tis the season; for tradition, a story, a new shop, a few updates and a sale to be

okay, so maybe i am getting a bit ahead of myself, or even the season but when you spend as much time as is needed creating for the next season- i have been waiting with anticipation for thanksgiving to pass and for the holiday season 'to begin'.

as a child, it was the day that the boxes were hauled from the attic and the tree was placed, that the holidays began to come alive. box after box of lights and tinsel and every ornament lovingly placed upon the tree, after a close inspection and the recant of a story as to its origin. every year since i can remember there was a gift of a new ornament to place on the tree. when we were just little tots, they were ornaments we made ourselves from clothes pins and paint or macaroni and glitter; as we got older they were symbols of events, of adventures and travels and each one a memory- if only a memory of a smile of a moment in time.

my great aunt is responsible for my love of creating ornaments. she would spend months sewing and gluing; beading and tacking; sequins, lace and shiny gold hangers- she made ornaments. dozens of ornaments. little dolls with locks of yellow yarn and gingerbread men with white rickrack icing; soldiers with big red top hats and green felted christmas trees with tiny little bells- she was a master. one year she created an entire felted manger scene. dozens of little ornaments all strung on lines of gold; wisemen  dressed in long colorful robes bearing gifts and  large white camels with bright turquoise saddles; donkeys and sheep and a barn with a manger and a bright shiny star. every one a gift, every one more detailed than the next and every one destined for that tree; and then the box, and then the tree. year after year. the ornament box comes out and the memories flood back like hidden treasures tucked safely away awaiting to be discovered again.

so it is no wonder that i tend to go a wild when it comes to creating ornaments and fun little celebrations of the season.

between local shows and deadlines, i have managed to stay pretty on top of things so far this season- which i have to say i am pretty proud of *pat on back*- i spent this morning adding new listings to the etsy shop- so stop on by to check out the new ornaments- new this year; i have added gift boxes! so many people asked for gift boxes so they could spread the love- i thought it would be much simpler this year if i just added them to the listing- so if you purchase an ornament you have the option of purchasing a gift box. gift andddd DOne!

due to a great new promotion that artfire was having- i closed my shop over there and opened a brand new one- also "Whisperings 13"- ends a lot of confusion and is allowing me to tidy up the branding of the studio. I hope to have enough inventory to add some things to the new artfire shop the first week of December- but i have to wait until after the old fashioned christmas celebration on the 4th. the etsy shop will be closed the 3rd through the 5th as i re-sort and restock.

e-commerce will never cease to amaze me. it is unpredictable and predictable at the same time. when something doesn't work- it really doesn't work. when something works, it takes off and leaves your head swimming as to why, why, why as you dogie paddle through the bliss of a successful campaign. i find myself in this conundrum with my holiday SNoWiEs. two days after i listed them, my email was flooded with requests and my custom order drying table looked like this:

these sweet little snowmen (or whats left of them)  have been a wonderful hit and i am very excited as to how they have been received! as i finish up on the last of the latest orders, i am coming to the realization that i am going to have to put a deadline on orders for multiple SNoWiEs- but that is to be determined. in the meantime there are still a few available in the etsy shop.

a *super SNoWiE* three times as large as the other SNoWiEs-

only one being created! will be listing later this week.

keep your eyes out for a sale coupon coming this week, just for blog readers, hive members and facebook fans of the studio. *how cool is it that etsy finally caught up and allows us to run specials now*

i go back to greedily awaiting the first snow of the season, the warmth towards others that people seem to find and the magic that envelopes the world.

live well.

love each other.



Wrapping up the ghoulies -mini e-class-summerfest 2010

I'm Late! sorry bout that folks- one of the draw backs of being in the middle of no where- is that,

your in the middle of no where. and by no where i mean cable arrived some time in the

past two years- and there is no cell service. As a result i am at the whim of mother nature, who

has been, well let us just say- she has been a bit irritable the past few days- either that or

Thor is auditioning for a new band. This activity results in cable (Internet) intermittent for about

5 minutes every 6 to 8 hours.  But we are back up on line- so here is what i

finally wound up doing.

