Evil Doodle Cat

And it was totally unplanned. I just added a splodge of yellow acrylic paint, let it dry and then poured india ink over it,scratched and spread it. After it was dry it looked like a cat so  I added the eye, mouth line and line around the ear.

"Inspiration exists, but it has got to find you working." Picasso

From Squidoo The Sketchbook-a creative diary

copyright ©2011 Corrine Bayraktaroglu aka Jafabrit

All rights Reserved

Yarnbombing: Posh Pole

 

corner of dayton and corry street

The sun was out, wheeeeeeeeee, and so were the Jafa's. We craftbombed the pole below to match the colour scheme of the new store (Artistic Silver) on Dayton Street.

Just have to add one more element and we are done with the "posh pole".

copyright ©2011 Corrine Bayraktaroglu aka Jafabrit

All rights Reserved

When Life Gets You in a Knot

through no fault of your own, it's hard to settle down to quietude that allows one to steel themselves for new anguishes waiting in the wings.  I watched a movie, enjoyed looking at my knitted cup of coffee my dear jafapal nancy got me for my birthday and stiched as the rain pounded on the windows.

AND

I wished all those who are hurting could sing in the rain, and have that glorious feeling.

LINKS

Knitted Coffee Mug from Ohio Craft Museum

 How To Videos of Embroidery Stitches

copyright ©2011 Corrine Bayraktaroglu aka Jafabrit All rights Reserved

repurposed plastic coasters

I knew there was a good reason to tidy my studio :)I found these plastic squares hidden in a box. So I thought I would play with reverse painting and collage. I poured a mix of paint on a sheet of foil and dipped the plastic on it to get a marbelized effect.  when it was dry I used gel medium to glue scraps of images from my Juxtapoz Magazine 

Just need to glue some black felt on the back and I now have a new set of art coasters.

copyright ©2011 Corrine Bayraktaroglu aka Jafabrit All rights Reserved

Rainy Sunday Afternoon Sketchbook

After collaging, doodling, drawing and painting in my sketchbook on a rainy Sunday afternoon I scanned it, manipulated it on Adobe. The Chairs are from the front of an old Artforum Magazine and the figure study I drew from my FAVE books I bought years ago for a bargain: Language of the Body: Drawings by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon  

It seems I have a need to do sketchbook work lately, and have signed up for the next arthouse sketchbook project. 

Used to ♥ this song and still think of it on lazy days, especially now I have lumbago.

copyright ©2011 Corrine Bayraktaroglu aka Jafabrit All rights Reserved

This had me in Stitches

NobleWorks Greeting Cards

Granny Stitches, coz that's what I guess others would see me as, a granny yarnbomber. Kind of busts a stereotype about yarnbombers ALL being young rebels. My son got me the card :) for my birthday and it was perfect.

Anyway, just google "not your granny's knitting" and see what I mean.

Banksy

Meanwhile back in the rocking chair, NOT!

The pub alley project is now up for all to see, but not in the alley.

 Dayton Street, Yellow Springs, Ohio

Getting in a Tangle: Copyright & Public Domain

 Like many I'm somewhat bemused that *some* claim copyright to patterns they use in their doodles( or as some call by the trademarked term zentangles). Since I'm not claiming to be a copyright attorney please do check the US Copyright Office links, etc.  Many of the motifs/patterns have been used for centuries in various cultures. Just google Basket Weave Pattern or greek key pattern for example. Can't copyright to a pattern that is public domain, only on how it's represented.  In other words "how" you as an artist/blogger depict or present a pattern,like how I have in my sketchbook page or your book/blog/website entry about it is copyrightable, but a pattern itself isn't.

If you're just learning about doodling and can't get that zen going because you're worried someone might steal your pattern, or worried about using patterns and don't understand copyright/public domain I have some links for you. I highly recommend this book for reference purposes. Grammar of Ornament
free patterns
free art deco designs
Great reference ideas at 650+ Free Photoshop Patterns
All Free Download(not ALL are available for commercial use)

Copyright Links
United States Copyright Office FAQ's
Public Domain explained
Public Domain Issues Stanford University

Excellent article here  called FAQ: You Stole My Idea! ... or did you? (aka Copyright 101)

Hope all the info helps

copyright ©2011 Corrine Bayraktaroglu aka Jafabrit All rights Reserved

It's Earth Day and I wish

 I were wiggling my toes in the dirt and the sun was shining, but it's raining and it's cold. So instead I will enjoy the blossoms and shades of green from my window.

DANGERS OF FABRIC SOFTENERS

I have given up using fabric softener(at least commercial brands). After a month of very strange symptoms I was able to trace it to the fabric softener I'd started using. It was simple deduction really. The minute I put clothing on, or went downstairs to do the laundry, the symptoms would kick in. I would get cotton mouth and swelling/lumps, laboured breathing, and my skin everywhere felt as if someone had applied menthol to it. The Toxic Danger of Fabric Softener. I learned something new too, "chemicals embedded in your clothes are slowly released into the air that you breathe and onto your skin which you absorb."quote from green and chic

This chemical, Chloroform, is a Neurotoxic anesthetic and carcinogenic which may explain why my skin felt strange.

A special Gift

work © 2011 by Claire Bayrak All Rights Reserved

Getting a personalized painting for my birthday from my daughter, woo hoo, how special is that.

Mr. Ego Chappist

Mr.Chappist
A devotee of dandified anarchism.
Currently exuding his panache in the local jafagirl art box.

