Isn't It Ironic...

I should know by now that I really shouldn't say things out loud, because I just jinx myself.

I write a list of News Years Resolutions & now it looks like I'm pretty much about to break all of them. Just when I am ready to get down to some serious Felted-Business, I get a call for my day-job. It was just for a couple days, so I thought, "eh, what harm can a couple days do. It'll just be a little extra money for traveling this summer (or a new pair of Uggs)." Then the next day I get a call for a big job, and I couldn't turn it down.

My day-job is pretty cool, I guess.  I make movies & Disneyland rides & commercials, etc (not positive, but think I might be working on the new S. Treck - spelled wrong for confidential reasons- movie).  It's hard, dirty work; not the glamorous vision that people have of the movie business.  It's 12 hour days 6-7 days a week, but really excellent money.

So here's another declaration that I'm making out loud...

It would totally suck if I won the lottery tonight.  It would be too much paper work, yuck.  Mo' money, Mo' problems.


Just a few of the movies I've worked on.  There might be more, but I don't remember.

It's a Good Day at Work....

When a couple of the creative director guys at Disney call you sculpted work "Bad-Ass"!! I've sculpted on quite a few of the Disneyland, DisneyWorld, Disney Tokyo, etc. rides in my career. But this was the first time that anyone actually said what I made was "bad-ass". Sculpting is what I do, it's not really a big deal. I like working on the theme-park rides cause then I know that my sculpted work is seen by millions of people every year. I don't get any name recognition, but I've always said that I "wanted to make art that my Grandma could enjoy." Well, now tons of kids & families get to see my art. It's hard, sweaty work.... but somebody has to do it!!


Movie recommendation...

So we've watched a few really good documentaries in the past couple weeks, but I want to recommend one that I've been thinking about.




It's called "Confessions of a Superhero". It's an awesome documentary that follows 4 of the costumed actors that work the "Hollywood & Highland" area. They work outside the Grauman's Theater & take pictures with tourists. They are all aspiring actors that are making their way through life. It tells of the 4 character's background & what they do in their everyday lives. I just like how it shows these iconic Hollywood attractions' real-life alter-egos. Their stories are awkward, sad, inspiring, weird, etc.

It's very cool & I totally recommend it if you have an evening!!!

The Pink Predator....

So he's all done! I took him to work yesterday & took lots of photos. One awesome thing about making theme-park rides for a living is that there is all sorts of neat places to take photos. The "rocky" backgrounds are actually samples for a new Disneyland ride. And there were lots of cool industrial backgrounds.

So...

Here he is!! And be sure to click on the photo cause it will take you to the KidRobot page to see all the entries. There are some pretty awesome ones! And be sure to "LIKE" mine!!!

I miss Vegas & Unemployment....

Do you have a "Day-Job"?

I just wanted to vent a little about how having a Day-Job kinda SUCKS! I love what I do at my job... but I miss vacation... I (surprisingly) miss being unemployed... I think it's the TIME that I miss. I love being on vacation cause it's an excuse to do whatever you want, spend money you really shouldn't, and eat whatever without feeling guilty. Despite the worry I felt when unemployed, I miss the 8-14 hours a day that I could work on my art. Now I get home & have maybe a couple hours to work on stuff. It really was nice to have unlimited time to start & prefect my craft.

It's funny cause I'm trying to work on the Predator Munny to finish it in time to submit it to the KidRobot contest, so I'm working like 3 hours after I get home from my Day-Job. Lance is so nice cause he is willing to go get us Fast-Food cause I'm busy working on it. It's nice, but annoying cause I don't seem to have any time to just chill. I think it's pretty much self-imposed business, but there always seems to be something that I HAVE HAVE HAVE to get finished. I have a craft show in July (which is getting close) that I haven't done much for, so I'm sure that I'll be frantically working on that once the Munny is done.

Sorry for the "pitty-party", but I just am feeling slightly overwhelmed. PLUS - I have the Art Supply store that I work at on the weekends to keep that job going.... ARGGGG!

This is the show I will be selling at in about a month!!!

Work... Work... Work...

