New Website - In The Works!

We are working on a new website.  The old one has been closed down.  We decided on - www.automationgeisha.com.  This took a lot of research into many, many, many words in the thesaurus, especially since robotgeisha, geishabot and projectgeisha were already taken.  Robot Geisha happens to be a movie, and I guess very popular.  So, automationgeisha it is!  It will be up in running in a couple of weeks.

Color Theory - Final Project

This was a mixed media project.  We had to include elements that we found in other works of art.  We also had to repeat a certain pattern element or shape at least three times in the work of art.  It could be 2 or 3 dimensional - I chose to do a 2 dimensional drawing and then add a 3 dimensional twist.

Wacom Tablet - YES!

Santa was good to me this year - he gave me a brand new beautiful Wacom tablet!  No more mouse work baby!

Art Snobs Need Not Apply!

Snobbery and art should not be hand-in-hand!  I am so tired of going to art functions and the atmosphere is aloof and pretentious.  I'm also tired of seeing "cheap" fix art instead of well crafted, well thought out, powerful art.  The art world is as commercialized as anything out there.  No sense of individualism.

Robot Geisha - My Collection

This is a recent addition to my Robot Geisha series.  This one was just completed this semester.  It was done in Illustrator.  I will be adding more in the near future.  This will probably be an ongoing project for quite some time.

Identity - The Drawing and Computer Portrait.

I love this portrait.  I love the power.  I finished this portrait earlier in the year just before moving to AZ. This was my idea or twist on a routine class practice of a graphite value scale.  I also pulled the image into Photoshop and added a slightly different touch to it.  I just did the Photoshop work last night.

The Process - A New Portrait

I have finally started on paper and out of my mind, a new portrait.  It is about 1/4 of the way done.  I am posting two images one of the "cartoon" (the rough outline) mixed with the beginning of the actual drawing, and then the second is a close up on the eyes.  I was pleased with the sparkle in the eyes.  If the eyes are dead the portrait is dead!  I will post more as I get them together.

Strange Brew: The Gerald and Daphna Cramer Teapot Collection

The Teapot Collection show at the ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center is amazing.  The collection has such a wide variety of artist teapots.  One of my favorite was made by George Walker.  The food was great too.  There was scones, chocolates, finger sandwiches, tea, coffee and more.  It was a great opening.  I love teapots.  I've made a few myself.  I like to hand paint my teapots after the firing process.  The show runs from Dec. 15 - Feb. 19, 2010.  If you have the time, you should check it out.  You don't have to be ceramics major to appreciate fine craftsmanship and beautiful ceramic teapots.

The Process - Chalk Art at Little Italy, San Diego - 2007

Now this was an experience.  I had seen chalk art done before but had never tried it myself.  A friend of mine suggested I try at the Little Italy Art Festa in San Diego (my hometown).  I did.  What was really difficult was the spot I was given had deep cracks in the asphalt; I had to work the composition in and around them.  We had to work within a certain subject matter, but had the freedom to alter it however we liked.  I chose the cherub playing an instrument.  But decided to add color and vibrancy to the composition.  Oh and it also rained that day too!  We had to work around wet spots, cold weather, and tough terrain. I really enjoyed it.  I am posting pictures taken of the process and then the finished composition. I actually did the chalk art three years in a row.  Thank you Eddy for taking the pictures and being part of my crew that day.

Another "MUST SEE" Blog!

Another great blog has begun, a classmate of mine from 3D art class of 2009.  Orlando is extremely talented and a pretty cool guy at that, so check out his blog.  I will be following his art career.  He will be doing great things in the near future!
http://designapathway.blogspot.com/

Intense Personality - A Portrait

I am working on a series of small 10" x 10" oil on canvas paintings. This is the first of many to come.  I am painting portraits in the colors I see reflected in the individual's personality.  This one is of a very good friend of mine, and he is often my model for a lot of my work.  He just has a great face - a lot of character and a wonderful spirit to go with it.  I'm sure, if you follow my blog, you will eventually recognize the face.  For those who were fellow peers in my 3D class - you might see a similarity to the face within the book (altered book project).  This is an abstract representation and not usually what I do.

