Art Journal (?) Page

Art Journal page - 10-2009
Originally uploaded by Skelekitty (Krissi Sandvik)

Here's a finished drawing from my sketchbook. I hesitate to call it actual art journaling since what I do seems pretty far from how people define it these days. This page, like the others in my Moleskine artist journal, has no implied "message."  Mostly I just use it for ideas, practice and studies .

Still, here's a completed page from my sketchbook.

One Whole Year

One year ago today, Ron and I were found by a cute little Jack Russell Terrier while hiking in one of California's many state parks.  We were smitten by the time we got to the end of the trail even though she was skinny, covered in ticks and smelled horrible.  You could tell she knew she'd hit the jackpot when we invited her to come home with us, ticks, stink and all.

Abby - right after she found us

On the way home, the plan was for her to sleep in the back yard. When we arrived at the house, we figured she could sleep in a kennel in the garage. By the time we'd cleaned her up and fed her, she had a reservation on the bed.

Abby's first week at home

Neither Ron nor I had ever had a dog before.  Now we wonder aloud and on a regular basis how we EVER lived without one.  She's such a happy little dog now, and very VERY sweet and gentle (weird for a JRT, but we're thrilled to have gotten so lucky).   She has also learned to NOT chase the kitties (even when they really deserve it). 

Abby - now

Heart Song (donation)

Heart Song (donation)
Originally uploaded by
Skelekitty (Krissi Sandvik)

This piece was finished in a record three days (that's like a land speed record using my usual painting techniques), but it was totally worth it!  "Heart Song" has been created for Vox Gallery's November 2009 (Sacramento, CA) "Urban Landscapes" show to benefit the Byron Blackburn memorial scholarship fund.

Saturday, November 14th, 6-10pm
(music @ 7, drawing @ 9:45pm)
Vox Gallery
1931 H Street
(inside The Urban HIVE)
Sacramento, CA
This event is free and open to the public

This 9x12" pyrography & mixed media piece on wood is valued at $100, but  anyone could win it for as little as $5!  There will be a "wish bowl" for each of the donated services, goods and art.  You decide how many tickets to purchase and how to distribute them (or just put them all in one bowl!)  So show up, buy some tickets and cross your fingers!


For those who are unfamiliar, Byron was a local musician, great guy and husband of a good friend, Sacramento artist, Kathy Blackburn.  Byron passed away on September 18, 2009, following a long and determined battle with sarcoma.

Shortly after Byron's death, musician and artist friends got together and asked what they could do to remember his life.  Due to the combined efforts of Sacramentans Ross Hammond (jazz, soul and rock guitarist), Evie Turner (visual artist and marketing professional) and Kathy Blackburn (artist and teacher), with help from many others,"Byron Blackburn, A Celebration of Life" raised nearly $3,000 at Beatnik Studios in October for a scholarship fund created in his name. This scholarship will be awarded on an annual basis to a deserving music student from the Elk Grove Unified School District where Kathy works.  The hope is that the memorial scholarship fund will eventually become self-sustaining.

Art and services for Saturday's event have generously been donated by Jared Konopitski, Jill Allyn Stafford, C!nder, Evie Turner, Krissi Sandvik, Trina Drotar, Michael Majestic, Ilsa Hess, Jim Vetter, Mariellen Layne and more.
Live music from local musician Tyson Graf begins at 7 p.m.


During the evening, VOX Sacramento will also hold their Urban Landscapes art show. Artists will include Justin Delacuesta, Cinder, Kelly O'Neill, Dylan Wells, Elizabeth Wocasek, Tom Spaulding, Dawn Blanchfield, TJ Lev, Jill Allyn Stafford, Matt Brown, Diyosa Christal, Robert Love, Curtis Carlson, Terry Tyson, James Collins, Lauren Martin, Alyson Murphy, Amy Fort, Jennifer Erin, and Luciano Noble, II.  The art on display for the Urban Landscape show will remain hanging through the end of November.


