Checking in

Happy first Sunday of Fall y'all! Things are beginning to look very autumnal in this part of the country, and I'm in the mood for all things fall. 

Was planning to wait until my current WIPs were further along to post again, but I am already feeling like a new entry is overdue. I guess they are still works in progress, even if they aren't where I envisioned they would be. 

With the Fall Gift Gallery event coming up the first weekend in November, I have my work cut out for me. Right now I have 4 repurposed softball pieces going, and a list of others to begin when I have made room on my workspace. Below is a picture of what I am working on. In the front is a black bear (a commission for a friend of a co-worker). Behind that is a bat (with unpainted foam wings) which will be a hanging piece. Then I have the very start of a scarecrow plant stake. Lastly I have a rubber duck ball which will have bubbles, a small bar of soap (which I am still not sure about) and an acrylic "puddle" base.

Funny story about the small pink bar of soap. After forming the bar out of paper clay, I pressed carefully selected macaroni letters spelling out "soap" into the wet clay and set it aside to dry. The next morning when I went downstairs to feed that cat, I found it facedown on the concrete floor covered in dust, cobwebs, and cat hair. Apparently someone thought it made a great toy for batting around during the night. I suppose I should be happy that I found it so easily since it could easily have ended up under the washing machine or some dark corner of the laundry room. When I picked it up to return it to my work table, I discovered that the cat had also eaten all of the letters off. Guess she wasn't aware how tedious a job it was sifting thorough the dry pasta letters to find just the ones I needed. I guess the imprint they left behind is probably better for what I was going for anyway. Thanks Twyla?

I am also working on some more traditional painted pieces when I am not inspired to work on the softballs. Here is an older painting I rescued from my stack of canvases to be painted on or to re-gessoed and repainted. I am reworking what I had originally sketched out, giving it an autumn look by setting the scarecrow in a pumpkin patch, and adding the colored maples in the background. I love crows, so I envision one or two making an appearance here as well. Still not completely happy with it, but as of yet, I can't put my finger on the what or why. I welcome comments or suggestions! Sorry that the accompanying picture is a little blurry. I am just learning to use the digital camera. I was also working against a failing battery, so I kind of rushed it. I promise to make the next shot sharper, so that you can see the details.

I have a few other ideas percolating for a couple of other canvas paintings. As soon as I 

have something on those, I will post pics.

Guess that's all I have for now. Time to head back into the studio. 

Until I post again, take care of yourselves. 

My favorite time of the year!

Well, it is now the end of August and only days away from Fall, my favorite time of the year. I know that fall doesn't officially begin till mid September, but as far as I am concerned, we are close enough. There is so much that I look forward to when the temps begin to drop and the green gives way to browns, reds, yellows and oranges. There is just something about the feel of the autumn months, the brings me to life. I feel much more energized and inspired once we get beyond the heat and humidity of June, July and August. Doesn't hurt that besides raking leaves, the outdoor tasks list begins to dwindle, and I feel like I can once again focus my efforts and energy elsewhere.

Got some fun Halloween themed art project formulating which I will post pics of as they begin to take shape. Now that I have discovered that there is a whole division in the art world dedicated to Halloween art and things of the macabre nature, I look forward to trying my hand at creating some pieces in that vein as well. I only hope that my work comes half as close to the awesome things I have seen on this blog network and elsewhere in my trips around the web.

In addition to the visual arts, I am still working on some writing projects. I am signed up for NaNoWriMo to take place in November, and I have joined a writers group to be held at the library in the coming months. At this point the group is just a short-term thing, but it sounds like the plan is to make it a regular event if the interest is there. I know I would welcome having a group of peers to work with. If things go as planned, (there I go planning again) I hope to be working regularly on my series of "midwestern gothic" novels, and featuring artwork described in the books on this blog. Think it could be a fun challenge to find a way to "marry" both my writing and my art. Will see how it comes together.

Well, that gets us somewhat up to date for now. Following is a picture of the laminated paper project that came out of a workshop I did back in June. Finally got around to the finishing touches. Liked the medium, and once I can get a hold of the gel used, I will try some more. I see a monkey in plaid pants in the future!

Any way, till my next entry, here's to living the creative life!