Getting Ready for Halloween

I suppose I have made it pretty clear, but just in case you weren’t sure, I am going to be Link from the Legend of Zelda for Halloween. I’ve never been one to wear ready-made costumes; even as children we always had a handmade costume from Grandma R. As I’ve grown older, I continued that tradition, frequently making my own costumes. I was never really one for following the trends as it were.

The biggest challenge for this year’s costume was not the outfit itself (I basically had that together, save some time to embroider and work on accessories). The biggest challenge this year was Link’s shield and sword. Link is pretty recognizable, but if I were to dress up as Link without his trusty sword and shield…well, that wasn’t an option. I did some research at the beginning of the month to prepare myself for the “real deal” of making or finding a sword and shied that would work for my costume.

Looking online, there are very few options that look good and don’t cost an arm-and-a-leg. Since I need both my arms to swing my sword and use my shield, and since Rupees don’t grow on trees, I decided to make my own Hylian Shield. I styled the design after the shield from Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess. I chose this shield for a few reasons: The materials I had for Link’s tunic matched that character design perfectly, and I really like the way they designed the Master Sword and Hylian Shield in that game. Also, it was the last game where Link was playable as a left-handed character (on the Gamecube version) and I wanted to be true to the “Corrie-Fisted” Link I grew up with!

Concept artwork for Link in Twilight Princess.

Obviously I will share the costume itself, but in the next few posts I will share my progress in the making of the Hylian Shield. If you have any questions, please message me or add a comment. I hope my instructions will inspire other gamer girls (and boys!) to make their own Hylian Shield!

Until next time!

Sketching out to-scale drawings to make the shield.

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Busy Busy

Sorry I’ve been missing in action for a while now…I’ve been working on several design jobs that have been keeping me rather busy lately. This piece is newer, but not brand new, and I know I haven’t shared it with you yet. I think it’s quite lovely…and everyone loves cake. Enjoy!

Take care,

P.

Mural Project Update

Starting at noon on Saturday, September 23 the BLVD Hotel hosted an art competition. 9 artists were picked and I was one of them. I got a bit of a little start (I had to work until 5PM), and immediately got to work.

Here are some pictures of the work. I’ll be sure to post more as soon as I retrieve them from my camera.

Pictures from ArtPrize

My good friend Lara stopped by my ArtPrize project in Grand Rapids today, and she sent this picture to me. What a good friend!

Mural Project

I recently submitted a design idea to the BLVD Hotel and Spa for a mural design competition they are holding. It is a competition for artists in the Los Angeles area wherein the  artists of the top 8 mural projects compete in front of a live audience from September 24 thru September 25. Each artist is allowed an 8 by 6 foot “canvas” on which to paint their design. After Sunday the 25th, the pieces are uploaded to the hotel’s website, and the public votes on the “top” piece.

I was one of the 8 artists picked!

The competition starts at 12 PM Saturday, but I will be arriving late since I was unable to get a sub for work until then, and goes until 6PM Sunday. My piece depicts Hollywood Boulevard. Each artist was asked to design a piece inspired by or featuring one of 8 “famous boulevards of Los Angeles.”

I will be sure to post pictures of the process as it happens. It should be a lot of fun, but it will also be very hard.  I’m pretty darn excited! I have a feeling that I will be pretty pooped Sunday night, so please be patient if I do not post anything until Monday.

Postcards for ArtPrize

I’m pleased to present you with the postcards for my ArtPrize project. I know I’ve been showing you the digital files for a while now, but here are photographs of the real cards. They turned out very nicely, if you ask me.

These cards are standard postcard size, meaning they can be sent in the mail just like a normal postcard OR you can slip one in an envelope.

For $0.29 you can send one of these babies anywhere in the USA.

For $0.80 you can send one of these cards to someone in Canada or Mexico.

For $0.98 you can send these postcards anywhere in the world. Neat!

It’s a bargain.

Stop by 40 Monroe Center Street in Grand Rapids, Michigan from September 21st to October 9th to pick up a card for yourself. Add an address and proper postage, then come back to www.pageredford.com and  submit the destination of the card online. I will take that data and log it on a map that visualizes the travels of everyone’s cards.

ArtPrize Competition

I am very excited to be participating in this year’s ArtPrize competition. ArtPrize is an art competition held in Grand Rapids, Michigan in September/October. Artists from all over the world come to participate, and the WHOLE CITY is FULL of art! It’s an amazing thing to behold. My artwork will be at 40 Monroe Center Street NW in Grand Rapids in what is called the Peck Building. It’s a nice old building with a lot of character, and you will be able to see my artwork in person.

My project is a set of posters and postcards that are inspired by vintage travel posters and postcards from the early 1900’s. Each card was designed by me, and all of the photographs were taken by me as well. Each design is unique, and I have created these specific cards just for ArtPrize. This project also has an online component wherein the cards gotten during ArtPrize are intended to be sent around the world by ArtPrize viewers and attendees. The recipient of the card is incouraged to log the destination of the card (where they live) on http://www.pageredford.com, and then I will create a map logging the travels of each card.

For less than a dollar, you can send a postcard anywhere in the world.