new paintings!

This is a jointed paper doll I painted in egg tempera on paper. I'm thinking of having it printed and selling them on my etsy store. I love jointed paper dolls, but I don't know if other folks will like her since she's a bit different from other merfolk.

This is one of three paintings I made for Andrew's opening 'Into the Night' held this month at Allegory Gallery. I really enjoyed working on black canvas with a very different pallette than I usually use.

I think this piece was the favorite of the bunch...probably since the owls face is cute.

This is a portrait of an invented individual. I thought of her as a witch, since her face held a bit of secrecy and maybe a little sadness.

lovely autumn

Here's my girl sporting a new hoodie and new red-headed Barbie. Azalea enjoys a doll photoshoot.

Max lookin' lovely at the botanical garden.

Greg striking a pose with Max.

Kitsune blending in with the leaves.

Every fall, Azalea's school puts on a play for each grade. The students write the play (the older kids direct, design costumes, backgrounds and lighting) and help choreograph the dances. Azalea's class wrote 'Sleeping Piggy' and made all the pig masks. My girl played the Good Pig Fairy who helps Sleeping Piggy survive the curse of the Bad Fairy.

Andrew was in town last week teaching a workshop. It was a real pleasure meeting the attendants when they stopped by for a studio tour. I felt flattered and a little embarrassed by all the attention!

Whenever Andrew and I get together, the ideas fly fast and furious and we try to get as much done as possible. This time, we had a particularly fruitful visit and planned some interesting activities for the upcoming year. I don't want to share just yet, until we have the details hammered out, but I can tell you I am very excited about these projects!

pewter bezels

Here are some of our pewter bezels filled with little paintings and covered with Lisa Pavelka's Magic Glos UV Resin. I really like the fact its only one part, so there's no stressful mixing (it sets up with a UV light, or the sun). The only downside is bubble removal - sometimes some pop up under the light, then its impossible to remove them since this stuff sets up fast once its under the light. So, its essential to seal the paper down completely (no dots of glue to tack the paper! bubbles form under there). Anyway, these bezels (and empty ones) will be available this weekend in Jacksonville, FL at The Bead Mercantile Show held at the Ramada Inn Mandarin saturday 10-5 and sunday 10-4. Stop by and wear your green girl creations to receive a free bead!

visitor

I was looking out the window the other day and noticed this lovely bear ambling across the backyard! The main level of our house is on the second floor, so it was perfect to watch the bear from up above. This time of year the bears are really active since they are prepping for hibernation. Sometimes its a real pain when they get into the trash and drag it all over the yard, but I still enjoy seeing them around. We never approach the bears, or try to lure them over with beef jerky so I could pet their fuzzy round ears.

afternoons in paradise

What do I like to do in paradise? Oh, the normal things like wading in tidepools, sipping mai tais under vast umbrellas and also taking pictures of my dolls. Yep, I packed up a couple of my favorite small dolls so I could take pictures of them in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The doll in the photo above is from a Korean company called Fairy Land. I made the wig and painted the face and Jessica made the little dress while we waited for coffee. I think she turned out rather well. I named her Sprout.

While driving through a botanical garden, we spotted a little family of wild pigs, a mama and four babies. This photo was taken from about twenty yards away. We also found two tiny mongoose! They were super adorable, smaller than an average squirrel, darting about like birds.

This is an elaborate species of hibiscus, found in a large collection of the flowers at Waimea Falls, on the northern part of Oahu.

I really loved this feathery shrub, but couldn't find a plaque naming the plant. I love the color of those feathery fronds! I thought it would make a lovely skirt for my tiny doll.

We discovered these unusual blossoms in a tree alongside a winding road. Luckily, we were driving slowly, so they were easy to spot. I'd love this color and shape in the form of enameled bead caps, for earrings. It would be a pretty surprise every time that bright shade of red popped into view. I just picked up a book on torch fired enamels, so that could be a fun little experiment.

hawaii 2011

I love Hawaii, its one of my favorite places. I've been to many picturesque cities across the world, but there's something about the air, or light, or maybe its all the colors, that really put me in a tranquil state. I'm always happy and relaxed when I'm there. The picture above was taken by Jessica, outside Haleiwa, near the coffee and pineapple fields. The sun was really bright, but there was a light mist in the air, perfect conditions for a rainbow or two.

This was shot a few miles north of Waikiki, near our secret location for finding sea glass! This trip it was just myself and Jessica Wiesel; Andrew was supposed to come, but he had to tend the shop and couldn't make it. We missed his fun presence.

Doesn't Jessica look peaceful? Our rental car was a Mustang convertible, which was absolutely lovely on warm evenings coming back from the shore. Now I want a convertible. Greg really wants a scooter, so maybe we'll get a Mini Cooper. Its kind like a car-scooter. Anyway, we realized people are so nice here because they have such beautiful views filling up their eyeballs. How could you be mad in a place like this? We actually had two of our tires slashed by some hoodlum, but we were still smiling, even with all the inconvenience.

On our last day, we decided to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center, to get a full-on Hawaiian blast to the senses, with a luau and dance show. In the picture above, a roast pig is carried away from the pit (covered with burlap and a green blanket) which is lined with stones, then layers of banana leaves to impart flavor and to keep the pork tender. The neat thing about the center is that they really made an effort to make structures true to how they are made traditionally, in some cases, shipping in huge wooden sculptures from the native islands. We also liked all the little mini workshops in crafts and cooking techniques.

This is the dining hall for the luau, which I found really impressive. The whole area was covered by the upturned boat shape, which felt huge. The food was tasty and interesting - I loved the roast pork, but didn't care for the poi (a kind of light purple condiment made from a sweet potato- like plant called taro, I thought it was bland). All in all it was a fun experiance, especially the fire dancing and feasting. Maybe we'll take Azalea and Max here next time, it would be cute seeing them practice the hula.