SkaterAid 2013 in Decatur! Check it out!

I finally finished a skateboard to be donated to SkaterAid 2013. I found out about this show during my recent visit to Atlanta and it seemed pretty easy to join. So after confirming that it really was super-easy to take part in, I got to work!

SkaterAid, a skateboarding, music and art festival, features ramps, jumps and contests for skateboarders, and music is provided by teen bands from area high schools. A live skateboard deck art auction is held throughout the day, with a selection of eye-popping art created by professional and “outsider” artists from used skateboard decks. All proceeds generated by the event are donated to families who are battling pediatric brain cancer. The event will be held Sunday, Sept. 29th from 2-7 p.m. at East Decatur Station, a business complex just west of the Avondale MARTA station at 109 New Street, Decatur, Georgia.

I simply sanded and primed the deck and used colored pencils to create the image. Then applied several coats of matte medium to seal it.

skateraid.net

Skateboarding!

This week's goal is to finish drawing on this skateboard. If it all goes to plan, I will be donating it to a fundraiser in Atlanta. Just gotta get it done first!

The original plan was to just paint it with acrylic paint but I changed my mind and used colored pencil instead. I'm enjoying the texture this is creating. 

It needs to be done in the next day or so. Wish me luck! 

Walkers are Near!

The Walking Dead was in town yesterday, filming for Season 4. Of course, the filming location was on super lock-down so nobody got to witness anything worthwhile. Still, I was so excited that I wrote this on my chalkboard sandwich board and sat it outside my studio all day.

Sunday Sketchbook

A few pages from my sketchbook:

Working on an idea for the cover of a friend's fat-positive zine. 

Just a gal with a pearl earring. I had fun just scribbling and making a red pencil mess.

Studying poppies for a bigger drawing.

Working on an idea for a skateboard I'm going to paint and donate for an Atlanta fundraiser.

Lots of arty fun in the works! I'm super pumped about updating the blog more often!

City Exploring - Day 3

By day three, I admit I was tired. After dealing with traffic the two days prior, I was OVER IT. I just wanted to stay at my dad's house and watch tv and take a long shower. But I talked myself into visiting some places slightly outside of the city, and I'm glad I did.

My first stop was the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Lilburn, Georgia. Definitely hard to miss from the road, this place is magnificent! I was greeted by several very nice volunteers throughout the entire visit. I stopped at the gift shop to purchase an audio tour and made my way inside the mandir. There was no photography allowed inside, so this is the only photo I took.

I can honestly say that the inside of this mandir has to be the MOST beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. And by the end of the tour, I made a note to myself to look for books related to Hindu art and architecture.

Next on my list was the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts. When I was a young teen, I was a big fan of Tupac Shakur, so when I heard there was a statue and fountain dedicated to him in this part of Georgia I knew I had to visit.

But it was more than just a fountain and statue. In fact, there was an entire building dedicated to bringing the arts to the children in the area. Since I work at a non-profit arts council myself, I could definitely support that! I talked to an administrative assistant and witnessed a class in progress. I'm always willing to hear how other arts groups try to help out their community.

Another thing on my weird "to see" list was the Walmart Mausoleum. It was a quick visit, all you could do was walk around the building and snap a picture, but I marked it off the list.

Roadside America says: The ancestral Crowley Family cemetery survived the 1963 construction of a mall and parking lot, and subsequent Wal-Martinizing of the landscape. Sometimes called the "Tomb of the Unknown Shoppers."

Then back to the city before picking up my daughter at Georgia Tech. When I discovered that the next item on my "to see" list was unexpectedly closed, I went searching for a coffee shop. I found the lovely Honey Bubble on Ponce de Leon. I got a lavender green tea and indulged on three different macarons. YUM YUM YUM!

As for Day 4...I finally gave into my exhaustion and just took a nap for most of the morning.