Thursday, October 8, 2009

Create.


Simple as that :~)

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Wedding Cake Toppers!

Congrats Heather & Bill in Denver :~)

Here's a recent custom request from Etsy....
I was asked to sculpt wedding cake toppers based off of these US Postal Service 'Love' stamps:


Fun! Here's the king & queen I came up with:




.......details, details.



.....and a photo from the wedding! ©ericbakken.com

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Figure Drawing at the Essex


Another figure drawing session tonight. Same gal as last time.
I feel like I'm getting the hang of it!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Figure Drawing Night!


My first time bringing a darker paper & white pencil! I enjoyed that combo.
Her head looks really small now that I am stepping back from this....

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

I'm Still Here!/Figure Drawing

Hey, people!
I'm sorry it's been quiet on here for soooooo long! I've been swamped with all kinds of NON-creative things, moved back up to Ohio (temporarily, to be with family) and working a *ton* of hours in addition to my freelance. I've been getting so many comments about my blog--as in, when are you going to start posting again??! We're sick of looking at cupcakes! :~o

So, here we go :~)


Tonight I went to a new figure drawing group for the first time! It was so good!
It was at Manifest in Cincinnati. Manifest Gallery
This model had a very interesting, weathered face.

More posts to come soon..... I have Etsy orders I'm finishing up, and new illustrations that I can share very soon!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Garden Cupcakes!

I know this isn't really illustration related...but it was so artsy & creative I had to share with you. My sisters and I put on a Cupcake Decoration Day for the kids...it was a blast!
Here's a million pics....

Freshly baked Devil's Food cupcakes...


Mixing the frosting.


Paper cones of frosting all ready to go!


Starting a piped-frosting flower. Step 1: Put a dot of frosting on your decorating nail.


Step 2: Put a square of parchment on your nail. (secured with that frosting.)


Step 3: Pipe a petal.


Step 4: Pipe more petals.


Step 5: Embellish.


Step 6: Embellish more if you like :~)


Here's a view of some of my roses.


I've got a whole bunch of flowers finished...and some heads of cabbage & carrots, too. Off to the freezer to harden up nicely.


Everyone working away on their cupcakes... Those cupcakes peel right off their paper backing when frozen, and only take a minute or two to thaw out.


They're looking good! (Oreo crumbles for dirt...chocolate-covered sunflower seeds for extra detail.)


Little Max gets help from Daddy. What are you two designing???


A few of our finished gardens... they didn't last too long :~)

We got this idea from this book: Hello, Cupcake! It's full of really unique ideas.... check it out!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Winged Creatures

Here's a close-up look on a new piece I made for Kulture Klash this weekend. I'll post more of my work from the show soon...lots of photos to go through!


My butterflies all framed & ready to go!


Here is the first step: bug bodies on a baking sheet. (Gross thought, eh?)




Waiting for the glue to dry...


I used some handmade copper headpins I purchased on Etsy as antennae. I've been saving them for jewelry, but they fit in so perfectly with my bugs! Those wings were cut out from a vellum print.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Still here!


I'm still here! I'm a bad blogger, though.
I've been busy working on clay pieces for Kulture Klash 4.... I'll show them to you when they're all ready! This little insect will be included :~)

Sunday, March 29, 2009

the Little Blue Penguin.


My very first mixed-media shadowbox!







Friday, March 27, 2009

Shop Talk


It's been forever since I've updated my Etsy shop... but I've been restocking tonight.
This creature is listed ;~)

polymerpaws.etsy.com

Monday, March 16, 2009

Addison


Somebody I work with was obviously not acting like himself the past few days... and I found out what was going on. He said his yellow lab mix, Addison, was hit by a car last weekend, and didn't make it. He was soooo upset by this, and told me all about what a good dog she was, and what she meant to him! He showed me pics of her on his phone.... and I sculpted this little angel as soon as I got home. I hope it helps a little :~/
That story touched me so much, I hugged my Terra extra long when I got home from work that night.

Friday, March 13, 2009

What the Folk??!


Whoo hoo! I'm very proud to have had my Conchords piece featured on WhatTheFolk.net! (That's the official fan/info site for the band. Wow, they have a serious cult following!!)

Friday, March 6, 2009

Finished!


Here's the final Flight of the Conchords illustration.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

...almost done!


We're getting there! This photo shows an additional 5 hours of work. I packed up all my clay & tools and sat at City Lights Cafe the whole day! I suppose I had coffee for lunch :~)
I'm going to add a few more details I think? Maybe some brighter greens to Bret's merman tail. I'll break out the tripod & photo box for a quality photo of the finished sculpt tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Flight of the Conchords


...in progress!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Flight of the Conchords


I'm working on a personal piece now... a portrait of my favorite nerdy folk-singing comedy duo from New Zealand: HBO's Flight of the Conchords! I'd really love to work on more celebrity/editorial illustration like this, so why not give art directors a little sample? This is my beginning sketch. I've combined the guys with two of my favorite songs from Season 1-- 'Mermaids,' and 'Robots.'


So far I have Bret & Jemaine's heads finished!

...so, you've never seen the show? Well, here's a snippet:

...more clay soon!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Crazy Creatures


I'm thinking about making a whole mess of these polymer clay guys for the Kulture Klash show in about a month... time to get sculpting!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Fat Tuesday!


Nothing too serious today! ...just a clay doodle of my favorite subject.
Looks like I'll have a spot at the next Kulture Klash in April!! I'm getting excited thinking about the artsy possibilities....
Check out last November's event: Kulture Klash 3

Monday, February 23, 2009

Aw, man! More sketches??


...that's right, more sketches. I think I have enough ideas down now, that I can start with the clay :~)
More to post soon!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

the Sketching Sketcher.


No clay today, but I certainly got my sketch on! I think I had more fun with my random doodling than what I set out to brainstorm on. ...but that's okay with me.
I know caviar and bananas is a very odd combination, but check out THIS place!:
Caviar & Bananas
...amazing!! It was my first time there, but not the last.


Later on in the day I went to City Lights Cafe on Market St.... and would rather sketch all the colorful ceramics I was given instead of my future sculpture.


...finally got to what I set out to do, but it's only a tiny thumbnail. Trying to figure out a fun way to convey "forbidden fruit" and I was thinking it would be great to make the fruit cacao. (although, I know this is not how cacao grows on trees.... the pods are larger, and they grow up the trunks. I'll work on that!)


Also:

I left my favorite ring in the restroom!!! Took it off to wash my hands & left it on the sink :~(
Cross your fingers I get it back tomorrow!!
It's a sea urchin from fellow Etsyian StaroftheEast