So I started my new scenic sculpting job last week & it's funny cause now I see why I hadn't made my own art for so long. When you spend all day sculpting or painting at work, then you don't feel very creative when you get home. You kinda get your "art" fix all day & the last thing I want to do when I get home is work on more art!! Working at the Art Supply Store is different cause you are around artsy people & art stuff all day, but you can't make anything!!!

So with the VERY little time I've had at home to work on my own stuff, I have updated pictures of the Pink Predator!! His head is almost finished, just need to clean it up a bit more, then bake it!! Working with sculpey is a little different & I'm learning alot, and still need practice, but here it is so far!!!!

Guest Blog Spot!

I just wanted to let everybody know about a guest Blog Spot I wrote on one of my favorite blogs:

Dabbled.org

Nancy was awesome enough to ask me to share a tutorial about my airbrush work. I did a photo tutorial showing the progression of some Chocolate Cupcakes!!! Please check it out....

(preview)




And my Movie Gig is going well!! I had to sign all these wavers about how I wouldn't Blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc ANYTHING about the production!!! So far it's pretty tame, and i wanted to share a picture with you!










Ever wonder what People Who Work on Movies drive to work???
Well, I'll give you one guess which car is mine (here's a hint):

Truck... Big Truck... Fancy Truck... Truck... Beetle... GIANT Truck...

You guess.

It just keeps coming...

Thought I was busy before... Now I just got a call to work on a movie for a few weeks. I'm excited about the money (totally need it), but then not excited about how tired I will be (plus the lack of time I will have to make all the new sculptures I have in mind). I do have a custom order that I HAVE to do this week (mini-Angler Fish!!!). Plus I get to keep my awesome job at the Art Supply Store!!! I love working there, but let's just say it pays a wee less than the Union work.

So don't want to officially say what movie I will be working on, but here is a teaser picture of one of my favorite toys I had as a kid....





You connect the dots....

This also means that I will probably be Blogging even less than I have been :(
I will try my best...
.

Paychecks are nice!!!

So sorry again for the lack of posting these couple weeks. Been hard at work doing some actual job-type work. It's super tiring cause we are working 12 hour days, 6 days a week. BUT... on the super awesome side I totally made like $600 on Saturday!! Getting those paychecks again feels great!

Only have had a couple "Celebrity Sightings" while working this week. I guess Adam Sandler's Production offices are located on the Sony Picure Lot, so I've seen him a couple times. He's seems super nice & slowed down and said hi to us while we were sitting outside on our lunch. Also saw Dana Carvey (spelling?!?!). Kinda cool, but not too exciting.

And you know what's hilarious? I've made 2 sales since I started back to work, PLUS a custom job that I'm working on. Why is it always seem to work out that way, when you have the time, you don't make any sales, but when you are super busy, you make multiple sales?!?!?!?! I can't complain, I always feel so honored whenever I make a sale!!!

The only other bit of news that I have is that I final applied to that Crafty Show for December!! I'll probably hear if I get accepted by Friday, so wish me luck!!! I'll also post picts of my newest custom job when I get it done, it's super cute & awesome!!!

Thanks for your patience, And sorry for posting with no pictures... It's so boring...

Work, Work, Work...

So I am warning everybody again that I probably won't be doing many Crafty-style Blogs for the next couple weeks cause I'm finally working!!! YEA!! I'm not so excited about actually doing said work, but I will be super excited to get my paychecks! My savings have slowly dwindled down a jingly piggy bank, so a couple weeks of work will do me & my bank account well!

It's nice to be back to work, I feel a bit more motivated & feel good with moving my body & doing manual labor all day. I have today (Sunday) off, so I'm trying to get some stuff done around the house. I also signed up for Weight-Watcher's again. Since I've been off, I been kinda REALLY bad about eating healthy & working-out. I was lucky that a pair of my work pants fit, or I wouldn't have had anything to wear!! So with working 11 hour days, I figured now is a perfect time to get back in it!! I've done it before & I really like it!

So hope everybody had a great weekend. I wanted everybody to send some Good Wishes & Prayers to a friend of mine who had a really bad accident at work yesterday. It was kinda scary, with a nasty fall & I'm not sure of his status, but he's a super guy & really strong so I'm sure he'll be fine.

