The Exhibition

The reception for the exhibition went well! It was a great experience, and I'd love to do more installations in the future. I think I'll try and do some more 3D environments on a smaller scale for now. (Anyone remember making shoebox dioramas in elementary school?)

Here are a few pictures of other student works in the show. My self portait is in there too!

Gems of the Sea
by Joseph Burke

Flight of the Rabbits

Yesterday was a very exciting day! I set up my "Flight of the Rabbits" installation at SD City College, where I'm taking a sculpture class.






The reception for the show is Thursday, Nov. 18th from 5:00pm to 6:30pm. The Gallery will also be open Tues–Thurs, Nov 16–18 from 11am to 4pm.

San Diego City College
1313 Park Blvd.
T309 B Gallery

Hope you can come by to see this and other sculpture student work!

Flying Rabbit!

I'm working on a project for my sculpture class which will include 3 of these flying rabbits. The wings are made out of Thomas Guide pages, bamboo skewers, wire, masking tape, and glue. The rabbit is made out of canvas material, buttons, and thread. Yay, flying bunnies!!

The rabbits will be displayed at the SD City College show room. (I can't remember the dates, but I'll update this post when I find out.) It's supposed to be a installation piece, which means I have to still think of a background. I'm thinking I might blow up images of Thomas Guide maps and paste them onto the walls. The theme is escape/travel/freedom.

a couple of cards for oma

This is a traditional German Christmas star (we keep it up year round.)

Kiwi Bird

I've been watching the BBC series "Life of Birds", and I realized that the kiwi is very strange and cute! (maquette and sculpture pictured above.)

Talia the Turtle

Meet Talia the Turtle!

(To view the study, sculpture, drawing, and vector graphic for this portrait, please view a previous post.)




Yay! I'm excited about this one. Ain't she cute? =)

This portrait took 3.5 weeks to finish instead of 2, which I'm not so happy about. But, I feel that I was successful in two of the three challenges from last time.

Challenge #1: Vary the composition - Instead of having one solitary figure on the right hand side of the canvas, I created 3 figures which spread across the top area. (I was still able to leave enough white space on the bottom left where the book's text will go.)

Challenge #2: More active posture - Three consecutive figures show the downstroke and gliding motion of the turtle. This simple and energy efficient movement propels the animal through the water, allowing it to swim for long periods of time without coming up for air.

Challenge #3: Push the expression - I don't think Talia is particularly expressive… since the sculptures were a lot smaller for this portrait, there wasn't as much detail in the face to refer to. With some imagination though, she seems to be quite inquisitive. She's checkin' you out!

Lesson - it may take more time for something new, but growth and quality are worth the effort
Discovery - I have had a very narrow understanding of sculpture. I would not only like to do more hanging figures, but I would also like to explore different materials.
Challenge - a night time scene

Hope you like Talia! As always, I would love any feedback. =) Now, on to the next animal… I think I'm going to do a kiwi bird. Since it's nocturnal, it will be good for a night time scene.

T is for Turtle

Here are some more images of my progress with the Turtle.

the study

the sculpture

the drawing

the vector graphic

I did some more work on the sculpture since the last post. The turtles are now suspended from a branch I found and cleaned up. It was fun to get my hands on a whittling knife again! The mobile is now hanging in our room, and it creates a really nice atmosphere, I have to say. =)

The collage will most likely be done sometime next week, so watch for a new post then! Bye for now...

Turtle Sculpture

It's been 2 weeks since my last post, and I finally have something new to show you!

I've been working on the sculpture for my next animal, which is a turtle. It's a sea turtle, to be more specific. As you can see, I've done something a little different this time, which is why it took a lot longer than the other sculptures. It's been a fun challange!



I suspended a series of five sea turtles, making a mobile which displays the movement of the animal. It didn't turn out to be quite as dynamic as I'd hoped, but I'm still pleased. I especially like how the reflections on the wall look when you hang it up. I think it's definitely the most decorative sculpture I've done so far, and I'm planning to replicate and sell the mobiles in the future.

So, the next step is the drawing, then the vector graphic, and lastly, the collage. I hope to get all this done by the end of next week, so check back soon!