Once i sat back and looked at my ghoulies, i just wasn't happy with their....ghouliness. so i pulled

out my bucket of molding paste and some cheese cloth and decided to

beef up their ghoul level.

once all the icky stuff was dried up and set i mixed up a concoction of raw umber, quin gold,

gesso and flow release and slathered them up.

 **oh- BIG mention here- make sure you place your

work in a position you want it to stay in before you use the molding paste- it's like putting it in a body cast

and it's mobility drops to about 23% when its dry**

this particular ghoulie wound up carrying a ghost on its back- i happened to have

some dry pumpkin ghosts *the ghosts of pumpkins past* and some cotton fish net in

the same location- you never really know what is going to come together

when you start~

i still have to seal them- a good coat of varnish should do it- and some gloss on their eyes to make

them shine-

i may even give them bases in the form of rocks and gravestones-  possibilities are endless

when you start working with figures.

every one takes on it's own personality- and if you get stuck, have no fear.

sooner or later they will tell you what they want to ; look like, wear,

do or even say. all you have to do listen to them.

"Kootash dai na, aja nilo. "

[translation] "Take my hand and I will spare your friends."

                                                       ~The Mummy

Thank you Juliet! i am glad you enjoyed it!
Kristal-Hey Girl! no worries~gather your supplies! i am going to keep these up for a while- and after that, there will be a direct link on the side, so that you can refer back to them at any time!
Di~ you are the sweetest person on the planet! and i thank you for your kind words. i am speechless at the role model part- i've often been referred to as a bad influence :oP - as for a role model i am honored, and humbled. you are an inspiring work of art yourself- and i am blessed to call you friend.


Have a wonderful week all~ I am in the overwhelmed part of the process here- working to stock a new gallery **the studio is hitting the west coast! formal announcement to come- listen for the squeels of delight*  and trying to stay afloat in the mean time with the rest of you~sometimes the simplest thing we can do to be happy is just smile at the blessings we have~ and i have so many, of which you are included.

live well.
love each other.

SummerFest- Free E-Class Tutorial- Time to Make the Ghoulies Part Two

Welcome back and Thank you for all the lovely emails!

As we go along (for anyone new joining us) please feel free to drop me an email or leave me a comment with any questions or comments. The comments section has been temporarily placed on moderate- and i will not be posting the comments (for the e-classes only) here on the blog- i have found this makes  people more comfortable, as i want everyone to be confident enough to ask me anything and i will only make reference  by first names- there are no "stupid" questions (Right Alice *wink*) it is "just" art- it won't bite!

Okay then. let's get to it!

...... the Body Armature! (insert scary 'muwahh haa haa' here)

The body armature is actually not as scary or complicated as it may seem. And i will note here that a) i am not the end all, last word on body armatures- like everything, there is more than one way to get it done. b) this is a basic structure, as you go along making dolls and creatures, you will perfect your basic structure and things will get very tricky- but until then, grab two pieces of armature aluminum wire and some masking tape.  yup. that's it.

the length of the wire depends on how "tall" you want your little being to be.

lay your wires next to each other, and start to wrap them together with the masking tape, about 1 to 1.5 inches (2.54cm to 3.81cm) from  the top end of the wires. keep them parallel with one another while wrapping. you want to make as many wraps as you need to keep them securely together. usually about 4 or 5 wraps should do it.

once you have them so they don't "roll" away from each other, and your going

to have to eyeball this one- wrap the length of what would be the distance between

the shoulders and the hips- your basically outlining where the torso will be.

the next step- see photo above- is going to be to bend the two wires apart and

then bend them back again to create, what looks much like a tuning fork, but will

actually become the hips and legs of your little being.

Do NOT glue it on yet, but if you just put your head on the 'neck' you can get a better

feel as to how things are going to look when we are done.

You can keep the head on, because we are going to need it there for placement of the arms,

but for now you can put the head/body aside and grab another piece of armature wire.

the length of the wire is going to be 2x the length of the shoulder to the knee area of your being,

or basically however long you want it to be :o) see that is the beauty of making creatures/dolls-

you can make them look however you want to!

