Artist Spotlight: Myka Jelina

LYDIA
IN HER OWN WORDS...

My name is Myka Jelina. My modern Gothic fantasy art, using elements like jewel-tone colors, tattoos,transcendent wings, fashion,hair style, heavy boots, bright faces with expressive eyes, is my contribution to the timeless mysteries of inspiration. Most of the gothic faery creatures I have painted have actual names. My artwork has been used on t-shirts, posters, body mists, air fresheners stickers and more. You probably have seen some of my work over the years in places like Hot Topic, Target, Hastings or just walking down the street. My favorite mediums are acrylic paints on masonite panel although I often work in a variety of media like colored pencil, watercolor charcoal, ink and digital. I hope they brighten your day while your passing through.


ABBY

UXIA

These are some of the beautiful faerie pieces by one of my all time favorite artists, Myka Jelina. I just cannot get enough of her art! I thought I had seen most of her work, but each time I go check out her site, I find more faeries that I haven’t seen before. And I go nuts over each one! She really has an amazing eye for detail, and such talent.

Myka Jelina is a 33 year old artist who lives in Missouri. Her shop can be found at MYKA JELINA.com. She draws her “Dark Faeries”, as she calls them, mostly in Prisma Colors. Sometimes she uses acrylic paint. She draws all different kinds of faeries, with many types of wings. Some have dainty gossamer type wings, some have bat wings, butterfly, or wasp wings. Others are angels, with feathery wings. She also does Goddesses, genies and mermaids. They all have a different style of dress too. Most of them fall somewhere in the Gothic/ Punk/ Rocker chick genre . All of her creations have a name. And all have a vibe and look of their own. She sells prints and posters of her art., and also has many other variations on her pieces. You can now find them as tatoo flash art, on the cover of little pocket compact mirrors, Artist Trading Cards and recently even on her own line of jewelery. She also sells some of her paintings framed in elaborate frames. I’m telling you, these frames are so beautiful and ornate on their own, that I would buy them even if they didn’t have one of her paintings in them! She is a truly amazing artist. One that you will be seeing more of on my art blog, and my Crafty’s Cup blog.

Some More Of My Art To Share With You

These are some more of my drawings. They are some o my older ones, done in 1996 and 1998. Definitely some of my favorites.

The one on the top left is a desert sheild that I drew after a trip to Arizona. This was from my sketchbook, and I copied it onto nice white cardstock. I made sets of cards to sell from a few of the sketchbook drawings. (The top right one was also a part of this set.) This card set was the first of my peices to be made into greeting cards. I do them much differently now, less drawing, and more paper crafting. Little did I know then that cards would become one of my main sellers of my art.

The top right is another one of my favorite designs. Owls are one of my totem animals, and I have found myself drawing them over and over for many years now. Trees have been another one of my signature designs. I used to lay underneath them, and draw them, trying to capture thedfferent textures and leaf structures. However, they always turn out looking more cartoonish that realistic. Oh, well; we all have our own styles, and I guess that is one of mine.

The middle picture is of a very lage drawn that I made of the Forest God, and the Earth Goddess. I did it in pointelism, which is a series of dots placed close together, or far apart to acheive the ligt and dark shading. (And yes, it did take a long time!) I wish that I could take credit for the actual design of this one. owever it is something that I drew, using another person's art as a model. I was yearning for some good art to hang on the wall of my living room. I knew that I couldn't afford t go out and buy the art...so I recreated what I wanted myself. It has become a beloved peice, that hangs in a prominent spot in any house I live in.

Artist Spotlight : Yulia Brodskya

IS THIS STUFF EXTRAORDINARY? OR WHAT?

SHE GIVES US PAPERCRAFTERS A WHOLE NEW LEVEL OF AMAZING TO LIVE UP TO!!!

This woman is absolutely amazing! She gives new meaning to the term Paper Crafter. I am enthralled with her work, her creations, and her style. I can only dream of attaining this level of artistic success. I found her website through one of my favorite design blogs; and I knew that I must share her here with you. I will let her describe herself, and her art in her own words...as I could not do them justice. I hope that you enjoy her art as much as I do. it is breathtaking in it's intricacy.

