr in the mean time.
I have been focusing a little more on 2-d work lately. It’s a little more feasible financially to do and it is a little quicker to do so i can fit it in better when I can. In addition i have been playing around with some line work and patterns done with some pens. I have been using a type of pen called a Hybrid Technica made by Pentel that I really enjoy for fine lines. It gives the look of a technical pen without the price of buying a technical pen. The painting has been consisting of some watercolor but lately a lot more acrylic, i can get such brighter bolder colors with acrylic. Most importantly is that there is NEON acrylic paint. Frankly Neon needs to exists more, I wish my whole wardrobe was neon. But I digress. I have included some pictures of some of the stuff i have been playing with. Included are some pictures of some stuff from a series i have been dabbling with I am calling 90’s wisdom, which features quotes from 90’s songs against a bright patterned background.
I have still been throwing on the wheel every so often and in fact threw a couple of bowls to donate to an Empty Bowls event held at my Alma Matter of SLU this year. Here is a photo of how those looked.
Welcome to the new year
Posted on: January 5, 2014
Been a while since my last post as looking for a new job has my primary focus. Which means not a whole lot going on artistically unfortunately. Even though I am still looking I decided to make some time to update some stuff too 🙂 I have been doing some crafty things like knitting, currently on my 3rd scarf which is the best to date. I taught myself thru youtube videos and initially hated it but now it is something calming to do after a long day when trying to rest, and not wanting to make a big mess. My hands don’t like being idle. I also have done some little pinterest crafts for the holidays and one kawaii collage for a postcard. Just little things while muddling thru the holidays. And there has been lots and lots of baking!
One craft for Christmas presents was actually one I saw in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens. But I found an equivalent guide on pinterest too here. There are little fortune cookies made from fabric, inside I wrote a fortune of “You will have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!” And included some little candies too.
The second one was a video I had been holding onto for a while that showed how to make your own lipstick, using three ingredients, castor oil, shea butter, and crayons. I followed the video exactly and it worked like a charm the colours are great and I’d love to try more, maybe even smaller batches for weird colors to use with costumes. I got the containers at the container store as the video shows, they have a multitude of colors. The castor oil and shea butter are a little pricey though and I’ll have enough to last for a long time but it was a fun thing to do.
Below are photos of the postcard and the christmas crafts.
Keeping Busy Updating
Posted on: November 11, 2013
- In: In Studio | My Work
- Leave a Comment
I have been keeping busy online updating my society 6 and etsy store as well as a friend’s society 6 store and our joint tumblr. But I have been lacking in blog posts for sure! I have been doing some new paintings including playing around more with acrylic skins which has been my favorite stuff so far. I’ve always liked making collages and doing it with brightly colored paint is really fun. Some of those pictures are below. I also had a little sewing class at a local Jo-anns store and got a little bit of a better feel for my machine and have been doing little projects here and there on it. It has been going fairly well though I am still not that great. Photos I am sure will come when I get a better feel for it and start doing some funner projects. That’s all for now, more to come soon.
New Batch
Posted on: November 2, 2013
I have a brand new batch of ceramic stuff that went through a kiln fire recently. It looked like a lot more stuff when it was taking up space on my tables in my studio area. However, it barely filled half a large kiln. Some of the recycled clay body turned out a little strange with some pin pricks or cracking showing up. Also some of the glazing had some pin hole results and I won’t be able to list them in my shop, but they are still fun experiments to have around the house. Below are pictures of the items pre-fired and then them finished. Keep an eye out in my Etsy shop for some of the things that turned out well.
Neon acrylics
Posted on: October 1, 2013
If you haven’t noticed, I have a fascination with bright neon colors, and it shows up in my work. Recently I bought some neon acrylic colors from work to play around with. I had some sample acrylic mediums I have been playing with lately and wanted more acrylic colors to test out with them. I made 4 small (approx 4×6) text pieces with my new neon colors and some older colors I had. i used tape and cut up sticker sheets to lay down some shapes and strips to mark off certain area. I had a glazing medium that I mixed in the paint to thin it down a bit and also get some smoother, thinner layers. I really like the way they turned out however the color does look much better in person, my scanner doesn’t seem to pick up on the neon as much. Will definitely be doing more tests in the future but am currently in a getting messy with clay mood.
Deidre's Amazing Blog 
