Saturday, January 30, 2010

Saturday Snippets



My computer is running really slow at the moment, think it needs

defragging. I'm trying to check out all the many blogs on the OWOH blog event and the slowdown is really frustrating. It could be worse though - I have my suspicions that the early 60s computer shown above was NOT highspeed.



Due to the frustration level of waiting for my computer to load sites, I have not been sitting here as much as I normally do. Have several pieces on the go at the moment. Some kindreds, a faerie piece and a bust.




The faerie is a piece that I sculpted last year with some old prosculpt that had problems. The light colour clay baked to a verydark, mottled brown. I'm painting it now and thinking of making it into a snow/winter fae welcoming Spring. Still playing with several ideas and will have to see what develops



I don't do Pink Saturdays, however the item below was too good to pass up.




Yes folks - this is a bathtub! For the gal, or guy, that has everything. Sure to put you in 'the pink'



A lot of the fun of looking through vintage magazines is the advertisements. Here are a few, that are just SO wrong now.





Uh-huh. (I think the least said about this, the better)




"Instantaneous Cure!" ....I BET!





Like to the emergency room after she bops him one






Any bets on where these docs are now?






This is just SO wrong on so many levels


At the beginning of this post, I referred to the OWOH blog event.
As of today there are over 800 bloggers participating with giveaways. This is such an amazing way to discover new blogs, make new friends and be inspired. I'm loving it!

If you haven't already checked out my OWOH blog post for your chance to win Cordula


Please do so! A HUGE Thank You to everyone that has already posted a comment. She was a lot of fun to create and the response is very gratifying.


The Ado (Art Dolls Only) group is also participating in OWOH this year and is offering works from 17 of their artist members. 17 chances on one blog - can't beat that!



This is the piece I did for the ADO giveaway. He's bendable and can be hung on a wall or sit him on a little chair or shelf. Check out this little guy and all the other fabulous ADO offerings here

Well, I'm off to my studio.....wishing everyone a fabulous weekend!











Sunday, January 24, 2010

Welcome to My OWOH Post!

OWOH Is HERE!!!

Photo

The OWOH event was created in 2007 by Lisa Swifka, a young California artist. It was her love of blogging and discovering new blogs that was the spark that led to what has become an annual, global blogging event. Last year more than 900 bloggers participated. WHOO HOOOOO!!!


I was new to blogging last year and I did not participate, however through a couple of blogs I was following I stumbled across this amazing event and over several weeks, clicked on and discovered many, many bloggers. Some of these I became blog-friends with, some I started to follow, and all of them I thoroughly enjoyed.



It is with a lot of excitement that I am participating this year. For this event I created Cordula (latin for little heart).








Cordula is sculpted from polymer clay over a wire armature, holds her own OWOH heart and stands on her 'customized' world magic carpet.






I really look forward to sending Cordula to her new home!


All you have to do for a chance at 'adopting' Cordula is to post a comment on this blog entry. The magic carpet ride ends on Feb. 15 and I will be closing comments on this at 11:59 pm the evening of Feb. 14. On Feb. 15, I will use the Random Number Generator to determine who Cordula's new mommy or daddy will be! So easy and such fun!


Please only comment once and ensure that your comment can be linked back to you, or has your email. If Cordula is coming to live with you, I need a way to contact you!


Have fun! Check out all the fabulous blogs participating in this year's OWOH (please give Lisa time to start listing them) and thrill to the ride!


Thank you so much for stopping by!!


♥♥♥

It is now 12:00 a.m. Feb. 15, and I have had an astonishing 518 comments posted. I will be using the Random Number Generator in the morning and will post Cordula's new caregivers in a new blog post at some point during the day.

Comments are now closed....and I thank everyone!

OWOH Teasers


















OWOH
...Tomorrow, Jan 25! Please check back!

~****~

Here are a couple teasers on the piece I have done for the Art Dolls Only blog






Get ready to ride the Magic Carpet and discover magic!


Photo

Friday, January 22, 2010

Littlest Angel?

Arthur Steel - Holy Terror

I laugh whenever I see this pic. Just taking a break from finishing my OWOH pieces (one is for the ADO blog giveaway) and was going through some of the pics in my files. Wanted to share a giggle with you all! Don't you just love the extreme feeling this little 'angel' puts into the face!

Hope everyone has a most fabulous weekend!

♥♥♥


Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Monday, January 18, 2010

Art Supplies? A GiveAway!

shorpy.com

Tristan Robin Blakeman, a true Renaissance Man and blogger extraordinaire, is celebrating his 200th post, 300 followers and 40,000 hits on his blog, Enchanted Revelry by giving away some awesome art supplies.

Please check out this posting of his to enter for a chance at adding to your studio. 300 Followers you say? Not much chance to win then right? Well, someone will AND it may be you - plus everyone is a winner in this particular giveaway just by going to Tristan's blog and checking out his posts. I guarantee that you too will be sucked into the witty and amazing vortex of awesomeness that is known as Enchanted Revelry!