Decorated egg by moi and body by jafapal Nancy Mellon

Chap Magazine

ZenEgg Heads and Zen Stitching

AND all things Zen
What is Zen
ZenDoodle, ZenArt, ZenPainting, ZenDrawing, ZenBroidery
 Zen and the Arts

Some of us call it creating "in the zone", that place where we become completely  focused and absorbed in the moment and the process.

That's what happened when I started doing eggheads. No idea what I was going to paint or do, just started playing. Before I knew it I'd been in the studio 3 hours.

Art As Meditation

In 2009 Time Article reported on a study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology showing that Doodling Helps You Pay Attention. Psychologist Jackie Andrade explains why it aids memory. 

ZenStitching

In the background you can see part of an  embroidery  QR Code I'm working on for my graffiti girl piece. I really go into a meditative state when embroidering, fully in the moment and enjoying each stitch. I found this interesting book (Sewing...The Alternative Yoga) that talks about the health benefits of meditative practices, such as sewing.

Where the Hate Bones Lurk

© 2011 corrine bayraktaroglu 
All Rights Reserved  

haunted

Miniature Cat Embroidery and Cat Stuff

 © 2011 corrine bayraktaroglu  All Rights Reserved  
Purr-Fur

 This is my 2"x 3" embroidery for the upcoming miniature show at IN A FRAME in June.  It's based on a photograph and pattern overlay using Adobe. I keep meaning to paint it one of these years, ahem!

CAT STUFF
Couldn't resist sharing this

About Sphynx Cats

Not enough room to swing a cat,(not a real cat

The ancient Egyptians shaved their eyebrows to mourn the death of cats and did you know outside the town of Beni Hasan  eighty thousand cat mummies, dating to 1000-2000 BCE were buried. Cats in Ancient Egypt

Graffiti Girl Embroidery

hand embroidery on linen,acrylic paint, fabric pen, beads embroidery floss

long & short stitches, satin stitch,

Phew!

It's finished, well all except HOW I'm going to hang it. I'm leaning towards stretching it over an oval panel rather than just hanging loosely on a wall. I'm thinking of the contrast between graffiti going up fast and being ephemeral and hand embroidery being slow and meant to last. It's based on a painting of my daughter that is part of the JafaWorkz Collective Project.

The large black areas are all hand stitched with one strand of embroidery floss. I particularly enjoyed the challenge of mixing the paint and embroidery on the eyes.

copyright ©2011 Corrine Bayraktaroglu aka Jafabrit All rights Reserved

All About Liz

"The Liz Taylor Paintings of Kathe Burkhart: Picturing the Trials and Tribulations of a Proto-Feminist"

Huffington Post Article

About Kathe Burkhart and "The Bitch is Back: An Interview with Kathe Burkhart"

PHEW!

When I did this I was trying to hone my painting skills, so no social statement.

Oil on wood

About Elizabeth Taylor

I like this article

Julie Hinds: Taylor was so much more than just a movie star

and her sense of humour

who else would request they be late for their own funeral

 I sure liked her attitude.

Sketchbook Challenge Abstract

Thought I'd give  The Sketchbook Challenge a go, and liked the theme,out on a limb.

I find Abstract Art difficult to do,so for me to just play with paint and ink without any reference or ideas was a challenge.I can't say I am displeased :) although I am no Robert Motherwell.

I do have my favourite motherwell painting.

"Elegies for the Spanish Republic" series

Here is an interesting interview with Robert Motherwell

Spooky Tree

Yellow Springs, Ohio

This has to be one of the spookiest trees, which I call the dragon tree. I always love passing it and today was such a beautiful day I had to stop and take a pic.

Where is Artist Ai Weiwei?

About Ai Weiwei

His detention in China causes global concern

Eyeteeth Journal has some updates

meanwhile back in my comfy chair
I crochet, I sew, I paint
and
I share something I made during the first months of the Iraq war when anyone dissenting was accused of being traitors,unamerican,etc.

freedom means nothing without dissent

Defending Dissent

Arts Advocacy Day

Information about Arts Advocacy Day from Americans for the Arts

Research and Information

I often hear or read people say we don't need art, but it permeates and shapes our lives  in ways we don't immediately think of.

As Ellen Dissanayake states: "Art-making evolved as a behavior that contained advantages for human survival-and those advantages went far beyond what Charles Darwin ever imagined."

Almost Done

Just need to add some seed beads to the red parts of the panel. This is a mixture of black embroidery thread (long & short stitch), acrylic paint and fabric markers on linen.

woo hoo! nearly finished.

okay now I can start on the NEXT one.

Just do it

"Stitch-Marks"

 

Originally I had planned on doing all black for the hair, but somehow I felt the need to leave out some areas. I guess I was thinking about how  graffiti paint wears out and  exposes the wall underneath. Yes, all that black is hand stitched and is long and short stitch, and yes EEEEEK!!!!!

I love this attitude and Invoking the Siren on Victoria Payne's blog. So many people are creatively crushed by the opinions, snobbery, critisism of others, or self doubt.

Elsbeth Etty: Art & its Contraints 

Are You An Art Snob?


Censhorship in the News:
Maine: Judy Taylor murals ordered removed by Gov. Lepage because he thinks they are too one sided.Story Here

Censored Smithsonian Hide/Seek show Brooklyn Museum Bound

Gainesville State College President Censors Faculty Art Critical of Confederate Heritage

Ganguro Girls

I didn't until I was exploring the Museum of Art and Design online and came across program presentaton called  Ecastatic Skin.

image by alex de carvalho

So what is Ganguro.

Found this mag *make up how to* on a Gyaru site.

Dolly gets it