The Snowflakes Journey

boy soldier

my brain is swirling with things that need done an things left undone. I use i tunes and often times simply hit shuffle. it usually doesn't much matter what im listening to when im working on art just so that their is noise. lately im struck by the decemberists and i find myself clicking back to yet another decemberists song. i have abandoned my wabi sabi series for now as i have had to abandon my yoga class till spring and i feel the two must go hand in hand. though i have submitted a few of those works to be juried and exhibited individually.

the body of work im doing now is for exhibit at zola new world bistro in state college. out of all places. the place i feel like i can not get away from is giving me back a smidgen of what i put into it.

anyway so ive been enamored by the decemberists and images of young child soldiers. yes thats right. i have no idea why but i have had child soldiers on the brain for a few weeks now and i often times find myself (goggle)ing for photos. its scary sad very depressing, but very real. i think thats the obsession for me. its making me feel. i think ive been running through my days emotionless (which makes art making difficult on some levels) and i actually need these photos to feel something.

sooooooooooooo i have decided one of my up coming prints will be that of a young boy soldier. im going to do some research and maybe look for a charity of some sort helping rehabilitate these young soldiers after they have been removed from their war torn countries. 75% of the proceeds from the sale of that print from now till forever as long as i make it will go to that charity.

my art doesn't usually convey a message per say but feelings. so this is a rare sort of image for me to be making because i am trying to send a message and educate the public about these young fighters.

whats on google

            

                                                                    poster by c. dailey crafton

i awoke this morning to a delightful surprise. after being egotistical and google-ing my own name. (don't lie you know you've done it too) i had stumbled upon this absolutely stunning blog written by a graphic designer in Brooklyn, NY.

i was shocked and honored to see my own work posted at the top of his latest entries. why does this mean so much to me you ask? those of you who know me and know me well know that i can sit contently with an issue of print magazine and steamy mocha for hours drooling over creative design solutions.

well, this is a blog written by a fellow designer and  lover of the graphic arts in print. and the images he has posted through out his site are incredible. and im just tickled pink that he has included mine.

thanks Dailey!!!

happy new year

well its about time to do this again. one of my new years resolutions is to update this every other day or so. my quest for creativity has been failing me with the hussle and bussle of the holidays. im ready to hit it full speed though after jan 1. i had hoped to be safely out of the restaurant biz by the new year and it seems that im not quite ready for that yet. though i have officially made the transition from full time in the restaurant and part time in the art studio. to part time in the restaurant and full time in the art studio.

i have also taken on quite a few graphic design endevors. though its not my favorite medium to work in it is my absolute favorite medium to look at. therefore i have come to the conclusion that the graduate program at SCAD or the Savannah College of Art and Design in printmaking would be the best match for me. they take a very graphic design approach to printmaking there.

i did indeed do my undergraduate work there and its a great school, however i sure i could only afford to return with a fellowship.

i once thought i would enjoy teaching highschool art. and though i still think i would i dont think it would satisfy a passion i have to make it myself as an artist. i think college level education is for me. being an established artist and professor one day. so off to grad school it is.

ill be working hard over the next year to apply to that program while my sweety branden decides what is next for himself as he has just graduated with a psych degree here in happy valley.

a few other things you can stay tuned into this new year.

i have been designing wine labels for a small wine importer and the first one is due to hit the shelves marchish. im not revealing any details just in case last minute the importer and owner of the winery change their minds before the labels go to production. not too uncommon in the graphic arts business. especially with internationally branded clientel. the message they send out to the public through design is all they have to sell and it must be flawless.

im teaching classes at the art alliance and at penn state's center for the arts and crafts. printmaking and watercolor. you can log on to their sites for info or just e mail me as well.

what a december

well i have quite a december ahead and im going to try to do my best to keep everyone posted, not just about events but also the actual quest for creativity. that was the intention for the blog but it has strayed some and become a site for announcements.

first off i turned 30 just a few weeks ago 11/11. im very excited about being  30. Its a good age. young enough that your still active but old enough that people take you seriously when you have something to say. and by that im referring to the phrase.

                                           "whats that? what do i do? oh im an artist, and yourself?"

ive been working in the food industry for most of my career since high school. i like it only because im good at it. i dont actually like serving and managing people in that industry. but im good at it. i work in a swanky little joint here in happy valley. ( only one or two day a week thanks to my art sales) but the point to the story is to illustrate the above point about not being taken seriously. i encounter a lot of people and opportunities in this little joint. many people ask if im in school at the college here and i say no. then they say well is this what you do? i say sometimes then i answer with the above phrase. "im an artist" some people are receptive but most people chuckle.

im ready to leave the industry. its high stress and high drama. and its not meshing well with the direction im headed in life. hopefully soon.

as for this week.

well this up coming weekend is the winter craft market at mt nittany middle school. (about 3000 attend each year) its juried entry and is organized and put on by the central pennsylvania guild of craftsmen. dec 1 and 2. stop in for any of your holiday shopping. especially if you have taken the handmade pledge this season like i did. this will be my first year with a booth and i have so  so so much to do yet this week i think ill be putting in 12 hour days from now till then printing and sewing.

following that on dec. 8 ill be in brooklyn ny. for another holiday sale "handmade holiday" at this awesome new facility. i cant wait to see it in person its called 3rd ward.

