Flora Series: A-G

A is for Anthurium


The Anthurium crayon is made up of 6 Crayola crayon colors.
The flowers are made of Scarlet and Red and the spadix is made of Yellow and Dandelion.
The leaves and main crayon body is made of Granny Smith Apple and Green


B is for Buttercup
This is my one of my gardening nemesis.  How can you not respect this plant for it's resilience!


The Buttercup crayon is made of 4 Crayola crayon colors.
The flowers are made of Dandelion Yellow and Yellow for the centers.
The leaves are made of Olive Green and Forrest Green.


C is for Clover


The Clover crayon is made of 4 Crayola crayon colors.
The flowers are made of White and Tickle Me Pink.
The leaves are made of Olive and Spring Green.



D is for Daffodils
I made this crayon during the Spring when daffodils were blooming.  The many colors, size and shapes inspired this composition.

 
The Daffodils crayon is made of 8 Crayola crayons.  This is one of the more complex crayons in this series because of how many colors it has.
The flowers are made of: White, Yellow, Dandelion, Unmellow Yellow, Orange and Yellow Orange.
The leaves are made of Yellow Green and Green Yellow.


E is for Eucalyptus


The Eucalyptus crayon is made of 4 Crayola crayons.
The flowers are made of Spring Green and Scarlet.
The leaves are made of Olive Green and Forest Green.


F is for Forget-me-not
I'm not gonna lie, this is my favorite crayon from this set!  The Forget-me-not is such a humble flower and often overlooked.  It's considered a weed in most cases, but I think it's gorgeous.


The Forget-me-not crayon is made of 6 Crayola crayons.
The flowers are made of Sky Blue and Dandelion.
The buds are made of Purple Mountains Majesty and Lavender.
The leaves are made of Granny Smith Apple and the main body is Green.


G is for Geranium


The Geranium crayon is made of 3 Crayola crayons.
The flowers and the main body of the crayon is made of Salmon.
The leaves are made of Forest Green and Spring Green.

Happy Year of the Monkey

Hello everyone, it's been a long time since I've posted on my blog!  2016 will be a year full of catch-up and productivity.  I'll start off by wishing everyone a happy and prosperous new year.  2016 is the Year of the Monkey and much like the energetic and unpredictable monkey this year will be a wild ride.  I'm looking forward to it.  


This is a detail shot of my newest crayon work.  I'm very excited to incorporate different colors to my carvings.  I started to work on another Zodiac set, this time in technicolor!

These are the Crayola crayons I used for this carving:
Monkey's body and base crayon: Tan
face and ears: Tumbleweed
face features: Black
peach: Salmon
foliage: Olive Green and Green
rocks: Timberwolf





If you're in Seattle, please come out to "Seattle Simplified", it's a showcase of recently acquired artwork by Seattle City Lights. It's on view right now at the Seattle Municipal Tower Gallery. 

Seattle Simplified (Part 2):
December 31, 2015 through April 3, 2016
Opening reception: February 9th, 4 - 6pm
Seattle Municipal Tower Gallery
Level 3 Concourse
700 Fifth Ave.
Seattle, WA 98104

NYC Landmark Crayons

NYC Landmark Crayons
These are the crayons I carved at the TIA Toy Fair in Crayola's booth.  They collected business cards during my demo and they're going to do a drawing to win these carvings along with other works made during the Toy Fair.  I don't know who the winners are, but CONGRATS!

There were three crayons total, I also carved the NYC skyline on a large 2 pound crayon.  Unfortunately I don't have any good pictures of it.  That crayon was left at the Toy Fair for display.  I took these home with me so I can safely pack them for Crayola.



Statue of Liberty Crayon
This crayon took me a good 5 hours to carve and towards the end her arm/hand broke off!  I think that momentous occasion was even caught on film... you guys should have seen my face.  No tears or swearing, but I was almost there!  Man it sucked to have something break after hours spent working on it.  Luckily the break was fixable, she's now back in one piece thanks to a piece of copper wire and melted wax.  Usually broken crayons  can't be fixed, but this is a special case.  Notice the color difference on the torch hand.  That's where the breakage happened.

I really love how she turned out.  I may have to make another one for myself!


Freedom Tower Crayon
Another famous NYC landmark.  I hope I did it justice... the antennae/spire was hard to make.  I didn't want to make it too thin so the proportions are a bit off.  I had to add some green trees to the base for scale.  The carving is done on a silver Crayola crayon, it has a nice luster in real life.

Thanks again for thinking of my work Crayola, you guys were all a pleasure to work with.  Same with the fine folks at Edleman. :)  Thank you Julie, Nancy, Lianne, Chiara and everyone who came by to say hello! 

TIA TOY FAIR w/ Crayola!

Hello everyone,
I will be at Crayola's booth at the TIA Toy Fair in NYC!  If you're at the fair please stop by to say hi.  Crayola asked me to do a crayon carving demo on a few smaller/regular crayons and one LARGE crayon.  Aside from my regular techniques I'll work on my multi-colored crayons as well.  This will be the first time I show how to create an image by combining colored waxes and make it stable. It's very much like an inlay technique and just just melting wax together. 

I will be at the Crayola booth all day on Monday:
TOY FAIR 2014
Javits Center NYC
Booth: CPLM04 (first floor near registration and escalator)


Johnny Jump Up Flower or Tri Color Viola
One of my favorite flowers because it's so easy to grow.  It's almost a weed in how vigorous it is, but so beautiful.  This carving was done on a HUGE crayola crayon, weighing in at almost 2 pounds!



