August 30, 2008

Some Great Art at Sale Prices!

I am a member of the Visual Arts Street Team on Etsy, and as a special promotion many of the members are participating in a special Labor Day sale! Happy Browsing. Here are a few of my favorites, and please be sure to visit my shop for 20% off all notecards and notecard sets through Monday only!

Posted by mwashburn at 02:03 PM | Comments (1)

August 28, 2008

More life drawing

Went to life drawing again last night, and was able to stay for the full 2 1/2 hour session this time. I was amazed at my ability to sit still and work on a single drawing for a whole hour. I still have some work to do, but got some good quick sketches and one longer gouache I was happy with. Again, having an excellent model really helps.

Posted by mwashburn at 03:49 PM | Comments (2)

August 23, 2008

Spreading the Word

I had the fantastic opportunity recently to be interviewed by Janyce, of Sojourn Quilts from Etsy, on her blog, What Shoes I Wear.

The interview revolves around both my artwork and the role of art-making in my own recovery from postpartum depression. The blog is dedicated to telling womens stories, often through their artwork, and Janyce is a fantastic writer, storyteller, and womens' advocate.

Enjoy.

Posted by mwashburn at 06:55 PM | Comments (2)

August 19, 2008

How I Managed to Make Flowers Ugly

Well, the first flower painting made me pretty happy.

But the second in the series has been such a struggle.

I don't want it to be just a pretty flower painting; I wanted something unsettling to show through, but I feel like it's not there. There are a couple of details I really like, just from a formal point of view:

Not sure where I'm going with this. But, I think it's time to just move on to the next one.

Posted by mwashburn at 05:06 PM | Comments (1)

August 14, 2008

More Good News

So I'm 2 for 2. I've had work accepted to both the Fusion of the Arts juried show at the IUN Gallery and the Deconstruct|Construct juried show at Union Street Gallery.

And, I actually made it to life drawing last night. The model was fantastic. I had double-booked myself, so only stayed until 8pm which means I ended after the 20-minute poses, but it was still a really enjoyable 90 minutes.

Posted by mwashburn at 04:25 PM | Comments (1)

August 08, 2008

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I had a little painting time yesterday, and while my work-in-progress in the flower series has seemingly taken steps backwards, frustrating me to no end:

(I apologize for the glare from the flash, but I wasn't about to get the tripod out this morning)

...I did have some success with a quickie I worked on in the same stretch. Although it is still pretty rough, there are two things that really pleased me about this little canvas. First, I nailed the color. Second, I was working quickly and using matte medium, and I really feel like I got an oil look/feel to the acrylics. Hooray for getting my mojo back!

Posted by mwashburn at 07:27 AM | Comments (0)

August 06, 2008

Slight Disappointment

Sorry for the lightness of my posting, but we were without power for about 42 hours. And then there's just the general business, which is partly what this post is about.

Since I've been being more art-y lately, I've been pining for some life drawing. I used to be friends with enough of the sorts of people who were up for anything that I could usually convince one of them to shed their clothes for my entirely artistic needs. These days I figure I have to rely more on the Paid Model situation for such situations. And I finally found open studio model drawing here in town. Well, on the outskirts.

The disappointment is that I got there tonight, for the first time, only to find that the class was canceled due to an ongoing workshop. But I did meet a member of the organization and get a little tour. The place is called the Art Barn, and there's a small organic farm on the premises, but the barn has been converted to artists' studio space. They hold various workshops and classes through the year, many of the traditional watercolor-type persuasion, but there's definitely some professional talent hanging around. There are also chickens wandering about freely, and it's just a beautiful area. Having the smell of oil paint hit my nostrils was like... well, you know that first whiff of coffee in the morning? It was that good.

So, next week, then. Drawing from the model always really helped train my eye and ramp up my drawing ability a bit, and I could use it now. Hopefully I'll have some results to post soon!

Posted by mwashburn at 07:27 PM | Comments (0)

July 27, 2008

Studio Shots for July 27

Posted by mwashburn at 12:24 PM | Comments (0)

July 23, 2008

Hard at Work

I'm actually toying with the idea of starting a separate art blog, but haven't worked myself up to the commitment yet. I just need to quit my day job, and everything will be fine. Ha! Here's another work-in-progress:

And I thought I'd try my hand at ACEOs (Art Cards, Editions and Originals), which are little 2.5 x 3.5" pieces that are all the rage on Etsy, the idea being that you can buy prints or originals by your favorite artists to display and collect, for under $10 in many cases. Making these little things is addictive...

