Grateful for Trees

Thanks to La Nina, it's been a very mild winter in Chicago. So much so that many trees are budding and it's only February! Part of me is very excited and hopeful for a super early spring, but the reality is I've lived in Chicago long enough to know that very soon, the other shoe will drop (just ask Tom Skilling!). None the less, here's to all the trees that give us shade, and beautify our urban setting, and provide perches for the robins to share their early spring songs. Happy Winter, everyone! And very soon, Happy Spring!

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: GROUNDED

Why I love Yoga, in a nutshell:

It keeps my ego in check. It keeps me free of unnecessary stress. It shows me there's other ways to looks at life. It teaches me to be compassionate towards myself, and towards others. It challenges my courage, in a supportive way. It makes me laugh at myself. It makes me feel rather unstoppable at times. It shows me when I have to stop at times. It teaches me patience with myself. It teaches me to forgive myself, and others too. It makes me not crave junk food. I sleep better. I cry more, and sometimes less (and I'm ok with both). It opens not just my hips and shoulders, but my heart too. When I look at frogs, crows, lions, and monkeys, I feel a little more connected. It teaches me the value of my breath, and has shown me how sacred it is be able to simply inhale. It teaches me to keep expanding not just on the mat but in all areas of life. It teaches me to reach beyond what I thought was reachable, and to make room for something unexpected. It teaches me curiosity. It makes me feel a little like I'm levitating, and it also keeps me beautifully grounded.

FREE Greedo Mandala

Please enjoy this freeb Star Wars mandala! Just click, print, and color Greedo! If you send me a scan of your finished art, I'll post it on my blog. Here's some suggestions on how to color:

• Use colored pencils over a light watercolor wash

• Nothing wrong with shades of gray!

• Throw in a little glitter (or use glitter gel pens)

• Color it digitally!

• Scan the print out, resize in Photoshop (larger or smaller) and transfer using transfer paper to illustration board. Use acrylics and go nuts, have fun!

• Use tissue paper for a stained glass effect!

The sky's the limit, kiddies. Relax, enjoy, have fun!

FREE Star Wars Ewok Mandala

I LOVE LOVE LOVE drawing mandalas and decided to create another with a Star Wars character, perfect for your kids (or YOU) to color! Just click the image and print. It measures 8"x8" and is 300dpi, so it'll print nice and clear. You can also print and color my Yoda and Vader mandalas (just click!). Please leave your comments and suggestions for other mandalas in the comment box. If you color these mandalas, send me your image and I'll create a gallery here! Enjoy!

Combining Art and Yoga

Just like yoga, my art has always been a therapeutic, meditative process. These days I'm combining my love for both. These cuties are small works of art known as ACEO's. If you're not familiar with the term, ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions, and Originals. Art Cards are original works of art, that the artist sells or trades with other artists or to collectors. Sometimes, artists will turn the original piece into a limited edition print. I've never been fond of that process. I love to know my originals are in the hands of collectors. And over the years, since 2006, I've sold many, many of these small works of art.

Each of these originals measures 2.5"x3.5" and are matted (5"x7"). I used Copic Markers and Gel pens on Bristol Smooth. The gel pens were used to color the hearts, and unfortunately my scanner doesn't do it justice but trust me, they're shiny and glittery!

These would look cute in your yoga studio or practice space! If you're interested in purchasing one (or all!), please send an email to me at : cynnarcisi@gmail.com with Yoga ACEO in the subject. I accept payments through Pay Pal only. They are $30 each. Please include $3.00 for shipping (within the US). I will provide rates for postage for International Buyers.

Thank you! -Cynthia

My Mandala Coloring Book

I've illustrated a collection of 12 beautiful, original mandalas that you or your kids can color! The book is currently available as a PDF document which means you can print it right from your home or office computer. And for a limited time, it's only $1.99! The images are high res, so you'll have a nice, clean print out. I drew these using Adobe Illustrator CS3. Below are some free samples for you to try out first (these images not included in the book). Just click and print!

