Adventures of the Leaping Calf

A Steamfae is born - Meet Phinaes

2011-11-21T13:27:00.001-08:00

This little guy is the result of an online class with Dawn Schiller at Doll Street's Creative College.
He is a real dandy, and a little bit of a flirt to boot.

Meet Phinaes, a Steampunk Elf. (Dawn uses "Steamfae" to describe these little guys, but I don't want to steal her charming term.)

It was a lot of fun to do a character piece for a change, but the more I try to branch out, the more I find that I really prefer to create Pretty Things.

Iowa Retreat 2011 Finished Doll - "Rise of the Evening Star"

2011-10-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

Can it really be months and months since I have finished *anything*? Sigh... Unfortunately, yes indeed, it can. Thank goodness for the inspiration of my annual trip to Marshalltown, IA for Jean Bernard and Sherry Goshon's Dollmaker's Retreat!

This year's retreat was every bit as stimulating as I have come to expect. Sherry and Jean are generous teachers who do not hold anything back, and have the gift of dragging the creativity (kicking and screaming if necessary) out of every participant.

Everyone started with the same type of gourd as a base, though each individual gourd had slightly different shapes. Some were tall and straight, while the one I chose was a marvelously swoopy curvy one with lots of potential for implied movement. After basecoating the gourds with layer of acrylic paint, we then completely covered them with alcohol inks. I used yellow, several shades of red, purple, gold, and just a little green here and there. Because the inks dry almost immediately, you have to work quickly and spontaneously - my favorite way! It was a real rush to watch the colors do their thing. Almost like magic.

Her cape started life as a sushi mat. (Another new thing for me - I had never heard of one before. Perhaps I need to get out more?) I stained the mat with thinned down acrylic paints and attached it to the doll's torso with apoxie sculpt. The feathers softened the outer edge but didn't blend well into the mat, so I blurred that edge with several layers of Jean Bernard's signature "Bling Soup" - a mixture of micromarbles and glitter suspended in DG3 glue and smeared on with a toothpick (or in my case, my fingers.) I really don't know what posessed me to do it, but I also added approximately 150 flat back crystals. It took me most of an entire morning, but I am happy with the result.

Because the underside of the cape is so visible, I think I will go in and add some bling mix to this side as well. I just don't like the abrupt line at the base of the feathers.

The face is a resin cast of Jean's new "Scarlet" mold which I colored with Sherry's watercolor pencil techniques. Didn't Jean create a beautiful sculpt? Such a lovely, delicate expression.

Jake says she is one of the best things I have ever done. I am pretty happy with her myself.

Too Creepy/Weird?

2011-07-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at a Frowning Francis pattern. She was a LOT of fun to make, but I am glad she is going to a new home soon. I'm not sure I can take her staring at me like that!

This is the "Embellished Bird" pattern from the website. I also have the mermaid and zombie elephant patterns to play with. It is a nice little creative vacation to turn off the brain and just follow instructions for a change.

Grilled Pizza

2011-07-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

When Jake bought me my grill last year, one of the first things I tried was Grilled Pizza, just because it sounded like so much fun. I was right - it IS fun, and we loved it so much that I have been making it regularly ever since. I have been asked several times for the recipe, but I haven't been able to come up with a good response because what I do is a mishmash of researching many many recipes in books and on the internet. (Why yes, I do read cookbooks for fun, LOL.)

Anyway, I am going to take a stab at writing it down. Feel free to e-mail me with questions!

The most important element of this process is a good crust. The tastiest recipes call for a long cold rise, so you need to put the dough together at least 24 hours before firing up the grill. I like Alton Brown's recipe. Don't be fooled by the 1 star reviews - the people who deemed it inedibly salty obviously used regular salt instead of kosher. (By the way, if you haven't switched to kosher salt yet, I recommend you do so. Yummy!)

On the other hand, if you're like me and don't always plan your menus ahead of time, I have a fabulous 2 hour dough recipe from Eating Well magazine that comes together effortlessly in my food processor. It isn't as tasty as the 2-day variety, but is definitely good enough, especially when one is craving pizza *today*, LOL.

After your dough has finished rising, punch it down and divide it into 4 equal pieces. (8 pieces, if you're using Alton's recipe.) Cut four 10" pieces of parchment paper, spray well with nonstick spray and dust lightly with flour. Put one piece of dough on each piece of parchment and, using just your fingers, spread the dough out into a disk about 1/4" thick and don't stress about the shape. Brush with a light coat of olive oil, then repeat with the remaining dough pieces and let them rest while you assemble your toppings.

Grilled pizza goes fast, so it is important to have everything ready before you start cooking. Anything goes when it comes to choosing your toppings - my favorite combination is grilled red pepper, grilled zucchini, and grilled onion topped with mozzarella and parmesan. I am still searching for the perfect sauce recipe...

So, your dough is shaped and rested, your sauce is ready, the toppings are set out, and the cheeses are grated? Good. Let's grill!

To start with, make sure your grill grate is pristinely clean and well oiled. Fire it up and crank the heat to medium-high. (I like to maintain a temperature around 450 degrees.) When the grill is ready, put your crusts on the grate paper side up. Leave the papers on. Close the lid and DON'T GO ANYWHERE. After 3 minutes, open the lid, remove the papers and check the underside of the crusts. If they're a nice golden brown, they're ready.

Remove the crusts from the grill. (I have my own pizza peel for this. If you make a lot of pizza, a peel is worth the investment in money and storage space.) Close the lid. Lightly coat the "raw" side of the crusts with olive oil, then TURN THEM OVER. (I forgot to turn them over once. Don't repeat my mistake.) Put a light coating of sauce on the toasted side of the crusts, add the toppings of your choice, then top with cheese.

Please note: It isn't a good idea to pile on a huge mound of everything the way they do in most pizza parlors. Go easy with the sauce, you should be able to see the crust through the toppings, and a single layer of each cheese is plenty. Moderation is the key to a perfect Grilled Pizza.

OK, sermon over. It's time to put the pizzas back on the grill with the lid closed. After another 3 minutes, check to see if the undersides are nice and brown and the cheese is melted. If not, leave them on for another minute. If they're ready, take the pizzas off the grill, let them sit for a minute or 2 for the cheeses to set up, then serve. Enjoy!

Not White-on-White

2011-07-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

This lady doesn't have a name yet, but I am so happy with how she turned out that I am going to share her anyway. She is the product of yet another online class with the incredible Sherry Goshon, this time from the Crafty College at Doll Street. Her body is wrapped wire, plaster cloth, and paper clay, while her arms and hands are cloth. Her face is from Sherry's "Krystal" pressmold, and her hair is tibetan lamb.

The shining star of this piece though, is her wings, don't you agree?

These wings were custom made for me by Judy Serreseque from OOAK Artist Emporium, and a believe me they are worth every penny - I actually gasped when I opened the package when they arrived. This doll was *supposed* to be a white-on-white piece, but I needed to add quite a lot of color to her to live up to those glorious wings. The subtle texture is amazingly realistic. The beads and glitter give it just the right amount of bling without being too much, while the Swarovski crystals are the perfect finishing touch.

I have tried and tried to create a white-on-white project, but I have never yet managed to do it. Oh well, there is always next time!

2011 Reno Retreat

2011-04-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

After a long dry spell, I am once again creating. It seems that our dark and wet winters have a dampening effect on both my creativity and my energy level. And while spring isn't here quite yet, but this year's Retreat gave me the kick start I sorely needed to find some joy in my studio again.

This year's doll features a cloth body, a cloth-over-resin face painted with watercolor pencils, and a base of carved and embellished floral foam.

The front of the base has a niche carved into it, closed by a gate of twisted wire. The embellishments are vintage locks and skeleton keys, metallic and interference paints, and my favorite glitters and microbeads. I haven't thought of anything to display inside the niche yet -- anybody have any ideas??

The back is embellished with more locks and keys, as well as a cricket that came in my goodie bag. Can you spot it in the lower right of this photo?

Perhaps this photo will give you a better look...

Her hat is my favorite part - gosh, it was fun to make! The basic form is made of cardboard pieces cut from a cereal box and held together with masking tape. The whole thing was sealed with acrylic medium, painted gold, and covered with black net fabric. The bmbellishments are lots and lots of tulle, another little lock and key, tiny watch gears, and of course, glitter and microbeads.

Can't wait until next year!

The Green Woman makes her Debut

2010-10-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

It took all week and 2 minor heart attacks, but my tree lady is painted. As you can see, she has changed a lot! She went off in a completely different direction as I painted her, morphing from a tree spirit into a Green Woman.

I hadn't intended for her to be as dark as this, but as I kept adding wash upon wash of color (I just counted... there are 18 colors of paint on her) the darker she got, the more I liked it. Oh well, when the must speaks, it is best to just go with it.

I can only stare at her in wonder -- WHERE did she come from? I don't know...

I argued with myself quite a bit before deciding to add the micromarble embellishments - sometimes more is just too much - but I couldn't resist. I'm glad I didn't. :-)

She is 19" tall from root to tallest branch, and quite heavy. It will be fun deciding on just the right spot to display her.

I have an idea now for another tree woman in an entirely different style. I even have another head in my stash ready to go.

Tree WIP - Ready to Paint?

2010-10-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

I spent a good part of yesterday finishing the sculpting portion of my Tree Lady and adding some texture elements to give her skin more of a bark-like texture. Tonight I plan on adding tiny touches of apoxie here and there to flesh out her hands and cover up some flaws in her branches, but other than that, I think he is ready for her first coat of paint!

I am just really REALLY relieved that I don't have to twist up any more leaf clusters. I estimate that I used about 10 strands of chips, both gem and glass, as well as 2 spools of 26 gauge wire. If I had known what I was letting myself in for when I started, I probably wouldn't have given her leaves, LOL.

This girl is BIG, about 19" from bottom to the tip of the tallest branch.

I think I am going to add a few more leaf cascades around her face, but I want to see what she looks like painted first.

I love the way her root system turned out, especially once I added the banana silk fibers to tone down the "sculpted" look of the clay. The effect is subtle, but it really made her come alive.

A few years ago I would have been too paralyzed by the fear of ruining her to touch her with a paintbrush, but I have learned that layers are the way to go, and if all else fails, there is always starting over, LOL.

Wish me luck!

Photo Transparency over Collage: A Quickie Tutorial

2010-09-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

Photo-Transparency over Collage
(words only)

Materials:

• Photo, either digital, or scanned to digital format

• Ready-to-paint canvas, 8”x10” (Note: it is possible to tile more than one sheet of Lazertran to make a larger collage, but for the sake of simplicity and brevity, I will use 8”x10” for these instructions.)

• Lazertran Inkjet (If your canvas is larger than 8”x10”, you will need more than one sheet.)

• Collage papers – I like old book and magazine pages, light-weight scrapbooking papers, vintage sheet music, etc. It is important to limit your paper choices to pale colors and non-busy patterns. Avoid solids, shiny surfaces, and anything with a raised texture.

• Collage medium – I like Golden’s Soft Gel Matte, but Mod Podge Matte is acceptable.

• Colored pencils – NOT watercolor pencils! These are optional, but nice for adding color to a specific area of

• Paint Brush – I like a 1” soft bristle flat brush. This should not be one of your good brushes!

• Paper scissors

• Solvent-based polyurethane, either spray or brush-on. (Look for mineral spirits on the ingredient list)

• Embellishments to coordinate with your photo

Step One: Edit and Print your photo

I will demonstrate my editing steps on this photo of my granddaughter; I use Photoshop Elements 6. Open your photo in the editing software of your choice. Make a duplicate of the image (File, Duplicate), then close the original.

Optional Step: Straighten the image. Most people hold their cameras at a slight tilt when they snap a photo, so I always level the horizon line. In Elements, the button for this tool is the one that looks like 2 overlapping rectangles about half way down the tool menu. This photo is pretty straight already, so I will leave it alone.

Crop the photo to fit your canvas. The click on the crop button, which looks like 2 overlapping L-squares with a diagonal line through them, a little less than half way down the tool menu bar. In the width box type 8, in the height box, type 10.

