Where do I put this?

As I de-bury myself from sorting through the various piles of debris that have been in my workspace, I welcome you all back to another installment of my continuing journey for this year. As I said previously, doing a serious deep clean is usually the most time consuming part of this kind of situation. What do you need? What is just trash? Is this recyclable? When the hell did you purchase that? It's like excavating an archaeological dig sometimes. For those who are in the various arts or are makers, this is even so. So that you aren't completely overwhelmed with attempting to do this all at the same time, spread the work out into smaller piles to be sorted and tended to. This way you aren't straining and inadvertently injuring yourself in the process.

Storage Solutions

If you are doing your own clean-up and organization, you are probably entering the “Where the hell do I put this shit” part of the process. Welcome, my friend! You've reached the most eye opening part of the journey; when you're seeing how much or how little space you have to work with. I have also reached this point so I understand what you may be going through. For those who aren't familiar with how artists/crafters/makers are, we have a LOT of small things. Pencils. Markers. Paints and inks. Tools of various shapes and sizes. A seemingly endless cornucopia of tiny baubles and components. All scattered on desks and shelves or plopped into cups and candle holders for easy access. This makes having workspace while also items within easy reach a little difficult. Personally I had things in random shaped cups and jars but attempting to find things that didn't fit a little more difficult. Let me share some of what I've come across that might work for you and ideas for alternatives.

Talenti brand gelato

Mason Jars, Candles & Gelato

Yup, you heard me. For those of you who are on a shoestring budget and needing something to hold things while you save up for a better solution, these items are absolutely perfect. Mason jars come in various sizes which helps with various sized items that might be in bulk such as pencils, pens, paintbrushes and beads. Another option, if you can't get a hold of mason jars, is jars of pasta sauce or jam. Once cleaned after you've used up their contents, these resealable glass containers work handy in a pinch. Candle holders, especially the tall glass ones typically used for cemeteries or shrines work well for taller items. The last one is perhaps a bit more surprising to many people but there are a couple of brands of gelato which come in clear plastic containers with a resealable lid. So not only will you have a sweet treat to enjoy but once the container is cleaned out, it can be used for storage. An alternative to the gelato container is actually clear vitamin bottles.

Metal Mesh Pencil Holder

I had my pencils, pens and paintbrushes separated into nearly 15 different cups and was having moments of “now where did I put this” repeatedly along with having something

Marbrasse Mesh Desk Organizer

fall between the cups and not know it went. Wanting to fix this issue, I recently purchased 2 of these metal mesh pencil holders that I had found on Amazon. They're sturdy and with the things being at a slant, I can easily see where items are. The bottom tray on the holder works perfectly for keeping erasers, tiny tools and small staplers. Alternatively, there is acrylic versions available. However I cannot vouch for the durability and sturdiness of the products since I haven't picked any up.
Marbrasse Mesh Desk Organizer ($20.99)

Acrylic Makeup Holder

I think that by now, you would have noticed that the theme of all of the containers that I've pointed out so far are either clear or at least has a way to keep items within view. The reason for this is for me, which also might be true for others, is that if I don't see something in a container, I will forget that I even have certain items. Very much the whole “Out of sight, out of mind” scenario. This how we end up having so many random items scattered to the 4 corners of our work spaces. So what's this about acrylic makeup containers? These little storage containers are clear, sturdy, and come with a little non-slip/non-scratch padding for each

Sorbus Acrylic Cosmetics
 Makeup & Jewelry Storage

drawer of the container. With a wide range of sizes along with different holders to go with them, they work great for tiny bits for makers and crafters. Currently I'm using one for small bits and baubles while a second one I just recently got in will be dedicated for small product storage. However, as a heads up, this particular storage solution is a bit more of an investment compared to the others I listed depending on what type and size you get.

Sorbus Acrylic Cosmetics Makeup and Jewelry Storage ($19.99)

BINO 5Drawer Acrylic Jewelry and Makeup Organizer ($19.99)

BINO 5 Drawer Acrylic
Jewelry & Makeup Organizer

Like with any of these, be sure to measure the space you have available to find the best solution for you. As I continue with my adventure, I'm sure that I will discover other things that may help with keeping things organized. With such discoveries, I will be sure to share.

