Dishes for Christmas

Since the holiday season is always chaotic and eventful I thought another update post would be easier for today. So I ordered some plates a while back for the jewelry/doll house food ive been making. finally I got them in! I have yet to use them but expect many more delicious things now that I have some dishes to work off of.

Delicious Christmas Cards

I know, I know, posting has been terrible this month. Too much going on while the days go by too quickly. I am determined to get things moving with my work. For my new years resolution i'll be posting seven sketch's per week on my blog for the entire year of 2014. So one sketch for every day. plus i'll have some posts about new work coming from my class's at RISD. Today will be my christmas card. Pretty random but super fun to make!

Optimistic Sagittarius

I know it's been weeks since my last post and due to a temporary lack of adobe programs and excessive shopping, I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on the years since college. Today I am twenty six marking almost four years since school! I feel like I have changed so much and as this year ends i've realized that a lot of really tough situations in my life have really turned out for the better. Hence the title, optimistic sagittarius.

I narrowed my experiences down to five categories with a short description of each. I wanted to share my own personal experience since school to give another point of view. 

1. Relocating: I did live in Brooklyn for a bit after college but ended up moving home due to living expenses being too extensive and I wasn't around the greatest group of people. Moving back to RI was kind of a bummer but now looking back on it I really needed the time to breath and take in everything I experience while at Pratt. It gave me an opportunity to re-discover myself and have a better sense of my ambitions. 

2. Relationships: A few relationships/friendships and even some family members are no longer in my life. I think this is the hardest lesson for most. If anyone brings drama, pain, or negativity into your life while ignoring personal boundaries they are not worth having in your life. Obviously its not as easy to push someone away as that. But by doing so I was able to befriend unlikely people I wouldn't have talked to before. 

3. Health: This was another great reason why I moved back home. It took a few more ER visits and a lot of weird symptoms to discover I have celiac disease. It took three days to feel healthy and it will take almost a year for gluten to completely leave my system. Theres so many ways this has changed my life. I could go on forever with the list. Its one of those things; You don't know how sick you really are until you experience being healthy. For me this was my first thanksgiving not being sick. My first birthday not being sick. 

4. School: Pratt is a very expensive college with very stressful and time consuming courses. I absolutely loved it but between working after class and being sick all the time I really didn't get to enjoy it. So im attending RISD in the spring for children book illustration and jewelry. I'll be paying class by class so way less stress and absolutely no more loans. 

5. Work: I think this has been the most common issue for most graduates. I have had over twenty graphic design interviews for all sorts of companies and projects. I never had luck getting hired or paid but they have all pushed me to know most adobe programs to an obsessive degree. I have almost 5 miscellaneous jobs that keep my head above water and my life is incredibly interesting. One of my boss's is actually a children book illustrator! (Couldn't have asked for a more obvious sign)

Well that about sums it up! I have been through many failures in the last few years but most have paid off and I really enjoy the path i'm on right now and who Im becoming as a person. 

Informative Update

In the last week or so I have gotten so much completed and yet nothing at all. Preparing for a craft fair, taking on a third job and taking part in projects to get my portfolio updated before I start classes at RISD in the spring.

So for this post I wanted to share the first project ive been involved in. PiBoldMo is a blog that makes weekly posts in november about writing stories for children and young adults. Registration ended the 7th but anyone can still be part of writing a story a day for the month of november and being part of the conversation. If you did register your eligible for prizes. (I would have posted this much sooner but I found out two hours before registration was closed!) Then start 12 x 12 in january which is a project where you pick 12 stories from PiBoldMo and make each into a book dummy. (One each month of the year) Its a great exercise even if half of them turn out terribly. Its really just to get ideas on paper. I hope for those of you who read my blog, will join in the fun too!

Its getting tedious in here.

More Tiny jewelry treats for the holiday seasons. I do need to buy more earring backs and necklace chains but so far I really like what I came up with. Opinions for certain holiday/thanksgiving/christmas foods are always welcomed!

Autumn Post Card (Part 3)

Finally done! Sadly it took me all fall to get to it. So look's like i'll have to hurry for winter and get that sent out before December. Oh the life of a freelancer. Thankfully this painting came out great and I really love everything about it. The minus is most of my work is disappointing compared. So I got my list of things people look for in a Children's Illustrator portfolio and i'm well on my way to accomplishing it. Oh and later this month Im going to start a competition to try and win a pair of holiday earrings I made. I may show a painting such as this and make people guess how many techniques were used and in what order. So keep that in mind when you study this and the other steps i've shown earlier. ;)

Computer Rant

Yes, yes there will be no art work for today. I had a very crazy afternoon the day before. I made a genius appointment for my apple thinking there were issues from the battery. After running a few tests and attempting to look through the hard drive; my computer went threw a massive breakdown of giant red flashing failures. Turns out the hard drive was glitching and refusing to do any tests. To be fair this situation was my fault. A few months back I dropped it on a busy street in providence in a rainstorm. So now the bottom side with the hard drive in it is bent metal.