Posted by mwashburn at 07:18 AM | Comments (0)

July 05, 2008

Shameless Self Promotion

Happy Fourth of July everyone. I hate the Fourth of July. Why? Yes, yes, birth of our country and all, but, three little words: hillbillies with firecrackers. For TWO WEEKS surrounding the main event. Someone tossed a rather large LIT FIREWORK out of a CAR about half a block from us on our walk home from the fireworks display last night. Not cool, people, not cool.

In any case, a little bit of cheer did come my way this loud, loud weekend, in the form of being the featured artist on the Etsy Indiana Street Team blog. link here.

Not much else new. More family in town, which is mostly a good thing, and plans for a girls' weekend all to myself in Bloomington coming up. Look out central and southern Indiana!!!

Posted by mwashburn at 07:47 PM | Comments (1)

July 03, 2008

More Around My Studio

I'm toying with the idea of starting a separate blog for artwork-related stuff, but a) I hate to commit to any more busywork when I should be painting and b) I don't know if my readers here would bother to read both. On the other hand, having a top-level domain for my blog would make me easier to find, and having an art-only theme could only be good for my online presence. Thoughts?

In the meantime, enjoy some pictures of what I've been up to this afternoon (hooray for abbreviated work days due to pre-holiday slowness!)

Posted by mwashburn at 07:48 PM | Comments (0)

June 28, 2008

Scenes from My Studio

I have been a veritable flurry of artistic activity lately and you know what, it feels good. I'm still struggling with how to actually sell some of this stuff, but I am doing some planning and applying for shows. Really, the larger point is that I enjoy it and it adds a lot to my life. End of story. Once I can let go of grappling with "why" and "what to do with it," I find that just the act and outlet of creating makes me happy. I am also still trying to define, for myself, what constitutes success, as well as building a community of other artists from whom I can learn and find inspiration. There are many virtual communities out there, Etsy included, but I'd really like to have that going on in "real life" as well, so that is definitely a goal I am working towards.

I just completed another small bird series, "Above and Beneath" (images beneath the fold) and have prints for sale on Etsy, as well as some knitting-themed notecards. Current stuff:

I think these will be my last two 8x8" bird pieces for a while. They were inspired by the larger carousel painting, specifically the hummingbird.

Being surrounded by all of the fresh produce from our CSA has me inspired by food and the colors of food. The Bug let me borrow her markers this morning to make these:

Keep reading for a glimpse of "Above and Beneath"...

Posted by mwashburn at 02:35 PM | Comments (2)

June 23, 2008

Um, so, Yeah.

So I've been a lazybones about blogging. Forgive me and my two weeks straight of company sleeping in my guest room, couch, and floor. I have, however, been very busy in the studio and over at Etsy.

Posted by mwashburn at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

June 04, 2008

Part II

I don't think this one turned out quite as well as the first, but the point is to have fun and play with the gouache, not to create my be-all, end-all masterpiece (though that would be nice too). I do want to do more of these, but I'm trying to figure out how to do to flowers what Georgia O'Keeffe and Robert Mapplethorpe do to flowers, not what 95 year old Gladys does to flowers during her Sunday watercolor sessions. I think one of the most gratifying things, as an artist, has been when people have talked to me about my work and said something along the lines of "I don't know why, but this painting makes me feel really x y z" With x y z being some odd sensation, emotion, or memory. Because it is really validating to know that the thing I am thinking about, obsessing about, concentrating on emotionally, is the thing that comes across in my work regardless of whether it's a landscape, a figure, or something entirely abstract.

Posted by mwashburn at 07:23 PM | Comments (0)

May 30, 2008

Things You Don't Do Anymore Once You Have Kids

I don't remember the last time I went to a concert. I'm not sure I even remember the first time I went to a concert (though I'm thinking it was either Crosby, Stills & Nash at Saratoga Performing Arts Center with Patita, followed by Don Henley -yes, that Don Henley- in Albany somewhere). I've seen Rush. I've seen Tool (three times!). I've seen Fugazi twice. Actually, the last concert-like thing I did was when we saw the Poster Children at a small cafe while we lived in Illinois, and I was pregnant at the time so I spent most of my time outside, terrified of the second-hand smoke.

