Come Find Me!

Hello out there! I'm posting over HERE today, so please head on over. Leave me a comment there, won't you? The North Alabama Crafters are a wonderful group of creative folks working hard to save handmade, and promote local business. If you're an artists and/or crafter in North Alabama, please join us!

Shop Update!

Hiya, folks!

Just a quick little post to show ya a few of the new listings in my etsy shop. I've been bad about making art, but not making time to get them listed. 

See anything you like? Feel free to favorite and buy! If you ever have a custom job in mind, let me know. I'm more than happy to do commission work. And I'm cheap!

Something Unconventional II

Here to find out what undergarments have to do with art? Well, a friend asked me to participate in The Painted Bra Art Project to help raise awareness for breast cancer, and funds for a local lady battling cancer.

I wanted to focus on the hope of overcoming, but also recognize the seriousness of breast cancer. I kept thinking of Gustav Klimt's Death And Life, but didn't want to go so dark as to focus on human mortality. Then I remembered Emily Dickinson's poem entitled "Hope." 

Hope is the thing with feathers 

That perches in the soul, 

And sings the tune--without the words, 

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard; 

And sore must be the storm 

That could abash the little bird 

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land, 

And on the strangest sea; 

Yet, never, in extremity, 

It asked a crumb of me.

Perfect, right?! I mean, I have a thing for birds - owls specifically. They've always been a symbol of hope for me - hope through dark times of confusion or helplessness. Hearing them in the night was such a comfort to me as a child, and even still today. Then there's the whole "hooters" thing, and this Dickinson poem giving Hope feathers! 

So I decided to have an owl representing life and hope, and an owl skull to signify the threat of mortality. Since I wanted the positive to be most prevalent, I covered the rest with different symbols of life - flowers, etc. I hope it makes sense to people. Heck, they may not even put that much thought into it. I'm an obsesser, though. Why else would I put so much into a cartoony bra painting!

Here's a couple shots of my submission.

I was more than happy to take some time to do it, and it was pretty fun. There's going to be a big event the end of October where all the bras people painted/donated will be on display, and there's a silent auction to sell the painted braziers. You should check it out, if you haven't already. Just click the links below!

The Painted Bra Art Project

Online Auction

Something Unconventional I

I've painted on some of the strangest vehicles lately. A while back I agreed to donate some time working on a collaboration piece for a fundraiser. I ended up having to paint two areas on a life preserver. It was a little weird at first, and definitely challenging to work the acrylic paint into the texture of the float, but it was nice to paint on something unconventional. I decided to go with an octopus, and some fishies with an anchor.

The most recent art donation might top that, though. Check out the next post to find out what it is! I'll be posting it Saturday at 10:30am.

 I'll give you a hint. Undergarment.

Rufous Hollow

Hiya, folks! How the heck are ya? I haven't got the time to read blogs that I had last year, so drop me a comment to let me know how you're doing. I think about you guys regularly, and hope you're well. That is if any of you "faithful few" are still around the blogosphere. 

Something I did find time for this year was getting my old tattoo covered. I've spent YEARS hating the snail tattoo I got when I was sixteen. I kind of felt like I just had to deal with it, since I promised myself that I'd only get ONE. I don't see myself with sleeves, and that's where I'd be headed without a strict one tattoo limit. I love them SO. I even have regular body modification dreams. 

Without further adieu, I'd like you to meet my little red phase screech owl, Rufous Hollow.

Rufous is my own illustration, and the amazing Greg Ross made him into an awesome coverup.

P to the S

My artwork is copyrighted, so it belongs to me. Just sayin', so I don't have to hunt anyone down to chop off my work. If you ever want to get a tattoo of any of my work, please ask me. If someone else isn't wearing it already, I'll happily give you permission.

Plush Crush

I've listed some more of my handmade plush creatures in the old etsy shop, so I thought I'd share. You know, in case you might want to buy any of them to cuddle. 

Bleu Blue Bear

Miles Hoppington

Ludwig

And I'm currently making a little blue-eyed panda bear. I'm planning on listing her/him in the near future, but I don't know. I might be falling in love...

Commission!

Have I mentioned how much I love commissions? Not just because they mean I'm getting paid to do what I love, but because they're like getting assignments. I never thought I'd say I miss getting a lesson plan, but things can get a little stagnant if you're the only one dictating what you do. Maybe it's just me. 