"I was born in Russia where I started out as a fine artist producing contemporary office decoration artwork for Moscow based companies while studying for my first degree in Graphic Design. In 2004 I moved to London, earned my M.A. in Graphic Communication and since then have been busy with parallel careers as an illustrator and a freelance graphic designer. Awards: 1st prize in the Russian Conceptual Packaging Design Competition; in recognition of typographic achievement I have been elected a Member of the International Society of Typographic Designers (2006). Clients include Orange, RedBull, BBH, How2 T-shirts, International Organ Festival, ARMI, Touchnote cards and CUBE magazine. I’m constantly experimenting and evolving, always pushing my style in new directions: my greatest passion is to explore the ways of combining illustration and typography. "

Crafty Chick Update

Hello all of my crafty friends. I hope everyone has been enjoying their first official weekend of Spring. I know that me and my family sure are! We have had a busy week (as usual!), and are enjoying the end of a fun and relaxing weekend. The kid’s had two different play dates, one on Friday afternoon, and on Saturday. Then on Saturday evening, we visited with my folks, and spent the night at their house. (Well, they did…Mama stayed up most of the night typing up posts while I had free use of my Dad’s internet connection!) Then, after rushing to wake up early, and get to JD’s 8 AM T-Ball game, Mom got the call that it was cancelled due to a wet baseball diamond. Since we were already up, dressed and out; the Kids, my Father and I all went out for breakfast. (My absolute favorite weekend treat!) So, now, I am just catching up on some laundry, and again madly typing away, preparing posts, while I have the free net access. All in all, a very nice weekend. I hope everyone else’s was as good!
Now, for the Art World side of things. I have good news. It looks as if I am going to be able to get a Pay Pal Account pretty quick now! YAY! You don’t know this; but I have been DYING to get my stuff up on ETSY. For a loooong time now. So this is a big deal for me. It will be even bigger once it is done, and I can start selling my work.
Aside from that; this week saw the completion of my two first swap projects for Swap Bot. (And yes, I was late.) I am really hoping that my nice artwork, and the extra goodies I added to them will help soften my lateness. I made each of them a four page Paper Bag Book, with three pockets inside. The theme of the books were Friendship. I will try to get a few good photos before I mail them out. Then I made a matching refrigerator magnet, and six slices of stationary that matched each Ladie’s book. I threw in a few stickers for each, and I think I may add some tea bags and a pouch of flavored hot cocoa, or something to sweeten it up even more. (I feel like such a louse to be late like this…but I really had a whammy of a week, and it all caught up to me. When I had to decide which ball to drop, the swap got the drop!) I think that from now on, I am going to make a bunch of cards, books and other stuff to have on hand for swaps. I have even started a box for the cute stuff that people have given me in the past. Stuff that doesn’t quite fit my personality, but easily could be treasure for someone new. So, just like with blogging, I am figuring all of this out little by little. Maybe my first swap didn’t go so well, I will be sure to be ready for them next time!
I will also be getting some saleable items made up and photographed, to put on ETSY. I really cannot wait! So I had better get busy crafting up some new items. It’s a good thing that I have a lot of ideas and I love to craft. Otherwise I would probably draw a blank when it actually came time to create something.
Luckily I find inspiration all around me. My only problem is that I have TOO many ideas, and TOO much inspiration! I get excited to move onto a new project before the old one is finished. Then I get a whole bunch of them all going at the same time. Not conducive to productivity. It is something that I always working on…overcoming, or getting a grip on my Artists’ ADD. When I make a breakthrough I will be sure to let you all know! Until then…
Have a truly inspiring week!
~Danae, the Crafty Chick

Swap Bot...the place to swap!

Hello All! I wanted to tell you all about a wonderful site that I recently joined, called SWAP BOT. This is a place for people who love to barter. It could be anything from books, blogs, coffee or tea, handmade items or store bought. You join groups related to your interests or hobbies; and then you take part in various swaps. Such a great idea anytime, but especially in this time of tightening belts!

