I'm such a tactile person. I have to touch things to capture their essence. No article of clothing is safe on its rack...if it looks like it might be fun to run my fingers across, that's what I'm going to do. It's how I know whether to love or loath something. If it is soft and luxurious, then I'm in love. Conversely, if it feels like a pair of polyester pants that schoolmarms wore in the 70's, then my natural reaction is to shudder.

This brings me to my paintings. It's all about texture.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Meet Serenity. She's the first of a series of 'Women and Words'...

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I love it when my creative bug bites, digs its colourful teeth right in, leaving its mark on every blank canvas it comes across! This time, the little critter conjured up a mermaid tail and a benevolent blue bird.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Some beginnings are also endings. The end of one wave ebbs into another, creating the circle of life. This textured piece is called 'Beginnings'. Both tiny canvases are 4x4 inches in gallery wrapped canvas.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Time has a nasty habit of slipping by without sound, sight, or notice. Why, just yesterday I was peering out the window at snowflakes as they fluttered gracefully to the ground. I glanced out this morning to find that my peonies had grown buds, blossomed, and then fallen to their fragrant death on my lawn...all without so much as a whisper in my ear to alert me to the magic taking place in my own backyard.

As I said, time has a nasty habit of slipping by...

...especially when your mind is abloom with ideas, and creations inspired by Mother Nature herself.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The kids have been off for March Break and I haven't been able to get ANY work done...except for her. Peace, y'all.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I love functional art! These are cool little shelves, or shadow boxes to hold little, lightweight trinkets. They are still a WIP (work in progress) because the two on the left have yet to be varnished, but I'm really pleased how they turned out. I even made the two big beads on the top out of papier mache pulp!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

This one was far more docile than the last. She expressed her appreciation in allowing her to inhabit my flooded basement. She says the water isn't quite as fresh as what she's used to, but she's thankful nonetheless. Having a mermaid as a pet's pretty cool.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I finally got one of the mermaids that invaded my house to pose for a picture. She's super slippery, so it's no easy feat! She's pictured with a peace offering for causing so much trouble.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

My house has been taken over by mermaids. It's not a hostile take over. They're very mild and passive, but they do have some strange quirks. And they smell, dare I say, like fish. Poor things. Now if that doesn't affect you socially, I don't know what will. Aside from that olfactory assault, they really are great to have around. They remind you of the magic that surrounds us. They absolutely LOVE water (I mean, I guess that's a given, as I sure do love air) so be careful bringing them into your house around spring time. Floods tend to occur. Trust me on that. You should see my basement.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I've decided to show the creation of this little mermaid, almost step by step. I could have taken a pic of the wire armature, but forgot, so you'll have to use your imagination. It's pretty easy to do...just look at the rudimentary shape of the mermaid, and you can pretty much visualize the twisting of the wire beneath. Anyhow, that's how you begin. Shape the wire in whichever way you choose, and then ball up newspaper and wrap and twist it around the wire and tape with masking tape to get a basic shape. I've also cut out the shape that I would like the tail to be and taped it on.

From there, I make my flour and water paste (no recipe, just mix it till it's nice and gooey) and use newspaper strips and cover many, many layers until it becomes quite strong.

I've let it dry and now it's time to start adding some detail! I add detail with my homemade paper pulp which is made up of flour, water, and cheap toilet paper! There are many recipes online for paper pulp, all you have to do is tweek it and make it your own :)

From there, I cut up lots of tiny strips of tissue paper and use a paint brush to 'paint' them on using the flour and water mixture I used to apply the newspaper strips.

Finally...I painted her, varnished, added hair, and attached beaded wire for hanging :)

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

There is life in nature, even if you don't see their faces or hear their words. Sometimes, if you look REALLY closely with your heart open wide, a face will appear in the most unusual of places. I have found evidence of this! When I was walking through the woods the other day, this leaf fluttered down onto my shoulder. I just about dusted it off when I glanced a little smiling face. So gentle and peaceful. I couldn't believe it! Much to my disbelief, this little leaf told me the story of the leaf fae. A whole world under our very noses. But they'll only show themselves to those they deem worthy, those respectful of Mother Earth. Let me know if you see the face...the fae told me that some may not see it. Consider yourself blessed if you do!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I just sharpened Gryphon's pencil and was about to just toss the shavings when I looked into my hand and saw a work of art! It was just so beautiful and simple, so naturally I had to take a picture!Its silhouette reminds me of a moth or butterfly or something. Am I crazy? It's pretty, right?

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

She's done, I think. I may add a few finishing touches here and there, but she's done for the most part. She stands about 18" tall and about 9 inches wide. She'll look pretty hanging in my living room. Whenever my little girl sees her, she waves and says hi. I ask her if she likes her and she says, "Yeah". And then I ask her what I should name her and she says, "Da-da". Like everything. The answer is Da-da.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I like faces. I like expressions. Happy, sad, comical, confused...you name it, I like it. I like that eyes are the window to the soul, and the mouth is an open floodgate that divulges sometimes too much, and other times too little. I like the lines that faces get as people age because it tells you so much about them. If they've been happy souls, their lines express that, and the same goes for the opposite. From my perspective, we really could all just be a bunch of balloon heads floating around, because I really don't notice much else - unless of course we're speaking of my husband's sexy hind side ;)

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

She's coming along! This head is finally getting close to being finished! She's my little wood nymph. I think she's going to be pretty neat when she's done! She's sort of taking on a life of her own. They always do. I have images in my mind of what I want them to look like and then they go and morph into something entirely different...

