Beyond Duct Tape

Beyond duct tape is a collaboration between three friends who have one thing in common. They all had the same thought when they heard that they are now a ‘collective’. We are beyond the usual craft fare, inspired by: interesting perspectives, dragons, reinventing paper, eccentric finds, and new use for the everyday.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Poetry

I thought it would be nice to add some poetry to spice it up. I'm very big with freeverse, so if "unstructured" poems upset you then this is not for you. I'm an emotional writer. Most of the stuff I've written has been during certain moods and reflections. You'll see...just read on.

Autumn

Sweaters never felt so good
As I rest among the wind which is
Carrying silvers and golds, emeralds, rubies and topaz,
It whirls with no set direction
A distinct lingering odor (of slight decay and cedar)
Crunching underfoot
Falling like lasting snowflakes
Each one unique

Deciding its time to break free,
Jumping with no parachute
And landing in no particular direction
Just to ride the air currents with the birds
What a time to go sailing
What a wardrobe!
(And colors of a crown!)

I am here with quill and ink
An oversized journal
And incomprehensible thoughts
Pondering with my feet in the grass
And my back against a trunk
Thinking. Writing.

This is California snow:

The gold. The red. The brown. The yellow.
The subtle hints of green
Crisp as new one-dollar bills
Falling from overhead
In the form of a leaf

----

Scarlett

They whispered under the letters he wrote
Heavy. Blotted. Sepia.
Erasures never found so permanent
Watermarked in the salutation
In between the lines
Hieroglyphics hide
Extra punctuation
The difference of indifference
Weathered brown edges
Enduring the wears of time
Uncovered under magnification
Resolution comes in depressed shadows
Pits and crescents and undotted "i's"
Light passes through the darkness
Pierces through the cotton fibers
Illuminates the cursive creed
Inkwells and nightstands
Isaac left his evidence

----

Pen and Ink


Between point A and point B
I noticed the motored rails
Deciding the fate of my destination
The consequence of attempting and
The dysfunction of mundane
Do we love because we must,
Or because we chose to?
To avoid loneliness?
To feel complete?
Or to simply love?
Static. Consciously arranged
Kiss me on your couch
Smile when we’re at your mothers
Hold me in the movies
Somewhere between our verticals and horizontals
All we’ve formed is right angles
Rigidly lined up against the ruler
All these grids and eraser marks
Are driving me insane
Why don’t you trying drawing me in pen?

----

A Victim: Used


It breathes it's last; it's first to be.

Life's end begins a new eternity

Eyes of blind are opened to see

The haunting tales to mystery

What's first is last and last is to start

The open mind is an opened heart

There's one of you and two of us

A third to torture, a fourth to bust

You conceal your feelings until they explode

Empty out the other load

Words slip out. Anger is abused

But that's okay..you've been a victim: used

You feel the beating of old time

Embrace what joy was there

Now as you look into it all

No one could care

Hope is what feeds you life

Sighs are what you use to breathe

You're so much different inside

But they don't look underneath


Well that should suffice for a VERY long time...Whoever reads this is lucky. I'm not so great at letting others see my "spilt guts".

-Laura

Saturday, December 02, 2006

My school doodles







During school, I don't have much time to devote to extremely time consuming projects, so I've been doing a lot of ink drawings with Sakura Micron pens and when feeling daring, coloring them in Prismacolor Markers. These girls (and some guys) have sort have become trademarks. There's more behind the ink than meets the eyes. I don't just draw them because I want to, I draw them because I feel the need to. It's more a calling and not a therapy. I hope you'll enjoy seeing them all.


-Laura

Sunday, August 27, 2006

It's Been a While...

It has been way too long! What happened to my promise of regular updates? Well, let me tell you that my lovely computer completely crashed and I lost all the files I had on it! Worst of all, I didn't have a current enough back-up. It took a little while to get a new compy, and I haven't found time to install my illustration programs in here to crop and edit and whatnot.

HOWEVER HOWEVER HOWEVER!

