SoCal

© Melissa Gaggiano

My Creative Space...

The past couple of weeks I have been working on a piece of embroidery. I am usually working on this in the evening or during the day when Gwen is having a nap. So it has been slow progress. It is getting there.

Embroidery WIP — So Cal Noir

The first few flowers in my garden have begun to emerge. Here are some photos I just took. The colours simply pop off the screen.

Check out other wonderful creative spaces and corners over at Kootoyoo's Meme — My Creative Space.

What's Up Doc?

I have been knee deep in some projects, but I wanted to touch base with you.
One of my projects has been preparing my next zine issue. I actually missed coming out with a Winter issue this year. I am making up for it, by making my Spring issue just a little more special. I hope to finish the zine at the latest first week of October.


The other project has been my embroidery, as you can see below. I didn't know if this was going to work out well, as I am embroidering one of my own sketches, titled So Cal Noir. But, guess what! It is coming out just fine.

Embroidery: In Progress

I also want to share a little bit of retro with you. Yesterday I was under the house, searching for some old badges, which, by the way, made me feel like Alice when she grew too big for the room. I also stumbled across my Jem doll and this poster that came with her.
Oh how I loved Jem when I was a little girl, and I still do. This Hasbro creation has been in my heart since the age of seven. That makes… hold on, let me do the math — 27 years.

Front: Poster

Back: Catalogue

So Cal Noir

Yesterday afternoon I stopped by at the local Wool and Sewing shop. Thank goodness, it is a two minute walk away (30 seconds if I dash).


I picked up the few supplies I need to begin my embroidery project. The printer ink has been depleted so I draped the fabric over the computer monitor, and traced from one of my original sketches. For the first time I have used dissolvable ink. So I have no idea how long it will last.


It will be interesting to see how this will turn out. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship with the embroidery frame.

So Cal Noir: Finally

At last I present to you the completed illustration So Cal Noir.

So Cal Noir: Darkness Falls

Now you can see a darker quality enter this composition. I have added a night sky which produces a much more erie appearance. I rather like the messy border so will maintain that look for the final.

So Cal Noir: Land of Colour

I am now beginning to add colour to So Cal Noir. To begin with I am keeping it quite rough. Then once I have it fully colourised I'll then look at refining the image.

So Cal Noir: and so it continues

Slowly. So slowly So Cal Noir is coming together.

Tic Toc

I am now bringing together all the indiviudal sketches of my So Cal Noir into one image. I aim to finish this piece in the next three days.

My Creative Space...

So, this week I have been sharing my sketch book notes for an art project titled “So Cal Noir”. The above sketches are the latest in that line of sketching. To step back and see the previous sketches, follow these links:

1. 12/10/09
2. 11/10/09
3. 08/10/09

I also developed a little illustration for Curly Pops‘ Blogtoberfest Superpops Challenge. Click here to see the illustration. 

This week my 23 year old Cabbage Patch Kid doll returned to me, so that she can go to my daughter Gwen. The doll has had a wash and is now sitting on my Table of Responsibility, waiting for a bit of nip and tuck work. What is the Table of Responsibility, you might ask. Well, it is a table covered in things that I said I would fix and make, but just haven't got around to doing. But it stares at me everyday.

I have made a return to Twitter as Emjie79, after I discovered I can Twitter my little Bamboo Wacom tablet illustrations. 

To top off this entry, the other day I posted some fab B&W photos that I took a couple of years ago. You can have a look here.

To see where the Creative Space goodness began simply pay a visit to Kootoyoo.

So Cal Noir: Further Drafts

As mentioned in an earlier post, I did change the lamp posts and I much happier with the new look. There are still some landscape details that need filling in, but for now I want to turn my eye to other objects that need inclusion into the picture. Such as a car, and populating the image with people.

To see earlier drafts for this project simply flashback to these links:

• Sunday 11th October 2009
  
• Thursday 8th October 2009
  

So Cal Noir

This illustration is Draft Three for my So Cal Noir project. The street is coming together. I think though in my next draft I will alter the lamps for something a bit more romantic. In future drafts I will include additional layers to the drawing, such as human figures. Then eventually I'll designate the areas that light is to fall.

To see previous notes for this illustration, follow this link.

My Creative Space...

I finished making that doll, which had been mentioned in last week's creative space. You can see it here.

This week I have been reading drawing/design books and doing some drawing. If you step back a few entries you will see development of a hand drawing that I have worked on.

So Cal Noir: A new drawing project I am now developing is a piece inspired by the series Veronica Mars. I want to play with shadow and light in this drawing. Have a look below to see my notes so far on this project.

To see where the Creative Space activity began, visit Kootoyoo at this link.