Day The 60 Day Bird Journal Challenge

Raven in progress.
Acrylic paint on bristol board paper.

On Day 41 I challenged members, once again, to select a bird of their liking and to start, once again, with the letters of their bird to find corresponding birds to work with.  I originally chose "Crow", but realized I did this the first go round so this time I chose "Raven" solely so I could create a vulture when "V" came up.  So this evening I shall be drawing vultures.

Day 41 The 60 Day Bird Journal Challenge

"And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being." ~ Black Elk

Day 39 The 60 Day Bird Journal Challenge

Lots of carving and pattern making going on over here on the prairie, so much so I forgot to post to the blog!

I've been working with reworking patterns and the like this past week, exploring new avenues for design.

And then I was reminded by another artist who had posted to Lynn Krawczyk's Facebook page that back in the day, this would be art school, we used to create patterns and then cut them up into strips, one inch squares, and the like and the reconfigure the patterns to create new designs with existing patterns.

That was a mouthful! 

My original design that I scanned into the computer so I could print multiple copies to be manipulated into new designs.

The first time I did this was circa 1994 and I was so intimidated by my instructor (Tim McIllrath) that I, without thinking and fear causes us to do irrational things at times, cut up my original design WHEN I should have made multiple copies of it and cut those up instead.  Face plant onto desk, to scared to even cry.

So don't do what I did, make multiple copies of your original design FIRST and then proceed to cut them into one inch strips.  This fiskars paper cutter made quick work of the process.

We have strips!!!

I wove some strips that I cut horizontally, one inch by eight inch, the original pattern to the left.

Tomorrow I shall rework the strips I cut vertically, one inch by eleven inches, and will post those results as soon as I remember to do so, lol.

Day 34 The 60 Day Bird Journal Challenge

Folded a piece of sketch paper into eights.

Drew my pattern of choice onto one side of the folded paper.

Not bad, not quite as extraordinary as the cut outs I recall making as a child while attending catholic school.  But then again those nuns had us creating all sorts extraordinary things from paper cut out snowflakes to macrame owls,; they also taught us how to polka and how to square dance.

Atop a piece of inked mixed media paper, observing how the light casts shadows and such against the base layer.

Day 33 The 60 Day Bird Journal Project

Bird feather using the cap of a marker.

Bird feather using the side of a glue stick tube and a colored pencil.

Paper bird cut outs placed over a mono printed farm scene onto a manila envelope.

What can I say I love Matisse's birds!  These I drew myself and then went looking for his work and I guess there's not a whole lot of what one can do with a swallow design.  I have plans to make more of these for a page in my journal.