Convert your photo to black and white. (Alt+Ctrl+B, or Enhance, Convert to Black and White, Portrait; Enter.)

Adjust the levels of your image. I like to really tighten up the value range, so I use a somewhat extreme approach with the levels command. Open the Levels Command dialog box. (Ctrl +L, or Enhance, Adjust Lighting, Levels). The box with the mountain shapes at the bottom is called a histogram, and under it you will see 3 triangles, a black one on the left, a grey one in the center, and a white one on the right. Click and hold on the black triangle and drag it toward the center of the histogram – see how the blacks get blacker? Drag the white triangle toward the center from the other side and see the image brighten back up again. Now play with the grey triangle, dragging it one way then the other, until you reclaim the details in the middle value ranges of the image and you like the way your photo looks. If you *don’t* like the way your photo looks, click on “reset” and start over.

See the difference? These darker darks and lighter lights will show up well when applied over your collage.

Make a test print. I find that what I see on my monitor is almost never what comes out of my printer, so I print my photo out on plain paper to see if it is really what I want, then make adjustments until I like what comes out of my printer. Then and ONLY then do I print my image onto a sheet of Lazertran Inkjet.

It can be difficult to determine with is the correct side to print on the Lazertran. Hold the paper up to natural daylight – the printable side is a creamy eggshell color, while the wrong side has a slightly blue-ish tint.

Print your photo onto the Lazertran and set aside at least overnight. The manufacturer says half an hour is enough, but I experienced significant ink bleeding if I tried to apply the transfer too soon.

Step 2: Plan and Create the Collage

Trim your printed Lazertran to fit your canvas, (I have tried letting the edges fold over the canvas, but to me it looked very sloppy that way) then lay the photo over the canvas. Notice where your center of interest (usually your subject’s face) is located, then lift up a corner of the photo and lightly indicate with a pencil where that focal point falls on the canvas. This is where you want to use your lightest most subtly designed papers so as not to detract from your image.

(Of course you may choose to obliterate your subject’s face for artistic reasons, in which case you can use any paper you want to create your effect.)

Cut your chosen papers to fit your canvas. For an 8”x10” canvas, I suggest using 8-12 pieces cut to fit. You may also choose to tear and layers your papers, but be aware that overlapping the papers will leave a visible ridge in the finished project and will also make it harder to avoid air bubbles when applying the Lazertran.

Apply your collage medium to your canvas AND to the back of your papers. (If you are using vintage papers, use a generous amount of medium and allow it to absorb for a moment. Sometimes those old papers are so dried out that they literally drink in the medium.) Apply the paper to the canvas, smooth it down thoroughly with something like a brayer or a bone folder, and then add another coat of medium over the top of the paper. Repeat this process with all the papers you cut. Make sure the canvas is entirely covered, as any bare spots will show.

Step 3: Add color. Or not.

If you choose to add some color with colored pencils to emphasize details in your photo, now is the time to do so. Use a light touch, as it is easy to damage the print.

Step 4: Apply the Lazertran Transfer to the Canvas

Fill a container large enough to fit the Lazertran with water about 1” or so deep. Immerse the Lazertran in the water. It will curl up almost immediately, but this is OK. Leave the transfer paper in the water for about 2 minutes to activate the adhesive.

While the Lazertran is soaking, apply an even coating of collage medium to the whole surface of the collage, taking care not to leave any dry spots.

Keep in mind that once the Lazertran is wet, the printed surface is fragile, so be gentle when perform the next few steps! Lift the transfer paper out of the water by the corners, letting the excess water run back into the container for a few seconds. (The transfer should slide easily on its backing paper – if it feels like it is still stuck to the backing, put it back in the water for a little bit longer.) Slip the top edge of the transfer up and off the backing paper by about ½”, and then lay that exposed edge down along the top of the canvas. Carefully slide the backing paper out from under the transfer, watching for air bubbles. If you see an air bubble form, gently lift the transfer back up and release it.

Once the backing paper is out from under the transfer, gently smooth the entire transfer with a brayer or a soft squeegee or sponge, working from the center out to eliminate any air bubbles that may have formed. Be sure to use a VERY light touch while you do this, as it is easy to damage to wet transfer at this point. It is important to clean your smoothing tool after each stroke. A mixture of water and collage medium will likely ooze out from under the edge – do not let this water get back on to the surface of the transfer or it will interfere with the finishing process.

Let the whole thing dry completely. Overnight is best.

Step 5: Creating the Transparency Effect

I prefer to use brush-on polyurethane in a satin finish for this step. It gives a great transparent effect every time. If you choose to use a spray, make sure it has mineral spirits in the ingredients list. Others don’t perform as well. Any oil based varnish will also work. Also, I prefer not to use a glossy finish as I feel this detracts from the work.

Step 6: Embellish as Desired

The sky is the limit here. Charms, ribbon, alcohol inks, beads, glitter… anything goes! Have fun, and I hope you enjoy the process as much as I do.

A Quick Update on my Tree Spirit

2010-09-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

Now that I have finished my Retreat piece, I am motivated to get back to work on my Tree sculpt. I set up a little work space in the living room so I can work in the evenings with Jake as company. It's just a little tray table ("As Seen on TV!", LOL) but it is working out very well.

Anyway, I added her head and filled out her branches. She is a little foreshortened in this photo - her "canopy" is actually quite round and full.

I have spent the last several evenings making up leaf clusters out of gemstone chips and wire and applying them to her branches. As usual, this is taking much longer than anticipated, as what I thought was "enough" only covered about a third of her branches. Oh well, wire is cheap and I have lots of chips left.

I hope these are enough now. I want to get back to sculpting!

Reno/Iowa Retreat Project - Finished!

2010-09-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

The annual Retreat hosted and taught by Jean Bernard and Sherry Goshon was once again a fantastic creative experience. I returned home both exhausted and exhilerated, with a mixed-media treasure that I still can't quite believe came from my own hands.
I began with this drawing by my daughter...

After 3 days of intense activity and a little more work at home, I ended up with this beautiful mixed-media sculpture. (As always, if you wish to see mor detail, click on the photo to enlarge to full size.)

Her base is wire lace built on a frame fashioned from a tomato cage, believe it or not. Her torso is a combination of soft sculpture and paperclay.

Her face is drawn and shaded with watercolor pencils, and sealed with a coat of beeswax. Now that was fun!

The rest of her consists of whatever struck my fancy at the moment. Chains, feathers, tulle, glitter, micromarbles, metal filagree... it's all on there.

If anyone is interested, there are still a few slots left open for next year's retreats. You will never be sorry! http://renoiowaretreat.com/

Tree WIP - making progress

2010-09-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be a quick and fun 2-day project. You would think I would know myself better than that my now. Sheesh...

I keep adding to her and bit by bit she is coming along. I have found that by working up from the bottom it is easier to integrate the details into the clay so that's why her upper half is so plain compared to the bottom. Apoxie can be unforgiving, so I am trying to control my impatience to get to the branches, no matter how annoying those wires get.

And a back view. The turntable has been a huge help in keeping her looking balanced and in proportion from all sides.

I probably won't finish her before I leave for Iowa, but I won't complain. Having something absorbing to work on is helping me stay focused on life here, which is good because I don't leave for another 4 days. Only 4 more days - woo hoo!

What do you do when you don't feel like doing anything??

2010-08-27T15:42:00.000-07:00

I read. A lot. I suppose I probably should be exercising, or at least tidying up my studio, but nope... when it's this hot and I am this unmotivated, I read. Don't laugh, but lately I have been rereading the "Harry Potter" series - it has been a little bit like visiting old friends.

Jake and I went to the Coast last weekend, just to get away for a few days. I didn't expect to do much of anything, but I brought along some apoxie clay to play with anyway and for a change I actually got it out and got to work on a sculpt. I have felt my muse coming back to life recently - I don't think she likes this heat much either, LOL. If that's true, she must really love the ocean, because I had to force myself to stop work a few times to let the clay set up. I'm pretty happy with what I have so far.

Because it is apoxie I am working in layers, so she is a little thin yet. I actually ran out and had to order more, but it is here now so I can get back to work on her again. There is a football game on tonight, so I think I will grab my tools and play a bit while Jake watches the game. We keep each other pretty good company. :-)

Life is changing

2010-08-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

Jake and I have been "Empty Nesters" for 2 weeks now - the girls have moved into an apartment together in the town where they go to college. Lydia has a job already, and Alice is still looking, but they have a sweet little set-up for themselves and seem so happy and excited to be out on their own. It is quiet around here, but we still text and play Facebook games, so I don't miss them *too* much.

It has been fun getting reacquainted with my husband! AND I have been busy reclaiming newly released space in the house. I guess you could say my creative energies are being spent on my home rather than in my studio, but it feels GREAT to have so much room to rattle around in. I don't think I will ever amass a huge stash ever again.

In celebration (and also because it has become too hot to wear my hair down over my neck) I got a new haircut. It was a stretch for me to dare to go this short with this much texture, but my stylist is a doll and gave me exactly what I wanted. I LOVE it!

Considering that I haven't had long hair since I broke my arm a few years ago, I think it is probably about time that I update my profile pic, LOL.

September Iowa Retreat - Mini-class Samples

2010-07-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

I will be teaching a mini-class at the Iowa Retreat in September -- these are photos of the class samples I have made using the transparent-image-over-collaged-background technique I worked out last spring. I hope everyone in class has as much fun with this technique as I have had!

This first one used a studio portrait from around 1912 or so of my grandmother and a neighbor boy as very young children.

This next canvas used the exact same technique, but I created an entirely different effect by using a different style of photo, different image editing techniques, and different collage papers. Anything goes, really!

I am putting up this last one only to serve as a horrible example and a warning: don't let your background collage become too important! I spent HOURS creating this background, including fussy-cutting the floral bouquet in the lower left from a vintage magazine advertisement. Such a waste...

Myy grandmother was such a beautiful bride, but you would never know it from this mess.

Photo of the Week - "Favorite Things"

2010-07-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, but, now that summer is finally here, we have been scrambling to get caught up on the field work that didn't get done because it was too wet, and also enjoying the pleasant weather to the utmost. In another post, I will show you my new toy and what it can do...

In the meantime, it is time to catch up with the weekly photo challenge. This is Sprite's month to choose the themes, and this week she has asked us to share a "Favorite Thing", with a focus on a piece of work we haven't dared to share before.

OK... here goes!

I did this little sketch in July of 2000 while in church. I was bored and the little sheet of paper provided for taking notes was a convenient blank canvas. I have kept it all these years because I am fond of it, as drawing is not one of my best skills.

Bad Judi, LOL.

Photo of the Week - "Father"

2010-06-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

The same uncle who took the photograph I posted in honor of Mother's Day of my mother and I also took this photograph of my father and I. In honor of Father's Day, I post it here today. I am pretty sure, judging by the little dress I am wearing, that this was taken on the day I was baptized; I was 6 weeks old, and he was 22 and a few months. I always thought that my Dad is one of the handsomest men in the world.

He is 71 now, but he still runs miles and miles with his dog every day. I don't know if he intends to run any marathons this year, but he ran 2 last year. If you were to see him today, you would be able to recognize him from this photograph. (Me... not so much!)

I still think he is one of the handsomest men in the world.

Photo of the Week - "Black and White"

2010-06-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

It is my month to choose our themes - for this week I chose "Black and White". I have lately become fascinated by the artistic potential of black and white images - who knew there was so much you could do beyond removing the color?

My roses are in full bloom right now (or they would be, if it would ever stop raining long enough to quit damaging the buds. Sigh...) I photographed this bud this morning and then started playing around with the image in Photoshop Elements. I love how taking color out of the mix really plays up the lines and movement of the petals.

I snapped this photo of my daughter last week while playing with the super zoom on my new pocket camera, and just for fun I started playing with it in black and white mode. There is so much you can do in Elements with black and white!

I never even noticed the lens flare in the lower left of the photo until I rendered it in black and white. Too fun, and so much left yet to learn!

