My Three Entries for the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts

Calabaza de Cuero

 It's nail biting time again. Funny, I always worry about being accepted, and haven't been turned away yet, so why the nail biting? I guess it's that old lack of self confidence creeping in. Keeps me humble right? Lol.

Sunset In Sonora

 This was an interesting challenge, but a lot of fun to do. I wanted to try and use my doilies in a tree painting, and it worked, although I had another style in mind prior. What's nice is I can still try my other idea. I've learned though that joint compound does not like cold basement floors. It was a bit hard to spread, and a lot more crazing happened than I like. The paint filled most of that in luckily, and the antiquing process brought out what was left, to my advantage.

The Red Hen

Pastels and chickens, who knew that would be my new fun challenge to try?! I have a couple of other challenges in that regard, and my temptation is to blow past the sketch step and get right to it, but I think I will try and sketch out my idea first to make sure I have my light and dark areas figured out. I can do that while Kent is doing his dulcimer practice so it works for both of us.
I'd better get to finishing getting ready for work. I am introducing Mary Cassatt to my students today. It will be interesting to see how they settle in after Spring Break.

Western Style Tooled Leather Look on Carved Gourd

 Got this done finally, and it turned out pretty nice if I do say so myself. Nature Guy and I were both sweating it, as two days ago this was not looking the way I had hoped. Proof that details matter.

I had to change a plan or two, for instance, the holes around the top band of the gourd weren't doing it for me. As I was rummaging through my jewelry making stash I found some eyelets that intrigued me so I tried placing a couple in the holes and they sure made a difference so that was a nice discovery slash inspiration. I had another plan for the base of the gourd, but acrylics weren't working the way I had hoped. it's all good though as the end result turned out great as well. You can't really see it well in this photo, so when we get back from our travels I will share more photos. All in all, my art pieces for the show are going better than I hoped, whew! Are you working on anything new?

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Who's got the Pumpkin?

My etsy shop has two as a matter of fact. Created on gourds, these fun guys, are ready to help you celebrate Halloween. See them at MothersDreamRtworks

Happy Jack! Halloween Gourd Folk Art

What's larger than a Hermiston watermelon and happy as can be? Jack, who is now is available now on etsy.

PFATT Marketplace Offerings for August

 Marcus Moon

SOLD!

 Northwood Pines Santa

Pumpkin, Pear, Moon Folk Art Painting

So here I am four days after the new month launch trying to get things sorted out. Not only am I waaaay behind on posting this, it appears that I boo booed and sent the wrong link or didn't get the link changed when I created my page for this month. So what you see is Marcus Moon, which is on his way to his new home, an oil can JOL, that really should be the painting above, and the Santa. These are my three offerings on the PFATT Marketplace this month, and we are working on changing the painting photo. If you are interested in the painting let me know.

Whew, all this running around trying to take care of two homes 600 miles apart, church responsibilities, family and art makes for a whirlwind life, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

If you are interested in the two pieces left that you see above, stop by PFATT Marketplace

Hungry Jack O' Lantern is done!

Hungry Jack O' Lantern is so ready to hang out with someone. He's an impressively large Jack, and fun to boot!
I haven't decided yet where to debut him. I will keep you posted. If you are interested, send me a note.

Spooky Dude Hanging with Friends

 Spooky Dude is happily hanging out with his friends the Sweet Mamma twins. He is tickled to be out and about and looks forward to Alpenfest in Joseph, Oregon next weekend.

 Spooky Dude is trying to find more of his friends in the squash patch.... I know there are more!

Oh, he caught me with my camera. Such a poser isn't he? At two feet tall, he is pretty impressive I must say. I will keep you updated on how he fares at Alpenfest. I have a companion to him that I'm working on, and maybe more. We may have a gourd Spooky Dude and friends invasion in NE Oregon next weekend. Bwaaaahaaaahaaaaaa!

Transformation of gourd into.... WIP

 From plain Jane, to fabulous....lol! Okay, who remembers that commercial? Was it Maybelline or some other cosmetic company? Anyhew, still heading towards finishing this perhaps for tomorrows listing on ebay. Debating that one as I want to test the market at Alpenfest as well.

I will have finished photos soon, but for now I must get ready to run some errands. Today nature guy requested pizza, so because I love my hard working man, pizza he will get. As for santa production, that's a slow run, but I am working on that as well and hope to have more photos of them as well. Thanks for stopping by, I hope to see you again soon.

Something Wicked This Way Comes.....WIP

She's a little rough around the edges right now as she still has spots that need to dry. She will be an impressive 2 feet tall when finished. Hee hee! She is looking forward to getting to know you better my dearies!

Happy Monday! Okay, it is for me at least.....

 Oh the joy of listing an item on ebay and having it sell right away! Printed on very high quality heavy duty gloss finish paper, with very high quality ink, this is the last of the series I had printed from the original painting I did. I only have one of the prints left of the above painting so head on over fast to snag this! Prim Pumpkin Pear Print

 A sweet and woodsy gourd Santa, hand sculpted and painted with layers of paints, this little fella is also available here: Northwoods Dreaming Santa
So I'm having a good Monday, mailed off a few pieces that sold last week and today, and this little guy will go to some lucky home so we are starting off the week right. How's your week going?

Hagatha Witchley

 August has arrived with an outlook for back to school and fun holiday times just around the corner. Soooo, I pulled out my gourd collection, which is growing by leaps and bounds, and found this lovely lady just waiting to be brought to life. A gourdeous pumpkin witch isn't she?

Hagatha has made her debut on ebay this week, so scurry on over and learn more about her and how you might be able to have her keep you company this Halloween. You can find her here:  Hagatha Witchley

Chief Joseph Days here we come!

