Once again, I found myself returning to the blog after a long break.  I have been so busy juggling grad school, work and artwork.  But today the Bee Hive piece will be on full display at the Rocky Neck Cultural Center in Gloucester, Massachusetts! It should be a fun trip out to this seaport with family and friends.

I have also been working on this piece

"Somewhere in Between" definitely does not feel finished yet, but I am still mulling over what it needs.

More to come soon! 

New Chapters

So while I've been on my hiatus, I have still been working as a coordinator of an after school program and applying to graduate school as an art therapist. I feel that my love for art and people will compliment the degree as well as provide me with different ways that I can express myself. The requirements asked me to pursue art in different medias so I have began painting again.  I feel that the above piece made on wood is more successful than the one below.  I was really stiff when painting but have begun to have more fluidity with this media. 

Color Sketches of "Thinking of You"

While I am still working on the self-portrait, I am also working on this moonlight piece.  I would put this piece in the same theme as "Lady of the Night,"which i have decided to make a series.   These pieces are inspired by the woman in the figure drawing classes I every so often attend. It is about the emotions that nighttime brings and the mystical feelings that the stars and a full moon can stir up. At night, we are in a dream state and anything is possible.  Although we may not  be sleeping our actions reflect that.  We're less conservative. Under the darkness of the sky our inhibitions slip from our restrain.   

 

Aliases

This is one of the next pieces that I am working on.  I figured I'd make this to generate more work.  My new position as a coordinatoor at an afterschool can be stressful and I find myself exhausted after work and doing less of my own artwork, so I'm trying to get back on track. The finish will be in cut paper.  The real glory of the piece is the headwrap.  The pattern on it will have more details of the many hair styles i have gotten throughout the years.  It is funny how much someone's hair can define them.  I feel as if my attitude and clothing style changed with each different style.  I also feel like it says a lot about me that throughout all the hairstyles never once have I let it just be a natural fro.  With all the hot combs and chemicals i put in my hair, it is kind of like I am fighting nature.  With this piece I question my perception of beauty and why I find the need to alter myself.

Lady of the Night Finished

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  it's been a while since I have updated my blog and I thought that I would first share with you the finished product of "Lady of the Night"  This is my first piece in the series of figure models that I have manipulated and portrayed in different scenes.  I feel that this piece is really successful.  My goal was to portray not only people but a more of a nighttime scene.  I entered this piece in my local Quincy Art Festival and another local artist decided to buy it.  Hooray for me.  This just tells me that although I worked on and off  it for a long time, it was completed just when it was suppose to be. 

Lady of the Night in progress

Hello people! It's been a long time since I last posted.  I admit I have been slacking in the creativity production.  But now that I have adapted to my summer schedule of being an art teacher at a camp and an intern on the weekends, I finally found the time to do some art work.  On Tuesdays there are models that do long poses for artists to draw.  I have been taking that class and was trying to find a way to translate my sketches into the style of art that I like.  ofcourse I exaggerated the form to make it less structured.  I also am trying to push my color palette.  All I  have to do now is glue the piece together.  I am also working on a very loose self portrait soon to come!! 

Happy St. patrick's Dayy

I think any successful art project happens when you start of f simple and let the children branch out from there.  This project was made mostly for k-first grade, but when checking out the sample pieces, many of the fourth graders wanted to do the project too.  Side note, anything that glitters and shines is a hit with children.

The Pow!Chow Logo

Hello y'al!!!l so this is the logo that the Pow!Chow company has chosen. After looking at the sketches they asked me to add boxing gloves and eyelashes to make the kangaroo seem a little more friendly.  I'm really happy about the color selection they have chosen.  The comic book theme was a nice style to try  out.  overall I'm pretty happy with this design and they are too so woop woop!

