Studio Notes by Shai Coggins» Arts, Crafts and Creativity

Art Appreciation: Ian Valladarez, Filipino Artist

Shai Coggins — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:23:50 +0000

One of the incredible things that I’ve discovered during my last trip to the Philippines was this artist called Ian Valladarez. I came across his amazing wire sculptures when I stopped by at a tiny gift shop in one of the historic houses in Bacolod (Balay Negrense).

It was one of those amazing moments when you connect with a piece of art and you know that you will never forget the work. I was just completely blown away by the talent of this artist who tells stories with his sculptures using wires.

Perhaps, the work reminded me a bit of the tiny wire sculptures that my late dad used to make for me as a child. But, of course, these sculptures I saw were created with much more power and purpose. They told of stories in the province of Negros… and of the Filipino people in general: Farmers harvesting sugar canes, men fishing under the coconut tree, a kalabaw pulling a cart full of sugar canes, a man with a ‘song hits’ and a guitar, kids playing street games… There were other more foreign looking pieces – like a skier and a woman playing violin…

But, regardless of the topic of the sculpture, each one was just as beautiful as the next.

That’s why it was with a heavy heart that I left without one of the bigger pieces that I really liked. At least I managed to buy and keep a tiny sculpture as a souvenir. It’s all I could hope to own by this fantastic artist for now. Perhaps, one day, I’d have a better piece to admire.

Random Notes & Things...

Drawing Inspiration

Shai Coggins — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 09:30:14 +0000

When it comes to art-making, drawing is my least favourite thing. In fact, drawing scares me. Partly because I know that it’s not really a strength. Especially if we’re talking technical/realistic drawing. That’s why for most of my life, I didn’t think of myself as an “artist” because my drawing skills had never been up to par.

So, I’ve always preferred painting or collage. Or even craft and photography.

But, the more I make things, the more I want to learn how to draw.

That’s why I’ve started taking drawing lessons a few years ago. And, I still try to learn drawing whenever possible. In fact, some of you might even remember me writing about a figure drawing class I attended (warning: graphic images in post) some time back.

However, drawing and art-making have taken a backseat in my everyday life.

Well… Until recently, that is.

You see, when I put art-making on hold for too long, I do end up becoming restless and more easily upset. Moody, if you will.

Then, a few weeks ago, I came across Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun (Lab Series) while I was in my usual web-browsing mode.

My initial reaction to the idea of getting back in to art-making through a “drawing lab” was that of hesitation. With the full knowledge that drawing isn’t a strong suit, I didn’t want to end up discouraging myself in to getting back in to the swing of things.

Yet, at the same time, I knew that in moments of needing that extra push, that extra dose of inspiration… I should do something that would also provide enough challenge.

So, I said yes to the idea of drawing.

And I’m so glad I did.

This book has really filled me with plenty of inspiration. That’s why I started sketching and doodling again.

I love most of the 52 drawing exercises in the book. Most of them are simple, but challenging enough. The doodles/sketches you see here are based on some of the exercises from the book. Yes, including this zoo-sketching trip I shared with my four-year-old girl:

And, while I won’t win any prizes for these creations, I know that being able to draw / sketch / doodle / paint has made me happier again. That’s why I intend to keep doing more of them, even though it may not always be possible.

10 Cool Message and Sign Generators

Shai Coggins — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:30:16 +0000

Every now and then, I indulge myself in some fun time suckers online. One of the things that recently caught my fancy are message/sign generators. Since I haven’t shared a Web Wednesday feature for a while now, I thought this might make up for it… All you need to do is visit the site, type in your message, then save your customised image with your message. Enjoy!

1) Chalkboard Message – Back-to-School Sign Generator – One of my favourites from these message generators, probably because it’s school-themed.

2) Spell with Flickr – I <3 typography. So, this sign generator that enables me to create a customised sign using Flickr images just blew me away. Love it.

3) Street Sign Generator – This cool sign generator tool from Easy Street is simple and fun. You can even choose from small, medium, or large.

4) iPhone Message Generator – No iPhone? Well, you can still send an iPhone message through this generator… Er… Kinda.

5) Word Mosaic – This message/sign generator is fun. Just type in your text, choose symbols, and you can also customise colours and background.

6) Twitter Logo – Create your own Twitteresque sign using this sign generator. Simple.

7) Alphabet Soup Message Generator – Have you ever tried to spell words with alphabet soup? Well, now you can do it easily using this tool.

Dog Tag Sign Generator – Create your own dog tag signs using this online tool. You can even order them and make them in to real dog tags!

9) Chinese Restaurant Sign Generator – I would’ve loved to come up with something more witty, but, oh well…

10) Absolut Vodka Bottle Generator – Create your own bottle sign using this online Absolut Vodka bottle.