New Year, New Journey

 

    Hello everyone! Yes I, like many of you, have managed to survive 2020 with a bit of my sanity still intact. A bit wavery, but considering all things, I'll take it. So, what are my plans for 2021? Considering that at the beginning of last year, I had declared that it was my experimental year, I feel that this year should be my year of organization. For those who have no idea what I mean, let me explain. My “Experimental Year” was meant for me to be open to trying new things (i.e. new products, styles/subject matters of art never tried before) along with working on things that I've been struggling to depict properly. It was meant to be a learning experience to see what worked for me, what didn't and see how potential customers reacted. This year would continue that idea but also would be my “Organizational Year”, in which my goal is to not only clean and organize my work/studio space but to do the same for my life both on the personal side and business side.

So What to do First

Work in Progress

    Making a game plan and clean. The plan is to slightly separate my work/studio space from the rest of the room without making the whole place feel closed off. A little difficult to do when my area is in our bedroom and we have a private patio area. What does this mean? Though the section of room that I'm using is about 74inx136in (6ft2inx11ft4in), the space I basically reside in the most is 74inx81in (6ft2inx6ft7in). What makes this a smidge more complicated in reclaiming a bit more space so that things are a bit more streamline and such is my equipment being so large. Discussing things with my wonderful father, we've been able to come up with a plan where my scanner will be getting moved to where my printer is currently being housed on top of my filing cabinets and we'll be building a stand so things can be stacked a little. Of course this move may cause me to have to move where things are computer wise and have me do some cable maintenance but that is to be expected.

    Cleaning so far has been the most time consuming part since I haven't really had a decent chance to do some serious deep cleaning. I would often just start cleaning and then a deadline would pop up so I would stop to get work done. The result is things just being pushed to the side with the thought of “I'll take care of this later”. Of course this turned into piles of debris or either laundry or recyclables and trash I need to sort through along with dust. So much dust. Thankfully the start of the year is usually slow for me work wise so I'm having the chance to tackle things I've been needing to pay attention to for a great while. Up to this point I've managed to clean and rearrange 2 of the 3 bookcases I have. I still have several piles of recyclables and supplies to sort through but so far so good. However, I have the distinct feeling that my vacuum cleaner is forming a hatred for me because of all of the fine dirt and such I've been cleaning up.

There is much more to come in the future as I continue this journey so if you'd like to follow along and perhaps get inspired or just be amused at my flailing and problem solving. I still have so much more to do as I transform my workspace into a place I can work freely in without it looking like I'm trapped behind a wall of random junk.

The 2020 Roller-coaster

     Life happens and it seems that 2020 is tossing folks into the biggest test of all. We're already 4 months in and so much has happened on this roller-coaster that it's hard to keep a firm grasp of what's happening. So let me start off with this - You are not alone. 

Riding up the hill

     Personally I have had a handful of high points already since the start of the year. Not only am I making some small improvements with my business which I can tell are making some minor positive impacts on my work but I have been able to participate in a couple of competition shows already. I am also currently working on a handful of projects which include both customer orders and a new competition piece which I hope to enter sometime in the middle of April. Of course I'm not about to let these achievements get to my head. Over the years I have learned that those moments are points where I can use to push myself forward in order to improve in various aspects of my life. 

Holding on for dear life 

     With every rise, there is a fall somewhere. The year so far has not been kind towards those I care about. A friend lost some family members since the start of the year. Financial woes have hit a couple of others hard, causing them to have to scrap through by the skin of their teeth. A divorce here and a separation there. On-the-job related injuries and asshole coworkers. At-home injuries and home improvement aftermaths.Then of course an illness that has the world in a panic. 

