tartx

Carousel Americana – click for Supersize

This is one of the projects I have been working on over the past month the print is now in the shop. This piece was commissioned for a project that I can not spill the beans about yet. The Carousel is pieced together from old etchings and then colored in Photoshop. After finishing the piece I thought these winged horses would make fabulous Photoshop brushes. They are on the big side as this piece is just shy of 4 gigabytes. I did size the horses down a tad to make the brushes but they are still pretty big. However, I figure you can shrink them down easier than you can enlarge them.

I whipped out a quick set so help yourself – click on the picture for the download. These were made in CS3. I own all the images – of course use them for whatever you want. Commercial, not commercial, credit me, don’t credit me it is all good with me. thumb

It has just been a whirlwind these past few months. Lately, packing is taking about 6-8 hours a day. Which is kind of fun – I usually just jam out to music or listen to books on tape. My last book was Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. I adore his TV series No Reservations on the Travel channel. If you have not seen it before I highly recommend it! Anyway, the book is fabulous – sort of a cross between a memoir and a behind-the-scenes expose of the restaurant kitchen business. He is a great writer and his baritone voice is just right for an audio book. He is funny, irreverent, mildly obscene and crass with quite a big dash of humility. So as I listen to that I pack. . .spicing the packages up with freebies and stickers, etc. Which just makes packing more fun. However, packing tape is always so dull – I have come across a few nice ornamental tapes but I wanted my own. I went ahead and designed some and had a case of it made. Here is a piece of it on black paper – is it not just so cool?

My show at The Boulder Library is still up for a few more days. (I also have the art vending machine there).

November 30-January 6— Legends, Myths and Fanciful Tales Retold (Work by Tiffini Elektra X)
Public Reception: Friday, November 30, 5-7 p.m. in the Canyon Gallery

I am so very excited about it and will definitely post pictures and everything. I am really looking forward to showing some of my new pieces printed with my new Epson 7800 large format printer. It is the most amazing thing. . .ever! An early xmas present lets just say. There is just something so cool about seeing some of these pieces so huge! I just love it and I will be adding large prints to the shop soonish. I am not much for rolling a print up in a tube so I spent quite a lot of time investigating the best methods. I finally have that all narrowed down and I am waiting for my special packing materials so they can ship very well protected and flat.

Before I go a couple of links to suggest:

Trunkt, a juried shopping guide to independent artists and designers. This gorgeous site is so filled with amazing talent and creativity. You can sign up for a free wish list account and rate portfolios and things like that. I am still working on my portfolio it is listed under tartx
I definitely recommend checking it out – just a ton of inspiring beautiful items.

Jenny Hart’s interview at VenusZine. I thought this was just great. It really just summarizes what it takes to start and keep a business going. (This is only the first installment as well – can not wait for more!)

Have a fabulous rest of the week! I will be visiting soon. . .now that the holidays are over. . . I will finally have some free time! Xo Tiffini

I have had the most lovely month off from zee blog. It has just been a frickin’ lovely summer. I have been preparing for a couple of art shows. Ignoring the computer as much as possible. Now I am back on “the internets”. . .a bazillion bloggies to visit. Fall just around the corner. Halo 3 on the way. . . It just does not get better.

After seeing the illio friday topic Visitors it just seemed like a good idea to just take a day, sit down and do a piece. I dig this girl anyway. I used her on this light box and have always wanted to extract her from that old cabinet card. It could still use some work but I am really liking the direction the piece is going. I love the thought of these characters from various fairy-tales living in a perpetual state of wanting to relive their big moment. . .the 15 min of fame – if you will. Always on the lookout for another child to come around and play.

^{Recruiting A New Alice} – illio friday topic Visitors – Click for Super-size.

Also – in my time off “In This House” came out.

Oh I am so happy with it – dang Angela and Sarah did a fantastic job. My work is showcased through Chapter11. My inspiration came from Carmilla, the fantastic short story of a female vampire by J. Sheridan LeFanu. Illustrating the story with old etchings and antique engravings. If you have never read the story – you should it is so fantastic.

You can even download it for free. . although I am not much for reading a whole book on the computer myself. More of a tactile thing reading is – I think.

Oh and speaking of those fabulous gals (Ang and Sarah) they also have a new zine out. It is such a cool format 8.5 x 8.5. I love that size! It came out just so wonderfully. Glossy pages full of fabulous art. I am also honored to be the first artist interview in their new venture. You know, I am so impressed with what I have seen from lulu so far. I also have a friend who used them to put out her own book. Anyway, for anyone looking for a way to self publish something. . scope out lulu.

Well, making this short and sweet. I do have some fun freebies coming soon – just was not ready yet. However, I am back in the swing of things so I will be seeing you very soon. Xo