Don't You Worry About Those Green Eyed Monsters


Now that craft show season is about over (I've only got 2 more to go), I have begun working on my paintings again and it feels sooo good!

This is one that I completed last night. It's called "Don't you worry about those green eyed monsters". And this little elephant has no worries at all!

This is an original. Created on 16x20" canvas board. You can find it here

Haven't decided if I'm going to offer this as a print yet. If I do, it will be slightly different since the whole thing won't fit on my scanner bed, and may come with the option of having a saying included. What do you think?

Original and Limited Edition Christmas Ornaments and Decor.


Things have been pretty busy around here with getting ready for the holiday season and all the holiday craft fairs I have been doing.
I did post some new Christmas decorations and ornaments. Above is just a few that I have available. You can find them here.  I do have another craft fair the day after Thanksgiving and these will be coming with me. Unless you grab them first! These are all originals or VERY limited editions.

I will be doing some special holiday promotions this year, and will post them here as well as on the front page of my Etsy shop. So make sure to check back here or go directly to my Etsy page to find out what they are!

Christmas Ornament and Decoration Creating Is In Full Swing


I have begun posting more Christmas ornaments and other holiday décor in my shop. These are all originals or VERY limited edition items.

Above is a one-of-a-kind, glass cloche ornament. Made from a vintage drinking glass. It's real glass too. No plastic! You can find this piece here.



 
I will have a lot more ornaments and cloches available at the holiday show at Harper Collage in Palatine, IL in November. Check out the "shows" tab above for all the details. 

Customize Your Very Own Angel Brooch


 

I am now offering (while my supplies last), customizable angel brooch pins in my Etsy shop.

This particular pin is currently available, but you can also request one made of the photo of your choice. It could be of a loved one; both human or animal! :)

The brooch is made of wood and fabric and has a collage face, and a cute, metal snowflake and yarn finish the pin.

New Posted Work, Promotions and Other Bits



New Work
Finally got around to framing and posting my twin rabbit painting, This one is a big boy at 24" wide and 36" tall.
I am super picky about my frames and absolutely love this one. It's really high quality and has this great, distressed look mixed in with a little industrial elements.
You can find this painting in the good ol' Etsy shop here.

Promotions
The holidays are almost upon us and that means it's time to find that special something for your loved ones or yourself of course! I will be running a new promotion every week, starting the day after Thanksgiving ( Nov. 28 for my overseas friends).  I will post new promotions every Friday right here on this blog, every Friday (November 28- Dec, 19).

Why am I telling you this now? Because if you haven't yet, you should really sign-up for my email newsletter. My newsletter subscribers will get extra special bonuses for the holiday season that the regular folk are just not privy to. So make sure to sign-up! You can find the opt-in email under my face on the right hand side of this blog.

Other Bits
If you are going to be in the Chicago area anytime now through December, or if you live in the area now, make sure to check-out the "shows" tab above. I do lots of art and craft fairs this time of year, and have work that my internet friends never get to see. So if you are near, stop on by!



New Rabbity Things!


A wood box with rabbit.
 
 


Rabbit sculpture.
 

Rabbit sculpture.
 
 
You can find these all in my shop here.

Artist Interview on Petal to Petal


Lily Reilly from Petal to Petal asked me to do an artist interview for her blog. You can find it here, and while you are there make sure to check out her other artist features and interviews as well.

A Halloween Pumpkin Art Doll


This is a hand-sculpted, and completely original art doll. You can find it in my Etsy shop here. Just a warning though, she will only be on the site for a short 2 weeks before she is coming with me to the Lake County Art Fair in Mundelein, IL.  So if she tickles your fancy, grab her before someone else does!

Here's a little background on how I created this art doll.

Her head is a Styrofoam ball with a layer of paper clay over top. I then sculpt the details of her face into the paper clay (check out my tutorial on paper clay here).

Her body is made from a chipboard cone that also has a layer of paper clay over top. Her hands are sculpted from paper clay as well. To add texture to her dress, I used a rubber stamp to stamp into the wet clay.

Once the clay has dried, I paint the entire piece and add fabric trims and buttons.

The little skull head she is carrying is actually from a ice cube mold and I added a little metal washer over its eye.

