A crochet project

I have started a lot of knitting projects over the years. The operative word being started - my mom usually picks up where I leave off and finishes them. I always pick scarves hoping that they would be easy. No need to keep track of patterns, no need to really focus.. just get started and keep going till you hit the required length. But what I always forget is that scarves are long, and take a lot of time and effort to finish.

This time, for a change, I tried crochet. I had heard from others that crochet is faster than knitting. Just a little more complicated to pick up. But easy enough once you pick up the basic moves. Now that I have tried both knitting and crochet, I totally agree! I started and finished this cute pink scarf. It is a simple double crochet scarf, made with Red Heart worsted weight yarn.

Pearls and Jades

My husband has always encouraged me to try new artsy-craftsy pursuits. And thanks to him, I have now taken an interest in making jewelry. I started out thinking stringing beads on chord was all there was to it. Now I know better - I know when to use flat nose pliers and when to use round nose ones, I know how to use crimp beads, jump rings, and all those thingamajigs, and I can almost work with jewelry wire without poking myself in the eye.

This weekend I sat down to complete two jewelry projects. The first is a bracelet of pink pearls and crystal bicones, along with matching earrings. The second is a necklace and bracelet made of jades that my BFF gifted me (earrings for the jade set are WIP).

Pretty, ain't it? All I need now is an occasion to show off :)

Pearl bracelet and ear rings

Jade necklace and bracelet

Drapery - Still life in Charcoal

Drapery seems to be a popular still life subject amongst art teachers - it is easy to set up in a studio, and a tough assignment to keep students occupied with :)

Here is my charcoal drawing of some drapery from my art class. I know it looks a little like a Halloween ghost, but I swear thats how my art teacher set it up!!

Drapery - Still life in Charcoal

White on black

As a part of my recent class assignments, I have been trying out drawings in white charcoal. And here is one that I really liked. I loved the way the vertical white lines give the violin a woody texture, and how the bright of the white charcoal in the violin strings seems to glint in the light.

The Violin (White charcoal on black paper)

I used Generals white charcoal pencils on Strathmore Artagain black pad - the black pad is a gorgeous black, and the white charcoal pencils were a charm to use.

One challenge I have been facing has been the question of preserving this drawing. Whenever I have tried fixative spray in the past (and I have tried both the workable fixative as well as the permanent kind) , it has caused my white charcoal to turn bluish/greyish, and also eventually fade. Which is weird, because it totally defies the purpose of using a fixative! Feedback and any suggestions to preserve the drawing are very welcome.

Drawing with an eraser

There are some interesting effects to be had when you start with a charcoal blackened paper and then use your eraser to lift off some of the charcoal. This is called the Additive - Reductive technique. A kneaded eraser works best, and can be used to erase a (relatively) thin line or a vast area. White charcoal could be used afterwards to add highlights. Do note that it is much more difficult to draw precise details with this technique. Not to mention, it can get quite messy as you first need to get enough charcoal on the paper and rub it in thoroughly to achieve a uniform blackness (latex gloves are highly recommended!)

Here are some drawings I did using the Additive - Reductive technique for a recent class assignment. Any feedback is welcome!

Additive reductive technique using charcoal

Still life (Charcoal)

On a related note, I discovered the importance of quality art supplies when doing this assignment. I had a charcoal stub from before which was of inferior quality. Even though the charcoal looked blacker, I had such trouble achieving a gradual shading and gray tones in this drawing here. Lesson learnt!

Still life (Charcoal)

Back to school

The husband and I have decided to start our art education from the basics - we have both signed up for art classes at the local community college. I chose Basic Drawing (of course) and my husband chose Basic Guitar.

I have been dabbling in arts for the longest time, and have also attended a few classes. But art classes in India tend to be unstructured and mostly guided studio sessions, rather than classes. So when I saw weekend drawing classes on the Spring calendar at the Mission College, I jumped at the chance.

I am sure I will be posting a lot more blogs tagged under "Artsy-Craftsy" going forward - keep an eye out!