Orinui Has Moved!

Come on over to the new website. charikliazarris.com I will miss Orinui. Had a blast creating it but now is the time for a new home for all my art making info. Hope you will enjoy the new look.

Canon PowerShot

Ok I admit I just wanted to show off. But really I can't get over the zoom on my camera. This turtle is probably an inch and a half long and is hiding among the lilly pads you see on the right. I got this Canon Power Shot SX20 IS to take photos for my Etsy shop. I thought with a tripod it would be useful in low light product shots. Of course now I just use my iphone because it has such a great camera for low light situations. 

Learning Illustrator

Here is another project from my illustrator class. I am really disappointed in myself for not carving out enough time for class. I didn't quite get all the assignments done but I think I learned a lot. I plan on taking further classes in the dead of winter when there are not so many distractions. 

Otomi Quilt

As promised here are pictures of the Otomi fabric quilt. It is made of one yard of fabric printed from Spoonflower. I sewed the edges and the middle seams on the machine and everything else was done by hand. Me and sewing machines just don't get along very well. You can see it in some of the images how the fabric puckered up on me. I really enjoyed all the hand quilting. It was a nice project to do while traveling and in front of the tv.

Not sure when I will have the fabric up for sale on Spoonflower but when I do I will be sure to let you know.

This is my very first design with Illustrator. I am really excited and overwhelmed by the possibilities of designing on the computer versus painting everything by hand. I have the skills in Photoshop to get some basic things done but when I first attempted Illustrator it was like it was written in a foreign language. I took a one day class at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond and it was helpful to get the basic idea of how it works. When it came time to pick a online course there were tons of choices out there. I picked Nicole's Classes and it is working out great. I liked how I was able to order the book form of the class to keep after the 5 week class is over. 

Fail

The Spring Bada Bing entry dead line has been extended and I thought maybe just maybe I would be able to get some new items together in time. But as you can see I will not be sewing up my new tea towels. Trying to decide if it is worth getting a new belt for my vintage Sears Kenmore machine or just getting something new. It does the job but has never sewn very strait. I am nervous about the quality being good enough to sell. No one wants a sad looking tea towel.

My First Fabric!

I have been trying to get my act together to start creating repeat patterns for fabric design. I thought I would start by seeing what would happen if I printed one of my paintings and had it printed at Spoonflower. After receiving a sample I had my four Otomi Prints printed on linen/cotton. The idea is to sell otomi tea towels in my etsy shop. I am very very nervous about sewing the edges. It has been a long time since I last sewed.