I’ve been working on my Bunny World ...

 Lady Arabella and Phoebe are the first in what I hope will be a several piece series.  You’ll note that a new portrait ofArabella has also been done as a relief sculpture.

 

I was playing with the digital drawing tools  and created an image of Arabella that I’m going to use as a fabric pattern. I’m trying to smooth out the edges of the 4 panel and the kalidescope design and I’m going to order a sample of each.  I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished fabrics. I’m partial to the kalidescopic first swatch myself. I’m thinking middle weight or light cotton for the fabric.  Any suggestions are welcome.

Spring Mourning Or the process of creating a series

This single black and white photo is the inspiration for the sad little picturebook Spring Mourning for which I have been gathering reference for several months.  I want to tell the story in a series of paintings with bunny people in 18th and early Regency style clothing. The story takes place over a period of a few years.

                                              

The reference I’m finding helpful are late 18th and early 19th century miniatures, and even historical costume catalogs helpful in deciding on how I want the characters
People in rabbit masks and flower symbology charts also help set the mood.

  

  I think my first experiment designing a rabbit woman and her baby turned out rather well. Although I’m still undecided about putting hairdos of any kind on the women rabbits. I like the idea of just arranging a few flowers around their ears.

  

Ghosts, Pie and Fresh Cream

The one pie my Grandma Bartlett made that I thought was strange was funeral pie. It's actually just raisin pie. Of course if you lace any dried fruit with brown sugar, eggs, cream and brandy and bake it in a good crust and top it with real cream or homemade ice cream you've got a winner. 

I think what freaked us kids out was the family story that went with it.  Tale of the black dog.... circa 1912.

The Bartletts were Irish dirt farmers from way back and kept the Irish tradition of the family wake for yrs. My Aunts Catherine and Virginia were around 8 and 10 when a cousin of theirs died by drowning. 

It took a couple of weeks to find him and the corpse was found in a seated sort of pose. So poor cousin had to be tethered inside the coffin so he wouldn't sit up. 

My aunts just wanted the grown ups to stop drinking and wailing and serve out the mountain of food (out in the yard behind the house of course.... cousin was ripe.) Grandpapa heard them fussing and sent them out with the promise of extra funeral pie if they were good . 

So escaping the stinky death house, they went to see the tethered horses in front of the barn. While they were talking to the horses, a huge black dog the size of a Great Dane appeared  on the path to the house. 

The girls walked up to see the dog and he came towards them and started circling them very slowly. As he circled he got smaller and smaller and vanished. 

They ran screaming back to the house as the body was finally being taken away in the horse drawn hearse. All the drunk adults thought it was cousin on his way to Hell. Apparently cousin was a dick. The ghost didn't seem to put a damper on the festivities and Virginia and Catherine got a whole pie and a little pot of cream to themselves because cousin scared them.

Art History in the Time of Trump

A couple of Saturdays ago Mike, my brother Ken and I went to the Getty museum. To avoid visual overload, we just went through the 13th-16th century mostly Italian and French paintings section.

As per usual the early paintings had ugly angry babies and they didn't improve with the Mannerist ones who just looked dead. But that's something for another post. Now in the later sections the Renaissance painters brought happy back to art. Well, at least for me anyway because I love Greek and Roman mythology. Mike and I have a decent background in art history so listening to the guides can be interesting. I love art lectures.  Now this lovely Italian painting of Danae that is some what new to the Getty.  

If you don't know the story, Danae, daughter of the King Acrisius was imprisoned by her father when it was prophesied that her son would kill her father. She was locked away in an underground bronze chamber. Zeus, who could never walk away from a complicated lay, impregnated her by appearing to her as a golden shower.

Now why this gets funny, at least to me, is this was the week of the Trump/Russian golden showers story. I was wandering around listening to the guide as she worked her way over to Danae. I wondered if there would be any smirks or giggles about the golden showers story.

The guide went into an elaborate look at the golden falling shapes and don't they look like coins monologue. As an art teacher by training, I was annoyed. I wanted to laugh because she was trying so hard to not say golden showers, but she was NOT telling the actual myth! Alt-history is not acceptable. It may seem a small thing in the scheme of the universe, but tiny lies add up.

Holiday Decor 1960's style..... the computer card wreath

 As I was about 9 or 10,  the image in jumped out at me in all it's silver glory. McCall's Needlework and Crafts always had the best Christmas projects.  I loved making every tacky decoration. If I found a box of computer cards at a thrift store, atheist or not, I would make one of these for my door.

