I'm still around, and here's a painting to prove it!

I was beginning to wonder if my blog would still be here when I checked in again. It's been a long process trying to recover from my physical fall apart, and I'm still on the mend, but thanks to modern medicine and prayer, I'm getting there. Silly me, I found out that I need to pray for myself as well. :-)
Anyhew, back a while ago I started this mixed media painting on a canvas board. I have only been able to work on painting when I'm at the apartment so this has been waiting for the final touches. We are in the middle of a dual move, some stuff going north, some stuff going east, but with me down it has been necessary for me to stay in town to see the doctors and go to PT twice a week. Our move deadline is looming so here I am, trying to pack and not throw my back out again. It takes some thought to get things sorted and organized, which I'm not right now so I'm glad you can't see the place, it's pure pandemonium. Trying to paint in chaos is not a strong point of mine, but I'm learning to change my way of doing things to live in the moment so to speak.
What does all that have to do with the actual finished piece, probably not much....lol. I used acrylics and stamps and various other items to create texture and design. It was rather freeing to play around with the different colors I had chosen for this. Have you tried a new technique or style lately for the fun of it?

Victorian Hair Art

Today I was supposed to go to DUP with my mother-in-law where they were sharing information about human hair art. We missed it because I can't drive right now due to medication induced fog to help me with pain. Thank goodness this is temporary as I don't like being foggy, but the meds are sure helping until I can get PT. I'm such a lightweight, but I digress.
DUP or Daughters of Utah Pioneers meet once a month to share history and information on all sorts of things related to their ancestors. Years ago my husband took his daughter and me to the Pioneer Museum where I was first exposed to hair art. It's amazing what folks will do to be creative or come up with ways to remember those who have gone before them. I was fascinated by this art form, as it, at least to me, was unique. Some of the flowers and such were quite intricate. Many were preserved under frames and glass. My husband shared with me that his dad's mom showed him some little vase like vessels made from family members hair, and she was able to tell him whose hair it was. No one knows where they went to after she passed away, but wouldn't that be an intriguing bit of family history and a unique memento to pass along?
At "The Constant Gatherer" blog by Katie Runnels, you can see some amazing images of this art, as well as glean more information. Have fun, and let me know what you think!

Virtue.... a finished WIP

I'm still in my jammies as I have been working on this and getting the photos and entry done, whew! I can go on vacation with peace of mind now. At 32 inches tall, she is the tallest/largest sculpt I've done to date. She is made from a total of 5 gourds, one for the body and two for each of the arms. No baby though. I had to remove the baby as it was looking more like a cocoon from outer space than a child, even a folk art one...lol. This is a bit different than I had planned for her dress as well, but sometimes things change as we go along. Now, to wait and see if I've been accepted.

Here's a closer look at her base. I tried to achieve a turquoise stone look to the panels on her dress. I hope that will show up in person. Photos are hard to take here.

Another one of my entries for the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts. A mixed media abstract.

I know I've shared this before as well, but here's "Who's Chicken?" again. Now the waiting begins. Will I be accepted? I hope so as I'm supposed to demo my sculpting and I usually volunteer to help. I do enjoy this show, but will be looking for others to enter as well. They are great experiences and you can get good feedback on where you need to improve. If you haven't entered a juried show before I urge you to give it a try. You never know!

Large Gourd WIP continues She has hair!

 I finally got to the first layer of her hair yesterday and then had her baking in the warm car for most of the day. I added more bulk to her hair and have now stuck her head in the oven to dry. That can be a tricky thing, as she is very large, but it's working.

I'm still thinking she needs a tad more height to her hair to give her a balanced look. What do you think? I need to finish the sculpting and get her drying today as I have two days to sand and paint her. What do you think so far?

Manfred the Moon and Stars....

Manfred the Moon and Stars, is busy shining to win your heart. He's starry and bright, and loves the night. Won't you take a look and see if I'm right?  EBAY

Gourd Art doll WIP continues....

 I've been working away on this piece today so I'm getting much closer to having her ready to paint. I know, it doesn't appear that way, but trust me, there's more painting than sculpting in the future for her.

A bit rough here and there, and yes, she will have hair...lol. It helps to let each step dry a bit. So I'm off to prep dinner to take to hubby; he has a soccer game to supervise. I do need a break and then back at it. I have one week left to finish this...think I can do it?

A Santa a week....

A Santa a week keeps the blues away..... Well okay maybe that's a stretch, but you know, you can't have too many Santa figures in your collection can you? I think not! So, I'm on a mission to list a new Santa each week to entice you to add to that collection of handsome and jolly fellows. This gourd Santa is 13 inches tall and I've signed and dated him. True confession, I have a sweet buyer who has been so patient with me, and she knows who I'm talking about.... Somehow I let two pieces she's purchased get out the door without a signature on them, ugh! I will make it up to her though as she hasn't put up a fuss and deserves better. I promise this fella is signed though as I made sure before I listed him....lol.

So, if you are interested this handsome gentleman is listed here: ETSY

Mother and child WIP continues...

 I have a head now, yay! Not perfect yet, but on the way. I've discovered that the fore arms will have to be made of something other than gourds, they weren't working out, but hey, that's what the creative process involves, learning and changing an approach.

No, my house doesn't have stuff laying all over, the soup can props her body so she can dry over the air vent. See how big she is? I better get cracking here, she's still got a ways to go and I have two weeks to do this in.