Photo of the Week - "Heirloom"

2010-06-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

There are very few people in this world whom I love as much as I loved my Grandma Ruby. She lived in a wonderful little house under a huge maple tree, with a very explorable creek nearby. No corner of Grandma's house was off limits to us kids. She was a pack rat of the first order and I absolutely loved digging through her piles of boxes. And boy, could she ever play! As far as her grandchildren were concerned, she was a one-woman personal entertainment system, and we couldn't get enough of her company.

She had absolutely no patience whatsoever with the domestic arts. I can only imagine that she picked up a needle at all as an attempt to fit in with other ladies in their social gatherings, which is why I think I treasure this little square of muslin so much. If the date is accurate, she was 20 when she made it.

Um... I did better embroidery when I first learned how when I was 9. (But then, I like stitching. Motivation is everything sometimes!)

It isn't even hemmed, just basted.

Everything about this little hanky reminds me so much of her though, that it makes me feel that she is still with me. Grandma Ruby died while I was pregnant with my oldest daughter who is named after her. I am only sorry that she never knew her namesake, who is so much like her in personality that I wonder sometimes... Do names have more influence than we give them credit for?

So happy!

2010-06-06T17:12:00.000-07:00

The gourd is finished, the glue is dry, and I still can't quite believe I did it. No glue holds the pieces together right now, but I think the weight of MerMomma's body is putting some stress on her anchoring arm - I don't want it to crack again, so perhaps I will end up gluing her permanently to the gourd after all.

I am rapidly using up my stash of Yadeno mohair. Does anybody know where I would be able to get some more??

Painted, Embellished, Ready for Hair

2010-06-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

I wish I knew some magic to make glue dry faster, LOL!

Again, sorry for the awkward pose. This girl is quite uncooperative when it comes to being photographed. She fits beautifully around her gourd though, and that's what matters.

Oh, I think I will just go and prepare some locks of hair or something. I am dying to keep working though - I want to finish!

Photo of the Week - "Things with Wings"

2010-06-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

Lots of winged things around here! Unfortunately, there has also been an awful lot of rain - not the kind of weather to make me take my camera outside for a look around. However, on Monday evening we were visiting my in-laws and the skies cleared up enough to spend some time on their deck. My mother-in-law has several bird feeders and houses around, so it wasn't long before the winged things began to appear.

They weren't too pleased to see us however, especially this daddy sparrow. The bug in his mouth is intended for his chicks that were chirping their little heads off inside the birdhouse, but he wouldn't go in as long as we were sitting there. We could see momma sparrow hovering nearby with a bug in her mouth as well, but she didn't dare to come even this close.

There is usually a little flock of nearly a dozen finches at the seed feeder, but this little one was the only one bold enough to approach. He didn't look too happy to see us and didn't stick around either. Sigh...

Fortunately for the birds, it soon got too cool for us to remain outside, so we retired indoors and they were able to go about their business in peace once more.

In other news, I have replaced baby mer's hair with a different color and sculpted momma mer's arms. Unfortunately the clay cracked at the shoulder joint so I will have to repair that. I am sculpting her tail fin tonight - it will all be over soon!

Merbaby has a Bed

2010-05-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

I have worked every spare minute on this project this week - it feels so good to be on a creative roll again! Here is my little Merbaby, wigged and painted, in her finished gourd bower.

The gourd was embellished with apoxie sculpt, then painted. The interior is lined with a velvet cushion, silk and velvet pillows, and micromarble embellishment. I love the way the colors turned out.

Here is a close up of little Merbaby. I see now that her wig is a little messy, but the glue isn't quite dry so I won't try for a tidier style until all is stable.

Now I am wondering if she needs a little blanket. Does she look cold to you?

I took me 3 days to sculpt MerMama's hands and they still aren't quite what they ought to be, but I want to finish this project some time in THIS decade, so I have declared them "good enough" and attached them to her arm wires. I still need to sculpt her arms and tailfin and give her a wig and headdress, but I am on track to get that done soon too. Woo hoo -- getting closer!

Coming Together

2010-05-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

I snapped a few photos when I finished working last night in order to show the progress I made this weekend on my Mermaid gourd. Baby Mer got her tailfin and is now ready for painting.

Mama Mer got a tail. Last night I roughed in her hands - I taped her to the gourd in order to put the final pose on the hands before I add the details and bake them. Once I add her pillow to raise her up a bit into the gourd, Baby Mer will fit perfectly in her little nest!

I had intended to have that pillow made already, but now I'm glad I haven't gotten to it yet -- I discovered that I am going to need to add some weight to the bottom front of the gourd to counterbalance Mama. It's all coming together nicely.

An Ambitious Project

2010-05-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

I started this project about 2 weeks ago in answer to a challenge to do "something" with a gourd. I have had this gourd in my house for years... so long in fact, that I don't even remember why I bought it. Sigh...

I began by cutting the off the top to form a vessel shape, then lined the inside with apoxie clay and painted it with a coat soft black acrylic. I followed that up with 2 light washes of Lumiere's Pearl White, then dabbed in some Pearl-Ex in blues, greens, rose, and interference violet to make this mother-of-pearl look. For once, a paint job turned out EXACTLY the way I wanted it!

The bottom of the gourd will be lined with cushions made of charmeuse and silk velvet in pale blues and greens to become a cradle for this little sleeping merbaby. I've never sculpted a baby before, and I figured that such a simple pose would cause me the least stress. Plus, it's cute.

Even working from a reference photo, it took me a couple of tries to get the face right - those little features are tiny! The tail was easier, and I am just about ready to do her tail fin and paint in the color details. She will get her hair last. What do you think... blonde?

And finally, wrapped around the back of the gourd and peering in at the sleeping baby will be an adult mermaid. This is what I have of her so far -- sorry for the awkward pose in the photo, but she doesn't sit or lie well naturally in her present state. I plan on sculpting her tail tonight and putting her in her final pose to make sure she fits around the gourd.

I've always wanted to do a tableau, but I never had enough confidence in my skills (OR my attention span) to try it. This challenge gave me the prompt I needed to at least begin. So far, so good.

Photo of the Week - "My Workspace"

2010-05-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

I am blessed to have several work spaces in this old farmhouse, but this one is my favorite. The north facing window lets in beautiful light on all but the stormiest days, and right now I can look down on a pasture full of
pregnant cows grazing peacefully in the morning sunlight. If that sight doesn't bring down your blood pressure, nothing will. :-)

I love working in this room even though it is tiny, and a little messy at the moment as I am in the middle of a major purge. I have already gotten rid of several boxes of stuff that I have been giving storage room for far too long. It is already so much more pleasant to work in there - it is going to be wonderful when I finally get it ship-shape.

Sculpting Again

2010-05-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

It has been an incredibly beautiful week here - there is just *something* about a run of gorgeous spring days that makes me feel as if I am waking up after a long winter of dreaming. I love the creative energy that comes with days like these!

Even though I have had to hustle to get my garden planted (only 3 weeks late this year... sigh...), I made time to work on some projects, this time in polymer clay. I added the last face to my Sea Spirits piece - unfortunately I caused some damage to some of the other faces, so now I have to see what I can do about repairs. Oh well, at least the sculpting if finished! I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

This next little guy has been in the works for quite some time, but I have had to keep quiet about him as he was my entry into an anonomous challenge. His paint job isn't really as gleam-y as it looks in this photo. I am going to try again to get a better photograph, maybe next time in natural light, bur for today this one will have to do. (One of these days I WILL solve the mystery of how to photograph a piece that has Pearl-Ex in the finish, LOL.)

He won the challenge by the way. Woo hoo! My first win!

If you want to learn how to make a baby dragon of your very own, go to the page of online classes on Jean Bernard's website. There you will find more information about a splendid class taught by Sprite Hanson - Sprite herself is a wonderful sculptor, and in the lessons she shares all kinds of great techniques, including how to make that awesome skin texture. This project is suitable for all skill levels and the instructions are clearly written, well illustrated, easy to follow and fun.

Spring... Finally!

2010-05-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

It's only 6 weeks late, but spring has come to the Pacific Northwest at last. I planted my vetable garden yesterday, and lo and behold, the first of the rosebuds has opened up!

The fields have been too wet to take work until this week, so now the mad scramble begins among the farmers in our neighborhood to get the work done that should have been done last month. Yesterday morning, the first calm sunny morning of the season, our neighbor had his field dusted. Unfortunately I had the wrong lens on the camera to get really good photos, there wasn't time to change it, and I really wanted to snap some shots.

I swear, these guys look like they are having the MOST fun as they swoop and dive over the landscape. Here, he has just finished a pass.

A nice tight turn to come back to cover another swath...

...and down down down to spread another plume of spray over the field. The whole process only takes a few minutes, and then he is on to the next field.

I have been working on a new sculpt this week. I thought I was happy with it when I baked it, but now that I look at it again, I think I might try again. I need to learn to set my eyes deeper into their sockets. Every time? Every time. Sigh...

Photo of the Week - "Something Mom-ish"

2010-05-10T18:25:00.000-07:00

This photo of my mother holding me as a newborn was taken by her older brother, a talented amateur photographer. His example is what spurred my interest in photography in the first place. How cool is it to capture memories like these??

She was not quite 22 years old when I was born. She has been gone for several years now, but it is never hard for me to remember that she loved me when I see her in this photo.

Too Excited to Wait for the Varnish to Dry!

2010-05-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

I did it! I finally figured out a way to make a photo collage with the transparency effect I was after. I was so excited to get home from work yesterday - my base collage was finished and would be dry enough to work on and I couldn't wait to apply the main photo. It went on MUCH more easily than I expected, and even though there were a few imperfections in the surface, they smoothed out beautifully as it dried.

As promised, the image dried nearly opaque, and of course I couldn't find the varnish I was pretty sure was around here somewhere... Off I went to the hardware store during my round of errands this afternoon for some varnish, and I didn't even wait to unpack my groceries when I got home - I HAD to see what would happen to my canvas.

The results were just what I had dreamed of. It was a little bit like watching a magic trick, seeing the images reappear under the now-transparent main image as I stroked on the varnish.

This project has meant a lot to me. For one thing, I learned that I CAN develop a process on my own without having instructions to follow.

More importantly though, I rescued a photograph I thought I had destroyed in the editing process. This piece is on its way to the frame shop as soon as it dries, and I will display it with a great deal of pride.

I am actually feeling a little giddy, LOL! What a great way to start the weekend.

Photo of the Week - "My Nightstand"

2010-05-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

I hesitated to put up this a photo of this week's topic - for one thing I don't have a "real" nightstand, and for another I wasn't sure I wanted to share my set up. You see, our farm house is quite old and all the rooms upstairs (including our bedroom) are very small. Each room has exactly one electrical outlet. Jake has more need of the clock than I do, so the nightstand is on his side of the bed.

But what the heck...

I have a decorative step, (which, since we bought our new mattress last month has come in quite handy by the way -- the surface of the bed is now higher than my waist.) As you can see, I am a Pile Maker. Please don't hold it against me!

I have lots more on the creative front to share this week, but I have to get to work. I'll be back with some updates later.

Another Experiment

2010-04-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Because I knew from the beginning that this would not be a finished piece, I felt free to throw everything I had into the collage background - papers from dark to light, more photos in black and white and color, and also leaving parts of the background canvas exposed. The photo overlay is printed on a piece of art tissue cut to a size to fit my inkjet printer and sprayed with a fixative when the ink was dry. The piece is built on an 8"x8" canvas.

I had to be very careful when applying the tissue paper to the canvas as it is quite fragile when wet, but the tissue paper worked very well! I learned that I need to be much more careful with the placement of the parts of the collage as they relate to the photo - anything under a white part of the photo will show through almost too well, and papers that are too dark will blur details. Next time I will cut my collage pieces to exact size so that I don't get a ridge where the papers overlap, and also not leave any of the canvas exposed as it stands out like a sore thumb. Or a mistake, LOL.

My next experiment will be with tiling an image - I want to work larger than the 8"x10" size that my printer limits to. Getting closer...!

