WIP Update for Under the Sea Swap

As you recall I started off with a quick sketch of my idea below.
The face is not the same but here is just a quick update on where I stand. I need to attach the arms and then I should be able to paint by next weekend. During the week I am just too pooped to play! :o)

Please note all my pieces of art come with a nice array of pet fur. I try to keep that stuff off but alas...

Be sure to click the image for a larger view.

Green Porno

This was too good to pass up! For all you Green Enthusiasts - Enjoy!

http://www.sundancechannel.com/greenporno/

Nearly there

I am almost finished with my Under the Sea Swap item. My swap partner is Debbi: http://paperdollpost.blogspot.com/ Have you seen her blog? It is chock full of fun and bright and happy dolls. How awesome for me! As soon as I let her see the "nearly finished" WIP pictures I will post them. :o)

Under the Sea Swap WIP

Here is a sneak peek at what I am creating for the Under the Sea Swap hosted by Zan (http://wildatheartart.blogspot.com). I was inspired by the Aqua Pod bottles you can purchase in the grocery store - perfect for an Octopus type person. I was going to call it Octo Kid but Bone Head Studios beat me to the punch and made an adorable Octo Boy. I guess she and I were thinking alike. Go look at him because he is really cool! http://boneheadstudio.blogspot.com/2009/05/octoboy.html

Kreativ Blogger Award :o)

Wow - This is my FIRST award (and I am behind on posting it). This came to me from such an inspiring and creative lady! Meet Deb from Katura Greetings: http://katuragreetings.blogspot.com/2009/05/blog-post.html Be sure to take a good look at her work because it is beautiful. Colors, detail, imagery and a bit of the spiritual all combine into amazing works of Art. Thank you Deb so much for giving me this award. Here's a big {{{HUG}}} of Gratitude!

And as is the tradition of this most auspicious award I will list six things I am truly grateful for.

1. My Family - they are the true expression of unconditional love and I am living proof of that as daughter, sister, aunt, mother & grandmother. They love me no matter what.

2. My Life and Health. I have been blessed with a full life and the good health to enjoy it and for that I really am grateful.

3. The night sky. It is the one constant in my life that let's me know everything else in the universe is going to be alright. A calm washes over me when I am looking at it.

4. My creativity. This is my balance. Without it my world turns upside down until I figure out that I need to create and put everything in balance again.

5. Showers. Yep, I really am grateful for this invention. Total Genius. It wakes me up in the morning and de-stresses me during tax season. It cools me off in summer and warms me up in the winter. Man I love showers!

6. My blogger friends! I know, I know..., this response may seem trite but seriously, I truly am grateful for all of you! For the first time I have found an amazing, creative, thought provoking and loving group of people that I can connect with on so many different levels. You share your knowledge and your hearts. Thank you all!

Now I would like to bestow this award to the following bloggers. My hope is that you find their blogs as fun and interesting as I do and in that spirit I hope that you make a new friend too:

Kaycee - Kaycees Writing Journal

http://kayceesjournal.blogspot.com/ - for exceptional writing abilities and being true to herself. Watch her folks because she is soon to be the next New York Times best selling author!

Lisa - Confessions of a Text Addict

http://confessionsofatextaddict.blogspot.com/ - for outstanding creative writing with thought provoking inserts along with a dose of opinionated fun! Wait until you read about the sticks of butter...

Patty - A Diary Left Open

http://sandiegovideoproduction.blogspot.com/ - She is sheer poetry on the page with words that pull you through her story like a boat gliding through water. Beautiful Blogs from a beautiful mind.

Elizabeth - Lazy Bone Creations

http://moon217.blogspot.com/ - Elizabeth makes cards but they are not just ANY cards they are Gorgeous with much thought going into each one. She is also very sweet and conscientious. Elizabeth will cusomize a card just for your special occassion if you ask :o).

Martha - MarthaLand

http://welcometomarthaland.blogspot.com/ - This blog will make you smile - I guarantee it! How could you not when you see those adorable slugs with the big eyes smiling back at you? I had to have one!

David - The Fine Art Photography of David Cochran

http://dcochran.blogspot.com/ - Beauty has met thine eyes (and soul)! What David does with a lens is nothing short of breathtaking.

Block Party Press

http://blockpartypress.blogspot.com/ - Simple (and yet Not simple) design and fun all wrapped up in a little package called wearable art. She has an amazing eye for detail which you will notice in her nature photos too. I just love her blog and her art and her eye for detail!

Things I'm behind on

Should I really devulge this kind of information? Yes, I think I should since it helps me stay on track and keep it all in focus (or did I mean "Holy Cow I have ALL that to do!???).
1. Molly Macabre - I didn't even glance at her due to the Michael deMeng class. Yeah, that's right. It is definitely all his fault! (insert freakish laughter).
2. Daily lunch drawings. I started off with a BANG! Three whole lunch hours (maybe four) were spent drawing. After that I misplaced the drawing pad, or left it at home, or something... (my subconscious is playing tricks on me - ha ha ha).
3. Complete a masterpiece painting on that lovely easel I wrestled with a while back. I produced a background but now it acts as a backdrop for my photos until I figure out what to put on it.
4. Housework ('nuff said!).
5. Weeding - my mantra is "Crabgrass is my friend". It seems to be helping.
6. Finish UFO's and WIP's which are essentially the same thing but you have to admit the acronym UFO is just too fun to pass up! I learned about UFO's from Sprite (http://spritebites-brokenplanet.blogspot.com/). UFO = UnFinished Object.
7. Did I mention Housework? (grin).
8. Get new stuff on Etsy - which can't happen until I do all of the above. Oh MY!
You get the point though. *A'hem* I mean "I" get the point. Much to do, to prioritize and still leave room for dreaming.
Notice Housework and Weeding are close to the bottom of the list -pretty clever huh?
Just for fun I thought I would show you some of my "R" rated work - see? They are all naked!
LOOK - Molly Macabre is in the group. Do you recognize her? Ok, I'm being way silly now But that really is Molly.

Michael deMeng

I took an art class on Friday called "Matchbox Vignettes" instructed by Michael deMeng. I fell in love with deMeng's work when I first saw it a few years back so when the opportunity arose for a class I decided to go for it. (If you are not familiar with his work go have a look: http://www.michaeldemeng.com/ ). I learned some really great techniques from him including: layering color, playing with light and texture and pulling in elements from different realms to create a unified and cohesive piece of art (all contained by a very small matchbox). For those of you familiar with my work I have to tell you that this class was a big challenge for me. I am so used to just going to my room and letting the work talk to me and create itself while with this class I actually had to stop and think about an overall concept of what is this box about, what looks good together, how do I make this box evoke some kind of emotion from the viewer? BIG THINGs that I do not normally give much thought to when creating my Oddities. I hope you enjoy this piece that I made based on the concept of Dia De Los Muertos. I would also like to say Thank you Michael for sharing your amazing expertise along with a good dose of fun! Below are pictures of the piece I made in Michael's class.

This is how my piece looked at the end of class - I just wasn't able to complete it in the time alloted due to my own personal challenges. :o)

Ahhh, that's better. Now we have some color! I sculpted the little face and it is a bit smaller than a dime.

Detail...

I have a really cool brass candlestick holder (small) that I am going to mount this piece on in order to balance out the top.