Before we moved to Illinois, I had tickets to see the White Stripes in Indianapolis, but something came up (our move maybe??) and we weren't going to be able to make it. I sold those tickets for twice what I paid for them on ebay. But it always struck me as slightly risky to buy tickets on ebay. Not to mention you have to know your way around the scalping laws in your state (it's legal to scalp tickets in Indiana).

I just found out there's now a website that handles ticket brokering for you—seatexchange.com. No more buying tickets from that seedy-looking guy in the parking lot! You can buy or sell concert tickets, sports tickets, and museum tickets. I'm not sure what their cut is when you sell, but the prices seem very reasonable. That was always a problem in Indiana–scalpers would buy up tickets, meaning events sold out very quickly and you then had to pay astronomical prices to get into highly desirable events.

I'm less interested in sports tickets, but Adam does like to see the Yankees if they play in Chicago, and those tickets seem to go fast. Seat Exchange guarantees the transaction, so you don't have some of the worries of buying from a place like ebay or that kid with the backwards baseball cap in the parking garage.

I'm guessing I'm probably done with big arena shows; I'm too old and grumpy to deal with pot smoke, headbanging, and the general silliness that accompanies such things. As the bug gets older, though, I'm sure I'll consider checking out shows at smaller venues in Chicago. Though I'm guessing my next big-ticket show will probably be Blue's Clues on Ice or somesuch nonsense. I do look forward to being the old couple in the corner table in the hipster club.

Posted by mwashburn at 10:07 AM | Comments (5)

May 28, 2008

art time!

The Bug and I spent some time after school today painting, her with her watercolors and glitter glue, me with my slightly-more-grown-up tubes of gouache. I'm starting to really, really love gouache. It does a lot of the things I can do with oils, but thins and dries quickly like acrylic. So this is a little sketch (in gouache and ebony pencil) of the irisis I cut from our front yard this weekend.

I could see doing a whole series of these. I'm actually working on getting prints of my newest bird paintings ready to sell on etsy, and if I do more of these flowers I could see putting them to a similar use.

Posted by mwashburn at 05:22 PM | Comments (0)

May 18, 2008

My Weekend

How many entries do I have with this title? Anyway, we had a pretty good weekend. I have been feeling a little under the weather, but I think I managed to avoid getting truly sick. I slept a lot. Other activities included picking at a couple of art projects I have going on, catching up on some sewing (hem fixing, button re-attaching, stuff like that), planning for our Memorial Day party, working on Lily's socks, dyeing ruining yarn, and forcing Adam to start powerwashing the siding.

Art-wise my progress has slowed down a little bit. On a related note, I seem to be keeping depression at bay, but I really have to check myself often. Sometimes my worst days are the ones following my best days; I find it hard to deal with the everyday when I've had an epiphany. I'm working on some doable, measured goals regarding my artwork, but sometimes feel a little frustrated at trying to figure out where to spend my limited amounts of time and energy. There are three juried show opportunities in the late summer/fall months, and one salon-type show with a due date after Memorial Day, so I'm not sure how best to pick my spots. I also want to start applying for solo shows at a couple of places, and possibly apply to the Artists Association at the Lubeznik Center, but am worried (I should be so lucky) about selling things and not having enough on hand for either of these possibilities.

I'll post more artwork pictures as I get the next little batch of stuff completed. I have this real schizophrenic thing going on between the bird paintings and my more realistic/expressionistic paintings. I have a feeling that the latter will be more successful here, but the others I can do better online and in more of a Chicago market. Again it's a struggle with where to put my time and energy. This is also where I miss having some sort of mentor, to help me make these decisions. I'm hoping that the critique group I may be helping organize with someone I met recently can help fill this gap, so long as there are some people involved who have some success under their belts.

Posted by mwashburn at 06:52 PM | Comments (0)

May 05, 2008

Listen to Me!

I just downloaded the album Humanimals by San Diego band Grand Ole Party, and Oh My God is it good. It's really awesome sort of Southern blues-rock punk-funk fusion, and vocalist/drummer Kristin Gundred's voice sends chills down your spine. They remind me a little bit of Concrete Blonde, and I think Gundred could give Ann Wilson a run for her money in the vocalist category. Enjoy. I think my next purchase is going to have to be Portishead's new album, which I'm pretty excited about as well.

Posted by mwashburn at 09:50 AM | Comments (1)

May 03, 2008

Beginnings and Endings

Endings.

(mixed media- conte, acrylic, collage -on canvas)

And Beginnings.

