Willa T-shirt

I have never been a big fan of reality TV until Project Runway came along. It’s a show where aspiring designers compete for a chance to start their own line. I love it because it puts the focus on talent and not dirty tricks. All the players bring something of value to the table.

I love seeing what the designers wear because I know that it’ss an expression of their personal style and creativity. With CafePress being brought to the forefront again, I’ve got it in my head that I should wear something to the party that I’ve created myself. Maybe a design on a black t-shirt would work. My Geek has prompted me to design something for DroolontheFrog. I need to get some pictures of our dog, Willa. Maybe I’ll turn her into a superstar.

Research

With 27 days until the Sponsor/Artist Party (yes, I’m counting), I have to do something with all this energy. In the original design phase I had so little time I couldn’t do research on my ideas. Surely I can find iridescent acrylic paint. I spent most of this holiday weekend researching. If you ever have any questions about online art supplies, just ask. I spent almost two days comparing prices and products. Part of the purpose of this blog is to share my products, process and experimentation with you. Maybe it will be useful.

We get a stipend of $275. I want to stretch that as far as I can (which is pretty far). I don’t think it will be a problem to get everything I need with it. My design is mostly paint and jewel embellishments. I badly need some paint brushes.

I was surprised, but DickBlick really has the best overall rating from me:
(S = Selection, P = Price, I = Information, W = Web site, U = Shipping)

1. DickBlick.com (S=1, P=1, I=1, W=1, U=2)
   
2. CheapJoes.com (S=3, P=3, I=2, W=2, U=1)
   
3. JerrysArtarama.com (S=2, P=2, I=4, W=4, U=4)
   
4. PearlPaint.com (S=4, P=4, I=3, W=3, U=3)
   

In 2001, there were no art supply stores here except for the general chains like AC Moore and Michaels. I was stunned. I thought a town with several colleges and universities around would have at least one art supply store.

I was thrilled when Mona Lisa Art Supply came to Clemmons. I like supporting local businesses so I will buy everything I can there. Larry runs a great store and also offers classes. Check it out.

This weekend I mainly researched options for creating an iridescent affect. I want the entire dog form to be an iridescent white. Additionally, I thought some select colors in the design could also be iridescent. All colors in the design should be opaque; I don’t want any of the white base color to show through.

I was able to find an iridescent white paint and even some iridescent acrylic mediums. I really have no idea how much paint it will take to completely coat the form. A concern with metallics is whether they can hold up under 3 months of summer sun. All the products I mention specifically say they are light-fast.

Another option I thought of is painting the entire design and then painting the entire form with one of the iridescent mediums. I have a couple of reservations about this idea. One, I don’t think I want the entire piece to be iridescent, just the base coat. Two is that these iridescent mediums may not be transparent enough and could kill the vibrant colors I’m going to use. Hmm.

Here are some of the options I found for iridescent acrylics:

Cryla Pearlescent Tinting Medium – gives a shimmering pearlescent metallic luster when mixed with pure color. On its own, it dries to an off-white pinkish color.

Liquitex Iridescent/Pearlescent Tinting Medium – produces a range of iridescent or metallic colors when mixed with acrylic color. Color will become more transparent as more medium is added. Color become more iridescent upon drying. On its own it produces a Mother of Pearl color.

Pebeo Iridescent Gel – can be used alone or mixed with transparent colors to give pearlized or iridescent reflections.

Pebeo Interferance Gold – mix with transparent colors for a pearlized effect.

Lascaux Perlacryl – iridescent acrylic colors. 16 hues.

What to Wear

On this same weekend I began talking with My Geek about the Sponsor/Artist party. I am very excited about a party to kick off this project. It’s so appropriate. And I can’t wait to meet OLA!

My Geek happens to be very capable when it comes to fashion. We bounced around several ideas and finally landed on a pair of black cowboy boots from Nine West and a great pair of extra long, well distressed jeans from Maurices. I own a fabulous black duster jacket I got from The Limited. I hope it goes with jeans. Add a simple white shirt and I think we have it.

But I get home with the booty (pun intended) and the white shirt looks terrible. How can this be? It’s so basic. Now what? What’d I give for some fashion advice. I wonder if anyone from Project Runway has a blog.

My Sponsor - OLA

My Geek and I didn’t go anywhere for Christmas this year. I only had one day off from work. That didn’t give us enough time to go to Texas much less to Nashville. Although we will miss our families, we also really enjoy having this time together.

I was elated to receive a note from Colleen:

“Dear Rhonda: Congratulations on having your beautiful design selected by OLA for our Art Unleashed project. The folks at OLA really loved your concept and are hoping the you can choose a green that will closely match their business card, which I have enclosed. You do not have to change your palette or add any additional green. They are simply hoping that the green you do choose to use closely resembles that in your sketch and their card. Looking forward to meeting you at our party on Jan. 19. Colleen Weiss, Director”

OLA has a great business card and the green almost matches exactly what I’m using in my design. And now I have more clues about OLA!

OLA Design Works.
Orbit. Live. Art.
Design for Print and Web.
www.oladesignworks.com

They’re still a mystery, though. Right now their web site only has a home page with no links. Sneaky, sneaky. Guess I’ll have to wait for the party to get to know them. I can’t wait.

A Call!

I had just pulled into the parking lot of the rehab center when my phone rang. It was the FHS. It took me so off guard I can’t even tell you who it was on the phone. I was so stunned. She said that my design had been picked and she was calling to congratulate me.

My sponsor is OLA. I’ve never heard of them but I thought she said “OLA design” something. Cool! A design company picked me! That’s infinitely flattering. I pride myself at being able to find almost anything on the internet but I couldn’t find anything about OLA. All I knew is they might be designers and the color green that I used in my design was the same as their logo. Hmm.

I’m giddy; excited beyond comprehension! The time between now and getting the form and starting to paint will be like waiting for Christmas when I was 10. I’m nervous; I’m scared; I’m elated.

Cafe Press - So the Desgin May Live

My Geek forwarded me a link to CafePress several months ago. I played with it a little bit but, as with most new design resources, I just didn’t have time to explore it. But it seemed like a fabulous tool.

CafePress allows anyone to design graphics for products like t-shirts and coffee mugs. If I want the picture of my dog on a mouse pad, all I have to do is put the picture into the right format, upload it to CafePress’ site and voila. You think that’s great? Here’s the pièce de résistance. There’s no minimum order. You can order one mouse pad and never order again.

But there’s more. CafePress allows you to set up your own store. You can create your own product lines and use e-mail, blogs and your personal web sites to link to your store. This is one of the avenues I can use to bring my design to life. I have an idea for a t-shirt. I’ll have to look to see if any of the other products inspire me. I think I’ll set up a store but I’m not going to spend a lot of time marketing. I’m not out to make money, just create.

Deadline & No Call

Well, the deadline came and went and I wasn’t called. My design was not picked. I wonder why? Maybe they didn’t receive enough sponsors for the number of designs that were submitted. Well-known artists in town were probably able to obtain their own sponsors. Maybe it was hard for the sponsors to visualize the final form because I didn’t finish coloring the example. If I’d only had more time.

Sometimes I enter art competitions and pray I won’t get selected. I’m either intimidated by the company my art will be in or I’m not confident enough that I can execute my idea. That wasn’t the case here. I was so excited about my design and process. So excited that I decided to not let the design die but bring it to life - somewhere. The process was not a loss. I gained something.

Now I can look forward to the FHS Pet Parade on April 29. I hope the they have a hugely successful campaign.