Kappa “Tarot Cards”

This post is long-overdue, but I made a point to do it, better late than never.

For our KKG recruitment bid day, the theme was “Bohemian tea party,” and I received a special request for some Kappa themed tarot cards.  Tarot cards are an intricate set, which special roles and meanings for each card, so I had to take a scaled down approach.  The cards I made cannot be “read,” and they don’t really have accompanying meanings for each image.  Instead I tried to emulate the look and feel of tarot card images.

The main KKG symbols are the owl, the key, and the fleur-de-lis.  But we also have other symbols, like the iris and the sapphire.  I used these and the Greek letters, including my own chapter’s Zeta Pi.  Then I went a step further, using a little creative license to come up with some more.  For example, the keyhole came from the key, and the feather stems from the owl.  The fleur-de-lis is a mythical flower, but said to be a stylized version of the lily, so I made one of those.  So I stretched the limits of our symbols to get a substantial body of cards.  (Only just now did I realize I forgot to make one of the iris.)

To create each card I used simple 3×5 blank (on both sides) index cards.  You can get these very cheap, maybe a pack for a dollar.  I then took a handful and trimmed the corners off of each one, cutting them into rounded corners.

I unified the images by having a blue cool-tone color theme.  I also used the same watercolor and salt technique for the backgrounds of all the cards.  I quickly did random washes with different shades of blue and violet stippled onto the wet surface, followed by a sprinkling of table salt.  It’s a very unpredictable method, but very rewarding when it produces lovely results.  In addition to using table salt, I also added extra drips of water on some of the cards, while on others I used paper towels to dab the washes and selectively remove color.  All of the methods combined creates the feeling of marble.  It also reminds me of the look of a watercolor artist I greatly admire, Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.

This project was done under a time crunch, so I purposely didn’t spend too long on each card.  I tried to adapt a rapid assembly line creation process.  The drawings had to be simple yet elegant.  I used a lot of gold paint as well as some glitter to accent the cards.  As mentioned before, my primary medium was watercolors, but I also used black Staedtler pens to outline things.  I used a little bit of white crayon in some areas, to repel the watercolor washes.

While I was on a schedule to create these, I am really glad I took the project on.  Putting my perfectionistic tendencies aside and trying to adopt a more rapid and random technique was actually pretty fun.  The final deck of cards are pretty to look at and make a nice collection mounted together on the wall.

Clay Owls

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a member of the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma.  This brings with it an instant love of owls, keys, and fleur-de-lis.  Our chapter also happens to be pretty crafty.  We like to have craft nights where some of the girls get together and do craft projects.

Our most recent craft project was making miniature owls out of baking clay.  We were inspired by a picture of clay owls based on the owls of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.  I’m not sure who created the owls in the picture which originally inspired us, so I’m hesitant to post the picture without giving credit.  I can however direct you to similar clay owls I’ve found on Etsy (two shops).

Here are some owls by GryphOriginals of Etsy.

Then there are clay owls by Calicoowls of Etsy.

We figured these looked like they would be pretty easy to make.  They were so adorable we couldn’t resist.  So I bought some plain white Sculpey baking clay.  We shaped the clay into little balls and added some details with our fingernails and the back tips of paintbrushes.  Then we baked them and painted them with acrylic paint.  The end result is pretty adorable.  I’ll share some pictures, but I didn’t get pictures of everyone’s work, and not everyone painted their owlies.

The owls my sisters and I made.

Owl with an Edge

The following painting is a project I did for my Little Sister of KKG.  At the time I made it, I couldn’t make this post for fear the surprise would be ruined.  Now that the cat’s out of the bag and I have some time on my hands, I’m free to share it with you.

The owl is the symbolic creature of KKG.  Red is my Little’s favorite color.  So, with black to evoke night, I painted this barn owl in black, white and red.  It’s painted on stretched canvas with acrylic paint, and it took surprisingly little time.  I’m guessing under eight hours, though I wasn’t keeping track.

The nature of the red paint gives it a violent look, though I was trying to avoid this connotation.  I hoped to evoke more of a serene and mysterious feeling.  I’m happy with the finished product, though I struggled to get the feet right.  I guess bird feet are just always awkward. 😛

I also scratched into the wet paint of the background, trying out a technique I learned from a classmate.  I think it adds a modern edge to the painting.

Crystal Kappa Earrings

Modern Fleur-de-Lis Necklace

Antique Charm Necklace

Green Fleur-de-Lis Necklace

Golden Fleur Necklace

Fleur-de-Bliss Necklaces

Peacock Earrings

Rose Fleur Necklace

Bohemian Necklace

Kappa Key Shirt

Inspired by a lovely Sister’s idea that we should have more sorority t-shirts, and that we could make our own, I decided to try my hand at a t-shirt design of my own.  I planned to make a stencil and use spraypaint.   Here’s how I did it:

1. Begin with a solid color t-shirt.  I found a cheap one at Walmart with a nice cut to it, but I know craft stores sell cheap t-shirts in a variety of colors, at about $4 each, for craft purposes.
2. Then I got a piece of newspaper, folded in half, and sketched half of a heart* on it with sharpie.  I cut it out and unfolded the shape for a symmetrical heart.  I double-checked that this heart was small enough to fit on the back of my shirt, and trimmed accordingly.
   *I wanted a heart for my design, but a circle or any shape will do.  This step is simply to make sure what you design will fit in the space you want it.
3. Then I laid this heart pattern onto a large piece of posterboard and traced around it with a pencil.  I set the newspaper heart aside after this, for I no longer needed it.
4. Sketch your design within the confines of your shape.  Do this in pencil so you can erase mistakes.  I settled on several skeleton keys within the heart.
5. When you’re satisfied with your design, outline it with pen.  This makes it more final, as well as easier to see. 
6. Use a hobby exacto-blade set to cut along your lines.  I cut out all of the negative spaces, careful not to cut the keys from the frame.  The spaces I cut out will be spraypainted, while the design I don’t cut out will prevent spraypaint from hitting the shirt, and will appear the color of the shirt underneath.
   After this point you should move to a well-ventilated area, preferably outside.
7. When the design is completely cut out, turn it over and make little tape tubes (for two-sided stickiness) and place them in narrow spots of the design.  In my case this was along the keys.  This is to make sure they stay down in the spraying process.  The more tape you use, the more finished your design looks.  The less tape you use, the more spraypaint gets under the stencil edges and blurs your design.  The force of the spraypaint air can lift up the stencil, and tape prevents this.
8. Then turn the stencil back over and place it where you want it on the shirt.  Press down firmly, especially where tape is.
9. Cover any exposed areas of the shirt that you don’t want paint on with newspaper or something to protect it.  Spraypaint vapors can unintentionally gather on the shirt where you don’t want it, even where you think you didn’t spray.
10. When everything’s ready, shake your spraypaint and test it somewhere to the side.  This prevents unexpected “spitting” of the paint.  When you have an even spray, go ahead and spraypaint your design stencil.  Work in quick, short spritzes at a fair distance from the shirt for a light, even coverage.  I kept my can 1-2 feet away most of the time.
11. Once you’ve deemed the paint thick enough with even coverage, step away and let the paint dry.  Overnight is best.
12. After a substantial dry time, come back to your shirt and gently remove the stencil.
13. Clean up the edges of the stencil with a small brush.  A fine paintbrush or a toothbrush works.  I worked along the edges of my design and around the keys to brush away traces of spraypaint that made it where I didn’t want it.  This fine layer brushed away very easily. 
14. Viola!  The design is complete!

When I was finished with the design on the back I turned the shirt around and repeated the process with a smaller design of a single key.  But this time the design was inverted, so the key is white.

I’ve created a spraypaint t-shirt stencil design before and it’s held up very well.  The shirt has been through many washings and held up.  However that shirt was of a somewhat different cotton material, so I’m not sure how well this design will withstand the test of time.  I admit I fear the spraypaint wants to rub off.  I’m not sure whether to throw it in the wash and remove the loose paint or just start wearing the shirt for hopes of maximizing it’s life.  I’ll just have to find out.

The design sketched out and outlined in pen with a few sections cut out.

The exacto blade hobby set I used to cut out the design.

The stencil cut out and ready to go.

The final spraypainted design on the back of my shirt.

 

ΚΚΓ Coat of Arms

Remember how in my painted door post I mentioned I wasn’t in a sorority?  Funny story, I am now.  In a whirlwind of decisions this spring I decided to pledge Kappa Kappa Gamma and I am now an official member.  One of the aspects of being a new member is the assignment of a Big Sister.  I love my Big Sister very much, and in April I embarked on a gift project for her.

It began in a conversation where she expressed an admiration for the Kappa Kappa Gamma coat of arms.  She very much liked the design, and felt it was very classy.  When I heard this my mind connected to a previous conversation where she said something to the effect of: “I can’t wait to see what Kappa inspired art projects you come up with.”  This was like a creative challenge to me, so when I learned of my Big’s appreciation for our coat of arms I decided to make one into a gift for her. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I started to look at the coat of arms, to familiarize myself with its design.  It struck me as rather flat.  Don’t get me wrong, I love our coat of arms, but the basic print uses solid colors (devoid of value) and outlines, both of which flatten drawings.  I wanted to give it a little pizazz.  I brainstormed ways to capture and highlight its classiness:  silver and gold leaf, glitter, swarovsky crystals, shading, three-dimensionality,  swirling curlicues, etc. 

I decided to experiment with three-dimensionality, a style I’ve worked with in the past.  In addition to introducing value, I would literally add depth to the seal with a glue-gun and caulking-gun.  First I sketched out the design.  Then I selectively applied glue to accentuate edges and applied caulk to make the banner-like swirls at the top stand out.  I also decided to make the key in the middle stand out, and created one out of hot glue.  If I’d had a miniature key available, I could have glued that on instead.

Here you can see where the glue and caulk elements pop out at the viewer.

 After I finished adding the 3D elements I painted in the colors, taking care to add value where necessary for a deeper look that also suggests rich silk and satin fabrics. Once the main paints were on, I added some gold paint on the key, the owl, and the letters.  I admit I took a little artistic license with the letters, which are silver in the original coat of arms.  I felt the gold balanced out the other areas and added to the elegance.  To further heighten the luxuriance, I added a Swarovsky crystal to the neck of the key and smaller crystals to the owl’s eyes.

The coat of arms of Kappa Kappa Gamma

I’m very pleased with the final result, and the look on my Big Sister’s face when she received her gift was priceless.  She had no idea what creative mischief I had been up to.

ΚΚΓ Owl

A while back a friend, who is a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, requested a piece of art from me.  The owl is her sorority’s animal, so I decided to do a painting of the elegant barn owl, tyto alba.  Other important symbols etc. of ΚΚΓ include the color blue,  fleur-de-lis/irises, keys, and sapphires.  You can see how I incorporated these into the final acrylic painting.  I spent about three days actually working on the piece.  I still might make a few minor touch-ups, but otherwise it is finished.

*Update* I decided the composition still needed something to balance out the bottom right corner.  I’ll be adding the silhouette of some pine trees soon.

(UPDATE: I think it’s pertinent to say I’m now a proud member of Kappa Kappa Gamma)