(mixed media on canvas)

(acrylic, gouache, and conte on paper)

Posted by mwashburn at 01:50 PM | Comments (1)

April 28, 2008

My Artful Weekend

We started off our weekend by attending a talk by Found Magazine founder Davy Rothbart at South Shore Arts. He is a really sweet, funny, entertaining guy and we had fun talking to him after his presentation. We also bought his new book, The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas, which is stories from his travels around the country. I think it was great to talk to him because he's so genuinely interested in people, in that kind of Ira Glass, non-patronizing-yet-finding-the-weirdest-people sort of way. His talk accompanied a show of found photographs from one couple's collection at South Shore. I think they were mainly things like flea market finds, etc., but some really striking, weird, and poignant images.

Saturday was a yard work day, and Sunday we took the train to Chicago to see the Edward Hopper exhibit at the Art Institute. I really enjoyed it. I've always been interested in his work, largely from a technical point of view. There's just something so eerie about his work, and what's really interesting is that when you look at his etchings, illustration work, and early paintings, you see what a master draftsman he was, yet his best works handle certain details, especially figures, in such a clumsy way. You realize it is totally deliberate; that what he wants you to look at is the light and the architecture. His paintings of New York are not about people at all, but about the spaces. A nude in a bedroom is the backdrop, the star of the painting is the ornate facade of the building you can see out her window.

So I didn't get much painting done this weekend (plus I'm in need of a tube of Cerulean blue), but I did spend a lot of time looking at things, which is a necessary part of the process as well.

Posted by mwashburn at 05:57 PM | Comments (0)

April 13, 2008

Fits and Starts

There's a common misconception about the relationship between depression and the "artistic temperament." That is, that depression drives the creativity of the individuals prone to it. This is untrue. The creativity happens in the clear periods when the depression lifts and the artist has the energy and focus to create. I am living this reality very much right now.

I have chronicled my bout with postpartum depression here, feeling that my openness on the subject could only help other people who might be going through the same thing. I have not, however, really talked about more garden-variety depression. What I am finding out is that the tools I used to have to stave it off are no longer working for me in this brave new post-childbearing world. I haven't shared this with any but a few close friends and family members, but the last 4-6 months have been very difficult ones for me. When I went through postpartum depression, I felt somehow "ok" about it because there was a fixed, external circumstance I could blame for what I went through. This time has not been as cut and dry, but as before I didn't see what was happening to me until I was at the bottom of the well. It has affected my interaction with other people, my interaction with my family, my work, and definitely my creative output. Now that I'm getting help and feeling the dark cloud lifting, I'm suddenly feeling a huge bloom of creative energy and feeling very optimistic about 2008 as the year I am going to start really "being an artist." I still find myself trying to grasp "why," and having a hard time accepting that there isn't necessarily an answer to that and, once again, that it isn't some mark of failure on my part.

I attended an arts luncheon last week, and found out about several organizations and exhibit opportunities I plan to pursue in the coming months. I just finished a fairly ambitious painting and have two other small ones in progress with sketches for a third. It feels really good to have the color back in my life and to be finding joy and balance again. My goal lately has been to do one artistic thing each day, and I have been living up to that goal pretty well.

So thank you to all of you who have listened to me, offered support, or just been my friend. Here's another recent sketch to share.

Posted by mwashburn at 11:53 AM | Comments (0)

April 08, 2008

CraigsList Coup

For quite a while I've been thinking about getting a metal flat file/blueprint cabinet to store some of my artwork. I have numerous large paintings on paper that have been rolled up for years (very, very bad for them) as well as canvases and sketchbooks and portfolios leaning up against walls, in closets, under futons, etc. But, the price has always been pretty prohibitive. You can easily pay upwards of $800 for a good one. So on a whim I posted on Craigslist that I was looking for such a thing. Within days, my post was answered by a crusty retired guy near Joliet who collects and resells antique furniture. All I can figure is that he picked this up at an estate sale and had no clue what it was worth. There are two separate cabinets, 37" x 47", that stack:

Some of the paint is scratched off, and there's a teensy bit of rust on the back of one of the cabinets. Still, the two cabinets are worth easily $1200. The price tag? $100. I made two trips to Joliet (3 hours round trip) with a friend's jeep to get all of it home, but now that it's here I'm soooo happy. I got the studio straightened up on Sunday. There's still more to do, but now all my artwork has a home and it was fun to go through so much of my old stuff. I think with a little effort I'll be painting just like the old days. I haven't lost as much as I thought.