    Seeing everything happening to those around me has honestly put my normally positive attitude towards life and issues in general in jeopardy. So many friends have been coming to me for advice or at least an ear where they can vent their worries and anger. I do my best to cheer them up by pointing out the sliver of positive in their situations. Sometimes it works. Lately it's been touch-and-go. I've also seen friends who are normally so close, supportive and loving towards each other being set off in fits of anger or being offended over things that in under normal circumstances would be talked over like adults or moved past. Such outbursts are sadly happening in increased frequency and as of late I get put in a mediator position for a great many. I've observed that the quarantine, on top of nerves being raw from their personal stresses, has caused so many incidents of boiled over emotions. So many times have I've tried to get them to understand what was happening but I can't help but feel that they can't hear me through the thick fog of what is happening. So all I can do is hold onto them and help push them up the next hill saying 'Everything's going to be okay'. 

     

Still on the rails

     Even though I have been seeing what the last few months have been doing to those I hold dear, I feel as if there is a few things that I've learned from it that I wish to share. 

1. Be patient. Everyone handles stress differently and some better then others. Some folks, especially introverts and those with various forms of autism or mental illness (i.e. bipolar, depression, etc.) can not handle large amounts of stress let alone for long periods of time. They may distance themselves as much as they can or may snap out at someone. I'm not saying either reaction is correct but please keep in mind that processing under such conditions are difficult so words may come out harsher then they would under normal circumstances. Extroverts tend to handle stress for prolonged periods of time a little better but even the best of folks will have their nerves become raw. Sometimes when this happens, outbursts of anger and frustration will occur. Again, it's not a reaction I condone but such things happen. Everyone, including yourself, are basically in a pressure cooker. At some point there is is going to be an explosion of raw emotion and though whoever is on the receiving end may not have been the main cause of it, they will feel the impact and in turn be part of a chain reaction. So please, be patient. Take a moment to pause and look at the situation first.
   
2. For every low, there is a high. This one is difficult to really accept let alone remember. It's easy to see the negative and get into the mindset of 'everything's fucked, why bother'. It's harder to find the positive in dark situations. Even more so in forcing yourself to move forward. A small step is still progress.
   
3. Be kind. Everyone is having a rough time right now which means kindness is needed even more then before. Be there for someone who just needs a hug or a positive word (digital communication, phone calls, or even a card totally qualifies in this). This also means to be kind to yourself. Take care of yourself physically and mentally. Tell yourself 'I can try again' and don't apologize to the world when you need to rest. 
   
4. You are not alone. With the 'social distancing' and fear of the unknown along with uncertainty of the immediate future, everyone is on edge. Such a cocktail of stress and frustration makes for a dark cloud that blankets the senses. We become lost in the thought of 'what will become of me?' and end up focusing on the self. However, you are not alone. There's an entire world of people who are in this situation together and they're trying their hardest to lift each other up. So reach out towards those you care about. 

     I apologize for my little tangent but I thought that I would share things from another point of view. Even with the lows I've bared witness to, I have seen some positive things come out of them. These moments I'm holding on to and making sure they aren't lost. Call it what you will but I believe that my friends and loved ones will make it through these times. 

From Beginning to End and Back Again

Recently I had the wonderful opportunity to guest on a creative Twitch stream with the wonderful Stacy J. Garrett. How did this happen? What started out as a joke while she was live streaming one day, she had commented to her audience that if a certain donation goal was met, that she would get me as a guest for a future stream. Off camera, she sends me a private message if I was alright with even guesting. Of course, I said yes then through out the question of if she would like me in some sort of Steampunk costume for the hell of it. Like a great many times where I randomly say something and people take and run with it, this was no different. It was in several short moments that we agreed to a Steampunk themed art stream. 

Rough concepts for painting

Alas, what to create? I put it out to her community to choose one of three possibilities so I had some kind of direction of what they would like me to do. Of the selection (Steampunk environment, Cthulhu/Dark Steampunk, Other [suggest] ), a Cthulhu or dark Steampunk themed piece ended up with the most votes. Now that I had my direction, it was time to get sketching on rough drafts. I ended up coming up with 2 possibilities and both concepts made me think that they should be covers for a book or showing scenes from an appropriately themed mystery novel. Once again, I left it up to Stacy's community to place a vote on which one they would like to see me work on during the stream. Though many let me know that they loved both concepts, they knew that they needed to pick just one. The winning concept? Option 1 - A young man carefully wading through trash in what possibly could be sewer or filthy waterway. 

