Christmas is coming....

Hello bloggers...christmas is upon us, its that happy time of year full of wonderful, sights and sounds, colors, and i have been busy....as usual...this year my goal was to make a christmas tree with all polymer clay ornaments, except of course the lights and tinsel, and my star on top...now this was no easy task, as this is a six foot tree which means tons of ornaments, of which i wanted each one to be slightly different but simular in style...so first i decided on themes which turned out to be multi colored two and a half inch balls covered in chopped canes, snow flakes, and flat but layered ornaments with snowmen, christmas trees and reindeer...at first count i was up to eighty, then i got to thinking of some goth ornaments i had made back in october which although also had a halloweeny theme, were kinda cute so i added those as well, being halloween and christmas are my two favorite holidays...pictures you say...why of course...it would be no fun without the pictures....soooooo....first i'll show you the tree finished with several angles, then i'll add the collages of the individual pictures of each ornament before being hung...and last but not least the wreath made with the remainder of my polymer clay ornaments...

Now, i'll show you the wreath and two new paintings...did i mention i have waaaay to much energy for just one person....lol...............................ok...maybe not...blogger won't let me post any more pictures on this one..why i do not know...but i've waited twenty minutes for the next eight pictures to add...no luck....oh well, what i'll do is wait till tomorrow, since actually we have all month to share christmas artworks, ornaments and such, and that way we can visit again,,,thank you for your pacience...hope every one is having a happy, safe and blessed season...now back to the studio...hugs...christen

Happy belated thanksgiving

So how was every ones thanksgiving? great i hope...mine was nice...beautiful fall day with blustery winds...my husband and i had a nice meal...turkey, ham, mash potatoes and dressing, steamed veggies, and yeast rolls,,,barely any room for home made sweet potatoe pie...lots of food for just two people, but we made several plates for neighbors and friends who were not able to get out until today...afterwards we winterized the house, raked leaves to burn off those excess calories...
 this christmas i have entered so many swaps, i love swaps but i am swamped with christmas orders and gifts, and of course my online swaps so very little time left for making items for resale...next year i will remember this as although holiday is a time of giving and i do enjoy it so...i really need to focus on marketing...but i truly hate that aspect of art...yes i enjoy the extra money but my sole purpose of making art is more personal than just for resale yet i need to still take a more active role in generating sales...uuugggg...so with that said i will be persueing sales and facebook, twitter, ect as well as my online stores with a renewed vigor and energy i've yet to put into it...

 I've been painting again...i always enjoy that...now of course i've made dozens of clay ornaments and a few dolls i will have to hold off on posting those as  i mentioned are swap items and i do not wanna ruin the element of suprise that goes with not first seeing what is coming in the mail...lol..so today i will share the paintings i've completed, and soon i will post the swap items in detail with photo's just give me another week or so...

I'M BACK.....

Well the surgery went well and i'm almost as good as new with only a few aches and pains but not enough to keep me from my fall creations...oh how i love fall...with cooler air and changing leaves...what a truly wonderful time of year.

i've been busy making some fall witchypoo's and boohags...haunted children of witherspoon manor and jointed dolls i call toodle bugs...you see...toodles was my childhood nickname...lol...lol...

  You'll have to wait on the toodle bugs...these are still WIPS and need clothing...no nekkid toodle bugs allowed...hehehe...but here is a larger pic of a jointed doll i've recently made...but she isn't finished...i've made her a mask but have yet to photogragh that yet...
   well folks that my news for today...hugs...christen

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

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

hot summer weather and cool new art dolls

it is sweltering hot here in scenic city chattanooga tennessee...one hundred degrees yesterday...almost to hot to move...but instead to sit inside under the cool air and sculpt has been my plan...and mostly that is what i've done...oh of course i've been out to weed and water the garden that is growing just beautifully this year and to take my morning walk with my little dog co-co and we've had two cook outs....in less than a week...food just tastes better off a grill i think...i also recently ordered a sculpey clay machine on line from joannes fabric and have been teaching myself to make canes...this is a slow and tedious project and takes much more pacience than my doll making....just yesterday though i did manage to make over one hundred and twenty beads...not to bad for a beginner in caning but i  definitly need to practice....but today i'm ready to move on to other things...like halloween art dolls...i miss making spooky creepy little dolls..those are my favorite and the mood has struck me to make a few...so today that is my focus....what creative little thingsa are ya'll doing in your neck of the woods?? dolls? jewelry?  any thing creative is good...i think gardening can be a form of creativity too...any thing one does to chanel beauty or inspiration into the world is art to me...here are a few photos of my creativity......i've not named either of these dolls yet for some reason...i usually will think of their named towards the end of sculpting them but not this time...but each doll is just under ten inches and the one in purple has pose able arms...while the other is a full sculpt...i didn't like her stockings as they don't seem to go with her outfit so i think i'll be changing that...also she has pierced ears so i'll be adding her earrings just as soon as i make them...

now the canes i've been working on...definitly need improving but for a beginner i'm not complaining...these haven't been cured yet and still need holes put into them to string them up later...but here they are...what do you think? well thats what i've been up to...so now its time to begin another project while these bake...and when they have cooled off i'll turn them into lovely pieces of summer jewelry to add to my etsy shop...http://fantasiesfromwithin.etsy.com...    have a great day bloggers...hugs...christen

Goth art dolls

Well seems another month has just flown by me...where does the time seem to go...between art and gardening and house hold duties seems i rarely find the time or energy to blog..right now today i'm in the middle of cleaning my studio and setting up a new sewing room...i'll be posting photos probably in the next two weeks of each work space...one is for my sculpting and painting while my other is all sewing things related...i've put off setting up this space due to no air conditioning in that room but since i'll be getting one next week i can't wait to start sewing and learning my "new" antique sewing machine...yes its new to me but is over fourty years old yet in mint condition all the attachments kept in their original boxes ect...a lovely machine and perfect for the simple seamstress i aim to be...mostly in the past i've only done hand sewing but i'm looking to add more detail to my costumes and need the help of a sewing machine to achieve this goal....i have so many ideas and plans for very detailed doll gowns...only problem being most of my dolls do not bend and there for must be hand sewn directly on too the art doll...but a sewing machine still will be helpful for adding layers to skirts and dress's as well as making perfect hems with even stitches...not to mention other things i might decide to sew as well...maybe some mini wall art made from hand painted and rubber stamped fabric...my head is swimming in idea...but first i must arrange the space to be able to use it in a proper way...clutter seems to upset my creative energy...i need neatness, organization...these things are a must if i'm to create successfully...so i'll leave you with photo's of my latest goth doll nose ring and all...is'nt she cute? and of course i'm working on a whole set of alice and wonderland creations for the ADO blog challange...so much excitement...ohhh i just love art dolls...also please visit my other blog at http://www.wickedwhimsies.blogspot.com/