At Long Last! A Rosebush!

I suppose I could write "At long last! A blog post!" too. I apologize--it's been a REALLY BUSY last-two-months.

But I'm back, and I hope to begin posting regularly again.  It seems appropriate to celebrate my return to blogging with completion of a milestone--the titular rosebush.

"Rosebush #1" is actually just one part of a larger work.

There it is, in a closeup. I am kind of boggled, myself, at how long it has taken to achieve one finished rosebush. More than a year ago in the spring, I was taking pictures of neighbors' roses, with a plan to "plant" several rosebushes in my seemingly-eternal work in progress, Paradise Garden. (How "eternal"? Well, I started on the double colonnade more than two years ago.  Thank goodness that part's done, now).

From source photos I took, I developed three ink drawings of rosebushes (did you ever stop to think how many LEAVES are on a rosebush?). I scanned the drawings into my computer, and used Adobe Illustrator (more intuitive for me to use than PS.  I know: I'm weird) to add color to each leaf and blossom.  Every leaf has at least three greens on it.  Every rose has three or four different reds, plus yellow.

Took for freakin' ever, even with my Wacom tablet and stylus.  I am not above bribing myself with British detective shows on TV to incentivize sitting that long painting tiny, tiny leaves.

This is what I mean by "tiny, tiny leaves." Here it is with my hand for scale.

At long last this week, I was able to finish color work on the last of the three.  Then it was time to cut them out, sculpt, and assemble them.

Compared to painting seemingly-endless tiny, tiny leaves and flowers, cutting them out went comparatively quickly!  One episode of "DCI Banks," and I was almost done cutting the bottom layers for one and a half of the three different rosebush designs.

There are three--in one place, four--layers to the first rosebush. The top two layers on the finished one shown above are repositioned parts of the bush, not the whole thing.

The finished one is at lower left.  More are in the works, as you see.

Here are my essential tools for the cutting-and-sculpting phase. Fingernails also are invaluable.

People always ask, "do you use an X-Acto knife?" Well, yes--but those handy-dandy little scissors on the right are my primary tool.  X-Acto cuts are very straight, the puncturing risks tears, and the blades get dull really fast. I'm all about intuitive tools, so the scissors are my weapon of choice. 

The other items in the photo above are a small corkboard for cutting and sculpting against, lab-quality tweezers (worth their weight in gold), and a clay-modeling tool with different-sized balls on each end.

I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse of working on my Most Impractical Artwork of the Decade (so far, anyway--the decade is young), and the reanimation of "Artdog Observations." 

The Value of a Good Critique

In your creative life, how often do you seek out an honest and knowledgeable critique? 

Most artists are vulnerable creatures.  We make up new things out of assorted sources, imbue them with our personal vision, and then place them out into the harsh glare of an uncaring and often hypercritical world. To think of seeking a critique is always somewhat fraught with pain and fear.

I present my work to the group at the InterUrban ArtHouse's ArtMatters Critique Night on May 1, 2013 at the Vintage House in Overland Park, KS.

We do the best we can, but many times we just can’t figure out (or don’t realize we haven’t figured out) the Ultimate Best Possible Solution to the creative problem we have decided to tackle.

We can’t “see the forest for the trees,” because we are too close to the subject.  In my dog-show circuit days, we called that being “kennel blind”: you can see the problems with other people’s dogs, but you are blind to the problems in your own dogs.

Recently I have participated in several, extremely helpful critique sessions, focused on either my artwork or a science fiction novel I am writing. Different fields, different media, and from different sources. The photo above is from a notable recent evening (more to come).

But in each case I not only discovered solutions to problems I’d been having with the work in question—I  also became highly energized to leap back into the work with even more focus than before.  If you noticed I hadn’t been posting here recently, that is why.

FINISHED (Part One, anyway)!

Last week, late in the day before a trip out of town, I thought I possibly had finished a project I've been working on for quite some time.  It took some living with it, but I think--yes--this part is finished.

This is Nine-Part Herbal Fantasy--Light Cycle. Stand by (but don't hold your breath) for Dark Cycle.

The project began with a series of line drawings, first sketched in pencil, then finalized in ink.  I scanned them, assembled them in an Adobe Illustrator file, and began applying color.

Here's an ink drawing for the "Flower Arch" section.

