Process:
My House “La Casa Calavera” (TheSkull House)
Napkin drawing figuring out my idea for an exploding, fractured house.
Planning out my drawing in further detail (sketchbook)
Live drawing of my house (sketchbook)
Drafting straight lines with the ruler (sketchbook)
I scanned my sketch and colored it digitaly. I then printed a bunch of houses out to experiment with cutting. Figuring how I can have it fractured or coming apart at the right hand corner lifting up into the air.
Drawing the house.
I wanted to take drafting and welding in high school, but my dad said ‘no’. I had to take cooking and sewing. My dad was a carpenter and built houses. I remember the little paper maquettes he use to build of the houses. He would give them to my sister and I to play with after he was done. My talent comes from him.
I like crows. I have plastic ones on the ramp going up to the front door. I feed the crows in my yard, and they nest in my big maple tree. They make a huge racket when people go by…
Crow on post (sketchbook)
Drawing the fence, and a crow on a post for collage
Sacred Geometry and Moon Phases to be drawn on brown craft paper (sketch book) Everything is connected.
I used the model stage in the drawing room to unroll my brown paper. I used my T-square to start drawing in the moon cycles with black ink. This will be the underneath layer of my finished piece.
I decided to color in my house with ink. I went to the store and bought a green highlighter pen. After coloring in my house, I noticed the green was not yellow enough. I went over it all again with a yellow highlighter pen. This toned it down a bit, but not much. I decided to use a metallic silver marker for the roof. It is made of tin and can be dazzling in the sun.
My Beautiful Baby Eve passed away. I took a week off school and work to greave . I did some work on my drawing, but never documented it with photos. My mind was just numb, my heart broken and my spirit weak.
Critique Day. It was great to hang it up and actually look at it.
Karen Day Self Portrait as a House 2024
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Artist Statement
Karen Day’s artistic journey is deeply rooted in the exploration of form and its intrinsic connection to the sacred divine. This artwork is a contemplative dialogue between the world that surrounds her and the complex inner landscapes of the human soul.
The sacred is a recurring motif in Day’s art, representing both a personal and universal quest for meaning beyond the tangible world. Her work invites viewers to transcend the ordinary, and to recognize the divine in the mundane. Urging us to look closer, feel deeper, and embrace the sacred that resides in us all.
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I converted the photo into black and white and thought it would make a neat future etching.
“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.”
-Leonard Cohen