It's almost rodeo time again, and one of my best childhood friends and I are taking the challenge to have a booth at Chief Joseph Days  . If you have a moment, take some time to check out the goings on for Chief Joseph Days. It's the biggest event around and draws folks from all over the world to come see the wild bucking horse stampede, the PRCA rodeo events, and dance the night away. The Nez Perce set up teepees outside the rodeo grounds and have dance demonstrations among other things, along with everyone who can find a reason participating in the kiddie and grand parades. It's with a bit of trepidation that we do this, especially for me as I've not tried an outdoor venue like this before. Luckily for me, Teri is a pro at this sort of thing.
Teri is the owner of Calamityville Mercantile, a fun and very cool vintage cowgirl "chic" sort of shop with western treasures galore! She also creates hand woven saddle cinchas, and does beautiful work. Her hubby is a saddle maker among other things and they live out in the farm/desert country of southern Idaho in an idyllic location surrounded by fields of green and fresh produce everywhere to be had. Click on her link and see what's going on out in her shop.
So I'm going to get my cowgirl on, and get to  making some fun jewelry, and home decor, including gourd country critters, and some art pieces (hopefully)....lol.

Virtue.... a finished WIP

I'm still in my jammies as I have been working on this and getting the photos and entry done, whew! I can go on vacation with peace of mind now. At 32 inches tall, she is the tallest/largest sculpt I've done to date. She is made from a total of 5 gourds, one for the body and two for each of the arms. No baby though. I had to remove the baby as it was looking more like a cocoon from outer space than a child, even a folk art one...lol. This is a bit different than I had planned for her dress as well, but sometimes things change as we go along. Now, to wait and see if I've been accepted.

Here's a closer look at her base. I tried to achieve a turquoise stone look to the panels on her dress. I hope that will show up in person. Photos are hard to take here.

Another one of my entries for the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts. A mixed media abstract.

I know I've shared this before as well, but here's "Who's Chicken?" again. Now the waiting begins. Will I be accepted? I hope so as I'm supposed to demo my sculpting and I usually volunteer to help. I do enjoy this show, but will be looking for others to enter as well. They are great experiences and you can get good feedback on where you need to improve. If you haven't entered a juried show before I urge you to give it a try. You never know!

Large Gourd WIP continues She has hair!

 I finally got to the first layer of her hair yesterday and then had her baking in the warm car for most of the day. I added more bulk to her hair and have now stuck her head in the oven to dry. That can be a tricky thing, as she is very large, but it's working.

I'm still thinking she needs a tad more height to her hair to give her a balanced look. What do you think? I need to finish the sculpting and get her drying today as I have two days to sand and paint her. What do you think so far?

Gourd Art doll WIP continues....

 I've been working away on this piece today so I'm getting much closer to having her ready to paint. I know, it doesn't appear that way, but trust me, there's more painting than sculpting in the future for her.

A bit rough here and there, and yes, she will have hair...lol. It helps to let each step dry a bit. So I'm off to prep dinner to take to hubby; he has a soccer game to supervise. I do need a break and then back at it. I have one week left to finish this...think I can do it?

A Santa a week....

A Santa a week keeps the blues away..... Well okay maybe that's a stretch, but you know, you can't have too many Santa figures in your collection can you? I think not! So, I'm on a mission to list a new Santa each week to entice you to add to that collection of handsome and jolly fellows. This gourd Santa is 13 inches tall and I've signed and dated him. True confession, I have a sweet buyer who has been so patient with me, and she knows who I'm talking about.... Somehow I let two pieces she's purchased get out the door without a signature on them, ugh! I will make it up to her though as she hasn't put up a fuss and deserves better. I promise this fella is signed though as I made sure before I listed him....lol.

So, if you are interested this handsome gentleman is listed here: ETSY

Mother and child WIP continues...

 I have a head now, yay! Not perfect yet, but on the way. I've discovered that the fore arms will have to be made of something other than gourds, they weren't working out, but hey, that's what the creative process involves, learning and changing an approach.

No, my house doesn't have stuff laying all over, the soup can props her body so she can dry over the air vent. See how big she is? I better get cracking here, she's still got a ways to go and I have two weeks to do this in.

My biggest sculpt yet...WIP

 It's time to finish my pieces for the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts in Joseph, Oregon. Hubby says I should enter the chicken pastel I posted in my previous post so now I have two more to add. I am also adding one of my abstracts, but I'm going to do some touch up before I post that one, so now I'm working on a sculpt I've been wanting to do for a long time. I have a friend in Wallowa Valley that snagged some very cool and very large gourds, this one happens to be 26 inches tall. She offered to let me buy a couple as she has plans for the rest. I originally started on a Santa with this one, but I just couldn't bring myself to finish it, so here I am, working on an Indian mother and child. I peeled off the face of the santa, which will need a new and very large gourd. :-) I'm using more than one gourd in this sculpt, the arms will be made up of two gourds each.

Here are the forearms. Look Mom, no hands! Actually, I have to wait for the top of the arms to dry before I add the forearms and since I'm not completely sure of the way the hands will go I am waiting until I attach these gourds and let the clay dry before working out the hands. For now I will work on the head and the baby that will be cradled in the mother's arms. The most exciting part of this will be the design I'm planning for the mother's dress. I'm working up a stylized version of Nez Perce designs to finish the piece off with. I only have a couple of weeks left so I'd better get to it! I'm hoping to have more pieces before the show, which is in June because they've asked me to demonstrate my sculpting so I want to have a variety to share. Gourds are so much fun to work with, the possibilities are endless don't you think?