Experiments

2010-04-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

I have absolutely fallen in love with the work of Michelle Caplan. I couldn't find any tutorials to duplicate her techcnique, but it didn't look so hard so I thought I'd give it a shot. So far I haven't managed it. I have to say that experimenting is not really my thing - I am lazy enough to prefer to work from a materials list and a set of instructions. Sigh...

This piece was my first try. I didn't want to mess with an image transfer, so I used a transparency sheet and just glued it to the canvas. It didn't adhere very well - the white stuff around the main image is crackle paste to seal down the edges - and the surface is unpleasantly shiny. I am actually surprised that I was able to get a photograph without any glare.

For my second attempt I printed my main photo on a Jacquard product called Extrav Organza. The results are closer to what I want, but still not quite right, which is too bad because I absolutely adore the under collage on this one, even though I didn't add as much color as I thought. (If you click on the image to enlarge it, you can see some of the fun things I found to use.) I knew I was in trouble when I saw how much ink seeped through the fabric onto the backing paper. It just isn't dark enough to show as much as I wanted it to do.

So far I have learned that I need to use a canvas no larger than my image, and also that I don't like round canvases. If only I knew what she uses to print her main images on! Back to the drawing board...

Up, up, and Away

2010-04-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

I don't know how common it is to see hot air balloons in other parts of the world, but they aren't unusual here. It's early in the season, so this morning there were only these three.

This one drifted close enough for me to hear the roar of the heat jet and to exchange waves with the pilot. I've never seen another hot air balloon with quite this shape before. Isn't it odd?

Unfortunately, it was early and cold and I was bare footed or I would have taken the time to check the auto focus on this shot. Oops... On the other hand, see how close we are to getting real green around here again! Yay!!

I wonder if I would ever be brave enough to take a ride in one.

Over the past two days I have finally had time to really focus on making some art, and oh my, that feels so good. I finished my challenge piece and got it photographed and entered - I won't know for a few days how it does, but I will put up photos when I am allowed. I also finished sculpting the last face on my sea spirits shell and have been experimenting with some collage techniques. It's been kind of a creative thrill ride for me this weekend - I'll put up some more photos once my camera battery is recharged.

No photos this week

2010-04-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

This week's theme for the Photo-A-Week challenge was "Something Funny or Surprising" -- I have been haunting the farm with my camera waiting for *someone* to do something funny, but it isn't happening. Maybe next week, LOL.

On the other hand, I have been very busy in the studio, but unfortunately I can't post photos yet as this piece is for an anonymous challenge. I am pretty happy with it so far, and so I look forward to being able to share pictures.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Learning Experiences

2010-04-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

What do you know... I did another little watercolor sketch this week and I don't hate this one! It still turned out a little muddy and too heavy-handed, but definitely an improvement over earlier efforts. I *am* a better painter today, and maybe tomorrow I will be better yet.

Because I needed to reassure myself that I could still paint something reasonably decent, I picked up this little 4"x4" canvas I did last fall in Jean Bernard's online painting techniques class. The blues looked like water to me, so I did this fancy little gold fish and added some silk seaweed for a little texture. I think the little seahorse charm is the perfect finishing touch. Just a little something simple to soothe a bruised ego, LOL.

Remember this shell project? It makes a nice in-hand project for watching TV with the family at night. Only one more face to go, and now that I have the eyes to finish it, it shouldn't be too long now before I can start embellishing.

I can't wait for the weekend. It is just too hard to go to work when I feel like being creative.

Photo of the Week - "Reflections"

2010-04-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

Today's theme had me sweating there for a while. I have no idea what I was going to shoot... until the sun came out this morning and the puddles left by our never-ending spring rains were all reflecting a kaleidoscope of images. Ah, I love the sunshine...

This birdbath needs a cleaning desperately, but the green water made a perfect reflecting surface for the honeysuckle vine behind it. It is marvelous to feel that spring is here at last and that yes, summer IS coming. Oh, I can almost smell the honeysuckle now!

This photo was a bonus for today - I wanted to play with a backlit image in RAW format in Photoshop Elements, and I didn't even notice my kitty's reflection in the window until after I uploaded the image from my camera. I sometimes wish I were one of my cats... spoiled things, LOL. This is Mocha, my dainty lady cat. She is the sweetest thing, and very affectionate.

I have been happily making mud with my watercolors all this week. I haven't created anything worth photographing, but at least I have learned a lot about what *not* to do. Lesson #1 - LET THE PAPER DRY BETWEEN LAYERS. Lesson #2 - do NOT forget Lesson #1. You would think it would be easy, but it isn't.

I found a quote I like that keeps me going: "I am happy to know that I will be a better painter tomorrow for having been an awful painter today." (Jeanne Carbonetti) I LOVE it. In spite of that encouragement however, I picked up some acrylics this morning, just to give my battered self-esteem a boost. I'll try and post some pics tomorrow.

New Toy! and updates

2010-04-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love a new toy? Mine is a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens for my camera. I have been wanting one for ages and finally managed to save up enough to buy one. (They aren't expensive as far as lenses go, but still not part of the daily budget. Dreaming of macros here, LOL!) Check out these 2 quick snaps...

This first one is of a doorknob in my house. Ah, they don't make them like these any more. Isn't it pretty? But check out that laser sharp focus!

This little crystal hangs in my kitchen window. I had to touch up this photo just a little to correct the backlighting, but I had no idea how much of a difference different lenses can make - I could never get that soft focus background with my normal lens. Not without Photoshop anyway. Oh, I'm starting to feel like a photographer now!

I have reached a stopping place with my hummingbird. I literally cannot touch it again with a brush. At least, not until I have a few more successes under my belt. I have wanted to learn to paint for so long - perhaps the day will come when I will look back at this little sketch and laugh, but for today I am kind of proud of him.

And finally, thank you to all who sent us well wishes over the loss of our pet AND to Jake for healing for his hand. It is hard on a man like him to have the limits put on the use of his dominant hand, and Lydia and I have had to supervise him pretty closely - "clean" and "dry" are 2 words he has a hard time with, LOL - but the cuts are closing nicely now and he should be back to normal soon.

Is it spring where you are yet? (Or, if you are in the southern hemisphere, can you feel the end of summer coming?)

Photo of the Week - "Something Easter-y"

2010-04-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest... my intentions were good, but I forgot to take my camera with me to church, which is too bad, because there was no shortage of "Easter-y" stuff to shoot yesterday. I really wanted to get some portraits of little girls in their new dresses. I MISS dressing little girls, LOL!

Forgetting my camera was the first and least of our problems for the day however. Church ran long, and we came home to discover that our little alpaca had died. He was old and had a good long life, but still...

Later in the day we got a phone call from our outside hand that something was wrong with the feed wagon, so Jake headed out into the rain to deal with it. It was only a thrown drive chain, which was pretty easily fixed, but somehow some rocks had gotten inside and starting it up would only have made the chain fall off again, so... the whole thing had to be emptied by hand with a pitchfork. Jake got his workout in for the day for sure! Unfortunately, he also managed to slice up his hand pretty good. He was all for just slapping a band-aid on it, but I made him go into town to get some stitches.

We still managed to have a nice time at dinner though, so it was a happy holiday after all. It could have been worse!

I actually finished this canvas last week, but it took me this long to get it hung up and photographed. I really do need to work on my focus. Anyway, it looks great in my bathroom.

I started a small watercolor sketch of a photograph I took last spring, and so far I like it - no "mud" yet at any rate. Perhaps I am finally getting the hang of this stuff? I include a photo today because if I ruin it, this is the last you will ever see of it.

So far, so good. Next time though, I will begin with a plant a little less inricate than rosemary. Argh...

Photo of the Week - "My Favorite Color"

2010-03-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

Only one? sigh...

I finished my goldfish as well, but it's my daughter's birthday and we are going out to the movies tonight, so I don't have time for more pics today. Woo hoo... party!

Not Satisfied Yet

2010-03-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't had time to work on much of anything this week, but I did make a little progress on the goldfish. (I am getting tired of goldfish, LOL!) Anyway, this is what I have so far. It's getting there, but it's not there yet.

The details don't show up well in the full view, so I'll put up a few close-ups too. This one is of the shells I added to the bottom. I absolutely love the broken one toward the right. Thanks Linda! (That runaway strand of silk hanging from the bottom is not part of the piece . If you have ever worked with silk you will know that it goes everywhere with a mind of its own and clings to everything.)

And because I simply can't resist them, I also added several sizes clear hole-less beads and a little sprinkle of micromarbles in gold. Yumm!

The whole thing does not yet feel like an integrated whole, so I am going to add some more silk from another cap. The original cap is on the left. I am thinking that a lighter color of the one on the right will help everything blend together better.

We will see!

Photo of the Week - "Feet" and a WIP update

2010-03-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

When I learned what this week's theme was to be I knew right away what I wanted to shoot, but I would need a sunny (or at least dry!) day to do it. The weather cooperated, so this afternoon I took myself out to the barnyard, got down on my tummy without anyone catching me at it, and shot this week's photo of "Feet". (Back when Jake still milked in the afternoons, I could always tell about where he was in the job by the number of cow legs visible underneath the wall of the holding pen. Judging by what I see here, the milker has just started in on the second herd.)

A while ago I shared some practice watercolor sketches I had done of goldfish - I was so pleased with them that I decided to use some of them in a mixed media collage for my bathroom. First I painted and textured a canvas as a background, then I added the fish pieces. (Smarter people than I am will probably have already figured out that I should have applied the fish BEFORE the texturing, but oh well, now I know that too AND why, LOL.)

I decided that the fish stood out too strongly against the background, so I lightened the color a bit, then added wisps of silk torn from a hand-dyed silk cap over the edges. There are also some painted strips of cheesecloth along the bottom right - I wish they stood out a little more, but I will hit them up with some highlights when the medium dries.

I had hoped to finish this piece today, but there is so much medium holding everything down that I want it to dry undisturbed for a while before adding anything else. I have some little seashells that will be tucked into the folds of the cheesecloth, and also some micromarbles that are begging me to let them play with the fish. I really tried to avoid the micromarbles in this project, but I can't seem to help myself. :-)

Photo of the Week - "Changing Seasons"

2010-03-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

The hard part about gardening in this corner of the world is that the weeds find the weather much more conducive to activity than the gardeners do. Or maybe I'm just lazy, LOL. Anyway, even though the weeds are always ahead of me, I still love my garden, especially after the long, dreary winter we have had.

I took a dozen photos of my flowers this afternoon, but this one was so perfect right out of the camera it is the only one I want to share. As a rule I don't care much for daffodils and narcissi, but they are cheerful, especially on a rare sunny day in March.

And now, please meet Pleasure and Fun. (Remember the Doublemint Twins?) These two aren't really a sign of the season as we have calves born all year, but a set of twin heifers, both alive and thriving, doesn't come along every day.

They won't stay this cute for long, but they are adorable today.

Watercolor interrupted

2010-03-06T16:15:00.000-08:00

It was so deliciously beautiful today that we decided to let the cows and calves out to the fields to graze. This is the true first day of spring for me. The older cows know just what to do, but the younger ones get a little confused. "What is this? An open door? I've never seen an open door before... should I be worried?"

The bigger ones tend to be a little braver and catch on quickly.

It is SO funny to watch them frolic!

The smaller ones aren't quite as bold and need a little encouragement.

OK, a lot of encouragement, LOL.

But they get the idea. Eventually.

I have a feeling they are going to sleep very well tonight.

I wish I was having this much fun!

Instead of working on my paintings as I promised myself, I got 8 rosebushes pruned. Only another dozen or so left to do...

I have been playing with watercolors again this week. I ripped some watercolor paper into 4-ish by 6-ish pieces and painted these little goldfish to use in another mixed media collage. I think that all the reading I have done over the years is sinking in at last, because a few of these little pieces actually make me happy. Of course I still have a lot to learn, but it's a start.

Monday Photo of the Week - "Buttons"

2010-03-01T18:37:00.000-08:00

I have so many more buttons than I was ever willing to admit to owning... but it seems like I am not the only one, LOL!

