Memories Madness and Marvelous flavors

Where to start!

Lets start with memories. 

I have been reading about the artist Remedios Varo (wiki link here), a wonderful Spanish surrealist woman who lived in Mexico. Reading about the artist today reminded me that I would someday like to write a book about my own artist mother. I wanted to gather stories about her from other people, so I have put a call out to people who remember her to share their stories and memories - These stories can be recorded on a form I created on google docs.
If you have any memories you'd like to share about Catherine Burris, please feel free to do so!
{INSERT MEMORIES HERE} Refunds are not given on lost memories.

_____________

FOOD...ISH.



Its here its here!! I found a company that sells Dutch candies in the USA. I ordered some Tyrkisk Peber in the hopes of making my own Salmiakki Koskenkorva (salty black licorice vodka) - According to my own authentic bottle of Koskenkorva, one can "Experience the Spirit of Finland and taste the Finnish Folklore"



(....Now, 2 bags plus shipping = about $25. Plus the vodka I need to buy. I still think I'm probably saving money seeing as how it would be quite pricy buying the alcohol from Finland, if its even POSSIBLE to send it officially. ) ...

_____
ALSO, we were recently given some awesome pickle seasoning by my friend Taylor, the Indy Magic Monthly producer. He makes great pickes. :)

_________________

ARTI...ISH

Here are some recent things from my sketchbook.



FUN
I MADE a FUN video involving DOOM and a MAZE and SILLY.
{CLICK HERE for Doom and Maze and Silly}

____________________

INSPIRATION

ITS HERE ITS HERE!!!
The DEVIL'S CARNIVAL Ringmaster Edition DVD!! 

Apparently the picture I painted is shown when they feature the fan arts.
I'm about to go find out!

___
LO PAN STYLE
If you are a fan of LO PAN... you must watch this video. Love Love Love!!!
{See the awsome...}

Worked on some buttons today.
Let me share some photos.


Buttons from the finished button making session tonight


a view of what my painted button template sheets look like before I cut them out and write silly things on them.
___

Also, Last night I did some giggling and composed a video from something I made this weekend.
On Saturday I was at an event that was a bit under attended. Granted, I still enjoyed myself and made a bit of profit.
But during a particularly slow stretch, I decided to create a maze on the floor.
Complete with monsters and a torture chamber. I was transported to my childhood again - only everything this time is on a larger scale: the maze, me, my madness.... etc.

here is the video:


__
While I'm on the subject of videos, I am super GIDDY about this one.
Awesomely done Gangnam Style parody(James Hong even shows up!)

LO PAN STYLE

Not So CD covers and OCD photoshopping

(EDIT) - I wrote this a WHILE ago, and never published it....

_________________________
I finished a new piece tonight. (EDIT: NOT!)

Usually when I finish something, I like to play with it digitally.
With this picture, I got fed up with being serious and started slapping random images on top and going through the super cool photoshop layering effects. (checking all the layer effects becomes like a compulsion after a while. OCD photoshopping! Normal, Dissolve, Darken, multiply, color burn (yeah!), linear burn, lighten, screen, dodge, overlay, soft light, hard light (yeah!), vivid light, linear light, pin light, hard mix, difference (OOOH!), exclusion (OOooOH?), subtract, divide, hue, saturation, color, luminosity, AND BACK up through the list!! 
yeah. Who else has the photoshop layer OCD? *grin*

Anyway...
Occasionally, or rather quite often... I end up making a compilation that (at the time) screams 'CD COVER!) And then I lament that it isn't a cd cover.

Here is the latest one.

Now, if anyone would like to use this as a cd cover, that can be arranged, I'm sure!

Magnets, a portrait and it is WELL past the Witching Hour

Tonight, as usual, I procrastinated working on anything until way too late. After getting home from teaching a class (from 5:30-9) I got sucked into more True Blood episodes with D while eating a very tasty Egg Fu Yung dinner. Between episodes, I looked at this blog, some back posts, and realized I actually WAS more productive when I felt compelled to report my progress. (mostly) So... here goes!

In preparation for the next event (Paranormal Fest Returns on Saturday, Newcastle IN) (this is the link for more info) , I was working on magnets. But of course, After teaching art appreciation tonight, and watching stimulating shows, I was inspired to do ART, not production work. BUT, I am sorely in need of new magnets if I want to keep offering them, so magnets it is! (I'm already plenty RESTOCKED on my buttons thanks to the new button maker!)

ANYWAY.
After I finished, I was still inspired to do art. I got distracted with the mirror, pleased with where my hair is at the moment, and decided to do yet another portrait. (what can I say, its easier to use the mirror for a quick basic reference for a face, in any expression I want.)

SO HERE is a quick self portrait.

"I'll be back later, the COSMOS is calling..."
5" x 9" - bristol paper, prismacolor marker, sharpie, copic marker, colored pencil, acrylic

Done after getting distracted looking at my current hair style. I'm still amused by having short hair.

______

And just for fun, here are pictures of the magnets.

A few stacks of my art on magnets. I still need to crop the edges (when its not 5:30 am)

A side view of the STACK-O-MAGNETS.

 What do I do with the extra strips of magnets? Sometimes I throw them away. sometimes I make art with them. Strips of scrap art and silk cut up and assembled on the leftover sticky magnet strips.

____________________________________________

TID-BITS

Interesting thing I learned while teaching today about
- The Witching Hour (in the context of Christianity):
While my class was looking at a painting of the Crucifixion by Lucas Cranach the Elder,

 the sky in the painting was dark and was light at the bottom - one of the students was trying to debate whether it was the sun setting or the sun rising - another student mentioned that it might be when 'the sky went dark'- and that Jesus was crucified at 3:00 pm. (I looked it up - the internet tells me it was 9:00 am, but that he died at 3:00.) - Anyway. 3:00 AM is supposed to be the Witching Hour, as it is the opposite time to 3:00 pm.

I also looked that up and here is what wikipedia says. (read the full article)

"According to the American horror film The Exorcism of Emily Rose, the term can also refer to the period from midnight to 3am, when a character notes at "3am [is] the devil's hour, as opposed to 3pm, when Jesus was said to have been crucified".[6]"

 Also - SEE THE MUSEUM page on the piece of art if you wish. It says nothing about the darkening sky.

....
well, it looks like I missed my date with the devil, as it is way past 3 am.
....

Speaking of devil, I can't wait for my ringmaster edition dvd of "THE DEVIL's CARNIVAL" to arrive!
Apparently there is a picture of my painting in the special features, when they feature fan stuff!
See my painting of the Devil, Broken Doll, and The Gatekeeper: HERE - where they shared it on their facebook page. 

Red Face - progress pictures

Greetings.
Thought I'd share all the progress pictures of my latest piece for fun.

Trying to stretch my painting and observations muscles, mixed with a bit of fantasy,
and a bit of inspiration perhaps from reading about Remedios Varo, and watching too much True Blood.

 

Now I just need to think of a title for this little study/experiment.

6" x 9"
acrylic on bristol