The good news was my warranty covered it and now my computer is wicked fast an awesome. All my files were transferred over by my old mac and most programs are re-downloaded. Now the issue is cs5. My old one was a download so I may have to look for my cs3 cd's and just deal with an older version till I figure something out. I can't help but think they put a new personality into the dead shell of my computer. Its very sad...and so today isn't just a rant heres a photo of adorable cookie cutters for some winter projects.

Moust-ache Chinese Food

Lately I have been so distracted from all the mini projects I have going on. So today's post is a bit random. It started with the weekly word for Illustration Friday and somehow developed into chinese food accessories.

Autumn Post Card (part 2)

Today's post is the next step in my halloween post card process. It's taking a bit long due to other projects and realizing im a bit rusty in my painting and drawing skills. To see the post card sketch go check out Part 1. Part 2 is the finished painting but the inside of all the frames are going to be collaged and digitally added for Part 3. You can see why that would take a bit of time. Along with it I have some painting practice. Ive noticed i'm incredibly rusty in my skills so I will start up painting food again along with more observation drawings.

Tweens

Once again my blogger schedule has been pushed by the ever so mysterious universe. On the plus side I managed to get a interview with a amazing company that designs children and tween clothing, accessories and packaging. It's temporary but in house experience and I would still be drawing. With design jobs usually ones that balance on the edge of textile or fashion require mini projects as part of the interview. So I had a day and a half to make a pouch pattern, BBF necklace and package design. I probably had too much fun with it but at least I have more work I love regardless of what their decision is.

Autumn Post Card (Part 1)

I've been so terrible with my blogging schedule this month! Im so ashamed...but you know, at least i'm back now and moving on with the next series. One thing I would love to get into the habit of is sending out post cards every few months. I really dislike re-sending a design too.

So for autumns Illustration I created a cat bothering some portraits full of agitated monsters. For now I have the sketch. Obviously its taking way longer then thought especially since each portrait will be collaged separately and added later digitally. Im also forcing myself to sketch everything first. And on atrocious paper so theres no room for hours of erasing. Its proving to be incredibly helpful. The bottom illustration was a practice to get back into the groove of watercolor. Then I later tried designing it to fit the back of my business card. The type was a nightmare. Blah I say! Blah! Not sure what will become of that. Who knows.

Autumn

Happy Autumn! Im more then excited to say that summer is over. This is my absolutely favorite time of year and with it comes new art. Next week will be my seasonal post card and for today I have a series of new earrings to get into the fall mood. I will also be having double posts from now on. I will still be posting every tuesday but at random i will be putting sketch's up on my blog for illustration Friday. Its to help me gain confidence in my drawing skills even if its currently terrible.

Lush

Since its been far too long since ive shown some actual art work I will be posting twice a week when I can. I'll still have my tuesday posts to catch up on whats new but I will have random posts for Illustration Friday. No finished work, just sketch's. All done on cheap paper so I can get over my fear of not having everything perfect. Oh and Lush is this weeks word!

Food for Thought

Considering everything going on this past summer I thought it would be a good idea to explain why my work is all food related. (sorry no art today)

I skipped last weeks post because I've been feeling pretty cruddy for the last two weeks. Im on a gluten challenge to reintroduce wheat to my diet so it shows up in some tummy tests. After going gluten free and then returning to it I know I have celiac disease. Its in everything from packaged food, gummy bears, make up, lotion and so many other things besides bread. The reason for the tests is just having someone else tell me so I don't feel like i'm going crazy. Having so many doctors tell me i'm normal and just malnourished or dehydrated has been frustrating and in a way isolating. Its difficult to explain why I would feel like that. Its been a life long endeavor of odd symptoms and constant fatigue and pain. I actually discovered theres over 300 symptoms of Celiac Disease. No matter what happens I am going gluten/dairy free after this week and sticking with it. Possibly even vegetarian if things work out after a year.

What does this have to do with my art? Well my last year of college and the few years after, my health had declined dramatically because of my diet. So while I was figuring things out and searching for my own answers; painting food was a therapy for me. Like if I could make it look good enough it would be like tasting it without eating it. Soon I used my food paintings in illustrations and then I started making them 3-dimensional in polymer clay. I really love my art style and how it became so personal by complete accident. From here on out I want to pursue a career that helps children with food allergies and stomach diseases.

This would have to be my longest rant yet. I usually don't get too personal on my blog but I felt like it explained why I do what I do. It's also that part of my life coming to an end. I am happy to say that eating gluten free has completely cured all my issues and Im no longer severely fatigued or in any pain.

