Happiness Cups

Most of us can probably remember hearing our elders complain about how the world has gone to hell. It sort of seems like it has. So rather than belly aching about it, I have made happiness cups.

These cups can make you happy. Fill it with candy. Happy. Fill it with flowers. Happy. Fill it with vodka. Very happy.

Wishing you all a happy new year. Watch my Etsy shop for a lot of happiness cups. Hold good thoughts and believe it can get better.

Holiday Sale on my Etsy Shop

It's that time of year. I have going on in my Etsy shop! Just in time for the holidays. Have fun and Merry Christmas.

Sketching you own ideas

I have been sketching for the past 2 days. Developing my ideas. Gosh, how I wish more people would sketch their own ideas instead of stealing them from other artists. Stealing is bad.

Sketch. It's good for you. Be creative, unique and you.

New Bits

Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. I've had an awful upper respiratory infection and have been knocked out for a week. I've actually had it for over a month but it knocked me on my butt this week. I've got my antibiotics so I am hopeful it takes care of everything. So I've been doing a bit of painting and reworking old figures when I am able.

 I think I have finished these two.  A person sent me a message and referred to the "lavender bird girl" so I am calling this one Lavender Raven.

 And keeping with the bird theme this is Chicken Man even though it's a girl. Do any of you remember Chicken Man? The adventures of the white winged warrior- The most fantastic crime-fighter the world has ever known! Or am I the only weirdo out there?  I can remember hearing it on the radio when I was very little. It's a bird, it's a plane... no it's Chicken Man! He's everywhere! He's everywhere! Bock bock bock bock!!! (Please, excuse me. I blame it on the NyQuil).

Being the explorer that I am I just had to Google it and of course I found it on YouTube. So won't you join me in my cough syrup antibiotic madness? It's really so silly but it brings back really fond childhood memories. Had almost forgotten about it. Enjoy both chicken men.

New Little Faces

Spread love everywhere you go: First of all in your own house...kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness. ~ Mother Teresa 

 I told my students today that if you have passion for what you do you will find success as an artist. If you live your truth and are happy you can't go wrong. Here I am at 50. Nothing pulls me from making art. It's my comfort in the sea of madness that engulfs our world.

These little faces calm me. Fresh faced and freckles provide a sense of innocence that I still believe in. The past few weeks  have shown me that I need nice people around. Cut ties with the negative.

Kind people who think make my heart sing. Find a way to let your heart sing.

You've Got to Work It.

You've got to rework it is more like it. Normally my studio wall has pieces displayed that are either fresh made, ready for the gallery, or hate it and it's ready for "hammer time". Hammer time is when I take a hammer and smash the crap out of them. I mean I can't let yucky ones out there into the world. That would be so wrong.
So I have been reworking these. And now I am liking them. And it's taking my mind off this awful election.

New hair. New puppets, new body, feathers, wings. 

If life was only so easy.

Can you imagine how this would change bad hair days? I'd scoop out a new bob or braids. Take some fat off the thighs. Add wings. Perfect.

Just goes to show you, nothing is lost until it is... Or is it?

Smooth Sailing!

“hark, now hear the sailors cry,
smell the sea, and feel the sky
let your soul & spirit fly, into the mystic...”
Van Morrison

 

 It feels like the world has gone absolutely mad and I just want smooth water. My little fingers are crossed because think I found a summer get-away in my hometown. The inspection is tomorrow.

 There are visions of summers along the St. Lawrence River. Summer days in my studio in New York. That sounds so nice to me.

The property has a garage with a large loft, that looks like a perfect space for a studio. Hoping for good news on the inspection. But as Ricky Scaggs sings, “I can't control the wind but I can adjust the sail.”

 So we wait

And these little ceramic girls have sails they never need to adjust.

Boat Sculpture

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” 

 H. Jackson Brown Jr., PS I love You.
   

The subject of boats seem to raise their head every now and then in my art. My dad worked on and restored boats and it turns out I had ancestors who were Admirals in the Royal Navy way back in the day. So boats mean a lot to me symbolically. And I think the quote above speaks why a lot of us connect to them.

