Quite the Holiday!

Hello, everyone!

It has been a busy time for me, what with chocolate-making parties, spending time with my loved ones, working coat checks for fabulous parties, and, of course, making art.

I feel very honored to have one of my cousins ask me to make a special Christmas gift.  This box was made to honor a very special person who loved his dog more than anything.  He also had a great taste in music (with Blink 182 being one of his favorite bands).  I focused on these two facts as I created the design, and I also incorporated poppies for remembrance.  I hope that the person who receives this will love it; it was created with a lot of love and good intention.

Stephen's dog, Snickers

The top of the box

Side 1

Side 2 (Blink 182 quote - not an easy feat to find a sentimental and appropriate quote from that band!  Must be why I like them...)

Side 3

I ship it off tomorrow, since the post office closes ridiculously early on Saturdays.  Just in time for Christmas!  I hope everyone has fabulous holiday/Christmas plans, and that they at least get to be with a loved one during this time.  It will be my first Christmas without my immediate family, which makes me sad, but I am so grateful that I get to spend this time with my fella. 

It is also my birthday and has been fantastic so far!  I have had a lovely, lazy afternoon and my man made me one of the most delicious lunches.  We're going out to eat  and then out dancing afterward!   Plus, I have had so many wonderful people reach out to send their good wishes.  I love you all! 

Coming up - I have several commissions in the works, all of which sound like exciting projects.  I will post as I complete them.  I also have a few images in my mind for upcoming wall hangings and boxes!  

In addition, there are just two more days to purchase gifts from my Etsy shop for Christmas.  Feel free to check it out, and maybe I can ship off another item or two tomorrow :-) 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/eminationartistry?ref=si_shop

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving!  I certainly did.  My parents flew in from out of town, my fella had the day off in order to spend it with the family, and we had a fabulous time.  The turkey was delicious, we had football playing all day long, and I was able to avoid pretty much all of the food responsibilities by taking baby duty!

I am currently working on one commission, and I have a few lined up for the upcoming months.  "Marici's Gift" is still for sale for any interested parties, as well as a few necklaces that I'm sure many women would love to have for Christmas!

Here are a few photos from a wonderful Thanksgiving:

I still have time to make a few custom necklaces or a small box or two before Christmas comes!  Please contact me if you want to give a handmade, one-of-a-kind, affordable piece of art!

Marici's Gift

Another piece finished!  I have had this idea in my head for a few months, but I have not really had the time to execute it.  It is called "Marici's Gift", but on Etsy I will call it "Origami Cranes to the Moon," since they don't encourage creative titles.  The wall hanging is $70.00 and is available on Etsy here.

This was inspired by a friend who often turns her thoughts heavenward, & I think it turned out beautifully.  The wall hanging is 9.5 inches by 6.5 inches.  It was an interesting challenge to really get the detail on her face without overworking the wood and burning it too much.  In fact, I did at one point, but I won't tell anyone where it happened!  I am looking forward to really working on people's faces and creating more ornate backgrounds as my skill set and imagination expands!

I painted the origami cranes with acrylic paint.  I think it really adds weight and vibrancy to the paper.  In the future, I also plan to incorporate ink and watercolors to pieces in order to allow for the wood grain to show when appropriate.

I have also been busy with other artistic pursuits.  I recently had a family photo shoot with the Lopez family, a lovely couple with the sweetest daughter and a very kind sister.  We had originally scheduled a few weeks earlier, but due to weather and an unhappy baby, we rescheduled on a gorgeous day!  These photos were taken around the Centennial Gardens area.  If you live in Denver and haven't been there, you should take the chance to visit- it is charming.

I plan on really focusing my efforts on being able to capture the quieter, natural moments within a photo shoot.   Plan on seeing more portraits somewhere in the near future, and 

Necklaces galore!

I'm back!  Literally, back in Colorado.   I had a lovely time back home, hanging out with the family and riding some roller coasters!  Plus, I now have a few ideas for new directions for my art, thanks to some great conversations with relatives and friends.

Great news! I had my first online sale - so exciting.  I always appreciate and love the interest I receive from my friends and family, but it is a different feeling to have someone who is not invested in your life decide that they want to purchase your product.  I did love making the octopus necklace, though, so I think I'll have to do a few more.

I currently have three finished necklaces, all being sold for $25 on Etsy.  The pendant is 2.5 inches and the chain is 18.5 inches.  Check it out here!

I also have business cards coming sometime this week!  So great.  It will be nice to feel like I have proper packaging and preparation for when people ask me about my art.

I'm slowly working on a few boxes to put up on Esty... but remember, you don't have to wait for me to think up ideas!  Commission me and I'll help you create your own vision for what you'd like to hang on your wall, wear around town, or set on your counter tops!  Plus, my prices are so low that it is silly NOT to buy something!