 

An early view of the original Adobe Illustrator color build of this piece made an appearance on Artdog Observations in January.  I showed pieces of it in the works in February. At the time, I actually thought the Dark Cycle would be finished first.

I shared this image in February.

Why two cycles?  It's actually not that complicated.  

As I was doing the color builds, I realized that some of the sections were coming out considerably lower in overall key than others.  I couldn't decide which version I liked better.  Yes, I confess: indecision actually was the inspiration.

A comparison of two sections, built on the same "base drawing" and adjusted one each for the two variations, may offer a glimpse.

Here are Light Cycle and Dark Cycle variations of the "Herbal Arch" section (mirrored, you may note).

One of the developments that came up very late in the process of putting the piece together was an idea that developed at my newly-resumed Monday night Art Group.

Corners and sides are tilted inward.

Toward the center, everything lies closer to the base level.

The bases of the sections do not lie flat, except for the "rootball" center.  The others are tilted: higher toward the outside, down to base-level farther in.

IMAGES: All artwork and photos are copyright (c) 2013 by Jan S. Gephardt. You may re-post them without alterations and with attribution and a link back to this blog post; otherwise, all rights are reserved.

The Clematis Variations

My walking buddies, L-R: Jake and Brenna

It all started on a dog walk in April 2012.

A neighbor of mine planted clematis vines, and since she's a fine gardener, her vines grew and bloomed. 

I've always liked clematis flowers and I'm fascinated by vines and the way they grow, so I took pictures of my neighbor's flowers, brought my pictures home, and started sketching.

This is Purple Clematis.

Part of the process of figuring out how to develop a new piece of artwork is exploring variations.  With the clematis images, I thought the variations all turned out in interesting ways. 

White Clematis I became an edition.

Because I print the pieces from Adobe Illustrator files, after adding a color build to my scanned line art, I can create small limited editions of multiple originals. Each piece in the edition is individually cut, sculpted, assembled, signed and numbered.

The computer images also allow size variations, and repetition of design motifs.

The White Clematis Panel series further explores the possibilities of repeating a design, combined with paper sculpture.

IMAGES: all photos and artwork in this post are the intellectual property of Jan S. Gephardt.  You may post them without alterations, and with attribution and a link back to this post.  Otherwise, all rights are reserved.

Irving Harper: Iconic Designer--and Paper Sculptor!

Harper's 1956 "Marshmallow Sofa" from Herman Miller.

Irving Harper was a designer with George Nelson Associates, Inc., from 1947-1964, and has been described as "the most famous designer you have never heard of."

His best-known designs are the Herman Miller "Marshmallow Sofa" and the "Ball Clock" produced by the Howard Miller Clock Co.  I'm not sure there can be many American "Boomers" who have not encountered one or both of these designs in their lives.

The iconic 1964 "Ball Clock"

I did not know until recently that he also was/is a paper sculptor.  Still alive and feisty at 93, he actually seems more focused on the paper sculpture than other things, at this point.

I discovered the book Irving Harper: Works in Paper, which was released in February 2013, through GoodReads. The GoodReads site features not only a good write-up about Harper and the book, but also a slide show of his paper sculpture work.  I have chosen some of my favorites from the slide show to share here, but you can see them all at Goodreads.

I have not been able to find a title for this or the other Irving Harper paper sculptures in the slide show.

I love the face on this one, with its triangular, Picassoesque tongue.

I'm not sure I'd want these guys staring at me 24/7, but I thought the variations on a "face" were interesting.

PHOTOS: Many thanks to Design Within Reach, for the image of the Marshmallow Sofa,  and to the "SoHo Parenting" Blog for the Ball Clock image.  All others are from the slideshow at Goodreads. My deepest appreciation to all!

Mixing It Up

I like to have several works in progress at the same time. 

Some of the "Art Parts" on my desk

Some of the current W-I-P ("works in progress") that you can see in the photo above are the Clematis variations, both Dark and Light Cycles of the Nine-Part Herbal Fantasy, and a leftover border rose from Rose Dance. Oh, yes, and some tall lilies from the background of Coming Through! as well.

Coming Through! is an edition of 25.

Technically, Coming Through! has been debuted to the world and is "finished," but the edition is numbered at 25.  I still have a lot of cutting, sculpting and assembling to do (not to mention matting).

