Art Events: Art Fundraiser Incognito 2013 at Santa Monica Museum of Art

This was my 2nd year to attend Santa Monica Museum of Art's annual fundraiser, "Incognito" as a donating artist.   It was different than last year's Incognito Art Event, because this year, it didn't rain; there weren't as many people attending it, and I had expectations of how I thought and hoped it would go.  Last year, it was all new, fresh and surprising to me.  I guess that can make all the difference.

I took my artist friend, Shiho Nakaza with me.  This was her 1st time to attend it.  She dressed up so lovely and she sketched lots of drawings of the event which you can see at this link.  Waiting in line in the hallway before the museum opened its doors, we had fun chatting with fellow donating artists and doodling for a collective art project that was hanging in the hall.  Everyone dressed so interestedly and artsy.

When we were finally allowed to go into the museum, we were lead through a maze and saw staff and volunteers working hard to make sure this art event ran smoothly.

Inside, we poured into the crowd, trying to see the art along all the walls in this huge exhibition space.  700 works of art were donated this year from 500 artists.  Despite the large crowd, it was actually a lot fewer people than last year.  I remember it was standing room only before.  This year, the center of the museum was rather empty.

Lots and lots of crazy wonderful art lined the walls.  I got to snap a few photos before I learned we weren't allowed to take any pictures.  This was another thing that was different than last year.  I never was asked by a security guard to stop taking photos. Did they think I would leak out who's art was who's?  I wasn't going to do that because I had no idea.  I don't know.

There were also a lot fewer red tags this year. The red tags mean the art has sold.  The white tags mean the artwork is still waiting for a nice home to live in.  Above were some of the pieces I enjoyed for their texture and sculptural quality.  I also liked the subdued color palette.

Of course, I was also attracted to some art with strong, bold colors and big, bright faces.

I was on the look-out for some cut paper art or any kind of paper artwork. I found a few as you can see above.  Always, the pieces with more dimensionality and texture caught my eye.

Even though, the security guard told me to stop taking photos, I still snuck a photo of myself in front of my cut paper artwork.

Here is my paper art on on the shelf with the other artwork.  They didn't find a home that night. I don't know if they found a home the next day.  The museum had the artwork up and selling for one more day after the big main event.  I won't know what happened to my artwork after this night.  It belongs to the museum and they can do what they want with it.  They don't have to let me know about it.  This is unlike other art fundraising events I've participated in.  Usually, if your artwork doesn't sell, they give it back to you.  That's one thing I don't like about this art event.  

After looking at all the artwork and not selling mine, I was disappointed and wandered outside into the after party crowd.  Since it was a clear and beautiful night, the after party was outside under the open skies.

People mingled, drank and ate in the quirky and pretty outdoor setting of the Santa Monica Museum of Art.  The hanging succulent garden is a favorite of mine and the strings of lights above the building shone so prettily. 

The food this year was more casual with sandwiches, veggies and dips.  Since I am on a special diet for my health and I have a lot of food allergies, I was only able to eat the raw veggies.  Shiho said the sandwiches were yummy.  Strangely, they didn't offer anything sweet.  I was hoping for cheese and fresh fruit and, in particular, I was dreaming of fresh strawberries.

There was a fun photo-booth that any guest could use.  Before Shiho & I left, we snapped a few funny and sweet photos.  They were taken digitally for everyone to see, projecting above the party on a huge wall.  But they also had paper photos that you could take home as party favors of this art event.  I think this was a perfect way to end my Incognito 2013.

As we drove out of the parking lot, Shiho reminded me that we still needed something sweet to end the night.   So we went to the grocery store and bought cheese and strawberries.  We ate them at her place.  It was an intimate and quiet night cap to a loud and crazy night of art partying.  Thank you, Shiho!  Thank you, Santa Monica Museum of Art!

My Paper Art 2013 Donation to Santa Monica Museum of Art

My paper art 2013 donation to the Santa Monica Museum of Art.

