New Semester, New Projects

Okay, so technically the semesters been on for about four weeks, but I've been doing loads. I'm quite caught up in several projects: one the illustrated book version of the short story I wrote last semester, My God, another a painting of Joan of Arc, and the last various paintings for Ros' advanced painting class.

Anyway, I came back from break and the girl next to me, Jess, had dropped so I moved things about and now I've got a huge studio. It's pretty exciting because now I've a space for oil painting and a space for watercolor. Here are some lovely pictures.





So I've got everything all nice and cleaned up and pretty. I've also made a new nametag for myself.



It's all ideal for creating. So about my first project, the book. I've basically decided to plan it all out like a good girl. Considering that I want it to look really professional (I'm aiming for it to look like a really cool hardcover children's book) I've set all the type in Indesign and Photoshop and am having my graphic design friends who have taken typography go over it and help me out with that. I'm also doing little watercolor studies for every page on computer paper. Examples for pages 1-2 and 3-4:



1-2



3-4

These are 8"x10", though the book is going to be 22"x30". I know it's nuts, I know it's huge, but if I do it well it should have the effect of making the person read it feel very small, like a child. This is the idea. Plus it gives me loads of room to paint.

I've been doing stuff for the cover, as well. As the protagonist's hero is Joan of Arc, I found an old engraving of her burning at the stake online. I put the image into the laser cutter we have here at school in the Art & Design building and it cut out an etch of it into plexiglass. Then I took it over to the press in Noble Hall. I mixed up two colors of ink: gold and grey. I wiped the plate down with the ink while my paper was floating in a water bath for about half an hour. Then I put the plate down on the press, put the wet paper on the plate, smoothed felt over them both, and rolled over them. There were only two that came out all right, though I did six.





I think I'm going to go with the gold and have the cover of the book (the fabric part) be that color grey. The stamping will be white. This paper will be the inside bit that's glued to the covers.



By the way, it's here that I'm going to send accolades to my good friends at The Paper Studio. They've got the greatest paper choices and they always send a lovely little hand letter pressed thank you postcard. They're a good example of a small company with great selection and service and they were a great find.

At any rate, that's what I've been up to. Still so much to do! I would go on about the Joan of Arc painting, but I've not really any images yet and that's for another post entirely.

Phew!

Also of note: exactly two months until I turn 21. Woohoo!