Big and Small and Back-To-School

Been playing with proportions. . .

 Taking a handful of Zoee Bug. . .

. . .and turning her into an armful.

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Summer break is coming to a close, and Autumn is starting to show itself in the form of cool breezes and morning fog. Boy Kid will be heading back to school next week. But then he's pretty much been at school for the past 3 weeks in the form of Band Camp. 9+ hours a day of drumming. Then he comes home and drums some more. Tap-tap-tappity!! I've been there too for the past few days, helping to fit all the band kids for their uniforms. Several of the boys look like they stepped right out of a Norman Rockwell painting, all knees and elbows.

I always loved back-to-school time when I was a kid! I still get all happy around fresh new school supplies, picking out the perfect pencils and folders and such. College Girl was the same way. Boy Kid, not so much. He sort of just fills the requirements in the shortest possible amount of time. This is what shopping with him goes like. . . 

Me: "Really? Pink sparkly pencils?" 

Him: *shrug* "They're pencils. I don't care."

Something-New Sunday

It's another handful of Halloween!

Jackie Hallow, Jack Hallow, Bella Bones, and Sebastian Bones

(Please pardon my forever-paint-stained fingernails.) I'm having too much fun making these itty bitty dollies! (Way more fun than Dylan's having sewing and stuffing those teeny tiny arms.) We made this batch in small limited editions so more people could play along.

Zoee Bug, Magnetic Bums, and a TV-Headed Puppet

Making a BIG (and a regular-sized) Zoee Bug this week. I'm kinda liking the weird scale. Might have to make some more jumbo versions. Generally speaking, I like little art. There's something sort of intimate about it. It invites you to come closer and have a good look. It whispers rather than yells.

Also finished this commissioned piece earlier this week. I really like how it turned out! There are super strong magnets sewn into the little people's bottoms, and Dylan incorporated a metal plate into the bench seat, so they sit really nicely. He's so clever!

Speaking of how clever Dylan is, he just made another silly video. This one is just a screen test so he could experiment with filming that TV-headed puppet. But of course he had to add a healthy dose of silliness. That song of his has been stuck in my head for days, so I apologize ahead of time if it gets stuck in yours.

Skellies in Party Hats

Playing around with a new project. . .

It's a party!

(I'll show you what we're making in a week or two.)

Something-New Sunday

Here's the latest, fresh of The Cart. . .

This odd little beastie is a Masked Pip.

The first punkinhead of the season! She's masked too.

Her name is Eve, and her winged ride is Hallows.

All the political goings-on are being extra ugly and divisive as of late, so we've had friendly elephants and donkeys on the brain. Apparently, even stuffed heads are more capable of respectful discourse than most.

Here, here, here, and here.

Whether you're red or blue or some sort of polka-dotted anomaly,

we'll still probably like you.

Today's Table (In the Works)

We've been busy this past couple of weeks, and today's worktable has all sorts of beasties clamoring for my attention. Got several new designs in the works, along with a few commissioned pieces and this week's made-to-orders. 

 Also took a bit of time this week to design a logo for Jim and Amy's (our bestest friends) new food cart that they're making from scratch. Food carts have quite the following here in Portland, and theirs promises to be a good one. If you're interested in the process, you can see their progress on Jim's brand new blog.

They're gonna be serving Amy's unique take on traditional southern 

and Cajun cuisine. What your favorite kind of food?

Circle Hunt

Just running around the house snapping pictures of circles. I was thinking this would be a fun activity to do with my youngest to teach him basic camera use and editing, plus it's always interesting to look at stuff in new ways. And it was interesting to see how many circular things I'm surrounded with. They're everywhere!

Tuesday's Artist: Laura Lloyd

In order to keep my creative tank chugging along I like to fill it with all sorts of visual fuel. This "Tuesday's Artist" thing is my way of sharing some of the artists that inspire and delight me. I asked them to do a little finish-this-sentence sort of mini-interview so we might get to know them a little better.

This week's spotlight is shining on Laura Lloyd. I'm madly in love with her sculptural pieces! I love everything about them-- their luscious textures, straightforward-but-still-engaging palette, striking expressions, and a healthy dose of humor. I also love how solid they look; there is something very sturdy and still about them. I find their often-exaggerated expressions to be very human and sort of strangely comforting.