 Going to keep the colors very soft. Watercolor is my favorite paint medium. By far. Making my own masts from bits of wood.

 You can even see my finger prints in this face detail. How I love seeing the presence of the human hand in a work of art.

So today throw off the bowlines and sail.

Free standing sculptures

A friend of mine recently said could you make a few figures that are freestanding. So I did. I didn't want to fuss with skinny legs and bases so I thought about ways of doing it.

 And I remembered as a child I dreamed of owning a horse. I would hold old tv tray legs around me and gallop through the yard and I was on a horse. Or a broom, or branch, or anything really.

And rather than making them like real horses I look into my kooky mind for hybrid beasts.

This one is called Lies and Lies and it's based on genealogy research I have done. I've really gotten into family trees and DNA tests this summer (Ancestry and FamilyTree). My paternal grandfather was always a mystery and thank you to my brother for the yDNA now I know my grandfather's name. Why do families lie? I mean I know why because people get pregnant when they're not married or mess with married people. But the mystery is solved and my last name was actually my grandfather's middle name. Funny. So watch for a lot of work based on family history research. Another new passion: just what I needed.

Updated my studio

The good news is I revamped my studio. Light and bright. Lately I am so into white. Maybe I am subconsciously craving snow? (Ah, no!!) Here's a picture I snapped last night.

The good news is I love it, the bad news while laying the bamboo flooring I dropped heavy planks on my "good foot" and am waiting for x-rays to see if there are broken bones. Can't put a shoe on my foot, but who would want to with that fuzzy rug? (I joke) Well, half joke. Thinking about painting my ware boards white. Fingers crossed I don't need another cast. Will keep you posted.

Bugging Out

Thought I'd mention a couple of shows where you can see my art. Both affiliated with the Piedmont Craftsmen. First, Bugging Out.

 

All of the work in the show is based on bugs or insects.  Butterflies were my thing.
The other is coming up August 8th at Z. Smith Reynolds Library of Wake Forest University.

If you're nearby take a pic and send it. I'd love to visit myself but I am home and can't get up to North Carolina. I call the piece in the show B Keeper. Bound books and Bees are in danger and this lady is doing her best to protect both. I hand printed family history documents on her skirt. Bound little tiny books she holds in her hands.

The Body is Home

My bones are in Florida but my brain is back up in northern New York. However, I return to Florida renewed and inspired. The reward after a morning run was 2 large coconut coffees and the best seat in the village park.  When I was a kid I remember

our class would go to the park to sketch or explore. When I am there now I rediscover my long lost 10 year old self. She's still in there. She emerged while I was tip toeing along the riverbank when I spotted a mink playing along the waters edge. Also while I watched black squirrels running spirals along the trunk of a tree. There is no charge for observing the beauty around you. It's free.

The color of the sunset, the village dock, familiar signs and banners, white fluffy clouds and how the blue sky pops against it. All this makes me happy and it's free.

Now I ask you: what makes you happy? And (more important) are you doing what makes you happy? Are you doing something to bring yourself closer to your happy place? We make decisions every day. To go to work or not. To smile at the clerk selling us that cup of coffee, letting that car into traffic instead of beeping your horn and shouting. And it goes on and on. You can be just as sad in a big mansion as you can in a $2 hotel room. Or while in the village park with coffee balancing on your knee.

Look for beauty in every day events. They are all around us. Are you unhappy? Then ask yourself what is the opposite of your sadness or feelings of self doubt? And how will that change things?

Is it city or country? Alone or with someone? Me, I've decided that I am going to do my best to buy a small summer get away in my hometown. Damn it. I will make it happen. I will have a studio in that house, trailer, etc. This summer I realized that I liked the person I was while I am on the St. Lawrence River. That person was truly inspired by small things. For about 2 months prior to going home I felt stuck. No ideas. I asked myself should I keep making art? Perhaps you have you done the same?