The Clematis variations actually have been causing me to do a lot of thinking.  I started out with a base drawing that I really liked, pulled it up into 3-D, and tested out both a Purple Clematis and a White Clematis variation.  Then, for grins, I cropped the design to a square, and played with that, too.

I like them all, but now I'm having trouble arranging them in a way that I think will work well.  Keep watching this blog and you'll undoubtedly see more developments with these.

This mashup of all the Clematis variations just didn't work for me.

I have discovered that it's very stimulating to work on several things at once.

Solving a problem in one project can open a way to solve problems in others. 

An idea generated while working on a current piece often provides an idea for a new piece.

My problem is mostly that I have too many ideas, and not enough time to explore them all.

All things considered, though, it's a pretty good problem to have.

PHOTOS: All photos and all artwork shown in this post is the work of Jan S. Gephardt. You may re-post the photos if you include an attribution and a link back to this post, and if you don't alter to the images.

Arti Gras is On

Pascal and I went to the Leawood Foundation's "Arti Gras" Gala tonight, a fundraiser to open their Annual Juried Art Show.  For the second year in a row, I am in the show!  This year's accepted entry is Rose Dance.

Jan with Rose Dance at Arti Gras (with painting by Summers).

As last year, the show featured a wide variety of work--different media, different subjects, different approaches.

The photo my husband Pascal took of me with Rose Dance and the artwork just above it, In the Garden of Glen, by R. Gregory Summers illustrates some of the show's range.

For a view of all the artwork in the show, go to the 2013 Arti Gras Gallery and scroll down.

The Arti Gras Show continues, with FREE admission, 11-4 on Saturday and Sunday.  If you're in town and have time, it's well worth the trip to see the art.

My favorites:
Norma Herring probably takes "first place" with me in this show.  I've been an admirer of her detailed mixed-media paintings since last year.  They are large but very intricate.  She had two in the show: my personal favorite, The Secret Byway, and Guest Juror James Martin's #1 "Best of Show" choice, Shades of Autumn.

It was a lively, crowded scene at the Arti Gras Gala Friday night 2/22/13.

I also loved Loreta Feeback's pastel, Dried Flowers Still Life; Jean Cook's oil painting, First Sign of Spring; Marla Craven's photograph, Zhouzhaung-A Watertown; Ric Cummings's photograph, Red Curtain; Dona Corben's photographs, A Walk in the Fog and Patterns in Nature; Karen Dreyer's oil, Heavy Load; Craig McCord's photograph, Klepzig Mill; and Patrick Schlotterback's oil, Taylor.  I also found the technique and imagery of Melinda Heaton's digital collage, Majestic Joshua Tree quite intriguing.  And I think I must acknowledge the quirky humor and unexpected compositions of Laura Carricker's oils, Shelf Life #1 and Shelf Life #4.

I believe I recall correctly that both Schlotterback and Heaton are art teachers in nearby school districts.  Knowing how much work a public school teacher must do each day, I am all the more impressed with their fine art accomplishments!

Here's another view of the crowd enjoying the hors d'oeuvres and art at the Arti Gras Gala, 2/22/13 in Leawood, KS.

 Pascal's Favorites:
 Pascal was drawn to Corben's work also, as well as Johne Richardson's acrylic, Blue Skies Overhead ("what an expressive face!"), which also received an Honorable Mention recognition from Guest Juror James Martin, and Sally Sullivan's mosaic, Meli.

I'm a sucker for painterly passages and intricate detail, but he takes a different approach. He says that once he's satisfied of the artist's overall competence, he primarily looks at the composition.  "A lot of artists almost get it right, and nobody does it every time, but when they do it just feels right.  That's what I like."

Official Winners:
Guest Juror James Martin chose this year's prize winners: as noted above, Norma Herring's Shades of Autumn received Best in Show.  Penny Pate Dillon's The Katz Clock took 2nd, and Parker Nicholson's Maple Vessel got the nod for 3rd.  Honorable Mention recognitions went to Sylvia Rose Augustus for Custer State Park, Lake Fog; Peter Crane for On Edge; Denny Dowdy for Mom's Backyard; and Pascal's choice, the Richardson painting, Blue Skies Overhead.

As Martin noted, it was a strong show. And you can still see it if you're in town! 11-4 Saturday and Sunday.  FREE admission.  Such a deal!