In the meantime, I've managed to get my hands on some original artwork that is quite wonderful! Wonderful enough that I don't seem to mind how abyssive my wallet looks like these days. *grin*

Let's start off with bunny balloon:



I bought this piece because of my odd love of rabbits and bunnies. Plus, it so me. This was made by the lovely Emily Martin. http://www.theblackapple.typepad.com/

Next, I bought Warhold Dog Cat Le and Nine Girls from the wonderful Carla Sonheim (http://www.carlasonheim.com/home.html):




I actually got this one for free. The artist was feeling kindly and I just happened to be the lucky one to recieve this ACEO. An ACEO is like an artist trading card. And this one is grand:



She does portraiture quite nicely. You can visit her at http://www.darladixon.com/


Then I got an exquisite piece from Belinda Delpesco titled "Girl in the Mirror":



Visit her personal website for more of her wonders: http://homepage.mac.com/bdelpesco/PhotoAlbum.html

And last but not least my "Floating Koi" painting!:


Created by the imaginative Dennis Finley :http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/d/dfinley/

They're all wonderful to behold. My little darlings. :)

-Laura

Sunday, April 02, 2006

My Bot :)

I'm having this weird robot obsession right now. So I painted one. A rather cute one if you ask me...if metal and wires can be cute. lol. I love technology and it's ease on this busy world. I'm a technology nerd...but not a geek because I love it but I'm not fully educated on it. Too bad I can't have a little robot assistant to do the gruesome things in life, like room cleaning or cooking.


"Robo, go make me a club sandwich and sort out my desk"
"...Does not compute." ;p



-Laura

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Handy Dandy Crafty Eye Candy

Today was a pretty great day! Didn't get much done, but I got a lot of sleeping in. Having a lot of relatives and friends around ensures a lot of birthdays, weddings and funerals. You quickly learn to appreciate days that are halfway free.

I bought a circle punch earlier which I used for images on this purse I made:


Purse I made




And today, I found it quite dull so I went to punch out a couple pieces of aluminum foil to sharpen it up. Then it got kinda fun and I ended up punching out a bunch! Which lead me to thinking of stringing them like sequins and making dangly earrings outta them. Hopefully I'll get that accomplished soon. What do you think? Blingy aluminum foil earrings? Yay? Nay? Okay?

-Laura

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Welcome to My Wonderland!

So, yes. This is my first blog post. I'm an artist, or at least, that's what I like to think. Everyone wants to be great in a certain area, and I may not be great in art, but I am quite passionate! And so, that is my greatness.

I'm a college freshman located in the united states. I draw my inspiration from my surroundings, my spaced out dreams, and from God's creation.

Right now, I am doing art both for pleasure and for academic purposes. I am currently enrolled in an Art History class and a 2D design class. I draw, paint, and craft in what freetime I have. I also like to write.

My art may never be worthy of international fame, but it is mine, and it is unique. I hope you enjoy my rants and raves as you join me in my artistic and crafty adventure of arts and crafts!

La Fish

-Laura

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The Crafty Collaborators

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Beyond Duct Tape
Simi Valley, California, United States
We are beyond the usual craft fare, inspired by: interesting perspectives, dragons, reinventing paper, eccentric finds, and new use for the everyday. Amber Maria is a fun oddity who spends her free time painting, and is aiming for her bachelors in English through an accelerated distance learning program. Joelle is a Bible college graduate who is currently teaching C.S. Lewis to highschoolers and is in between life goals. She’s dabbling in the world of self-publishing and web design. Laura is a graphic designer wannabe (one more semester until it becomes a reality). Trees and overcast or rainy days make her happy. Paper is her first love, and she cannot find enough ways to craft with it. She is a doodler, a dabbler in painting, and a lover of recycling/ reconstructing. Our Personal Websites: Amber- http://www.flyingfrogs.thelonelyisle.net/ Joelle- http://www.thelonelyisle.net/ Laura- website under construction
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