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I've been busy creating, and thus, haven't popped in here much! But anyhow, here are some pics of some of my recent creations. There's another one that is ALMOST done...just needs sanding, painting, and varnishing! Yay! I'll post pics of that one later, though. As for these two, they're merely decorations for my home! They'll be going in my living room which is a deep, rich chocolate brown, so I like to accent it with that pretty blue.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

So I am making papier mache beads. Pretty cool. But now I need to learn how to make beads out of felted wool. I saw some pretty rad necklaces on flickr that inspired me. They had a combo of the two types of beads and it rocked!! So, I'm on a mission. My last attempt to felt wool sort of failed. I mean, I've felted them in the washer and dryer, of course, but this just won't work for this project! Anyhow, stay tuned, because you're going to love the outcome...or at least I hope you do!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

...meet Baby Bean! He may be a little homely, but don't hold it against him. Remember Brad Pitt in Benjamin Button? He was one ugly sonofagun when he was born, and look what he turned into! I mean, before he became a little baby with alzheimers. Oops...was that a spoiler? I guess I should have warned you! What was my inspiration, you might ask? Same as always...I just.don't.know.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

She's a colourful little lady, isn't she? She shines even when the sun doesn't! She even has beaded feet. Now THAT's eccentric. You might be thinking 'less is more'. Not in this case. MORE is more when your purpose in life is to put smiles on peoples' faces!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

So I've had to tweak and and twiddle with this blog for a while to get it the way it is. On the road to where it is now, there was a lot of messing around with code. What? Code? Yeah, you heard me. Code. I know, I know. You look at me and you see blond hair. Look past it, ok? I've got this in the bag. Well, kinda. I mean...what are those post-its above with 'home, about, and archives? When you click them, nothing happens. Well, all I can say is Rome wasn't built in a day - or so the story goes...

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Changed my background, as you can see, and I LOVE it. But there are all sorts of annoyances! What are those tabs on the side that say 'undefined'? And that scrawl behind my followers?? It doesn't show up on page layout?! And my etsy store is now GONE!!! WTHeck is a girl to do! Calling all geeks!!!!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Thank you so much to my lovely friend Emily for putting my etsy store up!!! Without you, I would have been bald by tomorrow! I've been pulling my hair out ALL NIGHT trying to figure that out!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The weekend's over! That means I can get back to work on my sculptures! You see, it's hard to get creative with three kids running around and screaming. My boys think they are rock stars and super heroes, respectively, while my daughter lets out these screeches when the boys so much as make eye contact with her. It's crazy. It just doesn't make for an inspiring environment! So, alas, I must wait until Monday comes to get back to work. Sapphire, thankfully is a GREAT napper - she still sleeps around 2 1/2 - 3 hours per day. I'm able to get so much done during that time. It's great! Anyhow, another bird in the works. With a human face. Why? I dunno. I felt like it.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

A little bird once told me that to get through a gray day, all you have to do is SMILE!

Here's my newest creation. A silly bird with a human face. Creepy? Maybe. Cool? I think so...

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

There's something so organic and cozy about a cup of lemon tea...I thought I would bring that coziness into home decor! Here's a pretty lemon tea and silver spoon mobile to brighten up a kitchen! Here's the etsy listing: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21016937

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

And I have it listed on etsy http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20938502 . I think it turned out pretty cute! MMMmmmm...I really do love cupcakes!!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

MMmmmm...delectable! I'm in the process of trying to get some inventory for my etsy store, and this little treat-in-the-making is going to be the first item for my long past due comeback! It's going to be in the same style as the hanging faces with the swirling wire that I posted a week or so ago. I may add beads to this one, but I'm not sure yet. We'll see if it calls for it! I intend to make a whole bunch of little mobile type thingies (that was weird...spell check didn't underline 'thingies'...is it actually a word? Anyone?) with varying themes. The one that is also currently in the works is a tea cup and silver spoon. It's going to be a lemon tea, I think, and there will be that little string hanging out of cup with a sweet little picture of a lemon attached. I am making these mobiles to have two items each. If anyone has ideas and you would like to share them with me, please do!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Ok, just a quick update because I have to go pick up our sitter! Spencer and I are headed out to dinner with some friends. Happy saturday!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Another day of cleaning, another bag donated to Goodwill. And I discovered that a messy house isn't so bad after all. While I was cleaning today, I found a top I had bought but never wore! I was like a pirate digging for treasure. Does that ever happen in an organized house? I think not! Little surprises around every corner!

I organized my studio. Hung a painting of mine, and organized some little knick knacks. I also hung these great little wall decals. I'm having a lot of fun in this room. I have a LOT more to do, but personalizing has begun! Behold The Foxy Blue Studio!!!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I've spent the WHOLE day cleaning. It started out in my eldest son Gryphon's room. When I first walked into his room, I felt like a character from one of my favourite childhood books, although, I can't for the life of me remember the name! How frustrating. Anyhow, it was about this little messy character (an animal or something) who just couldn't keep his room clean, and there was this monster or something on its way to his room because he loved garbage. Or something. I don't know. It's been a while lol. Anyhow, this room was CRAZY!! I cleaned his room for FIVE HOURS! FIVE WHOLE HOURS!!! MY LORD! I also rounded up a whole bag and a half of clothing that I ran to the local Goodwill before I picked the boys up from school. They're all happy now because I've moved their furniture around. Here are the little messy hellions...let's see how long we can keep these dang rooms clean.

• 
• 
• 
• 
•