Nachooo!

I'm right in the middle of packing for yet another move. This makes the third time my family and I have moved in 3 years, so I've become a pro at this gig. I'm not, however, looking forward to the logistical nightmare that is moving a family where one member is an artist (moi) and one is a computer hobbyist (my better half). Oh, and we're both collectors (*cough* not hoarders! *cough*). We're staying in the same area, so it won't be as difficult as our last move when we found a place 2 hours away. Suffice it to say, this blog will be taking a back seat until we're settled into the new place.

Amidst this chaos, I'm still creating. I was in a swap with a woman whose son is a big fan of the movie Nacho Libre. My son and I are, too, so she asked me to create some artwork based on the movie. She gave me free reign. I'm not the world's greatest illustrator, so I knew drawing Nacho himself was out. I decided to explore the food themes in the movie, and came up with the 2 following mixed media pieces. Both works are done on 5"x7" canvas board.

 "Get that corn outta' my face!"

 "Eagle eggs?! I'm not listenin' to you, you're crazy!"

I'm really happy with how they turned out, and after my initial panic of not knowing exactly what I was going to come up with, I was pleasantly surprised with the direction, and grateful for her helping me to think outside the box a bit. After all was said and done, I realized I should have had the egg opened with the yolk spilling out to add more visual interest, but c'est la vie. Art is like life sometimes, as it can be a learning experience.

I really hope she likes these! They were mailed today, so I've got a few days of nervous waiting to hear back from her.

Thank you, as always, for stopping by! Hope you all have an artful day!

Just a bit o' mail art.

Life takes many new turns, and for us, it means another move. We're staying in the same area, but want to find a smaller place in the country. I really miss seeing trees out my window instead of a busy road, and being able to have a camp fire at night, and seeing deer in my yard. Suffice it to say, with a move coming up, I'll be posting here less in the next couple of months, but I promise I shall return!

In between the packing up, I have been creative, mostly making mail art. I find that handmade postcards are a nice way to squeeze a little art into a day. Here's a couple recent ones:

Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying a great start to the New Year!

The Pulse!

Tomorrow is Sunday, which means a new installment of Seth Apter's The Pulse. Yours truly will be among the artists featured. Seth puts a lot of time and work into this, so pop over and have a look, please and thank you!

My Etsy!

Well, I finally did it. I'm very late in posting about this, but back in the summer I finally opened my own Etsy shop. It's a humble little spot on the web I've named Blue Monkey Market. Currently, there are cards listed and some polymer clay ornaments, all made by yours truly, of course. In the future, I hope to offer more, like hand carved rubber stamps, possibly some crocheted items, paper craft kits, other polymer clay doo-dads and what-nots, and more.

I'm running a sale right now. Just enter the coupon code BLUEWINTER to get 15% off your order. I provide fast shipping, too! Many thanks to those that have already placed an order.

Here's a few of the things up for sale right now:

Handmade polymer clay Christmas ornaments.

Handmade cards.

The Pulse: Technique and Tool

I'm happy to report that I'm one of the featured artists on today's chapter of The Pulse. This time around, Seth asked the participating artists what technique or tool they can't live without. Head on over to read my response, as well as the other artists' responses.

Have an artful day!

My blog on Be@Home

Just a quick post to share some exciting news. My humble little blog was featured on Be@Home's Best of the Web series yesterday! I was excited to be noticed among all the wonderful and prolific bloggers out there. Go check out their site and see the other bloggers who inspire and entertain!

Why not Halloween?

Those who know me know that my love to create means I'm always working on some kind of project, and usually several at once. I've found that I feel most inspired and creative during the colder months of the year. Autumn and winter suit me just fine; I'd take cold over hot any day.

Considering this, it's odd that I almost never create anything with a Halloween theme. I enjoy makings things for other holidays, so why not Halloween? This year, a dear online friend mentioned that she loved Halloween and the ensuing crafty endeavours, and for some reason, it sparked something in me to make some Halloween-inspired items. Looking back, I realize it had me thinking outside the box, and getting out of my comfort zone. So I had some fun with traditional Halloween colors and images. These little creations helped me break through the wall that is artist's block, and got me back on track, artistically-speaking.

 Witchy Woman ATC

 

Witchy Woman ATC #2

These artist trading cards may not be masterpieces or artwork on a grand scale, but they're fun to make and trade, and there's not much I let get in the way of my fun.