Posted by mwashburn at 07:29 AM | Comments (3)

April 02, 2008

Daily Drawings, Days 4-7

I've been pulling out some old artwork lately, and these recent little sketches make me feel so completely incompetent compared with the things that once flowed from my pencil. I'm hoping it's like exercise and will come back with practice.

Posted by mwashburn at 05:19 PM | Comments (0)

March 31, 2008

More Arty Goodness

Please keep in mind, as I post the daily drawings, that these are not intended to be great works of art. They are, quite literally, daily drawings I've assigned myself and sometimes are the result of just a couple of minutes of doodling. Sometimes I have to stop drawing to respond to "MOMMY, I NEED TO GO POTTY!" and never get back to it. So I move on to the next one. I'm trying to keep it fun and interesting and have it be a combination of elaborate doodles and small drawings from observation, just to try to get some of the finesse back into my draughtsmanship. The paper I'm using is only about 3" x 5". I only have one more to make a full week of drawings. Then I might pause, and I've bought paper for a more ambitious 30-day project.

I have also made a little progress on the Carousel painting, though I still can't seem to get the color right in the photo...

Another fun thing I'll post photos of is the set of 36" x 47" steel flat file cabinets I scored for a song on Craigslist. I'm hoping to paint them this weekend and get them in the studio, to give many many too-long rolled up paintings a breath of fresh air and a chance to be stored flat.

Posted by mwashburn at 06:43 PM | Comments (0)

Daily Drawings, Days 1-3

Posted by mwashburn at 07:21 AM | Comments (0)

February 24, 2008

Still More Polaroids

With the magic of the Polaroid, even a simple bowl of fruit becomes strange.

An eerily empty street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

(more below the fold)

When we moved to Central Illinois, I started seeing more and more abandoned factory buildings. These suburban ruins started to fascinate me, and though I never really got any decent paintings out of them, I still have a small collection of polaroids.

Posted by mwashburn at 06:21 PM | Comments (0)

February 21, 2008

More Polaroids

(more below the fold)

Posted by mwashburn at 07:16 AM | Comments (0)

February 18, 2008

Ode to the Polaroid

I learned on Saturday that Polaroid last week discontinued its instant film. I'm heartbroken. B&H Photo is already out of the type I use in my Polaroid Land camera. I'm not sure if there's any hope that someone else will pick up production. That camera has always been a valuable tool for my painting. The picture quality was always eerie and a bit Edward Hopper-esque. Some of my best paintings used Polaroid photos as source material.

In homage, I'm going to be posting some of my collection of Polaroid photos here this week as I get them scanned. In some cases with the paintings they inspired. Enjoy.

Some of my first, best experiments with the polaroid Land camera:

This one became the basis for a number of successful paintings and etchings that were in my BFA thesis show.

A couple of the first Bloomington photos I took, including the quarry vistas that defined my body of work from about 1997-2000.

And I don't remember where this one came from, but I assume it's from the same era due to the subject matter.

Posted by mwashburn at 06:55 AM | Comments (2)

helvetica

You wouldn't think a documentary about a font could be interesting (well, I would, but that's another story). But you'd be wrong. I have been a font geek ever since taking a typography course in 2005, but even non font-geek Adam really enjoyed Helvetica.

Helvetica, a ubiquitous typeface that turned 50 in 2007, is both celebrated and maligned in this nifty little film. We hear from design heavyweights such as Michael Beirut and Rick Poynor, and learn about the history and proliferation of a font that was considered the pinnacle of Swiss modern design. Even I didn't realize how much a part of the visual landscape Helvetica is. It's an inspiring movie too, full of fantastic contemporary design and really interesting interviews. The soundtrack is great as well.

So even if you don't think type is interesting, this movie might change your mind.

Posted by mwashburn at 06:45 AM | Comments (0)

January 26, 2008

Little Bits of Creation

I managed to spend a short amount of time painting today. Here's the results (keep in mind this is a badly lit photo and this is just the very barest foundation of the painting; just a sketch really, blocked in):

It was inspired by a "happy accident" photo my mom took of the carousel at the Phoenix Zoo when we were there:

Lily spent a little time working as well:

This is one of her very first representational drawings. It's of chalk, so I wanted to capture it. It's a plate with some food on it (she made individual strands of spaghetti, then erased them, then put something called "dot food" on the plate). To the left and right of the plate you can see napkins, utensils, etc.

