Portraiture

I hate the snow.
But that's beside the point. I mean, so long as I live in Montana I am going to have to face the stuff eventually, like it or not. Days like today make the springtime all the more cherished... Right?
So lately I've been making artwork for my artwork - as in portraits to hang on the walls. It's fun, though I enjoy making the frames more than the portraits for some reason.

Abercrombie Gilderplunk III

Sarsaparilla Gilderplunk

Dear old mum and baby. Poor dear looks as if she could use a rest.

So I'm contemplating learning o do tattooing. It's not as if this thought hasn't crossed my mind before, say, 20 years ago. I have all the confidence that I could become a tattoo artist, and likely a quite good tattoo artist, but it's all the legalities of becoming "licensed" that are a hindrance. 

I abhor paperwork and worse yet it seems all the legalities of being a tattoo artist have more to do with where you per for the tattooing and how clean it is (which is all quite understandable). I just don't believe I want to set up a tattoo shop in my spare bedroom.

But I haven't totally negated the idea of tattooing, so let's just see where it takes me. At the very least, it is an adventure... and it is art, and I did say I was going to do art every day. 

There just isn't enough time in a day when I am working on my art. I get intensely involved in it and time goes by so fast - too fast - and every so often I have to step back from it to let the moment sink in. At least that's the plan.

I've been deep in the creative process on the manor, and even completed so much of the exterior that I had to move to the interior. 

There was an incident that involved a warped roof... Who would have thought "glue + cardboard + foamcore = warped"? Well, likely some kind of science person, but I was blindsided... So I tore the roof off and brought out the heavy artillery. Yes. The Glue Gun.

Like most crafters I have a love/hate relationship with the glue guns of this world. It always seems if I'm not searing my fingertips, I am streaming the finest threads of glue in web-like wisps around my art, or I am gluing  two pieces together that I hadn't intended to glue and then in realization of my error, ripping and shredding and oh the cursing involved. 

So I've learned to use the gun as a last resort, or, such as in cases as this, as that incredible bonding agent that no force on earth can equal.  As a result, I have a roof that isn't as warped as it had been. And two burned fingers.

Trim for the windows! Don't be fooled by the seemingly endless amount of workspace here - The space I work in is usually much, much smaller.

The chimney is complete and I LOVE how the pipes turned out.

Ah, Mr Gilderplunk peering from an unfinished window.

And here is some of the electrical wiring that I am snaking throughout the house and hiding in cupboards, chimneys and everywhere possible. I was feeling very accomplished when I followed the instructions and created 3 sets of battery-operated  LED lights with little on/off switches. The parlor fireplace lights are an engineering masterpiece as far as I'm concerned.

Gingerbread. Mmmmmm... Gingerbread.

Part of the reason I wanted to create a paper "Victorian" was that I could draw all kinds of trim and wallpaper for it, and I love repeating patterns.  Once I found that nifty little "define pattern" tool in Photoshop I've been completely hooked on using it. I used it first when designing some fabric for a contest (that I didn't win) over at Spoonflower.com, which is a site that prints custom fabric (and wallpaper and wall decals, too). It was a "faux quilt" contest and I wasn't satisfied just making a simple quilt top, I had to go overboard. I don't think they appreciated my non-conformity.

I don't recall what design won - probably something with gingham and horses. I do like Spoonflower - I've purchased a few swatches of my designed fabric from them and used them for my dollmaking, but the biggest thrill for me was to design wall decals that I used on our bedroom ceiling. I'd always planned to paint some mural up there, but the allure of having re-positionable decals was too great and it wasn't long before I'd gone that route. I'll share those photos in the future. 

And so I have been drawing wallpaper and "gingerbread" trim for the manor. Lots of it. The only drawback to the process is deciding when too much is too much... (Yes, I DO have restraint at a certain point!) Ahhhh wallpaper... I love the stuff!

Years ago I was introduced to the art of Kaffe Fassett and learned what "too much" looked like with regard to interior decor. I'd bought a book of his knitting patterns because I loved his intricate designs. Then I found an out of print book of his interiors, which was like finding the holy grail mind you, but I found it. (Powell's in Portland - where else? The place was like mecca!) Well Kaffe really outdid himself and it was that influence that brought a wee bit of restraint into my own design efforts. 

That doesn't mean to say I don't love the look - I just prefer to be able to find the room somewhere under all the decor.

Gorey, my muse

Anyone who knows me well knows my huge admiration and fondness for all things Edward Gorey. Much of my work has an inevitable nod to his influence. I return to his works again and again  and so often find details in his drawings that I'd not seen before.

And oh, that macabre wit of his... Smashing.

My collection of Gorey includes what I consider his finest work, the Dracula Toy Theatre (not the reprint, the original spiral bound masterpiece)

I've had two - one I sold on Ebay for a disgraceful profit and the other, now depreciating thanks to the horrid aforementioned reprint, is one of my prized possessions. 

I was introduced to the book when I played Renfield in the Chantilly Theatre production of Dracula, which did a fine job of using Gorey's designs as an inspiration for the run. Years later I was able to purchase a copy thanks to the birth of the internet.

I just resound to his artwork. It doesn't just inspire me, it encourages me. It's almost addictive. 