Recipe for Success

Have you ever had a month of absolutely nothing to do and then a week of everything to do? Well that's what recently happened to me. It's been a week of refining and improving my design. Check out www.heathersisson.com and see how you like the new improvements! Of coarse this was all done for a recent job interview I came across. Really amazing place with amazing work. Hopefully I get a call back!

This weeks blog is going to be a few different things. For one, I redesigned my business cards and made a thank you note to mix with my cooking theme. And secondly I finally got around to creating a cleaner product design for my jewelry. All made in six days. Sleep has never looked so good.

Banana pops!

I absolutely love submitting work to TheyDrawAndCook. It's a great way to have professionals see your work and also improve typography and layout design. Im also trying to get more gluten free recipes out to help me with my own current life changes.

Pizza

I thought today would be a perfect day to have a little pizza. Or food for thought in my case. A while back I designed the menu board for my uncle's pizza parlor. I still haven't been able to stop by and get a good picture of it and I thought it would be too boring by itself. So I made a necklace/pizza charms to go with it!

Fortune Cookie

After a week of just absolute craziness all I have to show is a cookie. This little jerk actually took me days to make. The tutorials make it look so easy but getting the right shape is impossible. The humidity was terrible in helping because it was making the clay so soft that I had to freeze it. And to make things worse I had to throw this cookie away because the bottom got burned! As you can see i got a new toaster oven so I dont contaminate my food with harmful chemicals. Turns out its way stronger and i'll have to do a few clay tests before making anything else.

Equality

Even though this is a bit late Im pretty proud with the result. Equality is the current illustration friday word for the week. I thought a perfect example of this was an ant getting the same amount of frozen yogurt as a panda. I also made some yummy fro-yo charms to go with it! and again I know i need better photos of my charms. Its so difficult not to do everything last minute.

Ice Cream And Cake

So as most of you may know my food jewelry has actually been a big hit. I will start selling in a store in Wickford RI because I just don't have the time or experience to deal with shipping with etsy. Im hoping this will help me figure things out. I will keep my online store up for a few more months and see if its too stressful or worth the money. will see!

For this week I have a series of ice cream and two cakes. For the near future I will also try and not be last minute with my posts so I can get better photos. Maybe some non-elf ears.

S'more Please

I feel like it has been forever since I last picked up a paint brush and just zoned out for a couple of hours. I have been working with design so much that its now unusual to be away from my computer for long periods of time. So I guess today's illustration is just a introduction or practice into things to come. My style is clear but im still working on how to make everything come together into a amazing portfolio.

Start Of A New

I know I have already shown this illustration of Gracie but now I feel confident enough to explain her story. She will be the main character for my next book and it has been an idea I have had for some time now. This story has been put off for years due to my own lack of confidence in my ability to tell it. I feel like my design and illustrative skills are at an all new high and ive never been so confident.

So...what is the story? Well, I think one of the many important things a teacher once told me was to write what I know. So this story is one of my own stories. When I was younger I was diagnosed with VanWillabrand Disease. Most people will live out there lives without ever knowing so it can be considered the most common form of hemophiliac. I played a lot of sports and always got bruised and bloody. So I had to get a medical bracelet. The problem was I didn't want anyone knowing. It made me feel even weirder then what I already was. To keep it a secret and stay with what was in style I decided to make it into a charm bracelet. It worked all the way till college. Thats all I can tell you for now. I promise it has an adorable ending that was inspired by a RI Critique group of illustrators.

Today you'll see the book cover and what my thinking process was with coming up with the layouts and story line. For someone who can write pretty terribly I write a lot. Next week i'll post a bunch of collages while I work on this further.

Polymer Clay Part 3

I'm posting a little early this week since tuesday will be a day of non-stop work. So I have been working much more with the polymer clay. I made a series of donuts and breakfast foods. I made everything into stud earrings because it was easier to make tiny series of food as a practice. I am planning on making a few specialty items (brownie sundae necklace) that i'll be posting later on. Oh and my etsy shop is up and running! You can ether click HERE or click my shop button on the right top corner of my blog.

Polymer Clay Part 2

More polymer clay projects. This time I made chocolate chip cookies, m&m cookies and sprinkled heart cookies. I did make some donuts and breakfast foods but decided to show them later when I have better photographs.

Polymer Clay

I think by the title of this post you'll be able to guess that i've been working with a lot of clay lately. I couldn't help but notice that food jewelry has become a new popular thing on etsy. For those of you who know my work, it's not a big surprise that im getting into the movement of yummy looking things that are wearable. Next week i'll open my store completely  I still need to get some better photos and id like to create some tags. I do have to say that this clay is much more difficult then thought. Making realistic food can be tricky. I learned a lot of cool techniques from The Polymer Clay CookBook. For now I just made a bunch of basic fruits and some ice cream. Enjoy!