12 Arm Record Mobile

The 12 arm mobile I made at the Kansas City Maker's Faire is now hanging and ready for viewing! Come see this huge 8ft mobile. The Oryx Ink ReMobiles booth is located outside directly across from the Eepy Bird performance. The Kansas City Maker's Faire is at Union Station today from 10am to 5pm.

"All Terrain Armored Transport" Watercolor Painting on Etsy

The "All Terrain Armored Transport" watercolor painting by Oryx Ink is now available on Etsy! Two sizes are currently available: 8"X10" and 9"X12". Since this painting is made to order, the colors can be chosen to match your decor. You can also request a custom order for a different size or even a different vehicle!

All Terrain Armored Transport

"Sunset on Ko'Olina Lagoon" on Zazzle

Oryx Ink has new products available on Zazzle featuring the original watercolor painting "Sunset on Ko'Olina Lagoon". These new products include mugs, tiles, postcards, clocks, iPhone cases, mousepads, ornaments and bags. Most of these products have customizable features such as size or shape.

Sunset on Ko'Olina Lagoon

The painting used depicts Ko'Olina Lagoon at sunset and is an original watercolor. Ko'Olina Lagoon is a series of four manmade bowl shaped basins on Oahu's leeward coast. The third lagoon, called "Nai'a," is shown in the painting. Ko'Olina is one of the best places to watch sunsets on Oahu.

"Sunset on Ko'Olina Lagoon" Mug

"Sunset on Ko/Olina Lagoon" Tile

"Sunset on Ko'Olina Lagoon" Clock

"Sunset on Ko'Olina Lagoon" iPhone Case

"Sunset on Ko'Olina Lagoon" Mousepad

"Sunset on Ko'Olina Lagoon" Ornament

"Sunset on Ko'Olina Lagoon" Postcards

"Sunset on Ko'Olina Lagoon" Wristlet

Print of "Scimitar Oryx" Watercolor Painting now Available on Zazzle

The watercolor painting Scimitar Oryx is now available as a print on Zazzle. This painting is based on the scimitar oryx, a beautiful and magestic animal that is now extinct in the wild. This painting was created in an effort to preserve the natural beauty of the oryx.

Scimitar Oryx

Oryx Ink now on Etsy

The Oryx Ink Etsy Shop is now open! Upcoming products to include baby barrettes, watercolor paintings and hand printed T-shirts.

The first product for sale is the snail barrette. This barrette was originally designed for my sister's new baby girl. My new niece is now two weeks old. Once she grows some hair, I will be sure to post pictures of her modelling her barrettes.

AT-AT Painting, Watercolor on Paper

I recently finished the newest painting in my Star Wars Series. This watercolor is the latest version of the painting "All Terrain Armored Transport". I have always found the AT-AT to be one of the most visually fascinating designs from Star Wars. The Star Wars franchise, especially the original trilogy, provides a lot of design inspiration for my work. While this piece is small, 8"X10", I hope to someday paint a large version in acrylics.

"All Terrain Armored Transport"  Watercolor on paper

Made to order versions of this painting will eventually be available on Oryx Ink on Etsy. Each painting will be unique as each is hand painted, no stencils are used.

Kids' Found Object Mobile Tutorial

Kinetic art isn't just for adults, kids enjoy making and watching mobiles too. The Kids' Found Object Mobile Tutorial shows kids and parents how to make a cool piece of moving art from lightweight objects. This project can easily be adapted to suit young children or teens.

The Kids' Found Object Mobile is made from the bottom up. Construction begins with the bottom most arm. The bottom arm is then attached to the upper arm. This process of adding arms can be continued to make large mobiles. This tutorials shows the construction of a small 2 arm mobile. This size is good for a beginner learning the concepts of kinetic art.

If you intend for your mobile to hang outdoors , be sure to use weatherproof materials. Plastic and metal objects will be weather resistant. Some objects, such as cardboard shapes, can be painted for waterproofing. Some natural materials from your backyard are naturally weather resistant. Pine cones, leaves & seeds are all good options.

Materials:
-sticks or pipe cleaners for arms
-ribbon, thread and/or fishing line
-lightweight found objects, such as beads, buttons, fabric flowers, small toys, etc
-paper or thin cardboard
-glue
-scissors
-needle if using thread
Optional materials: hole punch, markers or paint

Begin by cutting out shapes from paper or cardboard. These shapes follow an ocean theme, but you can make any theme you can think of. You can decorate shapes with markers or paint. As an alternative, older kids could make paper airplanes.

Layout your pieces to decide how to hang objects. Cut shapes and found objects hang from a stick or pipe cleaner.

Tie or glue thread, ribbon or fishing line to your hanging pieces. More than one object can be hung from a single thread. Clear thread is used here to make objects appear to float. Young children should use ribbon or thicker string for ease of tying.

Tie ribbon or thread to stick or pipe cleaner to hang objects. Glue can be used as reinforcement. You now have a completed arm.

Attaching the lower arm to the upper arm begins with finding the lower arm's balance point. The balance point is the axis the arm with rotate around. Find the balance point by tying ribbon or string around the arm. Slide the ribbon up & down the arm until the arm is level. At the point where the arm hangs level, double knot the ribbon and add a dot of glue to reinforce.

Tie the lower arm to the upper arm & reinforce with glue. The lower arm can be attached anywhere on the upper arm.

Tie objects to the upper arm the same way as for the lower arm. Find the balance point and tie on a ribbon. This ribbon can be used to attach the mobile to the ceiling or a hook.