Apple/Alice Mashup

Getting excited for the new "Alice In Wonderland" movie next week. I had a little project to do for a friend where I needed to use something "apple" and all I could think of was a worm coming out of the apple which then got me thinking about the caterpillar. I know caterpillars don't normally eat the fruit, but if the apple has an "eat me" sign on it and the caterpillar had a Cheshire smile, well then all would be right with in my world.

"In my world, you wouldn't say "meow." You'd say, "Yes Miss Alice."...

But I digress, for that is an Alice of another kind. =D

Sketchy Goodness

My dear friend Steve Oatney does artist sketch cards for TOPPS. He has worked on several sets including Star Wars, Inidiana Jones and Lord of the Rings, just to name a few. Pretty cool gig! He is an amazing artist and his cards can go for hundreds on ebay (although you can just go to his website and contact him directly for commission work).

In his downtime from the TOPPS cards he has been working on his own artists trading cards. And me, being a fan-girl and all, threw out the obligatory "I want one" whine. Well, whaddya know 30 mins later I had in my hot little hands a bea-u-tiful card of Leeloo Minai Lekarariba-Laminai-tchai Ekbat de Sebat.... Leeloo.

Steve knows how much I LOVE "The Fifth Element" and outside of the MIckey Mouse drawing he did for me years ago, my new Leeloo sketch card is definitely a prized possession! I thought the rest of the world should have a chance to see her.

Thank you Steve-O!!!

Fun New Christmas Friend

Do you know of Johanna Parker? Well, if you love Halloween and holidays in general and love to decorate with fun knick-knacks then you *must* check out her site and see her lovely creations. I found out about her through Martha Stewart's "Dreamers Into Doers". The timing was amazing, I received the email about Johanna, checked out her website and blog and discovered she was having a Halloween show about a week later in my area! She's here in CO too.

I was able to go to the show, meet her in person and of course - bring home one of her amazing cat sitter figures (which I just love, love, love!) Johanna is as sweet as her handcrafted goodies and I really enjoyed talking with her about her art and goods! Needless to say, I was feeling very inspired after meeting her and had all kinds of grandios ideas for projects I wanted to try and to interview her for my blog (which I still hope to do... after the holidays, yeah, that's it!!! I'll put it top of the list for next Halloween.) Alas, many other things sucked my attention and the rest of October and November flew by.

In the back of my mind I couldn't let go of wanting to try papiér mache figures. I put together an armature of balled up pieces of newspaper to make a snowman. He sat on my desk for several weeks while I pondered the best way to go about putting him together. I asked Johanna for a few pointers on what to use and any tips she could offer. It almost felt like asking a magician to reveal her secrets. She was very gracious however, and gave me enough info to dig in and get my hands dirty!

All I can say is WOW! Playing with papiér mache is F-U-N!!! After a few layers, sanding, painting, altering and making accessories I now have a really cute (IMHO) Johanna inspired Snowman! Not to mention complete respect for her art, craftsmanship and deatil! So, thank you Johanna, for your amazing creations and for sharing!

She has another show coming up this weekend,if you are in the area go see her. Check out her site for more information and be prepared for papiér mache creatures to take over your decor! Look at the pics from last year's show from her 1939 Cottage house. It's simply spectacular with all the attention to the retro details! I can't wait to see it and bring home more goodies for the holiday season!

Tattooed Dolls

During our 3-week, 13-state trip across the country last November we stopped to see a few of the wonderful sites America has to offer. I never thought that one of my favorite spots would be right in my hometown's backyard. The Roanoke downtown now boasts a wonderful new modern art museum, the Taubman Museum.

It's small in comparison to the Dallas and Denver museums that I am used to visiting. The building itself is stunning, a work of art in it's own right. There is a room inside with a piece of the building structure you can view up close to see how it's put together and timelines of the creative process behind the design and construction of the museum. Fascinating! If you are in the area check it out. Oh, and stop at the visitors center (just a few blocks away from the museum) to pick up a "RED Card" to get 1/2 off admission and discounts on other area attractions and restaurants.

There were so many wonderful pieces of art, yet one of my favorite exhibits was the History of Tattoos. Not what I would have imagined as being a favorite, but after the past year of diving head first into the whole crafting world, I've developed an appreciation for embroidery and these dolls were a part of the exhibit. They were amazing and intimidating at the same time.

They made me happy and I wanted to stay and just look at all the intricate detail for hours. Alas, the boys were not so interested, so we moved on. But not before M. got a few pictures for me! I did a little research on them and you can see more on the Tattoo Baby Doll Project website. I was surprised to see how long they've actually been in circulation and so glad our paths crossed.

Now, upon what embroidery project should I embark? =)

Almost

Working on an illustration for a beer label... the direction went something like this: "we are thinking of a "chubby, happy, brewer in a robe type getup with a couple mugs in his hands..." so this is what I started. Keep in mind I didn't fill out all the detail because I wanted to make sure I was going in the right direction. Well, doing a 180 now. The end result will look nothing like the original concept rough. Oh well, ya win some... and sometimes you end up with a few entertaining illustrations. =)

Creative!

I have always been creative. I can't remember a time when I wasn't dreaming up some project to color, cut, sew, sculpt, paint, craft, etc. And it just so happens that the greatest creation I have ever made, aka "Z", seems to exude artistic talent as well.

He received a Kid-Tough™ Digital Camera for Christmas and has been snapping away ever since. We just hadn't taken the time to download the photos. Daddy has become interested in photography lately and Z likes to follow and take pictures too. We finally got the pics downloaded and WOW!!! He has some really great photos!! The camera is pretty limiting with a 640x480 resolution, a flash that blows everything out and no "settings" to speak of. But it's durable, lets him practice taking pictures and allows him to explore this creative outlet. His paintings blow me away, I can't wait to see where he takes this!

I'll have to post more on his own site soon, so be sure to check out www.zionmichaeldenali.com