I hope to see some of you there on Saturday. Best wishes & hug your loved ones.

Additional donations can be made to the Byron Blackburn Memorial Fund at Bank of the West on J Street

New Blog Look & Other Changes

Today has been a bit of a whirlwind in the office, as opposed to the flurry of activity which usually takes place in my studio.  Earlier today on my facebook and Flickr pages, I asked folks which version of my new business cards they preferred and BOY did the opinions fly!  You know what's funny? The only difference between the two options was which direction the image was flipped.



After all of the input, I think I've made my decision to use this slightly revised version of "option one:"



Despite the many opinions coming to me via my facebook page, Flickr profile, e-mail, chats, etc., I managed to actually update this blog (you may have noticed) with the new banner and look.  I hope you like it, but, as I realized today, you'll probably tell me if you don't.  *wink*

More news!  As of last night, I have closed my stores over on Etsy and will be using Artfire exclusively for the time being.  BEFORE you ask me why I a) like AF better and b) don't like Etsy, let me assure you that composing a post on just that subject was one of the many things I was also trying to do today.  The post is forthcoming, I assure you.  In the meantime, just check out the shop, "Skelekitty and Friends (skeleton characters & fine art by Krissi Sandvik)" over on Artfire and quit asking so many questions!  LOL.


If you forget where it is or how to find the shop, there are links-a-plenty on Skelekitty's website, her blog, this blog (psst!  look at the shop thingie to your left!) and even a shopping kiosk right on my facebook page AND Skelekitty's facebook fan page. Oh, and did I mention you don't have to sign up for an account to shop? Neato, huh?

So now that my blog is updated and my business card layout is decided upon, I need to design the back of the card - sounds easy until I tell you that it's going to be Skelekitty's business card.  That means I need to create a new design and a new layout, which means new headaches.  Ugh.  Oh, and then I should probably update HER blog layout to look all nice and consistent too, huh?

Oh yeah, then I get to work on krissisandvik.com which I've been neglecting for far too long.

Back to the grind!

Best Compliment EVER

Although I show and spend a lot of time in midtown Sacramento, I actually live in an 8 home cul-de-sac in a mid-sized suburb about 30 miles east. Before you ask WTF I was thinking, we moved here for the open prairies and undeveloped space before they "improved" it all. As you might guess, since I don't -as my husband puts it- "wear the Folsom uniform," I am on the receiving end of stink-eye just for being in the eye-line of some folks in my snobby little town. However, the occasional nasty treatment only acts as a foil to the friendliness of my immediate neighbors, who are all wonderful people and, by reflection, have equally awesome kids.

Custom Kitty by Santana P.
Originally uploaded by
Skelekitty (Krissi Sandvik)

Just look what my friends and neighbors' 6th grader made for me! If you click on the photo, you can see this little foam-clay sculpture from more angles. She's such a fun kid, she also made her own "Skelekitty" costume for Halloween. These are, without a doubt, two of the highest compliments I've ever received.

Crafty Chica's Tips for Handmade Vendors

It's that gift-giving time of year again! The handmade movement and the downturn in the economy have paired up and attracted more and more holiday shoppers to craft fairs. People are looking for special gifts for their loved ones rather than just spending a large dollar amount.

For those of you who sell your handmade lovelies at this or any time of year, our pal Kathy Cano-Murillo offers you some tips for making your customers' shopping (and your selling) successful!



Diary of a Crafty Chica: Tips for crafty vendors this season!


Do you have a favorite tip that isn't included on her list? Post it here and best of luck to all of you!

Sale!

The skelefied goddess mixed-media painting on wood is home from the October Scary Art Collective show and has been relisted in my online shop.

Pieces of this size (8x10") with such a large time investment usually sell at $100, but because of the economy, I had priced this one at just under $80.  BUT WAIT!  THERE'S MORE!  To celebrate Halloween and Day of the Dead, I will reduce the price by a further 25% when you enter the code SKELEGODDESS at checkout.  The coupon is only good for this one of a kind piece, however, if she sells before All Saints Day, I'll create another special coupon for one of my original pieces.  Deal?