Painting at end of stream

On stream, I was able to get started on many of the base colors and block in the heavy use of shadow this piece was going to have. Of course, by the end of the stream, I had let everyone know that I would be finishing the piece in the following days then share the end results. What I didn't tell them was that I was going to take progress shots as I went along so that I could share the images with them so that they could follow along. Another little something I had never mentioned to them was that I have never done a piece with this kind of lighting/dark shadows before in my life. In all honesty, most of it I was winging. Compared to so many of my earlier pieces, where the lighting was gentle and had a good balance of shadows. Even with the classic vehicles I've done, there seems to be a balance. This piece is the first where the shadows were giving the sense of anxiety or impending danger. Considering the setting of the piece, It was perfect. 

As I started getting closer to completion of the piece, an interesting suggestion came up in conversation. Since the setting was inspiring several in the community, why not set up a writing prompt? What Stacy and I had explained to her community is that I'm not much of a story teller in the traditional beginning-to-end sense. I am much more the type who can create an entire world, environments and give glimpses of the happenings via character journals. Of course this made folks even more encouraging over the whole situation. What kind of journal entry would this young man have? What was his world like? Where would they take the answers to those questions with their own stories? I found myself pondering the possibilities and found myself entertained.  So I made the decision to actually do a 'journal entry' to be with this piece. Of course this also came with me doing a rather quick set of notes to myself of what the calendar system of this possible world would be like and a rough idea of the world layout. So, quickly grabbing the nearest piece of paper, I scribbled down notes and figured out a few things:

Winter - King of Sleep (64 days)
Spring - Queen of Awakening (120 days)
Summer - Lord of Insight (90 days) 
Fall - Lady of Preparation (93 days)

A. The Kingdom of Onyxia 
(mountains, temperate rain forests) 
B. Undivided States of Melckorr
(temperate rain forests, valleys, river ways) 
C. Isles of Fonseca
(woodlands, shrublands) 
D. Raliuga
(woodlands, shrublands, mountains) 
E. Dolosais Empire
(forests, mountains, tundra)

So I present to you the finished painting and its companion journal entry! 

-------



56 of our Lady of Preparation

I have followed the trail to the older section of the Onyxian capital proper. What few rumors I've been able to keep my ears open to has lead me to take a look at the catacombs on this part of the city. Why steal an ancient relic from the university then

dump it in a place like this? The logic completely eludes me. The catacombs is nothing more then the remains of the old city which was converted to be part of the waterways once the expansion of the capital occurred. Now it is nothing more then then flooded hallways that some of the citizens here had been using as a dump. Attempting to find anything in this place will be next to impossible. 

Even as I stand at the entry way into this place, I can smell the sickening sweet smell of decay and rot. I know that the putrid rancid aroma will only get thicker the further I go in. My only hope is if the relic was tossed in here, that I am able to locate it quickly. If not, I fear that I may suffocate in this stench or loose my way. I have been warned by some of the older inhabitants of this area that there are rather sizable vermin and water serpents that I need to be cautious of if I was fool enough to enter this place. May the gods grant me guidance. I am certainly going to need any assistance I can get at this point. 

`Changes for the better (I hope)

I've realized that it has been quite a while since I had last posted updates of the happenings on my end. Well there's a very good reason for that! The last several months have been a whirlwind of madness, with the last month or so just a blinding kaleidoscope of movement, colors, and conversation. So let me break it down for you all so these cliff notes can catch you up on what all is happening. 

'Enter the Dungeon' design by Dawn Star Wood

Experimenting with something new

I had already had the mind set that this year would be the year I would try new things and perhaps practice in genres or mediums that that aren't exactly my strong point Among these is doing a cohesive series of images. One that is currently in progress is what I was calling The Queens of the 4 clans - My interpretation of the queens of the 4 suits in a deck of playing cards. With everything that has been going on, my work on the series has been rather erratic but I have been enjoying seeing the slow outcome of the images. A few friends have suggested that I write a short story of the images, which I am very tempted to do but we shall see. 

