France

well its official, I have a flight and a hotel room for France.  Still don't know if I'm traveling as a man or a woman, but baby I'm going!!!! Im so excited to have a week of peace to do nothing but create.  I cant wait to see what I can do with no limits or interruptions. 

some new work

I have been so busy, I have just been posting old stuff over.  Thats a cop-out.  I have made 2 new pieces.  I was keeping them quiet as Im not sure what will happen with them.  Art Doll Quartley had a call for book charters.  The challenge was to create one of your favorite charters from literature. 
I chose Christopher robin from Winne the Pooh.  I made a beautiful rain cloud, with the words "tut tut it looks like rain", I made a sweet umbrella from paper and wire and....that's where the good ideas ended.  I wont even show  you they attempts at the actual doll.  I made him from cloth, I made him from clay, I made him from everything I could find in the hundred acre forest with no success.  So I abandoned the idea of the challenge.

 Days later Olive asked me to read her one of her favorite book Everything on it.  This book was published after shels death by his children.  It is full of quintasensial silverstein poems and illistrations.  Lightbulb.  I love his quarquey drawings and charters.  So I attempted to do his drawings justice by bringint them to life

Original Pix used as inspiration

I made a cloth doll in the shape of a carrot.  His hair is made of lots of different green fabrics.  I made 2 smaller carrots to stick in his eyes.  I painted his face to appear more realistic, but I forgot to take a final pix.  I sent them on there way. 

I also did a smaller piece that is more of a wall hanging.  The original looks like this:

Me...a world traveler...well not just yet

Back in May, I applied for a passport.  I have a trip to France planed for fall.  I have traveled a bit throughout the US, Mexico and  Hawaii, but never to anywhere that required a passport.  I was giddy with excitement when the package arrived just a few short days later.  I expected this to take much longer.  I could hardly contain myself while ripping open the priority mail envelope.  I felt a book in there so I was confident it was not a "sorry we could not approve your passport"  note. 

A bench mark in my life.  This tiny book will open so many doors.  I have always enjoyed traveling, just for the sake of the adventure.  And now with this little blue book, the world is at my feet...where to go first?  where to go  next.. plans spin in my head.

I open the little blue book and immediately become sentimental, like when I spent time in Washington DC.  Proud to be an American...Connected to our forefathers...  The drawings and stories inside really hit home on the sacrifices others have made to give me this opportunity.  The photo was not as bad as I expected either!  With tears in my eyes and adventure in my heart, I read every bit of personal information on the first page. ( insert the sound of a needle scraping on a record) The horror, oh the horror

M...an M...does that mean male?  maybe to the government M means female?  they do thisgs ass backwards right?  alas..like everywhere in the world.  M does mean male.  So now I have my long awaited passport that documents Im male. 

So now I must fill out a name/sex change form and send everything back in.  I hope it goes smooth, otherwise I will start working on having my drivers licenses changes to match the passport.  Male/Female I just want to see France!!! 

I raised my son right!

My sons have been drug to every art show within 500 miles since they were born.  They did not always enjoy them when they were very young, but around age 5-6 they discovered that they could produce art and sell art at these gatherings.  They often spent the holiday season drawing Christmas cards and selling them for $1 at local craft fairs.  My youngest son who is just blessed with the ability to create beautiful portraits, would pick a lucky fool out of the crowd, quickly draw them and then approach them with his work.  Of course they had to buy it! He would sell them for $5.  Sometimes the kids made more that I did at shows!   
In juinor high and high school we often drove 3 1/2 hours to Santa fe for "gallery days" we would make deals, they could get 1 hour of skating at the skate park for every hour I got at the galleries. Well after a few trips, the skate time dwindled and the gallery time increased.  By the end of high school, the trip was spent gallery hoping and eating lovely food.   Both boys have grown up in an artistic home with lots of encouragement to create art and to obtain art from other artists.  My oldest Son, Sid, gave me this print today. 