                   

                               

well speaking of work to do its time to get started. the steelers play tonight and i have yoga class im not wanting to miss either so ill be doubling productivity today.

painting

 

                   

                   

                   

                   

i have started a new body of work. i am painting lately instead of printing. i wish to have a large body of work that i can have for exhibit and sale in galleries and other venues. thus i have begun my wabi sabi series large format works ranging from 14" x 14" to 30" x 40

                   

               

 

wabi sabi: the beauty of things imperfect impermanent incomplete modest humble and unconventional.

here is the thing. i have been recently inspired by a yoga class ive been taking. the quieting of my mind once a day has had a profound effect on my thinking. artists are too quick to have something to say in their work. they like to make the viewer ponder and think. i rarely have something to say. i simply find joy in the challenge of translating my natural environment into bold pleasing graphic patterns and thats the form my printing usually takes. i have decided to take my painting a step further. not only do my paintings not "say" anything but i have actually tried to create images that may potentially quiet the mind all together.

                  

                   

in doing so i have used materials that are imperfect and impermanent. metallic paints that have oxidized and will continue to oxidize with time. each of the works is bordered with textured molding paste unpainted left showing its natural ivory color

the pieces are about awareness and texture and color. you must be present to explore the beauty of the rust colored iron paints and the patina copper leafing. the actual pieces are composed of and about the decomposition of these humble materials.

enjoy

                   

                  

self destruction

its really amazing  i can just feel myself beginning to creatively self destruct. i have a tiny studio room here in my home and sometimes all i can do is come in and sit down. no thoughts no ideas no revelations. 8 hours later shear disappointment and anxiety. i have wasted a day. another day with no income.

i mean most people couldnt sit in a chair for hours on end and do nothing but think even if they tried.

i dont know what to do during these hours. maybe i should just start an experimental sketchbook. one where anything goes. one with no preconceptions. no ideas needed. just sit down and start. maybe that starting will create sparks for future projects.

who knows. i do know i have had too many of these days lately. and that i tell you the beginning of self destruction.

i must explore this self destruction further. im not sure if it begins with fear or laziness. but im pretty sure its one or the other. im not typically lazy by nature.

well i figured i could at least do a post. It has been forever indeed.

The julies coffee shop show will be sadly ending this week. i am anxious to get all of my work back and see what i have left as far as  framed inventory for my upcoming festival style show in december.

ill post details for that show soon enough.

in other up coming events. i have just completed a "one more cup of coffee"  print for www.DIYthing.com. DIYthing is a great little website kept up by  two creative and talented indie designers in NYC.  they report and feature great art and design from all over. everything from fashion to printmaking. They are getting ready to launch an online magazine and had asked to use one of my prints for the cover. i was delighted and obliged of course.

I am beginning a new large format series that involves the happy marriage between printmaking and painting. and i do mean large format. I have completed only one piece thus far. but i have just received a case of 30 x 40 inch canvases in the mail and i am anxious to get started on those. however my screen printing chemicals are on back order so i must remain patient a bit longer.

well thats it for this picture-less post.

ill write a brighter post tomorrow.

some goings on

                                     
wow weee i have been absent from the blogging world for quite sometime, and owe apologies to anyone who had just gotten used to checking my blog daily. life has been hectic for a little over a month.  luckily in most ways all good chaos.

first off ill just use this entry to try to fill everyone in on whats going on these days. the picture above is of seven magazine. its an arts magazine that is published weekly with the sunday telegraph in london. my first real art press. yipee im excited needless to say. ill have the link up here so anyone who would like a good editorial read on affordable art and click and read it. the article will also soon be up on the etsy.com press page thanks to the wonderful etsy admin. they are such a supportive community and are so helpful in promoting the artists that sell through their site.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/07/08/svafford08.xml

in other news and up coming events:

2. There is a show currently up at the gallery in the Schlow Library on the corner of Allen and Beaver Streets in downtown State College. It is there that you can view one of my favorite 2 color botanical prints entitled weeds. I'm pretty sure its up for the next 2 months so check it out if your in town over Arts Fest.