1.Cut a circle out of fairly heavy piece of cardboard.
 2. Fold a computer card's 2 short ends and staple them. Flip  the card over so the stapled side is now the back.
3. When you have a big pile, you can start stapling  the cards ....pointy end out following a long the outer edge curve of the circle. Each successive row is  stapled in the open spot between the 2 points like shingles. Don't be stingy with the cards. The whole point is to make this monstrosity of Holiday gaudyness as fat and obnoxious as possible.

4. I personally prefer a gold or silver spray paint, to make a nice background for the even gaudier glitter balls, elves, candy canes and tiny glitter penguins that you arrange artistically in the center  of your wreath ....AFTER you wait a bazillion years for the 2nd or 3rd coat of spray paint to dry.  Yeah, they never say it takes a bazillion years for things to dry properly in craft magazines.

5. After the paint's dry, try a few arrangements of your glitter stuff or boring greenery. But Mom! SPARKLY IS BEST! AND THEN GLUE EVERYTHING DOWN WITH WHITE GLUE.... AND  WAIT ANOTHER BAZILLION YEARS for the GLUE to DRY!

Of course now there are GLUE guns to get burned on, but wait time is cut by a bazillion. I don't know how easy finding IBM cards is now, but I have seen them in thrift stores on occasion. I'm told big index cards will work, that seems sacrilegious.

Supplies
Cardboard
IBM computer cards
1 or 2 cans of spray paint... if you find those pink cards that need extra coats.
A bunch of little decorations for the center
Craft GLUE or a GLUE gun
Wire to make a hanger so you can hang this masterpiece up
Stapler and staples

My femme fatales

Working on a new version of my skull carrying mermaid....  Learning how to work with oil paints has been a huge learning curve.  I've been working on primed masonite and I'm really liking it. I enjoy just banging on a solid surface while painting. I thought I'd miss the bounce of a stretched canvas, but no. This surface is much better for me.

As for my horned oracle... ew what a mess. I painted her to death.  This was the painting when I liked it.

But as I look at those overlong arms, I want to just start again.   The weekday Open studio had one of the models do a sorceress for a series of quick sketch.

  I find the gestures much more interesting want to use one as an inspiration for my redo.  A 3/4 view with the snake draped over the extended arms should be more interesting.  I want to keep the circular curved horns and long red hair. I have a few other shots of the original model with a 3/4 view.

Basing out the masonite with a base color like I do when I use acrylic, really helped me focus on what I was doing.  I'm hoping it will keep me from over working my paintings.

One new piece I'm really proud of is my sleeping dryad. She's done in acrylic and wouldn't probably be considered a femme fatale, but I'd like to share a successful finished piece.

What you hope when you start painting.....and what you get.

Sol Saucedo-Butzke - our model at open studio this past Saturday inspired me to look up Jesus Helguera a Mexican painter who I always liked.

 I always liked his pretty women in traditional clothing.  Now I realize my style of painting is hardly idealized realistic in nature like Helgeura's, but I thought attempting a different style would be interesting.  Well, the blank wall put me off, so I rescued the striped blanket and made it the backdrop.

Yes, so much for good intentions. So you see the painting I ended up with.

I wasn't too surprised when my finished piece was more like something Matisse would have done.

Which when I think about is okay too.  I just couldn't bear paint a relatively barren(at least to me) brownish background. I'm a firm believer in using the model and their environment as a jumping off point.

I am what I am....a colorist at heart.

Does your nature as an artist sabotage your good intentions?

Clowns.....mini rant!

I've written about clowns before. Yes I am scared of them cos I've never liked anything with a hidden agenda. Clowns are not funny...although as meat they might taste that way.

As for being bringers of relief from pain in a hospital setting... What do you think?  I'd rather be visited by Pennywise or this guy from the French short film Happy Meal.

But maybe it's just me.....  Nope. Clowns are awful.  Really really awful!  Would you like to wake up after surgery with this guy hanging on your headboard? Geez, why not? 

Bathroom Lurkers

Back when we were kids in the 60's Mike and I had the principals of our respective schools give us The Bathroom Lurkers or in Mike's case The Toilet Bums lecture.

