Top Three Laughing Babies

This is hysterical--one of the reasons people survive as a species, I'm sure! The #1's all look like my brother in law, James!

Dotee Dolls!

Now there is the cutest fad going around in the crafty art doll and Swapping world--Dotee Dolls! They are little finger long dolls shaped rather like Good n Plentys with faces, beaded tails and fancy hair, with a loop to hang them. Here are two I made for a swap on Swap-bot:















The next picture is of three other dolls I made for swaps--the two on the sides are "icicle dolls" and the little one in the center was for a Goddess Doll Swap:


They're fun and easy to make, quick because they are small, but no limit on how much embellishment you can add to make them really special!

My First Juried Exhibition!

Ok, here I am grinning ear to ear with my very first entry accepted into a juried art show!

The 65th Annual Connecticut Artists Juried Exhibition at the Slater Museum in Norwich, CT. This was my third try to enter something into this local but prestigious (to me!) show.

The piece is a collage called Circular Generation and it's composition came from a collection of circular and flowing items that are arranged to represent the circular flow of life itself, from the little ways day-to day activities can lead us back to beginnings and the large circle of life where we all return to the beginning one way or another. It's a little piece with a lot of meaning.

Here's a close-up:

How to Become a "Real " Artist

That's the question. I've been pondering this concept for a while now, and having just had my first artwork accepted into a major (for our area) Museum Art Show, I feel like I can take the whole thing more seriously.

I subscribe to three Art business newsletters:

Fineartviews by Clint Watson

Robert Genn's Twice Weekly Letter

and just newly subscribed to: Art Marketing Action newsletter from Alyson B. Stanfield
Here's info about her new book:
I'd Rather Be In the Studio: The Artists No-excuse Guide to Self Promotion(.pdf)

They communicate with each other, so they contribute to each others' information to confirm and recommend the best ways to work out the business of being an artist.

It's a little overwhelming at times, and sometimes I feel like I'm reading and researching too much and not making art enough, so I have to make some decisions. Winter has been a time for research and pondering though, so as spring peeks around the corner, I'm making more plans to do art instead of just thinking and talking about it.

No Time, oil on canvas, 13.5" x 15.5"

Last lunar eclipse till 2010

I caught this one picture of the lunar eclipse starting tonight, no tripod, I had to use my car!

ArtandCraftAuctions

I've listed a collage on the new website to be part of it all, I have to work on gathering other pieces to list this week, so watch for them.

This is the site for my current piece listed today

"Eye of the Storm"
mixed media, 11" x 8.5"

New Auction site for Art only!

Well, Ebay pissed off enough people to get boycotted this week, and to send many of the self-representing artists scrambling to create a home of their own. It's http://www.artandcraftauctions.com/ and should be up and running sometime this afternoon.

It's going to be an auction site where only Fine Arts and Crafts and supplies will be up for bid, and no big corporate businesses, powersellers with a zillion satelite sellers scattered all over, but the real artists themselves.

I'm hoping I can get in with some of mine to help get them off the ground, I know the 250 charter members will be rushing the "doors" this afternoon to register and get in, so check them out a little later on when things have quieted down somewhat.

Later!

More Snow!

The snow came again in the night last night, soft and quiet, it piled up on the trees and the cars. I managed to get out of my driveway just before the big maple at the end of the drive gave way under the weight of the heavy snow and came crashing down on across the driveway, taking the power, cable and phone lines with it! Strangely enough, that line powers the big house, which still has power, but the little house out back which is on another line altogether is without pawer, cable or phone. Strange quirky things happen sometimes, I guess.

It's stopped snowing now, around noonish, and the drive at work has been plowed and the snow is melting across the blacktop so with luck my drive home will be easier than the drive in. Nothing had been much plowed and it took me an hour for the normally 1/2 hour drive.

It looks great though! like a winter wonderland. Pictures will be forthcoming!

Enjoy!
Cyn

End of the year is nigh!

The weather has been weird, but, hey, it's New England. We had a pile of snow a couple of weeks ago that turned to rock hard ice on the driveway, treacherous to try to walk or drive on, and nearly impossible to clear away, then it got warm, in the low 50s and the driveway and paths all cleared just in time for Christmas, but enough snow stayed around for looks, and now it's raining again. January and February will probably bring more snow and ice, and thaws like normal.
We'll manage, though Fred has been thinking about moving to North or South Carolina, and counting the weeks until spring is supposed to come.

Check out my Slide Show!

Making Matchboxes from Scratch

I've been in at least ten swaps of decorated and filled matchboxes. I know ten, because I bought a ten-pack of small matchboxes aw Wal-Mart and used them up--except for the wooden matches which I out in a jar, waiting for something creative besides using them to start our outdoor fireplace.

So I decided to take one apart and make a template so I could make my own out of sturdy cardstock as I need them for various creative endeavors.
This is the basic pattern. I use Hammermill 110lb cardstock from Staples , or Georgia Pacific 110 lb I found at Wal-Mart. I prefer the Hammermill because it seems a smoother finish, good for printing color images on.
















These are some samples of templates that I decorated in Photoshop, ready to cut out, assemble and further embellish, or not.

December already?!

Wow, time does fly when you're having fun, or just crazy-busy!

Ice and rain this week, no real snow yet!

Sat., Dec 1, I did another workshop at the Putnam Library, this time on making handmade holiday cards, and 6 people signed up, but only two showed up. Disappointing, but we had fun anyway! Their loss!

I got to bring two of my "grand-friends" (my best friend's granddaughters age 10 and 8) and Pat from the Library participated and some really beautiful cards were made and taken home.

The reporter form the Reminder News came and took pictures and interviewed people, and there were pictures and a nice article in the paper, though I have yet to see it--I have to get one soon!