                                                            

3. I will be found on on my hands and knees down on heister street between the hours of 11:30 ish till about 4 this upcoming Thursday, Friday and Saturday, recreating the ever so famed 6 foot painting by Edvard Munch "The Scream"

EEEEEKKKKKKK ...here are some pics from past years street painting events i think just before my fingers and knees actually started bleeding ouch.

 

and the finished pieces: in 2005 (starry night)

                                                            

in 2006 (woman with dove)

                                                            

4. Other places to view my work: There will be an exhibition at the Downtown Theatre on Allen Street Featuring some great works of mine and other talents with a theater theme. The Exhibit runs from July 23- Aug 13 during the running of "Out of Line" a world premier play written by Broadway actor Julio Matos

5. Julie's Coffee of Williamsport Pa will be hosting a 2 month solo exhibit of some of my most popular prints. These will be up and for sale through the months of August and September.

6. Beginning the week of September 17th for 8 weeks on Wednesdays  from 4:30-6:60 you can join me at the Art Alliance in Lemont Pa for printmaking classes. I will be instructing a variety of techniques for beginners. Contact the Art Alliance for more info on  that or any classes. www.artalliancepa.org

                                                            

7. Motion Sick, one of my favorite watercolor gouache and charcoal paintings recently won an honorable mention at the Annual Members Show in Lemont Pa.
 

                                                            

8. And lastly In celebration of Zola New World Bistro's five year anniversary, owners and management have teamed up with Chadsford Winery to produce a righteous super tuscan blend to be bottled very soon with their very own artist series wine label featuring a print of mine entitled "Flock" It is an embellished version of my traditional flock print with added color and gouache painting. So come on in and enjoy a glass to catch a glimpse of the "Flock."

Whew

A very Quick thank you to Karen Beth and Melissa, My new blog readers for your wonderful inspirational comments. Thanks so much for reading as well. I have not posted in so long. Busy prepping for a summer show. Its finally over and was a success for me. Just the boost I needed to continue this bizare road of travel I have chosen. Today a few hours putting my life in order then  nice long post with detail and photos. And maybe some new work.

Lost in time

well, it has been a while... please forgive my misspellings and bad grammar as i am in the middle of cooking dinner and just had to get some thoughts down on paper....i am rushed...
holy bipolar...psychology is a strange subject of study...all of these disorders and where do you draw a line between having one and not... i mean dont we all have tendencies...what classifies a tendencies and what classifies a disorder...i have been busy and somewhat out of whack...a stage that most artists go through i suspect...

it seems i get lost in time these days... i wonder if im not alone...i see days go by and i realize i have accomplished nothing... but what is accomplishment...

i once wrote a short story with illustrations to accompany about a snowflakes journey... hence the name of the blog... it was a snowflake that embarked on a journey from high on a mountain top and it was swept away with a gust of wind...in short... the snowflake encountered many others but none like herself...and grew lonely and tired of looking for he happiness...the snowflake without ever finding someone like herself finally landed once again... this time on the shoulder of a human BEING...she melted and dripped slowly into the earth to start a new cycle of life....she didnt die per say...but she continued starting a new chapter. ..but it was too late to learn the lesson of the previous chapter...which was...its not the destination its the journey...

i must be babbling and not making sense...but im 30 years old and a waitress...i told myself when i was 15 and my mom was 30ish and a waitress that i would never follow in her footsteps...its not what i yearned for... i yearned for art...making art.... creativity...teaching others the act of self expression...and inspiration...

is there something wrong with being a 30 year old waitress?...certainly not...

before enlightenment...chop wood carry water...after enlightenment...chop wood carry water

its not the destination or accomplishments in life... its not what your doing its how your doing it...but dont forget to do what you love...

i need new

                                 

...holy camoly, it is definitely spring even though its blustery cold outside. i can tell because im crawling out of my skin. i have set up a lovely little art studio for myself here in the house to work. and i can barely stay in the room. i want to go out and get my hair cut short and buy frilly things instead. i get into these phases. and its very impulsive i have to watch myself. i usually regret decisions that i make when im in this stage.

and how about something new on etsy already. ive hit a road block it seems. im still selling. i had 3 sales this week. but i need new stuff. i just cant sit still long enough. to create anything. im going to try hard today and tomorrow im off of work otherwise.

i need to sit and get some lesson plans laid out for this summer as well for my classes at the art alliance, so i can place an order for supplies. i am so excited to be working with the kids this summer. i miss working with acrp summer treatment program back home.

im adding a new creative artist to my etsy friends section. her name is Emily Meyer. she enjoys  making jewelry, knitting, and photography. I cant wait till she offers some of her photos on her site. ERMoriginals

well i supose this procrastination has gone on long enough. i have got some work to do. ciao