TIP:  armature wire is very... bendy. it is easy to start getting a lot of kinks in it.

here is a super easy way to bend the wire in half  in one shot.

grasp each end of the wire between your thumb and first finger (one in each hand)  so you look

like your ready to conduct an orchestra- and bring your hands down and together and the

wire will follow, so you get this..

now take those two ends again, same position and just ratchet it back and forth in small, fluid

motions. the wire will start to close that camel hump until the two sides just about touch.

give the wire a bit of a flip and bring the two ends back up so it looks

like this...

time to bring back the head/body to the table for a line up:

flip the wire so the hump points down and, giving room for the neck, place the wire behind the body

and Voile'! instant shoulders/arms. now we want to make sure that they

are secure and don't wiggle or fall off- so it's time to bring out the masking tape again

and start wrapping, first the hump to the 'spine' and then up and around both

shoulder parts, and you will see the body start to form up. remember we still

have NOT glued the head into place. it is just rattling around up there, so

be careful not to send it flying while your wrapping with the masking tape.

next, cut another small piece of wire, bend it using the same technique above, only this time

we are placing it around those hips we just made. if you refer to the picture, you will see

one side on top of the body frame, and one side underneath. this is giving the armature some added

support and rigidity- when in doubt- reinforce. you don't want to put all of the hours

into an art doll only to have the main structure fail- a few extra steps in the beginning

will save you a whole lot of swearing in the end!

that being said, what are we going to do? you got it...

wrap him up! masking tape is remarkably strong when used in this

application. it can also be twisted around joints so that the form is strong,

yet still moves freely.

so there you have it. his main body form is almost complete.

now we need to grab some batting...

i like batting, as opposed to fiberfill, because it is easier to wrap and weave around

armature parts when making dolls. it is a personal thing- i don't like lumpy dolls, and the batting

holds itself into place so you don't need additional (insert name of favorite securing

device here) to keep it in place.

so peel off some batting (single layer) and lets get wrapping!

okay. now he's not so skinny! put as much or as little batting as you want to make your

creature as thick or as thin as you like- it's all about your vision when creating art dolls.

me, i'm going to stop here.  i think he is ready for the next step.

we finally get to give him his head!

and i found a pair of hands that were drying and commandeered them

for this project-

make sure you have good air when using your adhesive- it STINKS-

and will give you a headache- so... fresh air!.. lots of it!

i put the wire right into the tube of glue and gob it up good.

i just don't like pieces falling off!

so don't over do it- but use enough adhesive to get the job done.

and if the glue globs over the neck or arms.. no worries- it is going

to be covered up anyway- and at least you know the future owner of your lovely won't

be searching for a hand some day!

ohhhh. creepy, creepy.

okay- so more cute than creepy - we will work on creepy

another day! :o)

okay- remember- shoot me off any questions you may have, next week we will finish these

bad boys up with feet and paint and final wardrobe selection-

have a most excellent week!

live well.

love each other.

SummerFest- Free E-Class Tutorial- Time to Make the Ghoulies Part One

Welcome to Summerfest at the Studio! 

Halloween is around the corner and everyone is working hard to get their muses headed in that direction for the big Halloween sales- so what a better way to kick off Summerfests free E-Classes!

It's time to make the Ghoulies!!

Supplies you will need to complete your project (in no particular order):

 a water spritzer

 aluminum armature wire

 masking tape

 paperclay

 bamboo skewers

 an assortment of clay tools

 acrylic paint in your choice of colors

 gesso

fabric scraps (i will be using muslin but old t-shirts work just fine)

aluminum foil

wire cutters

We will start with making the head.

for this part you will need the paperclay (i exclusively use Creative PaperClay), a wad of aluminum foil, your clay tools, masking tape and a bamboo skewer.

i like to recycle aluminum foil (just throw it in the dishwasher and it comes out clean!) but for this demonstration, i will be using fresh from the roll foil- to make it easier.

take your bamboo skewer and gently scrunch the aluminum foil around the top

of the skewer (the flat end, keep the pointy end down).

once you have it in place, your going to give it a good squeeze and

tighten the foil- while molding into a head like form. you want the

skewer to the top of the head form- but not sticking through the top of it.

don't forget to leave a tad at the bottom for the neck.

when you have the foil firmly squished around the skewer, you want to grasp the

 foil in your hand and give just barely a tug, (to make sure you can remove the skewer later)

and then move it back into position.

take your masking tape and wrap the head till no foil shows through.

this is done so that the clay does not react with the foil and it aids in the

drying process of the clay- you won't have so many cracks (the foil has lots of crevices for

air to get trapped in)

now make a loose wrap around the bottom (the neck). this will allow you additional space for a neck

and by making it loose, while the clay will push it back against the skewer, it will allow for easy

removal of the skewer later.

cover the head with a layer of paperclay. about 1/4 inch thick.

if it is too thin (i.e you can feel the tape through it) it will have a higher rate

of cracking when drying, if it is too thick it will take days to dry properly.

