Lng time no post...

Wow...here it is the third month of the new year and here i am just now posting...where does the time go????
life has been ever busy, and wonderful, my oldest son has come home...thats most exciting and a huge blessing...awaiting the arrival of the younger son...hopefully soon...and of course i'm still creating art...artdolls mostly...still haven't gotten the hang of making wings....uuugggg...never seems to get easier no matter what medium i use...so practice practice practice...thats what i must do...
 Almost garden time...strawberries and spring flowers already planted, lettuce of all types and can you believe they've already sprouted...woohoo...spring has sprung...longer days, warm breezes...just a really lovely time of year i must say...

 adding a few pictures then i must get back to the art table...

new art doll and fairy paintings

This is my first post since the spectacular Alice in  wonderland blog event held by the lovely ladies and gents over at artdollsonly.blogspot.com...and i have several new paintings and one rather large art doll to share with you today....My mother and her husband came to visit from Ohio...and they brought me a very large supply of art paper and assorted paints...mostly water colors...water colors are a new medium for me and will take a bit of getting used to but are great fun....and being that my original love is painting i have been busy, busy, busy....here are some photos to give you an idea of what i'm working with...see all the awesome types of paper my mother and stepdad brought...wasn't that the sweetest thing....there is nothing like having the support of family...my mother is ever incouraging to brooden my artistic ideas and to go a more traditional route such as landscapes, florals,,,although more than likely she is right as mothers often are...i'm drawn to the fantasy art...fairies, day of the dead, the dark side of life so to speak...although i do like pink and pretty fairy princess's...go figure....seems the exact opposite of dark...doesn't it...oh well what can i say...i am a gemini and gemini's have two sides to their personality and i believe it is often visiable in my variety of creations...here is a few of my latest and all my new lovely paper...

these are my attemts at water colors...the day of the dead zombie picture is a mixture of acrylics and water colors...and my blue sprite is all water color...not sure why she looks so mad...i was in a good mood when i painted her...hehehe.

and there are more....i've really been excited about painting again...this lil' fairy on the scull needs work...the scull needs improving but hey this was my first attempt at painting such a large scull....so maybe with practice....it'll improve...i'm also working on a very large two by three feet painting of mother earth in the goddess form but she is still a wip...so no photo's of her yet....and last but not least here is a picture of my latest artdoll fairy princess...she is huge...eighteen inches tall and free standing...her head, hands and shoulders are polymer clay and her body is soft sculpt on a candle pedastel...i've yet to create her wings and floral beaded crown....but this is her so far...and a few pictures of my living room and doll collection.... 

and hall way...can you tell i love dolls...all kinds of them...even mass produced....(gasp) but i do prefer hand made one of a kind...and last but not least here is a collage photo of my fur babies....co-co, tarbaby and trouble such sweet animals and all rescues....these characters are truly my best friends...and funny too...always a source of happiness...well thats my news for awhile...i'll be undergoing another surgery on my right arm...third one in one years time...hopefully my last for awhile...so i'll be recovering for about a month and then i'll be back to creating...until then...hugs...christen

Welcome to my wonderland

Many of you may be visiting my blog for the very first time and I'm so glad you were able to stop in...art dolls are my passion....creating art is like breathing to me...can't live without either one....over the course of six months....I've been creating wonderland characters...these two are my latest....both my interpretation of the red queen..."OFF WITH YOUR HEAD" for those of you who may or may not have seen Tim Burton's version of "Alice in wonderland" that is the red queens favorite and best line....this movie is an artists dream as the colors and characters litterly dance in ones head and stoke the creative engines ....for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of seeing it....you must...I've seen it six times and each time see some thing in the background or the design of the whole thing that i hadn't quite seen before...much to look at in this movie.

In the month of August I'll be having my first blog give away....haven't decided on the prize yet  but you can guarantee it will be some thing great....thinking on the lines of an art doll or possibly an original painting by non other than little ol' me....but you must be a follower to win and you must leave a comment with a way for me to contact the winner....current email address...I've chosen the ninth of august as the day I'll pick the lucky winner....as according to the calender it'll a full moon...no better day to get lucky and win an original piece of art....so are you waiting for....join...lets get to know each other and share in our artsy passions... 

This is my version of The mad hatter..he is a full ten inches tall and pose able at the arms and knees so he can sit or stand....reason being was i thought i might want to pose him sitting in a chair at a mad hatter tea party or standing in a group with my other wonderland characters....so unlike the red queen he is not self standing but needs a stand which on hind site am not sure i like but originally i had planned it that way....so what do ya'll think? should he have been self standing or are pose able limbs a plus? leave me a comment as I'd sure love some input on this matter and it may well effect the outcome of future dolls......

This is my Alice in wonderland art doll and she as well is pose able and not free standing just in case she may want to join in the mad hatters tea party....she is as are the others made of fimo polymer clay...my favorite choice in mediums when it comes to sculpting dolls...although i do indulge in air dry clay on occasion too...and rarely i have been known to sew a cloth art doll by hand....of course all of my doll clothing and accessories are one of a kind...hand made by me....like this charm bracelet Alice is wearing around her neck....is removable and can be worn...imagine owning your very own key to wonderland and all the magic that it entitles...at her feet are clay replicas of the cakes and treats eaten by Alice in the movie...as well as the drink me bottle which glows in the dark...such fun to create...and enjoyed the magic as each character came to life in my studio

Now no group of wonderland characters would be complete without the white white rabbit....would it? I'm late...I'm late for a very important blog land date...OK, no I'm not actually late but feared i might be because I've still to create the caterpillar, the twins twiddle Dee and twiddle dumb...and not sure if i ever will...well I'm sure i will but when is the question.....as I've now moved on to....you guessed it....the Cheshire cat...and i was just so undecided on how this character should look...i created two...one a Ferrel mangy type cat character with an earring in his ear...cats can wear earrings in wonderland you know....to a fun brightly colored cartoonish version of the Cheshire cat...which one is your favorite?

the second cartoonish Cheshire cat is standing behind a portrait of his self that i painted in acrylics as well...i guess you can see i really loved the movie and was inspired to create a assortment of lively and fun characters...but some how during the wonderland theme i managed to slip over into Goth land which is a darker version of Alice in wonderland....a place where the ear ringed cat would feel right at home and i created an Alice in Goth land...here she is.....

