Autumn Endeavours

I have an excess of apples (that I don't want to eat fresh) this year, and Chantal kindly agreed to help me bake something fun and creative with them:  apple roses! 

We even made them gluten-free, and the crust turned out nice and crispy and delicious!  They tasted very nice with a dollop of sheep-milk yogurt too.

We only semi-followed recipes/instructions, and had to make things up as we went (partly because of the nature of the gluten-free dough, which doesn't quite behave like phyllo pastry dough, and partly because I didn't slice the apples finely enough and they didn't curve/bend like they should have).

And on a slightly different topic, Stephanie carved the lab pumpkin this year.  Check out her awesome design of fireflies out of a jar:

Impressions of Impressionism - Michelle's Poppies

Our task on this painting project was to pick a famous (or not so famous) impressionistic painting, and try to recreate it.  I chose Monet's "Poppies at Argenteuil" (I love the red poppies, and the sweeping fields, the line of trees in the background).  I worked from a printed sheet, originally a digital copy I found on the web, and I think my painted colours were off a bit because of the way the print turned out (darker than the original).

I like to show work-in-progress:

 

I originally started with the intention to copy the original as faithfully as possible, but half way through the painting decided to remove the  figures of the lady and child in the foreground.  Later on, however, I realized that they were an important part of the composition, and added them back in.

The finished piece:

Colouring and Jewelry-Making

We had a pleasant get-together this past week.  Angela's sister Sarah joined us (on a visit from far away Toronto).  Some of us worked on making jewelry, and on a weird coincidence, both Angela and Jessica brought colouring books to work on - the same book (Animal Kingdom, by Millie Marotta)!

Stephanie has a nice collection of beads and jewelry-making supplies.  I didn't get a close-up of the necklace she worked on last week, but here's a link to her Etsy site (check out the necklace she made out of the leg of woodpecker:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/243652463/woodpecker-foot-quartz-necklace?ref=related-2)

Abstract Paintings

Four of us worked on abstract paintings in our last get-together a few days ago (commissioned by Ellen's mom, who is going to hang the 4 paintings in the doctor's office she works at).  Abstract painting isn't everyone's cup of tea (though it very much is MINE!!), so the night started off with some trepidation (note Ellen's face in the photo below...).

Things seemed to go a bit more smoothly once I brought out some spatulas to smear the paint around with, and some other tricks of the abstract-painting trade (such as using tiny bubble wrap dipped in paint for an interesting honey-comb effect).

So, Ellen was happy in the end...

And so were the rest of us:

Welcome back Angela, by the way!

So, the paintings, close-up, and all together at the end:

 

Out of the Box

Lately I've been trying to branch out and try out some new surfaces for paintings. In my last post, I included some trivets I had been working on. In this post, there are some boxes I painted at about the same time and I am finally getting around to posting them.

Both boxes are painted with acrylic paints. I also seal them with a clear, spray varnish.

This box was painted as a Christmas gift for a cardinal lover. Birds have always been a favourite of mine to paint. The textures and colour gradients in their feathers are always a fun challenge.

This box is inspired by a painting by Leonid Afremov (my new favourite artist). He usually uses oil paints, but I will always be an acrylic girl. I like to layer my colours and it takes way too long with oil paints. Patience is apparently not one of my virtues :)

Work Examples!

Hey all! It was suggested that I post some examples of my artwork to share since I am newer to the UWindsor Crafters scene. I favour detailed realism and traditional pencil work (both coloured and graphite) when it comes to my drawings. However, my background in Fish and Wildlife has opened my eyes to the beauty and intricacy of natural animal skulls, and how I can combine my love for biology and art into one. For the past 3 years, I have been experimenting with acrylic ink paintings and designs onto animal skulls I have cleaned and whitened myself. All wildlife parts I obtain are not harmed for the purpose of art - most specimens I receive are roadkill, found in the woods,
donated from hunters, or were donated to the college I attended for educational purposes. I really enjoy giving these animals a chance to be admired again - a life after death, so to speak.

Welcome new recruit!

Welcome Stephanie to the group! 

(And, welcome back Ellen - nice to have you around in person this summer, rather than over Skype).

Stephanie has a background in biology, like most of the rest of us, but she also has the artistic bug (more or less a requirement, with this bunch).  Check back soon for further posts with more photos of her work, but for now, here are a few quick shots I took of her work at our Show-and-Tell a few days ago.






Painted animal skulls (my fuzzy photo doesn't do justice to how intricate the paint job on this is):

Sketches and drawings (in progress) in pencil and coloured pencils:

Craft night, Colorado-style

Another installment of a painting collaboration between Michelle and Katya, this one done from the exotic location of Golden, Colorado.  The paintings were done in oil (never again, for me - Michelle), and on previously-painted thrift store canvases (one of them very nicely textured).

Some furniture upholstering was in order as well.  This was done using a more primitive method (hammer and nails, rather than staple gun - and it worked surprisingly well!).