artefaccio In reply to Ceratomia [2016-01-25 00:50:29 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much! That's really wonderful to hear. 

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artefaccio In reply to YvonniFhang [2012-06-14 22:12:03 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much! I feel like a rank beginner. You're in art school?

I like that your pendant is asymmetrical. I have a drafting background so art school was very difficult for me, and it's almost impossible for me to loosen up and compose things asymmetrically, although when I do finally do it people buy it right away -- means it's good, eh? hahahah Gotta keep plugging away at it is all.

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YvonniFhang In reply to artefaccio [2012-06-14 23:02:45 +0000 UTC]

I wish I still was in art school. I was for a little while, but couldn't afford it and had to drop out.
But I loved it. It is one thing to have personal projects to do, but it's completely different to have a specific thing to do in a limited time frame. It was exhausting at times, but it really pushed the art out of me, and definitely improved my skills.
I hope that one day I can afford to go back.

Symmetry is definitely good sometimes, but I think people are just more attracted to things that are unique and look different from different angles. And S-curves. I have no idea why, but the human eye REALLY likes S-curves.

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artefaccio In reply to YvonniFhang [2012-06-15 14:05:08 +0000 UTC]

Hah! I can tell you exactly why people like S-curves! Just read about it a few minutes ago in a newsletter:

Esoterica: I [i.e. Robert Genn] often think the best advice is what I call "Osmotic advice." This is where casual remarks (particularly in workshops) are overheard and inadvertently soaked up. It helps if the remarks were intended for someone else, but in your private wisdom you secretly know it was intended for you. Here's an example from the great workshopper Tony van Hasselt: "The 's' curve can be found in the human form, in animals, plants, flowers, in anything alive. Keep the straight lines for structures, created from 'dead' materials."

This is from www.painterskeys.com, which is a great website and the twice-weekly newsletter is incredibly interesting and inspiring.

I completely agree with you about having assignments to complee and part of the school thing is being "forced" to do them in a set time, as well as learning self-discipline (which I severely lack!). The 2-year college I went to treated the program like a job. If we were late for a class, we were marked absent, if we had three absences (w/o a valid reason) we were kicked out. For me, I was profoundly grateful to be able to do art for four or five or six hours a day. Plus we had university transfer academics. I worked full time most of the two years to be able to afford to go. I'd worked for the company for several years already, and all my boss said was to show my face in the office once a week during the day, otherwise I did all my work at night and on the weekends.

I slept for 4 hours a night during the week, 10-15 hours on Friday and Saturday nights, and really only made it through because my best friend who happened to live across the back alley from me would cook me a real meal three times a week, even if it was at 10 pm, with proper cutlery, sit at a table, have a nice chat about our days -- it was like a mini-vacation of an hour of peace and quiet in an insane day. Afterwards, I did my final English and Art History credits in Europe on a 3-month university/college trip. At one point I had three part time jobs, but I paid for all of it myself as I went.

If you really want it, just do it. Take weekend classes, night classes -- I have never stopped taking some type of art class, now jewellery. I live way out in the boonies now so I can only take occasional jewellery classes, but I do hours of online research about what I'm interested in and watch videos. www.wetcanvas.com is offering free web seminars now that I'm finding useful as I never did watercolour much, and I never did abstract stuff. [link]

Let me know if you want any information that I can dredge out of my very fried brain. I did learn a lot at art school which I still use even while making jewellery. I hope to teach drawing classes when the new arts centre is finished something within the next 8 to 12 months. I sold my jewellery in the gallery shop at the old place and they were always bugging me to have an exhibition there or teach, so... why not? hahaha

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YvonniFhang In reply to artefaccio [2012-06-16 00:55:54 +0000 UTC]

Wow, that's awesome.

I was taking classes in animation for a little while, and my teachers would always say to use curving lines and figures. If there are too many straight lines, then the character will seem stiff, and it will ruin the illusion of life that artists, and especially animators, so desperately strive for.

As for classes and art school and such, I've been trying for months to find just one job to pay for food and rent, much less two or three that would help me pay for school.

But my roommate and I have worked out a self-discipline/self-improvement system. We write on little slips of paper all the things we want to accomplish, very specifically. for example: "Draw 100 Themes Challenge #61. Fairy Tale" And we each have a jar or tin that we put them all in.
Then we have a specific time slot each day for "Self-Improvement Jar Time" in which we each pull out one slip of paper and work on whatever is on it for the allotted time. It makes sure that we keep ourselves positively occupied and working towards improvement, even though we don't have jobs or school to push us forward.

We've only been doing it for a couple of days, and already it's gotten us both to accomplish things that would probably still be unfinished otherwise.

Thank you for the link to the web seminars, by the way, that will be a big help. I've never done any watercolor before, but I love to learn new techniques. I've done a little bit of abstract art, but I mostly prefer representational art.
The main positive with abstract art, though, is that you'd be the only one who knew if you messed up.

P.S: I really enjoy our conversations. You're probably one of the only people I've met on DA that actually talks rather than simply commenting.

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artefaccio In reply to YvonniFhang [2012-06-16 08:33:29 +0000 UTC]

hahah -- my real job is transcription, so I type really fast, and I tend write as if I'm having a conversation. I really like what you and your roommate are doing -- it's so hard to do when you're on your own like I am, and my dog isn't very motivational other than to let me know it's time to nap on the couch.

