summer o' chalk

The chalkboards I've been working on this summer are finished and hanging at the Aubrey's in Cleveland, TN! The represented food vendors each sponsored a board, but other than including their name I pretty much had complete creative freedom.

Here's a photo a friend took of the boards hanging in the restaurant: http://www.facebook.com/photo

This was such a fun project for me to take on this summer. It's certainly different than my work with cut paper, which seems tiny compared to these. There was some getting use to using the chalk pastels on the boards, as well as some experimenting with a varnish I wish had never happened, but overall I greatly enjoyed this project.

Because of the size of these boards I also had to get used to working in a public space, and let me tell you there is no shortage of entertaining characters working in and doing business with the hardwood company in East, TN whose salesroom I set up in. I had several people inquire about commissioning some art- one wants a huge mural of Neyland Stadium above his mantel, and another has an old milk crate he'd like a farm scene painted on. I had someone try to sell me life insurance, one instance of vandalism, a few sales lunches I was forced to participate in, and an email with photos of me working taken by someone I didn't even realize was there.

The best however was getting to see so many varied responses to my work. Everyone had a different "favorite" and I was always surprise by who liked what. I guess there's even more variety in the tastes of the Aubrey's diners who will be viewing these boards. I'd love to be able to poll all the people that enter the restaurant, but my next best option is to ask your opinion. There are eight total, the four posted above, and the first four from a previous post. Which one is your favorite???

peppering up some chalkboards

My work this summer has given me a little hiatus from working with scissors and glue. I miss paper! But, I've enjoyed returning to one of the first mediums I used as an artist, chalk pastels. They're so beautiful. I love the bright colors, of course, and using my now very calloused fingers to blend and smooth. It's the first time I've used these pastels on a chalkboard as opposed to paper, so there's much less tooth and lots more black coming through some of the more translucent colors. I'm learning to embrace the black and let it work as part of the designs, and learning to let go of some of my perfectionist tendencies- I think chalk is maybe the most impermanent medium out there. My deadline is to wrap these up before my belly starts smudging the chalkboard in front of me:)

I'll try to find some of the work I did in high school with chalk pastels to post for you soon. For now, here's some shots from my summer work thus far:

on my third set of pastels now:

wish I could collect the confetti chalk dust like I can my paper scraps:

this one is called "Ode to Dad":

getting ready to experiment with a fixative:

me at work- taken by an admirer I didn't know was there. I've had to get used to people watching me work as well this summer:

I'll post the next four soon! All of these chalkboards will be hanging in the dinning room at Aubrey's Restaurant in Cleveland, TN. Stop by if you happen to be driving through sometime. It's pretty much half way between Knoxville and Chattanooga.