Art and Crafts

One of my old drawings, colored pencil on Mylar. This was in Murau, Steiermark, Austria, 2005. In the picture are my stepfather (front) and my husband in the red jacket.

Winter in St. Lambrecht, Styria, Austria. I drew this in 2000 to use as a Christmas card. A couple from Austria bought the original drawing. As a nine-year old I was in this church many Sunday mornings with my Aunt Grete. The floor in the narthex is covered with carved stone monuments of influential dignitaries and priests of Austria. My Aunt and Uncle's house was a few hundred feet away from the monastery. (My uncle was a men's tailor and his specialty was Austrian costumes.) de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stift_St._Lambrecht

Prismalcolor on Mylar drawing. That was my favorite technique to draw with. I only ever knew of one artist that used the same technique in the US. When drawing on Mylar the pencils have to be very soft, otherwise the surface gets damaged. Prismacolor pencils are perfect but they brake very easily and have to be sharpened every minute or so. I average 40 to 50 colors for one drawing. They can be used with another color or two, but when the surface is saturated, it appears shiny and becomes permanent and as durable as oil paints. When the drawing is complete the back image can be seen exactly the same way as the front. I have to place the drawings on a sheet of paper to give it the background for framing. I still have all 125 colors of pencils the company ever made.

I photographed this drawing I did with colored pencil on Mylar. I don't remember how many hours it took to draw the details of the dress, but it was a project of many days. The drawing is only 6 inches by 8 inches tall.

My granddaughter, the dance teacher with a BA in Biology and a minor in dance.