Animal Inspiration

Today I took a trip to the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center, which is only a short walk from the BayArts Campus where our show will be in February 2012 (and is also where the pottery studio is located).

The Nature center is a wonderful educational resource which is free and is practically in my backyard! Is is a great way to get up close and personal with many Ohio animals. I was thrilled to find so many great drawing subjects. Local artists - seriously, this is an awesome drawing opportunity!

A few of my favorite Ohio animals (I am trying to stay local for the show):

Turtles (Painted I think)

Snapping Turtle! Will definitely have to go back and draw this guy.

One legged goose

Tiny Screech Owl

My Favorite of the day! This red fox came right up to me and was very interested in what was going on. There was a black one as well, but he was a little camera shy.

Sooo cute

White Tailed Deer

Red Tailed Hawks

Here are a few sketches I made at the center toward the end of my visit:

I'm going to try to make an effort to visit the center often. It is free, super close, and has tons of things to draw. I really have no excuse. It will be nice to sketch outside when its warmer too! Look for more drawings to come.

Beginnings

Every February, the wonderful BayArts gallery  in Bay Village, Ohio puts on an "Emerging Artists" show in which they give two relatively unknown artists the opportunity to display their work. This is a great honor and opportunity, especially since the gallery is excellent and doesn't have very many shows each year.

We (Sue the ceramicist and Erin the illustrator) are very excited to announce that we were chosen to display our work in the Emerging Artist show in 2012!

Having a year to create a body of work is a rare luxury and we are still at just the beginning of a long journey. There is a lot to think about - Theme, Subject, Technique, Staging, the food, etc. The show is completely ours to design, and while it is exciting to have that much freedom, it adds a lot of responsibility. This blog will serve as a way to document our process and progress on every front.

The show is actually going to be in that house pictured on the barge! It has been completely renovated and has found a new home on the BayArts campus on Lake Erie. Its a pretty magical place.

So please stop by often! Beautiful things will happen here, I promise....