'Cockatrice Roasted Coffee' design by
Dawn Star Wood

Well it finally happened. After years of debating it with myself, I have started a little online shop via Redbubble. Making sure that I have pieces that translate properly into a digital format then get transferred onto an item has been a bit of an adventure and surprisingly challenging. So at the moment, I only have two designs available and both being Dungeons & Dragons related. The fist design was appropriately titled Enter the Dungeon, which shows a few common enemies that some players of D&D would face in a campaign. The second it titled Cockatrice Roasted Coffee. This design stemmed from from a conversation I had with friends over coffee about D&D creatures. Both designs were hand done in ink on Bristol paper. I do have plans on making more illustrations (and paintings if things will allow) available on items. So feel free to check those out and stay tuned to new stuff in the near future. 


Another new adventure is that on Monday, May 6th at 3:30pm PST I will be guesting on my dear friend Stacy J Garrett's Twitch Channel. We will be doing a Steampunk themed art stream. What started out as a joke suggestion of her reaching a particular donation goal on her stream, she would have me on stream painting something for her viewers, has snowballed into awesomeness. Her goal was surprisingly met and I have been hard at work preparing for this. Want to come and be part of the shenanigans while supporting another fellow maker? Then I invite you to tune into the stream!
Twitch.tv/stacyjgarrett




Ducktape fixes most everything

On the personal life part of things, it's been a bit of a roller coaster. Most things for the positive, thankfully. It's just everything that has been happening has not allowed for a full on acceptance of some things so it's been a lot of 'Yeah, everything's fine' kind of mantra happening. Of course, as I typed this, I was finding myself welling up with tears even though I was smiling. This was an indication to me that though I know logically that everything is fine or at least everything will be okay, the heavy impacts of this whirlwind I'm in is still not fully absorbed. So yes, there is a little version of myself inside of me screaming and scared but I'm pushing through the storm going 'I've got this'. With this said, I feel the need to apologize if the following batches of rambling makes no sense or feels unorganized.

Be it my friends or my family, I want the people around me to be happy or at least know that they aren't having to face the negativity being tossed at them alone. In the case of my friends, there's several that I know battle various forms of depression or anxiety which is just amplified with the things they're going through. I may not be able to put an end to what they're dealing with but I do try to give them an ear and a shoulder. Sometimes this comes in the form of helping figure out where miscommunication might be involved. There's always tension there but sometimes things work themselves out and hearing them laugh always makes my day. I wish there is more I can do to help but I have to remind myself that I also have myself to think about.

I also have a dear friend who has happily found the love of her life and they've been making plans for their future together, which makes me absolutely thrilled for her. Of course, with how everything's been moving, there has been that little version of me who's been scared. It's not a feeling of 'I've been replaced' but more of a feeling of 'I'm going to be forgotten'. Of course I know for a fact that this isn't true and that my friend will remain my friend, but this is one of those incidents I was mentioning where I have to repeatedly tell myself that everything is going to be alright. 

Recently, about a month ago, I received a call from one of my uncles that my cousin's mother had passed away. Taken by surprise, in the same call I learned that we had almost lost another one of my (from a completely different situation). Being the person that I've grown to be, I forced my feelings over the situation aside and made sure that everyone else was alright. Knowing that my cousin needed time to mourn, I held back commentary (knowing from personal experience when my mother passed that getting condolence messages compounded the emotions I was feeling). It wasn't until just recently, my cousin contacted me to let me know the news and apologized. I told her that she had nothing to apologize for since she literally didn't. I explained to her that our uncle had let me know and that I kept my silence because I knew that she needed to mourn and spend some much needed time with her husband and children. I let her know that she had the love and support of her friends and family so even with all of our schedules being absolute disasters, if she needed to talk that we would be there for her. 

On the At-Home front, the past month has been hectic. It started off with us getting a notice in the mail from our city that we were being warned of a violation - for parking one of our vehicles on our front lawn. We already had plans of expanding our driveway so that we could park both of our trucks there but the notice kind of kicked things into overdrive. So began the start of clearing out a section of the lawn, moving the soil into the backyard so that I can use it for my planter boxes, and trying to figure out how much materials we'll need to make the expansion. While we have this going on, we also decided to get started on other improvements our home has desperately needed. This has come in the form of new duct work, insulation (since, surprise, our attic barely had any), and getting measured for new windows. With the previous two finished last week, we are scheduled for the instillation of the windows here in another week or so. Of course this does not include having to schedule final inspection, not from the company we're working with, but our city itself since it would seem their requirements are just slightly different enough from the company's inspection where we have to have them come through to do a double check.