Since the Santa Monica Museum of Art's annual fundraiser "Incognito" was this past weekend, now, I can reveal to you my paper art donation to them.  These were my 1st paper art sculptures.  Maybe, I didn't do a good job; maybe, I did.  Either way, they didn't sell on the evening of the art event.   Here is some of the process I went through to make the paper art.

Sketches & cut-outs for my paper art sculpture of conjoined twin deer and girls in bunny masks.

I chose to do conjoined twin deer and girls in bunny masks.  Both sets of twins would be holding delicate and lacy looking cut paper hearts.  I decided to have a very simple and symmetrical composition so I could get detailed without it becoming complicated and unreadable.  I wanted everything to look ghostly and vulnerable, so I chose white and a barely-there-pink as my color scheme.  

Choosing the composition on the oval wooden plaques for the conjoined twin girls paper art.

Mounting the paper art conjoined twin deer on the painted white wooden plaque.

I mounted the paper art sculptures on oval wooden plaques that I painted white.  The title for the conjoined twin bunny girls was, "In the Arms of Love, We Are One".  I titled the conjoined deer, "With Courage & Vulnerability,  We'll Find Love".

Ghostly looking conjoined twin girls in bunny masks are finished and ready to be donated.

Mysterious and vulnerable looking paper art conjoined deer are finished and ready to be donated.

Each piece in Incognito 2013 was about 8"x10", so they were all quite small.  I enjoyed working so small and detailed with the paper art sculpture, but I wonder how much more detail I could've gotten in a bigger format.  I don't know if I'm any good at this, but I'll keep working at it.  

I actually was quite happy with the end results, but I obviously don't know what turns on collectors if they didn't want to buy these ones.  What do you think?  Where's the balancing point between what I like and what will be bought?  Any suggestions or thoughts on this?

Paper Art Experiments for My Pen Pals with Cute Circus Girl Cards

I have quite a few pen pals now and I wanted to create something special for them.  They mean a lot to me and I wanted to show that to them.  I decided to try to create something that had to do with friendship and something pretty that these pen pal gals would like. What would that be?  I put my thinking cap on and came up with acrobatic circus girls.  I thought that cute girls would appeal to cute girls and they would be a great visual metaphor for friendship!  Balancing, playing and supporting each other;  doesn't that sound like friendship and a circus act too?

Drawings for the cute circus girl cards for my pen pals.

I opened up the sketchbook and came up with some compositions and drawings for the cards.  Now what?  What could I do with them?  Should I paint them?  Create paper sculptures from them?  What medium would lend themselves best for the emotional effect that I wanted?  I had no idea. So I decided to try 3 different kinds of paper art as an experiment.  I'd try to figure out if the materials added to the message I was trying to convey or took away from it.  I choose 3 of my compositions and created 3 cards from each one.  So I created a total of 9 cards.

3 different mediums for the same composition of cute circus girl cards included;
1- watercolor & collage 2- cut paper and 3- paper sculpture. 

The Best Friends composition in 3 different mediums; 1- watercolor & collage 2- cut paper 3- paper sculpture.

Ball Balancing Act circus girls paper art cards in 1- watercolor & collage 2- cut paper art 3- paper sculpture.

As you can imagine, it took a while to create this many original one of a kind cards. Some of the methods were quicker and some more tedious to create.  All of these paper art methods were fun.  All of them seemed to have their own emotional impact.  I couldn't say if one was better than the other for my message. Maybe, it is just a matter of taste.  What do you think?  Do you have a method that you prefer?

All 3 of the watercolor and collage paper art circus girl cards.

All 3 of the cut paper art circus girl cards.

All 3 of the paper sculpture circus girl cards.

And after all this work, I still can't decide which paper art method and medium I prefer.  I guess it just tells me that I'm a multi-medium artist with a multitude of methods to draw from.  I hope my pen pals will enjoy them and know that I care about them from these circus girl cards.