And here's an update on my knitting. I finished the cabled mitts, but left them at work (where I've been wearing them constantly), so alas, no photo. But here's the progress so far on Adam's socks:

Posted by mwashburn at 04:03 PM | Comments (3)

January 23, 2008

Please, Lord, Save Me From Tahoma

No, Tahoma the font, not Tahoma the city.

View Larger Map

I really wish Microsoft Windows came with some sort of tutorial on why screen-designed fonts are a poor choice for print, and explaining that all serif fonts are not Times New Roman.

sigh. Can I go home now? I'm obviously not needed in the workaday world. Not when people have MSPublisher.

Posted by mwashburn at 03:46 PM | Comments (0)

January 03, 2008

Yet More Randomness!

I thought I would have more profound thoughts going into the new year, but instead I've hit the ground running and have my brain thoroughly immersed in artistic ventures. My first order of business is to get my shit together for the Union Street Gallery juried show deadline coming up.

Second, I wanted to mention a local artist I've had the opportunity to meet lately. He's actually a law student, but has suddenly found a lot of success with his artwork, which is really fantastic. I bring you Justin Vining. And he's just as excited about the Edward Hopper exhibition at the Art Institute as I am. I may wait until March to go, so I can see the Ed Ruscha show at the same time.

In other news, Skepchick posted a great link yesterday about why atheists are so angry and I found myself agreeing with every word of it. I'm still really struggling to decide what I think about the New Atheist movement, and really enjoyed this article in last month's Harper's, which talks about the difference between Secularism and Secularization and why Secular Humanism owes such a debt to the culture of Christianity. I still can't get past my feeling that any non-theist movement is doomed to fail if it sets itself up as an intellectual movement, which I think a lot of great atheist thinkers are unwittingly doing. But any time you have people who are (and yes, we are) oppressed, the first step of "coming out" is bound to have to do with announcing your presence and fighting for your identity (and being righteously angry). I'm not sure, however, that demanding the end of religion is a feasible strategy at this point. But anyway, read Greta Christina's post.

I apologize for the lack of Christmas Vacation content. I was hoping Adam would cover our Tucson road trip, and this weekend I swear I'll get the Lilybug site updated with some new photos. We actually don't HAVE all the photos yet, as I'm awaiting a CD full from Nana and Papa.

Posted by mwashburn at 07:01 AM | Comments (1)

December 31, 2007

We're Back!

I do have many tales of the desert to regale you all with, but until I get around to sorting through the photos I thought I'd share a couple of cool shopping finds. First, some adorable kid-sized coffee mugs I found for the Bug at Anthropologie (yes, I realize it's not hard to find awesome stuff there, but living where I do I NEVER get to actually set foot in the store).

Now the Bug has real ceramic mugs to drink her mint tea out of. I just couldn't resist (and neither could Nana). Here's a closeup of the other side of the yellow one:

And, a reminder to myself that what you find at Goodwill is totally determined by where you live. The Scottsdale Goodwill store always turns up good stuff, and this trip I found a really cute Fresh Produce skirt for the Bug, as well as a pair of Marimekko fabric napkins from Crate and Barrel. Total shopping bill: $2.99.

Besides shopping, there was lots of knitting, hanging out with my sibs, journeys in the desert, and movie-going. I can't believe we were gone ten days, but there you have it. I will share more soon! Happy New Year everyone!

Posted by mwashburn at 07:05 AM | Comments (0)

December 02, 2007

Holiday Movie Releases

I remember reading about Tim Burton's film version of Sweeney Todd not too long ago, and it might be the one film I go see during the hoildays. Adam is rooting for I Am Legend, but we'll see. You just can't seem to go wrong with Johnny Depp and Tim Burton. I've never actually seen Sondheim's musical of Sweeny Todd, not being a musical theater sort, but I have always found the story line appealing. It's kind of the Goth Musical.