I think what what I might be getting at is more of a conformation to myself that even with all of the insanity that's happening on so many fronts of my life, that things will indeed be alright. May not feel that way sometimes and helplessly wanting to reassure my friends and family that it'll be alright for them as well, but I'm sure things will be. I also need to remind myself that I need to take time for myself and not take on everything alone. That aside, I will keep everyone updated on future events and shenanigans that I have going on in the background so stay tuned!

Instagram: OnePartPaint2PartsCoffee
Facebook: DawnStarWoodArt
deviantART: DawnstarW

Small Treasures

'Star Gazer' by Dawn Star Wood

So many of those who are following me on Facebook or Instagram have been noticing that I have been posting on a series of pieces that I'm doing on wood and may be a bit puzzled over what I have going on. Let me go ahead and explain what I have going on to clear up any confusion. 

In the beginning

At the start of the year, I participated in Elk Grove Fine Art Center's juried Fine Art Competition with my piece titled Star Gazer (which has been recently auctioned off at Pence Gallery's 2018 Art Auction, so thank you very much to whoever the lucky bidder was). During the announcements and award ceremony during the competition's artist reception, it was announced that those who there would be given the opportunity to also be a part of EGFAC's Small Treasures show which was being set later in the year. I agreed and things were set into motion. 

For the Small Treasures show, each participating artist is given a set of 5 wood panels and are asked to create a series that has a theme suitable for family viewing. The panels themselves can be decorated in media of all kinds from paint and photography to pencil, collage, mosaic and mixed media.This particular show has been an annual event for a few years now and is quite popular within the community. It's probably due to seeing how different artists from various medias and styles tackle basically the same format. 

Ponder, plot, eh let's go for it

Sister #1 of 'I am Beautiful' series
By Dawn Star Wood

Sister #2 of 'I am Beautiful' series
By Dawn Star Wood

Once I received my blocks, I found my mind blank. It's not that I didn't have a plan. In fact, I actually did have an idea of what I wanted to do but all of those thoughts went to the wayside when I found myself realizing that they would be better put to a different project. So I sat at my desk trying to come up with a Plan B. It may come as a surprise but I've never been very good with doing an entire series of images for the simple fact I find trying to get them to feel to be one cohesive collection yet able to stand strong as a solo piece rather difficult and challenging. There was a voice in my head just freaking out going "What have you done to us?!". Yeah, that was an interesting moment of self realization of having a fight or flight reaction to a project that I said yes to several months prior. What did I do? Basically took the challenge by the horns and went "Let's do this shit". As you can tell, my inner monologue has no censor bar. 

Like I mentioned to my followers on Instagram and Facebook:

As I prepared to rummage through my various reference folders for inspiration, I found myself hitting a wall. For a while I had the thought of doing the elements or even different types of priestesses but as I looked through my collection of image references, something else came to mind. A series of images of various women and the series simply being titled "I am beautiful". It's certainly something that could spur on an entire collection but I think this is a nice start. Amazing what a little brainstorming can do.

What I wanted to do was create a series which pieces, each having a different ethnicity presented. The 'sisters' of the series are based off of photo references that I've collected over the years online of women from around the world. Each time I finish a piece for the collection, I find myself welcoming her to the 'family'. I know, I know. It sounds odd but I can't help the amount of joy I feel with how they're coming out. I'm currently 3 panels in

Sister #3 of 'I am Beautiful' series
By Dawn Star Wood

so have 2 more left to go but I'm quickly finding that each one goes so well together but are able to stand strong on their own. 


Come and see Small Treasures
Will you be in the Greater Sacramento area in November? Want to see and perhaps claim a small treasure of your own? Then I invite you to see the show! 

Small Treasures Group Show & Sale
November 3rd - December 1st, 2018

Elk Grove Fine Art Center
9080 Elk Grove Blvd. 