**UPDATE: Holy crap! I just found the short film. It's scarier than I remember.  The Scary man video **I think there was even a short film about never going into a park bathroom alone. We always joked it was supposed to be dirty unshaven men in trench coats or something. Which obviously isn't usually the case in child assault cases.

Anyway, I have an odd story for you.

Mike and I had a nice lunch Saturday afternoon. We talked about movies and work and painting.  We were even chatting about the stories about the potty phobes cos we planned to pick up some things at Target on the way home.

So as I usually do after eating, I stopped by the restroom on the way out. As I came out of the stall a woman put her hand on my arm and asked me if I'd found Jesus.

Now honestly was I startled by being approached and touched by someone  I perceived to be a woman? No. I think what bothered me was the giant cross around her neck. I've had experiences with being told that as a person with a disability I was a tool of the devil or unclean.

Yeah, apparently there's some stupid thing about the deformed not being allowed near the altar in the Old Testament. Well, now we have science and stuff so we know about birth defects and genetic anomalies. So you are gonna have to get over that stuff. Human comes in a range of colors, sexualities, genders, limb counts and mental abilities.

Any way.....sorry I got ranting. Back to the woman with the giant cross. As all of the stuff in my rant was whirling about in my head she repeated "Have you found Jesus?"

I pulled away and started washing my hands and replied, "In the toilet? No I was alone." And walked out. Come to think of it, I hope she washed her hands too while she was skulking around in there.

Now I'm sure some of you are thinking that I was unfair to her, but I wasn't the one lurking in a bathroom. If that's leading by example I wasn't impressed. If you want to be mad at me being irritated here's a card to present me the next time you see me.

Really?! Did the prop dude hit a Woolworths Sale? Thoughts on the Original Dark Shadows

 My first Actor crush was Johnathan Frid. I raced home from school to see him every day in lovely atmospheric black and white. On one fateful day a terrible thing happened.

Dark Shadows was filmed in color. Now I'd love Frid no matter what, but the show lost so much atmosphere cos the colors of the accents on the sets and the clothing were very raw.

The one thing that really annoys the hell out of me? The loud obnoxious turquoise candles in the old house. I mean come on! Barnabus wanted everything to be just as he remembered it when he and Josette were alive. You can't tell me tallow candles came in 1960's turquoise.  I just don't believe it. Barnabus was always looking for an excuse to knock the crap out of Willy. Those candles should have sent him into a rage.

I know it's just a tv show and I'll always watch Dark Shadows, but damn those candles! Oh and the ugly bag dresses and the boxy wool boucle suits!
                                                                               

 

Yeah, okay there's a bunch of annoying things. But one place I loved in black and white or color was Sam's art studio. I adored the windows, and all the paintings around.....even the old sofa.

So, do design faux pas bug you when you watch a favorite show from your childhood?

Creation of a Lovely Monster Part 2

 Just a little observation....you never know what people will see in your work.  My husband looks at what I was going to call A Bride of Cthulhu and said...."Wow that really looks like Lucille Ball!"

Which is funny cos... One- I was attempting to create something a little frightening and a little sophisticated. Two- I never cared for Lucy's type of embarrassment humor. Interestingly enough, I have problems with depression and through my reading on the subject, that type of humor is abhorant to many sufferers.

So, yes I unconsciously created quite a monster. Strange how things work out.

The Creation of a Lovely Monster

Combining different colors, genres and styles of clothing can make unusual dolls. I have always loved pannier dresses, sea creatures, and the atmospheric writing of H.P. Lovecraft. Now first off... Yes, Lovecraft was a racist who was afraid of pretty much everyone and everything. He thought he was too good to do menial work. His education left him thinking he was some lord of the manor caught out of time. Amazingly he had a Jewish wife who doted on him for a while but she got tired of supporting him and eventually left him. BUT, I have to admit he put his irrational fears to good use and the paranoia that permeates  his stories really can get that shudder/cold chill factor going when you read his work.

One thing to remember about talent....it is not always given to nice people.

Now pannier dresses, they are fun because of the layers of fabrics that can be used to mimic the frilly pieces in the tails and fins of sea creatures like sea horses or sea dragons and squids. As many of the Cthulhu Mythos seem to be based on squid like monsters, combining a human torso with some tentacles makes a nice human squid hybrid bred from the Elder Gods and their willing devotees.

I usually work with lots of bright colors and patterns, so in this Brides of Cthulhu series, I wanted to strictly limit my color palette and use pattern to create visual interest in this piece and the other dolls I'm planning.

