Devil and the Halloween Party

The devil tried to crash the Halloween party, but had a little trouble getting through the door.

Just a little sketch I worked up, toying with some other ideas.
Happy Halloween!

50/50 Pilsen Show

Photo by Mandy McGee

I made these bookmarks to sell at the craft show.

 

Friday October 14th was the last day of the 50/50 Pilsen (Chicago) art and craft show, and the only night for the art show. We had a lot of people there, and the show overall was a terrific event. The art show was scheduled to coincide with the Second Friday Art Walk, which happens on Halsted St. on the second Friday of the month.

I’ll be posting those bookmarks pictured up there to Etsy soon.

Crafty Art

I’m counting the days down until the craft fair portion of 50/50 Pilsen, and thinking a little bit about where craft and art meet.  Art almost always involves a degree of craftsmanship, unless it’s purely conceptual. The work I’ve been doing recently involves a medium that puts most people in mind of boy scouts, grandparents, and kitschy outdoor country scenes.  Pyrography doesn’t have the popularity of, say, screenprinting, and it is far more time-consuming without the possibility of mass-production. But there’s a lot of possibility in the medium, because of the range of possible markings, from fine-detail to thicker, deeper burns.

Since the theme of this show is where art meets craft, I’ve been exploring the craftier elements of my woodburning, but really, I’m far more interested in how to incorporate this craft into paintings and drawings. Now, plenty of people consider pyrography a serious art, and so do I, but does it get the same respect as painting or sculpture? This past spring I was at the Art Chicago show at Merchandise Mart, and saw one example of pyrography. I’ve found a few cool woodburn artists trolling around the web, but ultimately, where I draw the line is whether someone is creating original subject matter with a discernible style. I’ll be interested in hearing some of the comments of the Pilsen arts community, because at this show I’ll be focusing almost exclusively on woodburn art.

We’ll see what we’ll see.

Constructor Craft Fair July 9th

This post is waaaay late, but I have good excuses, what with a storm that blew out our power for36 hours, stomach flu, family matters, and an impromptu trip to Holland.  Holland, Michigan, that is.

So the Constructor Craft Fair happened at Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn on Saturday July 9th, and it was just as much fun as last year.

I debuted a few new pieces there. These are a few of the new items. They’ll be appearing in my Etsy shop soon.

 

 

 

All images © Eric Battaglia 2011

Something for the heat

In my house, with the AC on, it’s 82 degrees.  And I’m grateful for even that.  So here’s a little piece for our friend the sun.  Please keep your flares to yourself.

 

All images © Eric Battaglia 2011

Thrillist writeup and other updates

I got a little write-up in Thrillist recently.  That was cool to see, and I’ve noticed some increased traffic to my Etsy shop.

Speaking of which, I’ve posted a couple of new wood-burn and acrylic pieces on Etsy.  I’m trying to get a group of these smaller paintings out there before I start work on some of the larger ideas I have, since I already know those are going to be more involved.

Skull Priest started out as a design for a linocut, and then was turned into this woodburn.  I’m basically fulfilling my need to mess with Aztec and Mayan influences here.

Siblings was going to be more of the Aztec influence, but I’m seeing a lot more Wild Thing here.  What do you think?

All images © Eric Battaglia 2011

My attempts at abstract

I don’t know if you can call these properly abstract. I’ve been experimenting a little bit beyond the figurative, that’s weird for me. These are woodburn paintings. I burned in the design and then painted around it with watercolor and acrylic.

I’ve not been blogging lately, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been working on anything. I’ve got this Egypt themed box and a few other things up my sleeve that I’ll be posting about soon.

This stuff’s going to be posted to my Etsy store soon.

All images © Eric Battaglia 2011

IF-Sweater

“While it is warm, troll-wool is terribly scratchy and uncomfortable, as anyone who has brushed up against a troll’s pelt would know.  Of course, they wouldn’t share that knowledge, because most people who came that close to a troll simply didn’t come back.  Sven’s mother had told him to always show his appreciation, and common sense told him not to offend Grandma Troll.  So he thanked her for the new, somewhat ill-fitting sweater she had knit him from the very wool off her arms.  Then he stood very still so as not to irritate his skin any further.”

From “Grandma Troll,” an imaginary fairy tale.

Illustration Friday’s theme this week was “sweater”.  I did have in mind a monster and boy, with a sweater knit from the monster’s fur. It turned into this troll idea after I thought of making the monster a grandmother, and the story fell into place in my head as I was drawing.  It’s possible this could turn into a full-fledged picture book.

 

© Eric Battaglia 2011

Illustration Friday–Reverse

The latest for Illustration Friday.  The theme is “Reverse.”

All images © Eric Battaglia 2011

IF–Dusty

“He would not respond, but only stood there, unmoving. In the dark, he didn’t even look substantial, just little more than tiny particles, dust motes floating together in his shape. Sylvia fancied that if she approached him, and reached out her hand to touch him, he would simply fly apart, and she’d be left with nothing but a dusty pile.”

–From “Inherit the Dust” by Dorian Grimwater.

A note on the above quote. Dorian Grimwater is a famous author of several puzzling (literally) books in his home country. Most of his books offer clues to the whereabouts of multiple stolen treasures. Needless to say, he is wanted by authorities, and his books are bestsellers if only because of the multiple attempts at uncovering the valuables. Dorian’s books come to us only in pieces, and entirely by a fluke, as his home country resides in an alternate universe.

All images © Eric Battaglia 2011