How Will the File Arrive?
Once PayPal notifies me of a payment, I will email the PDF file to you. Get as creative as you want! There are no limits to what you can do with these! Here's a few suggestions:

• Directly color right on the page using crayons, pencils, pens, light watercolor washes
• Use transfer paper (which you can buy online or in art stores such as Blick) and transfer the image onto watercolor paper or illustration board. Then go nuts with color.
• Color the whole things with dots.
• Sprinkle some glitter onto it!
• Add your own design elements into the shapes.
• Include written-word.
• Create a theme within the mandala.
• Bring these to your kids/teen yoga class and let them spend some time coloring.
• Creating mandalas is said to be a meditative process. Let yourself drift away as you color. Don't judge, don't compare, don't limit yourself. Expand, expand, expand, just as you would on your yoga mat!

I'd love to create a gallery of your works of art! So please send me pictures of your colored mandalas and I'll post them here on my blog!

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY: Messenger

I haven't been keeping up with Illustration Friday as I would like, so I decided to pull out this old(ish) piece for this weeks theme, Messenger. The original art was sold long ago (2007), and this one is still a favorite of mine. It was an ACEO, drawn with Copics. It's called "Into The Post".

Yoga Flash Cards

I've created printable flash cards as an aid for teachers who want to help their little Yogi's and Yogini's have fun learning yoga. The artwork is drawn as line art so kids can have fun coloring too! Just print the file from your office or home computer. The asana is shown on the front side of the card. The English/Sanskrit names are on tabs that you simply fold and adhere to the back side. Here's a sample of what the cards look like.

And here's a picture of cards that I cut and mounted on construction paper. This also makes a great activity for kids before or after a yoga session!

You can also view a larger sample of the PDF file by clicking here. 

If you have suggestions for additional asanas you'd like to see in this set, please let me know by leaving a comment for me.  If you'd like to work with me directly to create a customized set of cards specific to your style of yoga, of if you'd like to discuss a customized character, I'd love to create something with you! Please contact me at cynnarcisi@gmail.com so we can get started!

HOW TO ORDER A SET
If you'd like a high-resolution file containing all 20 images (with instructions on how to print the cards), please send a donation in the amount of your choosing. No donation is too small and will certainly help me continue to make more Yoga-themed activities and art such as this.  Include your email address so I can immediately email you a high res file.

Elephant Meditation - Art For Sale

I drew this last week, just an H pencil on Bristol paper. It's matted and measures 5"x7". The art is 2.5"x3.5". I LOVE working in pencil. Working in pencil becomes a meditation and I feel more connected with it than any other medium.

This original sketch is for sale. PayPal accepted. Click to view a larger image. Please email me if interested.

E: cynnaricisi@gmail.com

Star Wars: Galaxy VII Sketch Cards

Back in 2004, I worked on my first set of Star Wars sketch cards for Topps and Lucasfilm. Since then I've worked on one or two sets a year and have really enjoyed this work. If you're not familiar with sketch cards, they are one of a kind works of art found in hobby boxes (hobby boxes are purchased direct through Topps and contain several packs of cards, one of which contains a randomly inserted sketch). The rules are simple: sketch whatever you like, in whatever medium you like. At times, I've pushed the limits of the word 'sketch' by offering fairly tight, highly rendered mini-paintings. Lately, I prefer to stick to pencil and within the realm of the word 'sketch', but I'll still include a few more fancied-up cards because I can be more expressive with color. And it's fun. Sometimes after I've sketched a card, it just begs to be colored,so if time allows, I'll grab the Copics and have it. I've created a separate blog where you can all 100 of my cards cards for the new set, Star Wars: Galaxy VII. Of those, a small percentage will be color. I'll scan all my cards and post them as they get approved by Topps.
To follow along, please check out my Star Wars sketch card blog.