Seeing and Believing

I don't have a lot of things from my critique notebook because we've had a couple crits where we hand our observations to the artist. A few things that we've seen recently that have caught my attention were from Carolyn, Sammi, and Susana.

Carolyn's work always draws you in with this nostalgic quality. The unassuming colors make you walk up close expecting to see some needlepoint from your grandmother's attic, but then you are greeted with these gruesome but somehow still endearingly funny images or stories.

Sammi i always enjoy because she finds joy in the most ridiculous (in a good way) places. Her paintings are of things that i would absolutely just walk by in life (plastic bags, dead fish) but she has a way of bringing them to life and making them important. When someone is so in love with a certain thing, it's hard to not begin to look at them the same way in her paintings.

One thing about Susana's work that i always enjoy is that it is messy, not in presentation; her thoughts are well put together. But you can tell she dives head first into her work and doesn't mind getting messy and isn't afraid to put all of her ideas out there.

What is it REDUX?

Right now I'm working on making 3d illustrations. I'm always looking at bright colorful fantastical characters and wishing i could draw them. Since i never draw and work mainly in clay, I'm developing my own version of illustrating. I'm making a series of wonderful characters based off of my wonderful friends.

I haven't really had alot of time for thinking recently. The studio is always a busy and distracting place, but for my next project i'm not really sure where i'm going to go, but i'm considering revisiting the paper art i was looking at earlier this semester.

I am a master chocolate chip cookie maker, so here is my favorite recipe:

3/4	cup granulated sugar
3/4	cup packed brown sugar
1	cup butter or margarine, softened
1	egg
2 1/4	cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1	teaspoon baking soda
1/2	teaspoon salt
1	cup coarsely chopped nuts
1	package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

1. Heat oven to 375ºF.
2. Mix sugars, butter and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.
3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.