A Very Busy Day........

I had a very busy and productive day today! I stopped at Michaels on the way home and picked up some paperclay and this groovy little pad of Halloween paper.

This is a quick pic of my new studio station that my husband made for me. It consists of 2 of these huge cabinets connected with a raised panel so that I can sit between the cabinets. I have a make shift top of piece of wood on top until I get the Corian top. I just love the warm golden hue of the oak and these cabinets hold soooooooooo much stuff!!! Whew-whooooo!

It will have a 7 foot long Corian top when it's finished! Can't wait! Lots of space to spread out. It reminds me of when I was in college and especially graduate school, I'd go to the library to the top floor in the magazine stacks and commandeer a fine old 6 foot long oak table to spread out all my books and papers on then I'd commense to reading and usually within 20 minutes I'd be drooling on a pile of papers fast asleep! But the point of this rambling, and yes there is a point.....I like to spread out my stuff!

So when I got home I had the most delightful suprise all the way from Kent, England from the very talented Dani, my very own elf! I'm so in love with him! But he's an active little devil, as soon as I unpacked him (the box looked liked a gorilla sat on it.....rough trip over the pond!) he jumped out and ran out into the flowers and sweet potato vines! I've named him Veepers!
He discovered the basil bush and really likes sitting under it while eating the leaves!

I'm just hoping I can keep Veepers away from Toodee because God only knows the trouble they will get into together! You can check out Dani's Pixie creations photostream at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixie_patch/

Ouch! Ouch! That was me soldering yesterday when molten drops of metal dropped on my fingers! Did you hear the cursing???? Here are fruits of my labors. The pennants measure 8 inches across by 6 inches high. There are 2 original collages sandwiched between 2 sheets of glass, soldered and embellished with bead charms and polkadot ribbon for hanging. When you get tired of looking at Goth-Boy and Pumpkin Lady you just flip it over to the Smiling Pumpkin!

This pennant is available at All Hallows Evening!

Snowmen in the Studio..........

Most people don't know it, but there is a beauty pagent for snowmen....yes, it's true. They strut down an icy catwalk while caring candy canes and wearing a hat of their choice. The one with the cheeriest smile and jolly attitude is usually crowned "Mr. Snow", given a sash that states this and a glitter candy can staff bespeckled with silver stars. The pagent takes place in Canada, I believe the 3rd weekend in January. Here is this year's winner. You will find him August 13th on www.spookytimejingles.com under Honey Girl Studio.


Sometimes when Mr. Snow struts down the catwalk his felt hat falls over his eyes!

Sinclair Snowman is gazing lovingly at his little snowdoll. His sports a red felt hat and green cloth scarf. The print on the scarf is actually a reproduction of Civil War era fabric. Sinclair will also be available on August 13 on Spooky Time Jingles under Honey Girl Studio.

This paper mache' plate is a BIG 14 inches! The inside is a combination of painting, decorative painting and stamped letters. It has a sort of whimsical - primitive look and has been antiqued with a warm brown patina. This plate is the 3rd offering on Spooky Time Jingles.

Stop by Spooky Time Jingles on August 13 to meet new artists that have joined the Marketplace. There are incredibly talented people on this site and now you can read their bios and see what inspires them to create their unique art pieces. There are also door prizes and giveaways to sign up for as well as free shipping for the month of August.

Mr. Frank Jones and Cupcakes......

I went to my family reunion today and took these cupcakes as well as Greek pasta salad and hot sausage with peppers and onions. I made 106 cupcakes but frosted all but 2.5 dozen. I was getting pretty sick of butter cream frosting and was losing interest so I stopped frosting!

Came home and started to clean and organize my studio. I'm getting ready for the new studio station to be installed. It's almost ready. My wonderful husband built it for me and is putting the hardware on it as I type.

Please meet Mr. Frank Jones! He is 12 inches tall and has been created from muslin, painted, stuffed and fixed to his base. He will be available on www.spookytimejingles.com under Honey Girl Studio on August 13th, however if you absolutely can't wait to get him then you can contact me (see my email on the sidebar).

I'm not saying this is the definitive picture of a "one eyed, one horned, flying purple people eater" but I think it's pretty close!

More Studio Happenings..........

Have a peek at Jasper (Jake's brother)! He's about 14 inches high, made of paperclay and will be available on Spooky Time Jingles on August 13th.

Ever had a day when you felt like this????? Paperclay skull resting on a little wooden table.....it's a WIP (work in progress). Brings a whole new meaning to the statement "I'm going to serve your head up on a silver platter", don't you think?


Even punk rockers need to trick or treat!

What's going on in the studio?

This has been a slacker of week for me in the studio as I've been playing on the boat, reading and eating, but still have about 5 different projects going.........here is a sneak peek of them..........as well as my studio assistant Toodee, who is always messing up the place and getting into trouble.