They've pulled out all the stops on internet promotion for the film, and not only can you visit Sweeny Todd on MySpace, but you can also visit buzznet.com and post your own confession, either via text or video. You are encouraged to post your own tales of sweet revenge. What's up there at the moment is a bit lame, but one would hope that some interesting stuff pops up, a la PostSecret. I'm trying to think whether I would have anything interesting to confess. I think the fact that I'm generally a pretty upfront "here I am" sort of person means that my confessions are either already quite public, or so private/personal that I'll take them to my grave. Well, ok, here goes: I accidentally shoplifted at Target yesterday. There was a little bottle of organic baby shampoo that was way under the seat where the Bug was sitting, and I missed putting it on the conveyor belt, and the cashier didn't see it. I found it, unbagged, when I was loading stuff into my trunk. I have about $6.49 worth of guilt I'm carrying around at the moment, but I'm sure I'll get over it.

In the meantime, visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site, and if you see Johnny Depp, tell him there's still plenty of room in my bed.

Posted by mwashburn at 01:31 PM | Comments (0)

November 25, 2007

Fun Community Events

Reading about the St. Augustine Artwalk reminded me to take a look at the Phoneix and Scottsdale community art walk schedules for while we're out there. More and more communities are doing monthly art walks, and I've heard in some cities that they've become quite the singles hookup events, which I think is really funny. I love stuff like this, when you can pack a lot of galleries and art viewing into one event. Last time we were in NYC together, Adam and I went to the Friday night Gallery Walk in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which was awesome.

The St. Augustine First Friday Weekend Artwalk looks like a lot of fun, and it actually runs two nights, both Friday and Saturday. Most of the artwork looks to be pretty traditional contemporary American stuff, but it's great that they feature so much local art. There's also photography, crafts, and other types of work in the over 20 participating galleries. The Professional Artists of St. Augustine (PAStA) Gallery in particular seems to have a really interesting range of artists and work. And one of the more interesting things I've seen in a while are the Fine Art Pillows at Holborn Gallery. What a great way to do some Christmas shopping! I always love to be able to get people I know something original, and support independent artists at the same time. Black Friday be damned, go out and shop somewhere that isn't a chain retailer. Now I really need to look up the Arizona art and craft fair schedules...

Posted by mwashburn at 09:49 AM | Comments (0)

November 06, 2007

Monsters!

It's been a really long time since I read The Mist by Stephen King. Skeleton Crew, one of his short story collections, was the first Stephen King book I ever read, and I don't remember all the details of The Mist but I remember that it scared the bejesus out of me. As I got older I started to find King a little formulaic at times, but I think some of those first impressions of his writing have really stuck with me. I remember really liking The Tommyknockers when I read it in high school too. The Mist is, if I recall correctly, the first story in Skeleton Crew, and it's quite long. There's a new movie coming out based on that story, starring Thomas Jane (from The Punisher) and it looks pretty darn scary. I don't remember Marcia Gay Harden's character, but maybe I need to go reread the story. Stephen King is great entertainment, and scary in a way where you can tell yourself it's not real. There have been some really good movies based on his books, and some really bad ones, but we won't get into that (giant bat rats indeed...)

We have so little time to go to the movies these days, but I suppose this is yet another that will be much better on the big screen. I've really lost my tolerance for gore as I've gotten older (I simply could not in a million years sit through any of the Saw movies at this point in my life) but I still like a good monster movie. I guess what it comes down to is that ghosts and monsters are scary, but movies about people doing awful things to each other disturb me far more because it's actually plausible that those things could happen. So, hooray for The Mist by Stephen King. Let's go watch monsters eat people until the cows come home! Then again, being trapped in a grocery store (or on any sort of public transit) during any kind of crisis probably is my worst nightmare (and that's part of what they seem to emphasize in the film).

Posted by mwashburn at 06:54 AM | Comments (0)

November 04, 2007

A Little Cheer

Somehow, buying striped tights seems to be a cure for the fall blahs.

Yesterday was also nice because Adam and I got to go out on a real-life, honest-to-goodness date. We had dinner at the new restaurant in town, followed by a leisurely stroll through Barnes & Noble (an activity that is *completely* different sans toddler. Before dropping the Bug off for her playdate though, we stopped at the Brauer Museum to check out the current exhibits. The Ellen Lanyon show was fantastic. I absolutely loved her work. And, in the "it's a small world" department, I freaked out when I read that she studied under Mauricio Lasansky at the University of Iowa back in the late '40s—the same artist my BFA advisor at Binghamton University studied with. Probably around the same time, too. Lanyon has been in Chicago for quite some time, but I think you still see some of Lasansky's influences in her printmaking.

So, I suppose my mood has improved somewhat since my last entry, and now I'm really itching to get in the studio. However, my first task is to get clothing on the naked child who is currently running through my house, and go buy her some shoes.