Hat Tip: Go Make Something

Low-fi Photography: The Return of an Obsession

Shai Coggins — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:08:39 +0000

Low-fi photography may seem like a step backward when you look at today’s photographic world. Most people are striving for more “professional looking” photos, what with the rise of high tech point-and-shoot cameras and accessible DSLRs, as well as the myriad of accessories and post-processing tools available.

Lately, though, there has been a rise in interest with low-fi photography. Primarily, in analog/film cameras that are considered to be “toy cameras” such as the Holgas, the Dianas, the Lomos, the Blackbird Flys, the Pinholes, etc. Instant cameras like Polaroid and Fuji’s Instax series may also be considered to be classified as low-fi photography.

I’ve always been a fan of such kind of photography even before the “lomographic culture” came along. Yes, even before “lomo” became a “cool” term to some folks, I’ve been fooling around with film photography using old equipment that belonged to my dad when I was a kid.

However, analog photography took a backseat when my husband and I finally took the plunge and bought our first digital camera some 8 to 9 years ago or so. Before then, it was all film for us.

Going in to digital, I ended up forgetting analog. It was just so much easier not to worry about processing all the photos that we took — or worrying about buying films and such at the time. Cheaper too, considering we only end up printing less than half of the photos that we actually take. Sometimes, we don’t even print some of the pictures at all.

But, I began to miss the whole lot a couple of years ago. Film, I mean.

I miss the instant gratification you get from using Polaroids. And I miss the quirkiness of taking pictures that you don’t get to review beforehand via an LCD screen.

I even started to long for the old photographs that my parents used to take when we were kids. You know… those old square format ones (see bottom of post)?

So, I began thinking of them again. Putting old and toy cameras in my “wish” lists… Adding some to My eBay Watch List.

But, I’ve resisted. And resisted. And resisted some more.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, by some strange twist of fate… I ended up working on a Science activity at grad school that looked in to how cameras work. There was a model box camera, amongst other old cameras that belonged to our tutor. It was such a blast playing with them.

Seeing all those old cams also reminded me of this old Kodak Instamatic camera (pictured top right) that I sort of inherited when my dad passed away just over a year ago. I don’t think it works anymore as it takes a kind of film that’s no longer in production. I just wanted to keep it as a memory of those old photographic stuff that I enjoyed. And, to remember my dad too.

Then, guess what? Just a few days ago, I found this old Polaroid P camera (pictured here, mid-left) that I’ve been looking for over the last 2+ years. It was in a box that was ready to be thrown out after my hubby did a major clear out of our garage. Thankfully, I managed to save the camera before it got taken away. (Unfortunately, my old stash of films didn’t survive!)

It was then that my growing lust for low-fi photography just exploded. Probably because I’ve been keeping it at bay for a few years now… and I was just waiting for “the right time” to let it loose.

So, I hunted for a 600 film on eBay for the Polaroid, but was shocked to realise that they cost at least AU $32-35 per 10-film pack. Yowsers. Of course, this has something to do with the fact that Polaroid decided to cease production some time back. But, it made me reconsider the purchase for a bit.

Then, I learned that The Impossible Project may have actually made a breakthrough with Polaroid just this month. So, there might still be some hope for us! But then, I knew that I can’t wait much longer to get back in to lo-fi / instant photography (besides, there is this thing called instant gratification that I’ve already delayed long enough! ).

That’s why I’ve taken the plunge and ordered an Instax Mini 55 and a Diana Mini off eBay. I’m now eagerly awaiting for their arrival. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Me, with My Dad (age 1, methinks!)
One of those old square format pics in the 70s that I miss.

Random Notes & Things...

Self Portrait Box: An Art Project

Shai Coggins — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 07:33:04 +0000

It has been a long time since I managed to sit down and do an art project. With my work and study schedule, on top of everything else, it’s just nearly impossible. So, when the students from my Expressive Arts unit were asked to do an art project for the Visual Arts Strand of my Master of Teaching programme, I jumped at the opportunity.

I thought it was a great time to get in to art-making once again, and to explore some ideas that I wanted to work with for a while now.

Since the art project was pretty open-ended, it was a challenge to decide on a particular idea. How do I choose from all the things that I want to do – but don’t have the time to get in to?

Well, I decided not to fret for too long. It’s counter-productive when you over-analyse these things sometimes. So, when I remembered this book that I bought late last year called: Mixed Media Self-Portraits: Inspiration and Techniques by Cate Coulacos Prato, I decided there and then to do a self-portraiture project.