Even if I'm working with the same medium a lot, it's nice to get photos of a subject that I haven't spent much time looking at before. Without the help of commissions, I'd be painting my animals all the time. I love them and all, but I've already painted them. Not that I couldn't make a challenge out of that, but whatever; I'm rambling.

These are a couple of sweethearts that I painted for a mother to give her two daughters for Christmas. Her grand-cat and grand-dog, Murphy and Hugo. 

I'm not sure if I've blogged about my reaction to getting a commission before. It's very Fiddler on the Roof. If you haven't seen that gloriousness, you simply must. It's only the most wonderful musical of all time. Anyhow, I break into my own little version of "Tradition." Commissiooooooon! Commissioooon! Commission!

I'll stop being weird via blog now.

Alive & Painting

Well, hello there! It's been a while, and I feel the shame of neglecting my blog once again. Vicious cycle. Bad habit. I'm not sure what to call it, but I've definitely been productive in the time I've spent offline. That's always good, right?

In an effort to get back into blogging again, I've decided to try to keep up with sharing my newest creations. I've been doing a lot of painting, drawing, sewing and sculpting, so that ought to keep me posting for a while. 

Woodland Tea Party!

These three pieces were a commission from Cody, whom I am ever so happy to have discovered here on the interwebs. She's a pastry-makin', Harry Potter lovin', breakfast food enthusiast with two kitties. What's not to love, right? Well, she requested three 5x5 woodland tea party illustrations for her kitchen, and this is what she got.

As soon as the sun shows it's face around these parts again, I plan on taking photos, so I can list prints of these on my etsy shop.

So...uh...I'll see you around.

I'm Only Sleeping

Sloth- original watercolor illustration available at Mad Shiny Shoppe!

Understandably so, I think I've lost my faithful few. You guys, I promise I'm going to keep the posts coming this time. I quit my depressing job, and am making art every single day. I'm over my poison ivy plague, as well as the horrid steroid psychosis. I think it's safe to say that I'm stable...as I ever was.

This is a new beginning for me. I know I've mentioned that a lot lately, and it sounds all hokey, but it's true, I tell you! Art commissions are rolling in, thanks be to God, and I'm working on establishing actual work hours. I have a tendency to sleep in, as I can be eerily similar to a sloth. Then I'm up until 3AM sewing, painting or writing. Not the best sleeping pattern, I know, so I'm trying to change that.

With all this work to do, and the support of my magnificent, marvelous Mr. T., I'm pretty darn content. I just hope art commissions keep a'coming, and my procrastination remains manageable. I'm participating in a craft show next month, and I've got to get to making some more wee wonderful things!

Just in case you're new here, and even if you're not, please feel free to check out my etsy shop! I create all manner of funky cuddly things, personalized cake toppers/keepsakes, pin back buttons, greeting cards, watercolor portraits, and YOU. JUST. NAME. IT.

Commissions!

I've been pretty busy during my little blogging hiatus, so I figured I'd share a few of the projects I've been working on. I absolutely adore commissions, because they always turn out to be such a challenge. I find myself missing the assignments I received in art school, so I always welcome a custom order.

This custom plush is a Harry Potter inspired Totoro for a friend's little girl's birthday.

This was supposed to be a guinea pig for a friend's baby shower. She's calling him Bear Pig. :)

Professor Lettuce here is a custom plush for an old friend performing in a peep show.

And these two lovely ladies are my oldest friend's two little sisters. Their mother commissioned me to paint them for her.

So, what have you been up to, folks?

Project Update!

A friend of mine is doing a safari theme in her grandson's room, and wanted me to come up with a waterdoodle for him. I was thrilled to find that the little man has taken a recent liking to Maurice Sendak's work, so I got to come up with a Wild Things inspired camera safari illustration. Squee!

I'm still in shock that I'm working on art full time. Maybe someday I'll find a stopping point on my to do list, so I can clean out my studio. It needs a major overhaul. One thing at a time...

Treasures

You guys aren't creepy stalkers, right? I mean, as far as I know, none of you have put too much effort into tracking me down in order to wear my skin. I'm not exactly the stealthiest blogger, so I'm sure you all know where I live. I tell you pretty much everything, so I figure you must be safe enough...

If someone wanted to kill me, they could most likely find me at home.* Working from the comfort of my own humble abode keeps my days pretty predictable, too. I wake up, drink massive quantities of water and open the windows. I set up my little work station, pet Kimchi Kitty and get to making art. I also manage to stalk people on facebook, check twitter, clean, and flail around my living room for extended periods of time in an attempt to burn calories.

