UB Cyclovia Chalk

Cyclovia hit the pavement at University at Buffalo's North Campus on August 28th. There were bikers celebrating the bike path and the move-in momentum of the students. A fresh year! The energy was a little contagious.

Tim, my dear husband, and I arrived on campus around noon. We then met up with 2 other chalk artists who have taken part in Sweet Chalk Fest this past year. Cadie did a bicyclist theme piece and Haley did a golden lab piece. I did a UB Bull logo mashed with a actual bull face. 

The wind was a challenge for our shade tents so we had them lowered down. A lot of students dropped down to our level to speak with us on our techniques or to watch. At one point, we did think the storm that hit Lockport was coming our way, but thankfully it did not.

I got to use my banner for the first time!!!

We had a total of 5 hours to get our pieces completed. At about an hour in I realized I had made a mistake with my grid and stretched my drawing too far by a foot. This is easy to do when you are at ground level and I was lucky to catch it when I did. There was a point of panic and futile asphalt scrubbing trying to get the lines off. This problem was later fixed by painting tempera paint over my errors. I'm so glad tempera paint is in my chalk art arsenal this year. 

My grid was supposed to be 6ft x 7ft, I somehow did 7ft x 7ft. I originally planned on only painting the black base in the shape of the bull head but ended up filling the whole square in. The paint helped pop my edges out for more definition in the end. 

Cadie had called our friend (her studio-mate) Jeannette to come "coach" us. However, she turned out to be my angel. She totally saved my butt on this one. My piece was too big for my britches and she helped me get it down. She carries half her studio in her vehicle so she had some blue Street Stix for me to use! Jeannette is pretty much awesome art super hero and mentor. 

The UB Bull's mascot came to visit my work in progress. 

There was a beautiful young woman and student that sat in front of me and asked if she could chalk too. She had the prettiest scarf and smile. I held up my hands and said "if you don't mind getting dirty." She replied "not at all." This girl dived in and was a huge help. I can't spell her name but I will call her Haddie, she was from India and studying Industrial Engineering at UB in the Masters program. She told us how she hasn't seen snow! Well, we know what it's like here, she will see a lot of the white stuff! Haddie made me want to reach out to students even more for events similar to this.We did take pictures and I gave her my card. If she sends them along I will update the post. 

My friend and co-worker, Melissa Yurko, stopped in to cheer me on. She and her husband embraced the bicycle atmosphere by riding over. I'm pretty darn lucky to have her in my corner outside of the office too. LOVE!

Jeannette and I posing with my UB Bull. 

Every time I chalk I learn new things. This event's lessons:

1. Don't bite off more than you can chew! I did this and was fortunate to have help. I think I will stick to the hour per square foot rule. Quality suffers with shorter time constraints. Simple subject matters from now on for one day pieces. 

2. It is SO time to invest in better chalks. I will be ordering Street Stix and some brands I heard about through the chalk artist grape vine. 

3. Quadruple check the grid. 

I think I will be doing more college campus work in the future. 

UB Sunday Chalk Prep

My last August event will be taking place this August 28th at the University of Buffalo's North Campus. There are several events taking place for the University to kick off the academic year. I have been referred through Facebook to chalk at the Cyclovia event. The newly painted bicycle path is being opened on the campus and there will be a party in the streets to celebrate.

http://www.buffalo.edu/calendar/calendar?action=describe&which=1CD698E0-6497-11E6-86D0-D39DD5EB3C5F&lastaction=list&category=&time=&thismonth=1&from=&until=

The University's write up:

"Cyclovia at UB: Bike and Pedestrian Street Festival Cyc˙lo˙via n. is a Spanish word signifying the temporary closure of a network of streets to cars so that they become “open” to the people who bike, walk, skate and participate in fun, free activities. Cyclovia at the University at Buffalo is a cycling and street festival for the campus community. The event encourages UB students, faculty, staff, and the UB community to join us on bike and enjoy people-powered activities. Along Lee Rd. and the Special Events Field, Cyclovia will highlight UB student clubs and community organizations through offerings including skating demonstrations, a BMX stunt show, bike safety and registration information, yoga instruction, and street art and performances. Cyclovia at UB is a collaborative effort in partnership with Blackstone LaunchPad at UB, Campus Parking and Transportation, UB Sustainability, Campus Living, Office of Student Life, Outdoor Pursuits, Student Association, Wellness Education Services, UB Athletics, University Police Department, and Professional Staff Senate. The partners believe the program will serve as a community builder and afford the campus community an opportunity to explore North Campus on bike while highlighting the newly-established campus bike lanes."

