I once had an art teacher call me “tedious Eric,” because I worked over the tiniest details with careful precision. At least, I think he was referring to that, and not my personality. Anyway, I never broke the habit, as you can see here. This is one tiny part of a larger piece I’ve been working on, and even as I asked myself why I’m focusing so much on this repetitive pattern, I understood that I couldn’t do it any other way. Repetition of patterns is almost meditative, and it allows me to get into a state of mind where I can think through other things, solve other problems even as I focus on the work in front of me. Of course, when I changed over to stippling further down, it broke the rhythm and I started to feel a little fidgety and anxious.
It’s All in the Details
Posted in Art, Process, Technique, woodburning with tags Art, crosshatching, details, hatching, patterns, Process, pyrography, repetition, techniques on July 25, 2012 by scratchybTake Frequent Breaks
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Art, breaks, creativity, ideas, Process on July 23, 2012 by scratchybSomething I normally don’t need to remind myself of, unless I’m working on an art project. During the sketching phases, I’m distracted and fidgety, but once the idea starts fleshing out, and I’ve tossed out or added new elements, I get into the zone. And that’s when time slips out from under me, and I don’t snap out of it until I realize that I have to be at my day job in 15 minutes, or that my hand has cramped up, or my shoulders and back have cramped up. This can be bad when I’m burning, because I can forget I’ve got a hot instrument in my hand instead of just a pen.
I’m not one to glorify marathon work sessions. I value the downtime of a break, even a working break. Sometimes, when I’m working intently on some repeated patterns, other ideas emerge that need to be given some rudimentary form, or they’ll nag me all day and night. So I stop for a while to sketch them out, and then let them sit for a while.
But the most important thing is to know when to get back to work.
Break’s over.
Asking questions, learning from others
Posted in Uncategorized with tags boundaries, challenging yourself, comfort zone, learning, questions, self-improvement on July 9, 2012 by scratchybMy mom likes to chat people up. With a few pointed questions, she can get almost anyone to spill an abbreviated version of their life story, or their dreams, or their skill set. It was always the skill set that interests her the most. She used to bug furnace installers, auto mechanics, and maintenance crews about what they were doing, and as a kid it drove me nuts.
It was downright embarrassing, having your mother constantly asking these questions. I refused to do the same. As a result, I never learned unless someone took it upon themselves to teach me. I didn’t ask, because I didn’t want people to find out that I didn’t know. And I didn’t know, because I never asked. It wasn’t a lack of curiosity, I had plenty of that. It was a deep sense of inadequacy that kept me from researching anything that couldn’t be learned from a book. And I just avoided situations that required new skill sets.
It took me the better part of a decade to break those habits in my adulthood, and I still find plenty of progress to be made. Over the past couple of years I started the practice of asking about any topic that I didn’t know about if it came up in conversation. That’s a first step, working with people you already know and situations that are fairly familier. But just walking up and talking to people is not my default behavior, even though I know how enlightening it can be. So I’m steadily trying to trick myself into developing the habit of encountering new people doing things that interest me and asking about the process
Just today I came home to find that the people across the alley from me had torn down their garage and seemed to be rebuilding it, by themselves. These people have always interested me, because they have sculptures in their yard and I always had the sense that they were working on something in that garage of theirs. So, did I stop to talk to them? I wish this post could have a more positive end, but really, I pulled onto my parking pad and brought the groceries into the house. Lesson learned, boundaries discovered. Now I just need to start pushing my toes over the line. I’ve done it before, I can do it again.
Further Experimentation
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Art, brass, clock, creativi, creativity, gold, memento mori, old scratch, Process, pyrography, skulls, technique on June 27, 2012 by scratchybConstructor Aftermath
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Art, art fair, Constructor, craft fair, design, Fitzgerald's, old scratch, T-shirts on June 14, 2012 by scratchybHad a great day at last Saturday’s Constructor Craft Fair at Fitzgerald’s. This was the first craft fair where I wasn’t sharing a booth, so I took advantage of the space. A big thank you to people who came to my booth and supported me, and also to my fellow vendors, who were just plain fun and inspiring to be around. I shouldn’t leave out the organizers, who always go out of their way to make this a great event.
One thing I have picked up from this show is that I am ready to start moving into more products, like a greater range of cards, and finally, T-shirts. While I’m still continuing with the major and minor pyrography art experiments I’ve been doing, I’m also going to explore some other avenues for my designs.
And now, it is time to return to work.
Constructor Craft Fair
Posted in Art with tags Art, Berwyn, Chicago, Constructor Craft Fair, crafts, Fitzgerald's on May 8, 2012 by scratchybHead’s up to any Berwyn/Chicago locals: The fifth annual Constructor Craft Fair is Saturday June 9th at Fitzgerald’s at 6615 Roosevelt Rd. in Berwyn. Come check it out, it’s always a blast, with art,crafts, music, and beer.
Pyrography and scratchboard
Posted in Art with tags Art, artwork, experiment, old scratch, pyrography, scratch-board, scratchboard, wood, Woodburn on April 29, 2012 by scratchybI’ve been working on a little experiment combining pyrography with scratchboard for a stronger effect. The contrast between the black and white and the comparatively lighter wood coloring intrigued me. I kind of like the way this worked out, so I might be doing a few more experiments.
I just glued the scratchboard drawing onto the wood panel with craft glue. Next I’ll seal it with an acrylic or polyurethane varnish. That should keep the edges from pulling up. I’ve debated using color, and decided against it, even along the border, which was my original intent for this piece.