Kat Macleod - Inspiring Artist

The Cocktail by Jane Rocca, Drawings by Kat Macleod

I came across Australian based illustrator Kat Macleod's work when I went to Philly (Philadelphia, PA) this summer for a day trip. My hub and I took the two hour drive out to Philly to attend a craft fair that was happening in the Philadelphia convention center. However, it wasn't at the craft fair, where I did see so many varied (glass, jewelry, wood, fiber) and wonderful artists/crafters that I saw her work. In fact, it was in the most unlikely of places that I saw my first Kat Macleod piece! I was in Reading terminal (One of my fave Philly spots) taking a break and getting some lunch when I walked by a cookbook shop and I saw this book sitting by the register.

Upon closer inspection I was mesmerized instantly at the this illustrator who was fusing the world of fine art and craft majestically in her delicate watercolor illustrations. by Kat Macleod

Her fluid fine line is perfectly accented with a vibrant sense of color and design. Part fashion illustration, part fabric and paper collage, Ms. Macleod's work is fresh, inspiring and a lesson to us all to be open minded about materials. You can even ind some hand-stitching in there.

by Kat Macleod

Since this illustrator is from Melbourne, Australia, she is having a solo show in a gallery there called Lamington Drive. The name of her show is entitled The Tiniest Spark and boy do I wish I had a trip to Australia planned for this month, because the exhibit is up until November 29th (what a great Thanksgiving trip that would be!). So if you're luckier than me and headed to Melbourne Australia this month, you know one art stop you most definitely have to make!

Upon some more research I also discovered that Kat Macleod also does the illustration for a site called Michigirl which is an Australian based online style magazine site. It looks as though we can get another book illustrated by Kat Macleod too - Its written by Michigirl and is entitled Like I Give Frock Fashion Forecasts and Meaningless Misguidance.

Halloween Madness Begins!! Pumpkin Scars Decorating Tip!

I am a Halloween freak and since I have most certainly lost readership on my blog due to an overwhelming amount of 'to-do-by-yesterday-stress' and 'good-ol'-blog-neglect', I'm hoping to reinvigorate some new blog loyalty via one of the most creative, expressive and mystique filled days - All Hallow's Eve!

Wickedest Witch by marisol diaz

I illustrate a new halloween card every year (and soon those illustrations will be available for sale at my etsy store!) Along with making wearable art sculptural costumes, I also host an annual Murder Mystery Party and this year is our FIFTH one!


So Halloween Decorating tip number one: If you have a garden- grow pumpkins! If you can grow pumpkins scratch family member names in your pumpkin like this:The newest member of my family, Chica! The Pumpkin Must Still Be on The Vine

After allowing the pumpkin some time to heal while still on the vine, the results should look like this as the scratch marks scar:

Awesome Scarification!

52 Chelsea Exhibit

My most recent gallery exhibit is opening this Thursday @ 2:00pm in the 2/20 Gallery in Chelsea, NYC.

Our Opening reception will be this Saturday, Sept. 20th from 6-8 pm. We'll have sangria, finger foods and MUSICA so if you're in the area - swing by!

So what's up with 52? Well fellow artist, Nova Gutierrez was motivated to stir up a mix of artists responses to a deck of 52 cards. Therefore each of the four artist in this show respond and investigate the probability of chance, risk and design that is involved with any kind of playing cards. I for one, really upped the ante and focused on some high risk illustration. Stay tuned to learn more!

Glass Illustrations

Forgive Them Father For They Know Not What They Do by marisol diaz

So as one of my loyal readers noticed, I've been really busy (its called back-to-school-syndrome). So therefore I have neglected updating my blog!! I hope this new illustration buys me some time - because unfortunately this school year promises to be no easier than the rest. Who was that lame teacher 11 years ago who told me, "Oh don't worry no year is as hard as your first teaching year and every year after gets easier and easier..." yeah right. I've been waiting for the 'easy' part to kick in - its a decade too late! I wish I could be that care-fee teacher, but I'm not. And every year I get just as stressed about the first day of school as my students do. At least I still care. In addition, teaching high-school has been a great way of keeping me on my toes.

I thought this illustration was a great way to pay homage to this teaching year... especially the title. However I can't help but think more of the teachers than the students with the theme of this pic! If in this illustration the line work looks a bit anemic in areas, its because this is blasted onto sheet glass and rubbed into with pigment, than faired - so the lighter areas are where the pigment was less concentrated.

Happy back to school day.

Vitreous Painting on Glass

A good portion of what we did during my class at Corning was not just sand-blasting but also painting on glass with classic stained glass painting techniques. The technique we learned involved using kiln-fired pigment (generally around 1250 degrees) and can also be referred to as a type of enamel/stain, though we also used silver stains which are different than the paint. For the most part we used Reusche paints, which involve painting with a a mixture of powdered pigments, gum arabic and a liquid medium (most often water), then 'matting' and 'tracing' (both words mean something different than what you would expect those words to mean). A great example of how both blasting and these painting techniques are used masterfully can be seen in Judith Schaechter's new book enitled Extra Virgin about her stained glass art pieces and illustrations.

The following pieces are just my response to class assignments given to us by our instructor Denise Stillwagon Leone who taught a wonderful rich and stimulating class. If you are interested in learning any of these techniques I highly recommend taking a look at Corning and considering a class by Denise who is a beloved and consistently featured faculty member at Corning.
Untitled by marisol diaz 5"x7"With a second layer of glass & color paint behind

This assignment was about further exploration into mark making and brush strokes with a liner brush, or without. Depending on how well one mixed the powdered pigment, the right level of viscosity can achieve a rich smooth line. The painting is started with a 'matte' which is much like applying 'a tone or a wash' in watercolor painting. The line work is called 'tracing' even if you are not 'literally' tracing. You can notice that a final step can often include a 'scratching'

Untitled by marisol diaz 81/2"x11"

Glass Illustrations

Monkey See Monkey Do by marisol diaz

This illustration was sandblasted onto sheet glass (via the use of Iconics films) that was white washed and fired first. Then black reusche (kiln-fired powder pigment) was rubbed into the etched glass and re-fired. I'll be writing more about vitreous painting in the next post.