Blog Blog, by Tiphoni

Quinoa with Tuna & Capers

2012-02-06T22:35:00.001-08:00

I recently finished an illustrated recipe for a recipe exchange at my mom's Play retreat in Port Townsend this past week. I am a HUGE foodie and would really like to keep making these, possibly put together a book in the future. This is one of my favorite goto meals that I eat at least 3 times a week, hope you enjoy!

Teaching at the Artfest Annex

2012-01-20T20:22:00.000-08:00

I am teaching a bunch of classes in Pioneer Square coming up starting in February. Photoshop 101 & 102, Web Design, Blog Design, Drawing & Watercolor, Color Theory and Felted Creatures. Come check them out! http://www.teeshamoore.com/annex/what.html

*Blind-contour Self portrait from my Drawing & Watercolor class

*Mr. Mushroom & Logburt from my Felted Creatures class

*Journal Page from my Photoshop 101 class

More New Stuff!

2012-01-20T19:56:00.000-08:00

This is Tofu's house. She works at the coffeeshop below her apartment which is located just outside Phlufftropolis.

Tribbley's mustache took a terrible turn.

Just found this drawing I did at Artfest one year, I like finding old things I forgot about :)

Drew this for a friends's mom's birthday today!

Found some old thumbnail sketches I did for potential paintings, I really like this one I did based on an film noir still. Think I'll make this into my next painting.

New Paintings from my world Phlufftopia

2012-01-07T18:41:00.000-08:00

Arfarf and Sheepsheep, best friends and worst enemies they are the loyal pets of Tofu's sister "Sissies".

Inside the deep forest the ancient doorway is found, no one has ventured through it in millennia only legends exist of what lies beyond.

Tofu's parents, Tofmomma & Tofdaddy, run the local carnival in Phlufftopia.

Gwendolyn loves the rain and only leaves her house when it's raining outside.

2011-12-14T19:52:00.000-08:00

I just got some of my stuff on Etsy. I have original art, prints, a journal, shoes and more!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/tiphoni

Tiphoni Spontaneous Bread Drawing 2

2011-12-14T15:10:00.000-08:00

"Gwen Loved To Pull Moustaches"

This is my second video attempt, still working on getting the lighting right.

Tiphoni Spontaneous Bread Drawing 1

2011-11-13T23:36:00.001-08:00

The text on my drawing reads "the preferred method of watering plants by Simonton".

So I really want to start working on providing some online classes but I have never made any videos in my life so last weekend I bought a Flip camera and this was my first attempt at video recording. I do hope to continue to do more of these spontaneous drawings so check back with me!

"Tofu decides to go for a walk" - Comic

2011-10-14T23:57:00.000-07:00

I drew this on a day where I really wanted to draw something but my mind felt completely blank. This is an accurate depiction of that state of mind.

Stamping on Shoes is fun :)

2011-09-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

I've been very inspired by Toki Doki and Harajuku lovers and I wanted to create a custom pair of shoes with my own designs. I used the latest stamps I've designed (which can be found at www.tiphoni.com) and colored them in with Marvy Fabric Ball & Brush Markers. They aren't quite finished and I am thinking about adding some hand drawn elements to fill up the space even more, but I would love to know what you guys think!

New Company New Logo: Phlufftopia

2011-07-02T12:47:00.001-07:00

I'm very excited cause I just designed a new logo for my rubber stamp company Phlufftopia. It's everything that I love, orange, sixties, mustache and top hat, I'm very pleased with the way it came out!

My 24 Hour Comic

2010-11-21T23:30:00.000-08:00

I still haven't gotten this comic scanned in yet but at least you can see the story so far. For those of you who don't know the girl is Tofu and the boy is Morty. Tofu is my character based on a big part of myself, and a character very dear to me. I hope to be able to tell a lot more of her stories.

New Paintings

2010-11-21T23:21:00.000-08:00

So I recently decided to paint 10 5" x 5" acrylic paintings as little vignettes or "moments" of my world to sell at Journalfest. Watercolor is usually my preferred medium but I was surprised how much fun I had painting these and am ready to do a bunch more.

Artfest Annex Open House and New Website officially online.

2010-10-08T21:31:00.000-07:00

The new website for Artfest Annex is officially online and you can access it here. I am truly excited for the opening of my mom's loft space into a location for artists to learn, teach and meet at. We will be continually updating it as we get more events.