PHOTOS: The photo of Jan with Rose Dance is by Pascal Gephardt; the other two photos are by Jan S. Gephardt.  We allow re-posting with attribution and link-back, and no alteration of images.  Otherwise, all rights reserved.

Pieces of Art

Nine-Part Herbal Fantasy

Sometimes paper sculpture takes a long time.  Lots of layers, lots of pieces, not very many finished things to show in between times.

So I thought I'd offer a glimpse of a work-in-progress.  This is part of the "Dark Cycle" of my new piece Nine-Part Herbal Fantasy.

Here's the original color build for the design.

Assorted pieces in a box, some cut, some not.

This is the center part, which I call the "root ball."

Not much more to say.  Hope you enjoyed the glimpse!

IMAGES all are copyright 2012-2013 by Jan S. Gephardt.  All rights are reserved. 

My first limited-edition paper sculpture

I've only completed one AP of Common
Cliff Dragon--Male so far. Here he is at his
August Art Night show debut--just before
his new owner took him home!

Common Cliff Dragon--Male is a small, relatively simple piece, but it breaks new ground for me. It is my first-ever limited edition of a multiple-original paper sculpture.

I've been working up to this for a bit more than a year and a half, since the first edition in the Mail Piece Project. My emphasis area for my undergraduate art major was printmaking, and most of my earlier fine art career was taken up with producing and helping to sell reproduction prints by myself and other artists, so the idea of a limited edition has never been strange to me.

During the first several years of doing paper sculpture, however, I couldn't see how I could possibly create a limited edition of them. Then I started the Mail Piece Project. Those pieces were more pop-up than paper sculpture, but as I worked on them I began to see more clearly how I could incorporate another "first love," ink drawing, into the process, and make printouts with archival paper and ink.

L-R: The White Dragon (2007), A Nest in the Wildwood (2008-9), Denizen of the Winter Trees (2009), and
Patterns in Turquoise (2011), the final piece in the "Snowflake Dragons-TNG" series.

To explore further, I needed a subject I knew well--it is only helpful to take on so many challenges at once. A dragon was a natural choice for me.

My first-ever paper sculptures, The White Dragon (2007) and A Nest in the Wildwood (2008-9) featured dragons. When I was figuring out a pattern prototype I started with a dragon in Denizen of the Winter Trees (2009). When I was figuring out how to manipulate color in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, I did my first experiments with "The Next Generation" of "Snowflake Dragons"(2011).

"Body" drawing

So it was back to the dragon-drawing board for this new effort. I started out knowing only that the image area should be about 5X7" and the subject should be a dragon. Then I let my pencil think for me, for a while.

The result was a pencil drawing of a dragon crouched on a fairly sheer cliff face.  I used tracing paper to trace first the wings, then a full view of the cliff face (no void, even though that meant much of what I drew would eventually be obscured by the body and wings--I wanted a certain flexibility in positioning). The original pencils provided the base for the body's ink lines.

I inked the tracings and scanned them, then added color using Adobe Illustrator and my new Wacom Bamboo Tablet. As I worked with the colors, the idea of a neutralized gray-green cliff background and splashy red-and-white coloration for the dragon began to develop. But what could possibly induce a species to develop the kind of coloration that would make it stand out brilliantly from its background?

Wings, with color added

Yes, I know: dragons aren't a real species. But if they were, they'd follow the same evolutionary patterns as real species, and I'm deeply enough steeped in science to know that most creatures--even those at the top of the food chain, such as tigers, leopards, and wolves--generally have some level of camouflage that helps them visually blend into their surroundings.

The main exceptions I could think of were birds and fish. In some of those species, the males display brilliant colors, both to attract a mate and to decoy enemies away from nests. One look at this dragon's wings should tell you I see him as more bird than fish! Goes along with the whole "feathered dinosaur" thing, in my mind.

Okay, so now I had a "logical" rationale for making him the colors I wanted to: he's in mating plumage. Maybe the rest of the year he goes around in drab gray-green, but during this one season he sports a complimentary color scheme like Christmas. And just to make sure the rationale is clear, I added a border and "scientific" information about him (If anyone reading this knows Latin, please check my usage!).

Even sporting red feathers, my cliff dragon was too well
camouflaged against the left-hand background.
I gave him deeper shadows in the background at right.