I was just so tired. Life can get you bogged down and I just wanted to say, please don't let it. Find that thing or that happy place in you. People who don't support your efforts for happiness should be tuned out. Look after yourselves. And thanks for listening.

Vacation Ends

The bags are packed and we're headed back to daily life. We started our vacation in London, then New York City and now Alexandria Bay (hometown). Each leg of the journey had its strengths. London was electric inspiration I ran a 10K with jet lag while in a sweater (yes it was at times as bad as it sounds).

New York City was dirty fast paced exploration in man made chasms. Dust in your eyes and looking up.

 And Alexandria Bay was total relaxation. It was as if my stresses were loaded into a bathtub

and the drain plug was pulled free. A favorite? Easy being around family. Feeling inspired to create. Before vacation I just couldn't find it and somehow by wandering my soul feels once again settled. Can't wait to get into the studio.

Summer Break

Well I have been quite neglecting of my blog. Facebook has been shown the love. So I thought I post images of two dolls that are very summer timey.

They are both covered in hand made flowers and raspberries.

One is soft and ghostly and the other intense. I am really liking the soft ones lately. Perhaps it's getting older and pondering mortality, or the fading of ones being. (how depressing is that? ha ha) But I mean it in the best possible way.

On a lighter note: We are off to London and I will be running the Vitality British 10k. After my broken heel bone  6 months ago I am hoping for a good outcome. It's a wonderful route all throughout central London. Trafalgar, Victoria, Westminster, Send good vibes. And I am going to be sketching A LOT. This is my charge my batteries time.

Two Dolls included in Summer Issue: Art Doll Quarterly

I received my issue of Art Doll Quarterly in the mail today and was skimming through it when I saw two of my own dolls. Having forgotten the editor Jana Holstein requested a couple of images a few months ago. That sounds just like me to forget. But what a lovely surprise to see them. So if you're near a Barnes and Noble, look for Art Doll Quarterly and check out my kids.

Happy Earth Day!

It's Earth Day, so I thought I'd take another moment to say thank you to the earth for supplying my favorite art material: Clay. As the ice age was ending and massive glaciers scraped across the earth, grinding rock became wonderful clay deposits. Lucky me.

If you've got a lot of space plant a tree.  Those of you who have kids, you should really care about the planet. And I don't know about you, but I like clean air and water. I am weird like that. Happy Earth Day.

Update: Flowers

Here's a photo of the green (unfired) doll from an earlier post. She's covered in flowers.

Quite colorful. Me being a Virgo I loved painting all of the fussy details.

Seeing Pink on Monday

It's Monday night and I am dragging tail. In an attempt to "snap out of it I went for a walk. Then I went into my studio and stood there blinking. You know, some nights you just can't muster the energy. But just as it was getting dark I tried snapping a picture of a new figure. I didn't sculpt but at least I did something.

Her name is tentatively Summer because she feels like summer. A day at the beach, light. Well, except for her Club a Go-Go eye make up. And how about that pink backdrop? Summer.

and more dolls

 So I thought I'd post two more new dolls. Butterflies and birds everywhere. Spring is in the air.

I am still recovering from my surgery in January. Very happy to be walking. In my heart I am floating on air, or being carried by butterflies. Or birds.

Sea Babies

I've been painting away over the weekend and finally got time to post some new sea babies. I shot these after work today. One of my students said "where's all those dolls you posted on Facebook?" So here they are.

 This is by far my favorite. Calling her Cheyenne.

 

These are Scarlett and Cowrie. 

 

And this is Jetty. I think I am going to braid Scarlett and Cowrie's hair too. I am not sure if most people will care for their hair. I brush it with a fork. Hope you enjoy them.

Spring!

Spring is in the air. Last week I planted rose bushes and I have flowers on the brain. And on the doll. Each little flower was hand made and then attached. Butterflies and flowers and birds and bees all buzzing around my studio.

She's still wet green clay. Slowly drying.