Playing Outside With Imagination and Pride

Happy Saturday!

So, today I'm sharing with you a revisit of some ideas and themes I worked with last spring. My inspiration comes from my childhood memories of enjoying imaginative play-times outside. Currently I'm using those ideas and themes and reworking them into a collection of illustration + poetry spreads which will hopefully turn into a nice book sometime =)

"Little Lilac Ladies"

Ancient myths say mystic powers
Are given to some lilac flowers.
Those having five petals or more
Store magic wishes at their core.

This piece alludes to how my friends and I would comb through lilac bushes in search of 5 petaled flowers because supposedly they had wish granting powers!

 And some process steps:

Inked floral work

Painted floral work

Again, the finished piece

"Helping Hands"

When spring returns back to the land,
Little birds could use a hand
With making cozy, tidy nests
For themselves and for their guests.

This illustration reflects how in the spring my friends and I would build nests out of grass to help the birds out :)

(rhymes + illustrations are all by me)

Size: 11x17"
Media: Waterproof inks + watercolour + gouache + microns

Books As Objects

Evening!
So here are some simple documentation photos of my Book Media - Book as Object projects from this semester. This was a very interesting and challenging class I must say! Because, though not necessary a requirement, it was difficult for me to try to make books (or book-objects) and make them as neat as possible. I have to admit - I have somewhat crooked hands when it comes to making 3D things.

First Book - The Synesthesia Treasure Box (well that's at least what I was aiming for at least)

Excerpt from my project proposal:

"I am wishing to explore the phenomena of synesthesia and scent memory. Throughout my life I have “accumulated” a collection of aromas which when experienced trigger strong emotional and visual responses. Certain images and sounds have become synonymous with each of the aromas, at times even causing me to enter a mild and pleasant synesthetic trance. These sensations have caused me to become curious on whether or not similar experiences or associations can be provoked in other people. Could it be possible for me to produce artworks which when encountered encourage the viewer to imagine the scent from which the art was inspired?"

outside

surprise!

little scrolls

pebbles weren't party of the project, I was just using them as paper weights

 All content belongs to ©Mariya Olshevska. No unauthorized use.

 Second Book - Olivier Salad

Excerpt from my project proposal:

"The way I engage with cooking is akin to partaking in a short story. I often tackle a meal one recipe at a time – each filled with protagonists (the ingredients), antagonists (time and ability restraints), plot twists (unexpected accidents), plot climaxes (the coming together of all recipe steps) suspense (the anticipation of the first taste), and resolutions (the discovery of the recipe’s success or failure). A single page of directions feels like many pages of an adventure. In turn, I wonder – what if one recipe was dedicated its own book?"

(my Dad's recipe)

Illustrations were first hand drawn (line-work only) then vectorized in Illustrator

  All content belongs to ©Mariya Olshevska. No unauthorized use.

Happy Wednesday!

Sketches by the Shore

This past week I've been spending my time on a vacation of sorts in Puerto Vallarta/ Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. Of course I had my sketchbook with me and in the afternoon I doodled on the beach.
Here are some pages:

The 'e' looks really odd but I'll just say it reflects the reclining position I was in as I drew.

For this doodle I even wrote a little poem:

"What this small kitten wanted most of all,

Was an escape to a a place where she knew no one at all.

Where she'd have luxury and simplicity at the same time,

One hand with a pina colada, and the other on a tree she could climb.

She wanted to sit still and gaze at the sky,

See stars glimmering and airplanes fly by.

She wanted to sit there all day and all night

Without receiving a single bug bite."

A super lazy attempt at drawing from life.

Inspired by storm that came in the afternoon

This is another lazy attempt at drawing something realistic, this time a photo from a magazine

I was feeling poetic again

Now I'll try to use 7-8 sentences to describe each day of my trip:

1 - Saturday - After arriving at the hotel I did, in fact, get caught in the rain and have a couple of pina coladas.

2 - Sunday - It was the first time I had ever fallen asleep on the beach.

3 - Monday - The highlight of the night was getting dressed up and going to the Italian restaurant at the resort

4 - Tuesday - It turned out that swimming in the ocean was not really an option due to murkiness and sting rays popping up, so from this day I resorted to swimming in the pool each day for as long as possible - that is until too many people got in.

5 - Wednesday - It really baffled me why in an almost empty pool, people would prefer swim into the small section of the pool I was using, only to stop and tread water in place (at the most). "Move! I'm actually getting exercise here!"

6 - Thursday - Took a bus trip to the downtown of Puerto Vallarta to get some souvenirs and later that night I saw sea turtles hatching and going into the the ocean.

7 - Friday - Got my overgrown hair braided.

8 - Saturday - I've never seen so many Duty-Free stores in an airport that REQUIRE you to go through them in order to get to your gate. Kahlua and Baileys it is!

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