My Art on Youtube! Sweet Lolita Geneva: Speed Sketch Art, Part 1

New moleskine! First moleskine

What should I draw in it?
I posted about it in my instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/p/_nTCQLsQa1/
I've never had one before... the pages are so blank and smooth and pretty...

Maybe I should start Dec 31st to draw in it?, as it is what I consider the boundary between the old and new year.

jtp/mnr

New Painting day!

I just finished a painting for  a possible gallery show at the Limner-Slow Art gallery in Hudson, NY.
Whee. Lets see if I will be in it. However, if anything, I'm proud I finished this piece, and it came out looking 'mighty fine'. Hhahahah.

This is essentially what it looks like. I need to take it outside and take a better picture of it. Oooh I really want a studio where I can set up lighting for photographs...

I am going to touch it up a bit but this is what it looks like.

Now to start a new painting!
I also have some unfinished acrylic paintings I need to work on...
Ugh.... but oil painting is fun! I still have the... unfortunate idea that oil painting takes a while to finish each stage. It takes SO long to dry. I took this photo a few days ago and its still drying...
I think I want to write a post in the future comparing and contrasting acrylic painting and oil painting. Just my thoughts on it for my own process.


-JTP/MNR

Read-along: The Witch of Salem, what inspired the Crucible (Librivox)

Hello folks. It is near Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, here in the US.
I don't really celebrate it. I think ghost stories and scary stories and supernatural and all that stuff, are for year round consumption!

A year or two ago, to get over my aggressive playing of MMORPGs, I began knitting or drawing and listening to audiobooks and youtube vids.
Librivox is a great place for free audiobooks, most in the public domain. A lot of them are books written prior to the 1900s, and many are from the 1800s. I love antique and period writings.

Anyway, I am currently reading a fiction called The Witch of Salem, by John R Musick. It's a lil' rough at times, as writers from before 1900 tended to blather on with flowery language. You get used to it after a while. However, the characters are interesting and it gives an interesting perspective into how people may have felt about that Witch Trial business while it was happening.
Best of all, it takes place in my home state, Massachusetts! I love stories that take place in New England and New York, particularly.

Anyway, here is the link to where you can 'read' it: https://librivox.org/the-witch-of-salem-by-john-r-musick/
Here is where I'm 'reading' it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCMdFElWEAc
I am 4 hrs and 45 minutes into the reading, out of a total of about 9 hours.

Word of warning, his opinion in his writing of Native Americans and African Americans is quite racist (and ironic, considering he is speaking of persecution!) If you can get past that, its a decent immersive tale about rising hysteria and bigotry in this small New England town.

Don't you miss the days when people read to you? Audiobooks are awesome like that.

-JTP/MNR

Bought art supplies: Turpenoid, Oct 20

Wheee.

I finally bought art supplies! I am trying to get my work out there, and so I am going to make youtube videos soon.
I want my first youtube video to be either my art supply purchase unboxing, or a timelapse of me drawing/painting something.

<3 p="">
This recent haul is from Jerry's Artarama. I'm trying out different art supply websites, now that I am doing more traditional drawings and paintings. I will post when I have some progress on this video stuff.

Anyway, I got this from Dick Blick off of Amazon for about $19. It is 16oz, Weber Natural Turpenoid. I already have a 32oz plastic container, but I"m running low. I thought 16oz would be... larger than this .But what can you do. Hahah.

-JTP/MNR

Instagram and Inktober

I have an instagram account! Please visit it for up to date drawings and sketches.
I have been using it for inktober, lately.
Inktober is when artists all over use ink and pigmented media and make ink sketches and drawings.
#inktober!

Here's my latest instagram inktober pic.
https://instagram.com/p/8w48SzsQWH/ - Inktober Day 8, the Steampunk Botanical Engineer

-JTP/MNR

Plussle and Minun Fanart

https://www.etsy.com/listing/246518857/pokemon-fanart-plussle-and-minun

New artwork for sale on my etsy site! Go, check it out!
It is plussle and minun from pokemon!

-JTP/MNR

Knitting and Crocheting Lolita ATC ACEO, #15

https://www.etsy.com/listing/242141281/knitting-and-crocheting-lolita-atc-aceo

Knitting and crocheting lolita artwork!
ATC/ACEO, one of a kind, watercolor painted, and colored with markers to touch up details.

