Life keeps getting in my way!

I have been slowly working on my faces, but I can't say I am moving very fast.  Life keeps interrupting me.  My neice was ill for while and we were all concerned about her welfare; my job has just been murder with flip-flopping shifts and meetings, meetings, meetings.  I am just about to pull my hair out.

Tomorrow is my next to the last pottery class and I don't feel like I have learned enough to be through with this.  I will try to hang on and then take a hand building class, so I can feel like I have given this a real try.

The little work I have done on art has been on my faces, so here is where I am today.  I hope to be able to complete these faces soon and begin on the pastel of the poppies and my portrait of Satchmo.

I missed my pottery class, AGAIN!

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday I was to go to my pottery class and I really did intend to go.  My niece is having a bit of a crisis right now and I got tied up talking to her on the phone.  Then my youngest daughter called and wanted to know what was going on with her cousin.  By the time I got off the phone, I was going to be late--but I got in the car and started driving to class anyway.  Halfway there, I realized that I had forgotten to pick up the DVD I needed to return to my friend, Andy, at class.  Oh well, there is always next week.

So I finally got there and was 45 minutes late.  As I got out of the car, I realized that I had also forgotten my towel, apron and tools.  Great!  At that point, I decided that someone was telling me not to go to class.  I got back into my car and went home. 

I really like this class even though I am no good at it.  I want to learn how to do this, so what is the problem?  I really don't know.  I love playing in mud and making mud pies, so that's not it.  I know I am not good at this, but I am learning and that's okay.  I don't know what the deal is.

Next week I will make myself go.  I will have to figure out what my problem is and deal with it.  In the meantime, I will work on my pictures and try to finish one of them.

Happy Easter Bunnies

Here's a quick Easter activity you can do with your children to decorate their bedroom doors.  Make these cute Easter Bunny Door Hangers out of craft foam.  These should only take a short time to make and the kids will get a big kick out of making their own decorations.

Here's where I found this guide

Happy Bunnies

Supplies:

Printable Happy Easter Bunny Pattern
White craft foam (you can use cardboard instead)
Chenille Stems (2 colour of choice)
Scrap ribbon piece for bow (you can paint this instead)
Pencil crayons (markers work too, but I like the pencils better)
Permanent Marker or paint pen
Tacky glue

Happy Easter Bunnies

How to:

Print out the full-size bunny pattern and trace it onto a sheet of white craft foam (or cardboard) and cut around outside lines.

Using a coloured pencil, tilted to the side slightly with the point of the pencil facing away from the foam piece, colour the perimeter of the pattern pieces. Refer to photo. The pencils create a nice shading effect, where as markers will be a little more defined.

Following the lines on the pattern, shade the circles around the bunny's feet, tummy and ears with the same colour as used on the perimeter of the bunny. To paint the bunny's face, use a black permanent marker and a red pencil to shade the rosy cheeks. Using a green pencil draw little lines at the bottom of the bunny for a little grass. Tie a bow with a scrap ribbon piece and glue in place at the bunny's neck.

Refer to the photo often for colouring and details. Using a permanent marker write "Happy Easter" across the ribbon banner. Poke holes where indicated on the banner and on the bunny. I used a sharp toothpick for this. Chenille stems can poke the holes, but it is a little more difficult. You don't need a large hole, just toothpick size.

Twist one chenille stem around a pencil to create a swirl and insert the ends into the top of the ribbon banner. Insert just enough to be able to twist the chenille stem up to secure in place (about 1/2 inch). Cut a second chenille stem in thirds and wrap two pieces around a pencil to create a swirl. Insert one end of one piece of the twisted chenille stem, into the ribbon banner and the other end into the bunny ear hole. Fold the stem up to secure. Repeat for second hanger on bunny ear.

Sign your name on the back with a pen or marker and Happy Easter!

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More work on my faces

I worked a bit more on my faces and wanted to share the outcome.  I like that by posting pictures, I have a concrete way to see progress.  It is easy to forget what you did and when you did it, so this really helps me stay on top of my goals.  I am really liking this particular piece, even if it is just for practice.  I can see several places that need changes and  I still need to do the detail work on each face, but I am holding off until I get all 5 faces with the initial layers.  Once that is done, I plan to work on each face individually to add the finishing touches and then to work on the piece as a whole to unify it and make it all work together.

I am also still working on my dark-skinned face, but I am in the stage where I have to look at it for a while to decide what I do like and what still needs to be done.  I hate that I have to think so much when I paint, but that is how I am so I'll just go with it.

I am also in the mood to make more art dolls with paper clay now that I am taking the pottery class.  I really like the feel of making something with my hands--taking a lump and turning it into something else.

I am still working on the portrait of my dog, Satchmo, also.  I will show you my progress soon!

I found another wonderful artist I'd like to share with you

I was surfing the net, as is my custom, late last evening and I came across the most wonderful art dolls.  I am truly in love.  These little babies are so cute and full of innocence.  Just looking at them makes you smile.
This artist, Gina Gabriel, has a shop in Dublin, CA called Tangerine where she sells her beautiful wares as well as a collection of other artists beautiful things. 