Sunday, January 17, 2010

OWOH


I am so looking forward to participating in this event this year! Click on the button on my side bar to find out more...and join in!

I did not do this last year, although I did check out most of the many bloggers who did participate and found so many blogs to follow this way. It was so much fun!

Here is a link to Lisa's blog which explains just what the OWOH event is all about

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Another Book and WIPs


I totally forgot my new journal when I posted about some of the books I received for Christmas. Love this!




I try to keep this close by so that I can sketch out or jot down ideas and thoughts. Previous to this I was scribbling in odd notebooks and scraps of paper - now I have all my 'brilliant' ideas together! Looking back at some of my ideas, they don't seem so brilliant now, LOL.



I've been trying to work at least an hour in my studio every day. These are just some WIPs. I haven't started sculpting any of the busts yet and am mulling over several different themes for them.







I'm still trying to organize my days so that I have more time to work on these little guys. Need.more.hours.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Keeping Warm



It is incredibly cold and wintery here so I have been staying cozy working in my little studio room. Taking a break, I was going through some of my vintage pic files and was struck by the amount of fur that was worn years ago and how muffs were so popular.




With all the fur, this lovely lady would not be the height of fashion now, but I'm sure in 1911 she reigned supreme



In her long astrakhan coat, muff and hat and what looks like seal trim, this lady was enveloped (ha! no pun intended)


Can't Forget to Bundle Up the Kiddies





The muff this little lass is carrying is just about as big as she is!



More Fur - actually quite abit given the throw. The addition of the puppy seems a bit of an ironic touch in 2010. What an adorable little girl though!


Just some fur trim on the outfit of this rather smug little girl. I get the feeling she may have grown up to be a rather domineering society matron.


Even this very young child has some fur - the pompom tassels on her hat are fur.

I posted these pics for your enjoyment, not to make any political statement. Years ago, wearing fur was not contentious as it is now. Trapping was a way of life and in many cases fur was sold as a byproduct of the food that was placed on the table. And, all arguments aside, it was warm!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Interested In Fashion? Coco Chanel? Giveaways?


Ingrid Mida, owner and creater of the fabulous Fashion is My Muse blog is offering the book, "The Gospel According to Coco Chanel" on her blog. I love vintage fashion and it is amazing the ideas and insights that you can pick up from some of these books on designers and fashions that can apply to your artwork. To check out this giveaway, go here.
Good luck!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

I Scored

A Skelly Christmas Light

This is so cool. My daughter Nicole (Trinity Heart Studios) made this enchanting shadowbox creation for me. The moon has a light behind it (which I stupidly left on and the battery needs to be replaced) which shines on the figures and also the little glass ornaments on the wire tree. Love it!!! Nicole also gifted me with some handmade earrings (she knows my style and every year I get several new pairs from her) and two beautiful handpainted (by her) glass ornaments. I was so thrilled with all my gifts this year, however I do confess that handcrafted ones hold a special place in my heart

Books!

I love books! My family knows that outside of handmade items, the next best thing to gift me with is books. My theory is that you can never be too rich or have too many books!


Art Related

Okay, not everything shown above is a book, but it is all tied in with art. The Angel's Delight book is full of fantastic fantasy pics that lead to a lot of terrific ideas for figures. The Hi Fructose is a compilation of their first four years. I have subscribed to the magazine as I also find a lot of inspiration and ideas in it, and it is great to have some of the highlights of the issues I have missed.

The Arthur Rackham box contains 5 wonderful notecards of his work and the 12 Muses Calendar is going up in my studio!

Fashion



Vintage fashion is a passion of mine and every year I receive books pertaining to fashion and vintage fashion. This year did not disappoint. The two book boxed Taschen set weighs 12 lbs - that is one hefty chunk of fashion. I unfortunately have not had a chance to look through any of these books yet and plan to pick the "Elegance" one up later today.

Humour





No matter how rushed one may be, it is important to leave room for humour. Humour can uplift you from a foul mood and can energize you if you are feeling low. Humour is one of the best all-natural medications we have. James Lileks
is sardonic, sarcastic and funny as heck. His Institute of Good Cheer
site is hilarious. The books above are hard copies of much that you can find on his site. Small, light-hearted tomes that you can pick up, read a couple of pages, immediately feel better and then put them down for the next time.









Friday, January 1, 2010

A Knock At The Door........

Joseph Christian Leyendecker

As softly and gently as the 1909 New Year entered in this charming illustration, so did 2010 at our house. We stayed home, watched the ball drop on Times Square and felt a sense of fresh energy at the beginning of a brand new year and decade.


What will the year bring? No one knows, but each of us can try and make it the best it can be and hope that all the good things that lay in promise now will happen


From one of my all-time favorite groups, something to start the day





*~*~**** PEACE and LOVE ****~*~*