Outside Peace

    Hey Everybody!  Glad to be back;)  My birthday was really nice.  Had lunch
with my love and had fun with my little-ish loves in Columbus.  We went to COSI
and Magic Mountain Fun Center.  I would recommend visiting both, especially if
you have kids!  The recycled moth art by Michelle Stitzlein at COSI was incredible.
You can see pics of these here...https://twitter.com/RachelBollman  Keep in mind
these are massive!
    I drew this scene last night inspired by a little bookmark I painted a while ago.
Upset that I had lost it, I decided it was still floating around in my mind and I
should put it down on paper.  The girl ended up a little older than the one I had
painted, but still happy with the result.  I also added more to the whole picture,
the bookmark was only her face with the scarf and the one bird.  This is what I
have been trying to concentrate on and improve, completing a whole scene that
tells a story.   I am a little bummed that I started too close to the wire binding holes.
I suppose I was trying to conserve on paper but now have learned my lesson.  It
was fun doing this as a drawing, not sure if I am going to paint it, ink it and
color with pencils, or just leave it alone.  I would have to transfer to paint, and
sometimes the spontaneous feel gets lost.

    Recently I have been working on and thinking about eyes.  It is so tricky to get the
eyes focused sometimes.  Emotion is tough too, and at times I think my own emotion
shows in the eyes I draw.  If you are battling a little sadness it is hard to convey the joy
that everyone speaks of being such a necessity in children's book illustration.  You
really have to become the character and place yourself in their world.  It's a great
escape, and it makes me happy and thankful to be able to create such a place.  Peace.
   

Taking a little birthday break, sorry no post today.  See you next week!

Fancy Pants

    Just finished this little illustration I started last week.  I sketched by hand and
worked in Illustrator.  Unfortunately it was a rough sketch and all my lines weren't
connected so it took longer than I thought it would to color and finalize.
    Daisy is a bit upset.  Working part time as a clown at birthday parties just doesn't 
pay that well.   Her room mate Violet works at The Fancy Store.  
    Sometimes Violet is nice and will share her steak dinner.  

"Some people get steak, others get kibble, how fair is that?" 

  Suddenly Violet says "The Fancy Store needs a model.  Perhaps you would be willing?"

  "Hmmm....how much does it pay and what would I have to wear?" 

  "Well, it can't be any worse than 
 a clown suit right?"

   "Smarty pants."

  "Actually, I am wearing a dress."
  "Bet cha got smarty underpants 
   on though!"

Mermaid Skates!

    Inspired by the #twoodle game on twitter and the "Tresses for Wild Things",  

I  did this today on Illustrator.  I worked from a sketch I scanned in, redrawing each
element.  I added the rough sketchy areas later to make it  look a little less

"computery".  Happy with the final result, she will go well with the siren I

did a while ago (Siren Vision).

    

Where the wild fibers are...

    Last weekend at the craft show I met Pat, (the knitter who did the fabulous 

children's cardigans posted last week) who told me about Black Sheep

Fiber Farm, and yesterday my kids and I had the pleasure to visit.  I felt I had 

stepped back in time and discovered a national treasure!  Beautiful landscape was 

dotted with Lincoln Lock/Corriedale sheep and Mohair goats, creating a scene that 

could be the English countryside, far from rural Ohio.  We were given an informative

tour of the hay scented barn where the wool is cleaned, washed, picked, carded, blended, 

and dyed by the owner Kathy.  A sultry rainbow of curly colored wool/mohair bundles were everywhere, in various stages of the process, making a felting, crafting, dyer like myself swoon.

   My favorite purchase was the "Tresses for Wild Things".  Kathy has dyed the curly wool

in various punk rock-like colors.  Now I have to take a little hiatus from my illustration work,

these tresses are so inspiring!   

   

Apologies for the delayed post.  If you would like more information

please visit http://www.theblacksheepfiberfarm.com.  Also if you are interested in the beautiful hand knit sweaters please email me at raradesign@yahoo.com and I can get in touch with Pat.

Crafty in a good way...

    I've been crazy preparing for this craft show that was today.  Had so much
fun with my friend Amy and met a lot of cool crafty folks.  Some friends I haven't
seen in a while stopped by my booth, which was a nice surprise.  Pretty beat now
but wanted to keep up with my commitment to post weekly.  I'll leave you with
this little pic of my booth today...a bit blurry and I even forgot  to take a pic of
the other table.  Oh well.

P.S. There was constant traffic but I probably spent more than I made!

Can't help it, I love quality crafts.  I bought two adorable hand knitted sweaters 

and Christmas earrings (crystal trees and tiny ornaments)!