TIP:: use your spritzer!

spritz the taped head before adding the clay.

spritz your hands while working with the clay.

spritz the clay.

paperclay is very finicky depending on your environment, your body temperature

and the humidity of the room you are in. It is not hard to work with,

and is very forgiving- if you just remember to keep it moist. if it doesn't blend to itself with one

rub of the finger- it's time to give it a spritz. If you think you have given it too much water

just wait a minute and let it set- but don't walk away from paperclay! you will return to a lump

of unusable grit if you do. just keep moving and you'll be fine!

pinch off a bit of clay from your block and give it a spritz, roll it between your

fingers to make a fat teardrop and (give the head a spritz) place it in the center of

the face to create a nose.

you can work both sides of the nose into the head with your thumbs (don't forget to spritz!)

if you don't have clay tools i have found that the end of another skewer, or the back end of a pair of tweezers

works well for making a nose. insert your tool (whatever it may be) to the left and then to the right to create nostrils. 

TIP: when creating nostrils, a slight bump upwards before pulling the tool out

helps to create the "flair" of the nostril, with out too much effort. you are pushing the clay up slightly

to "bubble" into a nostril flair.

to make the eyes- first- hold the head, facing up, on the ends of your fingertips

(both hands) place one thumb where the left eye should be, place your other thumb

where the right eye should be, and give a little push- till you indent the clay into

the form of an eye socket.

then, taking the rounded end of your tool, define the eye to a shape you like. again, a popsicle stick

also works well for this part, or the back end of a spoon- look around- you will

be surprised what you can use for clay tools!

here is an example: the left eye has the thumb impression. the right eye

has been defined with the rounded end of a clay tool.

the mouth is simply a split of the clay- i am using a tool in this photo, but

an exacto knife or even a butter knife will work here.

Make sure you are still spritzing your clay! (even the block you are working from

needs a good spritz now and again!)

use two splits on the top, to give the full lip look, and then once you have a bit of an

opening, move below the opening and give the clay a bit of a push in and up

and a bottom lip will appear. you can then define them as you wish.

once you are happy with the basic head and face give it

one more spritz (this slows down the final surface drying)

last step-  smooth under the neck as this is the spot that gets handled the most

and is the most likely spot to get over looked.

give the skewer a twist to make sure it is still loose.

TIP:: Bamboo skewers are great for paper clay.

paperclay dries from the outside in. the bamboo wicks the extra moisture out from the

inside of your piece and is exceptionally helpful when drying hands and feet.

It will take 2 (two) days for the paperclay to dry completely. Do not try to rush it by moving

on to the next step or icky things happen to paperclay that is sealed when there is still

moisture in its core. worst case is mold, best case it's going to crack. in either case,

it is a frustration best left behind.

you can flip the skewer (put the dry end in the piece) after 24 hours- this will

help.

**********************************

it takes a while to master paperclay due to it's squishy need to be wet- but it is well worth the time, and so much fun to work with. the possibilities are endless! and don't worry if you don't have any  or only one or two clay tools to work with. when i started sculpting with paperclay, it took me two years to buy a set of tools and another year to feel comfortable using them. your hands are your own amazing tools when it comes to clay- you will be surprised what you can accomplish with just your thumbs and a bit of household items!

*******************************

 let those heads dry and i will see you back here for part two of e-class summerfest at the studio

the body armature!

remember, if you have any questions, you can either leave a comment and i will address

it at next class or you can email me for a private response.

live well.

love each other.

The answers, the questions, the surprises along the way.