So here's what movie I'm working on... Don't know anything else about it except what I found on the Sony Picture's website. So when you hear about it coming out, go see it cause I worked on the sets!!!

Based on the comic book by Min-Woo Hyung, Priest centers on a warrior priest (Bettany) who disobeys church law by teaming with a young sheriff (Gigandet) who is part vampire and a priestess to track down a band of renegade vampires who have kidnapped the priest's niece.

Artist Statement!!

Blogger is great cause I can pre-write posts and have them post at a future date. That's what this is... But I wanted to do my Blog Carnival for this month which is "Show us pictures of yourself & tell us a little bit about you!" So like I said yesterday, I wanted to take this opportunity to post my first official draft of my Artist's Statement to you guys. Please tell me what you think. I need some constructive criticism. I think it's pretty much what I want to say when applying to Graduate School, there might be a couple of wording changes, but overall I think this sums up what my artistic philosophy & ideas are. So here are a couple of picts of me & my new Artist's Statement....


For the past seven years I have been making art for other people. I have lived and worked as a Scenic Painter and Sculptor on both the East and West Coasts. Scenic work ranges from painting small silk poppies for a "Wizard of Oz" themed birthday party to sculpting 50 foot tall polystyrene foam rock cliffs for Major Motion Pictures. It's not the most artistically fulfilling job, you are often constrained by client concern's, timing, and money. But it's because of these limitations, I've learned invaluable practical knowledge and experience that I could never have learned in a classroom. What is the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to build this project, but also have it look awesome? It's like a puzzle; a client comes to you with an impossible idea, and it's your job to figure out all the steps to complete it: aesthetics, construction, and delivery. I apply this approach to my personal art. How am I supposed to take all this fluffy wool and transform it into this impossible idea I have?

I am a felter. There is something so tactile and personal about felting wool by hand. Each felting technique serves it's own purpose; wet-felting is great for speed and quantity, Nuno felting is perfect for transparency and structure, and needle-felting allows for controlled sculpting and details. I am not a felting purest though, I mix these techniques freely in order to accomplish the goals of a specific piece. I also use additional materials like foam and wire armatures to reinforce structure. With each new piece I make I try to incorporate a new technique or process or material. I see it as just adding one more weapon to my felting arsenal. Then I can pull these experiences out for endless possibilities for the future.

This practical view of materials doesn't always translate to highly conceptual subject matter. My pieces are rarely driven by ideas that illustrate political or social statements, but rather to learn and master techniques. For instance I wanted to create translucent felt, so I made a "JellyFish" sculpture, or I wanted to make Fire, so I created the "Burning Dollar" piece. Despite the straight forwardness of my subjects, the philosophy behind my creative process is full of conceptual contradictions. One contradiction I see within my art is the relationship Fine Art versus Craft. Traditional felt-making is one of the oldest known crafts in the world. The potential of using this well established medium is extremely underrated, and it's my goal is to expand upon the practicality of the material and bring it into the more experimental and expressive Fine Art environment. Another contradiction I'd like to explore more is the super labor intensive nature of the felting process versus the scale of the piece. I would love to make giant felted sculptures or fully felted environments, but fell overwhelmed by the amount of work that would need to go into creating them. Many fibers artists create small pieces to keep the work manageable, but to me, this is an exciting part of the challenge. I am constantly looking for ways to streamline the process to make it more efficient. And finally, I strive to bring more relatability to the viewer within the Fine Art Gallery or Museum setting. Too much art hangs on walls or sits on pedestals. I would much rather have the viewer interact with my work that admire it from a distance. This is why i prefer to make "objects". The obvious comparison between stuffed animals or toys to felted objects invites people into making an intimate connection with my pieces. I am currently working on enhancing this interactivity by incorporating technology and electronic components. The addition of lights, sensors, and (hopefully in the future) independent mobility helps bring human personality and life to my pieces.

I believe the ultimate goal for an artist is to completely master all aspects of their chosen medium. Only after an artist can create pieces without worrying about the technical details, only when creating becomes second nature, can they move to expressing more complex conceptual ideas and subject matter. It's at this point that one encounters the most challenges, but also when true innovations are created.