Thanks for your support and have a great weekend =)

Jamal the Jaguar

Well, the collage ended up looking much more male than female in my opinion, so I decided to choose a masculine name. Jamal means "beauty" and according to wikipedia, it could also mean "inner beauty, from the heart." I like that. =)

(To view the study, sculpture, drawing, and vector graphic for this portrait, please view a previous post.)

Here are some pictures of the finished collage.




The people of the Maya revered the jaguar as a magnificent beast, and they incorporated the animal into their mythology. I placed Mayan ruins in the backdrop of this portrait to tell that history. I wanted to also depict nature itself as a powerful force, as the buildings are overgrown and the stones are eventually taken back to the earth.

Lesson - remember to talk about the work in order to sort out ideas and problems
Discovery - folklore and myth is a good place to start when researching an animal
Challenge - vary the composition, more active posture, push the expression (thanks to my dad for these suggestions!)

It seems like some of the previous challenges are resurfacing, the main one being the animal's pose. I think this is such a struggle because it's hard for me to make the sculpture in an active stance while still being stable. But, I have an idea!

I'm going to try and create a sculpture which will be suspended by a string or wire. That way, it won't have to balance on a flat surface. So, for example, a bird could be flying in the air, a frog could be in mid-leap, and sea creatures could glide through the water. This will open up a lot more oportunities for dynamic poses, and it will be a solution for animals that swim and fly.

I'd also eventually like to make a series of sculptures that depicts a movement (like the flapping of a birds wings) and string them all up as one artwork. It would be kind of like a mobile that one could hang as decoration.

Please keep suggestions and opinions coming! Your feedback is so helpful. =)

J is for Jaguar

I keep going back and forth with the gender of this one, but I think I'm going to take my friend Marisa's advice and go with a unisex name. I like the name Jaden, but am open to changing it if anyone has any suggestions. =)

the study

the sculpture

the drawing

the vector graphic

jaguar maquette

I'll be doing a jaguar next, and here's the maquette. I think she's a lady, so let me know if you think of any good female "J" names. Thanks!

Byron the Bullfrog

I finished the collage for Byron today...

(To view the study, sculpture, drawing, and vector graphic for this portrait, please view a previous post.)




The challage from last time was to make the animal's environment engaging so that it tells or begs a story. In this story, Byron is the hunter, and the moth is his prey. I think this is a good start, but it's still too commonplace. I need to think of the animal as a character in a fun and quirky story...

At 10 weeks in, I'm also finding that the novelty of this project has worn off. I might not feel very excited or confident about what I'm doing every day. I guess that's natural though.

Recap from this portrait:

Lesson - Inspiration is around the corner, so just keep working and stay positive
Discovery - Patterned fabrics can really affect the mood of the portrait
Challenge - Write a story for the animal before starting the sculpture

Thank you for all your suggestions so far. Please keep em' coming! They really do help me. =)

B is for Bullfrog

What with getting all the designs and files ready for card printing, I've fallen a little behind with Byron, but I'm sure I'll catch up soon! Here's what I have so far:

the study

the sculpture

the drawing

the vector graphic

I'm not sure when I'll be finished with the collage, but I hope to make some good progress today. Hopefully I'll catch up on Monday, cuz I'm ready to relax this weekend! =)

Card Printing Time

Here are a few of the new card designs I've done in the last couple months. I'll have a new catalog to share with you all soon, now with a grand total of 30 designs!

Happy Friday!

I am ohhhn track. Yesterday, I finished the sculpture of Byron the Bullfrog, and I'm doing the drawing today.

I even had time to write 2 letters and design a new card (will be going to print in a couple of weeks!)



Thanks for tuning in. =)

fun with organic material

I picked some leaves and petals a few months ago and pressed them between the pages of a heavy book. When I retreived them yesterday, I was happy to see that the colors were still pretty vibrant. With more time, they might fade away, but that would only be natural.


It's fun to look at the shapes of the leaves and imagine something new from them. It makes sense that plants and animals would share similar forms. It touches on the idea that everything is connected, and that ultimately, we're all made from the same stuff.


Organic material is just so beautiful, and I would love to become more familiar with this medium. It's not as pliable as paint, or even fabric, so I don't think it's possible to ever fully harness it. Instead of designing something and using the material to execute, you have to let the material lend itself to a design. But, in that way, I think you end up having more of a partnership with the material. It's more limiting, but also more satisfying.