Artwork, etc.: A cleaning and organising week

A busy week in Artlandia...

I made these lovely rats with wings, but first off, there was cleaning...

Does making the "before" picture small lessen the shame?

After

I hasten to point out that even in the "before," the trays themselves were meticulously organized (even amidst a mess, I do take good care of my tools and blocks); however, everything around the trays had become too chaotic, even for me. (Obviously) it was time to make some changes, but I'd been putting it off, thinking (justifying?) that I might have a clearer idea of what to do after the certificate program - which, luckily, turned out to be correct. Studio set up and organization were part of the curriculum (thumbs up! Have I mentioned how much I heart Zea Mays today? ;))

I added more shelving and the rest of the stuff is re-purposed/adapted. Still a little more to go, but it's (much) better and more functional - that's my version of a print drier in front of the fan that I just learned how to make - and here's a helpful link to a similar set up: http://www.magicalsecrets.com/dryer )

I'm super excited to start working with some of the new techniques, but there's going to be a little delay as I organize and gather some supplies. That's ok - I missed my carving tools and wouldn't want them to feel neglected ;)

New Blocks this week:

So, the theme was rats. (If this seems random - have faith :) - promise, they're for something specific in the works - more to come on that as it develops...) I think all the bunny photos and research I've been doing for the past few weeks helped (- bunnies also being rodents :o ). These were a little less intimidating than bunnies because they're small, but also, as a kid, we had "classroom pet" rats (Peaches and Peanuts), so I can remember handling rats.

I've been thinking that even though I've done a lot of research on bunnies and have been photographing them for months, and have carved them before (5 times that I can think of, twice at full-scale); somehow, I just don't feel ready. I don't know why exactly - maybe the thing that would be most helpful would be spending some time with a pet bunny? (Hmmmmmmm.)

Or maybe not? This on the same sheet of paper with one of the rats from this week and an earlier rat block. The "old" block is from March - 5 months ago. The old block is fine - the drawing is accurate enough and the carving is neatly done, but I think the new block is just better (?? -it's a more lively pose and carved more aggressively so that there's more/better light areas)...and it's not like I've handled any pet rats between then and now...(so maybe I should stop being an art-wimp and carve some bunnies?[Eep.])