Pow!Chow

So while applying for an internship I have also been taking on another ambitious project.  I have been redesigning a logo for a fresh new snack food company.  Working in retail can be quite routine but the most surprising people work there.  It seems that everyone, myself included, is in transition to something more and retail is just a pitstop on to better things.  This was true for an associate I used to work with, Lauren, who started up her own snack food company Pow!Chow with her partner Adena.  The company represents craveworthy food that on the plus side, is also healthy.  It turns out they needed their logo redesigned and ofcourse I jumped at the chance to do it! 

Below are the sketches I pitched to them....

For this logo I was thinking "wave of flavor."  If Lauren and Adena had chosen this one the water would have been hints of purple and orange. 

This logo was the last one I did. I love the energy but after taking a second look at it I'm glad they didn't pick this one.  It's better suited for a children's book.

For the logo above I really enjoyed the interwoven text with people.  I wanted them to be entangled in the logo.  Making their funky hair was the cherry on top*





The logo on the right depicts a man on cloud 9 by Pow!Chow.  I was also thinking it could be interpreted as how light and healthy the snack company is.

Pow Chow Logos

For this sample logo I was thinking minimal and simplistic.  It would depend on the color harmonization to really make this logo special. 

Here's Hoping

Boston Center for the Arts
So good news! good news! good news! I hope everyone had happy holidays.  It's been way too long since I have updated my blog.  Since that time I have been working as a substitute teacher (yes I took on another job).  Doing the math in my head that is now 3 jobs-ish give or take.  I also interviewed for an internship at the Boston Center for the Arts.  The interview went really good, well except for the part when I forgot what school I went to.  Hopefully I'll get it. It can be hard to stay in touch with my artistic side when I am struggling to pay off the massive debt that college has left me in. It is located right in the heart of the South end near all the artist studios.  I really can't wait I think iIll be inspired to create much more artwork. The woman I interviewed with seemed interested but you never know until that e-mail comes through.

Check out the website, they have a lot to offer:
bcaonline.org

Close-Up of Hexagon Cut-outs

The hexagon shapes have really intricate design qualities.  I kept the colors muted so the hexagon background would not overwhelm the piece or be too distracting.

Close-Up of Gerber Daisy

This is the main flower of the piece. I'm liking the yellow backing the bud of the flower so I'll probably keep the color. I just love gerber daisies because of the different colors it comes in, plus it makes a good base to plant the bee in.

Bee Hive in Progress

This is pretty much where I am at with this project.  At this point I dream about cutting hexagons.  It is so much more time-consuming than I expected.  I am unsure if I want to back the hexagon shapes with white paper or let the other color shapes show through.

Bee Hive Sketch

So this is what has been consuming my life for the past month.  I am collaborating on a piece with an amazing craftsman.  He works at Frantic Frameworks and will be designing a hexagon frame for this piece which will connect with the hexagon cut-outs that make up the background design. Instead of putting little blocks to add depth to the piece I will be separating the layers with glass.  I am so excited for this one! After it is completed we will try to sell it at the Frantic Framer's Store. 

Sketches of next piece

To generate work and to update my portfolio I have to decided to make  a series of pieces based on the broad subject of family. Family has always been an important subject to me.  I am fascinated by the fact that where we come from and the dynamic of our family circle, shapes the people we are today.  This project will scale from human beings to animals and I have started with a piece on Honey Bees. Honey Bees have a large and complex bees nest which will be a nice design to show in paper.  The intricate way that they communicate with each other and pure reliance on their community as a whole inspired me to make them my first piece in this series that asks the question of "what is a family" and peeks into the many layers that is holds.  Finished sketch by next week!

~Daniela

Quincy Art Festival

Hello friends! So it's been a tough transition from summer to fall.  I am already missing the warm summer nights anddd have changed from working six days a week to seven aghhhhh, but it must be done.  A highlight would be winning second place in the Quincy Art Festival! The piece that was originally for the Taste exhibit but won second place at this local art show.  What was even nicer was finding out that my hometown has an art community thay was broader than I thought.