I received this cut glass candy dish as a wedding present. I did not then and do not now need a cut glass candy dish... but it makes a wonderfully handy-dandy container for my "interesting" buttons (you know, the ones that aren't plain ol' white or black or grey plastic...)

This little piece of my collection does not include the "boring" buttons (remember the plastic), my grandmother's box of vintage buttons, or the ones still on cards waiting for me to complete the garments for which they were intended...

It's a sickness I tell you!

Monday Photo of the Week - "I Made This"

2010-02-22T13:59:00.000-08:00

I have to tell you I was sweating this week's theme - I didn't think I owned anything I made that I hadn't already posted here. At least... that I was willing to share in public. (I keep telling people that the secret to being a "good" artist is never to let the disasters see the light of day, LOL.)

I DID find a picture though. This is Gatsby. He is not usually allowed to treat me as his own personal kitty bed, but it was so cold that day and he warmed me up as much as I did him. I love the way he always tucks up his little paws when he sleeps...

Anyway, the afghan I am under and he is on is a Fisherman knit design made with a double strand of Red Heart yarn that I knit back in college, nearly 30 years ago now. I could only afford a skein or two at a time in those days, so I used the double strand to camoflage dye lot differences. Red Heart may be looked on as the "trailor trash" of yarns in some of the more purist natural-fibers-only circles, but I'll say this much for it -- that old afghan has helped me raise 3 kids, stood up to countless pets, comforted me in good times and bad, been machine washed a zillion times, and it still looks pretty good. I wonder how many of the new uber-fancy yarns could do that!

At Last... a Finished Project!

2010-02-16T15:48:00.000-08:00

This time of year, it is very hard for me to stay motivated to finish what I start. I wake up in the dark, go to work in the dark, and it is dark again by the time I come home, which makes it all too easy for me to make excuses and do nothing but read or tackle a sudoku puzzle. However, the days *are* getting longer, and we are even being given a forcast of several sunny days this week. Who knows - I may even finishthe other angel!

Anyway, here is the Warm Angel, finished at last.

In my defense, I had several setbacks while working on these canvases. I applied my first layer of color too heavy, which not only obliterated the collage underneath but made for a background too dark for the liquid pencils to show to good effect, which meant I had to switch to black ink, which meant I had to go to the city to GET some black ink... and on and on. Now that I think about it, I am actually pleased with myself for keeping at it, LOL.

My only regret is that the Gold Opal glaze finish on the angel doesn't show well in this photograph. I had some serious buyer's regret when I bought that stuff, but now I am so glad I have it. Such a touch of magic it gives.

Monday Photo of the Week - "Clouds"

2010-02-15T12:48:00.000-08:00

Can it really be Monday again already? Between work, family, and taxes, this week has gotten completely away from me. Ah well, there is always next week. :-)

Mary, our fearless leader for this month, chose "Clouds" for our theme this week. OK, so it's February. This is Oregon. Have we got clouds, LOL! Here is the the shot straight out of the camera. I think it was about 2:30 in the afternoon. (Yes, it really is that dark here this time of year. sigh...)

To my eyes, this photo is very dreary, and much too much too blue. Let's play!

Here we have the same photo, cropped and edited to increase the amount of detail visible in the darkest and lightest areas using this tutorial I found on YouTube. I finished it off by removing those distracting power lines and applying a warming filter to tone down that blue. I have attempted the High Dynamic Range technique with other tutorials, but this is the first time I have been so happy with the results.

Woo Hoo!

Photo of the Week - "Hearts and Flowers"

2010-02-08T18:59:00.000-08:00

We have other cows on the farm with more precise hearts on their foreheads (it is a common marking, no matter what you see in the papers) but this little guy is only half an hour old and too cute to pass up. I would have gotten in for a closer shot, but his momma is being *very* protective and it wasn't worth the risk to myself or my camera to challenge her, LOL.

Photo of the Week - "From My Window"

2010-02-01T08:20:00.000-08:00

I wish this week's theme would have come up at a time of year when the views from my windows weren't so grey and dreary, but oh well!

This is the view from the window by my computer desk. That's Penny between the trees - she's a nice old pony, but she's not much more than an old lawn ornament these days. The mess in the foreground is a pile of unspun silk I discovered in last week's purge of the studio. I need to find another home for it - arghhh! I (still) have too much stuff!

Next Step Finished

2010-01-30T14:58:00.000-08:00

Both figures are shaded and ready for their sketched outlines.

For a miracle, even though I haven't done any pen-and-in work in years and years, I found my dip pen in the first place I looked. I also discovered that I already have some acrylic glazing liquid, even though I don't remember buying it and couldn't really tell you exactly what it is...

TWO good omens for one project? I'll take them!

Making Progress

2010-01-29T08:31:00.000-08:00

I got my main figures sketched in and gessoed. I really like the cool toned one.

I have already started the shading on this warm toned one. When this is dry, I will be ready to add the "reverse sketch" with liquid pencil. I've been playing around with it a little to get a feel for it, though I can't really say that the effect is all that different from regular acrylic paint. It is an interesting medium, but I don't think the little pots are worth the price I paid. Oh well, live and learn.

It feels so good to have made so much progress in such a short time. I can feel my old sense of Fear of Ruining a Good Thing setting in, but I am *determined* to push through.

Of Paints and Purges

2010-01-26T16:07:00.000-08:00

I always thought that a huge studio with unlimited storage space would make me happy. Lately though, I find that my stash of supplies has become more of a burden than a source of inspiration, and I also realize that, as I have gotten older, I am much less driven to "dabble" and join in on "the next new thing" -- I want to dig deeper into the processes and techniques that I really know that I enjoy. I have been making a mental inventory of the art activities that thrill me the most, and getting rid of supplies that no longer fill my need to create. Oh, the space!

The one activity that I keep coming back to is painting. This is my little painting room. Though it is only about 8' square, it has a large walk-in closet where I can store things that don't need to be immediately available, and that big window faces nearly due north and provides wonderful light even on dreary days. My favorite bonus is that it overlooks the field where the calves come out to play - it is a wonderful place to hide out.

Right now I am working on a pair of canvases I intend to display as a pair. I am using a project tutorial from a back issue of "Cloth Paper Scissors" that introduces Liquid Pencils. (OK, so Liquid Pencil is a new thing for me... it is still painting, LOL!)

Both of the canvases got a little more pigment on them than I originally intended (you can barely see the collage papers underneath all the layers,) but I am happy with the way they turned out.

I used "Gold Opal" glaze on this warm toned one for the lighter area in the center, so the reflection made it a little hard to photograph. If you look close you can see the beginnings of a figure sketched in the center. It took me several tries to find an implement that would make a mark on the painted surface, and I ruined several Sharpies in the process. (Does anyone know why??) A regular gel ink pen is the only thing I found that will leave a visible mark. Fortunately I am going for a "sketchy" look, so the fact that I can't remove the marks won't matter too much.

I'm not brave enough yet to paint without an undersketch. I am open to suggestions for other tools that will leave a *visible* mark and yet can still be removed.

Photo of the Week - "My Favorite Coffee Cup"

2010-01-25T14:55:00.000-08:00

I have dozens of coffee cups, but this is the only one I use. I boought it from a potter at an Art Faire a few years ago, and it is absolutely perfect. Here is sits in its native habitat, on the work table next to my corner of the couch.

I would be lost without my coffee, so you can only imagine how much MORE lost I would be without my darling morning-person husband, who gets up an hour before I do and has a cup waiting for me every morning. (Needless to say, I am *not* a morning person!) He even lets me drink the first cup without saying a word. Ahhhhhh... a jewel among men.

Photo of the Week - "Shadows"

2010-01-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

This week's theme caused me no small amount of stress! I wanted to do something outside, but it has been so dark and rainy - alas, gray skies cast no shadows.

I thought about doing something with candles or a flashlight, but then this photo came along and I realized that I had been worrying a lot over nothing because it all came together in the end.

My daughter Alice represented Marion County this past weekend in the Oregon State Dairy Princess-Ambassador competition. The theme was "Saturday Night at the Movies" and each young woman was introduced with a spotlight walk down a red carpet. Talk about shadows!

I am so proud of her.

Slell Slice, chapter 1

2010-01-13T15:16:00.000-08:00

I gave myself a kick in the pants last night to get going, mix up some clay, and start sculpting on that cool shell slice Linda sent me. My plan is to fill in each opening with a face, each with a different expression and gazing in different directions. I began by filling in the back of the slice with clay so that I would have a sturdy base to work on, then, beginning at the top, I started sculpting faces, baking in between each one. Each of these three is completely sculpted as even the largest one is too small to use even my tiniest beads as eyes.

So far, so good. I am especially happy with the color of clay I mixed up as it blends nearly perfectly with the shell. One half a bar each of Fimo Soft in Light Flesh, White, and Translucent combined into exactly the delicate pink shade I was looking for. ( I don't often get my colors mixed right on the first try -- woo hoo!)

I want to use some bead eyes in the next face. I have some great little malachite rounds that will make wonderful green eyes.

Monday Photo of the Week - "Something New"

2010-01-11T18:46:00.000-08:00

Ack! What has happened to Blogger? OK, so let's see if I can figure this out...

OK, photos are up. Oh my, this is different. Anyway... our challenge this week was to photograph "something new" so I am sharing my very favorite kind of new thing - new art supplies! (Picture me rubbing my hands together, grinning maniacally... LOL!)

These shells were sent to me by my good online friend Linda (oh wow... another new thing and that was so easy!) for no other reason than that she is a wonderful person doing something wonderfully nice. I don't know whether it's more fun to fiddle with the little bumps on the sea urchin or stroke the beautifully glassy inner survace of the little spiral shell - they are so much more beautiful in real life than in this photo. The cut-away shell is already designated for another sea spirit project. Now I just need to work up the courage to get started.

I picked up these little canvases last weekend on a whim because they are irrisistably cute. I wish I had put something else in the photo to indicate scale - they are *very* tiny. Now I just have to think of something to do with them.

I think my very favorite part of being an artist is buying new art supplies, LOL.

Monday Photo of the Week

2010-01-04T15:37:00.000-08:00

A new year begins, and with it a new Photo of the Week Challenge. Our format will be a little different this year as members of our group will take turns selecting a challenge theme for any given month. I am SO grateful because by the end of the year I had run out both of ideas and the energy to work at it.

We are still on our own this first week, so rather than agonize over choosing "just the right thing" to photograph, I grabbed my camera and walked into my studio to see what I could find. I am tickled to share this little pile of taxidermy eyes of various sizes and species that I picked out for my Christmas stocking stuffer last month. Oh, the possibilities!

I have been avoiding going into my studio lately as the room has become nothing but a dumping ground for things that needed a temporary home over the holidays, and as you can see, my work table is still a catastrophe.

I love the holidays, but I am more than ready to get back to a normal-ish routine. Here's to a creative New Year!

Out of the Frying Pan...

2009-12-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

Well, it has warmed up a bit. We are no longer threatened with burst pipes, but now it has started to rain and it hasn't really warmed up all that much. The weather people are predicting it to freeze and cover us with a blanket of ice tonight. Isn't winter fun? :-)

I made another little pod face, this time in a seashell. The shell itself is 2" from tip to tip, and the little face measures just 3/4". Sculpting on such a tiny scale was a challenge, but also a good learning experiece. There are at least half a dozen things I will do differently next time, but I'm still satisfied with this little practice piece.

I want to make a little faux-coral stand for him, and maybe hang some pearl dangles off his tip. I didn't intend for him to look as if he has horns - that's just the way the shell is!

Baby, it's cold outside!

2009-12-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

Can you believe this? This is our 5th day of single digit temperatures. We are just not set up to endure this! Fortunately, there has been no rain or snow. Yet. In case you can't read it, this thermometer is reading about 7 degrees F. Brrrrr!

