Here we go!

Sometimes you just need to talk to a good friend, who really knows you, to help you get back on the creative wagon. Things keep happening that want to derail me being as creative as I want. My mother fell again last week. The second time this year. I went into her hometown on Monday to check on her, the house, and I made her a big pot of veggie soup and some rice on the side. I bought her some frozen breakfast sandwiches, frozen chicken and turkey breakfast sausages, and breakfast bars. Why? Because she won't eat breakfast. Then later in the day, she'll get dizzy. And then comes the fall. So I got easy and small things she can eat in the morning to get something on her stomach. Today I go back because she's got a doctor's appointment.

Back to my friend. She helped me get out of this little rut that was about to turn into a canyon. It's the same old negative loop. I have a list of things I want to do. I get a great start in the morning. Then right after coffee, things go haywire. The doubts seep in. Why work on something and it won't turn out. Or no one  will like it. No one will buy it. No one will buy anything because nothing's finished. Then I get freaked out, think about my mother, getting a new job, and it just goes on and on. My friend told me to stop it. Find a beautiful picture of Scotland and put it where I can see it everyday. And tell myself that I need to work on and complete things so I can get there. Yesterday was a good day. Got more Frida dolls stuffed and put together. I didn't get to all on the list, but I got to that.

See, they look like aliens. This is one point where I would stop and do the bad thing of beating myself up. So when I get back from mom's, I will paint pretty faces. Have a great day y'all. Someone should.

Start, Stop, Start

Okay, this has been a weird six months. I relocated back to Michigan from North Carolina and I'm still adjusting. I'm now looking for some work and I'm okay with that. It was a big move and resources have been tapped. For awhile I felt like a failure and beat myself up a lot. But I've some wonderful friends who believe in me and my work and they have helped me get through a lot of things. I'm still learning about my new community but I'm ready to get back onto the creative bus. Train. Boat. It's time to put the big girl pants back on along with the tool belt and shoulder holster. And I'm working through one of my lists. Here's what I'm working on this week. Four projects need to be finished by the end of the week. Others need to be worked on.

I've got three cloth dolls to finish, two aliens to dress, a table runner to work on, a short story to retype, some doll dresses to make, and a purse to make. Wish me luck.

Other Things on My Table

I’m finally getting back to making more aliens. The first two sold at an art show in February, and then the sickness. And now the heat and humidity. Not great for baking things. But I shall persevere.

The pic above shows some heads and the beginnings of feet. I forgot to take a pic of the other heads. I’ve also been working on my Gail Wilson doll and finally got her head repainted. Her bloomers and slip are sewn. I will wait until I have her dress done and take a before and after the dye pic. I like her face a lot better. I used some paint from a previous G Wilson doll kit and did more on her eyes and made her lips darker and fuller. I will give her a light antiquing but no sanding this time.

April- No Pic Post

April. Here we are again. A new month. The fourth in the year and I feel so behind. But, I have a whole new month to create new things. I didn't work much on writing and that will have to change if I want to get something finished. And I'm already thinking Halloween.

I am ready for spring though. This year I want to go outside more. Go on more walks, go to the park and enjoy the birds and plants. I intend on spending more time out-of-doors and with friends. I see more one day trips in my future too. I will not dwell on what didn't get accomplished last month, even though I wonder where March went? It kind of doesn't matter because it's gone.

I started off the month by getting a commission for four Christmas ornaments. Yes, Christmas. And I got a deposit, which is great. For April, I want to finish and work on a lot. I will put it all on my list and see what happens. I still have my Good Things jar and I can't see the bottom anymore, so I guess I'm off to a good start with that. I've made 12 of 20 pieces of art for Lent and I have eight more to go.

APRIL
Finish:

• 3 rats
• 2 Gail Wilson dolls
• 7 aliens
• 4 bunners
• Regency romance short story rough draft

Work on:

• Halloween sketches for witches and other scaries
• summer blouse for me
• 3 scarecrows
• 3 paintings

That's my update for now. I'll be reporting back in on a regular. Take care.

Hello February!

Where did January go? It was a bit sad, so maybe it's a good thing it has been put into the archives. I got really sick towards the end and now I'm a bit behind my schedule. The good thing about schedules is that they can be changed. I did manage to get some new work done, yesterday and they are ready for the Small Art/Big Heart show and sale at Hampton House Art & Framing. The artwork has to be 12" or smaller and they rarely have 3D pieces, so I had to do something. I'm sure you might remember these guys, or at least two of them.

Larz and Juno.

Mixed media, polymer clay, cloth, wire armature, felt and self standing. That's the part I really like.

This is what they looked like before the paint job. Now I've got to finish the other two and get to some Halloween things. Have a great month.

31 Days of Halloween - 14

I know I won't make it a full 31 days but that's okay.  It was good having a personal challenge.  Will I do something like that again?  You bet.  Starting next month.  In two days.  But here is my latest.  An alien ornament out of felt.  He's cute.  I don't know if I like the buttons or not.  But he's done.

He's a grey.  I have green felt for little green men.  The top of the hat has chenille stem in it for a little posing. I do have other buttons I will try.  What do you think?

Soft Sculpture Workshop 2

This was a crazy week.  Heck, the past two weeks were crazy busy and dangerous.  Last week I almost got hit five times by cars and one city bus.  No one was paying attention.  It was Jupiter's fault.  Yep, that's it. Darn that Jupiter for being so close.  Any hoo, here is more of my workshop.

This the second day where we started to cover the foam face.  And yes, it is pantyhose.  The eyes have been rolled back to protect Lisa's wonderful paint job.

Alien eyes.  My marbles were green.  So out-of-space like, don't you think?  Once it was pinned, we had to carefully slit the hose.  That was scary.  Then we had to stitch the hose into place around the eyes and then the nose and mouth.

Right here, he still looks like a guy.  I was trying to channel a pirate.

Finished my aliens but they didn't come out the way I'd planned.  I made up the paper mache recipe and it was okay but not the effect that I wanted.  I have another recipe to try but another doll maker told me about something else that might do what I want it to do.  I'll get back with you on that. But here are my guys. Two factions: one the likes Earth and one that wants it totally obliterated.

They are totally goofy and it doesn't seem like the bad one will be taken seriously.  So back to the drawing board.  I like my paint job but I want more detail in the face.  I also like the idea of the placards that show their alliance.  We might be in trouble.  Or not.

In Progress

On the left we have three aliens.  On the right, we have three puppet heads.  The puppet heads are covered with Rigid Wrap and now everything will be covered with paper mache clay.

I got this recipe from Ultimate Paper Clay online.  I've been wanting to try this out because she (the chef of the recipe) said that you didn't need to have lots of paper strips and glue.  You do have to have your form made out to what you want it to look like.  I have made up my first batch and after my break, I will get some on my pieces.  My monster and alien puppet heads have a bit more detail on them than the one that will be a Day of the Dead head.  I'll let you know what happens.