The above pictures are of the open house in the Artfest Annex studio. We had fresh popped popcorn, good friends and lots of journaling / pens to go around. It was an incredible afternoon and just the beginning of what's to come!

24hr Comic Day!

2010-10-06T01:45:00.000-07:00

24hour Comic Day! What is 24hrcd you may ask? I actually had no idea until 3 days before the event this past weekend and I was lucky enough to get invited by my good friend Eroyn Franklin (amazing comic artist). It is an event that happens worldwide where people gather in groups of around 15-20 and try to take on the challenge of drawing a 24 page comic in 24 hours. It was created by Scott McCloud and is supposed to inspire and push the comic artist to show him/her what they can do when pushed to the extremes.

Our 24 hour period began at 1pm, I arrived prepared with water, coffee and a sandwich completely nervous but ready for the challenge. I had not planned or prepared any kind of pre thought-out story or concept feeling like complete spontaneity was the best approach. The first 10-15 mins I sat staring at my blank piece of paper with my mind just as blank. I started to panic knowing that I had about an hour per page if I were to complete the full 24 page project. Finally I just told myself I must dig in and start drawing otherwise this wasn't going to happen at all.

I believe that part of the reason I get stuck or am slow to produce work sometimes is because of an obsession with perfection in my work. I always want to create the very best possible piece that I can and know that anything I do I could probably could of done better. However in this moment I didn't have time to double think or plan the perfect page, I had an hour and the only thing important was that I has something on the page even if it wasn't perfect. This freedom allowed my hand to flow onto the page and I amazed myself with what came out.

I decided to draw Tofu and Morty (if you have seen my work they are the two round characters that wear pink and blue pants and Tofu always has a big pink bow on her head) because they are my more autobiographical characters that I formed back in college as a way of expressing certain stories and emotions in my life. Yet I have never quite written their story the way I wanted to, so part of me feels like these characters are old but yet I had to remind myself that although they have lived a long time running around in my head they have never seen that much light of day. They are also two characters that I can get really passionate about when I draw them and they are so real to me they seem to tell me what they are going to do, I don't tell them.

So their the story flowed, and I think this event was exactly what I needed as a big push to simply get things out of my head. I was surprised and excited by the pages I produced during this time and it has given me so much encouragement to keep producing so I can finally share the massive world that lives inside of my head. Sadly I only finished around 9-pages (although pretty much everyone finished the same amount of work) but I have big plans and strategies for next year on how to actually accomplish this seemingly impossible task.

And finally I'll say a couple more words about the event itself. I feel like I got lucky because the group I got to draw with was amazing. It was a room full of great personalities who all got along extremely well, ontop of that they were all great comic artists and getting to draw around other people with your same passions in life was incredible. Most of us made it through the night, eating free pizza and frozen custard that was donated to us. There was alot of pacing up and down the halls, sleeping under tables and some simply went home for a few hours and then came back to finish. It truly was a crazy day but well worth it.

(I will be posting my completed pages soon but my scanner has been not working so I have to figure that out)

Things that make me Happy

2010-10-06T01:11:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to add a couple pictures of my apartment and things that make me happy for the season.

Pumpkins are always exciting to me because they are orange and as some of you know I'm obsessed with orange. I loved the variety I found this year and am hoping when I have guests over that I can get them to doodle on the white ones.

Current Journal Pages

2010-09-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

I say current but these have been worked on as recent as this past couple weeks back to about a year ago. I tend to work my pages over and over and over again never really "finished" until I am complete my entire journal (or really just decide its time to move on to a new journal).

Artfest Annex

2010-09-20T23:39:00.000-07:00

My Mom and I sat down a month or so ago to discuss cool new ideas, in particular having to do with my mom's awesome loft space in Pioneer square. We came up with the idea of "Artfest Annex" where we would be offering our space for Artfest type classes to be held year round. I'm super excited about it and will myself be teaching several classes including possibly a weekly drawing drop-in workshop. If anyone in the Seattle area has any workshops they would love to see from me please let me know in the comments section.

Above is the initial cut-paper "template" for the Artfest Annex's website. I will hopefully have the completed website up soon, check back at teeshamoore.com in the next few weeks.

Theo & Heather's Wedding

2010-09-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

I drew the above picture for my good friend Theo Ellsworth who got married on September 4th, 2010.

