CMOE Dinosaur is finished!

I just took the final photos of my painted and adorned wooden dinosaur to benefit the Children's Museum of Evansville. I'm quite happy with how it turned out. You can see the project start to finish through this link. Start with the September post at the bottom of the link's page.

This angle shows the metallic paint a little bit. I used metallic paint on almost every inch of it. As you can see, my special touch that I was hiding from everyone was adding what I call glass blobs. These are actually little glass squares and I thought they would be perfect for this dinosaur.

I also adorned his toes with more glass blobs that show the metallic paint from underneath. The pictures just aren't doing the metallic paint justice. I just love the shimmer this guy has and the glass adds a little extra special sparkle.

The mouth is where you insert a quarter, this is after all what they have to collect donations for the museum in several local businesses. There will be a plastic coin collector belly where the giant hole is. I'm not actually sure who will be bidding for these dinosaurs and if they are businesses that will use this as a donation collection, but I kinda hope not. I think it would get nicked up, scratched and broken if it were just out in the public not being protected. I hope this will be viewed as artwork and not a donation box.

So there he is... I've wondered if I should name him since it wasn't asked of me, but since I usually title my work I will. I call him Seymour.

Feed me Seymour!

Thank you friends for your encouraging words and thoughts. It's been a fun project and I'm ready to move on to the next.

CMOE benefit project & PPF 29

I'm killing two birds with one stone here. It's Paint Party Friday and I want to tell you about a project I've got started. I've been asked to participate in a benefit for CMOE, a local children's museum. I am decorating a pre-made wooden "piggy bank" shaped like a dinosaur that you can insert a coin into its mouth and it swirls around and ends up in his belly. It will be auctioned off for their 5th Birthday Gala. I am honored to be asked to help and hope that my dinosaur will fetch a good price to help out the museum. I'm not going for a childlike theme, more of a serious piece with attitude... haha at least in my head!

It stands a couple feet high but as I paint on it, I've discovered there really isn't much surface area. So far, I've gesso'd it and ink'd it with india ink in my random pattern technique and now I've just started to add paint... metallic of course. I have more plans for this other than just painting but you'll have to tune in later to see what I've got up my sleeve ;)

gesso'd

 

ink'd

ink'd other side

adding the metallic paint

I've missed like 3 Paint Party Friday's and I'm just barely squeaking in for this one tonight! This week I've brought all my plants back into my greenhouse cause it's going to get pretty chilly tonight and it's time. Bringing all my plants in has turned out to be a big project (just like every year, how quick I forget!). I was hoping to be further along with my dinosaur by now, especially since the gala is this month... yikes! I'll make it, no worries.

Try to visit all the talent that is PPF! Til next time ;)
 

Dat ta da daaaaa... Sisterhood of the Traveling Sketchbooks!

Introducing.... Sisterhood of the Traveling Sketchbooks! I'm diggin' this sisterhood name thing so I thought I'd keep the name going. I can't take all the credit for this project though, Stephanie Corder of Dragonfly Designs Studio wrote me after I posted the original Sisterhood of the Traveling Book and joining. She writes...

"I've been thinking about this all morning- I think it would be so cool if you/we got a group together to each donate a book to this cause, rotating through the group and each person ending with a different book than the one they originally sent out.."

 So here it is! Thanks Stephanie, I like this idea so much that I do want to try this. Now I'm not exactly sure what a Round Robin is, but I think it goes something like what we are going to do here.

We are going to have 10 open slots for this first time around. There may be more (projects) later and we'll get some more books going or maybe one of you may want to take it on. The reason why I'm picking 10 is because I'm planning on doing a theme on the calendar year.  12 months = 12 people (Stephanie is in already since it's half her idea! and then me, of course ; so that makes 12) The reason for this is so it will go around faster than just the one original book. There will be 12 floating out there!

 We will each need to purchase a new sketch book for this project and keep in mind we'll be mailing these, so keep size and weight in mind for mailing purposes. So I haven't thought of all the details yet, but we'll each be assigned a month (by me, drawing in the hat style again) and we'll start our sketchbooks with that month, even if it's out of order. Each person will take one spread (the two pages you open up to) and do what they will with it. We'll each have 1 month to work on it and then we'll pass it to the next sister. Like I said, it's still in the planning stage, but I thought that was the bones of it and whoever the first 10 people are, we can all come up with the plan together. By the time the project is over, a year will have gone by and we will each get back our original sketchbook and we'll have a wonderful piece of art and great memories to go with it. It will also bring all of us "Sisters" together and form a common bond... Sisterhood Artist.