-MNR

Chii From Chobits, lolita art! ATC/ACEO for sale

https://www.etsy.com/listing/242139761/chii-from-chobits-atc-aceo-fanart-clamp

Hot off the press. <3 p="">An original hand drawn piece of fanart of Chii from Chobits,

-MNR

My Hen and Chicks tatted edging

No, its not a pattern.
The pattern can be found online by googling though.

Hi everyone, this is just an edging I have been tatting on my breaks from work. I hope to put it on some cute clothing that needs sprucing up.
A nice dress, ne? Cuuute.
This is not crochet or knitting, this is tatting. =3

-MNR

Discussion of art materials: Acrylic Paint

I can safely say that I am moving beyond student and beginner paints.
They served their purpose when I was a child, and in college when I needed inexpensive colors to put on a canvas for class.

So, if you're a hobbyist, inexpensive colors are good.
However, keep in mind inexpensive colors will:

• have less pigment in them
• more dull colors, 
• might mix strangely
• the pigment in the color won't match other brands' colors
• might be transparent, which can be good or bad for your purposes
• might be runny or clot too quickly in the tube
• dry too quickly on the canvas, so they become sticky and unworkable
• and other anomalies.

I have learned all this from trial and error. A professional or advanced hobbyist cannot simply use cheap colors. Your work will LOOK like an amateur's work. Or worse, like... sorry to say it, washable children's paint on a cheap piece of paper.

(FYI, since the cost of materials goes up, this is partially why original artwork has the cost that it does. Part the cost is the experience of the artist, part how much time is spent on the piece, and part is the cost of quality materials and making a piece that will last decades or centuries as opposed to a year or two.)

I am saying this looking back on paintings I've made over the past few years.
I am ramping up the quality of my pigments. The job I have currently is but a temp job, but I don't spend money on anything else, just student loans, some food, some transportation (I bought some clothes last week), and the rest goes towards bettering my knowledge of my crafts, mainly art and art supplies.

I think I like heavier body acrylic, but its hard to... find something that's in the middle of heavy body and low viscosity paint. At the moment I'm using

• Liquitex brand, heavy body and more general pigments, 
• Golden brand, and 
• Chroma brand.

I'm looking at my options as for paints I want to use. I have found that going to art supply websites gives you great deals, plus exposes you to reviews of other artists' experiences with materials.

What I stopped using:
Again, these were good for learning to paint and school projects, in both primary school and bachelor level college. But again, for a more professional artist, they don't really work.

• Reeves
• Liquitex Basic
• Artist Loft (basically off brand)
• Premiere Acrylic Colors

I mean, brands have cheaper colors in order to build brand loyalty with a customer and draw them towards buying the higher quality materials they sell.

However, this is the piece I am complaining of. Well, not really. I just felt I needed to say something after last night, I slowly became frustrated with some of the colors. This painting is a work in progress, and I plan on repainting most of it. I like how its coming out, except for some of the paints I used.  But eeehhhhhh...

-MNR

Found a vintage crochet bag pattern link – A Russian Bag

Vintage Crochet Bag Patterns – A Russian Bag



Great crochet thread pattern I just found, check it out!

I aim to make it sometime, maybe in a size 10 or 20 crochet thread. I would want it bigger, with more stitches.



-MNR

My crocheting project: Crocheted Silk Purse Fig. 1

Florence Home Needlework, Crocheted Silk Purse Fig. 1

I got this PDF from antiquepatternlibrary.org. I am thankful towards the person who donated these scans. <3 p="">
I love crocheting vintage, antique and ancient patterns. This happens to be an antique pattern. Very Victorian/Edwardian. I plan to use this all the time, special occasion or no special occasion, victorian wear or no victorian wear.

The PDF: http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/pub/PDF/B-JA077Florence1887.pdf

The description says: 

Florence Home Needlework 1887

Florence, Mass., Nonotuck Silk Co, 1887, 96 pgs.

Pretty neat! Many of the antique patterns that are preserved historical documents are created in the northeast, specifically, my home state!

This is what is available in the booklet. This is only the image, not the complete pattern.

Anyway, here is what I have so far of this crocheted purse.

I am using a size 10 modern steel crochet hook, 1.3mm. Size 20 crochet thread (antique, JP Coats brand) with a strand of cotton sewing thread. Size 8 toho chartreuse transparent seed beads. 

Fun!

I have been working on it in the evenings and during my lunch breaks at work.

Sorry if the images are a  lil big when enlarged. I took them with my phone. I swear, I am so lazy in documenting my projects.. I'm trying to be better at posting records of what I"m doing! Its actually a marvel I've posted something. however, this is an antique pattern that isn't even on the ravelry database, so I'm thinking that I have to pioneer that effort...