So Please let me know what you think about my Statement. I know it need some editing & some revisions. I usually wrote some of it, let it sit for a couple weeks, then rewrite it, then let it sit, and now it's sat for like a month & I'm still kinda happy with it, so I think it's a winner!!!

FYI - I'm planning a super-fun-awesome-possibly-wicked thing soon for my blog. With the new pieces I'm working on, I feel the need to MAYBE-POSSIBLY give away some of my old pieces. So possibly-maybe in the next couple weeks I might be offering a special something-something for my blog readers!!! Cause I love ya!!


**** Okay, I just re-read my Artist's Statement and... It's pretty Okay. I know there are some type-o's and weird wording, so I need to re-write, yet again. Are there any parts that I might need to expand upon? Too much wordiness? I'm feeling kinda vulnerable right now, so please be nice!!!! ****

So...

Was gonna post for my Blog Carnival today, a long post telling you a little bit about myself. Actually I was going to post my artist statement because I'm planning on applying to Graduate School & I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to put it out there & get some feedback... actually I did type it up so maybe I will just copy & paste it in the next couple days. I would appreciate any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism that you guys might have....

BUT...

I didn't get around to it....

then...

I got a call for my "day job". Thank goodness, the movie business here in Hollywood has been REALLY slow for the past year or so. BUT I GOTS ME SOME WORK!!! Yea! Just a couple of weeks of work, but that's enough to give me a little $ cushion. I need it!! But that means that I might not be posting that regularly (not that I've been so great at it in the last couple weeks). So now I gotta go to bed early, gotta be at Sony Studios at 6 AM!!! Then I'll be dead tired cause I'll be working 11 hour days + maybe Saturday!! YEA OVERTIME!!!

So I apologize in advance for my lack of postings for the next couple of weeks. I have been working this week, but pictures would be useless to post cause I'm just making little felted blobs. But when I get to a point for picts, I'll share my fun new designs with you!!!

My Day Job

I don't have much to talk about Crafty wise. I did finish my latest critter, but still have to take pictures & I'm hoping to get some new cupcakes done in the next couple days. So I thought I would share a little bit about what I do when I'm not being a Crafty Entrepreneur.

My day job is pretty awesome. I'm what you would call a Scenic Sculptor. I basically sculpt polystyrene foam (commonly known as Bead Foam, or styrofoam). I have worked on a lot of different projects here in Los Angeles from local Libraries, Disneyland Rides, Commercials, and Movie Sets. I finally made it into the Local Union 755 which means that I am able to work on Feature Films. I've only worked on one so far - Land Of The Lost starring Will Ferrel coming out on June 5.

Here is a Billboard on Highland in the heart of Hollywood!!!
And yes, most of the billboards around my house are movie advertisements!!















A quick description of what I do at work is: I get blueprints for props & background elements of a set, block out and glue the basic shape of the object in rectangular blocks of styrofoam, then carve into the foam with saws, hotwires, wire brushes, acetone, knives, or whatever will take away the extra material. We are experts at making rocks & stone & trees & generic scenic elements, but sometimes we get to work on more detailed things like building trim, figures, animals, & characters.

Here are some pictures of me working on some roots & stone heads...






It's a dirty job... but somebody's gotta do it!!

I have done some painting in the past, but as of now I only sculpt. We finish off our pieces & pass them on to the paint department, who are experts at faux finishing the surfaces with different techniques like granite, marble, wood grain, or cement.

Here are a couple of pictures of some nearly finished pieces, after they have been painted (except the elephant head)...




Sometimes I also work with fiberglass, sculptable epoxy, & polyurethane foam (like flower foam, but denser).

My job is considered a "construction" job. I work with mostly men, but there are a couple of us girls that stick together, and there are alot of carpenters & welders. I consider it a "blue collar" job, because I shower after I get home from work rather than before I go!

Work has been really slow (a combination of the economy & Actor's - SAG - contract negotiations). But it does seem to be looking up. There are some productions starting up, so hopefully I can get a couple small jobs to help with my dwindling bank account.

Crafting is fun, but as of right now, it just doesn't pay the bills!!