MATS Bootcamp

Bootcamp sounds intimidating to me, but after taking Lilla Rogers MATS A + B Classes (Make Art That Sells) -find out more by clicking here, I knew I could handle any Bootcamp 'intensity' that might come my way. Honestly, anyone who can finish one 5 week segment of MATS classes, where you go through five different industries, learning the industry details, and creating an incredible body and variety of work in such a short time, should receive a medal! It was dang intense.  

So, Bootcamp means one project per month... a dream! This first month's assignment was to sketch up cuckoo clock design options, and ultimately to create a cuckoo clock smart phone case.

Val's Art Studio cuckoo clock illustrations

My initial sketches involved animal shapes. Well, naturally.... after all, I had been working on a new set of woodland needle felted nesting animals. (Please don't judge this guy too harshly, his eyes aren't in yet. I can't yet decide to have them open or closed!)

Fox needle felt by Val's Art Studio (Sold)

From there, my design evolved into a sort of birdhouse cuckoo clock built from felted wool scraps out of my overflowing scrap bin. Heck, I have to do something with all those luscious feltie woolie bits! I cut and "pasted" but not in photoshop... with scissors, glue and thread. I love every minute of creating art in this manner :o)

After this assemblage was finished, I needle felted the birds in place, stitched some details, added a couple of dried flower buds to act as the pinecone weights, and then was finally ready to negotiate with my Photoshop skills. Yep. I negotiate. Sitting near me while I navigate photoshop is an exercise in using earplugs!

Here's the before and after. I'm not sure if there's a tremendous difference, but I worked on it for at least a day...

Finally, I created the background, a simple logo, and uploaded it to the gallery. Tomorrow, you can see it live on Lilla Roger's website. It will be in the company of crazy pants talented artists and illustrators. I am so ex-cited!!!

" Hello There!" MATS Bootcamp submission by Val Hebert

Thanks for visiting!

x, Val