There still was the matter of the cliff rocks, and I went back and forth on this for a while. Even with all the red on him, he still tended to blend into the background a bit more than was helpful for an artwork (although I'm already extrapolating what kind of predator might prey on common cliff dragons. He wouldn't want to stand out so much that Dragon Eaters could even more easily spot him, or it could be a very short, unhappy mating season!)

My husband didn't care about Dragon Eaters. "I'd make the background completely black," he said. "That'll make him 'pop!'"

I tried a really dark gray screen overlay over the rocks, to see if I could live with it, but I couldn't dismiss thoughts of the Dragon Eaters, and it didn't look enough like the kind of lighting and background colors that worked with this dragon's coloration to suit me. Finally, I came to the compromise of giving him darker shadows to outline some key "edges." That way, I wouldn't feel required to put a pin through his back and claim he was a collected specimen in a shadowbox.

Scroll up and check to see if you think the darker shadows did the trick!

Finally, after all this, I had something I could cut out, sculpt, and assemble, sort of in the way I did with the roses I showed a few weeks back. The rocks are 3-D, as well as the dragon. To me, the sculpting is the most fun part, because it's a little like making magic happen.

There's only "AP #1" (the first Artist's Proof) so far. My little cliff-dweller is possibly still in development. I don't know if there will need to be more proofs (I sold AP #1 on its first outing, before my husband could see it), nor have I figured out an edition size. Even when I can print pre-made flat images, I still have to cut out the pieces, sculpt them all, and assemble each one by hand--a fairly time-consuming process, even though I can do it while watching Nature or Bones on TV. Perhaps I can take a reading on some of these questions if people leave comments (please? I'd love some input!).

"Rose Dance"--New Work-In-Progress!

I have begun a series of pieces this year that is based on a new approach to paper sculpture.

I've gotten far enough with the first one (working title: Rose Dance) to show a few samples in this space, but first I'd like to give a little history of how I got to this point.

This is the "quote panel" from the Summer Mail Piece.

My work last year on the Mail Piece Project proved to be absolutely as enlightening as I had hoped. It was a series of self-mailing multiple originals developed on the basic design of a trifold brochure, in each case incorporating some kind of paper technology.

If you would like to see some of my progress reports, take a look at New Year, Spring, and an overview of the elements that developed as consistent features. Unfortunately I got so busy I never added pages for Summer, Autumn, or Winter, though I probably should! Each edition in the series of five was a little more elaborate than the previous one.

Here is the "quote panel" for the Autumn Mail Piece.

One of the many things I gained from the Mail Piece Project was a return to my artistic "first loves" of ink drawing and limited edition printmaking (confession: I was a Printmaking "major" as an undergrad, even though I've spent a big chunk of my adult career as a graphic designer).

Here is the original ink drawing for what became
the "border panels" of Rose Dance.

Earlier, I had developed a prototype pattern for a dragon body and wings for a couple of pieces that I called "twig dragons," because they were attached to actual Silver Maple twigs from my yard.

I rendered the basic pattern as variations in ink, with both ink and color added by hand, and used them for Denizen of the Winter Trees and Treetop Primaries.

I was not satisfied with the results of the Prismacolor pencils as scanned and reproduced in the early editions of the Mail Piece Project, however--they seemed kind of muddy. So I experimented with adding color on the computer, using Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.

The computer-based approach for adding color was used in several parts of the the last three Mail Pieces, though I also hand-colored all of those originals with Prismacolor pencils.

I also used computer color for my "Snowflake Dragons: The Next Generation" series. See Spring Swirls and Patterns in Turquoise for examples.

These color variations created separate layers.

The idea for the full Rose Dance composition originated from looking at the first panel I produced. It originally was going to be primarily an experiment: a small, limited edition of pieces that began as ink drawings that were colored on the computer, cut out, and layered.

Mirror images were designed to print 2-sided.

I developed different layers of color. Two color modulations formed the base layer (the darker one on the left, above), and a second overlay layer, with leaves and flower cut out from the background (right, above). Third and fourth layers were composed of the flower alone (see at left), printed on two sides, then cut out, sculpted, and glued at the center.

Here is the finished border panel, cut out, sculpted, and assembled.