I'm all caught up with my Swap-bot swaps again, and haven't signed up for many new ones--a few in January and February. It's too addictive to let go completely!

I do want to get some other art going now though. The old gym at work is being heated, so I'm going to bring my paints and supplies in to work on some ideas that have been mulling around in my head for a while now. It'll be a nice change of scenery!

Take care and have bright and happy holidays!
Cyn

Check out my Slide Show!

Check out my Slide Show!

Giant Tag Sale

Our art guild (Northeastern CT Art Guild is having a Giant Tag Sale next weekend (Oct 5&6) at the Sunshine Shop Greenhouse on Upper Maple Street in Danielson, CT

We had one last year that was a good time and raised us a nice sized chunk of change to help fund some of the programs we run monthly in the guild.
Lots of cool stuff is donated and sold for good prices some antiques, some art, some household items, lots of eclectic collections of things you just might need. So if you are in our area, stop on by between 9am and 3pm each day and see what treasures you might find.

I hear there may be some tasty bake sale items, too!

Summertime, summertime

Well, three weeks have passed like a blink, mostly because my 9 year old granddaughter was here! Time passes so quickly when you are having fun! I didn't get much art done at all, save a few ATCs here and there, but now I have time to get to it once again.

I had so many plans for this summer and it's already August and nothing much has been done, but, oh, well, que sera, sera! I'll do what I can as I can.

My sister is up from Virginia with her cool quilting and embroidery machines (both of which cost more than my "new" car (see a picture of that below in an earlier post). We'll have some time to play with them soon, too!

So for now, best laid plans, blah, blah, blah..and time marches on!

More Exploration

We're all on a road to discovery, like it or not. Every day something new comes before us to see, like or dislike, enjoy or toss--but it's all part of the journey.

In my Art Journey I'm exploring a lot of mediums, and having a good time doing it! This past week I've made about 20 ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) through collage, photography and painting. I've painted three little cars as part of an altered car swap, I made my first watercolor painting (not too bad), and am pondering the wire flux welder sitting in my garage!

It's scary, and is probably one of the biggest challenges I've come across in a long while. You can't see or feel what you are doing, because you have to protect your eyes with a black lens, and your hands with thick leather gloves. And then you have to guide a thin wire along the seam between two pieces of metal you want to join at an even pace without melting the whole thing because it's spitting out a zillion degrees of electric current!

My first effort was pitiful, but I'll try until I get it. I have plans for that welder!

The Glimmer-Mobile!

Here it is--Well this is not an actual picture of MY car, but the same year, model and color(except for the sunroof, none on mine!). In all the rushing to the DMV and back again, I forgot my camera today or I'd have a real pic. It's lovely to drive! All sorts of power this and that, and air conditioning! My Neon's A/C had stopped working two years ago, and I got really adept at finding shady parking spots all around town. No more of that!

Anyway, it's fun to have something new and NICE for a change! Its silvery shimmer in the sun is very satisfying to the sparkle-loving crow in me!

"New" Car!

Tonight after work, I go pick up my new-to-me 2001 PT Cruiser! My trusty 95 Dodge Neon is still running fine, with over 178k miles on it, but I need a taller car because of my bad knees. The Neon sits too close to the ground. As luck would have it, I found a great deal on this PT Cruiser and was on the spot the first one to look at it, and put "dibs' on it while I scrambled around trying to put the money together. For a change, things worked out all the way around, because now, my son, Terry, aka Vaughn(He really wants to change his name and I'm trying to get used to calling him that, really I am!) has been driving a total gas hog, a 93 chevy blazer stuck in 4WD to make his thrice-weekly 50 mi roundtrips to dialysis. Two thirds of his miniscule Social Security income has been going into that gas tank every month!! We're having to help him along with food and sundries, and he sleeps on the floor at my mom's house because it's the only space available. Even if there was a Housing authority apartment or room come available, he doesn't have the money to move in! This kidney disease is hard on a 33 year old who still would like to have some semblance of a life! Anyway, I'm giving him the Neon--its 32 mpg will help a lot, and he can sell the truck and use that money for gas and registration and insurance for a while.

What do you mean you're not artistic???

I just want to say that ATCs are the best way to get over the idea that you aren't artistic! Anything really does go with this art form.

I've seen them made of polymer clay, small sheets of embossed copper, pieces of glass taped around the edges like a stained glass piece, plastic from milk jugs, cardboard, plywood, fabric, burlap, laminated leaves, crochet, knitting, and the list goes on infinitely. In the outer larger world of ATC trading, there are no rules other than the 2.5 x 3.5" dimensions.

I've seen some that have parts attached by brads that you can pivot and unfold to show a person with arms and legs and/or wings, that all fold back up into the 2.5 x 3.5 size. There are little houses that are three-dimensional when unfolded, but they still comply. There are little ATC zines and books that are accordion-folded with many pages, or folded in a certain way to be an 8 page book made form one sheet of paper.

They come with strings and fibers and ribbons and beads and tags and stars and feathers and bones and playing cards, watch parts, optical glass, scrap booking die-cuts, rubber stamps, linoleum prints, woodcuts, etchings, pen and ink drawings, acrylic paintings, oil paintings, pastels, pencils--graphite and colored, watercolors and crayons.

Don't let anything limit you in this terrific art form, let your imagination fly free and make it small!! I particularly like doing a sheet of card stock all over with ink doodling then cut it up, using the ten-card template, into ten cards. Even if you photocopy the whole sheet and turn it upside down, you can get ten different cards off the same design! Then color it, ten more, then cut them into pieces and glue them onto a sheet of colored stock--ten more! And that's just one simple technique!

The ATC-world is your oyster--eat it up!..."