End of Year Catchup (3 of 4) — Printmaking Class at Garrison Art Center + NEW BIG CARTEL SHOP

I recently took a printmaking class at Garrison Art Center with artist Ezra Heller, and it was great to get back into a printmaking studio. The space is straightforward, and its beautiful location right on the Hudson River made it feel calm and inviting. I’m not usually a fan of driving, but this trip turned out to be a peaceful and scenic one that I didn’t mind at all.

One of the pieces I created during the class is an etching, which I’m sharing below alongside the original copper plate it was made from. I’ve titled it Winter Bird I. It’s approximately 3x4 inches, printed on a 6x8 sheet of Fabriano archival paper.

If you’re interested in owning this piece, it’s on sale for $65 through my new Big Cartel shop here: kendrashedenhelm.bigcartel.com. This is my first day using the platform, so I’m figuring things out as I go—thank you for your patience and support!

Winter Bird I by Kendra Shedenhelm, drypoint etching with hand-coloring, 3in x 4in plate size

Preview of the copper etched plate on a test print (Winter Bird I by Kendra Shedenhelm)

End of Year Catchup (2 of 4) — Affordable Mini Art Show at Ghost Gallery

I’ve been a forever fan of Ghost Gallery in Seattle, especially after working with its owner and curator, Laurie Kearney, a few times over the years.

One of my favorite types of art shows is a small works exhibition with affordable prices—and Ghost Gallery is hosting one now, just in time for the holidays. As someone who loves collecting art, I really appreciate how these shows make art accessible to everyone.

My submission for this year’s show is a small etching I created last fall at Manhattan Graphics Center, titled Little Dragon, Sleep. This piece is a soft-ground drypoint etching, inspired by the Folk Tale Week challenge I was working on at the time. It measures approximately 5x5 inches and is framed in a 7x7 frame, priced at $65. Please click here to check it out, and be sure to look through the entire show online. There’s a lot of cool work for gifting and keeping!

"Transformations", Solo Art Show at Ghost Gallery, Seattle

Last weekend, I attended my gallery opening at Ghost Gallery in downtown Seattle!

This was my first solo show outside of the NYC area, and my husband and son joined me for the adventure to the West Coast. The show was hung beautifully by the curator and owner, Laurie Kearney, and we had a wonderful time in Seattle seeing old friends.

In a discussion with Laurie, I realized my focus for this series…
"I wanted something reminiscent of glass plate negatives from antique photography. I find it rich and intriguing (and a little creepy) how the process seemed to trap the spirit of the subject within the plate itself.
Additionally, not only am I hoping each portrait has a bit of the spirit of the transforming humanoid-creature, I'm hoping the viewer might also ask ‘Who took this portrait, and why?’
And, ‘Who loved them enough to keep it?’”

Promo for the “Transformations” art show at Ghost Gallery, Seattle

The show is up through June 5, 2023. If you can’t make it in person, there is an online preview (with purchase options) here: https://ghostgallery.org/collections/kendra-shedenhelms-transformations-a-collage-story . You can also see some cool videos on the Ghost Gallery IG page, such as this one: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr6_3iRpH8U/

Sales galore in my online shops, Part 4: TeePublic

Another online shop where I sell my art is TeePublic.

TeePublic has extraordinary customer service for its artists. I’ve received the most personal outreach from TeePublic’s team than any other online seller by far.

My current best seller is this Dog Faces drawing, and the Cat Faces drawing is a personal favorite.

I’m from Nebraska, so you’ll see a couple of nods to the Cornhusker State in here as well, plus drawings of other cities I’ve lived in, like Chicago, New York City, and Brooklyn.

Please check out my shop and tell me your favorites. I can also customize ink colors and take special requests. (:

Sales galore in my online shops, Part 2: Spoonflower

Spoonflower.com is having a lot of sales right now, ranging from 25% off to free shipping.

My current favorite from that shop is this botanical silhouette pattern that I recently created. I love it for bedding, but I really love it in wallpaper…

Another preview on other products…

I love selling on Spoonflower, because it’s an easy platform to upload art to AND they have a uniquely friendly and interactive community. With frequency, I hear from clients requesting a change in color or pattern size (which I always appreciate). And I also receive (and hopefully give) kind and supportive messages from/to other artists.

High fives to #spoonflower!

Chickadee tattoo design for a wonderful new client

New tattoo design for a client, completed and on the flesh!
I created this “Three Chickadees” line drawing as one, continuous line. #itsallconnected.

Line drawing of three chickadees for a forearm tattoo.

Final tattoo on my client’s arm! (I did not do the tattoo, FYI. Just the design.)

Love, animated

I’ve been trying some simple animations for my illustrations the past few weeks, and I find it very rewarding!

I often imagine my illustrations moving around but whenever I try to learn animation software, I don’t seem to have the patience for it. So instead, I’ve been creating multi-image artworks and uploading them to a gif-maker (I like Gifmaker.me so far), which turns them into an animated gif that I can download

With Valentine’s Day and my 15-year wedding anniversary in mind, here are a couple of love-themed works. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Floral Ink Yearly Calendar for 2022

I have a collection of ink drawings now available as a 2022 wall calendar, called “Floral Ink.”

It was beautifully art directed by Graphique de France, with ivory tone and gold foil. You can find it in stores around the country too (I found one here at Walmart, for example). My mom has one and the quality is so gorgeous, she’s been turning the art pages into wall art.

Please keep an eye out for it, and let me know what you think!

My ink drawing wall art calendar for 2022 (16-month)

Long Live IllustrationFriday.com!

If you haven’t already heard of Illustration Friday, I encourage you to check them out. There is something so friendly and encouraging about their site, and I always enjoy creating art for their prompts.

This week’s prompt was “Game.” I took it as “The Game” or even “Game ON.” Below are my two variations. Have a favorite?