Creative Battery Recharge

I'm late again. I know. Last week yesterday, Maya and I went on an adventure to see some fall color. We started out at 8 on the AM and headed west. We went through a bit of Pisgah National Forest and were a bit disappointed because it was sprinkling and quite foggy. We were hoping that the sun would come out but Mother Nature had her own agenda for the day. Our first stop was to the Folk Art Center, Southern Highland Guilds shop and gallery. It was wonderful. There was a small shop for the tourists (maps of the Blue Ridge Parkway, mountain music, t-shirts, etc), then the larger shop with the work from the guild members. Very nice work. Quilts lined the walls. Upstairs was the gallery for their private collection of guild members of the past. There was another gallery on the second floor where they had themed shows. The show this time was a Black and White show. Wonderful artwork. From fiber (on the walls to wearables), dolls, clay, jewelry. I recognized many of the artists and I finally saw some Ellen Turner pieces. She'd been one of my favorite doll artists when I was younger and I had no idea her pieces were quite large. Three feet tall almost.

On our way out of the Folk Art Center, we saw this wonderful roadster. I would love, love, love to have one of these.

We continued onto the parkway and the fog surrounded us. We were a bit disappointed but as we went further along, we enjoyed the foggy weather. It was quite atmospheric in places. Especially coming around bends, going into tunnels, and sometimes there were whiteout conditions and then a shock of color.

We made a detour through Asheville, which I also love. And I couldn't believe all the wonderful street art I saw. Then it was back on the Blue Ridge.

 I love this lonely picnic table waiting for next summer to get here.

Little flowers hanging on.

 Lichen. I've always seen moss but not lichen.

Artist of the Month

I am featured Artist of the Month at Olde Mill Eclective at the Bethania Mill Shops. Yay me! If you're in Bethania, NC, stop by and see my setup. It will be up until the end of October. There are other lovely shops in the mill and Muddy Creek Cafe is right next door. Yummy food and local beers. There's parking in the back, and if that's crowded, there's parking at the Bethania Visitor's Center across the street.

Olde Mill Eclective

in the 

Bethania Mill Shops

5455 Bethania Rd

Winston-Salem, NC 27100

336.813.3774

We are also on Facebook. www.facebook.com/oldemilleclective

Be sure to support your local businesses, shops, and artists this holiday season. Thanks!

One Week In

Wow! The first week of October is a wrap. Again, time flies whether you're having fun or not. I did rally from the crushed finger to the leaky kitchen sink to finish some things. Next in line, Frank's Monsters and ghoulish bunners.

Frank Jr, Fagan, Fairfax, and Fabian. They are pin/ornaments.

Buckey and Topher had a run-in with some veggies that have gone bad.

I guess it could be 'Revenge of the Veggies'.

I'm still working on items for the shop. I'm hoping I can start on some more detailed pieces this week.

Cauldron Critters

I love my little voodoo doll pins/ornaments and they now have company. Cauldron Critters, because they're in a cauldron.

 I wanted to put a pumpkin face on the cauldron but that will have to wait.

Some of these critters have a 'Y' incision.

 My latest batch of voodoo doll pins. The green ones are witches.

Here are my zombie bunners in progress.

 This picture looks like a bunner mugshot. They were caught with a carrot still.

There's more coming.

I'm Late, I'm late!

I know, I know. I'm late with a post. I was really trying keep up with my posts. My finger is much better but still aches late in the day/early evening. My kitchen sink had a leak, again. The faucet was finally replaced. Yay! I'm still hoping October will be good to me. It's only four days in but two of those days haven't been the greatest. I could use a break from all of these life tests.

I have been slugging it through though. As much as I would like to crawl under a blanket and sleep, I push myself to do something. Even with that, a blanket would be too hot because we're still warm and muggy here. So I take a deep breath and suck it up. I'm not giving up. I will be doing NANOWRIMO again this year. That's National Write A Novel in a Month. I'm prepping for that, along with two different doll related swaps online. It's my way of getting some pretty decent doll art without paying. They get a piece of my art too.

I've had to go back to the familiar, cloth dolls, because having been in the shop, times are still tight for a lot of people. I have to continue to make some inexpensive pieces to sell in order to be able to make the nicer pieces I want to make. People will spend up to about 30 bucks for something that isn't necessary. And that's here in my neck-of-the-woods and my experience. It's all good, as long as it helps to pay the bills. But starting next week, I will be doing my art pieces.

Here's my list for the month. It's long but it's my guide.

• blog at least twice a week
• put more cloth dolls on Etsy
• restock dolls in shops
• work on my kid story edit
• sketch every other day, preferably new dolls
• finish one commission
• start items for Krankie's Holiday Craft Show
• sew my pirate vest
• finish my short stay
• finish my last Hop To It quilt block
• prepare for NANO
• create website

I will copy and repost this at the end of the month to see what I got done. Yes, I'm a bit touched but that's okay. I like me.

Happy October!

Yes! A brand new month with so many new possibilities! This is going to be very short because I slammed my finger in my apartment door while going for the laundry. It's swollen and needs some ice. Plus it hurts. Got my list for you but probably won't post until tomorrow when finger is betrter. Better.

Artist Trading Card

I made my first artist trading card ever. It was fun and took me a couple of hours. Only because of drying time. I may or may not do more. Painting again felt great. Maybe I'll start doing more of that.

It's 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches. I used acrylic paint and color pencils. Have a great weekend!