Still Standing

Laura says:

If I wasn't an artist maybe I'd be. . . 

hmmm, maybe an interior designer? I love those makeover shows.

Giddy-Up

Today, I'm listening to Frank Sinatra.

A Good Head on his Shoulder

 I'm really good at getting lots of things started all at once.

Finishing? Well, no comment.

Dog Person

I'd like to be better at focusing on one thing, 

seeing projects through to completion without tearing my hair out.

Pinwheel

When I was a kid I was shy.

Goatee

I hate it when I have to write anything.....I really lock up.

Much easier to draw and create.

Training Wheels

My workspace is full of art and pictures I like and lots and lots of ideas for inspiration.

Bookmobile

Right now, I'm really into summertime (mothering 5 kids),

which leave precious little time for artwork.

Strong Man

You can see more of Laura Lloyd's work on her website.

Something-New Sunday

Here's a little peek at this week's something-new.

You can see more of Devica here. She's a petite 6 inches tall, and I love that itty bitty crow-on-a-stick that Dylan made for her. Her and Devlin are BFF's.

 Both of them are perfectly fine on their own, however I wouldn't turn my back on the two of them when they get together.

Random Scenes Around the Studio

I've been feeling kinda quiet this week (thus the lack of blogging), but I hear that a picture is worth a thousand words. So here's 12,000 words.

I'll be back tomorrow with something new for Something-New Sunday.

Something-New Sunday and a Giveaway

Here's a peek at this week's newest offerings-

You can see more of them in the shop.

Also, I started an artist page on Facebook a few weeks ago and 500 people have "liked" us so far. Woohoo! 500 seems like a good milestone type of number, so I thought it called for a little giveaway. Come by and join the fun!

We're giving away a bunch of stickers that we just got from Moo. We like to tuck them in with purchases. I'd never gotten anything from them before and they were a bit spendy, but the quality is very good. And everything was really user friendly, which is code for "even this computer dummy can do it." Can't wait to order more!

Today's Table(s)

Getting ready to stain a bunch of stuff to be finished over the next couple of days.

I keep a stack of paper bowls next to my worktable. They come in handy for all sorts of things. Mostly I use them to keep little bits and pieces organized and not lost. And I think they look yummy in their little bowls.

The in-progress stuff has taken over a second table too.

Don't even get me started on the buckets of UnFinished Objects that are lurking in the sidelines! It's getting a little silly. And then there's the trunk of unfinished quilts that keeps calling my name. Well, they're just gonna have to wait because all things Halloweeny will be monopolizing my attention for the next couple of months.

Tuesday's Artist: Daria Tessler

In order to keep my creative tank chugging along I like to fill it with all sorts of visual fuel. This "Tuesday's Artist" thing is my way of sharing some of the artists that inspire and delight me. I asked them to do a little finish-this-sentence sort of mini-interview so we might get to know them a little better.

This week's spotlight is shining on Daria Tessler. I'm especially taken with her gorgeous multi-layered silkscreen prints. Just the technicality alone is impressive (!) and her images are playful and quirky and often have animals doing people-ish things which (of course) I love. Plus, she seems to have a great sense of humor, which I also love.

Daria says:

If I wasn't an artist maybe I'd be a physicist, librarian or math teacher.

Today, I'm listening to a book-on-tape, a ghost story about an island of enchanted willow trees, and also the history of the byzantine empire, and also a little bit of space disco.

I wish I were better at imagining dinosaurs with useful nose appendages like tapirs. The future of dinosaurs looks funny. I just can't quite catch up with the scientists on that one.

When I was a kid I was into cross-stitching and soap operas. Needless to say I was not voted most popular kid in school.

I hate it when I spill a cup of tea all over a drawing. I do this regularly. I also hate it when my inky silkscreening squeegee flips backward off my screen and creates a windmill ink splatter all the way down to the floor. I also do this regularly.

My workspace is multipurposed, my clothes dresser is also my drawing table. I have outer space illustrations, a roller skating raccoon drawing, a guitar playing frog and a procession of bird monks taped to my wall there.

Right now, I'm really into the medieval concept that elephants had no knees. also the medieval debate as to whether a shrew mated through its ear and gave birth through its mouth or if it mated through its mouth and gave birth through its ear. Also I am really into the idea of using pizza as riot gear clothing. And robot dance parties too.

I hope that my art finds happy homes around the world.

You can see more of Daria's work on her very cool website or her blog.