Street Art Project in Annapolis, MD

Hey everyone,

Sorry I about not having an update the past couple of months, but I have been damn busy with art projects and have not had much time to just sit and be. Lucky for you I have a headache today and have time to write an update and what an update it will be!

I had the honor of being asked to help design and implement a street art project here in Annapolis, MD on a 7 ft tall fiberglass chicken!

Seems the local arts council allowed a group to place the decorated chickens all around West street, and my kiddo's school had a chicken sitting around since last May, which needed a little direction to fully hatch. So, I accepted the invitation to participate and here is how it turned out in photos!

We had 157 children and all the staff participate by adding an international flag to the bird. It is the only bird within the project to have that level of participation. MICH stands at nearly 8 ft tall with his Mohawk and has traveled the world at least twice, based on his passport stamps and flag collection.

His Mohawk spells MICH in nautical flags, to pay honor to the Annapolis area. MICH is indeed one of the most colorful birds on the block, and we are all very pleased with the way it turned out. 

MICH is currently standing outside of the Metropolitan Restaurant on West Street in Annapolis, MD. It is the coolest thing artistically I have ever done!

Update for April

Hey Arties!

I just wanted to provide a quick life update for you, since I have not posted much the past few months. I have been really busy with several projects in the works for various schools all across the country and have had no time to really sit and write or post. I am hoping the new iPhone app will help me with this problem, as I can now post photos from the app and post a blog from time to time as well.

In other news, I am in the process of selling my house, which has taken away my art studio for the time being. I had the entire second floor dedicated to making art, but needed to put everything in storage for awhile, until I am settled in a new location. This means I am working out in my garage, or in the kitchen, neither being ideal for working in long stretches.

At the moment my walls are bare of any art, and the walls have been painted white, which is not my favorite thing. It makes me itch to paint something right on the wall, but think that would be frowned upon....

I have contracted with a local school to help them with their first art gala and auction. It is on a very limited budget and I will most likely sponsor the art supplies we used to create the projects, but it is all worth it. I love working with the kids and watching them light up, when they contribute to a class project or a school wide canvas. The pictures from the last post are the items they created for the auction and I am hoping they do well. 

So, stay tuned and thank you for stopping by and sticking around or subscribing. It means a lot, when you give me your feedback. I will try to do a better job of trying to update this site, even if it is a non art related topic.

Until next time, here is some personal art I am working on. This one seems to change colors, depending on the way the light hits it. I am not quite finished with it, and have not decided what the next piece of it will entail, but I don't want to lose the affect.

These next two, were custom pieces created for a couple of schools to use in their upcoming auctions. I used Citra Solv altered National Geographic magazines for the first one. The second one is my attempt at a sketch.
 

I started playing around with some sketching options with my Silhouette machine and loved this old barn. I may sketch it out on white paper and then use water colors to color it in for a finished look.

So Arties... that is all for now. I hope I have given you a good reason to check back soon. Peace and Love!!

Previous Auction Creations

I thought I would share some of the items I designed for a school to use as part of their art auction. I hope you enjoy them.

This painting was created using two 15"x30" canvasses. I painted them blue and used a modeling paste to create the 3D clouds. I used 1/16th diameter wooden dowels painted copper to create the wires.

The children painted a wooden cutout of birds using acrylic paint. The birds were attached to the canvas with adhesive gel.

The total cost of this piece was $36.

It sold for $800 at a live auction.

This table and matching stool was created by a group of 3-6 year olds.

The table and stool were purchased at Goodwill for a total of $9. I sanded down and painted it white in order to showcase the colorful hand prints.

Each child painted a set of hand prints with acrylic paint, in any fashion they wished. The hands were placed and adhered to the table. Smaller hand prints made of paper were added to fill in the spaces.

The lyrics to the song by Ben Harper, "With my own two hands" were printed out on transparent paper and added randomly to the table. The table and stool were then sealed with a counter top based epoxy to make it smooth as a writing surface.

The total cost of the set was $48.

It sold at live auction for $800.

This quilt was made by 6-9 year old children. They were asked to create a quilt square depicting anything they desired. A volunteer finished the quilt.

The material cost $120.

The quilt was auctioned for $1,950.

This bookcase was made and donated by a volunteer and painted white. The children, aged 3-6 painted small wooden cutouts of various animals, which were then attached to the bookcase with strong adhesive.

The cost to create this was $11.

This was auctioned for $350.

This table was a solid oak, 40 inch coffee table, which was purchased used for $10. The table was sanded and painted black.

The children decorated paper dolls, which were adhered to the table on the outside. The center is a photo of the earth cut from a NASA poster. A quote was added.

The total cost of the table was $54

The table sold for $550 at auction.

This is a "Class Basket" assembled using a white toy chest purchased at a local retail store. Families added their favorite games and a few game related items.

The value of the basket was around $350 and I believe it sold for $400.

This glass bock was created using a hollow block from a craft store. Blank velum paper was used through an ink jet printer to create the image, which was then attached to the inside of the block on both sides. Battery operated lights were then added inside to light the block up.

These were used as centerpieces for sponsored tables. The sponsors were then allowed to take the blocks home as a token.

The cost of each block was $17 for the block, paper, ink and lights.

These were created by the children using a $2.99 frame from IKEA. We had volunteer photographers come in and take photos of the children working. Each class had a different theme for their projects. This class had the hand print table and stool, so we continued with it.

We used punched out hand prints, which the children glued to the frame, and punched out leaves for the tree branches. The photographer took pictures of the children working and that work was then added to the frame, so the parents could see the work in action.


The framed photos were then sold to the family for $35. Every frame was purchased for a total of roughly $4,725.

There were other projects created for which I do not have photographs. I wish I did, as the children did an outstanding job.

The filing cabinet pictured here was also a class project. The filing cabinet was free. The children painted it by using a grid system. Every child participated.

The cabinet sold for $200.

More items displayed at auction.

This was a personal piece donated by me. Each leaf on the tree was hand punched and attached to the canvas. There are roughly 10,000 leaves. The tree trunk was painted using a modeling paste and has the feel and texture of bark.

It is hanging in a classroom at the school.

The entire cost for all 10 class projects, 15 centerpieces and 135 individual frames was $1,672. The items sold for over $12,000.

The profit was $10,328