I know what some of you may be thinking...what about shipping and handling costs, or even more common...why would I bother to send something to somebody else; when I can just buy it and keep it for myself? How do I know they won't send me something that I really don't want?

Well, as far as the posting costs; you can choose what to send, it can be as heavy or light as you decide you have the resources for. The point of the swap, is to send and receive little surprises through the computer, or mail. Sure you can always buy things for yourself; but how special is it to open a package meant for you, when it isn't your birthday or Christmas? As for getting something that you don't want, there is always that possibility; but the risk is much less than one would think, due to picking your own groups and swaps, and also a profile list of things you care for & want, and those you don't. There is always the chance that you could send out a package and get nothing in return; but there are also swap ratings, and if someone doesn't have good ratings, or a history of swap flaking, they are prohibited in taking part. They do a nice job of weeding out the people who don't play by the rules.

So for those of us that love snail mail, and making gifts for others as much as receiving them...this is a wonderful place! In fact, so wonderful, that I have 2 swaps due to be shipped tomorrow...and that means 2 packages coming in the mail for me too! One is a Favorite Color swap, and the other is a Profile Surprise, (something that I said that I would want). I recently took part in a Blog Swap, and when these are over, I am taking part in a Handmade Tarot Card Swap. Oooooh, so exciting! There are postcard, ATC, DVD, Holiday themed and many other swaps to take part in. The biggest dilema is choosing one!

So now, I need to stop writing about them; and get to finishing them, so they can go out in the mail manana! Yay!

This is one of my favorite recent pieces. I created it to hang in my Art Room. It is a wooden frame, that I painted black. To that, I added a Heidi Swapp, over sized playing card, chipboard letters, silk blossoms with brad centers, fabric scraps, and paper ephemera. The swirl and bird shapes are my own designs, covered in paint and dictionary paper, respectively. The caption at the bottom reads, "You know you are a true artist, when you go through glue sticks faster than tubes of lipstick!"

A Sampling Of My Work...

I thought that I would kick things off with a sampling of my art. After all, what is an art blog, without art? Please forgive the quality of the photos. I am working on retaking these pictures, but until then, I thought that I would just post what I have.

My Journal Cover Art

This is the art that I created for the cover of my journal. It is a series of stamped and embossed Serendipity Squares. I added charms and ribbon to further embellish it. '03

Hey all you Crafty Folks!

Welcome to my new blog- Crafty Chick Creations. I am so happy that you have found me, and I hope you take the time to check back periodically, as I add new information, fun projects, how-to tutorials, spotlights on my favorite artists, (both old and new), can't live without supplies and all kinds of other crafty goodness.

Please bear with me here in the beginning, as I am still in the start up phase. But, I am sure we will be chugging along in no time! If any of you out there, have any fabulous ideas or comments that you would like to share, or you just want to say Hi! and let me know who my readers are...jump on in at any time. That is what makes these things even more interesting.

Here is a little peek into who I am, and what I would like to see this blog turn into. I am 33 years old , an Artist and a Crafter, a Massage Therapist, and an At Home Mommy to 2 Amazing and Rambunctious Little Kids. I have been creating some form of art since I could get my chubby, little fingers around a crayon; and I do or have done almost every craft under the sun. Currently I work a lot in Paper Crafts, Altered Art and Home Decor. I also love to make reconstructed clothing. In the past, I have created everything from traditional and freestyle embroidery, to soaps and candles; with a whole lot in between. I also have had the pleasure of teaching other crafters, both personally, and thru the few classes that I have been honored to teach. I hope there will be many more in my future!

I hope to bring a variated plethora of interesting crafts, and useful tidbits to you all. This blog is many things to me. It is a Crafter's Cyber Journal; a way to record and share the projects that I have done, or that interest me, as well as a place to explore new crafts that I may be unfamiliar with. I hope to use this as a meeting ground, where other interested crafters can share their latest projects and ideas for future one's. I know that in time, it will be all these things and more.

And, since it is all brought to you by this one, crafty little mama...I better get started. Enough about me, and on to the crafts!