Detail shot of the design.  This carving incorporates 9 different Crayola crayon colors.  The work is done like an inlaying for wood.  Channels or deep grooves are carved into the crayon then colored wax is melted into those channels.  The excess are cut off and the surface made flush to reveal the design.  This will be a fun process to see in person.




Another detail shot:
The design goes all they way around.



Camellia flower, the Chinese call it "Tea Flower" because tea is made from Camellia sinensis.  It's an early blooming flower, usually the only color that's out when everything else is still covered in snow.  A sign or rebirth and the Spring to come.  This carving was done on a HUGE crayola crayon, weighing in at almost 2 pounds!


Detail shot of the Camellia Flower carving:
This carving incorporates 4 different Crayola crayon colors.  The work is done like an inlaying for wood.  Channels or deep grooves are carved into the crayon then colored wax is melted into those channels.  The excess are cut off and the surface made flush to reveal the design.  This will be a fun process to see in person.


A shot with my hand for scale.

Artist Talk With Gala Bent

I just wanted to give everyone a quick THANKS for coming out to see the show.  It was a great opening and I'm honored to be showing with Gala Bent.  Good news is the show has been extended to Oct. 12th and we will be having an artist talk Sept. 21st.  Hope to see you there!

Diem Chau: A-Z Northwest Natives
Gala Bent: The Ether and The Mantle
G. Gibson Gallery
300 South Washington Street,
Seattle, WA 98104
August 30th - October 12th, 2013
Artist talk: Saturday, September 21st, talk starts at noon


The Dreamer (187) 2013
Carved carpenter pencil, wood & graphite
On view at G. Gibson Gallery


I'm so excited to show with Gala Bent.  This picture doesn't do her work justice, you have to see them in real life to appreciate all of the intricate details.  See her WEBSITE for more info.


Me (left), Brangien Davis (center), Gala Bent (right)
It was great seeing so many of my Seattle friends again.  I REALLY have to get out to more 1st Thursdays.  I love the art community here, thank you guys!



Looking at the carved pencils.


Looking at carved crayons. 

Northwest Natives Alphabet Set: A-Z Finished!

Here they are folks, the complete Northwest Natives Alphabet set! An incredible amount of work went into these carvings. I had a lot of fun learning about our native species, some are old favorites and others are completely new to me. The entire set will be on view at an upcoming show in Seattle. Please stop by if you're in town.

Diem Chau
A-Z: Northwest Natives
August 30th - October 12th, 2013
Artist Reception: Thursday, Sept. 5th,  6-8pm
G. Gibson Gallery
300 S. Washington Street
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 587-4033

Links to individual images of my Northwest Natives Alphabet Set:
A-G: HERE
H-M: HERE
N-T: HERE
U-Z: HERE 


Letters A-M
A is for Aquilegia (Columbine)
B is for Bald Eagle
C is for Cougar
D is for Dogwood
E is for Elk
F is for Fox
G is for Grizzly Bear
H is for Heron
I is for Iris
J is for Juniper
K is for Killer Whale
L is for Lynx
M is for Mountain Goat


Letters N-Z
N is for Northern Spotted Owl
O is for Otter
P is for Painted Turtle
Q is for Quinault Tribe
R is for Rhododendron
S is for Salmon
T is for Timberwolf
U is for Urchin
V is for Viola
W is for Wolf Eel
X is for Xanthogrammica (Giant Green Anemone)
Y is for Yuma myotis (Vesper Bat)
Z is for Zapus princeps (Western Jumping Mouse)


A-Z: Northwest Natives Alphabet
I would like to make a print of this set available for sale... maybe even a postcard collection of the entire set?  I will keep you guys updated!


I had so much fun w/ this interview, thank you for coming over Nancy!  Check out my quad-chins yo!

Northwest Natives Alphabet Set: U-Z

These are the letters U-Z of my Northwest Natives Alphabet Set.  The full set will be exhibited at G.Gibson Gallery in Seattle.  Since the show is in the Pacific Northwest I thought I'd make a tribute to my neck of the woods. Every letter is paired with species that is native to the PNW (Pacific Northwest).   Please stop by to see the show if you're in town.

Links to the rest of my Northwest Natives Alphabet Set:
A-G: HERE
H-M: HERE
N-T: HERE
U-Z: HERE
The entire set can be seen HERE.

Diem Chau
A-Z: Northwest Natives
August 30th - October 12th, 2013
Artist Reception: Thursday, Sept. 5th,  6-8pm

G. Gibson Gallery
300 S. Washington Street
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 587-4033


U is for Urchin


Urchin 360 View


V is for Viola
There are MANY native violas in the NW.  They are one of my favorite plants in the garden, truly carefree and well adapted to our region.  The flowers are edible, I love candied violets as well.



Viola 360 view
I really enjoyed making these flora-based crayons.  My next alphabet set might have to be plant based...


W is for Wolf Eel
Scientific Name: Anarrhichthys ocellatus
Common Name: Wolf Eel


Wolf Eel 360 View



X is for Xanthogrammica
Scientific Name: Anthopleura xanthogrammica
Common Name: Giant Green Anemone


Xanthogrammica 360 view


Y is for Yuma myotis
Scientific Name: Yuma myotis (Myotis yumanensis)
Common Name: Vesper Bats or Mouse-eared Bats


Yuma myotis 360 view



Z is for Zapus princeps
Scientific Name: Zapus princeps
Common Name: Western Jumping Mouse


Zapus princeps 360 view