Tag: Art

It’s Just A Bunch of Hocus Pocus

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I Smell Children Hand-Painted Wood Sign

I know we’re past Halloween, but it can still be spooky season in November, right?

I wanted to share a little bit more about what I’ve been working on with my home decor signs. I mentioned it in my last post and I’m really excited and have so many ideas that I’m working on.

In October, I went on a little bit of a Hocus Pocus kick with my Halloween decor. Even painting a huge sign for outside that I had seen on Pinterest.

Every time I’m in home decor stores, it’s hard for me to justify spending money on signs when I know that I can paint them myself. I love painting and often have re-created art that I’ve seen on Pinterest for my home decor.

I decided to give it a shot and paint a few Hocus Pocus themed signs for Halloween, and I think they turned out really well! I know it’s a little late to be promoting them, but I still wanted to share them with the world.

I plan on working on more fall signs next and then some for Christmas. Like I said before, I have so many ideas so I’m really excited to put them to work. I’m going to be selling them on my Etsy Shop: Kayla Cropper Art

This is something that I’m really enjoying doing, so I hope other’s will enjoy my work too. If you have some time, please check it out! 🙂

Amuck! Amuck! Amuck! Hand-Painted Wood Sign

Another Glorious Morning Hand-Painted Wood Sign

Self Portraits Are Hard!

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This is definitely a delayed post. For Mother’s Day I painted this photo of myself as a gift to my Grandma. It was a photo that she took of my when I was little and had always wanted to paint. Guys, this was HARD! It’s so hard to look at yourself and to put that to canvas. I’d stare at it and just think things like “my eyes don’t look like that” “the nose isn’t right” “why does my hand look so weird”.

In the end, I think it turned out pretty well. The cat looks cute at least!

I Finally Did It! Check Me Out on Etsy!

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So something that people might not know about me is that I love making art. When I was in kindergarten, my grandmother would bring me along to art lessons that she would take and I fell in love.

All throughout school, art was always my favorite subject. In high school, I took as many art classes as I could. I really enjoyed portraits back then, and would always be drawing pictures of my friends and favorite celebrities.

I *almost* decided to go to school for art, but ended up choosing journalism as my major instead. Even then, I kept up with my interest in art and ended up working as a blogger for the Tyler Student Life page at the Tyler School of Art. I got to talk to students and artists, see their work, and start conversations about art and working as an artist. It was something that I really enjoyed.

Life’s gotten in the way a little bit since then, so I haven’t really had the time to sit down and draw or paint, but thanks to my current job I’ve been able to travel the world. Seeing the beautiful architecture in other countries, visiting art museums, and just enjoying life have really made me want to get back into the art world.

Then came COVID and here I was sitting at home bored out of my mind. Like many others, I decided to order art supplies from Michael’s and Amazon (which wasn’t easy because everything was pretty much sold out). I finally picked up the paintbrush again! And I’m actually not that bad at it.

I decided to open an Etsy account so that my artwork doesn’t keep piling up at my house. It’s really just something for fun, but I appreciate any one who’s willing to check it out.

I have tons of photos from my travels that I plan on painting and selling on the shop, BUT FIRST! I’ve been painting photos of my family’s dogs on ornaments and decided to offer it as a custom ornament on the shop. It’s just a start, but here’s a link if you want to see it for yourself: Custom Hand-Painted Dog Ornaments.

Anyway, that’s all I wanted to share. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and check out my new venture 🙂

Visit KaylaCropperArt on Etsy!

The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

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I’ve been meaning to read The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks for awhile, and even bought a paperback copy from the bookstore when I went about a year ago, but it’s taken me this long to finally pick it up and read through it. I’m so glad I finally did.

I think in order for me to really enjoy a book I have to either be really interested in what it’s about or I have to be able to somehow relate parts of the story to my life. With this one in particular, there were a lot of things in the story line that I felt I could relate to.

Although I was  a journalism major in college, I took an art major class and actually had considered switching my major because I enjoyed it so much. Still kind of wish I would have done something with art in college. I kind of admired that Sophia had chosen it with her background and having immigrant parents who worked really hard just to survive in a new country. I know she’s a fictional character, but I feel like if she were real it would be a really difficult decision to pursue something you’re passionate about rather than something that will help you land a good job. I respected her for that.

Ira and Ruth’s art collection was also a fascinating part of the story for me. Almost makes me want to start collecting art, but I’m not sure I have the eye that Ruth had. This kind of ties in with me wanted to be an art history major. I just have always had an interest in the arts and it’s cool to think that there could’ve been a couple who lived and met all these amazing artists in their lifetime. Again, I know it’s fictional, but I really loved this part of the story line and how it tied the two couples together in the end.

And, of course, I’ve fallen for the guy who would work himself to death to help out his family. I could definitely see a lot of him in Luke, so that kept me interested. Being a hard worker and family-oriented is something that I absolutely find attractive in a man, so I could understand why Sophia would fall so hard. Definitely been there.

Plus, who doesn’t love a good love story in general? This one had a lot of depth to it and you could tell that Nicholas Sparks did a lot of research while writing. I’m honestly surprised it took me this long to read it and I feel like I should definitely read more of his work.

Any recommendations for what Nicholas Sparks book I should read next?

Sculpture Student Sends Message With Reclaimed Materials

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PrintView original post at http://tyler.temple.edu/blog/sculpture-student-sends-message-reclaimed-materials

J. Thaddeus Lutz received the opportunity of a lifetime when he began his internship with Darla Jackson at the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym.

After the junior sculpture major took a 3D wood shop class with Ryan McCartney, he told McCartney that he was interested in trying to cast metal. That was when McCartney recommended that Lutz check out the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym.

“Eventually, he got in contact with Darla Jackson and he just asked her if she needed an intern,” Lutz said. “I started it, fell in love with it, and now I’m really good friends with Darla and it’s awesome.”

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Morgan Gilbreath’s The Ground Beneath My Feet

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tumblr_mnuouk4uwE1qgye8go8_1280For link to original story, visit http://tyler.temple.edu/blog/morgan-gilbreaths-ground-beneath-my-feet

Senior Morgan Gilbreath came to Tyler because she wanted to take on a double major, a school that was not just an art school, and to be in an urban environment. She is currently pursuing a BFA with a concentration in Glass, a BA in Art History, and a certificate in Community Arts from Tyler.

In the past year, Gilbreath has been awarded the Tyler School of Art Partner Scholarship, had an article published in Cleaver Magazine, and had an original piece installed in Temple Contemporary.

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Tyler Professor’s Work on Display at Museum of Art & Design

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ec686ad587116d6a588c9e1663505e07Sweetmeat by Doug Bucci

Adjunct Jewelry Professor Doug Bucci makes all of his jewelry on a 3D printer. His piece “Sweetmeat” is currently on display for the Museum of Art & Design’s “Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital” exhibition.

“Two years ago, I was invited by MAD’s curator Ron Labaco to be a part of the Out of Hand exhibition,” Bucci said. “Labaco had seen the beginnings of my new series ‘Sweetmeat’ at the 2011 SOFA New York exhibition. The work was presented by Sienna Gallery as part of the exhibition ‘Covet’.”

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