Recent Journaling

2010-08-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

So I finally get myself excited to go spend a lot of time in my studio when we've been hit with a huge heat wave. One down side of my studio space is its almost like an oven in the heat and it is the last place I would want to be on a 95 degree plus day. However air-conditioned coffeeshops are great and just about the only refuge I have so I have been doing a lot of journaling the past few days.

I've been in a really weird journalling place (mentally) lately. I recently started a new journal after completing my first full journal (which took me about 4 1/2 years) and was super excited to start taking my journaling style in new directions and to branch out. However I put a lot of pressure on myself and kind of forgot what journaling was all about. Which led me to some soulless drawings that didn't come from deep down inside of me but instead came from my left brain trying to piece together "the steps" I use for creating a drawing ("ok first I draw a circle, then I draw two eyes and then...") and would wonder why everything coming out looked so ugly.

Recently I've been working on retraining my brain on how to journal. I've been remembering that journaling isn't about the art that is produced (the final product), it is a release of your thoughts, emotions and feelings from that exact moment allowing it to be captured on paper. Back in college I would call it "brainsponging" because even after I had been creating art for 7 hours in class and had a huge project due the next day I would still go spend an hour journaling so that I could just sit lose myself deep within my brain and just let the paper absorb the journey. It was relaxing and freeing without any pressure.

I have pictured above my most current completed page (well tentatively completed, I always seem to add more later) and while it's still not my favorite journal page ever I am finally feeling like my old journaling self is coming out again. My drawings and style will evolve on their own but right now I need to simply allow my thoughts to exist and be sponged into my journal.

My Studio in Georgetown

2010-08-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

I moved into the Georgetown Arts and Culture center (in Seattle) around the beginning of May. It's a very cool old space that has been revamped into an awesome studio / gallery / classroom space. However my first studio at this location was extremely small, very dark and just didn't entice me to ever make the drive to go do art. Recently a much larger studio opened up which has great all day natural light and a built in shelving unit. I had to take it and this is what's pictured above. I am loving my new space. It's so wonderful to finally have a place outside of my home to go and simply focus on my art. No computer distractions, no home distractions, its a time to draw or paint or sculpt or whatever I get inspired to create.

Crank Magic Lantern Necklace

2010-08-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

*Pictured above is Mr. Knife rubbing butter on Mr. Toast's belly, animation occurs when you twist the knob.

This is one of my new class offerings for Artfest 2011. As some of you may know I have been fascinated with interactive art lately. I have also been fascinated with old "animation" devices such as the zoetrope, chromatrope etc. I found one object called the "Crank Magic Lantern" where there was 3 planes of images. One still in the back ground and 2 almost swaying glass panels one on top of the other. I have never seen this type of motion before, it was so simple yet opened up so many possibilities in my mind that I was dying to try. I was determined to recreate this device but as a smaller necklace version so if you were to wear it people you meet would be able to interact with it and tell a story wherever it goes.

I spent probably around a month and a half trying to figure everything out. Seemed pretty simple at first but I'm no engineer and this was my first attempt to ever make anything that needed to be constructed in a very precise manner. My usual "go with the flow" attitude resulted in quite a few failed versions at the start. However each failed version taught me a valuable lesson that eventually led me to make the right decisions in the end. I also struggled with the materials to use and tried using sculpy and paper in the beginning. The Sculpy was simply to unwieldy, I would get the perfect piece and then accidentally squish one side before it was baked and the paper just tore apart when pushed to cranking extremes.

Time was running out (for me to be able to teach this at Artfest 2011) and although I had gotten a "working" model the thing was clunky, ugly and worked only semi-smoothly. I remembered that along my "materials hunt" (I spent a long time also trying to find clear glass or plastic that was the right shape for this project, again, alot harder than I would have thought) someone told me about Metrix Create: Space. If any of you have read Make Magazine it was like entering their lair, lots of people sitting around on laptops programming circuit boards and audrinos, laser-cutting and 3D printing while you wait and a vending machine full of electronic components and other wacky things. Everything I have dreamt about recently seemed like it could be a reality.

I have never designed anything to be laser-cut before in my life but I figured it was all or nothing at this point. So I sat down created a digital file of all my necklace components and hoped for the best. I can't even tell you how excited I was when she brought me out my little acrylic pieces (I only used wood on the front) and ran to my studio to assemble. It worked! My relief and excitement was huge and I can't wait to be able to teach this at Artfest and see what kind of animations people come up with.