While I was shopping for the black,  silver and white beads for this series, I fell in love with these adorable little brightly colored skulls. The fact that some of them had little rhinestone eyes made them just perfect. Yes, skulls can be cute.

So, now I just need to give her a suitable name and list her in my shop.

Halloween Dolls- Soceresses, Demons and Ghosts.... Oh my! Part 1

Halloween is my favorite holiday and many of my dolls, while they are inspired by more than Halloween themes, fit quite well into the season.

Mythology and history combined to create the black winged demon Lilith.

Bats and cats inspired my little vinyl winged Flutter cats.

Now a sort of gruesome type of period song called Silver Dagger Ballads inspired the floating blue green half doll. In these ballads, men murder their wives or lovers and often go home to a good nights sleep. Now these songs are quite the MRA anthems, so in my version of the poems, the ghosts of the women get their revenge.

The final ghost Lavinia is actually daughter of Titus Andronicus. Titus was a great melodrama of a Shakespearean play...murder  and rape and the lopping off of limbs and even cannibalism.  I guess mind numbing gruesomeness takes your mind off the short lifespan and religious domination you're experiencing.

Matilda, the Batgirl is my attempt to make a cute batgirl. I'm pleased at how well her hair and little embroidered teeth turned out.

Well, these are a few of your choices if you're looking for a doll for Halloween.

My next post will discus monsters... among other things

Newest HexCat Jasper

My newest

HexCat Jasper went to his new home last week and was well received. I'm working on a large monkey that will be used as a model in yoga classes for kids. His head and hands need to be finished and he will be on his way in just a few days.

It's been interesting doing custom work. I hope to do more.

Doing custom Art dolls and Animals

I am in the process of creating several different new designs, but wanted to make sure that the pieces like my Minkeys and my Runes cats were still available regularly.

I still intend to make and list them of course, but I want to make sure that getting a customized piece is always available.

After creating the Cthulhu inspired Whateley Rooster, I found that I enjoyed creating the tentacled versions so much that you have several new animals to look forward to in the coming weeks.

So if you have a favorite beast that you think deserves a tentacled makeover, feel free to suggest it. I like getting input because it helps me expand my ideas.

One new Cthulhu based series I'm starting are what I'm calling my Brides of Cthulhu. Except for Frankenstein's Bride or Mothra...okay maybe Drac's women, there aren't that many female monsters. I'm hoping to create a few new monstrous women.

So keep your eyes open and check out my new pieces as I add them and if you want one of my older designs it will be possible for you to do so by special order.

 

 

Friday the 13th...eh

Since I'm not Gilgamesh hunting through the underworld for my dead friend Enkidu, scary numbers aren't a phobia of mine. Me, I'm scared of artificial humans like mannequins or ventriloquist dummies. A few TV shows and films that cemented my phobia? Oh yes, I want to share them with you.  I'll post all the links I can find so you can watch at least clips if not the entire show or film.

Kolchak was a favorite of mine and the episode with the moving mannequins really got me.  I know the effects weren't perfect, but the episode scared me.

Oh, and yes the effects are cheesy, but you've got to love a character like Kolchak... Who else would crawl into the resting place of a zombie only armed with a needle and thread, some candles, matches, and a container of Morton's salt. He was the best monster hunter.



Ventriloquist dummies are another creepy thing. Who the heck ever thought these things were cute needs to be smacked.  The Devil Doll just scared me to death. Let's see evil magician who can stuff his victim's consciousness into his little friend and force the animated dummy to do all kinds of nasty things.

Wouldn't you just love to see this little creep by your bed in the middle of the night?

Oh I do have to admit that there is one ventriloquist dummy I like. If you have never seen the Canadian comedy Puppets Who Kill, you should. A rehab or halfway house for killer puppets may seem an odd idea for a comedy. but it's quite funny. The dummy Bob is as evil as I think ventriloquist dummies are so he doesn't scare me.. go figure.

So if you want to watch something scary on this oh so frightening Friday, check out one of these.

Okay, the Devil Doll as a complete movie is here but the MST3000 version has the cleanest images.
MST3000 Devil Doll

The Kolchak The Trevi Collection episode...
Kolchak-The Trevi Collection

oh and as a bonus... The Zombie episode
The Zombie

Puppets Who Kill
Puppets Who Kill Episode 1

So, let me know what you think!