My Custom Cards & Designs Are My Favorite Thing to Do!

It is fun to come up with new designs for my shop, Artist in LA LA Land.  But my favorite thing is when I get a customer wanting a custom design or custom card.  They tell me a story about who it is for or how they grew up with a certain animal and was hoping for a series of cards with that special animal.  I cannot say which custom designs projects were my favorite because honestly, they were all so special to create.  Having a story and special person in mind really sparks my imagination and I am able to come up with some very inspired designs that help my customers express their love and joy.  

I've loved creating cute and fun custom cards for my customers! 

I now have a custom design page with FAQ's for those who are thinking about ordering custom designs from me.  My rates, some links to my custom projects and what I'd need from you to create a custom design are all on that page.  If you have more questions, please go ahead and ask me them here.  I may even add your question and answer to the custom design page.

Some of my custom designs have included:

 a moose pop up birthday card
a series of squirrel cards
a squirrel wedding invitation
a series of turtle cards
and a series of "Under the Sea" thank you cards

I look forward to hearing your story and creating something really special for you and your loved ones! 

Antique Papers & Pretty Mail in My Package from the Love Parcel

I really am happy to have found there is a snail mail revolution happening.  And as one of my blog readers commented, it's ironic that I found this on Instagram which is all about instant satisfaction with mobile devices!  About a month ago, I sent my sea and sand themed package to the Love Parcel mail art project and I recently received a pretty package in return.  Below are some photos of this wonderful surprise from my pen pal.

The pretty package I received from the Love Parcel mail art project.

A bundle of pretty antique papers tied with a gold ribbon was the first thing I found in the package.

The next thing I discovered in my love parcel was this antique metal box filled with paper hearts from antique paper.

I was tickled pink to find a treasure of antique papers and pretty little things in my Love Parcel.  Yes, I have a soft spot for antique and vintage papers, so to find these made me giddy and happy.  With an emphasis on forgotten, disregarded things that only a lover of antique and vintage ephemera can appreciate, I poured over my Love Parcel.

I loved the antique photos, stamps and papers that were black and white.

For this joy that I have received, I am contemplating about what I can do in return to show my gratitude for all the love and care that was put into this Love Parcel.  

Have you sent off little treasure boxes or care packages to a stranger?  Have they been received well?  What has been your experience?

Paper Play Goods Artist in LA LA Land Wholesale Catalog for Kids at Heart

I've just created my first wholesale catalog of the paper play goods that I sell at bulk discount rates.  Here it is for you to flip through and to look at!  Let me know what you think of all this paper play for children and kids at heart!  Or let me know if you have any questions!  Thank you so much! 

The cover of the Artist in LA LA Land Wholesale Catalog 2013!  A wonderland of paper play goods!

The tattooed circus man clever card in the Artis in LA LA Land Wholesale Catalog 2013!

 

The tea cups clever card in the Artist in LA LA Land Wholesale Catalog 2013!

Creating Mermaid & Sea Turtle Birthday Card for a Friend and Thinking of Summer

The other day as I was trying to organize my photos, I came across these images of my work in progress for this mermaid paper puppet and sea turtle card.  I created this cute card set for a friend's birthday.  Her birthday was a couple months ago.  

I never posted it on my blog so you could see it.   I think part of my reason for not showing it to you was that I wasn't quite happy with the way it turned out.  I mean, yes, it's pretty, but I just felt like it wasn't quite perfect.  Do you ever feel that way with your creations?  

Despite my doubts about it, I thought you might have fun seeing it.  I made it with watercolor and collaged scrapes of paper from magazines.  

The mermaid paper puppet and the sea turtle card are pals and companions just like my friend and I and just like you and me too.

Today, it's quite hot here in the Los Angeles area.  It seems like summer time.  Seeing these mermaid and sea turtle images makes me think of cooling off in cool waters.  

If you've found this post via Paper Saturdays, thank you for checking out my paper art and it's really fun seeing what you're creating with paper too!