I found her on a website called ElevenMorning, but then moved to her blogs and her Etsy site to see all the wonderous things there.  Here are just a few of the Art Dolls that you will see when you visit her site:

Aren't these just too cute and don't you just smile to yourself when you see them?  I hope you will visit her and let her know that I sent you, won't you?

Some new work started!

I had my pottery class this week and I have to say that I am getting better.  I actually pulled two pieces without any help and I even like them.  I also got to clean up and sand my other pieces to prepare them for glazing next week.  You should have seen me when I left there.  I was absolutely covered in clay.  I don't know if I am the messiest potter in the world, or if that simply is how you do it.

I also worked on another of my faces that I am doing for practice, and I like it quite a bit.  I am trying to get five faces started, then I will go back and rework each separately to add detail and definition.  I am trying to figure out what to do with the background, too, since I did not paint it first.  Oh, well.  Live and learn is fast becoming my motto.

Here are two more pictures I am starting.  The first will be another pastel of poppies.  It is very small and will have a diffuse and mottled background with only these flowers in the foreground having definition.  The second is a picture of my dog, Satchmo.  I found a great video on YouTube so I thought I would try her way of painting a pet portrait.




 







Here's the video:

Twisted Dolls - Creepy Little Sweeties (play at your own risk)

Here is a really great blog entry that describes why these types of art dolls are so popular.  We have always liked gross and scary--why else do scary movies make so much money? I found this post on the blog, HandMadeNews.  I enjoyed reading it and I hope you will, too.  The pictures are great and I even recognized the artists!  Be sure to check out the links to the various artists' sites for even more wonderful art dolls.

---

March 22, 2010 | By

Twisted Dolls - Play at your
own RISK!

The trend of dolls made to
reflect their owner'sinner child
may not be a new one. Handmade
dollswith that idea in mind have
been seen on the marketfor some
time now. However, the people
makingand purchasing horror dolls have inner children
with teeth and that is a totally, different story.
These dolls are truly like no other. They are
influenced by horror movies, books, music,
twisted childhoods, imaginary friends bad dreams
and so forth. One of the originators of this trend could be
said to be,The Living Dead Dolls. They were originally
handmade in 1998 and are now produced and available in
mainstream venues. Some handmade horror dollmakers
distance themselves from these
origins through theoriginal concepts
surrounding their dolls, as well as,
the distinction of being, "art dolls". 
Art dolls are typically just as their
name implies pieces of art. They are
individual in concept, execution and
display. These dolls are not toys.
They are expressions of ideas and
imagerythat speaks to their creators
and to those that purchase them. There are other differences
between horror art dolls and other art dolls.  These dolls embody
such things as sideshow freaks, horror victims and monsters,
disfigured children and adults.  They are truly some of the terrors
of humanity.  So you ask, why would anyone want a doll the
likes of these?  The resurgence of Victorian styles is a huge
trend that crosses over into a million others. Including
this one.  The Victorians had a real need to see and collect
oddities. There is also the in growing interest in places such as the
Mutter Museum, which is full of medical examples of naturally
occurring strangeness.  Another area of growing interest is the
history of carnivals and freak shows.    Add all of these things together
and you have all the reason you need for horror art dolls to have all the
adoring fans they're makers can handle.

These dolls are made from everything
you can imagine! You do not
have to be a traditional doll maker to
enjoy this trend!

For example
Polymer Clay - missmillificent 
Recovered/Recycled Dolls -
Sweetbutnotsourscreations 
Assemblage Art - readbetweenlines
Resin - Creepydolls


For generations dolls and sweet little girls have been like peanut
butter and banana sandwiches and bacon. They just to go together.
Well, just like little girls, dolls have changed. They aren't cute and
sweet anymore. There are little girls with skull hair bows and
black nail polish and there are dollies with stitches in their faces
and mix matched eyeballs. They are both creepy and neither
would look out of place in a cemetery. That being said, I for one
am glad to see them! Of course, I'm not the only one. This trend
has dug in its claws and won't let go no matter how much we
scream! (Scream for more that is!)











IMAGES in order of appearance
Ghost Doll Porcelain Repaint Gothic Horror by kittykatsue
Warrior Gothic Dead OOAK Horror Prop Doll Dark Art by DLMarian
Unique OOAK Hand Stitched Rag Doll Original 
Creepy Gothic Folk Art By Jodi Cain/ TatteredRags
Octowoman by mealymonster

LINKS to the world of unique art dolls
Strangedolls.net
Gail Lackey
Strange Moonart 
Demon Kids
INFLUENCES for your consideration
Jon Beinart
Morbid Anatomy 
The Human Marvels
Underbunny flickr
The Quay Brothers
Natural History Museum

Xane Dravor Likes the darker side of crafting. If it is dark, full of teeth and covered in stuff best left to nightmares, she might have it on her shelf somewhere. Sculpture and paintings being her primary mediums. Come by and see what we mean at - House Morbid Ltd