I am taking a break from present making to take a class from Pattee Graham on her ning site. She makes the most wonderful quirky, slightly dark and twisted characters, and I have learned a lot already just watching her work. These little pod people are so much fun! I am quite happy with how my pod turned out, but even though I tried hard to copy her piece, the quirkiness just didn't come through.

Maybe on the next one...

Mount Hood in another mood

2009-12-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

An arctic high pressure system is sitting over the Willamette Valley this week. I don't like the cold so much, but I am enjoying the sunshine. However, it was a different story up on Mount Hood yesterday. This is what we saw from our front door as we came home from church yesterday morning. Just look at all that blowing snow!

Temperatures were already well below freezing up there, but I don't even want to imagine what the wind chill must have been with these wind conditions, which gusted up to 60 mph. Brrrrr!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much lately - even though I have been creating my little fingers off, most of what I am doing is for Christmas presents and must remain secret for now. I LOVE Christmas!

A Pause

2009-11-16T16:22:00.000-08:00

The creative wave I have been surfing since September seems to have run its course, so all I have to share this week are a few of my favorite time fillers - Zentangles. I discovered Zentangles while blog-hopping last summer, and I find them to be a wonderful way to keep up an artistic habit even though I may be unspired to create bigger things. They are also a great way to kill time during boring meetings. (Shhh... don't tell my boss.)

This is the first one I ever made - I was delighted with how well it turned out, even though I had only the barest clue as to what I was doing.

It didn't take long to start experimenting with less "traditional" formats. I have even seen some done in color, though I haven't tried that yet.

You can learn more about Zentangles at the website, as well as purchase their
official starter kit. The price seemed a little high to me, but I was glad to have the instructional DVD, and the pens and papers included are of very high quality, as is the box they arrive in. It would make a splendid gift, even to yourself.

Photo of the Week - Moonrise over Mount Hood

2009-11-03T07:56:00.000-08:00

We are having a late burst of beautiful Indian summer weather, just in time for this month's full moon. (I used to know the monthly moon names, but my memory is failing me today. I think November's is the Hunter's Moon?)

Anyway, I got outside a little later than I intended, but it was still a most rare and beautiful sight, don't you agree?

If it is still clear this afternoon I am going to try again and see if I can catch it while it is still just clearing the horizon. Ahhh... I love the moon.

Can you stand one more?

2009-10-29T16:05:00.000-07:00

One of the things Jean told us to do in our techniques class is to try to visualize a picture in the backgrounds we are painting. Kind of like finding faces in the clouds I imagine, which I've never been very good at by the way.

Anyway, I stared at the purple canvas for a while and I began to see (really!) a bird emerging from a starry sky. So I painted one in. I got a little carried away with the pearl white I'm afraid, and once again I had a horrible time trying to photograph the gleam-y surface. ("Gleam-y"... is that a word? LOL)

On my monitor, this photo skews a little yellow - the whites are much brighter in real life - but otherwise it's a pretty good representation. I think this canvas is my new favorite.

I need to go shopping for some more of these little canvases!

Too much rain... already!

2009-10-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

The winds and rains of November have come early this year -- it is storming like crazy outside today and there is no way I am going out there, much less with my camera, LOL. (I think I would have made a good cat!) So this week's photo is once again of a completed project. I got the idea to finish one of the canvases I did in Jean's class with a little steampunk-style heart.

I really like the idea of the steampunk look, but judging by the sky-rocketing prices of watch parts and antique keys, it is going to become mainstream-trendy soon. (I wonder if the fact that someone like me even knows what it is means that it already has, LOL!)

Another little canvas

2009-10-24T16:46:00.000-07:00

These little 4"x4" square canvases are so much fun - imagine creating an entire painting on a surface the size of the palm of your hand. This latest one was an experiment with several new techniques on a subject I love - nautilus shells. Their geometric perfection fascinates me!

I first drew in the lines of the shell and it's chambers, then drew over them again with a clear dimensional glue. I painted the image, then shaded it with micaceous iron oxid (that is some cool stuff!) and them added the iridescence using a large flaky opal glitter. For a pleasant change, I got exactly the effect I was after - now that's a great feeling.

When everything was dry, I applied some heat activated foil in a copper color to the raised outline. I managed to burn my fingers in the process, but it was fun anyway. That stuff could prove addictive. Oh dear...

I wish now that I had used copper rather than gold inside the chamber sections, but I have some more of these little canvases to play with. I think I just might make a series of them in different colors.

Monday's photos - 2 Little Canvases

2009-10-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend has not gone as planned - nothing new there for life on a dairy farm - but it wasn't completely without a bit of free time. I got some work done on my Retreat piece, but when I just couldn't concentrate any more, I dug up a few little canvases and started making colors without thinking. These paintings are based on an online class taught by Jean Bernard, though I'm afraid that there is an essential connection that I have missed while trying to learn her techniques.

(I'm sneaking these in as my Monday photo because I am still trying to learn to shoot interference colors accurately. Can you see them?)

I am not disappointed in how they turned out, only that paintings are "splotchier" than hers. I am going to try again for the smooth color transitions that she achieves.

And she didn't instruct us to add the sprinkle of microbeads, but I can't seem to resist the little things. Using them just makes me so happy!

Retreat Wings Finished

2009-10-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

I didn't make as much progress on my Retreat doll as I had hoped this week, due to dealing with the symptoms of a sinus infection. (Finding and redrilling the support hole for the right upper wing was an adventure let me tell you, LOL. Ugh.) Anyway, I managed to finish her wings/stand this morning and snapped a few quick pics this afternoon.

Layers and yet more layers of cheesecloth, art tissue, and paint were slathered on, and then the whole mess was frosted with some "Bernardization", a process which consists of a mixing up soup of Grrrip glue, micromarbles, glitter, and whatever else I feel like throwing in, which is then scooped up and applied with a craft stick and allowed to dry. The very cool frosted effect that this produces looks like meticulous work, but is actually delightfully messy and quick. Sweet, huh? (Thanks Jean B!)

The textures and embellishments on the upper and lower wings are a little different - lots more cheesecloth on top...

... and more tissue and glitter on the bottom. This is quite a large piece and I felt there needed to be some differences in order to keep it from being one overwhelming mass of yellow and gold.

By the way, I now realize why I don't work much with yellow. A little goes a *very* long way, LOL!

I gave the doll herself some little breasts just to even out her shape a bit, and I am still pondering what I want to do to finish off her head. I should take more in-progress pics as I go so you could see better how they develop, but I never remember to do it until I pause to think "what's next". Oh well... if you want to know where I am going with all of this you can see the original of this doll at Sherry Goshon's blog.

Sherry and Jean's Retreat doll

Photo of the Week - Night Photography

2009-10-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

One afternoon last week in the middle of the milking we had some trouble with the milk pump, or so we thought. Jake couldn't find anything wrong, so he called out a technician, who also couldn't find anything wrong. That is, until he put his little gizmo on the power line to check the power feed and saw that we were getting only a trickle of the electricity that should be flowing - the failsafe switch on the transformer that feeds power to the milking parlor had been tripped. (Fortunately we discovered this before the pump burned out!)

A call to the power company brought out a lineman to reset the transformer. It is always fun to watch a lineman do his thing, but just imagine our surprise when a huge tongue of flame shot out of the transformer when he flipped the switch! Fortunately noone was hurt, but... now we had a very big problem. No electricity in the middle of the milking shift, and it would be hours before the power company could send out a crew with the equipment to deal with the situation.

Jake and the guys hooked up the generator while Lydia and I went into the house to cut the power to all sensitive electronics. Sigh... It was going to be a dark and cold evening at Cascade View Dairy.

I was a little shocked by how absolutely dark it gets around here with no moon and no barnyard lights. It was a great feeling to watch the big utility trucks pull into the driveway.

I didn't have anything else to do, so I grabbed my camera and attempted some night photography using full manual settings. It took some trial and error, but eventually I hit upon a good combination of settings.

I think I ended up using ISO 800, F/4, and a shutter speed of about 1/2 second. I was able to take these shots hand held using "da grip" - I am making an effort to always compose my photos with my left eye at the viewfinder after this!

I had plenty of time to experiment, as it was nearly midnight before they finally finished. They actually replaced all 3 of the old transformers, so here is hoping that we won't have this issue again!

I have gotten some good work done on my Retreat doll as well, but I will save those photos for another entry.

Now we're getting somewhere

2009-10-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

I finally have my Retreat piece to a place where I feel that she is structurally stable enough to really start going to town on her, and so here she is.

My main problem was caused by my stubborn insistance on using the head and hands that I sculpted out of polymer clay especially for her. They are VERY large (3" from chin to forehead) and HEAVY, and the wings-stand just wasn't sturdy enough to support all that weight. Also, her torso is stuffed fabric and the armature wire she is built on wasn't heavy enough to support the weight of that head either. Most of what I have been doing to her since I got her home has been building, rebuilding, enforcing, and reinforcing her inner architecture, but now I think she's ready for her makeover.

The second wing is lying on the floor because I haven't yet reamed out the hole it sits in. I want to try this wings-as-stand concept again, but next time I will protect those holes with a lot more care, LOL!

I see now that she could use a little more chin, but I was so proud of this head that I just really really BADLY wanted to use it.

I practiced for weeks sculpting hands and there was no way I was going to let these babies go to the spare parts basket.

Oops... didn't mean to get gesso on her fingers, but right now I just don't care. I finally get to start on the fun stuff!

Monday's photos

2009-10-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

I fully intended to put up some in-progress photos of my Retreat doll today, but have you ever had a project where everything (Every. Last. Thing.) just goes WRONG? I keep plugging away, and at last I have an assembled doll and base complete, but I still need to add paint and ream out a support hole that somehow got filled in with apoxie. And so it goes... sigh...

Trust me, she is not ready for photography, LOL!

Instead, I bring you one of the most spectacularly beautiful nuisances of this or any other region - a swarming flock of starlings.

There is a vineyard across the street whose fruit is irresistable to these voracious pests. The owner of the field has set up a noise cannon that keeps them from settling on the fruit, so they settle on our barn roofs instead.

Watching them dip and swirl in the sky is quite a sight. HOW do they know how to move in such perfect unison??

You should just hear the racket they make. If the cannons don't deafen you, this flock will.

"Firebrand" the alpaca doesn't really care about the birds or the noise. Until some feed shows up, he is content to sit and enjoy one of the last beautiful sunny days of the season. Smart critter!

I really will try to get some of those doll shots posted soon.

Recentering

2009-09-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

As expected, the Iowa Retreat was a pleasure and a treat. Sherry and Jean are very special teachers, and it was so delightful to reconnect with old friends and also make new ones! (Hi Sue!) I got home happily exhausted, but I am refreshed and ready to rock and roll now.

I took my camera with me, but I spent most of the weekend with my hands covered with sticky stuff, so I don't have much in the way of photos to share.

I have developed a bit of a reputation as a messy worker. I don't think it's THAT bad, but I am used to what my table looks like and I can function just fine. I really should invest in a box of gloves though. The ingredients in some of those paints are toxic and my fingers were definitely cut up after working with that wire.

I don't have a photo of my project yet -- it is nowhere near finished, and I have lost count of the number of challenges this piece has thrown in my path. So far I have met and overcome each one, the most serious of which was a base that simply wouldn't stand still. As of this morning though it is as solid as a rock and I am ready to move on with more interesting parts. It should (knock wood!) go much faster now. I just spray painted all the pieces black -- I'll put up an in-progress pic when the paint is dry.

Oh, oh!! I almost forgot - My Challenge doll won the "Most Creative" ribbon. I'll post a pic soon. A picture of a ribbon? Well, yes. This is a special hand made ribbon which is now most proudly displayed in my studio. It is COOL!

One for the Road

2009-09-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Earlier this summer, one of the members of an artist's chat group I belong to issued a challenge to create a collage based on a "Sunset" theme. My entry is late, but it's not as if I am going to be arrested for being a slow artist, so here it is anyway. The colors are nearly true on my monitor, though I had to darken the highlights a bit to cut the glare. (Do you think it is even possible for me to work without Pearl-Ex or interference colors??)