It's been a short time since ending the corporate chapter of my life, yet it seems like forever ago that I took that final walk out the door. I am forever being asked “how is it going?” or “what are you doing” or my all time favorite “do you regret leaving” (I have to laugh at that one- sorry). It hasn't all been smooth sailing- there have been a few definite riffs along the way, but that is to be expected with any dramatic life change. I have no regrets. I am doing fine and it is going well. Shallow answers at best- except the “no regrets part”- that rings truth to its core. Not above showing the frailties of my human side, I sat down to reflect on what I have learned these past months. Things I was and was not prepared for and things I must remind myself of every day. Surprisingly, it all boils down to these few:

1.You can not schedule a time for a Muse to appear. They have a mind of their own, and appear when they want to. Often at inconvenient times. Usually after midnight. Make sure you have coffee- and they prefer scones over bagels.

2.I spend more time on a computer now than I ever did at the law office.

3.I am not just an artist. I am now an accountant, a data processor, a web designer, a sales(wo)man, an inventory clerk, a publicist, a printer, a promotions director, a mail clerk, an events coordinator, a maintenance worker, the cleaning crew, not to mention president, ceo and one bitchy boss.

4.Everything I ever needed to know about running an art business I already learned from Sesame Street: Share, add color, take naps, count often, smile, laugh, dance and sing whenever possible, being different is a good thing, connect with your neighborhood, plaids and stripes do make you happy and when in doubt- bring out the tiara.

5.Fretting about things only feeds them negative energy.

6.When you least expect it- something exciting always happens.

7.It is physically (not to mention spiritually) impossible to: do laundry, cook 3 meals, clean house, shop for groceries (haul and put away), tend to the yard, help with homework, update shops, package shipments, advertise, tweet, blog, facebook, AND be creative all in one day.

My father is a brilliant man. He told me “You can do anything- you just can't do everything”. Words I now live by- that and a good schedule.

8.Don't fight it. Stop and breathe.

9.Sleep is an option. Food is not.

10.Some days you just have to get out of the studio and go be with people.

11.Caffeine is the nectar of the gods. That, and a good bottle of wine.

12.Don't judge yourself so harshly. That is what other people are for- and them- you can ignore.

13.If you don't compare yourself to other people- Don't compare your work to others either.

14.Make it your own.

15.No matter what people may tell you, life will go on if you forget to blog, tweet and/or facebook every hour of every day.

16.While you are running around doing everything else- Do your best to remember your dreams.


I am still learning. I have so much more to learn, that I am sure my list will grow as the new year progresses. It's a lot tougher than it seems. But I figure, if it were easy- it would not be so much fun.

enjoy each other.
live well.

A crazy, cold Monday full of lists

Crazy, cold monday~

It is a definite sign that the seasons are in transition- one day warm, the next day... not so much. The winds finally subsided long enough to finish the studio. Wintering the studio that is. Having a studio that has 2 sides with full open windows is a wonderful thing, most of the time. Now that the winds are starting to chill it is time to batten up the hatches, seal up the windows and make room for the winter muses to move in. One more thing to check off the list.

I love lists. It's how I get things done. Which is funny, because in my "corporate world" life- I hated lists.  I used to know what needed to be done, and just did it. methodical, mind numbing routines. Now that I am living more in the moment- I am finding that things come and go much quicker. Distractions come quite often. Not the bad, take me away distractions- but more of the... ohhhhhh shiny! distractions. I get caught up in the studio and hours pass and, well, things just get put off to the next day, until something else draws my attention. So, every night, I bring out the index cards and make a list of things that absolutley have to get done the next day, and check, check, check them off. The earlier I get the list done, the longer I have to play!

Speaking of lists... I feel one coming on...

- working on a few mixed-media pieces, a custom and a birthday present

- trying to be inspired to come up with a goody for the Halloween party~ only 5 days away!

-Anyone interested in winning some serious Halloween goodies should definitely go here.

-Very inspired by Seth Apter. if you have not been introduced~please, do so now. A truly passionate artist.

-Can NOT wait to see this. As a result, my computer now looks like this.

-If you are looking to learn how to market your wares on the web- You need to check out this ecommerce workshop.  The least you need to do is introduce yourself to Laura Bray- and sign up for her newsletter- what's to lose? You won't be disappointed.
-I so totally want this.

Enjoy each other.
Live well.