We welcome Scarlett to the clan. Nine weeks old, from Hopalong and Second Chance Animal Rescue in Oakland.
Devil’s Slide Drain
This is the whole image from which September’s splash screen is taken. It’s along one of my favorite and most spectacular walks, Devil’s Slide Coastal Trail.
Observation Without Judg(e)ment
I’ve been exploring a system of geometric patterns in both my professional and personal work for a little while now. This is the background, composed in Illustrator at one-quarter scale, for a new piece.
After penciling in the three-inch grid on a 36 by 24-inch (61 x 94 cm) stretched canvas, I used a compass and straight edge to transfer the background design. Then it was a happy trip down old-school graphic design production memory lane as I wielded eighth-inch (3 mm) black crepe line tape to sketch out the shapes.
I used shades of white, warm gray, brown and green acrylic for the underpainting.
After adding a thin ivory wash and letting that dry, I pulled off the black tape. I’ll now add… other background stuff, and paints, and determine what final hue and value of gray to re-stripe (by brush) the outlines. Although I have some definite intentions, as usual, I’m making it up as I go along.
Napoleon, Poppy, Little B
Napoleon visited Poppy the Fairy today.
Poppy was surprised to get an international letter, and gifts! from Little B, who would be a Butterfly Fairy, in addition to her five-year-old self. A Morpho, perhaps? Little B sent treasures to share with Poppy’s other correspondents —so thoughtful! — as well as a jar of butterflies punched from wildflower seed embedded paper…
these two porcelain fairy figures, just an inch (2.5 cm) high, AND an interior fairy door from Firecraft Miniatures, because she was concerned about Poppy living outside all year :)
Sharing the love.
New Project, Poppy, Magnets
Work is underway on a new mixed media piece, large (for me) at 24 by 36 inches (61 x 91 cm). These letters are about 2.5 inches tall (64 mm) and being cut from foamcore.
Poppy the Fairy is being kept busy with her correspondence. These are two accordion books, meant for Ava and Aria to embellish, made from watercolor paper and simple punched shapes. That’s Poppy’s new sigil.
… As well as Ava’s name rendered in triangles, and another tiny sketchbook for Lynnie (at proper 1:12 scale). Her’s from last week was, um, appropriated by her associates :)
This week, Poppy made a two-inch square book to answer some of the girls’ questions: Can you do ballet, like me? Do you eat snacks? Tucked into the reply scroll are California poppy seed pods, because one of the things fairies do is gather seeds.
Inside the book are quick ink and watercolor illustrations with text. Here are a few of the pages, listing some of the things fairies do:
I can perhaps see a series, as my understanding of the fay way grows :)
Maddie Lou spent the weekend with us as her parents enjoyed a night in the City to celebrate their anniversary. Here’s Maddie working on a surprising and spontaneous new deployment of her beloved magnetic blocks in the sun room.
The final arrangement. Can you tell her favorite color is blue?
So awesome on so many levels :)
House guests, Poppy, Plastics
We had house guests for the weekend. Here you see a SW Ep.VII Stormtrooper encounter a San Francisco summer, much to the delight of her more acclimated traveling companion. The reflection in the giant TV is our foggy Pacifica sunset, with powerlines.
Poppy the Fairy was welcomed back from her nine-sleep vacay with drawings and correspondence from Ava and Aria (and Lynnie). In this drawing we see Ava and Aria and her parents, as well as the Fairy Mail box, with Poppy peeking out. I believe the green squiggles represent the recent landscaping, and a purple heart encircles them all.
Poppy is collecting her/his thoughts for response. (Ava is convinced Poppy is a boy.)
I signed the back of the plastics collage with these, um, economical but not un-fabulous “unfinished wood letters & numbers” from Creatology™, which I think is a brand from the Michael’s crapstores.
Some of the drillings and and nail insertions into the quarter-inch frame for the Plastic Litter Collage were regrettably less than expert, so I am embracing the concept of fuckedup recycled materials, and will further intentionally distress — but not too much! — the frame, as I sand and paint, sand and paint, sand and paint.
Plastic Litter Collage
I added quarter- by half-inch pine to the back edge of the thin plywood base to stabilize it and add more surface area to attach the frame to. The plywood itself is salvaged from the crates I built to ship my builds when I moved three years ago :)
After painting the inside frame pieces with two coats of semigloss latex, I cut the two-inch ply lengths to fit and glued them on the base, butting the corners. I used binder clips to hold the frame to the pine strips and a flexible strap corner clamp thingie to hold the frame square while the glue dried. A first coat of paint dries with Albie’s supervision. Tomorrow I’ll tap in tiny nails to secure it all, then fill the holes, sand and paint, sand and paint, sand and paint. And hopefully this weekend I’ll have collected more plastic to call it done.
Plastic Litter Collage
Nearing completion on the plastic litter collage. I bought some two- by quarter-inch wide ply to build a frame, which I’ll paint white.
As more pieces were collected, I re-worked some of the areas. The blue-green section is pretty much filled in.
Red could use a few more bits.
And in the lower right corner, a bit of hipster humor and tree hugging :)
Poppy Responds
Poppy the Fairy received these prompt responses to her questions from Ava and Aria. The messages were folded in half, rolled into scrolls and tied with white cord.
Poppy gave it some thought, and decided to combine favorite colors and letters and fun paper folding.
Cutting the letters from watercolor paper.
Protoype fold for Ava.
Aria likes pink! And bacon too! (not pictured).
Will of course make use of the scrap paper.
Both sides painted, replies written, awaiting final assembly.
When I went down to mail them, I found this appreciation in the Fairy Mail box.
Awaiting delivery. One of the things Poppy mentioned in her replies is that she is going away for nine sleeps, coincidentally the length of time my neighbor, who takes walks with the girls, will be away on vacation. Hopefully I’ll have time for some landscaping and an oversized Fairy Mail bin before Poppy returns.
For the record, Poppy the Fairy does not know what poptarts or bacon are, likes both water and parks, her favorite color is orange, and she likes pink the most in flowers and the sky.
Fairies’ve Got Mail
The still-vacant relocated fairies’ house has become a topic of speculation and delight in our neighborhood. My neighbor alerted me that the fairies had received mail. As caretaker, I brought it in for them. Above is a note from 5-year-old Ava, with a drawing of a fairy.
This is from her sister Aria, aged 3. Somewhat more abstract and, I believe, collaborative.
So I made a proper mailbox.
Had a fairy named Poppy write thank you scrolls in sparkly silver ink tied up with blue silk ribbon.
And installed it streetside. This should be fun :)
nancyland.com 