Quick Sketch Video
This is from my appearance on OPB Television's "Oregon Art Beat," originally filmed August 1, 2006. It's a clip from a brief interview showing me doing a quick drawing. The film is sped up, of course, but the actual drawing time was around 20-30 minutes, to give you an idea. (The drawing is from the wonderful book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.)
December 09, 2008 | Comments (0)
How do you keep it from erasing?
This is the most common question I get about my Etch-a-Sketch art: how do I keep it from erasing? What happens if I shake it? I do address it briefly in my FAQ but my technique has changed since I wrote that. I was tipped off by Etcha, a fellow Etch-a-Sketcher, that Ohio Arts will sell unassembled Etch-a-Sketches, which makes it easier to eliminate all the excess powder and preserves the Etch-a-Sketch. (I've also been told, after I had ordered a case, that they no longer do this, so I may have only a limited number of pieces I can do using this technique.)
Here's a photo tour of my process.
The first step is to coat the glass with the aluminum powder. This is the messiest part, of course, but I want to be sure to have enough powder to completely coat the glass. I do this over my "working" Etch-a-Sketch so that most of the excess goes into the Etch-a-Sketch and not all over the workspace.
After the glass is sufficiently coated, I fit the red frame on and put knobs on, and do my drawing as usual.
Here you can see the completed drawing to the left. I'm preparing the clean Etch-a-Sketch on the right. It's not pictured, but I remove the knobs and frame from the completed drawing.
After removing the knobs and outer red frame, there's a brown inner frame that holds the glass. I remove this and pull out the stylus mechanism and strings so that turning the knobs won't draw any more lines. The brown frame is then replaced. I take the glass (with the completed drawing) from the working Etch-a-Sketch. As you can see from the last photo, the working Etch-a-Sketch is entirely coated in powder and the brown inner frame appears silver.
I carefully transfer the glass to the clean Etch-a-Sketch and set it in place, and then clean the outside of the glass of any stray powder.
I replace the clear plastic protective sheet over the glass. Then I superglue the red frame on, and then the knobs. After clamping the entire assembly together to allow the glue to dry, the Etch-a-Sketch is a permanent piece of art. (I also screw in some rings for picture wire on the back for hanging.) Voila! An Etch-a-Sketch drawing you can shake without fear of erasure.
Thanks to Ian Thompson for taking these photos during PULSE 2008.
November 13, 2008 | Comments (0)
PULSE 2008
I had a great time Etch-a-Sketching at PULSE this year, using my new technique which involves transferring the glass with the drawing on it into a brand-new, not-yet-assembled Etch-a-Sketch. I'll post some photos of the process later on, but for now you can take a look at the three pieces I completed for the auction: Yes We Can, I Left My Heart in Portland, and Made in Oregon.
If you're visiting my website for the first time, welcome and feel free to check out the links to the right. If you start with "About Rainy Bay Art" you'll see some new links appear at the top with notes about various things.
Update 11.19.08: Over $95K was raised at PULSE this year for the Children's Heart Foundation! It was great to be a small part of that.
November 11, 2008 | Comments (0)
Previously:
I Left My Heart in PortlandYes We Can
Made in Oregon
More archive options are available in the sidebar to the right.