Anyway, the slip of paper that was in that last photo looks to be one of those mailaway order forms, advertising more patterns and thread available from JP Coats. On one side, it says: "Doilies to Crochet! Only 10c a copy! Mail this coupon now" Hahahha. Finding anything that is 10c today is... hard. With old and antique mailers... I've always had a strong desire to mail in the coupon or order form and see if they honor it. xD

Anyway, sometime soon I will add a ravelry entry for this pattern/book and perhaps post the link here.

Edit: Here is the ravelry link: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/murasakinoryuu/crocheted-silk-purse-fig-1

Here are the mostly finished images of the crochet beaded purses. These are done with bead crochet, and thus are bead crochet purses.

-MNR

Irish Crochet Edging in french: Petite Dentelle Courante

Its an irish crochet edging, vintage french pattern.

https://archive.org/stream/albumdeguipuredi16hard#page/n95/mode/2up
Here's the original page in french.

I am trying to work this out, maybe do a translation? The ONE translation I saw on ravelry... I didn't understand.
Not to say that the crocheter didn't make a lovely edging, that is beside the point. =) In size 80 thread too! 0.6mm hook.
It doesn't appear to be in the ravelry database either! I think that's one thing I want to contribute to the future of thread lace crochet: translate and replicate antique patterns.
BTW, I still haven't forgotten about the thread holders! I just get distracted easily. I have one side done, I figured out how it was made from the picture, and it looks pretty!

Anyway. Anyone else want to take a crack at it? Within the next few days. I have been working a lot, and exhausted, but I will probably make a snippet in size 20 or smaller crochet thread, and post what I have here. I love irish crochet lace. I love fine handmade lace in general. <3 nbsp="" p="">This is the thing I would picture going on a lovely mori kei or lolita dress. Maybe even hime-gyaru.

Here's the pattern as Google Translate spat it out... its rough. :/

Lace small gourante 



This lace which is very handy to decorate small items, bibs, shirts 
and baby dresses, flaps, etc., has a great advantage, it is what is done by going and 
Coming without breaking the thread; you add only after the foot and tooth.

Base: 16 chains. 

the rank cv. - 7 chains, close spike in the last 5, 11 chains, shut in
pin the last 5, 2 chains, poke in the 6th chain after 1 pip 
1 double arch (see the horseshoe lace page 42-43), poke in the 6th chain, 




Chains 7, 1 pin (it is understood that the pin is always taken on membered 
Net) and 5 chains, chain stitch in the last turn. 

2nd row. - Chains 7, 1 pin, 11 chains, pin 1, 2 chains, prick in
first arch before the spike, chains 7, 1 pin, 5 chains, poke between 
2 pins of the middle arch; Chains 7, 1 pin, 5 chains, poke after the spike,
the last arch, turn. 

3 rank. - Chains 7, 1 pin, 11 chains, pin 1, 2 chains, prick before
pin, 7 chains, prick in next loop, turn, made flanges 10 in this hole 
and an eleventh on the grid attachment, turn, take a 6-day grid on the 



flanges (days consist of 1 chain, 1 flange) - 7 chains, pieol 1, 2 membered 
net, 1 dc in the last arch, turn. 

4 th. - Chains 7, 1 pin, 11 chains, pin 1, 2 chains, prick in
1st day of the pad, 1 double arch, poke in the 5th day, 7 chains, 1 pin, 5-membered 
net, poke in the last hoop after 1 pin turn. 

5 ° row. - Chains 7, 1 pin, 11 chains, pin 1, 2 chains, prick before
pin shackle, chains 7, 1 pin, 5 chains, poke between the 2 pins of the hoop 
middle, chains 7, 1 pin, 5 chains, poke in the last hoop. 

Repeat the 1st row to 5 and still repeat well. 



Once you have the desired length lace laites one side as a foot 
for other lace and the other side of the tooth as follows: 

the 1 'rank. - Rank 1 day 3 chains, 1 flange.

2 * rank. - 4 stitches in 1 day, 2 sts, 1 pin, 2 sts in the 2 nd day
2 stitches in the 3 rd day, turn 8 chains, prick with 1 st in the 4th after 
pin, turn and do in this hole: 4 pins, preceded, separated and followed by 3 stitches, 
2 sts, 1 pin, 2 stitches in the same day of the base. 