The photos are all images I have taken of sights on and around our farm. My favorite is the old tractor on the upper left - I think I want to do another canvas featuring that photo on its own.

The techniques I used I learned from videos featuring Ann Baldwin and Jacqueline Sullivan. I wish I had laid down some of the color before adding the photographs, but oh well, live and learn. It was a lot of fun to do, and I am pleased with the way it turned out.

Thanks Linda!

It May Have Been Worth It...

2009-09-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

One of the more interesting tasks you can expect to be faced with when you live on a dairy farm is the rounding up of animals who have gotten out of where they are supposed to be, and are now wandering around where they have no business being, usually causing damage as they go. Early Saturday morning we awoke to the sound of a commotion in the calf house. (Oh no... not the young stock!) Sigh... the yearlings were out.

Older cows are pretty easy to convince to return to where they belong, especially if they are hungry. The young ones just like to run, and they are agile and FAST. We did get them rounded up eventually, and as I trudged back to the house I looked up and this is what I saw...

There is nothing as beautiful as September in Oregon.

I have a few other little things to share to make up for being absent last week - these are my bring-alongs for the Iowa Retreat. (This week!) This is a 4"x4" canvas to commemorate the first Retreat held at Sherry's new school. It is collaged with foil gum wrappers, then painted and glitzed up with some metallic paint and microbeads.

There is also going to be a pincushion exchange one evening... This little frog is my offering. The lily, pad, frog, and pin heads are all of polymer clay, while the cushion itself is needlefelted wool/mohair blend embellished with yet more microbeads. (Is there life without microbeads, LOL?) I still need to paint the details on the ladybug pins, but I have a little time left before I leave to get it all done. I hope!

I can't wait til Thursday!

Am I done yet?

2009-09-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

I worked all weekend on my challenge piece and got so much done, but I think she still needs "something" - I'm just not sure what. If I get some inspiration between now and when I have to leave for Retreat I will add it, but in the meantime she is pretty much finished.

This year's Retreat challenge is to create something with a Halloween or Harvest theme. My ghost was inspired by a project Lydia did for her college cultural anthropology class where they collected urban legends. Lydia focused on "white lady" stories and collected many from her international group of internet friends. (It was interesting how similar they were no matter what part of the world they came from.) That gave me the idea for my lady ghost, but she still needed a story of her own.

Last December there was a tragic drowning not far from here. A pair of young lovers were walking along the Coast near Neskowin, OR to a place called Proposal Rock when a large wave rushed up and swept the young woman out to sea. The gentleman had just been about to propose to her before she was carried away.

I've been haunted by that story since I heard it - it makes my heart ache as it's so very sad. So I dressed my ghost lady in wedding finery and posed her in the moment of falling into the waves. I tried to get as much movement into her body and clothing as possible to suggest the swirling currents.

I still think she needs something tough.

Another Quick Peek

2009-09-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

I am meeting myself coming and going this week - doesn't it always seem to be that everything happens at once? Sigh...

I am still managing at least a few minutes of creative time a day though, and so I have been adding the "ectoplasm" (silk charmeuse, silk chiffon, and cotton gauze) to my Ghost, layer by layer. Fortunately my non-creative time doesn't feel wasted as the paverpol has to dry between layers. I love the sense of movement that the hardened fabric has given to her pose.

I have one more layer of silk to add to her costume, and then (finally!)I will be ready to tackle her hair style. I know I am cutting it very close as far as the deadline goes, but I still think I will get her finished in time. Wish me luck!

Photo Monday and a Work-in-Progress

2009-08-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

As a rule, sunsets here in the Valley are not very colorful. However, the farmers in the region are going full blast harvesting crops such as late beans, wheat, wildflowers, and hops, which throws up a lot of dust into the air. I know my little sunset can't compete with Mike's extravaganzas from Florida, but I still think it's pretty.

I have pressed on through the freeze that follows an "I can't do it" panic attack on my Ghost for the Retreat next month. I sculpted those darned hands and the foot. I feel a little silly about that foot because there is no way it is going to be visible in the finished piece, but at least I will know it's there. She is finally ready now for her draping. Her face will be attached last.

Why are white things so darned hard to photograph well?

Anyway, attaching her hair took most of Saturday afternoon. For one thing it was a major headache working around her foot (which is almost touching her scalp) and for another, the superfine silk yarn I chose is maddeningly tempermental. If I had known what I was letting myself in for I would never have chosen it; however, now that it is on, I am thrilled and it is going to do exactly what I want it to do once the Paverpol is applied. (Fingers crossed...)

If only I didn't have to go to work tomorrow!

Lydia's Dragon Tree

2009-08-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

My oldest daughter Lydia is 20 years old and will be a junior in college this year. She went with me to Washington last weekend and this is what she made in Jean's class. I'm her mom, so of course I think she is amazing, but keep in mind that she has never ever sculpted before.

It was difficult to find a camera angle that shows this piece at its best, so I have included several views. From the back left...

... and facing full front. I love that dangle!

Right rear profile. Here you can see the perfect beads she chose for his eyes as he is gazing from under his wing.

And finally the right front profile.

I love the deliciously twisted way her brain works!

An Unexpected Pleasure

2009-08-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

I found out late last week that Jean Bernard was scheduled to teach her Tree Woman class at a quilt shop in Auburn, WA this past weekend. I asked the shop owner if there were any spaces left and lo and behold there were 2! So on Friday afternoon, Lydia and I packed up for a weekend of creativity.

About 3 seconds after we got into the classroom, Lydia had already been nicknamed "Junior", LOL.

Over the next 2 days, we twisted wire, mixed up apoxie, sculpted, dipped, draped, painted, embellished, and bejeweled. No bills, no laundry, no INTERRUPTIONS - just fun. I could get used to this...

This is my tree. She is brown Aves Apoxie over a wire armature. Her face was provided by Jean. Please click on the photos to get a truer feel for how detailed she really is.

She is embellished with everything I could lay my hands on.

I know trees don't have butts usually, but she wanted one. As soon as I sculpted it, she came alive for me.

Can you spot the 4 other little faces embedded in her trunk?

I wish I could show you the incredible tree Lydia came up with, but she took it to a friend's house this morning to show it off. I can't say as how I blame her - I would be proud of it too! - but I wanted to photograph it first, doggone it! That's OK... I'll just put it up in a day or so. You won't want to miss this one.

July's UFO - Finished, and oh WOW!

2009-08-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

At long last, I have finally completed a white-on-white project that I am absolutely delighted with! I finished fringing and assembling the components of the White Collar the day after we came home from the Coast. (Well, I still need to get to a bead store and buy a suitable clasp for the end of the chain, but other than that it is FINISHED.)

Forgive me please for gloating, but I am so in love with this fringe.

On the other hand, I spent half of the afternoon today trying to get photos that show it off to its best, but this is the best I can do, even with a tripod and a timer. (Hmmmmm... perhaps it is time to clean my lens.) It looks fantastic with everything I have tried it on to wear it with, but I can't find a suitable background fabric that really lets it shine as it should in a photo, and I am getting frustrated. Anybody have some advice as to what do you think I need to do with this piece to get better photographs to upload on to Etsy?

Monday's Photo - Lincoln City, OR

2009-08-10T16:41:00.001-07:00

Last Monday was our 25th wedding anniversary and to celebrate, Jake and I took the girls and ran away from home for a few days. The cool grey days on the Oregon Coast were a wonderful antidote to the crushing heat we had endured the week before.

We did have one nice sunny day while we were there. The Pacific Ocean is colder than cold on the Oregon coast no matter what time of year it is, but Jake and the girls decided to try some wave diving anyway. I stayed on the beach with my camera like a sensible person, LOL.

The waves look bigger than they actually were because I took the photo crouching in the sand at the edge of the waves. That's as far into that freezing water as I was going to go!

I couldn't believe it, but he actually dove in.

This pair of sea lions was cruising around much farther off the beach, but they were fun to watch nonetheless.

Tomorrow it's back to the ordinary routine.

Getting Ready for a Retreat

2009-08-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

The Fall Retreat in Iowa with Jean Bernard and Sherry Goshon is getting closer and closer. There has been a flurry of chatter on the list this weekend as supply lists and teaser photos have been posted. My fees are paid, my plane ticket is booked and now I get to assemble some supplies -- I am so excited!

Because I can't take my whole studio with me (alas!) I am going to narrow down my color scheme so I at least have a place to start. This little bag of fiber has been in my stash for years, and I think it has finally called out to me to go into a project. I have never worked with yellow before so this should be interesting!

Isn't it pretty? It is a far cry from my usual blue/purple/green mode at any rate.

I have also undertaken a massive reorganization of my studio, as it was becoming impossible to work in there. This week's project was my beading desk. Nothing has ever really been sorted there (I usually just kind of add to the pile as I acquire things) so some organization was really necessary. When I came across this ammonite that I bought about a year ago I decided to take a break and wire it up with a technique based on a design by Nancy Wickman. I absolutely love it!

I admire her style, and one of these days I will purchase her "Victorian Key" design as well.

I will not be posting a Photo-of-the-Week this week as the family and I are leaving for a little vacation tomorrow. I hope everybody is having a wonderful summer!

When it's too hot to go outside

2009-07-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

When it is this hot outside, (108 degrees yesterday afternoon - ugh!) I stay inside. That's OK, because now I need to get to work on my challenge piece for this year's Retreat with Sherry Goshon and Jean Bernard. We are supposed to do something related to Halloween or Harvest, and I knew right away that I wanted to do a Ghost. Not just any ghost, but a White Lady. I'll tell her story later, but in the meantime, here are some in-progress photos of what she looks like at the moment.

I am using the techniques I learned at last year's retreat. I still need to sculpt her other hand and also decide what I want to do with her other foot, but I am so happy with her form so far.

And here she is from the other side.

Her face is sculpted and beaded and ready to apply, but there is a lot more work to do on the figure yet before that can happen. Hmmm... I want more detail in the color of her face I think. Otherwise, so far, so good!

Because there is absolutely nothing on TV, we are watching our collection of "Lost" DVD's again as a family, so I have a lot of time in the evenings to catch up on some beading, so I can give you an update on the white-on-white collar too. I finished beading the segments and got them lined and edge-finished, so now I am ready to add the fringe.

This is the fun part!

Photo of the Week - Worth the Wait

2009-07-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

I am a day late in posting this week's photo because I spent this past weekend at my daughter's freshman orientation at Oregon State University. What a fabulous place! The campus itself is beautiful, and the course offerings put my alma mater's to shame. She's excited... I'm excited for her, and more than a little bit jealous, LOL. *I* want to go to college tooooooooooooooooooo!!!

This is a macro photo of the colorful ingredients of my new most favorite salsa. It is very mild, so if you are a heat junkie you will be disappointed (though there is nothing to stop you from adding the heat source of your choice - it WILL work, I promise.) I think even my new-food-phobic family back home might be willing to try mangos if I served them this way.

Corn, Black Bean, & Mango Salsa
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup of frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 fresh red bell pepper, diced
1 mango, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
8 green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt (I prefer 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt)
1 tablespoon olive oil, optional (I wouldn't dream of leaving it out. Really now... that is a healthy amount of a healthy fat.)

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. If you keep it covered in the refrigerator, it will stay tasty and good for 3 days or so.

I know a lot of people don't like cilantro and I admit it took me a time or two to learn to appreciate the flavor, but its flavor contribution really makes this salsa sing. I intend to experiment with some finely diced jalepeno chilis next time.

When good projects go bad

2009-07-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

I really really wanted to enter this month's challenge on BPCAG, but my sculpt is not going well. It is just too hot to work with polymer clay, so I am taking a break, and attempting to restore some order to my studio instead. My poor studio needs some TLC badly anyway. I don't mean to be so messy, but I can't seem to help it!

While I was putting away the things that have accumulated on my work table, I rediscovered this piece of bead embroidery. I don't remember deciding to stop working on it - but it was buried pretty deep under the layers, so I know it has been a while since I laid eyes on it.