The base which she sits is a metal candlestick.


Glass Cloche Christmas Ornament

Yeah, I know it's not even Halloween yet and I'm already talking about Christmas.  But I just couldn't wait because this is just too stinkin' cute!


I really love anything under glass. For some reason placing something under glass makes it that much more special. Precious almost.

 
I also loved the idea I saw floating around many Pinterest boards of the old fashioned trucks with the Christmas trees in the back. So I thought, "Why not combine the two?"
 
 
This ornament has a glass dome that sits on a wood base. A little wooden truck and a bottle brush tree and lots of glitter fill the inside. It is hung by a jute chord and finished with a "Merry Christmas" ribbon.
 
 
I have only one of these at the moment, but have posted in my Etsy shop. So take a look!



She's Just A Little Creepy

All the Halloween pieces have been completed for the shows I have coming up in October. Make sure to check my "Shows" tab up top to find the exact dates and locations.

These skeleton witch dolls are just a few of the items I will have at the show. Well provided that someone doesn't snatch them-up on Etsy before then!


Now it's time to start working on Christmas items...

Workshop Registration is Now Open

I will be teaching four different workshops this Fall at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, IL.  Click on the Workshops tab above to find out how to register.



Mixed Media Paper Collage
September 29 and October 1,   6-9pm
McHenry County College
Crystal Lake, IL

In this course I will teach you how to create a seamless mixed media collage piece. This class is great for the beginner or for anyone looking to brush-up on their collage skills.
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Halloween Artist Trading Cards
October 27,   6-9pm
McHenry County College
Crystal Lake, IL

In this course we will be creating Artist Trading Cards, which are small pieces of art (2.5 x 3.5") and we will be trading them with all members of the class. Everyone will be going home with a small piece of art created by their classmates.
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Christmas Artist Trading Cards
December 3,  6-9pm
McHenry County College
Crystal Lake, IL

Same as the Halloween ATC class, but Christmas themed instead.
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Christmas Paper Collage Ornament
December 10,  6-9pm
McHenry County College
Crystal Lake, IL

In this course we will be creating a collage Christmas ornament. Applicable to all skill levels.

Terrarium Inspired Art Print

I am participating in Lila Rodger's Global Talent Search this year.  Our first assignment is to create wall art that features terrariums. I will have my final piece that I submitted to show you on Tuesday of next week so stay tuned for that.

Anyways here is one of the first pieces I created for the challenge. I ultimately decided not to submit this particular design for the challenge, but I did like it enough to offer it as a print in my Etsy shop.

The idea for this piece was to focus on the life inside the terrarium as opposed to a view of the entire terrarium itself.
This is a mixed media piece. I took scans from some abstract paintings that I had created and made them into decorative papers. I then cut the ground and plants you see here from those papers. Added some little houses, which are also cut paper, and then added some hand-drawn details with pencil, ink and paint.

Etsy Success, The Book


Author Anna White asked me to give some of my tips about selling art on Etsy.  Her new book, Etsy Success. Seller Tips from 30 Top ranking Etsy Artists, is now available for download on Amazon.

Best of all, it's free to download August 4-8. After that it's $2.99. So make sure to get your copy here, and let me know what you think .Did you learn anything new? Do you have any of your own tips for selling on Etsy? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

A Paper Clay Pumpkin Face Tutorial



Lets learn how to use paper clay to make our very own faces on pumpkins for a unique Halloween decoration.  Of course, you can apply what you learn here to other holidays and objects.

So lets begin....


Supplies
1.Paper clay. Which can be found at pretty much any craft store.
2. A paintbrush
3. A pumpkin. I used a Styrofoam one, but you can use one made out of any material as paper clay will work on everything!
3. Water
4. Paint. I used black, white and metallic.
5. Palette knife
6. A base for your pumpkin (optional).
7. A witches hat and other embellishments to finish your piece. You can find my felt witch hat tutorial here.
 
 
 
 
 
I personally like to start with the nose. I begin by adding some of the paper clay in a nose-like shape to the pumpkin. The clay will look slightly bumpy and rough at this point.
 
 
 

 
 
Here I added some more paper clay to either side of the nose to make the nostrils and I'm using the end of my paintbrush to finish the shape of the nose.
 
