Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Through the Viewfinder
I have a new addiction. It's called TtV. TtV stands for "Through the Viewfinder" and is a photographic technique that gives your photos a very old, vintage style look. I always thought i was an effect created with photoshop or with those really antique cameras, but i recently discovered how to do it. You take a digital camera and take a picture through the viewfinder of a vintage or antique camera, in my case a Kodak Cresta III. My original plan was to take pictures with the Cresta, but it's too complicated for an amateur like me (don't know where to get the right film, can't develop the photo's myself etc). And if i would take real pictures with that camera they probably won't have that nice TtV effect anyway, and that's what i was interested in, in the first place. Here are my first TtV's, but have a look a the the Flickr Group for the best TtV's from other photographers.



Wednesday, February 13, 2008

I love kitchen ware!

Noooo i haven't lost my mind, i'm not going crazy over spoons and forks but my latest addiction is the hunt for perfect mold...in the kitchen wares section of my favourite thriftstore! I'm not too fond of the traditional resin molds that are for sale on e-bay or other shops that specialize in resin supplies, they seem too generic or just plain boring most of the time. The kitchen ware section of my thrift store is another story because here i find my treasures : egg holders for the fridge, old fashioned ice cube trays, other trays for i-don't-know-what-goes-where for the kitchen, the shapes and possiblities are endless. More than once i've been greeted with a frown when i walk to the till with an arm full of used ice cube trays, happy about my new thrift store treasures. Seriously, i must be the only person buying these things because some of the trays ( the ones i really don't like) have been sitting there for months. My latest mold is the best i found sofar: an ice cube tray for diamond shaped, faceted ice cubes. I think it is just perfect for making ring charms and i've been trying out some new designs:

Matryoshka in Space

Floating Flowers:

Frozen Diamond:


Friday, February 08, 2008

My Moo cards are here! I was so excited to find my Moo cards in the mail today! I had seen DecadentDiamond's beautiful Moo cards on her blog and i instantly loved them! I had heard about the cards before, but i didn't know they were entirely customizable and the unusual shape is a nice feature. They look more artistic than regular business cards, so i just had to try this out! I've been printing and cutting my own cards for over two years and to be honest, i've had enough of that...for some reason my colours are off when i print them or i don't cut straight, i don't know why but i'm just not that good at it. But I don't think i'm just going to hand out my Moo's to anyone, (ok i had to give one to my sister because she modelled my trashion jacket and i made a moo card of her picture), but i will include them in orders. I wanted to use the photos i made of my designs because i thought it would be fun if someone bought a bag or a pair of earrings and received the matching moo card! Well, atleast i know i would like that :)
Here's the whole collection:

And two of my favourites:



Sunday, February 03, 2008

Custom orders...and all that jazz!

I've worked on all kinds of custom orders in the past, from digital art jackets over postage stamp shoes to photo handbags and more. But the request i received from Spanish artist Mtuent left me speechless for a few minutes. She requested...a pen. Yes, at first i thought it was a mistake or i missunderstood,but it really was a pen. For the presentation of her new book she wanted to use a pen that was inspired by the subject of her writing : jazz music and Billie Holiday. She had seen my designs on Etsy and was interested in the way i use art and photography in many of my creations. This is why i like Etsy so much : there is room to work across the borders of your own "field" and exchange ideas with other artists on a creative level. Honestly, i would never ever had thought when i woke up that morning " hey i'm going to make a pen today instead of earrings!"...it was just something that was outside my box, so to say.

So, the idea was in my head...but how to execute my design?! I didn't even know what most pens are made of and how i should get my design onto it. The next step was to create something that i could call my canvas, on the surface of the pen. After much thinking i found something that could work for me : i have this clay that isn't 100% organic, but it isn't polymer either. When it's dried it feels a bit like terracotta but much lighter, maybe it is simular to that what doctors or hospitals use when you break your arm or leg. Anyway, it was just perfect for my plan. I used a thin black ballpoint pen and formed another shield around it with this clay. The rest was easy : some hints of silver gold and bronze paint, music notes, parts of old jazz club ads, a trumpet player and the pretty face of Billie Holiday in different colours decoupaged onto my first handmade pen!
This was a great challenge and really fun to work on. In fact, Mtuent's custom order made me think of other designs for pens...i can't wait to try out them out!



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