 I love it.  He said he got it at a yard sale out of the FREE box.  He did his reascearch and fould several of them on sale on etsy/ebay for 15.00.  He was so proud of his find.  I spend most of my disposable income on Art.  I have a very small home so some of it is in storage, but I continue to do it.  My husband believes we should spend this extra money on gold.  How fun is that?  I cant wear it, look at it, or use it in in any fulfilling way!  any way. my son is now seeing the importance of acquiring  art. Im going to have it framed this week.
I too had some lucky finds.  I dont go to many yard sales as it is far to early to be up on a day off.  But because I had to go see a hospice patient at 5AM Saturday, that meant I was returning to my neighborhood around 7am.  I live in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Farmington.  This has many perks.  All my neighbors are very old and are in bed by 7pm (quiet) and when they pass, there children seem to just open the door and let folks take what they want.  Because the neighborhood is so old, this happens on a frequent basis.  2 right around the corner on Saturday.  I ask about all the art and jewelry first.     Family is usually still fighting over the jewelry, however they very rarely care about "the pictures"  I bought 3 Graciela Rodo Boulanger numbered signed prints that are just so cool (Ill take pix) I paid 5 cents each.  They first were marked 25 but when I mentioned they were for Olives room, the price was slashed!  I was sooooohappy with my 15 cent prints from this famous printmaker

The I came around the corner and found this

really bad pix of a really cool piece. hand signed #24 of 110 looks like it has been pulled on a press .  I get better photos.  It is really an impressive piece.  So maybe I will drag my ass out of bed early next weekend to see what treasures await the early birds!  Thanks my lovely son.  I will get the monkeys framed this week and hang then above my bed

Olive

I dont often post pix of Olive, but here is one I could not resist.  My very best friend Tanya Nagahiros parents gave this outfit to Olive.  She thought the pink hair would jazz up the outfit!  She is so deliciously chubby I just want to eat her up!

More Resin Animals

Awhile back I cast a flying pig, squirrel and baby in resin for some necklaces.  I have cast a few more pieces that Im going to try to turn into something over the next few days.  I think the moose will be a ring and I will use the buffalo as a pendant,  Not sure about the sheep and deer.  Nothing says sleek and sophisticated like a Moose ring!

Silly girl

I got some new colored pencils and have been playing with them lately.  I am on a moratorium from purchasing anything but the necessity's.  (saving for the France workshop with SLK)  but my colored pencils were so crappy, I broke down and got 2 nice sets of prismacolors.  Not cheep and Im feeling a bit guilty as they were defiantly not a necessity so Im trying to use them as much as I can. (I sometimes am able to convince myself that art supplies are just as important as food and shelter!) 

Ive been drawing on everything I can find, including this 1860's encyclopedia.  Im currently coloring on a cloth doll and I like the results.  The pencils blend well on the muslin.  Ill post her later.

I haven't posted in quite a bit just because I have been soooo busy.  My biggest accomplishment over the last few weeks has been the annual fund raiser for the downtown art walk. Each year Liz Stannard and I work very hard on a fundraiser in the spring.  I had an Idea 4 years ago to do a deck of cards.  We were able to get 54 pieces of fantastic art to sell from lots of local artist, but due to lack of funds, we were not able to get an actual deck of cards printed.  This year, when discussing the fund raiser, Liz encouraged me to attempt the deck of cards again but this time we had the funds to print the deck.  Elisabeth Isenburg works for the city suggested that we tie the project in with the centennial.  New Mexico has its 100th birthday this year.  A great Idea was born.  We had unbelievable participation from the art community.  Elizabeth was able to get the deck printed for us at an affordable price.  See Art Deck here.

She ordered 300 decks.  We started the sale at 5pm and we were sold out by 6:15.  We were also selling the actual art work.  I think we sold 21 pieces of art!  Each piece is 8X10 and sold for $50.  Its a great way for people to get a piece of art at a great price. 

My piece (top) is fabric and I used Images of Georgia O'Keeffe.  Brian Barlow, Sidney Martin and Ken Collins. 

If anyone is interested in a deck of cards, we are placing a 2nd order and will have more cards soon.  The cards are $12.  If your interested in any of the actual art (all posted on Facebook) let me know and I can hook you up!  Again each piece is only $50!!!

 

Michael Billie.

Michael Darmaty. 

 My son purchased this piece.  He was so excited, it is the first piece of art he had ever purchased! (usually I buy the art and he offers to hang it it his room!)