Elk Grove, CA 95624
p. (916) 685-5992
Wed. - Sat. 11am - 4pm

From Concepts to Beyond

As I had mentioned in Getting Back on Schedule, August has basically been my busy work month so far. Of course I also mentioned that if I had any updates to what I had listed at the time, that I would make the necessary announcements. Well you're in luck because man, it may only be the second week into the month but I already have so much to share. 

Business Logo.. It's about F-ing time! 

Rough Drafts & Notes about possible designs

Yup, that's right. After nearly 12 years of having my little business, I'm finally creating myself a business logo. The entire situation came up sometime last month while chatting online with one of my best friends, discussing work and upcoming projects, when it suddenly occurred to me. I did not have a logo of my own. It was such a huge hit that I found myself completely stunned. Discussing the situation with her and with much playful scolding from her, I made it my mission for to have a logo to call my own by the end of the month. I'm happy to say that after several rough ideas and many long hours of contemplation (along with banging my head against my desk but we won't get into that), that I've finally come up with a design that I'm quite satisfied with. Now to just get it finalized and make sure that it's in a format that I can use in various sizes. 

'Star Gazer' by Dawn Star Wood

Pence Gallery Art Auction 2018

I have been busy working with the those in charge of putting on the upcoming art auction for Pence Gallery, making sure they have my information and the information on my entry Star Gazer for the bid sheets. They do have information on how to purchase tickets to the Art Auction event on their website so I encourage you to check it out and if you have any questions about this event to contact them with your inquiries. Later this month I will be heading to Davis to hand over the painting so that it can be put up for the show. 

Pence Gallery

212 D Street     Davis, CA     95616

Hours: Tues. - Sun.     11:30am - 5pm

Art Auction Exhibit: September 1st - 15th

Art Auction: September 15th     6:30pm - 9:30pm

KVIE Art Auction 2018 

'Secret Garden' by Dawn Star Wood

Previously I had announced that in October, you will have a chance to bid on my piece titled Secret Garden. The piece was accepted into the show this year back in April but I had been patiently waiting on hearing anything about the results of the judging which didn't occur until sometime in July. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm thrilled to say that the painting has received a Jurors Choice award. KVIE announced on their website that First Place and Best of Show winners for the various categories will be announced during the award ceremony at the gala event. However I should be find out around that time which bidding slot (day & time bracket) that Secret Garden will be in. So until then, I will have to bide my time on any further possible announcements.

KVIE Public Television

2030 W. El Camino Ave. 

Sacramento, CA     95833

Preview Gala: October 1st     6pm - 8pm

Live On-Air & Online Auction: 

     October 5th     7pm - 10pm

     October 6th     Noon - 10pm

     October 7th     Noon - 10pm

Dark Green Man concept by Dawn Star Wood

Something Wicked (Group Show) 2018

I have been debating for some time what I should do for this particular show. Something Wicked is a group show which is being put on by Pence Gallery. Curator Eileen Hendren described the theme of the show being almost Tim Burtonish and would be featuring all things wicked. Originally I was leaning towards doing something more towards Eastern mythology (Chinese/Japanese demons or ghosts), but after doing some rough concepts in both just sketches and color study paintings I found myself not being drawn to any of them. It wasn't until earlier this week during a brainstorming session where I was doodling for the sake of doing so that I believe that I found what I am going to do. The image seemed to be a mix of Green Man and a Pan, giving almost a sense of a dark forest spirit. Not necessary evil but dark due to the secrets and magic it keeps from the world. This then spurred me to do a couple of secondary sketches based off of some dead bugs that I've collected from my garden over the past couple of years. Of course the sketches along almost make me feel as if I should just do an entire series and make them into an art book of sorts but I suppose that is a line of thought for a later day. Until then, I like the plan that I've come up with for the show and am looking forward to painting the strange being I've created. 

Dead Bug concepts by Dawn Star Wood
(Left) Stripes & Dots, (Right) Reflection of Actions

Pence Gallery

212 D Street     Davis, CA     95616

Hours: Tues. - Sun.     11:30am - 5pm

Something Wicked Group Show: October 5th - 28th