Paint box 2021

I never really talked about this but I DID A PUBLIC MURAL LAST SUMMER! This is my first project under my name for the city and I was super proud to work on it! I was hoping to meet some other artists in the area but I didn’t see many people out. Last time I worked on a paintbox project, I was assisting my friend Perla Mabel while watching another friend, Naija Nine work across the street. I did however meet someone from the committee who put the program together! In their Call to Artists, they featured me working on my box along with other completed projects. Got a good Twitter shout out too!

I worked on it quite early so I could finished before taking a few summer getaway trips. It took a total of 2 days. I was practically done the first day but stepping back, I wanted to add more dimension with the tones. Here’s what my original sketch looked like: close to the original but really just inspiration for what would occur once I started working.

These are the final images 😊 Much more vibrant and deep in the way that the waves pop! I also snuck a cute little heart in my design too! I made a little reel working on it here! If you are in the Savin Hill, Boston area, go check it out right next to the Harp + Bard Restaurant

If you visit, PLEASEEEE take pics! I would love to see you in the neighborhood 😊 but until then,

I’ll talk to y’all soon,

E

Closing the year on a high note

There a lot to be said for how this year has played out but I’d just like to stop and appreciate the fact that everyone tried their hardest this year. Perseverance at its greatest and y’all deserve a round of applause. Even if you couldn’t do everything you set out to do this year, I’m proud of what you were able to accomplish no matter how trivial. We deserve a pat on the back for making it through a fairly chaotic year. I’ve tried to keep my spirits high regardless so I took a bit of time to myself.

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I’ve been away cranking out work of various kinds. Crocheting sweaters, oil painting for (almost) the first time, and vlogging to the best of my abilities. I also managed to total my laptop trying to keep my plants healthy. She needed a reset and refresh, same goes for me 😅 I’m gearing up for the new year and trying to improve my personal practices as well as work practices. Creating comforting space has been part of it so I have been doing small home improvements like hanging paintings and cleaning my family home.

BIG thanks to everyone who bought from my shop this year whether it be in person or through the site. I’m working on new launches for next year so keep your eyes peeled for new stickers and more stationary! 😏

‘Till next time: stay safe, create peace in your space and have a fantastic day!

- E

Block Printing Experiments

Hey, it’s been a tough week but a productive one for sure, I wanted to show you some of the progress I’ve been making in my printmaking class:

We started out the semester with an accordian book project! It was a fun challenge for me to figure out how I’d like to configure it and what things I thought worked and what didn’t. All of the prints are reduction prints which was a bit of a challenge because of the multiple prints but also I have a printing press at home to ensure the best printing of the image so it was all done by wooden spoon. Honestly, it was quite fun just to play around with it and layer it. I did 4 layers of transparent black to create this lovely image of my window throughout the summer. It reminds me of hopefulness, the sun’s warmth and prosperity but then I displace it by adding these heavy contrast image of what the world looked like to me in the realm of social issues. This for me hopefully questions the complicated feelings that come about as one makes choices about what emotion they choose to honor or acknowledge.

As much as i love how it came out, there are some major things I would change about it:

1. Better images for the photographs - These are super badly printed images of places I had experienced during the summer while still under quaratine. (I only travelled to D.C. which you can check out in this post)

2. Better glueing or generally different medium - I feel like this would make much better for a zine if I were to document other peoples spaces and the particular issues that they are concerned with

3. A whole new selection of poetry: Yeah, I’m not much of a poet but I love prose. I’d love to find some poetry or some writing that compliments the message a bit better or that illuminates the issues that arise with the image. I might rewrite them but I feel like choosing a work that moves me might be more fun even though it takes more time.

I feel like so much has happened since this project, it felt refreshing to start another print making project. I spent the past 3-4 weeks working on 2 print projects one of which I would also really love to do as a book. This one was the real experiment because while making it I really changed the way that I saw my own actions while working on it. It’s narrative, it’s simple and colorful but still dark and goes through a transformation that I feel in a way everyone has had to go through this year.

Focused on Opportunity

I’m feeling surprisingly motivated and attentive as I feel out what I want to do with my time. From joining a lovely skate group to going to my first protest, some new opportunities have presented themselves to me in ways I could never imagine. I’ve decided that they are still a secret but I also want to speak them into existence. There’s nothing wrong with being passionate about many things, that applies to life and to art as well.

I went out to the Raynham Flea Market and I was able to score some expired 120 Kodak film from WW2. I desperately want to play with and share to explore whatever I get and work it into a collage or some other project that yields itself to me. Other projects I’m working on is making gifs for instagram for playing around on my stories and for others to use if they like. It’s underrated and fun. It’s also a good step in the right direction if animation is my next goal in the digital area. Block printing is still on my radar though so I went ahead and redecorated some stained jeans with the stamps I made. It was relaxing and made me aware of the fact I could design prints in that way for myself without a manufacturer. The hands on process is the most important part to me or else it feels like it’s not my work.

I’m focused on building myself and those around me and now’s time before it gets too cold, before people lose steam (though many have already), before it’s not our biggest issue anymore. I’m taking a lesson from my cat to just do, and ask questions later or as I go along. He gets in trouble for it way more often than I do but it’s paying off. I’m considering it personal and professional development. Anyway,

Hoping for greatness ahead for all of us,

Erica ✌🏾