Summer is Over

Well, it's been awhile since i last showed up here. So what's new with you? Kidding! 2020 as I say is a dumpster fire of a year. But somehow in between I made some art and wrote a few books and created a lot of illustrations. Like always I find inspiration in nature.

 

This little foxy and her babies doing drive by visit.  The deer and their babies are regularly looking for apples. And I have been bringing my dolls out into the flower beds.

 

We just have to keep doing, keep exploring, keep being yourself. Listen to yourself more often and if you feel overwhelmed, turn off the tv and social media.  Enjoy every day. 

Wearable Art with Meaning

 I hope everyone out there is keeping well and self-isolating during this horrible COVID-19 pandemic. It's such a stressful time. I consider myself so fortunate that I teach and I still have a paycheck. We're all under a lot of stress. The past few weeks have been bonkers building all of my classes online all the while learning the software and helping my co-workers do the same.

 Amidst the drama and the dust starting to settle I need to get back into my studio, which has been horribly ignored the past three weeks. Today I tidied it a bit because my studio is now also my virtual classroom.

These images are little oil paintings which I turned into brooches. They are embroidered, beaded, and embellished. They are in honor of the one-hundredth anniversary of women having the right to vote. Stay safe and be kind to one another, and remember to vote in November. Some of our ancestors died to get that right.

Saul Magazine

 

SAUL MAGAZINE

I am proud to announce a project that I have dreamed about for a very long time. 

It has kept me busy for the past few months, Saul Magazine. It all started in my publication design class at Palm Beach State College, Lake Worth, because I had a belief in the skills of my students. My pupils were asked to interview people or answer a list of Q&A questions provided, create layouts and artwork to inform and the rest, as they say, is history.

You can order hard copies online, or simply read it.
Either way, I hope you enjoy the first  issue of Saul.

  If you would like to buy a hard copy you can do so at my Blurb storefront. Follow the links above.

My Art Situation

Holy cow, has it really been a year since I last posted? I've been giving all of my love to Instagram. Sorry Blogger. It's summer and I am up in our home in Northern New York recharging my batteries.

I am getting a studio together. The small step ladder above was retrieved from a trash pile and has  become my new easel. As I sit painting the sound of song birds waft through the windows. Rabbits bound across the lawn stopping to nibble on green grass and sometimes the little doe who lives in the trees just beyond visits. We throw her apples, and who new deer love marshmallows so much?

Teaching can be mentally exhausting. This time of year is all about refilling my tank. We leave for London  in a few days and I already have my museum and gallery visits planned.

The moral of the story is to remember you can't give on an empty tank. If you can't remember the last time you did something for you, what are you waiting for? Make something, do something. And make sure it's delightfully decadent.

Art Dolls

 I am still working on clay cloth combinations. Who knows, perhaps this is where the universe wants me to be.

 These girls are now on my Etsy store. I call them Forest Fairies (Bird and Fauna) I drew and painted on their little bodies. Soft colors, which is a departure from my electrifying circus colors.

Today I am cleaning my studio. It was such a mess I couldn't focus. Do you get like that too? Seriously... a friend commented to me "OCD much" uh, yes I guess so. Honestly, I couldn't set a cup of coffee on the table. Sorry I haven't written here much, will be better now that I have ditched Facebook.

Don't forget to look for me on Instagram @Vixterina and you will see more posts. You can always say hi!

Getting Where I Need To Be

I have a bad feeling my thumb is going to be naughty for a very long time. Went to the doctor a few weeks back and he said it was a cyst on the knuckle: suggested surgery or as a hold over he could try to drain it and cortisone shot. Don't want surgery. Is my foot better from surgery? No.

 So while my thumb is being naughty I am going to keep it bandaged and keep on sewing and adding clay parts. I have to say I love the doll I have been working on. Here is a head shot. I held her out in the bushes but it was so windy... her hair got wild. She'll soon be listed on my Etsy store.

One Month Until NCECA

The count down starts. Flying to Pittsburgh for a reception at Morgan Glass gallery and NCECA. It'll be the first time I travel without my husband since.... ever? Actually when my parent's died... but I digress. (cue the Debbie Downer music!) Dang. But on a brighter note, the show at Morgan looks great. If you're in the area pop by. Visit these two little dears.

Brexit Sessions. 

And this piece is called We All Have Demons, Some Are Just Cuter. 

I can't wait to fill my suitcase with ceramic tools. And seriously if you're there... please say hi. I am a real chatter box.