People Buildings - (I have yet to come up with it's actual title)

2010-02-24T14:44:00.000-08:00

My Stamps Now on Teeshamoore.com!

2010-02-05T16:23:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to tell everyone that I set up "Tiphoni's Corner" on Teeshamoore.com. So far I have only one of my 3 line's up but as soon as I find a few spare moments in between the Journalfest site and getting ready for Artfest I will get my other two lines up. Also be watching for my prints, zines and even possibly some one of a kind items for sale. I will also be creating a brand new line of stamps for Artfest. Hope you guys enjoy and I would love any feedback on what you might like to see from me in the future! Here's a direct link: http://www.teeshaslandofodd.com/php/sunshop/index.php?l=product_list&c=34

p.s. If you place an order and are a reader of my blog let me know in the order comments section and I will throw in a secret surprise as a little thank you for supporting my blog!

What I Created At our PLAY Retreat

2010-02-04T22:06:00.000-08:00

This is the first thing I've done in Polymer clay since I was a little girl making game pieces with my Dad. I've been really wanting to try bringing my drawings into a more three-dimensional medium, it took me all weekend because I was teaching myself sculpture but I can't wait to get it painted. I also think I'm going to fill it with resin (after painting) and it's either going to be a journal cover or if it's too heavy simply a piece to hang on the wall.

My Belated Christmas Comic

2010-01-02T22:55:00.000-08:00

This is a comic I drew for my family and friends this year, which is why I'm posting this so late to keep the surprise.

My Belated Christmas Comic, part 2

2010-01-02T22:53:00.000-08:00

Happy New Decade!

2010-01-01T22:06:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the length of my absence, but I'm back and ready to start my blog again!

Journalfest Site Is Live!!

2009-03-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

The majority of the work I have been doing over the past few months is the brand new Journalfest site. Since this is a new site I got to design it from scratch again and Im really excited about it. The journal itself is hand drawn by me and all the collaged pieces are taken from my mom (Teesha), my dad (Tracy) and my journals.

I have also posted a image of the bookmark I designed to promote the retreat. I will also be teaching two new classes at this retreat, Brainsponging and The Travel Journal. I think this is going to be a refreshingly different, more intimate retreat that I absolutely can't wait for.

Speaking of which, Artfest is in one week! My favorite time of year!

My Hike: Week 2

2009-03-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

I went on another hike today, the same trail as before because it's super close to my house and really beautiful. I've been really enjoying this time seperated out to just think, with no distractions or worries that I need to be focusing on something else more urgent. I decided that I'm going to make "My Hike" a weekly feature on my blog as a way to share with you these thoughts and ideas and welcome any feedback or discussions that may arise.

What was on my brain most this hike was the idea of giving yourself a project or series to develop yourself creatively in some way. An example of this would be my Spontaneous Bread blog. I started this blog to get myself to draw on a daily basis, in a set time-limit: 30 minutes, and to be completely spontaneous, no prior thought until I start moving the pen on a piece of paper. The obvious reasons for doing a project like this is to develop my drawing skills, my spontaneity, and to develop a huge body of work that could possibly seed larger ideas and projects. Which is all why I picked this specifically. However the main goal of doing a project like this is to push yourself to the point of discovery, doing something over and over again you will inevitably learn something that you could of never discovered otherwise.

My last project was my journal (page 1 shown above). When I initially started it in 2005 I decided for this journal I was going to set up parameters for myself. These being that I would use mostly pen and ink, b/w, because this was the medium I was the most into at the time, and I would fill up every inch of space on each page. This density of the work on a page is what resulted in my journal taking me 4 years to complete even though I worked on it practically every day. In the end I had discovered what I considered was "my style" and "the way I journal". I had even forgotten that the only reason I do have "the way I journal" was because of these initial parameters I had set-up that had become something much more than that over the years. I knew my journal was done the moment I realized I could get nothing more out of it, that I had pushed and pushed and pushed this project until it was squeezed dry and I was ready to move on to the next thing. I am currently trying to figure out what I am going to set-up for my next journal, but I believe its going to do something with color because this is an area I know I need to push myself in (I know color theory like the back of my hand, but I have done very little color pieces).

In the end the reason I do anything is to understand creativity, the visual world and my own creative instincts. I dont know what further projects I will create for myself but I know there will be lots!

