99% Self Made

Here are some quick photos I took of my Book Media class final project. The project was to make a book, any kind of book really. I've made a mini - 5 x 7 inches book. It was an illustrated poem about a snowflake=) And the book is almost entirely self made. I wrote, illustrated, printed, cut, stitched, sewed, and bound the pages and the cover myself. (sorry the images are small, but I've got to protect my hard work I suppose)
You can read the text better on this post though --> http://mariaolshevskaexpressions.blogspot.com/2010/11/today-ive-decided-to-share-some-more.html

book cover - embroidered/cross stitched design

close up

back cover

back cover detail

Hybrid Family

Below is piece I did that will be part of my last Illustration project for this semester -- Artist Book/Portfolio=)
It started off as a doodle in my sketchbook as just some little hybrid picture that I thought was cute. But then as the composition and concept evolved in head, I realized that what I was ending up with could also be a metaphor...but that is up to your interpretation as always=)

finished product

original sketch

Technical info: 
 the finished illustration is done on 8.5 x 11'' paper
& was drawn with 0.1 and 0.05 ink pens

Can't Rain On My Parade

7x7 inches/coloured pencil crayons/fine black ink pen

Hi there!
This is my third assignment for my Illustration class. It's a psychological self portrait. Can you guess what it's supposed to portray? (I hope so!!) It's my positive attitude conquering any things that could possibly bring me down. That is my outlook on life, my philosophy. And it has been greatly encouraged by The Power - a book by Rhonda Byrne, the author of The Secret. I recommend it!

ABC's of Goodies

The following is the outcome of a writing exercise we did in my Creative Writing class yesterday. The objective was to write a story/poem/piece of writing where each line began with a word starting with the corresponding letter of the alphabet.

"ABC's of Goodies"

All children like goodies
Baked goodies to be more precise
Cookies, cakes, croissantes
Donuts, danishes,
Eclairs,
Fudge brownies
Good treats are hard to pass by
How can one resist soft and warm pastries?
Ice-cream is tasty too though
Jello as well
Kids actually like anything sweet I think
Little it matters to them, as long as sugar is the main ingredient
Many would even eat fruit, if it is bursting with sweetness
Nothing compares to parties
Often there is a variety of things to choose from there
Pie or cupcake? Chocolate or sorbet?
Questions that may be impossible to answer
Really, must one decide?
Silly grown-ups think so
Toddlers and tykes disagree
Unless the dessert table is empty, there's no reason to stop
Very many people admit they
Wish they were little again
Xylophones, hide-and-seek, candy delights are all so fun
You play, laugh, and enjoy life's little things
Zero worries about fat and calories.

Plus, check out my friend's blog, where she posts silly, little short stories that she writes with her left hand during class for fun---> http://thelefthandedmuse.wordpress.com/

Lavender

Published!

I have some fantastic news to share! One of my photos -- "Shadow Watch" has been published in Digital SLR Photography magazine, April issue!!! I'm so excited because its my favourite photography magazine and because it's my first time having a photo published anywhere! I sent them a bunch of photos just after Christmas and heard from shortly after that they wished to use this photo. For a while I was not sure for which issue, but it turns out it was the April one. I was sooooo stoked to see it in print when the magazine came in the mail! Once the issue hits the Canadian stores, I'll be sure to pick up some more copies=)
If you see the magazine, be sure to flip through and take a peek, or maybe even purchase the issue=)
(pg 23)

My little blurb:
"This is a photo of my cat Toma.I wanted to take a few photos of my cat that really captured her mysterious and moody personality. One morning she was sitting in a shadow under the table just as the window light slightly illuminated her from the side. Noticing the lovely natural lighting I grabbed my camera, got down on all fours and started shooting. The only slight difficulty I encountered while trying to get the photo was retaining my cat’s attention. As she wanted to get up and leave, to keep her interested, I took out one of her toys. Afterwards, I added some vignetting in Photoshop, to increase the shadows."

Sometimes

`Sometimes the smallest or simplest things can teach us the most about ourselves and the world that surrounds us.` -- my "profound" thought of the day:)

A Weather

A Weather is a music group that I've recently stumbled upon, in my usual searches for various melodies that soothe my soul.
I must say, I really love them. Their melodies are very soothing and calming, like lullabies, meanwhile their lyrics are full of obscurity. The words and concepts are very abstract to me, yet without full comprehension of any of their metaphors I seem to understand them internally. I compare it to seeing various mixed memories, such as fragments of sounds, visuals, and unusual scents, yet not truly remembering what they were all about; only knowing that they carry importance.
I recommend A Weather's music to: the nostalgic, the lightly melancholic, the dreamers, the creative, and anyone who likes to hair something odd yet pleasant=)

Some of my favourites from them are:
"Pinky Toe"
"Oh My Stars"
"Midday Moon"
"Happiness"
"Lay me Down"

go to www.aweathermusic.com

Good night and enjoy~*

Morning Revive

=)

12 Minutes of Beauty

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

I saw this video this morning and I was left in utter awe. It gently pierced me as it's beauty was the best 12 minutes I've spent watching a video online, or possibly watching anything in general. The technical mastery and the spellbinding concept are fused to create something truly inspiring. Words cannot describe...it is things I've dreamt of but never really knew.

Please experiance this, full screen and audio on. You will not regret it.

http://www.vimeo.com/7809605