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...

creative spaces

I really love looking at other artists creative spaces...and with that in mind thought i'd share mine...now this is a rather small studio, actually its the corner of a very large bedroom "made" into a creative space...i also have a music area where i tinker on the paino, not very good at it but i do enjoy practicing, so thats my second creative space, and although i have no pictures of it, i do have a sewing room cramped into the guest bedroom thats rarely used...the sewing machine in there is an antique, and yes it works, but i prefer my singer table top model, and so when needed set up an extra card table of which i have two... works perfectly for small spaces as these can be taken down when not in use making room for other activities....one day soon i'll put up pictures of the piano area, and my other love antiques...i have slowly collected some beautiful things, this was after losing my home to a fir eleven years ago, back then i thought i'd never have any thing again...but i must say i have so very much to be thankful for this holiday season, a wonderful husband, a small yet cozy home, and three auper awesome critters whom i love dearly...Merry Christmas every one...

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...

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