Here's a picture with the piece at an angle so you can see the texture effects. 

 This painting is approximately 8x10" (1/4" thick) and was created using papers, pencils, acrylic paints & mediums, and inks on wood. The entire work is sealed with a low-sheen UV protectant to keep your painting's colors vivid for years to come.

If you are interested, please visit the listing in my Artfire shop, where it is always free to shop and where you are not required to sign up for an account (like that 'other' handmade online site).

Did I mention this would make a pretty danged awesome Christmas present?

New Project - kitties (with fur, even!)

Howdy there gang!  While I constantly insist that I blog without obligation, I thought I'd apologize for being AWOL recently just the same.

Along with the usual flurry of activity that comes with the month of October -my wedding anniversary, frenzied outings before the weather turns, not to mention Halloween & Day of the Dead- I've been down and out with an ear infection that was more persistent that my Jack Russell Terrier after a ground squirrel.

The last couple of weeks have been spent sleeping, reading trashy novels and sketching for practice, so I don't have a lot to show you, but yesterday I got back to work on a commissioned piece for fellow artist Jen X of her kitties, Neptune (who has gone to The Great Kitty Beyond) and Stardust.


I had done a sketch of Stardust back at the end of August, then got focused on other projects.



Finally, yesterday I got inspired on the colors and layout of the piece for Jen, and started sketching the second kitty, Neppie.




And now, to the actual canvas I go to start the layout and sketching of the actual piece!

Oh, and by the way, Skelekitty is annoyed that I'm drawing cats with fur - as you might suspect, she prefers a little more bone showing.

Twisted Minds Think Alike

The story of "Gwen" the new American Girl doll who, as it turns out at the end of the accompanying book, is homeless, finally hit NPR last week.  After hearing people voice their opinions on what I see as a complete and total non-controversy (well, except for the $95 price-tag on the doll alone), I inevitably started thinking: you know, what images we expose our children to, what we should hide from them, what constitutes "promoting" something, blah, blah, blah...

As usual, my thoughts followed a tangential path and I came up with what I THOUGHT was a terrific idea for a painting: Teen Pregnancy Barbie. I spent quite a bit time brainstorming and sketching ideas for her clothing (hot pink half shirt with "Porn Star" in crystals). I also thought up all kinds of extras and accessories: "Baby Daddy Ken" (not included, of course), maternity prom gowns and several other things that Ron and I thought struck the perfect balance between offensively funny and socially significant.

So today, while searching the internet for pictures of Barbie's face (I don't own an actual Mattel Barbie doll - why would I?), the funny all came crashing down.

I discovered that an artist by the name of Nina Westerberg created a multimedia art project called, yep, you guessed it, "Teen Pregnancy Barbie."

Here's a link to Nina's PowerPoint presentation.

At first, I felt terribly chagrined and, for lack of a better word, "uncool" for not having known about this piece earlier.  On the other hand, I did come up with the idea independently (albeit 3+ years late), and it turned out to be one that got people pretty worked up.

This lack of knowledge about what has and hasn't been done before makes me want to take a series of art history classes - starting with the Dutch Masters and going right through to current performance, Pop Art and Low Brow stuff.  Not that such information would prevent me from making another time-consuming near mis-step, but at least I wouldn't come across as Little Miss Smugly Defensive like Kenley "but I don't look at other designers" Collins from season 5 of Project Runway.

Well, I guess that's it for today.  Back to the idea pool, I guess.

LIVE on "Live Wire" Sacramento TONIGHT

Skelekitty and I will be appearing on Live Wire (Sacramento Comcast Channel 17 or streaming online) at 5pm tonight, Wednesday, October 21st with some of the chicas from the Scary-Art Collective!

We hope you'll tune in!