I admit, sometimes his writing leaves me to think "What the hell?" but his art - wow. He's the master of the pen stroke in my opinion.  

Built like a brick... paper chimney!

I've been bricklaying! The foundation and the chimney were my project yesterday, as well as a start on the trim around the windows. I'm doing better at planning ahead for things, like the "electricity" and where I am going to hide those wires. (Of course there will be some lighting, I just love those detail type things!) Behind the chimney is my plan, at least for the first floor, because there will be a "box" for them. I just have to put some holes in before I glue the chimney to the side of the house, otherwise I'll be ripping things off later. . . And I already did that with some window trim that I put up backwards.

That was a struggle with my OCD because I could've  gotten away with it. Who would look that close?  And as my Mom used to say, "If they're going to look that close they deserve to find something!"

Well I just couldn't handle it and tore down the trim. Now it's all back up and in the right order and on to the next area of work!

It's been slick out on the roads and every now and then I hear a siren from the interstate near our house. I drive the interstate to and from work, and boy (he said sarcastically) do I love that.  Not to mention the roundabout down the street - that's equally enjoyable with an added bonus of sliding. It's not a roundabout, it's roulette - you never really know if the car approaching the thing will yield or not. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you slam on your breaks and make gestures. Sadly, I am horribly uncoordinated so I never quite gesture appropriately. It's usually some type of flailing about and the offensive driver usually thinks I'm either having a seizure or waving with a prosthetic limb.

Anyway, on days like this I am sooo glad to make it home safely and sit with my imported beer and create my big paper house.

I really don't like winter. Having a project like this in which to immerse myself is the best remedy for my "Janu-weariness". 

And, I must say, it's coming along nicely. Well, I think it is. 

Here's a photo of the paper theatre I had built last year, for those of you who asked. Paper Theatre (or Juvenille Theatre or Model Theatre or Toy Theatre) was very popular for children in the 19th century. Pollock's toy shop, whom many enthusiasts consider the definitive source for all things Paper-Juvenille-Model-Toy Theatre is still in operation in the UK, and I purchased a great book on the subject from them. 

There are festivals, in Europe, where people put on little productions in their theatres and it's all done very properly and with great seriousness. So as a 21st century art form, I'm in good company. I've only produced one "show" in an earlier theatre I built, and had a few friends over for the premiere. I remember back to that night, backstage with all my paper people and sets waiting for the opening cue, and I was thinking "Oh my god they are all going to think I have completely lost my mind". 

But they didn't... At least they had the courtesy not to say anything in front of me - George may have been advised to get me into treatment!

So this theatre, "Teatro" is still waiting for it's opening night. I've started to write a couple of plays (of course I can't bring myself to perform anything that someone else has written) and we shall see which one makes it.

I'll share more later - some of the sets I drew, some people (you can see one hapless fellow in the photo - I don't believe he was ever named). Oh - and "Gilderplunk" is the name of the theatre owner in my first production. It's "his" house I am building. 

And speaking of the house, I drew siding and now am applying little drawn shingles to the roof. I should note here that I'm not concerned about how pretty things are, I like a certain "odd quality" to my artwork. For instance, the siding is crooked in places and will likely have nails showing. Poor Gilderplunk is a theatre owner after all - his world is one where the world is to be viewed through a veil of gossamer.

Progress!

 Building has commenced! 
What started out as a three-story monstrosity was scaled back to a two-story "manageable" structure. I mean, when it's finished it has to fit somewhere in the house...
Of course, the plans I drew up to follow as I built the manor were swiftly abandoned with the first few walls that went up. And I of course cut all the windows before I decided where the walls were going so those had to be revised later on. This is why I am not an architect.

The facade, street view.

The interior, sans walls. Notice the two stairwells - back stairs off the kitchen, for the maid of course.

And the roof is on! That turret roof was a blasted head-scratcher to create. 

Day two. I'm still looking at these gothic type houses. I'm recycling the foundation from paper theatre #1 to build mine... I tore that theatre apart to create my bigger one, but couldn't get myself to rip the foundation apart. Now I'm glad I saved it... I got a head start on the house.

In Googling "miniature paper houses" I see that it's a pretty popular hobby for model train enthusiasts. I don't see anything like what I plan to build, but then I wasn't really expecting to.

Tonight I will put up a few walls. I had planned to make it to 1 foot = 1 inch scale, which is normal for miniature (don't call them dollhouses) homes but then realized I'd rather just start creating and let the scale be what it is.

You have to start somewhere.

I decided to start a blog for creative purposes. Someplace to document what I am working on, or to share something that might inspire me to be more creative.
You know how things go. You start something with the very best of intentions and then is slowly fades back into the monotony of day-to-day life with all those other unfinished projects. I like to say it's the doing that is important and not the finishing, but that tends to leave a lot of unfinished projects laying about.
So I'll try my best to finish what I start here, and to blog with some regularity.
And who knows? Maybe someone will read my blog - wouldn't that be novel?

So, right now I am fascinated with building a paper house. Something gothic. My inspiration is my obsession with paper theatre. I don't know why I want to build a paper gothic house but I do, and seeing as I like having a project and actually have foam core and cardboard left over from building my paper theatre (and have yet to be fully inspired to write the first production for said theatre) I am going to build this house.

But first, I need to find some inspiration.