Thanksgiving Day

I don't have to tell any American right now that this country is going through hard times. Going Out of Business signs are in many store windows and For Sale signs with Reduced Price underlined seem to be the norm. The t.v. was flooded with stories of people experincing loss and being helped by others that care. With all that as a background, one can't help but feel grateful when there is food on the table and family to share it with. Last weekend the large group arrived...there were 14 of us. It was a loud and fun time. This weekend, the real Thanksgiving, I spent with Ted and my mom. We did the usual: we ate turkey and mashed taters and we had more sweets than we should have. The dogs played with their cousins (my mom and brother's dogs) and we were warm and thankful. The football games were in the background and then a dog show began. Leroux and Madeleine watched it intently. As I watched them I wondered what life would be like as a dog...unaware of loss until it happens to them personally...thrilled by dogs running in circles and being prodded by judges...so simple I thought.

Making Sculptures for Baltimore

I was so elated when I was juried into the Baltimore ACC show, and then the reality of it hit me like a ton of bricks....I needed to get sculpting and sculpting fast. Each sculpture I make takes quite a bit of time and I needed a bunch of sculptures if the trip to Baltimore would prove fruitful. So, I have been working like mad. The quickest way to sculpt a ton of sculptures is to do it in stages...i.e. bodies first, heads next, etc. Because of that, I have had no finished sculptures done for some time now. So, in order to keep the posts going, I will post a picture of my animals from time to time...or a nice quotation that I might find. Here is a picture of sweet Madeleine. She is my french bulldog...and as you can see, she sits like a human at times. She is a joy.

How can you not take a picture?

Since this picture made many laugh on my Facebook page, I am posting it here also We can all use a funny image to brighten our day, eh? This is a picture of Leroux sitting/sleeping on his "sister" Madeleine while they sleep.

Chore Day

The Paradise show is over and now it is time to do all the things I put off while I was tagging and packaging sculptures. The chicken coop needs cleaning, the yard needs weeding, and the house needs cleaning. Since my day will involve chores, I thought it was only fitting that I post Camille, the chore girl, that I just finished. And now, off to do more chores.

William Shakepeare

As you all know, Shakespeare said so many great things, but this is a quotation that I would have taped to my bathroom mirror...if I did that sort of thing.

"Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt."

This was my attempt at sculpting the great bard. He will be with me in Paradise, as I join my friend Dee Danley Brown at the Art and Antique Sale at Nest. It should be a fun day.

Three new saints

I am posting three new saints here for you to see. Two are the style I have always made and one incorporates a new medium I have devised using burlap that is coated with my "secret sauce" I am happy with these three new ones, so I wanted to share them with you. Enjoy

I am going to Baltimore in 2010!!!!!!!!!

I woke up this morning to news that made me so happy. There was an email in my inbox that started like this: Congratulations! You have been accepted to exhibit in the 2010 American Craft Council Wholesale Retail Show in Baltimore held February 23 – 28, 2010. If you are an artist, you know what this means to me. To be juried into what many consider the premier art show in the U.S.A is something I didn't even dare to dream about. My friend, Tom, suggested I try. He helped me get profressional pictures taken of my sculptures and he showed me where to apply. I fretted and went through paroxysms of self-doubt but I finally gave it a push to see what landed and then, a couple of months later...the email I got this morning. It will be a ton of work and I will be exhausted when it is all over but it is an opportunity that I feel blessed to have received. And though, I doubt any of them will see this...THANKS to the American Craft Council Jurors.