I don't have any sisters so this is very appealing to me and I hope you all will embrace this project like the original Sisterhood... Of course we can only take 10 this time, so hurry and sign up if you think this is something you can commit to and enjoy. Like I said, maybe someone will be inspired to start another one if it fills up and more are wanting in. 

Let it begin!

Whose First for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Book?

Who is the first to get the book Making Room for Art through our Sisterhood of the Traveling Book project??? Fist some teaser pictures of my little amigo here... hee hee. Today he got to pick the "winner" I hate to use the word winner, because we're all winners! If this goes as planned everyone who entered will have the chance to have the book sent to them. 

Selecting...

We have a winner...

Yay T over at Poppy Place! So it's going to Oregon. Now T hasn't been feeling very well lately so I hope this brightens her day. I know she'll have something great to contribute to the book. She is an accomplished photographer and painter among many other things.

I want to thank everyone for encouraging this idea of mine and playing along. I've had a little more time to think about how I hope this Sisterhood of the Traveling Book will work and I'd like to share it with you now. Here's what I hope will happen with the book and when you get the book, feel free to copy and paste this as a suggestion:

The Sister in possession of the book:

• Blog that you've got the book!!
• Read it, scan it or just pick out the parts you want to read
• Doodle along pages remembering that it will go to many others (hopefully) so leave some room 
• underline things you think are important or add writing or beg to differ... just add your thoughts or inspiration. You get the idea ;)
• Feel free (prodding here) to post anything you've added with snapshots or scans either in the process or after your done and please make sure email me, cause I am adding a tab to my blog just for this project and will post your pics here too. It doesn't have to be an elaborate post. 
• When your done with the book, please pick from one of the "Sisters" that have already indicated they want to participate. (This is a small change from original plan) I plan to send all the brightly colored tabs of paper with names on it, so this will be easy. This will save you time from having to host your own "giveaway" on your blog. You can announce who the next Sister is and get her address then. So I guess we all need to be following each other or you can get access to their blog from mine and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Book post. 

So I guess the last person is the luckiest, because she will get to keep this beautiful and meaningful journal that just happens to include a book inside it from all these wonderful "sisters". I don't know what we'll do after that, do another one? We'll decide later.

So T, send me your mailing address Sistah! You are the first! (well I guess technically second, hee hee)

If anyone has any other ideas or suggestion, lets hear it. I mentioned that today I had an announcement and I do, but I'm going to post that in another post later today so it will be separate. I will tell you this: It will involve a limited number of people (10) and the first ten who sign up get to do it.

Bye for now Sistah's!!!

Bad Blogger, baaaaaadd

Chickadee Birdhouse

Houses 2 families of Chickadees (1 on each side)

I just haven't been motivated to blog lately. I have been in some roller coaster moods lately. I started out this year rather melancholy and I can't seem to shake it. Just when I think I'm coming around the bend and seeing some light again... BAM. Maybe I've just been acting like I'm coming around, who knows. I haven't done any art in a while other than paint this bird house for my husband. It's not exactly Monet, more like paint by numbers. He's a woodworker and made this from scratch for his mother for Christmas. He made two and this is the second one for a friend of his.

I had this grand plan of getting up there in my studio and painting and drawing and creating, after I got it in order that is. Yep, that hasn't happened. The hubz has gone on this new shift and I hate it. It is week two for thirds and I don't know if I'll ever get used to this. I sit here in my robe for hours and don't accomplish much. I did start to go through a box of things of my mothers (that are smack dab right in the middle of said studio) and ran across a little ceramic perfume sprayer. Shalimar was my mom's signature scent and I knew better than to do what I did, but I couldn't stop myself. I knew what the pretty little container held. Smell, for me, is a powerful thing. I smelled it anyway and WhamOO! Instantly I was flung into another universe of time and memories flashed before me and I actually cried out loud in pain and wept and wept that night. It feels like it's all new again and I am disbelief that she is gone even though the second Christmas has gone by without her. I have never looked up the 7 stages of grief, even though I've meant to, I wonder if I've gone through them all yet?

Enough. I'm really trying not to wallow here. I feel like that new Speaker of the House John Boehner. I feel so sorry for that man. I totally understand his emotional candor. I too, where my heart on my sleeve and can cry at what seems like the most ridiculous things but I think what it comes down to is associations. I'm an empathizer for sure. I associate everything with everything. You know that 6 degrees thing? It seems like my mantra... haha   Not really, but you get the idea. One thing or thought leads to another.