The idea to work with self-portraiture was also inspired by:

1. the knowledge that children tend to want to make self-portraits when they first start to draw and paint, so I thought that this was very apt, seeing as I’m thinking of getting in to primary school teaching;

2. my initial involvement in the 365 project last year (2008);

3. my growing interest in learning more about the role of self-portraiture in art (think Frida Kahlo, Vincent Van Gogh, etc);

4. a huge emphasis on self-analysis/introspection, as I enter this world of education, as well as all these life-changing events.

As you can see here, I’ve tried to incorporate all sorts of techniques and elements in this project. Most of them are new to me, including: “thread painting” (using sewing to paint pictures), drawing and printing photography on transparencies, playing with shadow/light boxing. Hopefully, you can see the effect of the shadows/lights play in the photos that I share here.

In any case, while I definitely got a lot of inspiration and ideas from the book that I read (especially on thread painting and drawing a self-portrait on transparencies), I discovered a few of the techniques that I used here by accident. I guess, that’s why I’m quite excited about it all. And, I can’t wait to keep trying different ways to apply those discoveries.

Now, if only I can find another excuse to make more art!

New Fancy Tote Bag!

Shai Coggins — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 12:14:56 +0000

It has been a while since I did a creative project. I haven’t done any painting, scrapbooking, sewing or anything like that. But, since today’s blog theme is “Creativity Weekend” – I thought I better do something. Quick.

I know making tote bags are generally simple and quick. So, I thought I’d give bag-making a go again. And, this is the product (see picture) – a fancy floral tote bag.

The construction is pretty similar to the last bag I made a few months ago. Except this one’s bigger, and I added a front pocket in this one + a band. I like it.

I’m not sure though if I’m keeping it, giving it away as a gift, or selling it.

My sister has been encouraging me to do more of these creative projects – and start selling them. She’s even offering to sell some of my projects for me, if I wish. But, I don’t know yet. I mean, sure, I’m happy to sell a thing or two every now and then via Etsy or directly. But, we’ll see.

For now, I’m just happy to be able to have the time and energy to create something nice once in a while.

Anyway, I hope you’re all having a good weekend!

Inspiring Artist Books

Shai Coggins — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:20:42 +0000

I love books. I even love them even if I can’t read them. I guess that’s why I’ve always been fascinated with artist books. Here are some that tickled my fancy recently.

From top left:

1. Wooden Book Blocks. Artist: Leanne Shapton – Thought that these books were sooo cool. They’re made from blocks of wood, painted with “book covers” of some popular literature. Would love to try this one day.

2. The Tiny Book of Birds. Artist: Geninne – So much work goes in to mini books like this one. I think this one’s selling on the artist’s Etsy shop.

3. Cassette Tape Book. Artist: Heather LG Bella – Saw this on Flickr. But, I think I saw a similar book done by another artist before. And, I know I’ve loved it since I saw it. Cassette tapes just brings back memories of childhood.

4. Mini Recycle Bin Books. Artist: Erin Zamarzla – Gotta love sustainable art. Check out the artist’s take on these cute and useful books.

What about you? What inspired you lately?

Shepherd Boy {or How to Make a Shepherd Costume}

Shai Coggins — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:52:50 +0000

So, I did end up finishing the first version of my boy’s shepherd costume last night. That’s why this morning, I asked him to do a fitting for me so I can make the necessary adjustments. As I said yesterday, I made this costume without measuring him properly – and without any patterns either. I just based the shepherd costume from a few ideas I found online.

Anyway, the boy wasn’t crazy about the idea of doing the fitting. He pouted and whinged. Even argued about what real shepherds look like. You see, he never really likes dress ups. Even when friends and such enjoy looking like Spider Man or Superman, he refuses to be anything but himself most of the time. He doesn’t even enjoy doing face paintings either. But, at least, I managed to get him to try the costume on long enough for me to figure out what I needed to adjust. And, to take these photos for today’s blog post!

Although you can see smiles and laughs in the last 3 photos there, the first pic in this collage shows his real mood during the costume fitting. I just joked with him a lot while I was taking the photos, so I don’t end up with a miserable looking shepherd boy in this post. Heh.

In any case, I’m quite pleased with how the shepherd costume turned out anyway in the end. After these pictures were taken, I made some adjustments. I made the neckline a bit smaller, as the outfit kept slipping off because I made the hole too big. I also decided to attach the burgundy/maroon shawl at the shoulder area, as I realised that it will probably just keep falling off and going all over the place if I left it as it was. Besides, I thought it was too long. So, attaching it to the main part of the costume meant I could shorten it as I gave it a draped effect.