Now that I don't wear contact lenses any more, I find that I can see those little beads so much better without any glasses at all. It makes it tough to watch TV while beading, but I keep my bifocals handy and pop them on when things get exciting, so I do OK. It's nice to have a project that I can work on in a room that is air-conditioned.

I am such a sissy about the heat.

I am so glad I put up this photo today, because now I can see that I need to add something a little dark to the upper part of the right hand segment to keep the colors balanced. If I keep at it, I should be able to finish the beading this weekend and get started on the fringe. I have some drop pearls that will be just perfect for this.

Photo of the Week - Finished Dinosaur Canvas

2009-07-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

I finished my T-Rex canvas this weekend - the photo is a bit dark on my monitor, but the colors are true. I am both amazed and amused that something so bizarre came from my hands. I have never ever done anything like him before in any medium, and I kind of wonder what hidden little corner of my brain he came from, LOL. Me? Dinosaurs??? Go figure...

A high level of texture over the outer edges of the canvas, effectively suggesting a primaeval forest for my creature to stroll through, was created with several mediums as well as wrinkled tissue paper. To make the footprints in the lower right I sculpted a dinosaur foot in polymer clay and stamped it into partially dry gel medium. (It would have worked better in texture medium, but I am out of that and I really wanted to complete this project.)

The things we do for our art, LOL!

Photo of the Week - "Weeds"

2009-07-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

I do not understand why blackberries are considered "weeds". Yes, I know they are a bully of a plant, but so is mint, so are strawberries. Then again, I like dandelions and wild violets too, so maybe it's just me, but I don't take offense to the presence of blackberries the way some people do. I love their pretty pink blossoms.

I especially love their fruit! In just a few weeks these embryonic berries will start to turn to a purple so deep it looks almost black. Mmmmmm... I can almost smell the cobbler now.

I like bees too, but that's not why I put up this little guy's photo. I am getting better at finding my camera's focus point in macro mode and I am darned proud of the way he turned out. Isn't he a photogenic little bug?

I gotta say that is is MUCH easier to find things to photograph around here in the summer than it was in January!

Finding Time to Paint

2009-07-11T13:31:00.001-07:00

My main project at the moment is a sculpt-in-progress that I cannot share as it is a challenge piece. However, while various bits are being baked and cooled and what-have-you, I have begun painting my T-Rex canvas. So far, so good!

I absolutely love Quinacridone Burnt Orange - it is my favorite color and I am seldom able to keep my brush out of it. However, just this morning I fell in love with Pthalo Turquoise. SO gorgeous...

I have no idea where I am going with this canvas, but it has turned into such a fun thing to play with that I don't really care. (Seriously, who could possibly take this seriously, LOL??!) Right now I am thinking that it needs a little more texture to balance the bas relief, and also something for him to be roaring at...

This month's UFO Challenge Piece: the T-Rex Canvas

2009-07-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

I started this canvas well over a year ago after a class with Linda Misa on Doll Street. The idea for this one was inspired by my oldest daughter, who absolutely adores dinosaurs, and an old book on dinosaurs that was retired from the children's collection of library where I work.

I got stuck after I added the dinosaur image and so it has been sitting on the couch in my studio silently roaring at me ever since. Last week I had a dream that gave me the idea to render the dinosaur in bas relief in paper clay, so last night I sat down and sculpted and carved him in 3-D.

It was easier than I thought it would be. Now I just have to wait for the clay to completely dry, then I can seal it and get to the fun part - painting!!

Photo of the Week - Inspired by Picasso

2009-07-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

We here in the United States celebrated our Independence Day this past Saturday. Our family did up the holiday in the traditional American way, with a barbecue in the evening, and then fireworks at sunset. After all, everybody loves things that go "bang", LOL. I also discovered that fireworks are surprisingly easy to photograph.

Things got a little more creative when we pulled out the sparklers. A long time ago, I saw a copy of this photograph in a magazine - I found it fascinating, and I've never forgotten it. Of course none of us is Picasso, but surely we could manage to write our names in the sky? Turns out that it is pretty challenging after all. Lydia is the only one who managed to get her name done in the 4 seconds I allowed for the exposure.

Seth almost made it - I think his sky-handwriting is just too big. I'm including his photo too because I like the way the "e" in his name frames his face. It would have been so cool if he could have squeezed in that last letter in the time alloted.

Now all I want to know is how in the heck did Gjon Mili (Picasso's photographer) manage to keep Picasso in focus while all the while he must have been jumping around like a bug?

Finished!

2009-07-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

Even though I only had a few more hours of work on the Hatchling since the last time I posted before I could call him finished, it still took me nearly an entire month to put in those few hours. (It is the end of our fiscal year at my day job and coping with the year-end details sucked up a lot of my energy.) BUT, here he is at last.

And from the other side.

I finished him off with lots of layers of different colors of acrylic paint. What really made his color come to life was the final glazes of Luminarte's pure pigment powders. You have to be careful with those as a little goes a long way, but I think I got it right this time. You can see the faint wash of Sun Gold on his face in this close up. It's a cool effect.

I owe a huge thank you to Sprite for teaching me her technique for creating skin textures. These show up best in this photo on his hips, thighs, and tail. I need a little more practice with this method, as I tend to squish one side while working on the other, but I'll get it eventually. (If you like baby dragons, or fantasy sculpts in general, you have to check out her blog!)

Sprite also gave me the idea to line the inside of his shell with the illusion of crystals. I don't know how she did hers, but I created mine out of several sizes and colors of shard glass glitter, micromarbles, fine glitter, and thin washes of the luminarte glazes again. I love the way the silver shards catch and reflect the light.

I have always loved dragons - I definitely see more of them in my future!

Photo of the Week - Fresh Fruit

2009-06-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

I love Farmer's Markets!

Success at last!

2009-06-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

My faithful Google has done it again. After several false starts, missteps, and the complete loss of all my gadgets, I finally found the customizable 3-column template of my dreams to play with! I case anybody else wants to play, there are an assortment of Blogger-Beta-compatible templates here. Mine is the "minima white".

As you can see I still have some tweaking to do, but from now on it will be fun rather than frustrating. Thanks for all the good luck wishes - you have no idea how much I appreciate your company here online.

Updating

2009-06-23T17:37:00.000-07:00

I hope you will excuse the random changes in the appearance of my blog. I am attempting to coach myself through some HTML exercises and make this blog a little more personalized. It isn't hard, but the learning is taking place in the midst of other "real life" tasks, and it may be a while before I am satisfied with what I am able to accomplish.

My main goal at the moment is to change this "Minima Stretch" template into a 3-column layout. I *thought* I had found the solution, but I haven't been able to make it work yet. ...grumblegrumble...

Anybody care to wish me luck, LOL?!

Photo of the Week: TWINS!

2009-06-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

While twin calves are not common, they are not particularly rare either. However, twin heifers only come along once in a blue moon. These two little darlings were born early early Sunday morning, and Jake is accepting them as a Father's Day gift from the universe, LOL.

As you can see, getting born and having your first meal is exhausting, so they were not in the mood for a portrait shoot.

On the way back to the house, I stopped to pull a weed from my tomato beds and lo! and behold, we have tiny green tomatoes on the vines already. I always plant too many tomatoes, but I can't seem to help myself. They are SO good!

And oh, the promise of good things to come!

Sunday was also Alice's 18th birthday, and she requested a cheesecake for dessert. I tried out a new recipe for a Raspberry White Chocolate Truffle version, which turned out very well, but it is very rich. Trust me, a little goes a very long way!

The photo didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, so I guess food photography has its tricks like any other subject. Time to do some googling.

A Dairy Tale

2009-06-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

I am busy gardening this week. My art time has been taken up with finishing projects and beginning work on a challenge piece that I can't share until it's over, so let me tell you a little story instead. It's a sad story, a true tale of woe.

I took my camera out one lovely evening to snap some photos of my roses. (I found this blackberry vine growing up through the canes of my old rambler rose. It has to go, but in the meantime, don't the 2 look pretty blooming together?)

As I wandered around the yard, I gradually came to notice a calf in the weaned field making an awful lot of noise. She was actually following me up and down the fenceline, mooing her little head off. This little calf has just been moved out of the calf barn and taken off milk, and she is NOT happy about it. Not happy at all. She wants some milk, and she wants it NOW darn it!

I wasn't paying much attention to her, but she continued to moo. I think a flock of birds caught her attention here...

Please believe me, she is not starving! There is plenty of food available in her new part of the barn, and she has free access to pasture. And yet she is suffering badly. Just ask her, LOL.

She has been mooing nonstop now for 4 days, and as of this morning, though she has lost her voice. she keeps trying to convince somebody to bring her some milk. It is the tiniest bit pitiful to hear them try to moo when they have no voice left, and yet I can't help but laugh and be grateful that the racket has finally quieted down.

Don't you feel sorry for her?

Photo of the Week - Payback Time

2009-06-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

I take a lot of teasing from my family for living in a place where it rains so much and so often, and yes, I have done my share of complaining about the rain too, BUT... this is the time of year when we are reminded why we love it here so much. Trust me, Oregon in June is about as beautiful as it gets. Everywhere I look, something is blooming, or ripening, or being harvested in abundance.

These Royal Anne cherries are about as colorful as they are going to get, but they are a little firm yet. By next week I will be hustling to pick as many as I can before the birds get them all.

If you have ever had a real Oregon strawberry, you would turn up your nose at the giant rocks disguised as berries being sold in the supermarket. These beauties will soon become berries worth holding out for! They only last for a few weeks, so we indulge while they are here. Yumm!

Hatchling, Ready for Make-Up

2009-06-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

I have been on such a roll with this little guy - here he is with the rest of his muscles and skin applied, and his wings assembled and attached. I tried to take a good sample of photographic views of him, as he is different depending on how you look at him.

His pose turned out exactly the way I envisioned him in my mind, which is a rare achievement for me. My intent was to capture a fire lizard at the moment of his hatching, ready for Impression. (I am a huge fan of The Dragon Riders of Pern series of books by Anne McCaffrey - I have always wished for a fire lizard for my very own, LOL.)

I am also pretty happy with the way his wings turned out, though they ended up getting a little thicker than I wanted. If I try this technique again I will do it just a little different. Even so, they are wonderfully translucent -- see the backlight shining through?

Here is one last view of the detail of the texture of his egg. This was made using techniques and instructions developed and written by the wonderful Julianne Sizemore.

I love it when a plan comes together!

Baby Dragon next steps

2009-06-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update for those who like "in progress" photos. My baby dragon has his pose on with completed feet and his egg. I need to make a base for that egg yet so that it sits still, add a tail and wings to the new hatchling and finish texturing his skin. I'm getting to the part now where I'm afraid to work on him for fear of messing him up. I WILL keep going!

Really, LOL.

Photo of the Week - Works in Progress

2009-06-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

I meant to upload these last week, but due to multiple family events and activities I literally did not have a minute to set up a photo shoot. Fortunately today has been much more laid back and I was able to get out my camera again.

As promised, I bring you my second Breyer repaint for my daughter. I was going for a "Goth" sort of feel on this piece, and I am satisfied with the way it turned out. So is Lydia, LOL. Unfortunately, the subtlties of the colors in the finished piece don't show to advantage in this photo - I have no idea why the red around the eyes is so pronounced, and the shades of green that are dappled through the coat are all but invisible. I guess you're just going to have to trust me on this one - it turned out pretty cool.

I still need to embellish and insert the wings, but although I like this pair I'm not certain now that I want to use them. I think I want something a little more dragon-like.

And finally, here is my little baby dragon as is he so far. He's come a ways from that ball of tinfoil, hasn't he?

His little face turned out exactly the way I wanted it, so I went ahead and baked that part already. I have been doing some reading and experimenting with sculpting then baking in stages, and I think this might just be the technique I need to protect my works from inadvertant squishes and fingernail marks.

Next up will be to give him real hands and feet instead of the mittens that show here. I am really anxious to finish him, but one step at a time is better than never finishing him because I don't have time to settle down and concentrate on the whole thing in one sitting.