TRICIA TOONE | artist & teacher

Skele Guitar Painting Complete

Skele guitar body is ready to go. I've worked on lightening it up overall and making the texture a bit more gritty...as a pirate guitar should be. Once fully dry and varnished, Rick will assemble the custom built neck, electronics, and decorative pieces.

The guitar will come complete with a removable rum flask that fits in the guitar body made by tinsmith Carl Giordano. I think "His Noodliness" would be delighted.

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

"If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original."

- Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson asks important questions about the purpose of education and the 

role of creativity. He describes how we may be educating children out of their creative 

capacities because we reinforce a fear of making mistakes.

New Group Portrait

I just finished this portrait of four sisters. This portrait was commissioned as a surprise gift from family members. So the it ended up being a tough one because it was done completely from photographs and I have never met the women being painted. I usually like to work at least in part from life. Photographs just don't do justice to real life. I know there are a lot of artists out there who comfortably work entirely from photographs and it's typical that they never meet their subjects. 

As I worked on this project, it almost seemed like I did know these girls. Perhaps staring at their images long enough, I constructed imaginary personalities in my mind. Either way, it was a fun painting to do. I think I'm going to miss them when they're gone.

Hunterdon Art Museum Young Artists Showcase

Frenchtown Elementary School participated in the Young Artists Showcase at Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, NJ. It was an excellent show and we will be sure to participate next year. Congratulations to the young artists from Frenchtown, Holland Township, and Delaware Township whose work was selected to be in the exhibit.

Hunterdon Art Museum is a great local resource for those who live in Hunterdon or surrounding counties. The museum also offers adult and child classes throughout the year. I'm excited to attend the Life Drawing Marathon on Saturday, March 24. 

Here's some photos from the Young Artists Showcase.

There was a good turnout, despite the snowstorm we had that day.

A visitor admires this Frenchtown student's spraypaint peice. The 7th grader had been researching this technique on his own and made many attempts after school and at home. His hard work has quite an impact.

Skele Guitar

I'm currently collaborating with my husband, Rick Toone, on his new "Skele" guitar design. He designs and builds original, custom instruments. This one is a very unusual adaptation of a Telecaster shape. Check out the details at RICK TOONE | LUTHIER: Interchangeable Guitar & Bass Bodies

I am painting the Jolly Roger inspired bones. Oil on shellacked wood.

First Grade Clay

In first grade, we were practicing pinching and pulling to make a form in clay. Eventually, I will introduce making a form by attaching clay pieces with scoring and slip. Although they are working with air dry clay now, I want them to develop good habits. 

Towards the end of the session, I handed out toothpicks and demonstrated how it could be used to make texture and carvings. At that point, the sculptures took a turn as students also found some interesting uses for this new tool. 

Here is a Triceratops made by pinching and pulling.  

This little wolf has so much character. He used the toothpicks to make fur texture. 

As soon as toothpicks were in sight, one boy was inspired to make this porcupine. 

A toothpick became a handle for this little bowl.