Once I'd printed the various color layers on different weights of acid-free, archival-quality paper, I cut, sculpted, and assembled enough of the small panels to realize they could be more than simple stand-alone pieces. They could be assembled to create a border.

I experimented with several border layouts, but eventually decided I liked the square composition best. At that point I could begin the "base" ink drawing for the center.

The ink work is now done, but I'm still in the process of adding color. I'll post another article about this piece, once I have finished the whole thing.

IMAGE CREDITS: All photos and scans are of my original artwork, by me. All images are copyright 2011 and 2012 by Jan S. Gephardt, all rights reserved.

Pieces of Art

Here's a Glimpse of Two Projects-in-Progress
I have been exploring new ways to make paper sculpture this year. I am coming up with some things that look cool to me . . . but so far I'm having difficulty completing a full composition. Here are the pieces I've made:


"Black-Headed Heron"
While doing research for a piece I am making for a private client, I discovered these wonderful, utterly gorgeous birds!

I had a lot of fun making this Black-headed Heron! But how to handle his background?

Black-headed Herons are indigenous to Africa, and live alongside hippos, alligators, anhingas, and many other species that inhabit riverbank habitats. I found some excellent resource photos on the Internet, and from them I developed a prototype drawing from which I could create "pattern pieces" for this assemblage.

This heron is made up of about 18-20 different pieces of paper. I think he turned out looking pretty decent, but all of the backgrounds I've tried to make so far look--pardon the expression--crappy.

"Horsefeathers"
Yeah, yeah, it's not very original, but it'll do for a working title.

This one originated with the wing. You might note the similarity to the Heron's wing, above. I used the same pattern, then added another row of feathers, to make it look more in proportion to the horse.

I was thinking about the heavy hair on some horses' feet, also called "feathers," and my fantasy artist side just couldn't resist playing with the obvious next thought.

So far, none of my backgrounds "work" for him, any better than the would-be backgrounds for my Heron.

Unfortunately, all of my attempts to give this guy a background that "works" for him also have been epic fails. 

The horse, by the way, is a somewhat simpler piece than the heron, though created via the same basic approach. There are only about 16 pieces to him.

The Reality-to-Unreality Balance
It is proving very difficult to come up with a background that can be executed with exactly the same balance of realism-to-unrealism as that of the "central figure." If the balance is off, the composition has no unity, and the whole illusion falls apart.

Part of the time I think the work I've done possibly could stand on its own as "complete," with just a solid-color, neutral background. Part of the time I don't think that would be enough.

Suggestions, anyone?

IMAGE CREDITS: Both images are photos I took of my own artwork. Both may be used on blog posts as long as they are not altered, and full credit with a link back to this post are given. Otherwise, all rights are reserved by Jan Sherrell Gephardt, (c) 2012.

Examining "Patterns in Turquoise"

Patterns in Turquoise is a May 2011 artwork.  

I first showed this piece, Patterns in Turquoise, in late May 2011 at the ConQuesT 42 Art Show.  It was completed earlier that month, and is another in my "Next Generation" series of Snowflake Dragons.

I had scanned the page of my "Original Series" Snowflake Dragon body shapes, and manipulated the file in Photoshop to change the colors, adjust shapes, etc.

The second generation, many in tertiary colors such as this blue-green, was printed on archival-quality 20-lb. Southworth business paper, using fade-resistant Hewlett-Packard inks. I then cut them out and creased, molded, folded and glued each by hand to create the tiny, stylized 3-D dragon forms.

In Patterns in Turquoise I continued to explore the textural possibilities of paper weaving in the background layers, this time adding fringed paper and using artist-quality Prismacolor pencils to add depth, texture, and richer variety to the background. The colored papers used for the background are from an acid-free Canson series.

Archival Southworth worked well for the pure-white snowflake shapes, which I stacked three-dimensionally with one in the middle that was cut from translucent (acid-free) tracing paper by Canson.

IMAGE CREDIT: The artwork shown is my own original work, photographed by me, and is copyright 2011 by Jan Sherrell Gephardt.  It is available for re-posting under a limited Creative Commons license that allows use with credit given, but no alteration.

A Quick Peek at "Spring Swirls"

Spring Swirls was first shown to the public at ConQuesT 42.

I am currently on vacation.  The best way to spend one's vacation is NOT meeting all the usual deadlines and doing all the usual work--no matter how much I like blogging.