I forgot my point.

Oh. I'm home a lot. So I'm making art all day, which is a dream come true, but I always manage to get distracted. While quickly visiting my online haunts, I end up spending way too much time on Etsy. I log in with the intention of checking my shop's activity, and posting a featured item to my shop's facebook page. Innocent enough, but I keep falling victim to Etsy Treasuries. I. Love. Making. Them. Aaaand I'm too obsessive compulsive to throw a collection together in a manner of minutes, as I assume other folks do. It takes me flippin' F-O-R-E-V-E-R.

So...I thought I'd share some of my time consuming etsy finds with you. The following items are directly linked to my heart. I would certainly not object were any of them to be shipped to my doorstep with a little note professing your undying/completely healthy love for me.

Tweed Patchwork? Yes, please!

I feel that these pins would magically tame my mess of curls.

I suppose I do consider myself lucky in love.

I'm Your Father

The Hunting Sparrow

I'd liked to know who doesn't need happy tiny buttons?

 I guess that's enough for now. I'll blather more another day.

* I am armed, and have no qualms about shooting an intruder's crotch off. Yes, off. Just in case any of you might be thinking about a Heather suit...

Wading

I've been so swamped with art projects, which I could not be happier about, I haven't really had the time to post very much. Poor old Mimsy gets neglected a lot, but I'm working on documenting more.  I think keeping up with bloggy therapy is good for the soul.

For now, I think I'll make a list of art projects/commissions:

1. custom kid's book (written but not yet completely illustrated)

2. two watercolor portraits for bff's mom

3. custom illustration

sketch detail of custom illustration

4. more handmade plush creatures (like the ones in the pictures below) for a local shop

Sally Sugar Skull

Mumford T. Monster

Lola Love Bunny

O'Malley Ogling Owlie

Love Ninja - This little guy is sold already, but I can make more upon request.

5. keep up with my etsy shop
 
Now, if I can just keep myself prioritized...

The Man Loves Chickens

How's it going, friends? Mr. T and I have been doing pretty well. We've been experiencing some changes lately. Some have been good, and some not so much, but we're dealing. Can't really complain.

I happily edited my employment status on the book of face last night. Self. Employed. I can't even begin to express how good it feels to be able to say that. Working from home definitely has its ups and downs, but the ups seem to be winning.

There are so many things that I wasn't able to do while working full time, little things like making  gifts for people. It's been years since I had the time and energy to make Mr. T a homemade valentine, so this year he got a little foxy fox card.

I cut out the pieces...

Colored them...

And then glued them together.

I also made him a felt plush chicken.

It's not as strange as it sounds. The man loves chickens.

I used to read posts about people quitting their day jobs, and I was so jealous. Pretending I was content worked for a while, but that hopelessly trapped feeling kept rearing its ugly head. I was so tired of begrudging other people their happiness, because I was too afraid to go looking for my own.

I am incredibly thankful that I'm able to focus on my artwork right now, and I hope I can keep it up.

Time Well Spent

It's been almost a week since I quit my job of five years, and I'm pretty happy with how I've been spending my time.

I can't remember the last time I was able to spend days in a row making art, and just enjoying life. Maybe that's a little dramatic. I know there are a million different ways to enjoy life in the ever day. As of late, my days had become somewhat of a soul suck. I'd come home with the intentions of being creative, but would end up crying all evening.

The first couple of days I cried a little, cleaned a little, and cried a little more. I've spent the last few days promoting my Etsy shop, working on commissions and just being thankful for the time to do it.

Behold!

"Boom Chicky Boom" card

"Ninja Love" card

"Nuts About You" card

Wee Hand-sewn Owl Plushies

My husband is being incredibly supportive about the whole "me not working" thing, because he's wonderful. However, unless my art sales become a lot more consistent, I'll have to get a job before too long. I'm just enjoying a little time off before it's necessary.

Cake Toppers & Christmas Ornaments...

...are taking over my life! Friends getting hitched, Christmas coming up - I'm sewing and sculpting like mad! I just wish I had more time to do it.

Cake Toppers

May I introduce you to the groom? Mr. Badger.

Little Miss Penguin, the bride.

The lucky couple.

 

Christmas Ornaments

 

Happy Holidays!