The Silence Breaks

First of all, let me apologize for the lack of communication on here!  I know I may not have many followers, but I  am less likely to get followers if I never post.  So let me fill you in on what's been happening.

I have still been burning, although I could be doing much better about my schedule and the amount of time I devote to my craft.  I think my biggest issue is that I have had no discipline with my art before.  It was always art for the sake of art, and not for a business.  So I have yet to really do a set schedule because of my mindset.  I need to change my mindset!  Hopefully posting on the blog and actually releasing the name of my art shop, which only has one sad item in it at the moment.  That may shame me into working harder. I do have a box in the works that I think will be very nice once it is all done.

I also have finished a few jewelry items, all gone now.  And I have done jewelry boxes that friends have snatched up in person before I even have a chance to post it.  That is a "problem" that I'm ok with.  At least I am selling a bit!  But definitely need to strive for more.

Here is one of the boxes I've recently finished & sold.

  

Owl box!

Side detailing of the little love birds

And a little surprise when you open the box!

I also have been photographing a bit lately.  Recently, my good friend & I hiked to St. Mary's Glacier.  My favorite photo from the day was:

We also ventured to the Botanic Gardens, which was very fun.  I love trying to find new ways to photograph plants, although I don't always succeed.  Here are a few of the ones I really liked:

Gotta love the ladybugs

I don't know what that is, but it was beautiful.

Lovely water lily!

I love bees.  Snapple recently informed me that they have hair on their eyes.  I can't stop thinking about that.

Alright, and finally, I'm going to tell you my etsy shop address.  Remember, it is a sad thing right now but it will be better soon.  I also am going to order my business cards soon, so I need to fill my etsy shop with lovely things in order to impress the droves of people that will inevitably be interested in buying my stuff... right? Right?

Here it is: http://www.etsy.com/people/eminationartistry

Enjoy the lovely day!  And if you're in Colorado, stay out of the heat (although that may apply to everyone in the nation)!

A Brief Breakdown

Hello again!


This post is inspired by those who have asked me how I do my artwork.  Try as I might, I seem to fall short of properly describing my process.  Hopefully with some visuals and a very basic description, all of you can see how awesome this medium is!

So I've used one of my new necklaces to show you.  This one is an octopus design!  If you look at the pencil sketch, you may be able to see that this is a somewhat rough sketch, since it will be cleaned up later on.  Also, I tend to use lighter, softer woods for my art.  However, I can do harder woods by having more heat or some darker wood (although that really isn't ideal). 

Octopus necklace before burning

Thanks to my wonderful parents for an awesome birthday gift, I have a rather pimped out wood burner!  I have many different tips that are appropriate for different textures and designs.  I only used two tips for this design since it is relatively simplistic in comparison to some other works of art I've done.   Essentially, it is like a soldering iron that is intended for wood instead of metal.  I can adjust the temperature according to whatever shade I'd like.  Here is my equipment (and please forgive the poor flash job; I'm still learning how to properly use my flash!):

In the front is the actual equipment (the temperature control & the two tips simultaneously connected)

Behind is the case, with several other tips.  

The toughest thing about wood burning is surviving the neediness of my cat, Max.  He strictly follows cat laws and therefore tries to get in my way only when I am working on high heat, delicate sections of my art.  I worry both for his face and my art.  

Anyway,  the first part I like to take care of on any piece are the dark portions.  It helps me get rid of any sketchy areas that I don't like.  It also just gets me more excited than when I do the other way... the visual pops right away and I think I have a better idea of the end product. 

Partially colored background

In order to achieve a clean line, I need a very sharp tip.  The darkness is done by setting my heat very high.  My kit can get over 1,000 degrees.  There are trade offs, however, in doing this.  While the back has that very dark shade that I love (huzzah for contrast!), the light parts around it will also become shaded by the heat.  There is no right or wrong about dealing with this issue.  Either you like the extra cream color that happens to the light wood or you have to have to be patient and create the lines on a lower and slower setting.

One of my tips I use to create sharp lines.  

This one is both round and thin, which allows me to handle the curves of the legs with more confidence than my thin, straight edge tips.  

The setting is high, which you can somewhat tell from the red tip.

Necklace with background entirely done!

Once the background is done, I switch the power to flow to the other (rounded) tip.  I set it very low at first to shade in the octopus body, then slowly turn up the heat to highlight darker parts.  

Partially finished octopus.  

Now, at some point I accidentally burned over an area that I didn't want to.  That's fine, although really not ideal.  The way I deal with it is I take a knife and chip away until there is white again.  I also do this for fine detailing that was lost during the burning process.

The knife I use to bring out lost white areas on my burnings.

After I finish chipping away, I burn the areas that need it again.  It is obviously not an exact science in any way, but here I just needed to make a part of the head a little better.  Finally, I also burned a hole in the necklace to put the silver ring in for the necklace.  

Tada! Final product!

And there is the final product!  It will be available in my etsy shop soon for $25 dollars-and look for more designs soon!