Tonight I went to the studio only to find Toodee standing over a hammer getting ready to do God knows what with it!

Hmmmmmmmm......what is this? It is a peek at a pumpkin doll created from muslin, stuffed and painted........it will be finished soon, maybe tomorrow.

Toodee getting ugly with a paperclay snowman! I think he was trying to break his arm! This pennant is 9 inches across and 6 inches high. It will be placed between two sheets of glass, copper taped and soldered so you can hang it. It will also have some thingies hanging from it.....not sure what but I'm sure thingies........It's two sided with a front and back.

Toodee was banished to the scissors for bad behavior!

A Hazy July Tuesday........

As July winds down there is a fragrant haze which hangs in the air which is a mixture of flowers, cut grass and clover hay, moist earth, bird's song and perpetual sun. It promises of even hotter days which are coming in August and this is probably my most favorite time of summer......the last week of July. Today I was up early and was out the door with my camera in hand to document the last hazy Tuesday of July....

Starting the day with nature imitating art.........

And I...............I took the road less traveled.............. on the way to my mom's house.

This is an old general store which was probably operational at the turn of the century in the small village of Hadley in which I grew up in. It's right beside the post office.........just like Mayberry.I wanted to go up on the porch and look in the window but I was afraid I'd fall through the porch floor........it looks pretty rickety! The corn is as high as an elephant's eye.........
This is the farm where I grew up and where my parents still live. The sweet smell of the corn in tassel tickled my nose and made me sneeze today bringing back memories of when I was growing up I was surrounded by corn and spent most days in a sleepy Benedryl haze!

After lunch it was down to the pontoon to clean it. It's amazing how dirty a boat can get! This is my handsome first mate cleaning the back of the boat!
Then it was out on the water. I got to be the skipper today! God, I love the water!!!

A hazy view from the boat........coming up on the RR tressel.Going under the tressel.............. those are the railroad ties above us on the bridge.Ending the day with man made functional art!

A perfect hazy last Tuesday of July 2008.

Magic Wand!

Wouldn't it be nice to have a magic wand or two to slash through the air, proclaim whatever you want and it would be done? Generally, in modern language, wands are ceremonial and/or have associations with magic but there have been other uses, all stemming from the original meaning as a synonym of rod. In Egypt, weapons against possible enemies, amulets against serpents, and other goodies needed in the afterlife were left in the tomb, together with magic texts and a magic wand which enabled the ka (soul) to use them.

The wand is also a pre-Norman unit of length used in the British Isles equal to approximately the modern metre, apparently dating from an early use as a yardstick (originally as a generic term). The 'wand' survived for a time under the Normans. Then when the yard was established, the wand came to be known as the 'yard and the hand', and then disappeared, either slowly or by being banned by law. And you thought you were on an art blog.........not a PBS documentary on "The History of Wands"!

Monsier Reynaud is the name of this little Halloween candy making fairy and when pointed at an object you can turn it into chocolate (if you know how to work it........maybe!).
Now I can pretty much tell you with great certainty that the wands I make are not loaded with any magic, however I'm sure you can get a prepaid magic loaded card to charge one of these babies up at Wal-Mart. If you do load them up with some powerful magic, I am in no way responsible for people being turned into one of the following: frog, dog do-do or jack-ass. Also I'm not responsible for additional limbs, warts, missing teeth or green hair that may occur from an unruly swipe of the wand.

If you are unable to contain your burning need for one of these little gems before they appear on Spooky Time Jingles on August 13th, you can click on over to All Hallow's Evening to get one. I've got 2 more in the works that will be posted tomorrow!

Bella Boo is Back!

Yes, it's the return of Bella Boo and her crazy Halloween antics. Here she is trying her hand at jack-o-lantern sales. She is always into something! This piece measures 9 inches tall by 6 inches wide and is a mixed media piece of decorative papers on painted canvas board. Bella's face is hand painted as well as the pumpkin's faces. She is available at All Hallow's Evening, so go on over and check her out!

Bella is wearing her glittery orange mask......she's in disguise...or so she thinks!

A Scary Book........

Sometimes you come across a good book, sometimes it's a scary good book. I remember the first Steven King book I read as a teenager.....I just about peed my pants with fright it was such a page turner! This is a paper mache box that's made to look like a book. It opens to quite a suprise.....2 sister witches! It closes with a large button and black string.
The two are sister witches and the black cat are slightly raised from the background about an inch. The background is a rich collage of decorative papers, stamps and vintage ephemera. On the left side of the inside is a copy of a vintage bean bag toss board. Aren't those cats a hoot!

Opened, this piece measures 9.5 inches by 5 inches high.Even the spine of the book is decorated.
This Halloween goodie is available on the All Hallow's Evening website.