My Hike

2009-03-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

Today was a very interesting day. I've been working on the site for my mom's new retreat, Journalfest, all day long. My brain was getting seriously fried and I was in a state of complete non-thought. My friend suggested some fresh air might help, and so I went out for a hike, something I have not done in a long long time. I found a trail near my house and started to explore it. It took me all the way to the top of the mountain where I sat for about 40 mintutes and let my brain get washed away in my environment. Allowing myself to get out of my own head and be entirely and completely in this outside one. It's amazing how powerful something as simple as a hike can be, and while I was up there it was like my brain could finally think again, it was no longer cluttered.

After clearing of my mind, I started gettng heavily inspired by being in an environment you can interact with and explore. Allowing your mind to flow with each new thing you see and every sound you hear. There was a tree that had fallen and the roots created a passageway over the path (pictured above) and just the act of walking through this natural gate made me feel like I was entering an entire new world. I realized that I have a huge interest in creating not just a story for one's mind to get lost in, but a true three dimensional environment that involves your whole being body and mind. The story itself is formed only when an indiviual experience's it.

Obviously these thoughts are in the beginning form but I'm excited at the possiblity of where this may lead me. I would love to start creating some interactive art sculptures and eventually if I ever had the space and the resources an entire interactive world.

Look This Way!

2009-02-24T23:50:00.000-08:00

This is one of my spontaneous pieces that I am currently working on, but unlike my spontaneous bread blog I am spending approximately a week on each. It is still unfinished.

My New Site

2009-02-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

I am completely redesigning my website Tiphoni.com. The above images are a sneak peak at the new site. Im really excited about it, it's my first trial into webdesign using flash as opposed to CSS and HTML which I am very familiar with. Its been fun cause with flash I have a lot more freedom to play with my work and how the user will interact with my site. Its also been a huge struggle cause I feel like I'm teaching myself as I go, and flash / actionscripting is highly confusing. Im not quite sure when I will have the site done but I will keep my site posted with updates of my status.

Prints Now on Etsy!

2009-02-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

I am now selling prints of my journal pages on etsy. Go check it out!

Imaginary Civilizations Show

2008-05-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

This is my newest piece that I completed for the "Imaginary Civilations" Show at the Pony Club in Portland, OR, curated by Theo Ellsworth. I sat down to do this piece in October as the first large work that I would spend more then 1 or 2 weeks on, like I did in School. Im excited cause I feel like this is a new beginning to a much larger body of work.

Now on Etsy!

2008-04-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, sorry Its been since October since I've posted but Im going to start posting more often again. I just recently got all my remaining felted creature necklaces on etsy for sale, www.tiphoni.etsy.com . I am going to be putting more necklaces as well as original drawings and other random things up there, so check back often! Also I just posted a new frontpage for Orangebusstudios.com com, go check it out!

Felted Necklaces!

2007-09-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak peek at the next thing I was working on. I found these amazing orange balls of coral at the Seattle Gift show and was inspired to make some felted creature necklaces. This is my first attempt, I'll be playing with these for a while but I plan to have a few for sale at ArtFiberFest coming up.

New Stamps!

2007-08-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

I have been working hard all month and my new stamps are finally here! I hope you enjoy them, I really enjoyed designing this line. I have found myself really inspired by illuminated manuscripts at late and you will see this reflected in some of my work.

No Love

2007-02-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

So this is my first project from my glass class and my first tshirt I have printed in my other class (which is a tshirt silkscreen class). The glass people were supposed to be a sculptural interpertation of the tshirt design. These are my main characters in the comics I have been developing. I had absolutely no idea how the glass people would turn out. At first I was extremely frustrated and dissapointed because they just looked like lumpy blobs. But once I added the eyes they seemed to gain the life that I had been looking for and they became something more than I was expecting (plus they're fun to play with :)

Glass Sculpture

2007-02-05T16:39:00.000-08:00

So I am at the tail end of wintersession and I had decided to take a glass class. It has been interesting, hard and demanding but also greatly rewarding. It has been exciting because I have never done anything like this before and it is so cool (and a little scary) to work with hot molten glass. I will post later my final projects for this class, but these are just some drops that we had to make for the first assignment.

New Blog

2007-01-31T12:44:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!! I finally have set-up a blog! The problem with being a web designer is I never have time for my own sites. But I wanted to have a place online where I could posted current things I am working on or doing incase anyone was interested because I just don't have the time to update my own sites as frequently as I would like.

2007-01-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

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