Posted by mwashburn at 09:39 AM | Comments (1)

October 07, 2007

Work in Progress

I've been working on some small paintings, fretting about how much time goes by between painting sessions, and generally having my usual fall meltdown. However, today I decided to get out a big canvas I had sitting around, and just play with some recent photos. I didn't work for too long, but I'm pretty happy with the start. I realized that I spend too much time fretting over finished product, trying to achieve some certain look or style I've seen somewhere else, rather than just letting myself paint the way *I* paint. I have a real problem with both attention span and free time, so I have to remove all these restrictions from working and just... play.

Posted by mwashburn at 03:28 PM | Comments (0)

September 17, 2007

It's a Major Award!

Well, not quite this major, but my painting Friends did win one of twelve Merit Awards in the South Shore Arts Salon Show.

Here I am holding said Major Award; or at least, the ribbon part of the award. It's a great show, with a wide range of talent from younger emerging artists to some older artists with more established careers in the area, so if you live in Chicagoland I highly recommend it. One of the artists I met was Rita O'Hara, who paints these absolutely gorgeous gouache paintings that are like... well, just take a look. Very illustrative visions/allegories/dreamscapes that for some reason just really hit me. They made me think very much of my friend Robin, and not just because all the titles are from Emily Dickinson (O'Hara has her own entire show in the lobby area, as well as a piece in the Salon Show).

We had a great time at the show, met a few other artists as well as the South Shore Arts staff, and then went on our Anniversary Dinner Date to House of Kobe, where we proceeded to stuff ourselves with an unprecedented amount of sushi. A good time was had by all.

Posted by mwashburn at 07:02 AM | Comments (5)

September 15, 2007

Chip Kidd is Awesome

I finally picked up Chip Kidd: Book One from the library the other day. You may not know his name, but if you read, you know his work. Kidd is a book designer for Knopf, and has designed some of the most well-known book covers in recent years (Jurassic Park, anyone?)

The book is incredibly funny, and although Kidd is almost a decade older than I am, his stories about high school and college are filled with music, ideas, and cultural references that are very relevant to my own tastes and experience. I may have to buy a copy of this book to enshrine forever on my coffee table.

Posted by mwashburn at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)

September 05, 2007

Some Really Cool Stuff

There was an article in a recent issue of STEP Inside Design magazine on ambigram designer John Langdon, who does beautiful work and drew the ambigrams for Dan Brown's Angels and Demons (which I have not read). It's just amazingly cool shit, from a design perspective as well as from a scientific one; the article gets a little bit into how we perceive letter forms and what the "rules" are about how a letter or word can be manipulated and still be comprehensible to the eye/brain. Some of it dovetails nicely with what you learn in basic typography, about why some things work and some things don't. For example, serifs are used by the eye to differentiate characters, which is why blocks of small text are much easier to read when set in a serif rather than sans-serif font (although web typography defies this general rule for some reason). And because we read (at least in English) from left to right and top to bottom, you can get away with cutting off or abbreviating the bottoms of letter forms much more severely than with the tops.

Fascinated by this whole thing, I decided to try designing an ambigram of Studio Virgo. It's pretty bare-bones at this point; I need to do some more work with pencil and paper to flesh it out, but below are the results of a couple of hours of tinkering. It was a really interesting brain teaser to puzzle out. Most of it is working, except I feel like the U/R is still a stumbling block.

Posted by mwashburn at 08:46 PM | Comments (3)

September 02, 2007

As Promised

I finished this up two weekends ago, but finally had a day where the light was right and I could take a picture.

I don't know what else to say, except that we still miss her a lot.

Posted by mwashburn at 06:52 PM | Comments (3)

August 18, 2007

A Little Bit of Hooray

I received notification today that one of my pieces was accepted for the South Shore Arts 64th Annual Salon Show, which opens on September 16 in Munster, Indiana. This is the second juried show I've been accepted to, and is pretty exciting. I actually spent some time (gasp!) painting today, finishing up a portrait of Sophie that I started some time after we had her put down. My next project is going to be a series of small gouache paintings. I just think that scale will be more manageable, and as I have had it up to HERE with acrylics at the moment, I thought I'd try something else. I expect progress to move at a snail's pace as usual, though I expect I'll have more free time for painting now that my nights and weekends are not taken up with freelance.

Posted by mwashburn at 04:42 PM | Comments (2)