Now all you do is take some water and with your finger and or paintbrush, start to smooth out the paper clay and remove any excess paper clay as needed.
 
 
 
Now that my nose is smooth, I'm going to add the mouth in the same way as I did the nose.
 
 
Then again smooth the paper clay mouth with some water.
 
 
 
Now I am beginning to define the moth. I am using a palette knife, but any object with a sharp edge would work for this.
 
 
 
Add the eyes and then smooth in the same way you did with the nose and mouth. You could also add eyeballs, or do what I did and paint them in.
 
 
Now that I have my paper clay face completed, I will let this dry overnight. Sometimes it takes a little longer. Paper clay is an air drying clay, so no baking. Yay!
I also use paper clay to fit any booboos on my piece. You will notice that I have some paper clay at the stem of my pumpkin. This was because  there was a gap there that I wanted to have filled.
I have also used paper clay on the sides of my pumpkin faces and them used a rubber stamp to add texture.
Paper clay is really quite versatile and you are only limited by your imagination.
 
Once your pumpkin has dried, it's time to paint your pumpkin and attach it to your base.
 
This particular vase was a candleholder. I just filled the opening with floral foam and put a dowel through the bottom of my pumpkin and then glued it all into the floral foam. Easy peasy.



Now add all your finishing touches and you have got yourself a unique Halloween pumpkin!
 
 








Introducing Hot Air Balloon Necklaces


I have begun creating necklaces based on some of my more popular art prints. Here I have recreated "How to Transport a Whale" into a piece of wearable art! So far, I've made two. This double stranded one and then the single stranded necklace which can be found here.

How to transport a whale
 
 
Stay tuned for more necklaces based on other pieces.

Lots of New Work Has Just Been Posted

Yes, I have quite a few new originals that I have posted in the Etsy shop.  Here is just a little sampling of what I have available. So stop on by and have a look.

A Man Cave Inspiration

 
 
This one is for the fellas. A chic, yet still manly, man cave.
 
Room with black feature wall by CoCoCozy
Awesome tables by Chul An Kwak


I Want to Know About You!


I would really love to know about you and hear any suggestions you may have for this blog. I need you to help me make this a better blog, so I put together an anonymous, 9 question survey for you . Please click here and it will take you to the survey page.
Again, this is anonymous and all of your comments and suggestions are most appreciated! Thank you!!

Just Because Bears Are So Stinkin' Cute!

Bears just don't get enough love. I love bears and this post is a little ode' to the bear. I hope you enjoy these Grrreat examples.

Bear Sculpture by Natalie Choux. He would be so cute on a shelf in your home.
 
Bear Spoon Rest by ClayOpera. (I'm so getting one of these).
 
 

And this great polar bear carved sculpture by CarvinStich. Who needs a guard dog with this face. Love him!

The Winner of the Sweet Bunny Book Is.....



Congratulations to Karen P. You are the winner of my Sweet Bunny book giveaway!

A big thanks to everyone who signed-up for the promotion and my newsletter.
If you haven't signed-up for my newsletter, you can find the sign-up form right under my picture on the right. It will be quickest and easiest way to find out about future promotions and special happenings.

Her Hair is Everywhere

My work has been returning to hair as a the subject matter. You can see my recent hair themed works in this blog post here.
I get so many of my ideas from looking at antique photography. I love the colors, the mood and the surrealistic quality of these photos. Here are a few of the images that I have been recent sources of inspiration for me.

 
 
Or this antique photo found on Reality Aslyum's tublr page.
 

 
This old photo was found on Archives and Mythologies Des Lucioles.
 
Or this patient gal. Image was found on flickr.

Wall Murals

 


This is a wall mural I created late last year for The Celt Experience Brewery in Wales. It was for their bowling alley in their pub/brewery. I have also been doing the artwork for their Shape Shifter line of beers.


The above photo is the mural along side the lanes in its entirety.


And this one was at the end of the alley.
 
 
The characters for the murals were created with good old fashioned paper collage, acrylic paint and ink. I then scanned each image into my computer and completed the piece in Photoshop.
The image was then printed on wallpaper. Yes, wallpaper! It turned out great. I would highly recommend the wallpaper route if you are looking for a large scale mural.

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