But I thought you might enjoy a look at a new piece of my artwork. This is Spring Swirls. It is one of the first "Next Gen" Snowflake Dragons to be completed.

It has only been exhibited in public once, at ConQuesT 42 at the end of May.  It is still available for sale. Each Snowflake Dragon is a unique original.

"Next Gen" Snowflake Dragons are developed from the original drawings used for "The Original Series" of Snowflake Dragons, scanned into the computer and adjusted in Photoshop. With these I changed some of the dragons' shapes, and radically altered many of the colors to give a whole new range of tertiary hues and tints.

IMAGE CREDIT: The artwork is my original work, photographed by me, and is copyright 2011 by Jan Sherrell Gephardt. It is available under a limited Creative Commons license that allows use with credit given, but not alteration.

Mail Piece Parts

This "Summer Sky" photo I took in
2010 is one of many I've collected
for Summer Mail Piece resource pix.

I am deep in the middle of producing the Summer Mail Piece right now. It is third in a series of multiple original editions I am creating in collaboration with the United States Postal Service and my subscribers.

As the project has progressed, it has taught me many things. For instance, developing a two-sided, multi-panel, 3-D object as a multiple original is a more complex project than I first anticipated!

At the start I thought 2-3 weeks would be enough development time.  By now I know it's closer to 7 weeks.  The Summer Mail Piece production is stretched over an even longer period, because its development was interrupted by my duties as ConQuesT Art Show Director.

A pattern of features that remain consistent from edition to edition also has emerged. At this mid-point in the project, I thought it might be interesting to examine what kinds of "Mail Piece parts" have developed.

This tri-fold template
by Ricardo Giorgio Botta
illustrates the design basis
for each edition.

Three-Panel Self-Mailer Format
My years as a direct marketing graphic designer made the self-mailer format an easy choice. I have always enjoyed the three-dimensionality of brochures, which offer a series of unfolding views.

Especially as the idea of "collaborating" with the USPS developed, I knew the piece itself had to be exposed to Postal Service markings: postmarks, barcodes, postage stamps, and any other spontaneous "texturing" that might occur.

Unfortunately, I'm told one of the Spring Mail Pieces got "textured" pretty thoroughly in transit.  I have promised subscribers they will receive "reference restrikes" of any pieces that are too badly mangled by my governmental collaborator.

These end panels, representing the New Year Mail Piece and
the Spring Mail Piece, have appeared in my blog posts before.

Quotations
One of my earliest decisions was to find interesting quotations and short poetry about the season featured in the edition, and incorporate illustrations and decorations suggested by them, along with the words in my designs.

As regular readers of this blog also know, I frequently have used the stand-alone designs of the inside-folded end panels, created using this approach, to represent the Mail Pieces in my blog posts.

The Myth of the Season
World folklore is rich with stories about the seasons, and I have been delighted to reap material from this seemingly endless source.

The New Year Mail Piece highlighted a legend from ancient China, about the fearsome Nian.

The Spring Mail Piece focused on the Greek myth of Persephone (see next section). In the Summer Mail Piece, I am exploring the northern European folklore surrounding Fairy Rings.

Cut-paper rabbit from the
New Year Mail Piece

An Element of Paper Technology
Recently my primary medium has been paper sculpture--originally inspired by teaching some of the elements of pop-up technology to my art students. I couldn't resist an opportunity to include an extra "paper element" in each edition of the Mail Piece Project.

The added paper element in the New Year Mail Piece was a cut-paper design, suggested by a Chinese New Year tradition. The Spring Mail Piece made use of a standard piece of basic pop-up technology, the "step" pop-up.

This view of the Spring Mail Piece inside panels shows the treatment given the Persephone myth, as well as the "step" pop-up in Persephone's flowery meadow.

The Summer Mail Piece uses a different technique from pop-up books and cards, the lift-flap. As research progresses and the designs for the Autumn Mail Piece and the Winter Mail Piece develop, they will suggest the appropriate paper elements to accompany them.

IMAGE CREDITS: The tri-fold template by Ricardo Giorgio Botta is a free download from the Adobe InDesign site.  All other photos and images are copyright 2010 and 2011 by Jan Sherrell Gephardt, available under a Creative Commons license for copy and distribution with credit given, but not for alteration.