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The Jacksonville Landing Sponsors my project

I'm really happy with the space at The Jacksonville Landing. There's ample room to create and I have a capsule-like view of the pedestrians who walk by.

Large-scale inflatable Sculpture

Its been a hectic few months as I complete the bottom portion of this large-scale inflatable sculpture. It is now over 50' x 50' and no longer fits in my studio and the West Gallery at Cork Arts District. Working with rip-stop nylon has been a challenge but I've developed a "pinning" system that is working well for me. My little sewing machine has not let me down. I am just amazed that this machine is so durable. I've put it through a lot! So, the big news is- I will be moving to "The Landing" next week. I want to give hugs and kittens to the Landing management for their sponsorship of this project. They are providing much needed studio space for me to create this mammoth piece. Here are a few photos of my progress so far.

This is how it began

cyclops men holding birds, rabbits and cats

human hearts dripping into Mayan Bowls

here's me in my studio at Cork

Cork Arts District Mural

It's been several months since I repaired and painted the side of CoRK West. I'm happy to note that the mural is holding up well. I had painted over some existing street art that had gotten tagged or degraded with time. I painted around an existing section (The green with yellow in the upper middle) and kept the red bay door with Russian lettering. There were some unhappy people who voiced there disapproval on fb but I am happy coming to work each day as I'm greeted by these Merimekko flowers.

Show Card for femme deux art exhibition with  Christina Foard, Caroline Daley, Lucy Clark and Sharla Valeski

Project Fur for One Spark

I've been having fun with bunny and rabbit imagery for Project Fur at One Spark April 1-21, 2013.
Here are some of my works

Acrylic on paper - almost completed

Horror vacui linear work behind lamp shape
done by dropping paint from a tall ladder.

The Abe Lincoln Femme Buck by Sharla Valeski limited edition signed prints 34.5" x 13.5" (image size) for sale.

Collected images for Office Shoes

I adapted several pairs of shoes for the "shoe fly shoe" exhibition at The Next Gallery last summer and now those adaptations are at the Jacksonville International Airport in display cases on the concourses. So I decided to keep going with this idea... My shoes before have been sort of like landscapes- horses on the prairie, frogs in a pond, laundry hanging on an outdoor line, birds nesting in the grass... but my next pair will be an interior office scene with a filing cabinet, typewriter and lots of papers strewn about... To create miniature papers I dug into old interior design magazines and cut out documents and photos that were very small. I was seeking content and clarity. The picture above shows small cutouts pasted to sheets of paper to be photo-copied. I plan on cutting out the images from the photocopied sheets. I also spent about an hour or two (time escapes me when I get obsessive) making teeny tiny envelopes. I already have the perfect thrift store shoes (they're brown and boring) and the next phase will be the gluing. Can't wait to see how this turns out!

New World Hope

My pre-teen bedroom had an amazing museum poster that I stared at every night. It was huge and had depictions of butterflies in different mediums and by different designers and artists. I loved it and because it was push-pinned to the wall, it eventually fell apart. Remembering that poster and what it meant to me, gave me the idea to have my own poster made. 

New World Hope is 48" x 36" on a heavy stock. Because Garry McElwee created the print, the quality is so SO nice and I'm really proud of it. New World Hope is available on etsy for only $35- a steal because I'm hoping someone will want to stare at every night in their bedroom...

Prototype for upcoming project

more from Shoe fly Shoe

My Launderette

Size 9 Women's Shoes

by Sharla Valeski

Shoe fly Shoe Continued...

"Shoe Fly Shoe"

 Artists Caroline Daley, Sharla Valeski and Bruce Musser

are busy at work on Shoe fly Shoe, an exhibition

for July ArtWalk at The Next Gallery.

Children's Shoes by Caroline Daley

Men's 10 1/2 "Sperry Top-Sider" Shoes by Sharla Valeski

Sharla Valeski's Grass Shoes

For July's ArtWalk at The Next Gallery, 

Caroline Daley, Bruce Musser and I 

are having a shoe "re-do". 
 In the "Shoe fly Shoe" exhibition 
we've taken thrift store shoes
and given them a new life.

Here is a preview of the shoes I've made.
Below is a pair of size 9 1/2 Men's Rockports
and size 8 1/2 Women's Meronas.

Video of painting from start to finish shot by Studio 352

Sketchbook #2 - Decorative Pillows

Sketchbook #1 - Butterflies

Sharla Valeski's photostream

Sharla Valeski's photostream on Flickr.