This 2 nd forming the tooth, repeat it as many times as you need 
to finish your lace. 



For different reasons lace of Ireland, we advise our 120, 150, 180, 200 
Irish son of MFA 

Interesting blog:Ask The Bellwether

Ask The Bellwether

Lots of info for knitters, crocheters, and spinners, more obscure questions.





-MNR

Spiral Thread Holder, project

Hello there. I have been busy with work mainly, unable to post things.
I have still been crocheting.

I love going to antiquepatternlibrary.org. There's so many interesting vintage and antique patterns of all sorts. I mainly go there for knitting, crochet and tatting.
Here's the link, if you didn't know of it already. http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/
This is one of the few places on the web where you can find free antique patterns.

I am using this PDF at the moment. http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/pub/PDF/6-JA010Nacke2.pdf

I like thread crochet, because its very victorian, and an easy(er) way to make delicate lace. Especially for pretty dress things! Or just for miscellaneous decoration.

Some of these patterns aren't really patterns, they often contain just a picture and a few lines that go on to say: "follow the picture". How people from the 1800s were able to replicate these patterns is beyond me, the patterns can be so vague, confusing, and full of errors. Not always, but its a thing to consider.
Anyway, I am making page 12's Crochet Thread Holder (#2), I'd call it the Spiral thread holder, as it isn't even given a name! Here's a screen capture of the 'pattern'.

Its very cute! If lined, it would be a great mori kei, lolita, or other type of accessory bag. I just love  the cute ribbons. I'm not sure if I would add them.

I'm currently working out the pattern. If anything, I will post notes as to what I did (on ravelry), as well as posting a link to my ravelry.
If I have time, I'll post a writeup of my version of the pattern.

The pattern asks you to use a size 7 crochet hook (1.65mm) and size 5 crochet cotton.
I'm using size 10 crochet cotton and sizes 5 and 7 hooks. More to come.


-MNR

Quick sketch before I go to bed.

Quick sketch in photoshop before I go to bed.
In photoshop. Eh. I may work on it more or not.

-MNR

Art WIP, and Adding lace to things

Hello again people!

I added lace to some fabric gift bags lying around. I have some women's handkerchiefs, from my mother, she found them lying around. I so far have crocheted on them, I mean to one day knit an edging onto another, but other projects have interrupted this!
Making tiny, dainty things takes so long.

What would be interesting would be to add lace to the glasses cleaning cloth.
Why? Because it is possible!

Anyway... More drawing and knitting.

Cross Posted from my tumblr account here. http://murasakinoryuu.tumblr.com/

-MNR

heart illustration wip

this is not going well as I had hoped.
more info later.

-MNR

figure drawing sketches

Figure drawing sketches from last night.

Just practice.

-MNR

Resistor earrings, ultra nerdy at my etsy shop! Pictures!

Two new listings, perfect for the valentines day or for an everyday gift, or that wonderful thing called "the gift for the self". ;D
Resistor drop earrings!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/220553267/gray-resistor-earrings-drop-style

https://www.etsy.com/listing/220564117/mint-green-resistor-earrings-drop-style

Nifty huh?

-MNR

Original art, prints, and ACEOs/ATCs

I'm working on making the merchandise but I am unsure of what folks would even buy. I guess I have to take a risk.
So, here are the ACEOs I have so far.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/calienteokami?section_id=6319316
I am  working on making them into prints. I believe prints should be drastically more inexpensive than originals, so I will give customers a choice between potentially being the one to own the original (ATC style, like putting them in a binder), or having a print with a border for framing. Or, you can cut the border and make it ATC sized.

Anyway, I'm moving onto larger sizes of artwork. ATCs are nice and fun but larger sizes obviously give me space to make more intricate works.
I did have some professors that said my abstract work would have more impact if it were much larger. =o

I have begun painting on canvas! I wish to start drawing on  larger pieces of paper and board. I figure now's a good a time as any...
Check out my facebook and deviantart pages for more recent artwork.
https://www.facebook.com/calienteokamistudios
http://murasaki-no-ryuu.deviantart.com/

Murrrr its snowing and I'm sleepy...
So much shovelling...

-MNR

New Item! Apple Macintosh Earrings Keyboard studs

Have I shown you all this? Apple keyboard key earring studs! These were too good for me to get rid of. Horray for tech recycle scavenging! 
https://www.etsy.com/listing/218034327/apple-macintosh-earrings-keyboard-studs

(Crossposted from Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/calienteokamistudios)

-MNR