Some of the things that I did to make the costume include:

1) Look for patterns/ideas online. Some of the resources that inspired me to make this include:

How to Make a Shepherd Costume – Some step-by-step instructions from Costumzee and a pic (I mostly took some inspiration from the pic, not the tutorial).
How do you make a shepherd costume? – This is just a question posted on Yahoo! Answers. However, some of the ideas shared by some folks were interesting. It’s how I got the idea for using an elastic headband and a rectangular fabric (tea-towel shaped) for the head cover.
Sewing Projects for Kids: How to make a shepherd headpiece for your toddler’s costume – A YouTube video that offers some step-by-step ideas. This is originally from ExpertVillage. The headpiece here is circular in shape and seems quite good. I was going to try making it, but didn’t have enough fabric, so I decided to go for the rectangular shaped idea instead.
Sewing Projects for Kids: How to make a shepherd costume for your toddler – Another ExpertVillage video on YouTube. This is where I got the idea of just using two rectangular shaped fabric for the main part of the shepherd’s costume. It didn’t show how this piece was actually sewn together, but I just gathered ideas just looking at the video.

2) Used Calico fabric for the main part of the shepherd’s costume. I bought this pre-cut fabric from Lincraft a few months ago, thinking I’ll use it to practice some fabric printing. But, I never got around to it. Since it’s in an off-white/beige colour, I decided it’ll make a good fabric for the costume. This is how I made this part of the costume:

Cut two rectangular pieces of equal size. Pretty close to the size of a beach towel, folded in two.
Cut a half-oval shaped hole from one of the shorter sides of the rectangular fabric. Did it to both of the rectangular pieces. This is for the neckline.
Used a cream-coloured bias-binding for the neckline. I thought it might be good to put that there to avoid fraying.
Sew that side of the two rectangular pieces together, so that the two rectangular pieces have become one.
Hem the bottom part of the clothing separately.
Allot enough space on the side for arm holes (approx. 8 inches), then put bias-binding on those sides of the arm hole openings.
Sew both sides of the clothing – from the arm hole openings down to the bottom part.

That’s done! That’s the main part of the shepherd’s costume. I know I probably could’ve stopped there and just used a tea towel with an elastic headband for the headpiece. But, it looked too plain for my liking.

3) So, I went on and created a shawl using a maroon/burgundy nylon fabric. Basically, I just pieced a long rectangular piece that’s about double the length of the shepherd’s main costume. Then, I hemmed the sides. I was going to leave it free flowing. But, as I mentioned earlier, after the fitting, I realised that that wasn’t the best idea when a costume is going to be used by an active four-year-old. So, I ended up draping the shawl over the main part of the costume, making sure that drop is of equal length. Then, I left enough fabric at the back, to have a flowing draped effect. And, I attached the shawl at the shoulder sides. With that attached, no one needs to worry about the costume wearer dropping or losing the thing any time during the play/concert.

4) Made the headpiece using the same maroon/burgundy nylon fabric. I’m not sure if a different fabric would work better to put this look together. I initially wanted a stripey fabric. But, since I didn’t have one that’s suitable in my stash, I just went for the matching option. This part was easy. Just provide a fabric that’s big enough to put over the child’s head – then hem the sides. The size I opted for is close to the size of a tea towel. Then, I used one of my own brown elastic headband as a way to put the headpiece on the boy’s head.

5) Opted to use a curtain sash/cord as a belt. I knew a sash or a belt will be a good way to put this look together. But, instead of making or buying one, I just decided to use one of our curtain sash as the belt. I just hope it stays on during the Nativity play/concert – plus all the running around.

6) Sandals for the feet! We don’t have leather sandals for him or anything like that. But, he has one of those typical black rubber sandals with red trimmings. So, I think he’ll just use those for his costume. At least, the colour sort of matches.

7) A makeshift shepherd’s crook (or staff/rod). We still don’t have this one at hand. So, hubby’s hoping to find one tomorrow. Perhaps, an old walking stick or something. But, I’m sure any stick will do. Even if it’s a branch that just fell from a tree.

So, there you go. My final “creativity weekend” post for the month of November.

And, this concludes my month-long contribution to NaBloPoMo ’08 too. Woohoo. I can’t believe I made it. 30 posts in 30 days. I’m going to share some more about my NaBloPoMo experience in another post one of these days. But, yeah!!

In any case, I just want to say thank you so much to all of you who helped me along the way. I’m sooo grateful for all your comments and feedback. Really, really appreciate it. <3 ‘ya!

Now, here’s the looking forward to December!

Studio Notes by Shai Coggins» Arts, Crafts and Creativity

Art Appreciation: Ian Valladarez, Filipino Artist

Random Notes & Things...

Drawing Inspiration

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10 Cool Message and Sign Generators

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Low-fi Photography: The Return of an Obsession

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Self Portrait Box: An Art Project

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New Fancy Tote Bag!

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Inspiring Artist Books

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Shepherd Boy {or How to Make a Shepherd Costume}

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