Working On A Portrait.

Slowly, I am working on starting a portrait that I was supposed to have done by Christmas.  I don't think that is going to happen.  Sometimes it is hard for me to start the process, but once I get going, it's usually good.  I have to mull it over in my head about a thousand times before I can start.... it's a crazy process, but it's mine.

Bare Your Soul! - And Then Take Criticism!

I was reading a fellow blogger (Brittany's http://brittanyforsberg.blogspot.com/ ), and she had commented on how difficult it is to feel a sense a of confidence when sharing she is an art major because of the ridiculous remarks by others.  I agree, I am much older and have had to hear it from so many people about art - "oh I must plan to starve, or why don't you become something else and then dabble on the side with your little hobby".  THAT'S JUST IT.... it's not a hobby - it's a passion, a deep resonating in your soul of who you are and what you are meant to do here on this earth.  We not only create art, we bare our souls to the world and then have to politely take the criticisms with it.  The arts are so under appreciated and there are so many wonderfully talented artists out there that never get the opportunity to share his or her work.  A great deal of artists also not only create but feel their art deep down in their most intimate inner being.  Art is also an avenue to expose the wrongs put on society, or to create beauty where beauty is lacking.  Art is to stir up passion and create a dialogue to speak out on what is relevant or create a relevancy where there is none.  Art causes communities to sit up and take notice, art can be in your face, art is all things, art is the mechanism that stirs human emotion.  So to the critics that speak ill or think that art is an easy major, you try baring your soul and then have all the world stomp on it, it's not easy - it's honesty... so stick that in your pipe and smoke it!  To my fellow artists, I salute you and support your vision, go forward and be art!

3D Final Class Project - Link To All of Our Animation Clips

Our teacher Matthew Mosher compiled all of our videos into one streaming video on YouTube.  The link is below - check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3-jDV97-IM

Tis The Season to Consume!

This is a project I created in Photoshop.

Great Video to Watch - Created by The Great Olivia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4Kpo66QLAY

3:49 a.m. And I'm Wide Awake - How About You?

The most pleasant experience I would like to have is to lay my head down on my pillow and sleep, to get a full eight hours of non-stop sleep - unimaginable - but I hear people do just that - amazing!

This is one of my scratchboard portraits of a young African boy, titled - Alone.

Spray Graphics - Start of a New Adventure

I have linked up with a great site that is filled with creative people. I have just begun listing my work on it and will add things as I go along.  It is open to all artists, and you may want to join to.  It's Free.
http://www.spraygraphic.com/lisabella

Art Community

My thoughts for the day.  It saddens me how little a sense of community we have as artists.  So often there is so much cut-throat competition that we don't get to nurture each other and encourage one another on our journey in the world of art and creation.  We are so "lucky" to have the ability to express our thoughts, feelings and emotions as well as the world around us in a visual often tactile manner.  We all need to make a living and rarely does one support themselves by art alone, we all want that big pay off, but does it have to be at the expense of another artist's opportunity to shine.  There's enough room in this world for all of us to share our art and make a difference in the lives of others as well as our own.  Keep creating ART!

Previous Art Classwork

These next images are from a previous art class I took in California.  The Geisha is in color pencil and is done in cubism.  The second is a monochromatic study in shades of Violet, and the last is a pointillism piece done with pen.

My Website - www.belladesign.us

I do have a website, but it is sadly overdue for updates.  I will be hopefully revising and updating it real soon.  But it is still available for viewing.  I also have my chalk art on the website.  For a couple of years I was able to be a part of the Art Festa in Little Italy, San Diego, CA.  My home town.  So please check it out visit, comment- would love to hear from you all.
http://www.belladesign.us/

Record for Spray Graphics B-Sides Vinyl Art Show at Hoodlums

This was an art show put on by Spray Graphics at the Hoodlums Record store.  Artists picked up old 78 records for free and transformed them into art of any kind.  It just had to have the hole in the record for hanging.  I decided to do my Robot Geisha theme.  There were some really great artworks done.
http://www.hoodlumsmusic.com/blog/upcoming-events/

This was my entry:

Color Theory - My Tessellation Pattern Project

In this project we had to create a pattern and then take that pattern and put it into a tessellation.  I used the letter "z" in a monochromatic color scheme.  It added a metal type weave.  I found it interesting.  The work was done in Illustrator.