I'm on my way to the market now -- it's 4:23 a.m. right now -- but quickly -- one of the books that I found really helpful is "Experimental Drawing". I don't know if it's still in print, but it's very, very good.

The exercise I loved and found most useful is "50 drawings in four hours". You find an object that you love -- or at least like a lot -- and draw it in any media, on any type of surface, and keep going until you've done the 50 drawings. It's more difficult than it seems. I picked a skull to draw, and, boy, did I ever get good at drawing skulls! Have I done it since? Nope.

Gotta run. Please keep in touch -- we can go off-dA if you like -- bemacdougall@gmail.com -- you're right, it IS very hard to find people to "talk" with. I have several artist pals all over the place and we yak all the time. I need to get back to drawing and painting again. I'm allergic to oil paints, and I've been looking at casein as a hybrid that will give me the speed of use I'm after, with the ability to layer that oil gives (versus acrylic, which doesn't allow for glazing, at least not to the degree I was after -- and I only painted while I was at school).

Gotta go!
B

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YvonniFhang In reply to artefaccio [2012-06-16 20:52:01 +0000 UTC]

I will email you.

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artefaccio In reply to JadeHades [2012-05-19 22:21:50 +0000 UTC]

I tried to do it long ago when I first "met" you but I couldn't figure out how to do it.

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JadeHades In reply to artefaccio [2012-05-20 19:20:58 +0000 UTC]

lol well ty

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artefaccio In reply to Avanariel [2012-02-22 19:51:52 +0000 UTC]

My pleasure.

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artefaccio In reply to Primitve [2012-02-14 20:48:16 +0000 UTC]

no prob, look forward to seeing more.

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artefaccio In reply to Voodoomamma [2011-10-19 22:32:10 +0000 UTC]

Great. Thanks!

I did the 2-day bead show in Guelph this past weekend. What a great time -- the vibe was really positive during the whole show from both the vendors and the people who came. (Have you ever gone to the Oasis show when there are more vendors than buyers? Scary.) This year I not only made my table and gas, there was even a little extra so I went shopping (www.artefaccio.blogspot.com). Met some super-interesting people. That's the most fun for me.

I'll check these links before they disappear!

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Voodoomamma In reply to artefaccio [2011-10-20 05:28:02 +0000 UTC]

My pleasure Barb!
Glad you had success in Guelph!! I have not gone or participated in the Oasis shows! I think it costs a lot for a table and as you say too many sellers not enough buyers!!!
Check out this link Barb:
[link]
and Look Aliexpress; there are a lot of 'stores' that have free shipping!

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artefaccio In reply to SkyJaguar [2011-08-11 12:51:03 +0000 UTC]

I'm so pleased I was invited to submit. What a great site.

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artefaccio In reply to szaranagayama [2011-06-30 11:16:23 +0000 UTC]

My pleasure.

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artefaccio In reply to utterly-lost [2011-06-27 22:02:19 +0000 UTC]

no problemmo. Look forward to seeing more of your work.

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artefaccio In reply to RetroRevivalBoutique [2011-06-17 16:50:25 +0000 UTC]

My pleasure. I look forward to seeing more of your creations. I wish I could loosen up in the way I put the stuff I do together, whether it's beads or drawings/paintings. I admire that ability more than anything. Everything I do is far too precise.

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RetroRevivalBoutique In reply to artefaccio [2011-06-17 17:48:08 +0000 UTC]

I know what you mean.
I've struggled with that quite a bit myself.
The key to loosening up, as you put it,
is to just try a little bit of EVERYTHING.
Dabble in techniques that you've never tried before, just keep learning.
And remember that there is no such thing as failing,
every "mistake" is just another lesson that makes your work better.

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artefaccio In reply to RetroRevivalBoutique [2011-06-18 00:28:13 +0000 UTC]

Yes -- That's how I started! What originally got me into jewellery was making PMC stuff, but then I needed to learn what a jump ring was for... I took every course the local bead store offered, and I got into everything. Then I had to start pulling back and limiting myself to what I really like to do.

My problem is precision -- I'm a draftsperson and portrait artist. I recently dumped a pile of beads into a big bin. I take a handful and use only what I've got. It's helped quite a bit. My next discovery was that I seem to gravitate towards beads in a particular colour range, but I immediately see where I need reds and yellows and oranges, for example, to make the colours more intense and pop. I have to listen to what my customers are asking for, too. I just made a choker, but after looking at the photographs, I think it will make a better bracelet. Sigh....

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RetroRevivalBoutique In reply to artefaccio [2011-06-18 01:11:11 +0000 UTC]

You're on the right track the bead thing,
that's how I broke loose from worrying so much about symmetry.
I had a few vintage beads that I absolutely LOVED, but
there wasn't enough to make any sort of "pattern".
I want ahead & made a necklace anyway, and it was a little
messy to my eye, but to my surprise it was very well received!

I suppose my biggest problem is that I tend to only make big jewelry,
and I don't seem to know how to do subtle.
I'm really hoping to refine my style this year, and kind of
reign it in just a little...

Anyway, just keep up the good work
and you'll do fine.

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artefaccio In reply to iSkyloft [2011-01-28 10:04:26 +0000 UTC]

Ahhhh, cool. Thank you.

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