"The child is so sweet, and the girls are so rapturous. Isn't it lovely how artists can capture us?" -Sunday In The Park With George

Hey all you crazy (two) followers!

Here is a project I recently completed for CFC (Concept, Form, and Context) Culture*.

If you plan on viewing this piece as it is meant to be viewed, stop reading here! This artist's statement (of sorts) is a total spoiler. In fact, the piece would probably do better in an old, dusty church library somewhere to be picked up by an unsuspecting school girl in a moment of curiosity (what? who says that?).

*I had to make this blog for class, hence all the boring in-progress stuff...I mean, really interesting and beneficial in-progress stuff. (Hey, Andy!) Supposedly I'll thank him for this later. [I probably will.]



Basically it's a book of "bible quotes" which are really not bible quotes at all. It is meant as a commentary on religion's emphasis on text and how followers of those texts can rarely distinguish them from any other religion's doctrine. I wanted to call into question: what is the purpose of subscribing to texts we know very little about? Also, how easily can one religion's core values be substituted for another's?



I hand stitched the book's pages as well as its binding. The creamy off-white color is closer to the actual color, but the flash pictures gave me higher text resolution. Go figure. Above I'm holding the pages upright to glue them onto the backing.



I tried some calligraphy with my new flat-tipped marker. It's really fun, but I didn't end up using it for the piece. I also discovered that my Hebrew calligraphy is much better than my English.




The quotes come from all over including chinese proverbs, famous politicians, the Quran, the Talmud, and pop song lyrics to name a few.



There is only one quote in the whole book that is really from the Bible and that is "The truth shall set you free". I also made the registered offices of the publishers located on Emett Drive (Hebrew for truth) for another hidden clue for the reader. The piece was a success in critique, as people had a hard time figuring out which quotes they recognized from the Bible, and were shocked to find out there was only one true Bible quote!

On a completely unrelated note, if you have any interest in what I'm inspired by these days, check out Robert Crumb and Aline Kominsky Crumb. Pretty crude stuff, but I love their honesty, playfulness, and drawing styles.


Eliana

"Summertime, and the livin' is easy" -Gershwin

This summer, in addition to my regular schedule of working out followed by waiting tables for impatient Israelis (where I was also fed heaping piles of shnitzel*, prompting me to work out again the next day), I worked on a number of art projects. Doing art in the summer is one of the easiest and hardest things to do. It's so much fun, because there is no pressure, no rules, and no real boundaries. On the other hand, you can do ANYTHING, which (for me, at least) means starting a million things and forgetting about them. In this post I'll be showing you my finished work, and maybe I'll whip out the in-progress stuff (which mainly exists at home or on paper in the form of half-baked ideas) another time.

*boneless chicken breast that has been breaded and fried to perfection (in this case, prepared in a pita with chummus**, matbucha*** and egg salad by yours truly)

**oh, just look it up
***really, look it up, it's amazing



My first major project of the summer, I like to call sidewalk shalk (get it, like shock, but spelled like chalk!) mostly because of people's reactions as they passed by my driveway. My brother, Yoni, and I spent an afternoon using up almost an entire bucket of chalk (not an easy feat!)

The drawing literally took up half of my driveway (note the car to scale) and by the end I was completely covered in chalk. I have to say, drawing on the ground is not as easy as it seems, and if nothing else I gained a lot more respect for Jackson Pollock.




I mean, it was summer, after all.











So, with fall rolling around any minute, I was getting increasingly excited to move into my apartment. In addition to upcycled Goodwill finds and vintage pieces, I wanted something I could completely call my own to adorn the drab space. I decided on throw pillows.

Gathering fabrics from garage sale clothes, scraps from fabric stores, and old craft projects, I plotted out my designs. I tried to make them versatile enough that they would match at least something in my apartment no matter what.



The musician cartoon/primary color striped fabric I picked up from my favorite vintage shop in Ann Arbor.








My mom helped me hand sew the
fourth edges to save on time.
Isn't she cute?













My friend Becky and I bought some 9 dollar (surprisingly comfortable!) sneakers from target and a huge pack of sharpies to decorate for a fun summer project. In the end I ended up making the shoes for Becky, and my friend Saul (her brother) ended up making mine.






I really wanted to keep them for myself at this stage, especially since Becky and I wear the same size.







I originally gave them to her like this, but she wanted more detail, and she wanted to wear them like slip-ons without the laces (these shoes are awesome. seriously: target.)



The bleed quality of the sharpies on canvas was really fun to play with, and the finished product came out pretty sweet. I finished them up with a coat of acrylic sealer. If you want some leave a comment and/or let me know! I'm currently working on my third pair, and I'll post pictures whenever those are finished.

"Because You're Worth It" and "Because We're Worth It Too"-L'oreal, L'oreal Kids

Howdy!
This blog is for my art. It's for the people, places, and events that inspire it. It's for brainstorming, a good laugh, and a way for you, my (probably only) faithful reader (hi, mom) to know what I'm up to. Here's to (hopefully!) regular blog posts, and meaningful artwork.
Y'all come back now, ya hear?

XO,
Eli