We then had to create a product that would have another design we created.  I chose to use a pattern I made that had tiny skulls on a octagon shape.  I decided to create a clothing line that would work with non-profit organizations that would receive a portion of the proceeds to their charity.  It was titled: Cause for Identity.

Color Theory - My Sprinkles Project

This project was interesting as we studied the artist Chuck Close, and how he uses a grid pattern and each square is its own cell.  We had to make a portrait of someone we either liked, hated or a self portrait (which could also fall in the "like" or "hate" category).  But we had to use a medium that would express something about that person - their likes or dislikes, personality - something to link it to the person portrayed.  It also had to be something other than the usual art mediums: painting, drawing, etc.  So the person I portrayed is a  close friend.  He is a former chef and loves, loves, loves food.  So I thought of cupcake sprinkles.  Plus, they were colorful and small - easier to manipulate.  The process was tedious in that I had to use tweezers and a glue medium.  I liked the end result.

The BLOB - my short animation video clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=navgsPyhtiQ



This was my stop animation clip.  It consisted of 200 photos placed in Flash.  My clip was a commentary of the book we had to use in class.  I was commenting on how one element of life can be stomped out by mankind, but it can be turned around and given new life - morphed into something else.  The medicine bottle was used as a refuse dispensed of by someone carelessly leaving it on the ground.  It is really a tongue-in-cheek clip in that I found the book to be an over the top panacea type of ideal not really applicable to today and what we currently face in our world.  Mind you it is not well crafted - I am NOT a film student and have never worked with this type of medium before.  SO please take it lightly and don't judge it for any "film" value.  Thanks. 

Past Projects From 3D class 2009

This was my team for the Big Dog project - the large inflatable done in just plastic and packaging tape.  We added a water pump and actually made the dog pee!  Great fun!

This photo was provided by Eddy Hennig - he was kind enough to follow the groups in the class and photograph all the projects.  This photo was great!  The viewer in the background just loved our project and watched for a very long time.  He was a great addition to the project.

The next is a photo of my teacher Matthew Mosher and the two chairs I made our of just cardboard.  We were not allowed to use any adhesive or any type of fasteners.  The chair had to hold our weight for the entire class, and also support the weight of our teacher when he tested it out.  I added King Louis in there  as an added humor to the photo.  Great fun!

I will be adding more images from class projects when I have them all compiled together on my desktop.  I hope you enjoy viewing them.  Feel free to leave comments.

First Undergrad Juried Show

I was so excited to hear that my work was accepted into the first Undergrad Juried Art show I entered here at ASU.  It is in the Harry Wood Gallery and will run until January 29th.  I am posting the drawing I entered.

The Beginning and The End

I have just completed my first semester at ASU as an art student, but this is the beginning of my Journal.  I hope you will come and visit often.  I am not one to write a diary or to even keep sketchbook notes handy. I am working on the latter.  I do like however blogging, so this is my journey through life as an artist, an art student, and an observer of those around me.  I just completed a lower division 3D class, a Color theory class, and 2 art history courses.  In my 3D class we had assignments that consisted of altering books, making chairs out of cardboard and even making large inflatables out of just plastic and packaging tape.  Our final was a short stop animation video/film.  It was to encompass some aspect of what we learned in design principles or it had to reference a book we used in class that dealt with design principles in life as a whole and how we approach society, design, ecology - how we treat our environment.

In Color Theory - we discussed the different color schemes, color impact in our projects and how to approach color and balance in art.  We created projects that allowed us to use elements not usually associated with art.  I made a portrait using - cupcake sprinkles!  I also worked with a 2D drawing and created a 3D form out of it and used a pastiche of elements I took in from other works of art we viewed on our art scavenger hunt.  We had to go through the painful experience of art "critiques" and at times it was painful.  I will be posting some of my projects.