Friday Egg: Blue Bird Swirl

Blue Bird Swirl is similar to one I posted a few weeks back, Flora and Fauna. But this time I fleshed out the details and added a lot of color. I started a white egg and then went through all the colors I could fit on the egg. I know there's Pysanky Showcase Lily Rose, UGS Turquoise, PUSA Lime Green, UGS Bright Green, PUSA Violet, UGS Pink, PUSA Pumpkin and the final background color is UGS Brown. Interesting how the basic design can look so different depending on color choices, line width, and details. I like to do a design in multiple ways to see what can happen. I put them side by side so you can see the difference.

What do you think of the difference between the two designs?

Happy Friday!

Friday Egg: Serpentine

I named this piece "Serpentine" because of the way the lines twist and turn. I like the result of the interaction and interplay of both line and color. I started with a goose egg dyed purple. After waxing the purple lines, I washed back and used Pysanky USA Golden Wheat, Pysanky USA Temple Orange and UGS Dark Red for the mirroring lines. The final color is UGS Purple.  I played with this idea for several more pieces, so you will see the effect of using different colors and how that changes the mood of the piece. 

I got the idea of playing with line width from the teacher of a design class I've been taking named Victoria Suescum. You can check out some of her work on her website. Her art is so different in almost every way than mine, but taking classes from different artists is so beneficial and important. Putting myself in a bit of discomfort as I try new ways of doing things helps me grow as an artist.

If you live in Austin and are interested in seeing this piece in person and buying it for your very own, I have entered it into the East Austin Studio Tour group show "Due East." Come check it out on November 6th. You can find details here!

The East Austin Studio Tour is coming up fast (November 15th and 16th through November 22nd and 23rd) and I am busily working to make it the most exciting show I've done yet! I'm working on some new ideas, but I won't know what's ready for primetime until we get closer to showtime.

I will get back to making gifs of the eggshells as soon as I find the missing piece that screws into the camera body so that I can connect it to the tripod. Without a tripod, I can't take all the photos from the exact point to reconstruct them as a moving scene later. I wonder what the piece is called, whether they are universal to all tripods and cameras, and whether you can buy one. Anyone know?

Happy Friday!

Friday Egg: Call Response

Friday Egg today is a goose egg divided into sixteen sections, with every other section waxed in a different color scheme. I can't remember the order or the colors I used, so I can't go through the order of steps as I usually like to do. The background colors are UGS Red and UGS Dark Red. The design itself reminds me of crochet loops, and I like the way they seems to communicate with each other in each two-part section: one side is shorter and the other side is longer. It's like a conversation or a call-response. It was fun to do something completely different than I have been working on lately. 

Happy Friday!

Friday Egg: Blue Hole Drift

Today's egg is a goose egg modern Pysanka. I started with Golden Wheat to draw the lines of the waves and then washed down with dish soap and etched with vinegar. Once I was back to white, I used Patina, Turquoise, Neon Green, Asparagus and Blue Blazes to fill in the lines of the waves.

Happy Friday!

Friday Egg: Flora and Fauna

Today's egg is a simple white on black goose egg. I divided the egg into four vertical quarters so there are four birds total, two on opposite sides and the floral design travels around the egg between them. I have yet to varnish so in some of the close-up photos you can see the marvelous pebbly texture of the goose egg.

This is an egg that doesn't require much exposition or explanation which is great because I am going to the ACL Festival today and my time is short.

Happy Friday!