I came in contact with Hadar Borden and will be finalizing my participation details for Sunday. I have the sketch drawn up and references ready. I decided to take the newly designed UB Bulls logo and add my illustrative twist.

I had to look at several bull photographs, being that there are several varieties. I ended up picking two photograph's to adopt features from for my bull. 

I did some doodling and then finished my solid line sketch with grid notes. 

I had some trouble with the horn length. Logos are broken down and manipulations their subject. I actually enjoyed seeing the changes from logo lines to a more realistic depiction of the bull on my half of the drawing. It gave me a sense of nostalgia to art program college days. 

This piece will be 6ft x 7ft. I will be using tempera paint as the base within the figure lines. These sketches are so basic compared to the end result. Sometimes the process itself is rewarding, and in this project it has been. 

My participation in this Cyclovia is for fun and a street art portfolio addition. I am excited to be part of the people powered entertainment team and can't wait to share it here with you guys. Thanks for reading! 

Dog Days of Summer 2016

The end of summer is almost here! I was a vendor at an aptly named event in my own backyard of Newfane, NY recently. A perk for sure, is that it took place at my favorite winery on the Niagara Wine Trail, Schulze Vineyards and Winery. We got our engagement pictures done on their property in 2011. This winery feels like family whenever we visit. I always find new favorites to sip on, currently it is their Lake House Red.

http://www.schulzewines.com/#home

Karen Drumm of Harmony Dog Training, organized this event and brought our community of dog enthusiasts together for a fun afternoon outside in the sunshine. There were demonstrations by Denny Murphy with his dogs Mojo and Remi for field training and cute contests for our canine companions.

http://www.harmonydogswithkaren.com/


It was a learning experience-the wind proved to be my enemy. I will be investing in another tent with side panels to help battle natural elements next time. I had my vintage dog stamp pieces for sale for $12, and had my previous custom pieces on display (family owned) to promote my custom pet portraits for the upcoming holiday season. My PayPal Here card reader was pretty cool and super helpful as well.

One of my favorite customers bought 4 Collie stamp pieces. A super adorable Sheltie named Hope and her Mom loved the vintage look,  the Sheltie and the red poppy piece got their attention and lead to me making 3 more on the spot for them to take home.

I will have more of these vintage stamp pieces for sale on Etsy before the end of the year. Feel free to email me if you have a specific breed in mind and we can take a look at the current collection.

I enjoyed this afternoon of puppy lovin' and will likely do it again next year. Thank you to all who came out!

Wild & Crafty

Every once in a while I go on inspired tangents. The ideas start flowing and I usually dabble in them here and there. It is a positive process for the most part. However, the problem with crafty inspiration is that it leads to spending way more money than planned for scattered results.

Not this time, my friends!

I have had an orange book full of vintage dog stamps for a long time now. I always thought it belonged to my Great Grandpa Lemon, being that he was a hunting enthusiast with stuffed pheasants in his guest room (gave me the willies when I was a kid). Come to find out, it actually belonged to my Mom. She would collect stamps when going to auctions and such with my Grandpa Bob. A lot of the stamps are bird dogs. I happened to look through it the one day and found a Flat Coated Retriever! This breed of dog is not common, and my Mom has 3 of them. I thought I would make her a surprise and framed it up with some paper accents. She loved it of course!  

I wanted to do more.

August 21^st, 2016 is the Dog Days of Summer Event at Schulze Winery. I will be a vendor for the first time this year. The event runs from 1:00pm-5:00pm and is open to everyone and their dog furbabies.

For more information about the Dog Days of Summer click the link: 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1737383763172179/

Karen Drumm from Harmony Dog Training is the master mind behind this event. Her information can be found here: http://www.harmonydogswithkaren.com/

I have been a crafting fiend for a couple of weeks now. I thought I would share a sneak peak of my vintage stamp treasures.  

I plan on selling them for $12.00 each. They are 4x6 inches and in a basic black frame. Miniatures, and small art seem to be popular these days and may be what you need to finish a mantel or enhance a book shelf. If you like what you see know there is more where these came from and you can visit me at the winery on the 21^st!

This one is personal favorite, a Britney Spaniel!

Stay tuned for more vintage fun. I hope to see you August 21st at Schulze!