What have I done?

I have a couple of comics I have fallen in love with over the past year & 1/2. They are funny, vulnerable & disgusting... my kind of people. They also have a tremendously cool & artistic fan base.

MisterBowen & I cooked up a way to help them sustain their work, which inspires us by making us laugh, cry & carry on, while promoting our own artwork to a group of people that "get it".

Here's what we're going to be giving away:

In the Bag

Today I bought my daughter a bag. She is a Twihard (Twilight + Die-hard = Twihard)...It's bordering on a disorder as I believe the books have addled her brain.

The Girl has a tenancy to be a little absent minded when it comes to keeping track of her things. However, as an extension of her teen obsession, she has managed to keep track of EVERYTHING related to Twilight (books, journals, clothing, chap stick...)

I thought, perhaps, this OCD (Obessive Cullen Disorder) could work to my advantage. The Girl needed a bag od her own. One that she would cherish and not lose. She keeps stealing a myriad of MY bags to tote various and sundry things to dance class, the beach or slumber parties. When I found a Edward Cullen bag on clearance for $3 I felt I had hit the proverbial jackpot!

Oh... but it needed to be personalized. She is an "Emmett" fan...I felt this was an excellent use of my talents tonight.

Snapshots

In between making a bunch of new metal designs, teaching myself block printing & making prayers flags, I've had the privilege of photographing some beautiful ladies....

The amazing Stacy Jones!

And Fiona on her 13th Birthday.

Captured Butterfly

Here's a mini collage I made for one of the VaWa Sisters based on the monologue she performed this year. I plan on posting a new piece every few days or so...keep tuning in for more art!

4"x4"

Mixed Media Collage

Art Harpy (c) 2010

Right Up My Alley

These musicians are the AWESOME! I really struggled with the first photo shoot we did in mid-January... It was totally me and the conditions and blah, blah, blah... working with the members of Hettel Street is always blast. (The Diva has even been in Vagina Monologues as a Guest Star, yay!) So we did an impromptu re-shoot in my element...an alley. As you can see, it was muuuuch better.

Beery Charming

Custom Made Beer Charms for a soon to be newlywed couple. These fun pieces are made with a flexible wire which hugs the bottle so it won't smack you in the face when you sip the beer. Note these are versatile so you can use them on wine & cocktail glasses as well.






Want some custom made for yourself or a loved one? Prices start at $5.00 ($8.00 pictured here)

Contest!

I have started creating a line I like to call "Heads or Tales". Each of these pieces are two sided and a Little naughty. You can wear either side "out" depending on your mood.

EXAMPLES:
Side 1: That is SO Amazing
Side 2: Get Your Head Outta Your Ass

Side 1: Gutsy
Side 2: Bitch

Side 1: Breath in Peace
Side 2: Screw War

Side 1: Make it Happen
Side 2: Get the F*ck out of your own way

And so on....

To launch this new line I've created a contest! Send your ORIGINAL quotes to artharpy (at) gmail.com and I'll select my favorite 5 to be voted on by the masses. I'll be taking entries until Sunday October 25th at 11:59pm.

What do you win? Well your quote on a Necklace or Key chain Custom Made by The ArtHarpy of course!

(The Fine Print...I reserve the right to change the rules if someone is a jerk as well as use your quotes without further compensation. By submitting them to this contest you release me to use the quotes in future contests and on jewelry if I so choose. This contest is for fun. If you don't win the grand prize, you can always order a custom piece with your quote on it.)

THE TPS GREGORY AWARDS: Making History

I am always terribly interested in how things are made...you look at a finished work of art and really have no idea what went into it, how it was done or the thought process behind it....So, dear Internet, I am giving you a unique opportunity to peer into my creative process...my gift to you!

First, all of the plaques were primed and dry brushed with a base color to set the tone of the piece. I then looked at each recipients head shot, some production photos and their resumes and wrote a poem about each of them.... Without being too "woo-woo", I believe this creates a personal connection with the piece and subject matter. It helps me focus on a deeper meaning for the collage and projects a positive energy to viewers.

Next Step is tearing up bits o' paper/pictures and adhereing them to the base. I was excited to find a lot of great reviews of the shows I could use for these pieces. Of course I had Shakespere in my collection as well as The Wizard of Oz so those were a slam dunk. The Seattle public library has a copy of The Adding Machine on their shelves, but I didn't have time to run down there to get it. I was a little bummed about that.

Third...More photos/words and then some texturizing paint and color. I think waiting for the glue and paint and more paint to dry is the hard part, but it makes me slow down and really think about the piece and where I want it to go. I spent about 6-8 hours creating each of these Lovelies.

After all of that we have #4...The focal point. I like to combine words and pictures to give each piece a unique personality. This one in particular was a trip to create...Charles Leggett played Shylock in Merchant of Venice...great role and stunning performance...So to symbolize how he really got inside Shakespere's head I placed Charles headshot where the Bards face had been. (photo at left)

With Amy Thone's piece I created a collage of her headshot, production photos super imposed over her eyes, mouth and head. A little spin on "see no, think no, speak no...other than the character" law by which an actor lives and dies. In John Langs piece I afixed his eyes over that of the playwright's, Elmer Rice, as he is a director who truly sees a clear vision of the playwrights words.

Both of these to the right are examples of step 5...Darkening the surrounding areas creating mystery and making the focal points pop.

And I have to make a comment about Don Darryl Rivera...what a SUPER FUN body of work! WOW! He is living the dream. Now I know he played the Wolf in The Stinky Cheeseman...but how whimsical is it to put Stinky Cheeseman's head on Don's body? I couldn't resist as that is one of my favorite books of all time! I hope he likes it as much as I do.

In the final steps I detail paint some features I want to highlight, add some metallics for a little glow and varnish it whole thing for durability. These 6, being awards, had a custom copper plaque added to them to commerate the event and honor the recieptants. I'll have a few collages for sale at my Etsy store soon or you can place a custom order for one made with your very own photos and memorbilia! I'd love to make one just for you!

I also teach classes on how to make your own memory collage (minimum of 4 students) at Paperfling!

The Finished Gregory Awards!

Gregory Awards!!!!

I am excitedly working on the awards for the First Annual (in my opinion it can't be "annual" until it happens more than once...I know, I know...plans...blah, blah, blah...remember opinions are like buttholes....) Gregory Awards. TPS is throwing this shindig and I've been selected as the artist to throw down!

And HOLY CRAP are they turning out cool! I'm impressing myself.

I'd love to show you pictures....but I can't...until next week.....it'd give away who gets to take 'em home and then I'd have to kill you. Which I don't want to do.

Tune in Art Fans for another exciting episode of "ArtHarpy Tortures The Web World".

VaWa Memories

I based these pieces on Monologues from the V-day shows we produced this year. The VaWa Sisterhood raised a mess of money for The Intervention Center for Assault and Abuse as well as Fabric of Life... both are great organizations working hard to end violence against women and girls. The actresses loved getting these personalized commemorative gifts!