Christmas Decor tour

Welcome to our Christmas Home Tour!

I've got lots of pictures, so I'll try to keep it short and sweet.

Our Christmas tree, as you may know, didn't get it's usual decadent treatment this year due to the kittens and Asher. It's a pitiful little thing but it does have some ornaments that we've made together to liven it up that I'm sure I'll treasure down the line if they make it past this year! Ha ha...

Let the embarrassment begin.

Poor crushed tree

Our tree started out looking nice and fluffed up. For about a hour. He started to put the cats in it and just flattened it and then the lights started getting pulled every which way so I gave up. That's when I came up with the home made ornament idea and thought I'd dress up other areas of the house that I'm going to show you :)

Star cut out by me and glitter by Asher.

Ornament shape

Star topper

Here's what I've got scattered around the living room, dining room and entry.
So when you enter my home the first thing you see is our staircase and my old upright grand piano all decked out with shiny tinsel.

Stairs that lead to my studio to the right

An angel that my mom gave me. I'm afraid to add her to the top of tree so I added her here

I like the white from this magnolia. I wish I had bought more last year when they were marked down so cheap.  I may do more white in the coming years because my house is so dark.

As you turn left, you enter the living room and see the fireplace glowing with my poinsettia garland that I added twinkle lights to.

and the stockings all hung from the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicolas soon would be there

I like this the best I think, the fireplace with this garland.

So as you walk towards the dining room, the stairs to the basement gets gussied up with a wreath.

Here's my snowmen gourds! Yes, I kept them ;^) I normally have my grandmothers very old nativity set here, but thought it best not to get it out with the kittens jumping up and playing with everything.

Snowmen gourds

And here is a print out of all these pictures I took of Asher during his first Christmas. I keep meaning to find a cute frame for it to display better, but I just have it leaned up in this area for now. He was 9 months old. Oh, how cute!

Look at that toothless grin!

So here is the same hat, same kid... only here he is 4 and three quarters! My how time flies!

With the twins...

Asher, Lightning (L) and Thunder (R)

Finally with Zoey...

Buddies

So I tried to get cute and put the hat on the dog, but she just wanted to chew on it and now it stinks like dog. Thank goodness for Febreeze.

That's about it. Notice there are no presents under the tree because Santa hasn't come yet. At the rate Asher is going he may find out what a lump of coal is this year. Sorry this turned out to be longer than I intended but I felt you all needed the details of the tour... hee hee

Merry Christmas to you all my friends!

Making kitty proof ornaments for our Christmas Tree

Star for top of Christmas Tree

Here are some pictures from our ornament making session last night. There was a lot of blood, sweat, tears and glitter glue. The star he's working on is for the top of the tree. We are in my very cramped studio. I still haven't gotten the larger room ready to turn into a studio. Actually, I'm taking over the whole upstairs and keeping this yellow room I'm going to call my "Drawing Studio" because I have a drafting table in it that was my dad's. I'll use the other room for mixed media maybe. I'm not sure yet. I don't know yet if it will even work, but we'll see. See my studio pictures here.

apparently it needed more glitter

Tada!

Well it got ugly before it ended but that's life with a four year old. He's in time out as I write this... haha...

We made more ornaments today and used yet even more glitter and put up the ornaments that had dried from last night. They won't win any contests but we had fun and the memories will last a lifetime, but the ornaments may not last the season with the kittens. I'll just have to take more pictures.

I thought no better the day to start this back up again. It may be sporadic, but oh well, it's here today :)

"This Artists Observations of the Day"

Feeling of the day: relieved (I don't have to get out in the cold!)

I'm grateful for: glitter glue

I am wearing: purple and blue

I thought about today: things I can do once the holidays are over (sheepish grin)

I miss: carefree living

Best thing I did today: Put up ornaments on Christmas tree that we made together

Today I visited: ArtsyShark - Own your identity as an artist

Wednesday

gonna be a hot and humid one today! I've put off getting groceries as long as possible. guess I'll be hitting Wal-Hell today. ugh.

Well I got some work done on some of my art projects I've got going right now, just need to make sure I finish them.  I think I'm going to paint some poppies on the pots that I primed and paint faces on the plant markers my husband cut out for me and I painted yesterday.

I'm getting ready to go outside and transplant some flowers to sell in the Farmer's Market this weekend! (even though the moon is in Aries, not a good planting sign) but, this is when I have the time. :)