Recent Work

Thought I share some pictures of what I've been up to this past week.



These are Christmas ornaments shaped as tags. Can be used as tags, but at $4.00 each, better for an ornament.



Cute scarecrow with a pumpkin, one of my favorite characters to make during the fall.


Frog cake toppers. These are ready to ship or I can do a custom design with different colors of flowers. I can do most animals, so if there is something you've been looking for, let me know.



These are Halloween Ornaments, made for a Halloween tree. Once again, in the shape of a tag. It is entirely made of clay, with a textured background. I love making these.

Tomorrow is the deadline for the contest to win the Halloween pig, so leave a comment and good luck!

I just couldn't give polymer clay up.

It was a tough five months, but I finally got back to claying. There are several reasons, the first being that I think I'm good at it and I believe it's a talent that God has given me. Secondly, it sells. I love doing the posters and prints, but I practically had to give them away. I'm going to consider that part of my life a hobby! Thirdly, there was an uproar among my friends and relatives about why I wasn't claying anymore and so I started to question it myself. Finally, I felt I was missing out on something, plain and simple.

So, to celebrate my return to clay, I'm having a giveaway.

I love making pigs and this one is too cute. She is holding two pumpkins and is ready for fall. This polymer clay piece is 2 inches tall. Her value is $8.00 but someone out there is going to get her for free!

How can you win?

Tweet about me, leave a comment, become a follower, like my facebook page,,those are all ways that you can get into the drawing.

Just let me know by email or by leaving a comment what you did (tweeting, commenting,following, liking)...This contest goes till September 5th. I'll pick a winner then and ship it out.

Pulled in too many directions

Wow, there are so many things I want to do and so little time to do it. I bet you know the feeling. I am the proverbial jack of all trades, and master of none. I want to paint, do collage, draw, and, although I said I was "retired" from clay, I still have an urge to create sculptures. (I just may do some Halloween ones soon).

I don't know if it's my attention deficit that gets in my way, but here's an average day for me.

• sponge paint paper for collage
• scan different images
• draw images and scan
• manipulate images in photoshop
• look at other artist's work
• make posters
• market my art
• fine tune skills in Illustrator (that's something I just started, although I've taken classes this is a tough program for me to learn)
• bid on jobs at Elance and then get cold feet when someone starts acting interested
• twitter my art
• facebook my art
• renew work or add new art work to etsy
• make cards

This would all be great if I were set in my style of artwork, everything would mesh and look unified and cohesive.

But, here are some of the things I'm working on,,

• bubble houses
• retro images
• kids alphabet
• kids pictures with my granddaughter
• dark dreams imagery (posters and prints)
• manipulated images of my art dolls
• inspirational images for prints and posters
• rainbow, glittery peace signs and posters

I love doing it all, but you can't find ME in any of it. I want to become an artist with that "style" that you can see in all of their work. This is very difficult for me to attain. I think I have a "wait if" attitude,,for instance,,what if I do it this way but the other way is better. What if I work on primitive folkart style and no one likes it. What if I am on to something here but I better do the other stuff too. Get my drift?

To thine own self be true is something I believe in but I don't know how to do it. I plod along daily making art but it is off on so many levels and tangents that I just don't know how to find my style.

Here are a few artists whose style is distinct in every aspect of their work..

Art by Erin She creates mixed media and spiritual art. I love her style. It is apparent in each thing she does. She is true to herself. How did she get there? That's what I need to find out. I'm older than she is for sure, but still, I haven't found it.

Another artist who's style is distinct is Little Sonrisa Her characters all look related, her backgrounds and style is definitely her own. She has achieved what I'm trying to find.

As my brain continues to bounce around in pinball fashion, maybe someone out there can give me a word of advice. It's tiring to me to continue in this way. In order for me to achieve some kind of success in my art I want to find my style yet I'm wandering around in a maze of ideas.

The journey continues.

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On the road again

I love taking pictures of roads. There is something about an image of a road that makes me wonder, "where does it lead, and what will happen when I get there?"

I'm always on the lookout for a great road photo opportunity and I guess I'm not the only one.

Post Cards In the Attic made a beautiful treasury on etsy called "On The Road Again." and she honored me by putting one of my road prints on it. Not only did she include me in this wonderful treasury, she blogged about it on her beautiful blog, Butterfly in the attic. She's got some great old vintage postcards and images in her etsy shop and on her blog, so you might want to visit her. Enjoy your travels!

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

Sale in my etsy shop

Just for my readers I'm having a sale in my etsy shop. All prints and posters are $5.00 (plus shipping).. Check it out and if you don't have an etsy account, just send me an email and tell me which print or poster you want. All prints are 5 by 7 and are matted. All posters are 11 by 17.

Show some love and buy a print! If you don't see anything you like, check back often, because I'm going to have this sale for awhile, at least during the next month.

MY ETSY STORE

Mixed Media Collage tutorial

Have you ever started a painting just to realize half way through that it isn't going in the direction that you wanted it to go. I think it happens to us all. Or have you ever found an old painting at a garage sale or in the basement where the subject matter isn't that great but the canvas is pretty nice?

Well, if that's the case, you will love this little tutorial on what to do to reuse those canvases and create an interesting collage.

You'll need an old paint brush, some decoupage, the canvas, and papers.

The first step is to cover the canvas in a generous amount of decoupage. Use your fingers or an old brush and cover it completely.
Next, tear up old newspapers, tissue papers, pages from books and recycled papers and start to arrange them on the canvas. I let this step dry and then I come back and cover the papers in another coat of decoupage. After both of those steps are thoroughly dry you can sand down some of the rougher spots. It's not necessary, just a choice as collage and mixed media need that texture.

Your canvas is ready to paint.
I use brushes and my fingers to apply an array of colors. If you wold like some of the papers underneath to show up, just put a light coat of paint around the edges, smear a little across. Have fun and don't worry about the outcome! I even added glitter to this collage. I always paint the sides of the canvas. Now it's ready to hang.

I picked a winner

Congratulations to Larry who won a print from my etsy store. His choice? He picked out a 5 by 7 matted print of the train depot, one of my favorites! Good choice, Larry! It's in the mail and on its way.

Stay tuned for a mixed media tutorial!

Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway!

Posters that can be personalized

Inspirational prints

Letters of the alphabet..looks cute in a child's room

Personalized pictures of animals

Biblical sayings

Posters for a classroom

Motivational posters and more

Remember, my giveaway ends in a few days..here are some examples of my prints and posters... Check out over 100 designs at my SITE All you have to do is send me an email or leave a comment here. I will randomly pick a winner on Mother's day.