And last but not least is a group picture of several of the characters but not all of them....

So this was my trip to Alice in wonderland and i must say it was super fun....hope you enjoyed my creations and don't forget to become a follower and add a comment for the August 9th full moon give away for a chance to win an original piece of my art....also you might like to visit my other blog http://www.wickedwhimsies.blogspot.com    this blog is just another place to chat art and life...so hop on over and check it out if you will....also a big thank you goes out to ladies and gents of http://www.artdollsonly.blogspot.com    for taking the time to organize this wonderful wonderland blog event...please also go back and check out the other marvelous artists who were also inspired by the Tim Burton's version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND....until next time....blessings and hugs...christen

Stepping out of the box

after many nights of staying up late to sculpt, paint and collage....my newest art doll has come to life and is stepping out of her world into ours so to speak,,,and basically that is how i feel about creating in so many words...i often must step out of the box...mentally, emotionally and allow the clay to take on a life of its own...even when its not comfortable or I'm unable to see just where i might be going with any certain project...to try not to second guess the muse but to follow where he or she may lead....a metaphor for life,  this creation speaks to my inner hopes and fears and i hope encourages others to do the same....blessings until next time....christen

new night light artdoll and mixed media paintings

i sure am bad at blogging...seems i just get so carried away with family and art that weeks slip by and then i realize i've not blogged any...which i do enjoy writing and i love blogs so i should be very good at it but actually i'm a pretty lazy blogger...rather be making art...hehehe...any onme out there entering the ADO's alice in wonderland challenge? well i can not wait to see what people come up with...how exciting!!!!

also save plastic candy egg cartons for painting

my new etsy shop

http//:fantasiesfromwithin.etsy.com

Avatar...the movie

The movie avatar is an awesome movie...and believe it or not there is a free site on the web that'll let you watch it for free...yes free...but its in two parts and the first part plays out its seventy-four minutes and makes you wait one hour hour to view the rest....some thing about band width or some thing....the website is http://www.letmewatchthis.com/  when you get there...type avatar in their search bar or look in the A listings of their movies for avatar...click on the movie...it will take you to a list of several links for this movie...choose the one offered by fairyshare and click on watch...this opens another link that then begins streaming the movie free...enjoy

my life feels just like the song....manic monday

the first monday of march and already i've had a busy busy day...lets see...went and had my oil changed ...purchased and had new back tires put on the car....went to the grocery store...drug store...cable company...insurance company...book store...then lunch...burger king...mailed my dads birthday present...bought stamps and package supplies...mailed my morgage payment...and made my cats weekly batch of home made cat food which consists of whole chicken leg quarters...fresh parsley...grated parsnip for kidney problems...and brown rice all boiled...cooled and divided into daily servings and guess what...its not even noon here yet and i am ready for a nap...but no rest or the weary...this wednesday i'm sheduled for my fourth and hopefully last surgery in the past six months and i've got a million things to finish before that...knowing i will not feel like doing anything but sleeping for awhile afterward i'm faced with the pressure of remembering all that must be done in order for my life to run smoothly while i recover...i guess thats about all the news for today ...until next time folks have happy and creative thoughts...hugs...christen

just another manic monday

all hallows eve and after

halloween is usually my favorite of all holidays, i've always enjoyed the thrill of ghosts and ghouls but for some reason i just did'nt get into it as much, although i can say i've really enjoyed fall and the leaves here in Chattanooga have been wonderful, deep reds and golds, really a lovely site i must say, makes one very thankful to be part of a creatures glorious plan by this i mean God, i have so many things to be thankful for and as we move into November that is close at hand upon my mind as myself and family members have been very ill and have made close to full recoveries, why i even had the oppertunity to meet a wonderful lady and fellow doll artist by the name of Karen Cohen, she has a really neat web site atwww.kcenamels.com, you should by all means check out her work, very talented lady we were in a doll swap at www.goddessdolls.com, and this is the doll i made for Karen, and a picture of the doll she made me is on her site, take a moment and check it out, this doll is worth going and viewing trust me. Let me know what you think....

happy hauntings its almost halloween!

yeah!!!! its almost halloween my favorite time of year, i love spooky stories and old horror movies and every thing pleasantly dark and creepy, not to mention it is a great excuse to eat chocolate, what more could a woman want, here are a few of my lastest projects

summers end

Finally the end of a sweltering hot and humid summer, hot weather is great for acrylic painting but awful for sculpting with clay. It seems as though the heat takes all of the life right out of the clay, its sticky and mushy seeming to have a mind of its own but not in a good way at all, so I'm just now getting back to a more serious sculpting mode, the ideas are fresh in my mind, exspecially with the coming of Halloween, boy do I love Halloween, the ghost stories and the costumes, the television shows that start every year at the beginning of October and the best part of all nice cool fall weather, the wonderful fall colors and the abilty to create with unsticky clay, yeah...fall is finally here, and i'm posting some of my paintings and such....