This Sorry Spacesuit

No big essay on Love or Finding Your Shape this time, I guess I've been too busy to think much. Instead, here's some process of stuff that I've done lately. I hope you enjoy that kind of thing!

You can click any of the images to see them in detail.

I started this bas relief as a sample for the sculpture class I teach and I ended up liking it enough to take it home and finish it. I can always use more samples, sometimes they help to inspire the kids to try something they wouldn't usually attempt.

It's obviously based on Van Gogh, inspired by this little grooved clay tool that I usually use to block stuff in that pretty neatly mimics Van Gogh's famous style. (you can see the tool in the pic below.)

As always, I learn things by trial and error. I found that I made the background too thin and it began to crack as the piece dried. I whittled away the parts that were too cracked, and tried to patch it, but clay is hard to work with once it's started to dry out.

In the end, I ditched the background entirely, and I think I like it better. Not that I have a choice now! Maybe I'll mount it on a piece of wood. Or most likely, throw it on a shelf!

I've been promoted at my new job with the Rec and Parks Department and my duties now include media stuff and design, including this logo for a new game they installed where some old shuffleboard courts were.

I think it's traditionally called "Bean-Bag Toss" but affectionately referred to as "Cornhole" and not surprisingly, the-powers-that-be decided Cornhole wasn't a great name to go on a sign in an outdoor facility mostly crawling with young, snickering and bored youth. So they dubbed it "Bag-o!" and asked me to create a log-o! I hadn't used Illustrator in a bit and while this wasn't my favorite color combo, it got the most favorable response, and was finalized.

It'll go up on signage near the game's area along with the instructions that tell you how to properly throw beans bags at a hole 30 feet away. Something along these rules, endorsed by the ACA or American Cornhole Association: http://www.playcornhole.org/rules.shtml. I'm pretty surprised they managed to snag even that .org domain name, and there is NO way, I'm typing in the .com version of that address. (God, I'm as bad the snickering, bored youth!)

And finally, I've been lucky enough to have a slew of private art lessons booked during the summertime, lots of parents looking to keep their kids occupied I guess. This week, I start 5 sessions with an awesome group of 3 on comic illustration.

I haven't taught a comics class in a while, so I sat down today to review some material and man, is Scott McCloud the 800 pound gorilla in that arena. I got sucked back into reading Understanding Comics and Making Comics after only a couple panels. He's such a clear storyteller and his charts and theories are fascinating, as well as the simple little beats of humor he drops in every once in a while to keep you present. Reinventing Comics is a bit tougher read, but there are so many theoretical statements in it that countless people (myself included) used in that hazy bubbling ooze of early webcomics, that it's every bit as influential as the other two books.

His website is touting a 2-day comic making seminar in LA this month, I wish I had the time! YOU should totally go though!

For comic instruction comparison I also read through Making Comics the Marvel Way and the actual storytelling part of the instruction is pretty thin.

I AM going to practice the Drawing Women section though, cause I am terrible at that. Drawing teh pretty gurls.

I hope you're all well, and thanks for reading. Feel free to let me know your thoughts or anything that you're working on!